11.75-month update

Alivia had a couple medical appointments last week, so I thought I'd update everyone so I don't have to include it in her birthday post later in the week(!!).

Feeding Therapy

We began feeding therapy Monday to address Alivia's sensitive gag reflex and general disinterest in most foods we tried to spoon-feed her. She still was getting in enough calories via formula to grow, but it's been tough transitioning her to solids. We had a rough beginning to the month when I tried to progress her on my own. After four days in a row of her vomiting at least one meal because she had gagged on something, I pulled back and was pretty afraid to push forward again after taking a few days' break. Slowly, we (including both of our moms/sitters) did start to try solids again and by the time we started therapy, she had gone nearly 2 weeks gag- and puke-free.

Maybe it was all coincidental timing, but this week has been GREAT. By incoporating the tips we got at therapy (which was great and left us feeling very encouraged and confident to press ahead), we've gotten Alivia to eat larger amounts of pureed foods (that also have more calories per bite!) by blending things we eat for dinner and mixing it with broth or creamed soups. So far, everything we've tried has been a hit with her. We also are having her eat solids that dissolve quickly in her mouth, like dehydrated veggie sticks, club cracker sticks, Nilla wafers, grahams, etc. Those also have been a hit with her. I truly think she was improving on her own (or, rather, the gag reflex was becoming desensitized), but these tips have totally helped us get past the fears we had of trying new things with her to help her advance. We check back in about a week, and the therapist is also bringing on a dietitian so that we can keep Alivia's nutrition at the forefront.

The therapist said she's confident Alivia will do well, and that we likely were dealing with a combination of Alivia's desire for independence (hence the disinterest in US feeding HER) and the gagging. Now that we are letting her self-feed more, giving her better tasting purees and somehow dealing with less gagging, things are looking up.

Cardiology

We had our monthly checkup with Alivia's local cardiologist Thursday. It was very positive, and we love seeing her doctor so upbeat when he sees her! She is looking great still, and he said it's hard to tell anything is wrong with her on the inside since she looks and sounds so good. We are changing one of her medicines (the diurectic that helps pull any excess fluid away from her heart/lungs in case her heart isn't able to do that completely for her) to one that is becoming the standard because of some potential side benefits it has for the heart. We are on Day 2 of the new med, and so far so good. :-)

There are so many things to be thankful for this week! Alivia turns 1 on Saturday, and we are excited to celebrate with family. Next blog will cover Ali's 1-year stats and hopefully plenty of pictures!