Adeline Eats Birthday Cake

Adeline ate birthday cake at her first birthday party, However, months earlier, Adeline’s mother worried Adeline would never eat birthday cake. 

Her feeding journey started just days after she was born when a heart condition and an unsafe swallow were identified while she was in the hospital. She was NG or NJ tube fed at that point. 

At 6month old her parents had exhausted all medical and therapy services offered in the public system and had private Occupational Therapy. She was still exclusively NG-tube fed. She was not consistently rolling, sitting up, or using her hands. She cried much of the day every day and was very difficult to soothe. She was very constipated. Her parents were exhausted. 

She was referred to My Feeding Coach. After a consultation with Emily, Adeline’s Mum decided Coaching was just what they needed. They meet online with Emily 1-2 times per week. In each session they talked about Adeline’s movement and basic routines, like sleeping and bowel movements. During sessions Emily taught Mum massages, exercises, taping and acupressure. These help relieve pain, regulate Adeline’s bowels, and improve her posture. 

After 2 months of Coaching, Adeline was a much happier baby. Her bowels were regular. She cried minimally during the day. Coaching started to focus more on eating and movement skills for tube weaning. She started showing interest in food and better coordination for small tastes of food. The family requested a new swallow study. The medical team was consulted for increasing Adeline’s food and water intake. She got a G-Tube. She was still having some trouble coordinating a swallow, but her skills were improving. Adeline had coaching once a week individually or in an oral motor skill group.

After 6 months of coaching, when Adeline was 1year old, she was able to safely feed herself a slice of her birthday cake. She drank 50ml of water from a cup. She was crawling. She was pulling to stand. She could entertain herself with toys. She could say a few words like “mumma” and “dadda”. She showed understanding of both English and French words. 

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