Paxton had two appointments today. His first one was with one of his speech therapists. While sitting in the waiting room, Susanne read Paxton a book. During the middle of it she realized that he was breathing a little heavier than usual. He also seemed irritable. She could tell that he didn't feel well for some reason. She knew he was tired, but he also seemed quieter than normal. She was worried, but could only monitor him for now.
Once the appointment started, the therapist decided to try some new things. She started with a vibe critter, which was a vibrating teether that helped to stimulate his mouth. Paxton willingly opened his mouth and really seemed to enjoy it. This was definitely going on Susanne's wish list for Paxton along with the Johnson Therapeutic textured spoon. The therapist then tried to offer a pacifier that had a textured nipple. He actually let the entire pacifier go into his mouth and he closed his lips around it. There was some minor suckling, but nothing consistent. This was very impressive. She then moved onto the nuk brush which he also was receptive to. He mastered that exercise rather quickly so they moved onto feeding him pureed food. Today, Paxton got to try a new flavor, which was a mixture of pears with cinnamon and oats. He LOVED it! He acted like it ain't no thing. Susanne had never seem him open his mouth and swallow anything so quickly. He was moving his tongue more than ever trying to taste every morsel that was introduced. At one point, it almost looked like he was reaching for the spoon that was presented to him. He probably took close to 12 tiny spoonfuls. Yay for little victories!
Paxton had been crying on and off throughout the entire appointment, but still held up pretty well until the end. They had to cut the appointment short because he was exhausted. The only thing that helped him to hang on as long as he had was his baby buzzer and an oral swab. Every time he was out of sorts, Susanne was able to hold him and comfort him. She hated seeing him so unhappy. She wished that she could take him home right after their session, but that was not the case. He had one more appointment to go.
Paxton met with a new occupational therapist today through Children's National Medical Center. This was the first time that Susanne had been to a therapy appointment where there were multiple children and therapists. Susanne quickly became overwhelmed with the sight she saw. There were multiple children that were suffering from chronic issues. Some couldn't walk well and others couldn't use their arms well. The only thing that brought a smile to her face was that the children were all so positive.
The occupational therapist did an evaluation on Paxton and then told Susanne some new exercises to try with him. She wanted him to have a baton that was clear and filled with glitter to have him hold onto while he extended his shoulders by bringing both arms beside his head. He was SO BIG! He loved the work they did on the exercise ball. He really seemed to settle once he was on that. Susanne could tell he was overtired. He almost fell asleep a few times during therapy. He didn't appreciate the interruptions when he would try to doze off. The therapist revealed that she was trained in massage and would like to teach Susanne some techniques that might benefit him greatly. She couldn't wait.
Susanne was slowly, but surely having success with increasing Paxton's therapy requirements. She wasn't sure she would make it to 10 hours of therapy per month, but she was going to die trying. He was that important.
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