leaps and bounds

We've been making excellent progress in the medical/eating issues department within the last few weeks. I have slowly weaned Caroline down to one dose per day of Reglan (originally she was taking 3 does per day), and thankfully her appetite has remained steady. Better than steady in fact, it's great! Lately she has developed a legitimate, honest-to-goodness appetite! She asks for food, she shows an interest in what I'm eating and asks for some, and she even asks for seconds (or thirds!) at mealtimes! This is an incredible feat. For the past 18 months mealtimes were a constant struggle....bottle refusals, solid food refusals, and even when the medicine was working she was cooperative about eating but not exactly enthusiastic. Now she's enthusiastic. It's as if somewhere in side of her a flip was switched and now she's catching up. Ever since the beginning of August I've noticed 2 milestones- she isn't waking up crying at 3 or 4 am anymore, and her appetite is definitely much better. Check out some of the things she's eaten lately (most of them for the first time):

steamed broccoli
cooked carrots
'sloppy joes' made with ground turkey and lentils
cucumber and tomato salad with italian dressing
kale
chinese food (mongolian beef)
spinach ravioli lasagna
pizza


It helps when we all eat meals together, and we all eat the same thing. For some reason whatever's on my plate tastes infinitely better than whatever's in her little bowl, so I usually end up giving her some of mine. Even if we are both eating identical PB&J sandwiches, she wants mine. This has forced me to eat healthier myself...instead of putting a pile of cheezits next to my sandwich I have to put sliced banana, because I know she's going to want whatever I have.

I believe that some of her medical issues are starting to resolve, or else she's getting old enough to manage them reasonably well. Answered prayers!! She's eating food, happily and enthusiastically! We're weaning off the endless medications! We're off the second-house-mortgage formula!! (Fun fact- the money we'll save by NOT buying formula every month will pay for almost an entire month of T/Th daycare.) I feel like, for the first time since she was born, I can finally truly relax and not worry. This is such a tremendous burden lifted. I am 100% comfortable about going back to work, because she's not so medically-challenged anymore and I know she'll be fine with her caretakers. Many of my friends with kids her age are mourning the end of the baby stage, but in our case, we are celebrating new beginnings. Her infancy and babyhood were full of challenges, but I think we've reached a turning point and from here on out we'll be good to go!

So for the next few weeks we'll just be cruising along, making the most of our time together before we start the next chapter. I'll be on fun-outings overdrive, trying to cram in 'one last trip' to the zoo/splashpad/playdates/children's museum/playground while I still have ample free time. (I know Caroline is certainly enjoying our jam-packed itinerary...every time I take her somewhere, at some point during the outing she will stop whatever she's doing and just run over and hug and kiss me, grateful for the fun time!)

Lovin the fishies! Nevermind that they're
man-eating Pirhannas....

The best way to appreciate the underwater sea life!

First ride on the merry-go-round at the zoo

kiddie waterpark heaven! We found the
BEST splash pad for toddlers!