The Next Big Hurdle.

It is looking like Allison's next big hurdle will be figuring out how to suck and swallow while doing her rapid breathing. Imagine trying to drink a glass of milk after you just sprinted a mile. She is now two weeks old so missed out on those initial days, plus had tubes down her throat which may have caused her to develop a slight aversion to things in her mouth. We really take knowing how to eat for granted.

The goal the doctors have set for her is to drink and keep down 5mL of Pedia Lite (inhanced water for babies, sort of like Gatorade for us) two times in a day before they give her breast milk. So far she has drank the whole amount once but threw it back up, and half the amount three times and kept that down twice - so she is trying. The worry is that if she can't keep things down she will need another surgery to repair the muscle at the top of the stomach that keeps the food from coming back up. Also, if she can't get the feeding down, she will have to have a surgery to put in a G-tube for feeding. So, we really want to see her meet her feeding goals. The nurses have told me that they will give her lots of time and chances to try feeding before those decisions are made which is good, but knowing there is a chance that more surgery is needed is scary.

Besides the feeding hurdle that Alli girl is being faced with, she is doing really well. All of her vitals look good, and she is still on the IV that gives her the nutrients she needs directly into her blood until they figure out if her tummy is working. The cultures they took to check for infection have not shown any growth so that is good. They will make a decision today about the antibiotics she is on. They may finish them out just in case. She is going over 12 hours a day without pain medications which is great! They have been trying to get her weened off all of that. And she is as cute as can be :) It is has been really nice to be able to hold her all the time now and she continues to look better and better everyday.

I will continue to update with the progress she makes or if any big changes take place. Please continue to keep her in your thoughts as she continues her recovery.