We've come a long way in a year.

Owen has been consistently inconsistent in many things, and eating is one of them. I am very proud to say a few things on this topic:

1. He has been taking his daily 1/2 baby aspirin by mouth for 2 months and now opens up his mouth without any reservation.

2. For the last week/ week and a half the most he has been tube-fed is 4 ounces total for the whole day. (goal for the day =16 ounces=1000 calories)
I'm still making his feed in the vitamix:).

3. He has gone above and beyond in his new eating endeavors. He enjoys almonds, peanuts, soy nuts (crunch theme here!) strawberry smoothies, strawberry beet smoothies (yay!), aforementioned carrot quesadillas, whole wheat waffles, soy bacon, apple chips, peach chips, regular bacon, Amy's organics bean or pizza bites, chicken toast (aka nuggets but not called that in this house!), falafel, and now drinks apple juice! He eats a variety of other kid and snack foods but the foods listed above are ones he will eat most of the time. The trick here is to promote eating yet still provide the variety for him to explore new foods. This is a common theme in children without feeding issues, where parents continue to provide the same foods over and over again because it's "what the kid will eat". We of all people know what that's like. But if a kid with complex eating issues can overcome his preferences then so can any kid! We are so proud of our kid who has gone beyond the realm of banana puffs and sips of water in a years time!
4. The tube is still there and will be there. We aren't rushing to any conclusions as we need to make sure he can hold his own, gain weight, etc. We are giddy with excitement though, as we now feel like he is more of a normal toddler with picky eating habits versus a kid with extreme oral aversions. He still will not consume any raw fruits (except smoothies) or vegetables (except when in the garden, or snuck into foods). He still gags and or makes a nasty face when he touches some of the delights that many people enjoy like a fresh peach or strawberry. But he has been known to take down many a basil sprig when in the garden like he's been doing it for years. This makes my heart smile a big cheesy grin.
5. I was getting all emotional the other night when I was cleaning out the kitchen... Sounds silly I know but hear me out. I found oodles of syringes, glass bottles, caps to the bottles, and endless amounts of feeding paraphernalia. 2 years ago Owen was on 4 meds 3 times per day. We needed a lot of syringes! Now we only need one! The glass bottles are almost on the out, we don't need to measure out the feed to the goal rate any new, because he hasn't needed the whole feed in a while. We are still using a lot of the various feeding stuff: straws, OT spoons, different cups, containers, basically anything that can keep mealtime interesting, and we still have a long way to go, but it's sure nice to look back and see how far we are from where we started! The view looks real nice.