small aspirations

i wish this post was about small goals and ambitions. . . which is the first definition for the word aspirations in the dictionary. unfortunately, i have to write about the second definition. the act of inhaling swallowed liquids into the lungs. because that is what our sweet little miracle boy has been up to for the past few months. all of his coughing/choking/sputtering while drinking from his sippy cup is due to the fact that he's aspirating every time he takes a sip. the only time he doesn't cough or choke is when he drinks from his bottle. we have been putting milk in his sippy cup at every meal, and that has helped a lot (b/c milk is a bit thicker than water). but not completely. apparently (according to the Swallow Study people at CHOP) he is a 'Silent Aspirator'. . . which means that even when he appears to be swallowing liquids without difficulty, he is still aspirating. just not enough to cause him to cough or choke. poor little guy! they speculate that this has most likely been the cause of his respiratory infections this winter (tho i'm not convinced of that, having had a big brother in preschool).
With the onslaught of information, we forgot to ask some questions of the specialists that now seem obvious.
1. Is this common in preemies?
2. What causes this?
3. Will he grow out of it for sure? (I did ask if he'd grow out of it or if he'd need to be seen on a regular basis, and apparently i lumped those two together, and i only got one answer: yes they can see him again in a few months to see if there's been an improvement). hmmmmm.
4. Is this also the major cause of his hoarseness and/or speech delay?

I am putting a call into Dr. Bernbaum asap to consult with her. I'm just frustrated that we didn't have more time to talk with the Swallow Study people while we were there. they seemed to be in a hurry to get us out the door. Still, we are so thankful to have such fabulous expertise at our fingertips, at one of the best children's hospitals in the world. We're glad to be the people who have to go buy thickeners at the pharmacy, and mix yogurt with our kid's milk, when so many parents we saw in the waiting room were there to get their children's feeding tubes changed or replaced, and probably a dozen other things we are grateful to be spared from tonight.
Every trip to CHOP is a trip full of gratefulness!!

And on a side note, our sweet little angel did great! I kept him up all morning, so he'd sleep in the car (almost all the way to philly)! He was not allowed to eat or drink for 4 hours prior to the Barium Swallow, and he did great with that too! Then he slept ALL the way home-- which was a long ride, with traffic. I am so thankful for his sweet demeanor, his daddy's temperment.
So hopefully these small aspirations will eventually diminish and we'll be on our way to happier drinking :). For now we thank God for the many blessings He's given us in this day~