You know that feeling you get when things seem too good to be true? I’m at that place in my life.

Honestly, things with Gideon have been going so well for the past month and a half, that I keep waiting for the bottom to fall out…as if all this good will soon end. You ever feel like that?

Why is it that we are always expecting the worst? I keep waiting for Gideon to take another turn for the worst… In fact, it’s been that fear that has kept me from updating my blog where Gideon is concerned. Often times I feel like we are on a roller coaster- one minute we’re up and the next second we’re down. Everything is great on Monday and by Tuesday, our world is caving in. I’m sure you can relate to that mentality.

I think it was for this reason that the Bible tells us to be worry-free and to take it one day at time. Well actually, that’s my paraphrase of Matthew 6:25-34. Verse 34 specifically says, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” 

So keeping that in mind, I’ve decided (again) to take it one day at a time. I’m going to tell you all the good things that Gideon has been doing this past month. And if tomorrow he takes a turn for the worst, I’m going to tell you about it as well. I will not be afraid to brag on what he has accomplished today for fear of what he might lose tomorrow.

From December through January, Gideon lost a fifth of his body weight. He was not eating and he was barely drinking due to sickness. It was so bad that feeding tube options were presented to us. But February was the turn around month.

We saw a nutritionist and started some new therapies- specifically, sensory integration & feeding therapy at Excel Pediatrics twice a week (that’s in addition to his other therapies here at the house). Excel is a pretty awesome place because they have a huge adaptive gymnasium & every therapeutic toy/device/swing available for special needs kids like Gideon.

His therapist there took this picture of Gideon sitting up by himself in a tub of rice. At home, when Gideon sits on his own like this, he supports his upper body weight with his arms. But because he wants to use his hands to play in the rice, he’s actually using his trunk muscles to hold himself up. The therapist said he’ll sit like this for 30-60 seconds at a time. Such good progress!!!

Also in the month of February, Gideon began drinking AND eating pureed foods again. I credit the ECI nutritionist and the EXCEL feeding therapy for this progression. The nutritionist educated me on Gideon’s nutritional needs and the speech pathologist (feeding therapist) found an interesting way to distract Gideon so he wasn’t focused on the fear associated with swallowing pureed foods. Thanks to this team, he has gained back the weight he lost and eats at least two solid meals a day in addition to his Pediasure/coconut/almond milk mix. (I’m trying to eventually ween him off the Pediasure.)

The speech path introduced us to this interesting gadget called the Z-Vibe. 

The Z-Vibe was designed to help children with feeding issues. Basically it’s a blue tube that vibrates constantly once you turn it on. It comes with different teething & spoon attachments but we’ve discovered that Gideon prefers to stick the end of it in his ear (or eye!) rather than his mouth. The speech path found that Gideon would eat pureed foods without being upset as long as he was holding this z-vibe.

So of course we immediately bought it on Amazon & we use it as a distraction while he eats. It was $49.95 for the kit- and the kit includes the z-vibe, battery, & several teething & spoon attachments. It’s the best toy/gadget he has in my opinion because it calms him down immediately.   🙂

A friend of mine showed me a video about this next gadget called, the Swimava.

The Swimava is pretty cool. It’s your basic swim ring, but it goes around a child’s neck. I know…kind of sounds barbaric, but this allows children with low tone to be free in the water. We paid $29.95 for the Swimava bundle (comes with ring, pump and swim diaper cover) on Amazon. We can’t wait to use this in the pool, but for now Gideon enjoys using it in the bath tub. If you’ve liked my Facebook page then you’ve already seen the bath tub video of Gideon with the Swimava. If not, click HERE to watch it.

Pretty sweet video, huh? I know I’m partial when I say that he’s the most precious child ever!! 🙂

It’s crazy to think that a month ago I was researching feeding tube options and today my little man is eating pureed foods with zero problems. Not to mention his continuing progress in physical therapy. I keep looking back and wondering, how did we make it from December to today?  The only answer I have is that Lord guided us one day at a time.

What are you facing right now? Is your struggle causing you to fear or worry about what tomorrow may or may not bring? I wish someone would have shaken me by the shoulders in December and made me quote Mathew 6:34 every day-  “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”   

If I’m being  honest, these past few months would have been a lot less stressful had I chosen to focus only on the day as it was given. Nothing good comes from worrying about tomorrow. So I’m writing verse 34 on my mirror along with this note to myself-

TAKE IT ONE DAY AT A TIME.