All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth

Well...even just one tooth would be nice. At this point I'll take ANYTHING!!! Andrew sure hasn't been the happy baby he once was and I'm blaming it all on teething...(hoping its just a phase and my happy boy will soon return) Naps are sometimes non-existent, everything is in the mouth, drooling all over the place and I can't seem to set him down for a minute or two and he's in tears. A little white tooth poking through his swollen gums is secretly on my wish list for Christmas this year. We'll see if we get a tooth by the holiday or not. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

A Sad Little Boy

On another note we've had more doctor's visits this week....surprise, surprise. :) His speech/feeding therapist did another observation and looked at how he was doing with his oral motor abilities and gag reflexes. Everything looked normal so before I knew it, she slipped out of her office and was back with a little bowl of rice cereal and a spoon for him to try. Before she started, she explained the sometimes long process of transitioning to solids and helping kids who struggle with feeding. She emphasized, that we should just expect the first month or so of feeding solids as play time and not to expect him to eat anything. Just expose him to a spoon in the mouth and trying things to strengthen his tongue muscle. After a few tries, Andrew was opening his mouth so wide and it seemed as if he couldn't get enough. The therapist couldn't believe how he "just got it" and was doing everything he was supposed to. After seeing that, she gave me a few handouts and dove right in to explaining the next few months of feeding solids and how to best help him. YEA!!! We were so excited we pulled his high chair out, set it up and couldn't wait to try it at home!

What a BIG boy in his high chair

Daddy is doing a great job!

That's a smile underneath that messy face :)

A whole new phase awaits us. I guess those baby spoons and bowls wrapped and under the Christmas tree need to be opened pretty quick! 'Cause we're gonna need them sooner than we thought!