He didn't eat.
Instead, he went through her meal with her, just like her sessions all week long. He organized her food into bowls, cut things into bite sized pieces, layed it all out in this precise manner. He lovingly managed her, watched her chew, reminded her and encouraged her along the way. He documented every morsel she ate and every drop she drank.
I watched.
It looked nothing like what it did before they left. I am not sad about that. I am so delighted to see how she is learning to use her mouth and how David is learning to work with her.
When she was done, he grabbed a plate of food. It felt a bit like having a newborn. Mom never gets a warm plate of food with a newborn, except this time it's daddy. And he's not complaining one bit. I don't know if I will ever be able to thank him enough for what he is doing for her now.
Emily and I thought it might be cool for all of you to see how she "warms up her mouth" before every single meal. She is working on building her jaw strength, since it has never really had to do much. She has to get her jaw muscles strong and trained to chew so she can safely move food well in her mouth. It is so much more complicated than most people realize. Here is where we start.