Feeding fun

Anna has made some great strides over the past week with her feeding/drinking.  She has been so resistant to anything being put in her mouth except her own hand or her bottle...so it has been a very slow process to try to get her to eat baby food or try a cup, etc.  I have been very cautious, as I have read many stories about adopted children who were in great need of nutrition but started rejecting food out of fear or other reasons - so I have been very pleased that she has gained so much weight from her bottle feedings alone (she is up to 18 pounds now - woo hoo - which is very impressive since she only weighed 13 pounds when we met in May).  

This past week she tried a "honey bear" cup with her SLP - and Anna actually tried to close her lips around the straw as she had the water squeezed in her mouth - big deal for her!

This next picture marked the first time Anna finished her entire jar of baby food bananas...she had been taking only 4-5 bites at a time, but last week she ate the whole thing!

Will has been very anxious to help feed Anna, so I let him try it finally.  I coached him on how to do it...call her name, wait for her to open her mouth, etc.  I was surprised when Anna actually let Will feed her a few bites!  And I love how it is just universal that when you are trying to get a baby to open her mouth for food, the one feeding does the same...

Okay - WARNING - this next picture is kind of creepy, especially for you therapists who are concerned about hip positioning, but it was too crazy not to include.  Anna has started transitioning from sit to prone (on her tummy) by just leaning forward...not the best way to do it, but we're working on that.  However, I went in to check on Anna during nap time the other day, and I found her sleeping like this:

Thankfully she rolled over onto her side and moved her legs into a better position right after I took this picture...and to all my therapist friends, I am getting her some "hip helpers" to wear!