Marcus Institute Feeding Program!

On Wednesday, we found out that the Marcus Institute and BCBS NC had finally worked out an agreement to allow Amelia to be admitted to the Marcus Institute day treatment feeding program in Atlanta. We’ve been working hard at Amelia’s feeding issues since the first day of our life and we have been at a point where we can’t do any more at home. Amelia hates to eat. She doesn’t like it. She refuses food. She gags and vomits constantly. Any source of unusual texture she vomits all over the place. It’s plain awful. For about a year now, we’ve been working with the Marcus Institute on an outpatient basis and made wonderful leaps. She is now on 100% pureed food. It’s amazing to remember where she came from, and for that we are so grateful. Unfortunately, she won’t chew and has problems with textures. She has never had a cheerio, a cracker, or even a puff. She is solely on pureed food. We need help, and we are going to get it. The program is a 40 day program, but our insurance company only approved us for 24 days (assholes!). Not sure why we were approved for only 24 days, but maybe Millie won’t need any more than 24 days. That would be nice! The program is in Atlanta, so Millie and I will be living there and Brad, Ben, and Sadie will be in North Carolina. It will be difficult, but I know that this program is exactly what she needs to learn to eat.

Late July post

I can't believe it's been a month. I'm really awful at this whole blog thing. :-P

We are doing great here in Atlanta. That being said, I am excited that school starts for Ben and Sadie in 4 weeks. Ben is going to be a "Robin" and Sadie is a "Sparrow." They will both be going to school 3 days a week and for that I am so grateful. I think Sadie will enjoy spending time away from her brother and give her some playmates her own age. I hope that is the case!!

Amelia is doing well - 8 weeks tomorrow!. She is growing, although probably a teensy bit slower than she should. Last Friday at the doctor, she weighed 5 lbs 12 oz, which is quite an increase from birth, but it really isn't. She's probably only gaining 1/2 oz a day and while that is the bare minimum of growth needed, the doctors would really like her to grow more and gain weight faster. Soooo, we are going to add more bottles of fortified breastmilk and see if that does the trick. My goal is do to 3 per day and maybe 4 sometimes. We will know for sure in 2 weeks if that will work. I hope it will! I surely dread the idea of exclusively pumping and I also dread the idea of all formula. I'm in a happy place (although pumping 3 times a day for her is also no easy feat...imagine three kids crying/running around/getting into trouble while you are hooked up to a pump...yup...enough said) with our feeding regimen.

Catching up

Amelia is doing so great at home. Last Wednesday she went to the pediatrician for the first time and she weighed 4 lbs 6 oz! Her little cheeks are filling in (I hesitate to call them chubby, but I suppose you might say that) and she seems to be livelier. I am still waking her up every 3 hours to breastfeed, pump, and feed her a bottle of fortified breastmilk. The whole process takes about an hour, and while it is exhausting, I am hopeful that we won't be doing this much longer. It is much much easier for her to take a bottle and she definitely doesn't tire as much, but I really want to be able to breastfeed her like a normal baby. I don't want to give up just yet!

My parents are still here (going on 9 days now) with no real idea of when they will leave. They were supposed to leave Saturday and when my dad went to go start the car to start packing it up, it made a wretched sound. Yep, some fool stole the catalytic converter off the car. Welcome to Atlanta. So for now, the Honda dealership is still looking for a replacement part and can't find one. Hopefully they will find one soon so my parents can get home!!