olive our family: Home...For good!

I realize that this is long over due! It has been 2 1/2 weeks since Presley's surgery and she's doing very well. Thank you all so much for the overwhelming support and prayers! The day before her procedure she began taking her pacifier, stopped vomiting and began taking all bottles by mouth! This was such an answered prayer and caused us to question if we were making the right choice. We still went through with the procedure & the final result was a bit scarier than we initially thought but we're adjusting very well. She continued to take all feeds by mouth, take her pacifier and did not spit up until the end of last week. Her Occupational Therapist was so impressed with her last week that they decided to see her again in 2 weeks instead of one. They were in awe and perplexed wondering where this overstimulated little girl went!

She has slowly digressed since then. For the first week and a half that she came home we only put about 1 ounce per day into her tube. She was taking the remainder of her feeds and keeping it all down! We'd like to ask for prayer because the doctors can not explain why she reverts back to fighting her feeds. There has been very little vomiting and she still continues to take her pacifier but does not want to eat. She screams, kicks, sticks out her tounge and flails her arms. There are times when she sucks the whole bottle down but they are getting more and more far apart.

The great news is that she is gaining weight. On Monday the 18th she weighed 9 lbs 3 oz and on Monday the 25th at her GI follow-up she weighed 10 lbs! So we're doing something right! The goal is to continue to stretch her stomach which will in turn cause her to become hungry and want to eat. So we hope! We increase her volume tomorrow to 80 cc and will lower her caloric intake to 24 calories.

We were lucky enough to have some wonderful visits from Grammy (my Mom), Uncle Dusty and the Kalbas family!

Mr. Cullen is doing fantastic! He is weighing about 12 lbs (probably more now)!! He is eating very well (obviously) and is able to sleep for about a 6 hour stretch at night!

I have included a few pics from our stay at Texas Children's. We had a great experience with a few minor hiccups but overall we were pleased with the hospital & staff! Our surgeon was extra thorough and we'll visit him again in 2 weeks to replace the long tube with a button that will be flush to her skin. Our GI's goal is for her to have this out in 2-6 months. Check back later this week for pics from our trip to the Pumpkin Patch!