Jonathon is really settled in his foster family, and it shows in his development. Since he became part of a family, Jonathon has gained the courage to try eating proper food. This is a HUGE step. There was no way anything other than a bottle full of Pedisure was going anywhere near this boy's mouth. Even in play, he didn't like anything in his mouth. And a spoon - that was absolutely forbidden by Jonathon. He did not like a spoon anywhere near him.
His foster Mom, Rachel, decided to work on building trust first ( there's that word again - so important). Gradually, as their relationship strengthened, Jonathon became more willing to give things a try. Before long, he was taking all sorts of pureed goodness in that bottle of his. His diet looked super healthy - but it was still all pureed, and still all via the bottle.
Now he's taken the next step forward. Slowly he has shown an interest in finger food - little bits of tasty goodness that allow him to explore what his mouth can do. He's finding out about taste and texture and realizing that it's good fun. And now, he has eaten a whole bowl of rice cereal from a spoon! And Rach says she doesn't even need to coax him - he just opens his little mouth as if he has been doing this all his life. What a rock star!
It just goes to prove a point - babies thrive in families. For anyone who is thinking about fostering or adoption, please nurture that thought. There is just something about families that make them the absolute right place for children. Jonathon's progress proves that!
In fact, this is what gives us our motivation for our second hospice. We want it to be a community hospice for critically ill children with their families. We see the way grief magnifies our children's problems by a thousand-fold. They are trapped by grief for their families; families who have been overwhelmed and made the terrible decision to abandon. Imagine if these families can get support and information before they reach that point - we absolutely believe that with some-one to walk beside them, some of these families will stay together. Now that's something to aspire to!
By the way, you might want to hop over and give Rachel and Drew some encouragement. They've had a challenging time lately with Drew being very sick and Rachel caring for three wonderfully busy boys alone. And while you are there - you can check out Jonathon's progress.
drewandrachel.blogspot.com
Thank you Drew and Rachel, for loving our boy so well.
1 comment:
wow, thank you. thank you.
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