An FYI for families and therapists who are facing struggles with feeding....
Dr. Markus Wilken, the gifted feeding specialist who came from Germany to help Heath become an eater, is now in private practice and collaborating closely with my great friend Jennifer Berry of Spectrum Pediatrics in Virginia. Markus will be employed through Spectrum to educate families and feeding therapists in the U.S. about intensive tube weaning and tube management.
Jennifer was Heath's first occupational/feeding therapist, before our move to Seattle, and her intuition, intelligence and compassion were immense gifts to our family when Heath was not yet ready for weaning. She and Markus will be a dream team!
If you are interested in obtaining an evaluation from Markus, you can contact him at: [email protected]. If you are a health care professional interested in setting up a continuing education workshop on intensive weaning and tube management, contact Jennifer at: [email protected]
I can't believe it's only been three weeks since we moved to Missoula. It feels longer, maybe because we've been planning it for ages. Peanut is overjoyed to be back in Big Sky country. And I've finally made it here... I was going to come to Missoula for graduate school, but then got sidetracked for ten years in a burg called New York City. How circuitous things can be! It was a winding road, but somehow Peanut and I met up, Heath made a dramatic entrance, and now it feels like we've landed on solid ground. We couldn't be happier with the view.
Heath loves it too. Every now and then he takes it all in and cries, "New-new HOUSE!" We've unpacked most everything and even had our great friends and neighbors the Mochintos over for dinner. Gia (right) ate well following her two-week tube wean at Seattle Children's!
We are engaged in a minor power struggle with some floral wallpaper, which hopefully will come to a peaceful end this weekend.
But more important things have happened since we got here! Heath started pushing a cart while walking very gingerly across the living room. He mastered getting down our carpeted stairs on his own (by scooting feet-first on his tummy). He learned to count to 12 (before leaping exuberantly ahead to 18). He has become a much better fork-feeder. And he finally overcame his deep distrust of ice cream.
He has also become an avid mallwalker!
He is lucky to be borrowing that fancy gait trainer from Montana's medical equipment loan pool. This big rig enables him to walk with support around his chest and get up some real speed on the straightaways. It has also allowed us to join the fabulous ranks of retirees, rehab patients, and fitness enthusiasts doing laps at Southgate Mall in the morning. Heath gets loads of smiles and encouragement from friendly passersby as he motors along. (I think some of the seniors think his gait trainer is just a newfangled stroller: "What'll they think of next!") Heath loves socializing with folks at Caffe Dolce while taking a breather in between J.C. Penneys and Dillard's. I'm so impressed by his ability to stay on his feet for over an hour as we walk nearly 3/5 of a mile and browse along the way -- this will really help him build muscle endurance. And the best part? He gets to pet the bunnies and see the fish at The Pet Stop before we go home. I'm so grateful to the staff there who have learned Heath's name, welcome us each time we come, and let us pet the bunnies on our own.
In very big news, Heath turned two on February 20!
What a big boy we have on our hands now! But still wide-eyed, earnest, chubby cheeked, and full of snuggles. I'm loving this age, but as my friend Nanci says, every age is the best age. We celebrated with a super fun birthday party honoring Heath's favorite animal, the elk, and were joined by grandparents, friends, and beloved cousins Elle Lee and Luke, who drove over five hours with Aunt Tish and Uncle Jeff from Billings. Daria and Anna made this great cake to Heath's specs! (ELK, OWL, BLUE, YELLOW.)
We had Joan Melcher over for a martini, the author of Montana Watering Holes: The Big Sky's Best Bars, a beautifully written book that is part anthropology and part travel guide. I emailed her about a research project I'm doing on cocktail consumption in the Old West and she brought over some books on saloon history. It's fun making new friends knowing we'll be staying put. The neighbors have been so friendly and we were invited to a hilarious potluck our first week here.
Hope everyone is doing well at the tail end of winter! I can't wait to find out what flowers we have lurking under the snow.