Debate Case for Kymee

Resolved: That Kymberlee Rose Piñero will be prepared to drink healthy clear liquid from a cup before surgery in April

Inherency

(For you non-debaters in my world, this means the facts in the status quo, or what's happening now)

1. Kymee was unprepared to drink clear liquid after the first surgery
2. The nurses fed Kymee Gatorade
3. Gatorade is not the healthiest liquid for infants
4. Research proves Coconut water is the best clear liquid

http://hubpages.com/hub/Coconut-Water-A-Natural-Energy-Drink (All my debate friends must forgive my lack of proper sourcing)

• It contains lauric acid which is also present in breast milk and is known to boost metabolism.
• It has the same amount of electrolytes as human blood. In fact it is a universal donor, identical to human plasma.
• It contains more potassium than most energy and sports drinks.
• Coconut water is much more nutritious than fresh milk.
• It is also healthier than orange juice.

5. Kymee Likes Coconut water

A picture is worth a thousand pieces of random evidence

Plan

Mandate 1: Offer Kymee Coconut Water daily - first in a bottle, than the cup

Mandate 2: Train Kymee to use the cup

Notice the tongue. Kymee does not use the roof of her mouth and cheek muscles to suck because of her cleft palate. Instead, she moves her jaw up and down, and uses her tongue to press the bottle to extract liquid. She tries to do the same with her cup - stick her tongue out and push the side of the cup with it - no success.

A. Exercise Cheek Muscles

Not overly lightly, we must squeeze Kymees cheeks in - like an annoying grandma - squeezing the cheeks together and saying, "Who's a pretty baby?"

B. Exercise Tongue

Place finger on tongue - without having Kymee chomp down with her one shark tooth - and press lightly. The edges of the tongue should curl around your finger.

Agency & Enforcement: Mom, Dad, Sibling, Grandparents, and All Prayer Warriors

I as the Affirmative team reserve the right to clarify the affirmative case if any questions should arise.

Solvency

1. Kymee wiggles her bunny toes in anticipation of her coconut water

2. Kymee smiles in contentment when coconut water is "All gone!"

A vote for the Affirmative is a vote for Kymee's health and happiness.

Kymee's Cup

First day of in-home therapy

"Drinking from a cup."

A funny looking cup - A nose-less cup

(The little pink one looks like Kymee's)

The purpose of the cup is to allow a child to sit completely upright and not tilt their head when they drink. This way gravity works and the liquid drips down the throat. If Kymee tilts her head back to drink, as we do without thought, whatever she is drinking will creep into her roof cavity and come out her nose. Goal - down the throat, not out the nose.

First Try

Pictures Speak loader than words!

(Tip:Rubbing a baby's throat lightly encourages her to swallow)

Second Attempt

"I want my Mommy!"

"I did it - now give me my bottle."

Moral of the Story: Never send a therapist to do a Mommy's job

Learning to Eat

I didn't realize how many things go into eating. I learned today that one must suck, use muscles in the tongue and soft palate and throat, and one must coordinate all of these muscles while continuing to breath. I do these things naturally, Kymee does not.

With her cleft palate, she has not learned to

suck properly, she has a special bottle - the Haberman Feeder - which she moves her jaw and gums the nibble to express the formula. She chokes easily and often looses her breath while eating - which sends her into a screaming fit, making it impossible for her to continue eating. Sometimes, she acts like she wants the bottle, but then simply holds the liquid in her mouth and doesn't swallow. Eventually, the nasty smelling formula drizzles out her mouth and onto her chin and me - or it drips out her nose. Even when everything is going well, and she is gumming and swallowing, the formula often squirts out her nose (to her big brother's horror). But that's life when there is nothing but a hole between your mouth and your nostrils.

Cleft Palate Repa

ir surgery is set for April 13. The surgeon wants Kymee to be fat and healthy, and drinking solely from a cup - and not a sippy cup. So after Christmas we are to start solid foods - can't wait to see those peas coming out her nose. And we are to start her drinking clear liquids.

Some interesting things I learned:

1) Teaching a baby to eat is about texture, taste, and muscle control

2) I always thought cereal was just filler - with very limited nutritional value - it is - but it has a purpose. It is tasteless, so when mixed with formula or breast-milk, it takes on that flavor. So, a baby only has to get used to a new texture and not texture and taste at the same time.

Steps to achieving Goal:

1) We are to encourage Kymee to play with her food. Put her fingers in the food she'll eat & encourage her to lick and suck them. If a baby acquires the texture of food on her hands, she is more likely to accept it in her mouth. - How cool is that!

2) We should use various methods of getting food into Kymee's mouth. Her fingers, our fingers, different sizes and materials of spoons, spoon the food into the mouth not just in the middle - but from different angles, and dip a favorite

toy in the food and let her lick it off. ~ No need to worry about manners!

3) Kymee must sit upright, and not recline - so gravity can help with the work.

4) As far as cup training, we'll start with a straw. She won't suck it, but rather we are to gather the liquid into the straw, holding our finger over the end (just like I used to do when I was little - and get in trouble for) then drop it into the back of her mouth so she is forced to swallow.

Can't wait for the fun to begin - Who wants to come over for lunch?