No Surprise! He Likes Italian!



I won't be stepping too far out on a limb here to say we think Ben has finally gotten over his recent cold. Since we're like the rest of you suffering from the post-holiday funk, the family decided we'd hit Ben's favorite place to shop today and top it off with our favorite comfort food. Jessie got some great photos at Lowe's Home Improvement which I'll let her share later in the week. The cool video we captured happened while we had a late lunch/early dinner at Olive Garden. It's not our favorite Italian place but it was convenient and we had not been there in awhile.

Just a little background to set this piece up. Ever since his NICU stay Ben has received his nutrition primarily through a G-Tube. That's not to say we haven't experimented with bottle feeding when he was a baby or pureed food as he got older. Ben tried his darndest to eat regular food and did a good job but whatever the situation is that requires him to have a trache has also prevented him from swallowing food.

About three years ago while visiting a local Mexican food joint we noticed Ben reacting positively to the strong aroma of herbs and spices. This triggered endless attempts to shove little bits of soft foods into his mouth so he'd not grow adverse to the texture (yes, that does happen with some children - they never develop the ability to eat because the idea of food in their mouths is so foreign they become ill). The culmination of our efforts occurred at his 8th birthday party.

Since then Ben has eaten more cake, gravy, steamed carrots, green beans, and other assorted mild foods. Today we sent him over the top! Melted garlic and butter. Enjoy another clip of our son making another huge "step" forward. Oh...and I'll bet you'll have a huge smile when it's done!