Taking advantage of those tax dollars...

Nia has her parents' temperament in that she is a laid back about doing things... she was (according to some pediatric professionals) late to sit up, to crawl and to walk. It seems that this relaxed attitude is also presenting itself with regards to language as Nia is still focusing on just a few tried and true words (mama, dada, and yeah being her faves). As a result, we have decided to seek the help of an early intervention specialist. As I type this, I am waiting for a call to set up Nia's first appointment. We have already had an assessment and were told Nia may benefit from such services that a speech pathologist can render.

The questions during the assessment were pretty expected, until we got to the subject of food. We were asked what Nia eats on a typical day, which made me shudder a bit... she is a toddler, after all and I do my best to get her to eat healthy meals. However, it seems she prefers the tastier things such as mac n cheese, chicken nuggets, grilled cheese, yogurt, and apple sauce. And while I try to make these standards healthier by incorporating pureed vegetables into them whenever possible, I never realized that the actual texture of the foods may be a culprit. It seems that Nia's preference for soft foods may be resulting in her not having fully developed her mouth muscles (for lack of the correct medically word) and thus is unable to make the sounds necessary to say actual words.

So, now, while I am doing what I can to make sure Nia eats healthy meals, I am also doing what I can to incorporate "crunchy and chewy" into her diet. Who knew? We're adding gummy vitamins, crunchy cereals, granola bars, and fruit chews to her diet. I welcome suggestions for other healthy "chewy and crunchy" foods as well.

While it may seem silly, I can't help but to harbor some feelings of guilt. As a first time mom, I was terrified of giving Nia anything she may choke on and thus may have held her back, it seems. I suppose the best thing I can do now is to get those mouth muscles moving and do what I can to help her navigate through this process (though I may be the one that needs more help).