Feeding Therapy

Our speech therapist thinks Roo has made big progress in the past few months and isn't sure she needs to see him anymore.  I agree that he often eats well in her office.  All the games of Connect 4, sticker charts, balloon timer, and the pretty young speech therapist provide exactly the level of incentive he requires to finish a decent meal.  She believes that at this point it's largely a matter of keeping him motivated.  He can eat.  He just chooses not to most of the time.  And she's right. 

But I'm torn. He can eat when he sets his mind to it.  He crunches up Dum Dum lollipops like nobody's business.  He can eat raw carrots, Ruffles potato chips, pork, bacon, grape tomatoes, and all kinds of other foods that require ample chewing.  But without fail, he still gags on yogurt.  Muffins, most cookies, and soft breads, pancakes and the like are still off limits.  And while we know that his esophagus is clear right now, he still threw up after a single bite of ice cream with sprinkes this weekend.  My theory is that it was a textural issue...the mixing of tiny crunchy pellets along with soft, cold, mushy ice cream.  That kind of stuff still happens a lot.  

If we are to believe the scopes, GI's, ENT, and speech therapist, there's not really a physical cause remaining at this point for the frequent vomiting and general food aversion.  He still takes Prevacid because I think with or without the EoE he suffers from reflux too. I'm thinking of continuing the speech because I don't really know what else to do with him. 

Phlegm Fest 2010

We had a good run going for a while there but the runny noses returned with a vengeance this weekend.  You know the oozy, droozy, constant flow that leaves that little divot between upper lip and nose (philtrum - if anyone's wondering) chaffed and raw.  We've got it here times three.  Sure there are worse fates than the common cold but the frequent gagging that accompanies Roo's runny nose is not helping our cause at all.  He's lost a few ounces and we can't seem to keep him properly hydrated because he coughs and chokes while drinking or immediately afterward. 

So I'm wondering, does anyone else have a phlegm gagger?  Is this a common kid thing or are we just especially fortunate in the vomit department?  If it's not one thing it's another it seems...