Tonight, we ate chicken stirfry with sticky rice. Oh yeah, and then Elijah fed himself for the first time ever!
Elijah's a little confused about the difference between a toothbrush and a spoon, but he's getting there. The z-vibe is what gave him that little push he needed to do it. Usually he tries his best to not hold onto a spoon. Why hold a spoon when mommy (or daddy) will feed you?
In the following video, the food Elijah feeds himself falls out of his mouth...but he did actually eat and swallow some of the food he got in there tonight. So we're definitely calling this his official first time self-feeding. This is a big deal folks! We might've done some happy dances around the house and we might be really excited about this. Did I mention that it's a big deal? Because it's a big deal.
Hmm, now we just need to figure out how to make his sippy cup vibrate...maybe that'd give him that extra push to give himself something to drink. Ideas, anyone? ;)
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5 comments:
Wait to go, Elijah! You are doing so good. Love you, GramKat
That's so exciting! You'll have to show me your skills when I get home, Elijah!
I cannot help it, I am so in love with Elijah!! He is just darling. :)
I'm so happy for you all!! I know this is a huge feat. What kind of spoon is that? I think I need to get one for LilB
Way to go Elijah! I am so proud of the progress you keep making. As far as a vibrating cup goes... Problem solving is what Tiggers do Best! Let me see...
Here are some possibilities just off the top of my head. I have learned that you don't want to reject anything to early in the brainstorming process because sometimes you just happen to spit out an idea that with a little refining actually works. So let's see...
There's the obvious, like gluing an electric toothbrush to the side of a cup... or one of those "Gag" hand zappers when you shake someone's hand... or just gluing the vibrating spoon to the cup as a handle... or, well, you can take that line of reasoning from there.
Now my approach may seem a little Tim the Tool Man-ish but I am what I am so here goes.
I'm thinking one of the blenders that has a cup attachment... or maybe drinking from a cup that is attached to the family lawnmower... or in the winter you could bring the snowblower inside and just set your cup on that while it's running (Make sure dad vents the exhaust out the window - can't be too safe ya know)... or my personal favorite a Small Block Chevy engine in the kitchen that can be fired up whenever you're thirsty. If it was mounted on springs the vibrations wouldn't spread into the floor and any cup you sat on the air cleaner would really tingle! One cautionary note here though, don't use milk with high cream content or you'll end up with buttermilk (Don't ask me how I learned that) and that's an acquired tase for sure! AGhhhh!
Now that I've expanded the horizons of your problemsolving skills I can expend my enviable abilities on other topics such as solving more esoteric questions like, Why do people park on driveways and drive on parkways, or if Sunflower oil is made from sunflowers and peanut oil is made from peanuts, and corn oil is made from corn, what is baby oil made from? You ain't never gonna learn stuff like this in no school so pay attention, ya hear?.
Well my young protege, you just keep on a learnin' an a growin' an I'll just keep on a teachin' y'all. Ya hear?
Jim Buckmaster
Mom- Thanks!
Erika-Elijah wants to show off his new skills...so when are you coming home?!! :)
Miss Burb- Thanks, we're kind of fond of him ourselves. ;) The spoon is a z-vibe with a spoon attachment. We added some "foam build-up" (not sure what the technical name is), to it - which is the red part he's holding. The foam makes it thicker and easier to hold since the z-vibe itself is pretty skinny. We got the foam from our OT and it can be placed on any spoon, so I'd ask your OT about it. We bought the z-vibe on amazon.com. The z-vibe is about $30, and the attachments cost more, so it ends up being a pretty expensive spoon! (We ended up splurging and getting the whole kit with all the attachements). The z-vibe is supposed to help strengthen and desensitize the mouth. I'd talk to LilB's Speech therapist about it, because they'd know more than I would. Maybe you could try it out in therapy? Sometimes the school district will have stuff like a z-vibe on hand for you to try, so ask around. Sorry, I'm kind of blabbing away here. I hope you can get one for LilB and that that it's a motivator for him!
Thanks so much, Jim. You always know what to say to make my day. An engine in my kitchen? I don't know about that. ;)
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