Turning the Corner

Well, I know we promised to update everyone on a more regular basis, but here we are weeks after the last blog post. Our lives have been extremely hectic since we brought Viv home, but it seems like things are calming down a bit. Hopefully that will allow us more time to focus on the blog.

Viv is now 3 months old and is finally starting to have more good days than bad. She cries and fusses less and is generally a happy baby.

Obviously we are thrilled about this development. It has been an exhausting month for all three of us, but it truly seems like the worst is over. Viv is very content in her new environment and is changing everyday. She loves giving us big toothless grins and lets out adorable coos. She has discovered her hands and has starting gripping things. She even holds her pacifier in her mouth and like to put her hands on the bottle during feeds.

We had a check-up at CHOP two weeks ago, and everyone is very pleased with her progress. Her growth is good - she's up to 10 pounds 11 ounces and 23 inches long as of yesterday - and she continues to improve with her feeds, though she is still largely reliant on the tube. The doctors have been fiddling with her medication to help improve her reflux, and it seems like those adjustments coupled with age are helping. Her bottle feeding skills have improved and she's doubled her intake over the past few weeks. She now takes about an ounce at a time, meaning 1/3 of her intake is coming from the bottle. Her ability will continue to improve as she grows. The doctors at CHOP said that generally half of the CDH tube-fed babies are off the tube by six months and the rest are usually off by 12 months (a few need the tube longer than that, but we're hopeful that won't be the case in our situation).

One final bit of news has to do with Viv's care. We have hired an au pair through an agency. Her name is Kayla and she is from South Africa. Kayla will live with us and take care of Viv while we are at work for the next year. She arrives in July, and we're looking forward to introducing her to life in the United States.

We also want to say thank you to everyone who has called, texted, emailed, and sent gifts (we're working on thank you notes!). As always your support means so much to us, and we are very grateful.