Wednesday Weigh-In + Some Food Talk

I'm an optimistic person (kind of), so I'm going to keep calling these posts "Wednesday..." in hopes that I do actually post some Wednesday. I've got 2 weeks for you, since we left town right after weighing in last week and returned late Tuesday, just in time to catch a good night's sleep before heading back to the doctor for this week's check. John and I went to Chicago for the (amazingly beautiful and fun) wedding of a college friend and stayed an extra couple of nights to celebrate our 5th anniversary (more on that later, I say optimistically!). Added bonus? Becca made it through the entire weekend at Nana Camp (which is marvelously fun for everyone involved - Nana, GG, Becca, and John and me!) without having to go to the emergency room! Nobody even had to call the doctor! Let's hope this week broke the ER streak for good.

But, without further ado, here are the latest stats:

Two weeks ago: 8.05 kg (17 pounds, 11 ounces), 29 inches

Last week: 8.0 kg (17 pounds, 9 ounces), 29 inches(ish)

Week's change: -50 grams/2 ounces, + 0 inches
Net change: +300 grams/10 ounces, + 0.5 inches

Last week: 8.0 kg (17 pounds, 9 ounces), 29 inches(ish)

This week: 8.05 kg (17 pounds, 11 ounces), 28.5 inches (see what I mean about height measurements?)

Week's change: +50 grams/2 ounces), -0.5 inches (riiight)

Net change: +350 grams/12 ounces, -/+0 inches (but I promise you she's taller!)

So we had a week of weight loss, but made it back up this past week. She's still gained so much that at her 4-week surgery follow-up, they had to put a bigger Mic-key button in! She's graduated from a 1.2 cm tube (the length of the actual tube part that goes into her tummy) to a 1.7 cm tube. The new pudge on her tummy was making the old tube too tight and irritating her skin, so the new one gives her a little more (literal) breathing room. The step up is a great sign! The surgeon also signed off on my replacing the button at home if it pops out again, and she's cleared to swim in lakes again, so goodbye ER, hello Grandma and Grandaddy and the boat!

However, we have been having trouble with her keeping all her milk down in the mornings, so I've been playing with her volume. She was getting 400 mL's a night over 10 hours, but she was vomiting close to 2 out of 3 mornings, so I backed down to 350 mL's at the end of last week. No vomiting. Which is nice, and really, when she vomits, she loses way more than the extra 50 mL's she was getting. But with the weight gain lagging, I'm probably going to try to slowly bump her up some more and stop when we hit vomit. 'Cause that's no fun for anyone. We saw the nutritionist last week before our trip, and she insisted on keeping her at the 400 mL's, but, well, she's not the one who has to clean up all the puke! And since Becca had been on the high end of her weight gain goals (50-80 grams a week), I thought it would be okay to dial it back a little. We'll see how this next week goes, when we're not travelling, and then John and I will decide how much we want to push it.

And, yes, I said John and I will decide. We've entered the realm of parent-directed care, which is sometimes a little odd for us. So much of Becca's medical care -- and her basic daily care, such as feeding, exercises, etc -- is prescribed that every now and then I have to remind myself that we're not in the hospital anymore. Yes, the doctors prescribe the formula and the use of the pump, but I'm Becca's mom, and with SuperDad at my side, we are the ones who actually need to be making such decisions. Of course I take the nutritionists' and the doctors' advice into account, but I'm finally learning that when it comes to feeding Becca, there's so much nuance that only daily experience and intuition can really interpret. For example, Becca eats some crazy foods that you may think we would set aside in hopes of establishing the basics. She still won't go anywhere near mac and cheese, but she'll stuff herself silly with olives and feta cheese. And she eats the olives best if they are whole. So I give my two-year-old whole olives and the big chunks of feta cheese (and save the smaller crumbles for myself!).

She's also really taken to Starbursts lately. Every book on childcare would tell you not to give a toddler a Starburst, but if my eating-disorded kid is going to use advanced fine motor skills to open a ziploc bag (I tend to keep a few candies in a bag to take in case I need a little jolt of sugar), take out a Starburst, unwrap it, and then put it in her mouth -- and totally enjoy it -- I'm going to let her do it. Of course I'm going to keep a super-close eye on her while she eats it and not let her wander around with it in her mouth, but if she's enjoying food, I'm not going to stop her. Call DFACS if you want. But now that she's got the tube, I'm really working on enjoying food with her, since the formula meets so many of her nutritional needs. (Okay, you all know I already enjoy food a little too much, but I'm working on helping her enjoy food.) I'm also trying to establish healthy eating patterns, though, so I try to save the Starbursts and the M&M's until after we have at least attempted some real food. And, yes, olives and feta cheese are real food. Oh, and she likes tomatoes, too, and they are called, like everything else round and red, "appas." A-dorable.

I wish I could present you with a picture of a sticky, Starburst-y child, but, alas, I do not have photographic evidence of my neglectful parenting. Perhaps it's for the best. :) I do, however, have further evidence of Becca's adorableness. Here's my little peace baby...and her riDONKculous pink cowgirl boots!

p.s. I have a favor to ask - one of my dear friends is having quite a bit of trouble with her pregnancy. She's just started her second trimester, and it looks like it will be a tough road from here on out, which will hopefully be a good, long time. I'm sure she and her family would appreciate your prayers a great deal! For the sake of her privacy, let's call her...Sally. Sweet, sweet Sally and her itty bitty baby boy. Thanks!