What Clicked?

I wish I had an answer to that question.  But the truth is, I have no idea.  Maybe he's just gotten a bit older and braver?  Maybe he's more confident about his chewing so he's less scared of choking?  Maybe the cheers and praise are really enough to motivate him.  Maybe he's getting enough sensory input that his sensory system is calmer and he can handle eating.  His therapist pointed out that his leaps in progress began about the same time that we started swim lessons.  Whatever has happened, I am the eternally grateful to the feeding aversion gods.

Yesterday during therapy he ate a chicken nugget.  It was cut up into about 9 small pieces so they would be easy for him to handle and chew.  Big bites are too much for him as his chewing skills are still developing.  We haven't tried chicken nuggets for months.  The only times he's eaten a bite or two, he's allowed us to put them in his mouth but he's never been happy about it.  Today, he picked them up, ate them and then went back for more with no hesitation.  No "icky" faces, no gagging, no choking.  Chewing and eating and smiling because he knew how happy and proud we were.  "Mama so happy!!"  and  "Proud of me!"  Brand new sentences for him.  I held back tears because I didn't want to freak him out.

THEN...get this...as if the therapy session could get any better...IT DID!  He ate bites of a banana.  He didn't eat a whole banana or anything but he ate bites and he liked them.  He touched wet, squishy, gross banana that two months ago would have led to a massive meltdown.

Then at dinner he ate another whole chicken nugget.  With no prompting, bite after bite, tossed in his mouth before he touched any of this other food.  My husband and I discussed the question of whether or not, since we've stopped purees, Buster is getting enough calories.  The truth is, I'm not sure.  I plan to weigh him this weekend and make sure he isn't losing.  So, though some feeding clinics would argue with me, I'm letting him "graze" during the day.  He will eat fruity Cheerios or Annie's Cheddar Bunnies throughout the day, if I leave them out for him.  That's what I've been doing and he's willingly eating his meals.  He isn't too full when I put him at the table so I'm going to continue to do this.

Sometimes these little people amaze us for reasons we'll never understand.