8.28.11

This last Monday, Ed and I took Aimee in for her anticipated swallow study. Ed had to come since it is an x-ray procedure and I wasn't allowed to (and didn't want to) stay in the room for it. They basically just get an x-ray video of her eating and see at what point she fatigues, if she aspirates (breathes in fluid/food) and what consistency is appropriate for her abilities. Aimee did really well in the study! She didn't aspirate at all. It only took her 3-4 swallows to get one bite down (compared to 8ish last time). She did still have food pooling in her throat, but she did well with it and was able to clear it.
After the study was over we met with the feeding therapist to come up with a plan for increasing the amount of food she takes by mouth. Over the next two months our goal is to have her eating puree consistency foods 3x a day up to 3 ounces in a sitting (90 mls or just over 1/3 cup). We are very excited to be able to work towards this goal. It will be a challenge though, a good one, but difficult for sure. At this point, Aimee loves to taste yummy things, but definitely does not associate tasting food with satisfying hunger any more (she has been tube fed for 14 months). We are not sure how far this will go, her main nutrition may be g-tube for a long time yet, or it may always be that way. Either way, I don't care, I get to feed my little girl more bites! Now I just need to expand her palate again beyond yogurt and fruit. :)