Tube Weaning: Day 1

We had a pretty good start today.  Auggie had 616 ml of formula (a 12% reduction).  He has been on continuous feeds for the most part since that is what he tolerates best, so we let him go continuous today to keep him comfortable.  Feeding started at 5:30 PM yesterday and we turned his food off at 1:15 PM today.  At 3:30 his speech therapist came over and he seemed very interested in eating.  He took his honey bear in his mouth and had a few squirts of thickened veggie/fruit juice.  The liquids are thickened with Thick-It, a corn based product.  He also had a few tastes of juice from his avent bottle and his rice cereal drink - I boil 2 tablespoons of rice cereal with 4 oz. water and 1/4 teaspoon agave syrup until it's smooth and then let it cool.  He did not directly open his mouth to the peas we offered him but he also didn't turn away and he tolerated being swiped.  The big breakthrough today was when he picked up a tiny piece of rice cake and when he bit into it he looked so surprised but he proceeded to swallow it and did not even gag!!!  This was a major step for him.  Tomorrow I plan on reducing his feeds by another 12% so I plan on turning his food off at 10 AM.