This little boy is troublesome. He is in a very oral phase right now. Think 4 month old with teeth. LOTS of teeth. Sharp teeth. He got 4 new teeth in the PICU. I always say, If you are going to get 4 teeth all at the same time, you might as well be on morphine.
He is chewing on EVERYTHING, including his dad's and my shoulders, as well as therapist's fingers if they are not diligent enough. Yesterday he was completely useless in therapy because he was chewing on every toy, o...r shirt, or finger in reach. We finally had the brilliant idea to give him a piece of Graham cracker during OT which he LOVED. (My idea, actually) He could grasp it, bring it to mouth, take a bite and bring it down while he chewed. It was awesome.
He is chewing on EVERYTHING, including his dad's and my shoulders, as well as therapist's fingers if they are not diligent enough. Yesterday he was completely useless in therapy because he was chewing on every toy, o...r shirt, or finger in reach. We finally had the brilliant idea to give him a piece of Graham cracker during OT which he LOVED. (My idea, actually) He could grasp it, bring it to mouth, take a bite and bring it down while he chewed. It was awesome.
This morning he bit my shoulder so hard he left teeth marks through two layers of shirts- hence being troublesome. During PT today his shirt was soaked because he kept chewing on it. He was so one-track minded chewing on a sock that protects his PICC line that I finally switched it to his right arm so he would engage his right side, which worked until he realized he could not pull it with his teeth to his favorite left side. He started chewing on his PICC line dressing instead until... He got a really sad face. Then started crying. Hard. With big crocodile tears. It was sad... but a little funny. All right a lot funny. Poor kid. But sometimes you have to laugh or cry. And sometimes it's good to get a taste of your own medicine.
And on the bright side his hand/mouth coordination is improving by leaps and bounds! And bites ...
And on the bright side his hand/mouth coordination is improving by leaps and bounds! And bites ...
Blackburn Kim, Mike Anderson, Nicole McKinnon Swenson and 76 others like this.
ReplyDeleteRobyn Thomas Swenson Love the way you described everything! So glad to hear he is doing well!
Abby Schulz Stephens I don't know if this would be useful, obviously talk to your OT, but we have necklaces that have a pendant on them that is made for chewers. Amazon has a bunch. Two good brands are Jellystone (that's what we have) and Chewigem. It saves my boys shirts, fingers, toys, books, and various parts of my body.
Kelley Drury Birrell I love this post, Ash! Give that sweet boy a big hug from Auntie Kelley.
Ashley Drury Swenson Abby I read about those somewhere. I will totally look into that if he continues, but he is flying through phases and milestones. We will see how long this one lasts.
Mel Mealey I love your stories:) keep them coming!! Way to go parker!!
Darrell Swenson We love you Parker, from your sisters and brother.
Jennifer Swenson Butikofer That is so funny! Love that kid!
Cyndi Ross Hedden So great to get updates and know how to direct our prayers!
Silvia Corrales French Your intervention with the Graham cracker was so clever, as mothers we are continuously developing our critical thinking skills, I'm so happy having updates about his progress.