Update on Rory

K, I'm the suckiest blogger lately....but I have good reason. Rory has been keeping me very busy. She is so active!

The last month has been very productive. Rory's eating has improved drastically. We've put her on cold bottles, self-fed only, "cold turkey" and while I had apprehension about doing this, it has actually increased her appetite, because she's only drinking about 22 to 24 oz a day, instead of 26 to 30 oz.

While she is eating very nicely, with few refusals and lots of self-feeding, the quantity she consumes is still not there. However, we hope that it will come with time. Things Rory has eaten in the last month:

Cheerios, Cheese, Soup puree, homemade fruit sherbet, cottage cheese, yogurt, bread & butter, scrambled/fried eggs, blueberries, corn, kidney beans (once), stage 2 baby food, hot dogs chopped and mixed with ketchup, any deli meat, cereal, banana, spaghetti, potatoes and cream cheese, arrowroot cookies, cheezies. She is accepting meat and veggies separately but still not swallowing them. This variety though, has allowed me to offer something different at each meal and snack throughout the day. I just can't believe how far she's come. She still will only eat about an oz of food at a sitting, sometimes less, but because I'm offering food at 2 hour intervals, she gets a lot over the course of the day!!!! The biggest accomplishment is that she's not whining and swatting (at least on good days she's not, we still have bad days).

Her sleeping is still hit or miss. I can't put my finger on the reason. It appears to be tummy pain, but it's not every night and she's fine during the day. It could be a particular food, I suppose, but I'd never figure it out, because I'm not cutting anything out now that she's actually eating.

The only down side to all of this is that I'm afraid she's losing weight, or at least not gaining. She appears very very ribby to me. She'll be 17 months on Sunday, and I'm guessing she's still not 18 1/2 lbs. I'm going to take her to be weighed on Monday, hopefully just to ease my mind. I'm sure it will take a while for her to catch up, weight-wise. I'd LOVE to see her hit 20lbs before she starts daycare, because then the onus is on them to get her to eat, and I'm still not sure how that will go.

I see a lot of children through my support groups online, both with and without medical conditions as well as reflux. Rory is VERY small. I know it's partly genetic, but I still can't help but feel like I should be doing *something* to fatten her up a bit. Whether she needs a higher calorie formula or some kind of supplement, I'm not sure. Her weight on Monday will determine whether I call her pediatrician to discuss this concern.

I can't even imagine at this point when she will come off the bottle. She just doesn't drink from a cup with the exception of a few sips of water over the course of the day. I offer juice and formula in it, but she just spits it out and avoids the cup entirely. I cannot even fathom trying to put her on a cup the cold turkey way....she just wouldn't survive it.

Anyway, I'm trying not to be concerned....after all, she has come very very far. But she still refluxes throughout the day, and she has started holding her breath after she eats, almost like she's grunting or in discomfort. It's weird. I also have to mention this to the ped. Obviously, the acid isn't an issue according to the scope, but the fact that she regurgitates constantly must be uncomfortable!