The latest computer virus is called Storm Worm and comes in an email message with a subject line of “230 dead as storm batters Europe.” You’ve been warned.

As you may know, I participate in the message boards at the Infant Reflux Disease site. Since Jonah is transitioning to solids – I’m speaking it into existence, people – I’m reading about how other children with GERD/reflux have fared.  Here’s a quote from a recent post:

“Meal times must be with family for socialization and modeling purposes. In my feeding clinic, I offer 3-4 foods at most during a meal. If there is gagging, it is ignored. If there is vomiting, I throw a towel over it and we continue to eat. I do not blink an eye and that is what I teach my parents to do. My patients have their parents so conditioned to freak out, that they typically get their way. All they have to do is gag or vomit when a new food is introduced.”   Robynne Elkin, MOT, OTR/L, CKT

Tough love! We’ve tried from the very beginning to minimize our reaction to the gags/vomits, with varying degrees of success (when it’s the sixth time you’ve been drenched that day, sometimes it’s hard to suppress a few well-chosen words of frustration). I offer Jonah porridge from a spoon once a day and he’ll between a teaspoon and a couple of tablespoons. He gags frequently, but I keep shoving it in there anyway. It’s right before he gets a bottle, so there’s not a lot to bring up even though he tries.

Amy, from The Texture of Things, commented on my preemie clothes info the other day....she has a preemie daughter with food issues as well. You can read more about her experiences here.

One of my faithful readers has requested a Benja-Tale. Seems most of my posts the last few days have been about Jonah, little rascal that he is. Benjamin is doing headstands. On the tile floor. This is one reason why we still have a nagging concern about his brain capacity. He has also started shrieking like a stuck pig, sometimes when he’s frustrated and sometimes just for fun. Jonah doesn’t like it. Benjamin also had great fun playing with his friend Heidi last night (we won’t tell Bob what a flirt he was).

And finally, picture a diorama with a small pom-pom chick alone in a dollhouse-sized crib with the caption: “Abandoned once again in his padded bunker, Jonas plotted a swift and sweet revenge. ‘Sleep with one eye open, Mother.’” This is one of many hilarious vignettes in the book Bitter With Baggage by Sloane Tanen and Stefan Hagen. You can see excerpts here.