The Latest on Little Rotten!

Sorry it's been a while since our last update but (as you can imagine) life is very busy around here! Annabelle went to the pediatric cardiologist last Friday and had a good visit. Her pulse ox was exactly where it was when we left the hospital (86) and her echo showed good function. We go there every other week to keep a close eye on everything.

We also saw the pediatrican last Wednesday and again this morning. Annabelle weighed 8lb 5 oz last week and a whopping 8lb 15 oz today!!! She gained 10 ounces in one week! That is very reassuring when she has such bad reflux...I wonder how she's even managed to gain an ounce much less 10! The pediatrician told me last week that she should gain about 1/2 an ounce a day so I was praying for 8lb 9oz today but once again God supplied more than I ever asked.

So, in between the medications, feeds, reflux, pumping, doctor visits and poopy diapers, Wyatt, Annabelle and I went for a nice walk outside today. She slept the entire time while Wyatt rode his bicycle around like a little speedster. I knew that he had been riding a lot with my dad in Kiawah but he has grown up so much since we left for MUSC. He barely fit on the bike at Christmas and now rides it like a pro! It was so nice to get outside for a bit since that is about the only place other than the doctor's office that we are going.

We are still adjusting to these feeds...Annabelle hasn't improved much with her bottle feeding. She tries to take a bottle 3 times a day (out of the 8 times that she is fed). She usually takes about 10-20 cc's each time which is less than an ounce. Her total feed is 70 cc's so that's not near enough to sustain her. Our prayer right now is that she increase her feeding from the bottle. The g-tube definitely has its advantages (medications are super easy to give her) but we would love for her to be able to nourish herself, too. Please join us in praying that her strength and stamina increase to support her trying to eat. Right now it is just too hard on her to try to eat very long. We were told that her heart is already working hard enough just to beat but to add the stress of eating is like running a marathon to her. God has taught us so many lessons in patience.

Thank you all for your comments, emails, calls, meals, gifts and so much more! It is so good to be home and be welcomed home by our Christian family and friends. We are blessed beyond words.