Last Day of Eating Boot Camp: The Results Are In!

On my last day of eating boot camp, I had some more fun.

Preparing meals in the kitchen

Painting Bambi (I had help)

Pushing trains and cars around

And at the end of the day, I said good-bye to my wonderful OT, Peggy. Although it's not really the last time I'll see her, there'll be a few followups sessions to make sure my weight is on track. On my last day she and Karen gave me a new bunny. Before she gave it to me, I kept asking about it because I saw the ear peep out of the back of her folder. After she gave it to me, I did a happy dance. The great news is that if I can keep up my progress (and eat as much plus more of what I've been doing), I can get rid of the tube in a week, but of course, they will have to keep track of my weight to make sure I'm doing okay.

I'll leave you with one of my messy pictures. I love the roasted red pepper tomato soup (Mommy added some cream to make it more fatty) so much, that I learned to slurp all by myself. I actually had two bowls of it (well most of it that didn't land on me or the chair). By the way, I was actually sitting closer to the table, but Mommy pushed me back to show you guys how messy I can be. And this picture doesn't show my dirty overflowing bib that I wore before Mommy changed it. Thanks everyone for their prayers and emails of encouragement. I hope to see you guys tubeless soon!

Boot Camp Day 11: More Eating

On Day 11, I ate 3 bottles of Probug Smoothie. Probug is actually a kefir, not a yogurt. Kefir tastes like yogurt, but has much more probiotic bacterial strains than regular yogurt. Mommy just discovered it because she was trying to find a good deal on Probugs. If I start relying on Probugs on my nurtrition, it might start to get pretty expensive, especially since it's only sold at Whole Foods. Karen, my OT says Probugs is so healthy, it may be why I haven't been getting horrible constipation. That's what happens a lot during weaning.

Speaking of that, this may be TMI, but Mommy was excited to see that my poop was representative of my new diet that was not solely 'bear milk.' (Parents of tube fed kids are usually super excited about that.) The last time Mommy saw something different was when I ate a piece of corn with Grandma. :)

Bubbles at the Children's Playroom from Jujube on Vimeo.
I had a lot of fun playing with Playdoh and bubbles at the playroom during one of my breaks.

This my OT Karen. It was my last day with her. She and Peggy are excellent OTs. I like them a lot. I always ask about them when they leave the room.

My dinner. Tomorrow is my last day and I have a weigh-in in the morning. Hopefully I haven't lost too much weight.

Boot Camp Day 10: So Far So Good

On Day 10, my weight stayed the same since Monday. So it means 1) I didn't lose weight! and 2) My eating is on the right track! There has already been a 75% reduction in my tube feedings now and pretty soon Kim, my dietician may reduce even more since things are going so well.


I'm actually eating a good chunk of banana now. I like eating the peel just because Mommy said that we're not supposed to and I think it's funny.

Banana Chuck from Jujube on Vimeo.
Just a video of me eating a banana during snacktime. Probably not too exciting, but I found it amusing at the end.

Cheese Doodle Snow from Jujube on Vimeo.
A large part of feeding therapy is exploration of food through play, so kids can overcome aversions of eating. Sometimes during my appointments, my OTs let me play around with food (i.e. crumble a graham cracker into little bits or use a spoon to mix things around). But if it gets a little too far (like throwing food), then they say to stop doing it (not making a big deal of it), and move on to a new food or activity. My OTs have told Mommy that if a big deal is made, then they say the kid would do it again for attention ( this is so true). Sometimes I get creative with my play and as result, Mommy has a big cleanup time at the end.

I've been able to drink 2 bottles/day of Probugs (my whole milk yogurt smoothie shown in the pic) for 2 days now (that's 10 oz/day!). It doesn't really have bugs in it, just probiotics. Daddy discovered it at Whole Foods and it's a big hit with me because I like that it's called bug milk. Since I'm an animal lover, Mommy and Daddy try to entice me by associating milk with an animal (i.e. cow's milk and bear milk (Pediasure)).

After dinner, I played with my new dinosaur from Auntie Sharon. Mommy came by and I told her the dinosaur was eating dog food (that part not caught on video). Little did she know...

Scary Dinosaur from Jujube on Vimeo.

Eat the Camera from Jujube on Vimeo.

Boot Camp Day 9: Keeping the Course

I've been doing so well, Kim, my dietician decided to reduce my tube feedings to only 1 a day now (the rest supplemented with water). Karen, my OT today, saw my great progress, and was really excited too.

Mommy forgot to take pictures during my time at Children's since it was a busy day. I went to U-Village again and got my free bang trim (it's free bang trim or braids every Tuesday) at Kid's Club. I might get braids next time. :) Then we had lunch with Auntie Sharon. I ate up the samples of Lemon Velvet cake, and two different spreads: sun dried tomato and gargonzola onion.

This is my dinner today. I liked my roasted red pepper tomato soup so much that I patiently slurped it with a little baby spoon. Mommy gave me bigger soup spoon and I proceeded to eat with two spoons. I've been into the whole milk smoothie (the orange bottle in the corner). I almost drank the whole thing during dinner.

Here I am reading to my new friends. Auntie Sharon spoiled me with some toys that I liked playing at the toy store (the dinosaur and hamster). I got Hula Minnie Mouse from the security guard at Children's yesterday. I brought in a latex ballon that I got at storytime at Kids's Club, and the security guard confiscated it because no latex is allowed in the hospital (due to allergies). I started crying really loud and the nice security guard came back with a Hula Minnie. Crying has its rewards. :)

Boot Camp Day 8: Making Great Progress

On Day 8, I found out I lost 0.6 lbs. Some loss was expected. I got to impress Peggy, my wonderful OT, with my new eating skills. She said she was so happy she was close to to tears. According to Peggy, it was a "difference between night and day from last week." I was able to eat without any major complaints for 20 minutes by myself and I ate a good amount too.



Unfortunately for this week, Daddy wasn't able to join us, but to be there "in spirit," he did finish off a whole bottle of fatty cream chocolate milk (practically in one sitting) that we got during our fatty food grocery shopping trip. Mommy wasn't too happy because I didn't get to try that much AND Daddy doesn't need all those calories (that were meant for me). :P


Grandma came to help out. She was a big lifesaver because she was able to get me out of a meltdown (I was tired) by reading a bunny story and I ate a lot of food during it. Jeanette was there too! She was shadowing Peggy for the day. I had a lot of fun playing with her.

This was my dinner. I ate a decent amount of it.

Spicy! from Jujube on Vimeo.

When Daddy came home, he fed me a little bit of queso (spicy cheese dip). I used to say certain food were spicy (which were not spicy). Now I really know what spicy is.

Feeding Bootcamp Day 5-7: On Our Own

We were on our own on Friday since the OTs were both not in town that day. By Friday I was down to only 1.5 tube feeds a day (I usually get 4 a day), so more than half my usual calories was gone. Mommy noticed a big difference in my hunger. She kept trying to offer me whatever she thought I could take because she could sense I was hungry.

Of course, Daddy didn't miss his nap on Friday.

For my Friday dinner, I ate a pretty good (meaning more than usual) amount of spaghetti and drank some milk and ate some apples with caramel. I crunched through a lot of apples, but, unfortunately, not a lot of them ended up in my stomach.

On Saturday, I went to Auntie Grace and Uncle Jeffrey's house for Auntie April and Uncle David's Baby Shower.

Of course, I paid a visit to my favorite bunnies with Pastor Solomon's girls (I was too focused on Cookie and Foo Foo to turn to the camera).




I witnessed a blossoming friendship.


And discovered a really fun toy. All the meanwhile, Mommy was feeding me snacks at the party. I started to really like watermelon, after Mommy reminded me the story about the mouse who ate a watermelon. I seem to be encouraged by animals eating foods (I try any vegetable or fruit that bunnies eat and I ate yogurt before after watching Uncle David's video of Lucy eating it).


Congratulations Auntie April and Uncle David! Lucy and I will have a another friend to play with eventually.

During the car ride back, I finished off my yogurt smoothie. Daddy stopped by Trader Joe's to stock on some more fatty foods for me and while waiting for him, I drank some bear milk (or as everyone calls it, Pediasure).


On Sunday, I was snacking on church snacks. Here I am running around with Cheetos fangs. During lunch, I also snacked on a Taiwanese pork burger. Mommy thinks I like the pork fat, but I guess most people as Uncle James said, like pork fat. I also had shaved ice with a bunch of goodies on top. I said, "This is good!" so Mommy made a mental note to buy some condensed milk for me. After lunch, Mommy and Daddy went to Whole Foods to look for more fatty caloric foods for me.

All in all, our time away from Children's wasn't too bad, just more cleanup, laundry to wash (I went through 2-3 changes of clothes each day), and more foods to brainstorm and prepare. I did gain better eating skills and eat more in quantity. Mommy thinks I will surprise my therapists when I go back to Children's on Monday.Hopefully, I haven't lost too much weight, but we'll find that out too.

Boot Camp Day Four: Hunger Signs

On Day 4 I had the same halved tube diet as Day 3. Peggy, my OT, was trying to establish more a rhythm of me eating (i.e. eating more bites). I did eat a little more, but I was pretty tired and frustrated too. I showed that by throwing a container of yogurt across the room, splattering yogurt on Daddy and on the wall and floor. :(

Here are my wheels on the way to the playroom during my break.

Mommy noticed I have this strange behavior of putting fingers in my mouth. They didn't know if it was because I was hungry or because I was teething (more molars?).

Daddy got me in a checkmate, but I was too focused on my favorite piece, the black knight.


Mommy was thirsty so she bought a smoothie at Starbucks with hopes that I would drink some. And surprisingly, I did during my last meal at Children's for the day! More signs that my hunger is kicking in.

After my last meal at the hospital, I napped in the car while Daddy drove to Vasa Park for his company picnic.

I eventually woke up pretty groggy.

There were a lots of activities, but I think they were for older kids.

I played chess again and grabbed my favorite piece.

And I ran across the board to get another favorite piece.

After the chess game, I saw the beach across the way and dragged Mommy and Daddy over there.

The 'ocean,' as I called it, had ducks and a water slide.

I really wanted to splash in the water and I did a little.

I got my sandals wet and sand on my feet so Mommy washed my toes. I held them up to dry for a while.

My last meal of the day at home was bunny mac and cheese (with tons of butter and whole milk), milk, carrots with ranch dressing, and easy (spray) cheese. You might cringe at the easy cheese, but I actually ate a lot of it and it has a decent amount of calories. If anyone knows a more natural form of spray cheese with a similar texture, please tell my Mommy. In feeding therapy, we have to start somewhere, even if it is food that is not so healthy. I actually ate a really good amount at my last meal, more than Mommy has seen me eat before. My hunger is really kicking in!

Boot Camp Day Three: Half Off

This picture is still my last meal of Day 2. Mommy and Daddy had Ivar's 2 days in a row because they thought clam chowder was a hit. Unfortunately, I didn't want any on Day 3 and I'd rather play with my fries and make a sculpture in my cup.

On my third day, I hadn't lost any weight yet and I just skipped 1 tube meal 2 days so far.

After one of my meals, I went to the playroom again. I found some fun books to read, played in the kitchen, played chess ( or as I say, chest) and the piano.

This time I had more playtime than before.

Here I'm leaving the playroom and taking the train evelator back to my 3rd meal. Daddy had to keep an eye on me. I tried a few jumpships out of my wagon.

I was a bit tired for my third meal so Daddy tried to cheer me up by threatening to eat me like a little fish (I was reading a fish book).

Today I hadn't really eaten a lot even though my tube feeds were reduced in half. My therapists said that is okay because kiddos don't usually feel the effects until the next day. But as we were driving home from food shopping from Whole Foods for tomorrow's meals, I kept asking Mommy to eat her pizza, and I wanted to have the cupcakes they bought for tomorrow (which I'm eating in the picture :) ). Maybe this is a sign of things yet to come?

Boot Camp Day Two: A Couple More Bites

Here, I'm on my way to Children's reading the Entertainment book (and wearing my HK outfit from Auntie V & Uncle E). Ooh a coupon for Rainforest Cafe! Maybe Mommy and Daddy can take me when I can eat more.

Mommy thought I would get excited about this bunny at the PT/OT reception desk.

Mommy (all excited): Jujube, why don't you talk to the bunny? Talk to the bunny!

Jujube: Bunny doesn't talk, Mommy.
I think Mommy was more excited about it than me.

After my first meal, I went to Grandma and Grandpa's place to relax.

Daddy also did some relaxing. (This was nap #1 of 2 today) Multiple appointments at Children's can be exhausting, as Daddy has discovered!

I ate a bit more on my second day of boot camp. I had a different OT today named Karen. She has a nice soothing voice that Mommy liked and she's a great OT too!

Feeding Therapy Session from Jujube on Vimeo.
I like to feed Daddy during my meals. He's always ready and willing to eat. :)

Boot Camp Day One: Testing the Waters

My first day of boot camp was pretty fun for me. I ate a few bites and explored with some food. Skipping one meal didn't faze me too much.

After one of my meals, I went to the hospital playground. I had it all to myself!

There's much to explore here.

I ran all over.

Hanging on to my GFP bunny.

It was a little town with a gas station.

And a school bell.

There was a fix it shop and I loved playing with the tools. Maybe I inherited that from Grandpa.

I loved hammering the nails in on the side.

I tried working on a bike wheel too.

I'm not sure what this is, but it looks like a big teepee.

I also explored the indoor playroom which I need to go back again because Mommy and Daddy had a hard time peeling me away from it. Mommy realized it was not a good idea for me to run around so much. I was pretty pooped for my 2nd meal and I was not too cooperative.

Here I am getting ready for my third meal of the day. I ate a little bit more this time, but still not enough.

Wake Up Dad Again! from Jujube on Vimeo.
It was a pretty busy day for me. Mommy was hoping I would nap on the way back from Children's, but the only person that napped that day was Daddy. Mommy just stepped into the room and discovered this (and had to film it, of course :)) after preparing my final meal of the day.