diff --git a/src/lib/dom-api-shady.html b/src/lib/dom-api-shady.html
index a729c16117..461566cd7f 100644
--- a/src/lib/dom-api-shady.html
+++ b/src/lib/dom-api-shady.html
@@ -502,61 +502,28 @@
 
     firstElementChild: {
       get: function() {
-        if (this.node.__firstChild) {
-          var n = this.node.__firstChild;
-          while (n && n.nodeType !== Node.ELEMENT_NODE) {
-            n = n.__nextSibling;
-          }
-          return n;
-        } else {
-          return this.node.firstElementChild;
-        }
-        
+        return TreeApi.Logical.getFirstElementChild(this.node);
       },
       configurable: true
     },
 
     lastElementChild: {
       get: function() {
-        if (this.node.__lastChild) {
-          var n = this.node.__lastChild;
-          while (n && n.nodeType !== Node.ELEMENT_NODE) {
-            n = n.__previousSibling;
-          }
-          return n;
-        } else {
-          return this.node.lastElementChild;
-        }
+        return TreeApi.Logical.getLastElementChild(this.node);
       },
       configurable: true
     },
 
     nextElementSibling: {
       get: function() {
-        if (this.node.__nextSibling) {
-          var n = this.node.__nextSibling;
-          while (n && n.nodeType !== Node.ELEMENT_NODE) {
-            n = n.__nextSibling;
-          }
-          return n;
-        } else {
-          return this.node.nextElementSibling;
-        }
+        return TreeApi.Logical.getNextElementSibling(this.node);
       },
       configurable: true
     },
 
     previousElementSibling: {
       get: function() {
-        if (this.node.__previousSibling) {
-          var n = this.node.__previousSibling;
-          while (n && n.nodeType !== Node.ELEMENT_NODE) {
-            n = n.__previousSibling;
-          }
-          return n;
-        } else {
-          return this.node.previousElementSibling;
-        }
+        return TreeApi.Logical.getPreviousElementSibling(this.node);
       },
       configurable: true
     },
diff --git a/src/lib/dom-tree-api.html b/src/lib/dom-tree-api.html
index eaf81474bb..a1889cab79 100644
--- a/src/lib/dom-tree-api.html
+++ b/src/lib/dom-tree-api.html
@@ -104,6 +104,54 @@
       return node.__previousSibling || TreeApi.Composed.getPreviousSibling(node);
     },
 
+    getFirstElementChild: function(node) {
+      if (node.__firstChild) {
+        var n = node.__firstChild;
+        while (n && n.nodeType !== Node.ELEMENT_NODE) {
+          n = n.__nextSibling;
+        }
+        return n;
+      } else {
+        return TreeApi.Composed.getFirstElementChild(node);
+      }
+    },
+
+    getLastElementChild: function(node) {
+      if (node.__lastChild) {
+        var n = node.__lastChild;
+        while (n && n.nodeType !== Node.ELEMENT_NODE) {
+          n = n.__previousSibling;
+        }
+        return n;
+      } else {
+        return TreeApi.Composed.getLastElementChild(node);
+      }
+    },
+
+    getNextElementSibling: function(node) {
+      if (node.__nextSibling) {
+        var n = node.__nextSibling;
+        while (n && n.nodeType !== Node.ELEMENT_NODE) {
+          n = n.__nextSibling;
+        }
+        return n;
+      } else {
+        return TreeApi.Composed.getNextElementSibling(node);
+      }
+    },
+
+    getPreviousElementSibling: function(node) {
+      if (node.__previousSibling) {
+        var n = node.__previousSibling;
+        while (n && n.nodeType !== Node.ELEMENT_NODE) {
+          n = n.__previousSibling;
+        }
+        return n;
+      } else {
+        return TreeApi.Composed.getPreviousElementSibling(node);
+      }
+    },
+
     // Capture the list of light children. It's important to do this before we
     // start transforming the DOM into "rendered" state.
     // Children may be added to this list dynamically. It will be treated as the
@@ -222,6 +270,22 @@
       return node.previousSibling;
     },
 
+    getFirstElementChild: function(node) {
+      return node.firstElementChild;
+    },
+
+    getLastElementChild: function(node) {
+      return node.lastElementChild;
+    },
+
+    getNextElementSibling: function(node) {
+      return node.nextElementSibling;
+    },
+
+    getPreviousElementSibling: function(node) {
+      return node.previousElementSibling;
+    },
+
     // composed tracking needs to reset composed children here in case
     // they may have already been set (this shouldn't happen but can 
     // if dependency ordering is incorrect and as a result upgrade order 
diff --git a/src/lib/experimental/patch-dom.html b/src/lib/experimental/patch-dom.html
index e1005d5436..571983e67c 100644
--- a/src/lib/experimental/patch-dom.html
+++ b/src/lib/experimental/patch-dom.html
@@ -27,6 +27,8 @@
     return;
   }
 
+  count = 0;
+
   var baseFinishDistribute = Polymer.Base._finishDistribute;
   var TreeApi = Polymer.TreeApi;
   var DomApi = Polymer.DomApi;
@@ -116,6 +118,8 @@
 
   var log = false;
 
+  var count = 0;
+
   var patchImpl = {
     
     hasPrototypeDescriptors: Boolean(Object.getOwnPropertyDescriptor(
@@ -338,6 +342,68 @@
       }
     },
 
+    getFirstElementChild: function(node) {
+      if (node.__patched) {
+        var c$ = this.getChildNodes(node);
+        for (var i=0, n; i < c$.length; i++) {
+          n = c$[i];
+          if (n.nodeType === Node.ELEMENT_NODE) {
+            return n;
+          }
+        }
+      } else {
+        return node.firstElementChild;
+      }
+    },
+
+    getLastElementChild: function(node) {
+      if (node.__patched) {
+        var c$ = this.getChildNodes(node);
+        for (var i=c$.length, n; i >=0 ; i--) {
+          n = c$[i];
+          if (n.nodeType === Node.ELEMENT_NODE) {
+            return n;
+          }
+        }
+      } else {
+        return node.lastElementChild;
+      }
+    },
+
+    getNextElementSibling: function(node) {
+      if (node.__patched) {
+        var c$ = this.getChildNodes(node);
+        var i = c$.indexOf(node);
+        if (i >= 0) {
+          for (var n; i < c$.length; i++) {
+            n = c$[i];
+            if (n.nodeType === Node.ELEMENT_NODE) {
+              return n;
+            }
+          }
+        }
+      } else {
+        return node.nextElementSibling;
+      }
+    },
+
+    getPreviousElementSibling: function(node) {
+      if (node.__patched) {
+        var c$ = this.getChildNodes(node);
+        var i = c$.indexOf(node);
+        if (i >= 0) {
+          for (var n; i >=0 ; i--) {
+            n = c$[i];
+            if (n.nodeType === Node.ELEMENT_NODE) {
+              return n;
+            }
+          }
+        }
+      } else {
+        return node.previousElementSibling;
+      }
+    },
+
     // composed tracking needs to reset composed children here in case
     // they may have already been set (this shouldn't happen but can 
     // if dependency ordering is incorrect and as a result upgrade order