Swallow Study

Today we had a fun day at the Children's Hospital. When we say fun, we of course use that word quite loosely. Zoe was having a swallow study to see what could be causing the poor sucking, disinterest, and dislike of the bottle. I will have to say as a parent, the setting of said test is not really baby friendly and would turn me off on the bottle or even avoid participating, so I can only sympathize with Zoe.

Zoe was placed in a tilted chair as I stood in front and tried to give her the bottle with barium. The x-ray technician would then video x-ray the the suck, swallow and other important muscle movement. Zoe decided that at that point she would demonstrate her lack of interest, even though it had been 5 hours since her last bottle and she had only 1 ounce at that time. We decided to try spoon feeding her the barium mixed with pears. We did a little better, though I fear the barium really doesn't make the experience a pleasant one as it should be. Finally, we gave Zoe some barium in a small cup and had her sip from it. This again, great but not really the main point of the test.

So what was gleaned from this seemingly unsuccessful test? Zoe's muscles and reflexes work and their is no danger for aspiration or penetration. (Food going where it does not belong). Zoe most likely still has a weak suck and poor coordination, though afterwards she ate in my arms with some gusto that impressed the doctors low expectations based on the previous events. And Zoe has to work harder at eating than the average child.

So the next steps for the Casmer family in light of this news, we continue to pray that Zoe will finally be interested in eating especially from the bottle so she doesn't have difficulty later on with development mentally and physically. We will also give Zoe things to stimulate her mouth. Though her fingers continue to be a favorite, we will introduce cereal and fruit to her and hope that will be what helps her gain the weight and back to her chubby self. Till then we keep taking it one meal and prayer at a time.

Thank you for the continued spiritual support and continued prayers for Zoe.