I have been wanting to post Ben's pics on his blog. He is in the "boy's club" in this one. Believe me, this is not his usual expression on his face when we go into the laundry room to eat, but this would make a good advertisement for it. He makes it look like such a happy place. I tried to take a picture of both of them, but I couldn't get Ben and his twin to sit still long enough to get a shot.
Ben has been doing well eating. He has thrown up a few times in the last few days, but is still able to get nearly 11 oz. down in atleast 2 separate feedings. Dan has been sick with a cough and a fever, so I'm sure it is only a matter of time before Ben gets it. A cough is lethal for Ben's eating progress. It is a sure way to start the vomitting. I hope he won't get it, but I don't see how he will avoid it. Danny loves to be with Ben in the laundry room when Ben finishes a meal. They sit very close.


Ben does not use bowls for eating, but loves to wear them for hats. On the night I took this pic, I happened to walk by and saw him watching a movie in the club with the bowl on his head. LOL!

Pump Up the Volume!

Ben has been healthy for a few weeks and is doing well. He has pulled a few tricks the last couple of days, but when we stick to the protocol, he realizes quickly that we won't buy that anymore. It does crack me up a bit when I call to him and tell him to come for "sips and bites," and he hangs his head and slouches his shoulders, and shuffles slowly into our laundry room. We call that "loping." He strongly dislikes eating.
Some may wonder why he would be walking to the laundry room. We have tried feeding him in the kitchen while we are eating as a family, and he is not ready for that. He brings out his finest bag of tricks when we try to do both things at once, so we pull up a chair at the dinner table for him to sit on if he wants, but do all of his feedings in the laundry room. He is less likely to be distracted in there, and less likely to get attention for bad behavior. We keep his high chair in there and a chair for us, and a TV/DVD combo. We have a drawer full of his feeding therapy items. It is odd, but it works.
I have been able to increase his volumes this last week. He has been free of a cold or any other illness, which is premium time to make some serious headway. My record for the week is 10.5 oz. I am able to get atleast 9 oz. in on a regular basis. My babysitter and husband have a hard time getting the same results, but I think that will come as Ben gets used to taking more volume. I am feeling a bit more encouraged when I see progress being made like that. This whole eating thing is quite the rollercoaster, but I like being up on top right now.
One more thing about the laundry room...Ben's twin, Dan, loves to go into there when Ben is done eating. We have Ben sit in his high chair to digest a bit before getting out to run amuck. Dan calls it the "key pub," which being interpretted is "boy's club." The "boy's club" earned its name when we would walk by the laundry room to check on them, and they would wave goodbye, then shut the door so that we could not go in. The rest of us are officially uninvited. I think it is neat that Dan gets so excited about spending that time with Ben in their own boy's club, one of the joys of twins.