Hot Date

So, tonight was Trunk or Treat at church (more on that later). Becca and I dressed as dogs.

Afterwards, I took my husband on a really hot date to Kroger while Grandma put Becca to bed. We're standing in the baking goods aisle (after walking halfway through the store), and John bursts out laughing (which, frankly, doesn't happen all that much), and says, "You still have a tail on."

Oops. I had removed the rest of my costume (including the painted on whiskers) but left the tail. Which hooks on my belt. Which meant I had to either continue wearing the tail or take my belt off in front of the brownie mixes in order to remove the tail. I'm in a quandary. I'm paralyzed. Someone walks into the aisle, and I feel compelled to say, "I've just been informed that I'm still wearing a tail." That elicited an interesting look.

I opted to remove the belt and take the tail off. I think that may be the first and last time that I undressed in Kroger. But then again, I would be all that surprised if it came up again.

Wednesday Weigh-In

Two weeks ago: 8.50 kg (18 pounds, 12 ounces), 30.5 inches

(We were out of town last week.)

This week: 8.55 kg (18 pounds, 14 ounces), 31 inches

Two weeks' change: +50 grams/2 ounces, +0.5 inch

Net change: +850 grams/30 ounces, +2 inches

Still not good in the weight department. Since the beginning of October, Becca hasn't gained any weight. (Two weeks ago she dropped weight, so this week's increase just bumps her back up.) She has, however gotten taller - 1.5 inches in 3 weeks, if you believe the measurements. (She's definitely taller, but I'm not sure I buy a 1/2 an inch a week...but who knows.) I'm grateful for the height increase, since we can't really make that up later like we can weight, but we really do need to see some more weight on her. Even when I am generous and use her adjusted age AND round her weight up, here's what the CDC BMI calculator tells me:

BMI Calculator for Child and Teen Calculate again:English | Metric Information Entered Age: 2 years 1 month Sex: Girl Birth Date: September 14, 2008 Height: 2 feet 7 inch(es) Date of Measurement: October 20, 2010 Weight: 19 pounds Results Based on the height and weight entered, the BMI is 13.9 , placing the BMI-for-age at the 1st percentile for girls aged 2 years 1 month. This child is underweight and should be seen by a healthcare provider for further assessment to determine possible causes of underweight. What does this mean? What should you do? underweight, less than the 5th percentile healthy weight, 5th percentile up to the 85th percentile overweight, 85th to less than the 95th percentile obese, equal to or greater than the 95th percentile

(After LOTS of conversations with her doctors and nutritionists, we have all finally agreed that the BMI is the best measurement to evaluate instead of those silly weight-for-length charts that don't make any sense for her case.)

So, what do we do? Well, first off, we've got a prescription for a super-duper juice called Enlive. It's got some added protein and nutrients, but probably most importantly, it's got 250 calories per 8 ounce serving (unlike the usual 120-ish calories in regular juice). We are trying to get her to drink one juice box a day. This week's she's finished off one about every 1.5 days, so we're getting there. Becca loves juice, so I think this will be a really good way to supplement her oral feedings. We are also bolusing her 1-2 ounces of formula during the day if she doesn't eat at a meal. (Bolusing means that I give her a large amount in her button all at once instead of letting the pump give it to her over an extended period of time.) I'm still getting the hang of this, and she doesn't like it, which makes it difficult and messy. I have some hesitation with this technique because I want her to learn to satisfy her hunger by eating orally, but in the meantime, the kid's got to get some nutrition in her. We can't just bump up the volume on her night feeds because she tends to throw up in the morning when she's too full, and that really defeats the purpose!

She's not eating great (usually not even good), but I think the biggest issue is that she is burning so darn much energy! Really, I think she is busy even for a 2-year-old (and I've dealt with more than my share of 2-year-olds over the years), even though she can sit still and read books for 20 minutes or so. She is e.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e and usually dancing, which means that she is stomping, spinning in a circle, waving her arms and squealing ALL AT THE SAME TIME. Hilarious. I'll try to get video for you. So, many of the calories that do make their way into her little body are expended through being a two-year-old...but that's what they are for, after all! And I'm not about to try to slow this kid down!

(On the positive side, though, I seem to be 10 pounds below my pre-Becca weight...not sure how that happened, but I'll take it!)

Cutest "Puntin" in the Patch!

Becca looooooooves pumpkins this year. Only she calls them "puntins." Which is pretty adorable. Here she is in the racecar shopping cart with the pumpkin she picked out at Kroger the other day. I still have plans to take her to a pumpkin patch to revel in the multitude of puntins, but when she walked right over to this pumpkin, hugged it, and tried to pick it up, I decided that it needed to go home with us. A pumpkin in a car....best grocery shopping trip ever. It was a pleasure, even though it was still no Publix!

No News Is...

not good news. I've been MIA lately, mostly because I was holding my breath for two weeks straight, but also because we've been travelling (more on that later in the week). But now that I can breathe again, I can tell you that I am definitively NOT pregnant. Bummer. I won't get into how I feel about all of that right now, since I've got to pick up Becca in a few minutes, but the plan now is to start another round of Clomid today and go from there. Since we were out of town, I haven't talked to the doc yet about specifics for this month, but generally we'll be following last month's plan again. I'm not excited about another month of pills and waiting, but SuperDad is eager to keep trying, so I'll go with it. He is such a Super Dad, after all.

So, no news isn't really bad news (we're all doing fine and life is clicking along), but it's not good news. Boo.

And so begins month 14 of attempting procreation.

Weekly Weigh-In

And the surprisingly good week is followed by a surprisingly bad week...the preemie march continues with two steps forward, one step back...but that still moves us forward, right? I didn't expect her to gain much since she had surgery this week, but I thought she would gain a bit or break even. Oh well.

Last week: 8.55 kg (18 pounds, 14 ounces), 29.5 inches

This week: 8.50 kg (18 pounds, 12 ounces), 30.5 inches

Week's change: -50 grams/2 ounces, +1 inch

Net change: +800 grams/28 ounces, +1.5 inches

In other news, I'll confess that I am officially avoiding blogging. This is the wait-to-test week, which is always by far the hardest week for me in the trying to conceive cycle. This week I've been so anxious that at times I've hardly been able to function. Let's just say that I haven't been the world's greatest homemaker this week (but when am I...though I did hem a pair of John's pants! I am amazing!). I tend to use sleep as an escape, so between that inclination and the elevated progesterone levels post-ovulation (hey, did I tell you that I did actually ovulate this cycle? Wohoo!), I've been taking lots of naps...and trying not to think of the "early pregnancy symptoms" that in actuality are exactly the same as symptoms of an impending period. Both John and I are hopeful but terrified of getting our hopes up. I've also had some job-related stress lately ("Job-related?" you say? Yes...as in...I'm looking for a job.), so my mind has been all kinds of twisty and turn-y this week. It's odd...as much as hope is a good thing, not knowing (both in a job search and in trying to conceive) is much harder for me than a flat-out no.

Considering everything that I just said, please forgive the grammatically incorrect ways in which I said it. I could use some grace today...and a hefty dose of patience!

Weekly Weigh-In

Our normal stats post got lost in the surgery shuffle, so here it is, on Friday. I didn't even bother calling it Wednesday this time.

Last week: 8.45 kg (18 pounds, 10 ounces), 29.5 inches

This week: 8.55 kg (18 pounds, 14 ounces), 29.5 inches

Week's change: +100 grams/4 ounces, -/+0 inches

Net change: +850 grams/30 ounces, +0.5 inches

It was a surprisingly good week! I really didn't think Becca had been eating very well last week since she was so snotty, but I guess she didn't throw up quite as much, either. Anyhow, it's a nice surprise!

In the NICU one of our neonatology fellows used to refer to Becca as "our little rock star," which I always loved. Apparently Becca was listening, too, because here's what she wore to school this week:

Such a hip little 2-year-old!