Saturday, December 26, 2009

Hello Everyone!! I wanted to give some updates since I haven't made a post in quite awhile.

I am back to work which has been nice to get back into our normal routine, but has also been difficult with trying to balance Brennen's feeding needs with household duties and duties of work too. But, we are surviving!

I am getting the hang of pureeing Brennen's food. I am gettinig quicker at it and my ability to get the food smooth is also improving. It is just very time consuming. I usually puree enough food to last the week and then try to save the majority of my pureeing for the weekend.

Brennen continues to eat really well at home. He will tell me when he is hungry, which is still something that continues to take me by surprise when he says it. Prior to our therapy, he would never tell me when he was hungry. Honestly, I don't think he ever knew what that feeling was. He had a lot of stomach pain and discomfort, and I don't think he could tell if he was hungry or not.

We had a wonderful Christmas. Our family came to our house this year because it was much easier with Brennen's eating schedule to have it at our house.

We are continuing with our weekly appointments at the Hospital, although we have had to miss 2 of the 3 appointments scheduled due to illness. First, I got the flu and then Brennen had a sinus infection. For me, I think I was just exhausted. The first weekend we were home, I got sick. But everyone is doing fine now.

The feeding team is holding off on trying anything new until after the holidays. We will also begin potty training sometime in January.

Well, thanks for checking in on Brennen's progress and I will update in January as we begin adding new foods.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Thursday, December 3, 2009

We are officially done with being an in-patient! Today was our last day for being admitted to the Day Hospital. We will now continue with our weekly outpatient appointments.

I feel relieved and exhausted at the same time. I think the stress of the entire 10 weeks is catching up with me. I am glad I have the weekend before returning to work on Monday.


This program has been an answer to so many prayers. It is amazing to see Brennen's progress now from when we started the feeding program 10 weeks ago. Here is what Brennen is eating at this point in time: (all items at this point are pureed- unless noted)


*chicken *ham *turkey *hot dog *sweet potatoes *green beans *carrots *mashed potatoes *mixed vegetables *peaches *pears *mixed fruit

Items not pureed:
*applesauce *baby rice cereal *yogurt *plain potato chips *gluten free pretzles *shredded cheddar cheese

Quite a difference from before we started!

It is also amazing that Brennen and I have both remained healthy throughout the entire therapy. Another answer to prayer. Thank you to our family and friends who respected the fact that we needed to be hermits for awhile!

Now that we have completed the daily feeding therapy program, I will probably not be posting everyday as I had been. However, I would like to keep everyone updated on Brennen's progress because I know there have been many people invested in Brennen's therapy as well. I plan on making weekly updates to inform our family and friends on how Brennen is doing with his transition to his typical daily routine.

Thanks again everyone for checking in on Brennen's progress and for your thoughts and prayers during his therapy. We have felt the support and prayers and that has helped to get us through.

Our therapy worked and I am so glad we were able to give Brennen the wings he needed to fly. He is a different boy now from when we started. This is really a new beginning for Brennen and for our family.

I am so excited for him...

December 1, 2009

Wow..it feels like forever since I have posted on Brennen's progress... I was going to post over the weekend, but then became very preoccupied with getting my house back in shape! (9 weeks away from home had taken its toll!) We have made it to Week 10!!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Brennen ate turkey, sweet potatoes, mixed vegetables, and peaches (all foods were pureed). He did wonderful! Even with the differences in textures from how smooth the kitchen staff at Day Hospital purees to what my processor can do... He still did an amazing job with eating his meals very calmly all weekend.

We had a wonderful weekend at home. It was so nice to not have to rush back up to Cleveland Sunday afternoon. I loved being home and getting laundry done in my own machine and not feel as though I have to babysit my clothes for fear somebody might move them out of the machine!

It was great to have the weekend for Brennen and Sophia to be together. They are kind of going through an adjustment period of being together again.

We were really able to see Brennen's progress this weekend. We went to my brother's birthday party on Sunday. There was a large group of people there and Brennen handled that very well. Tim and I were talking about how last year at this time, he would have had a very difficult time with that. We can really tell that he is beginning to feel better. He is eating so much better and that is allowing him to be able to handle life's experiences better too. I am sure as Brennen matures, he will be able to handle more too.

Life is good right now!

My sister-in-law made the drive with me today so she can feed him and receive input as needed from the feeding team. She has already fed him once today and is doing a great job. Brennen sat and ate very calmly for her.

It's another long day today but I am comforted by the fact that I get to drive home and that I don't have to spend the night up here tonight.

I will post again on Thursday..Have a good day everyone and thanks for checking on Brennen's progress!