Ohhhhhhh, that's why you hate your bottle!

Romy had her swallow study today. They mixed Barium into her milk and some baby food and while she ate they were taking x-rays to watch how the food goes down.

She's never been the biggest fan of eating (unless it's baby food), with the exception of a few good weeks here and there. She would cough and sputter a bit and refuse to drink anymore. She was put on Zantac which seemed to do the job for a while, but it's not as effective as it used to be. She also eats CONSTANTLY, but what's so frustrating is that she'll only eat a little bit and then act like she's starving an hour later. When she was put on steroids, her eating improved a lot, but what happens when we take her off? She can't stay on steroids forever.

Anyway, her swallow study showed that when she swallowed any form of liquid (milk, pedialyte, etc.) that a little bit was going down her airway and possibly her lungs. This might have(probably) caused her pneumonia a few weeks back. Anyway, this doesn't happen with her baby food (probably why she loves it so much). So the docs decided that I should thicken all of her liquids to the same consistency (think a melted milkshake) so she can get her milk down to her stomach and bypass her airway. It should also help immensely with her reflux. I can thicken her milk with rice cereal (which I thought was a big no-no, but for a reflux baby, it can prevent choking AND pneumonia....who knew?) or this gel called "Simply Thick." So we'll see how it goes! They also suggested some speech therapy. They'll help her with her oro-motor skills (mouth muscles) Romy sticks her tongue out rapidly whenever you try to feed her, making it difficult for her to get a solid latch sometimes. They think she's tiring out too early, and that's why she eats very little but often.

Anyway, her bellybutton still looks pretty funky, I was originally going to post before and after pics, but I don't think Romy will be to thrilled about that 10 years from now. But if you're really curious, I'll email them.

We've got another check up on Thursday, she'll be getting an RSV shot....poor baby. If I had to guess, I'd say she's been stuck at least 100+ times in her life so far. Kid is a pin cushion!

As for her development, she still doesn't reach for things but she's getting really good at eating her own hands, so hopefully soon! She's a little giggle box, especially if you honk her nose or tickle her neck or under her chin. She's got the best giggle ever! She still isn't rolling over back to front, but is throwing her legs to one side, so I think any day now she'll be there! Her left foot is starting to turn inwards more so than before. Her Physical therapy starts this month, so we'll see what they think. She'll sit in her "tripod" position for a few seconds, but only sometimes. I don't think she's quite interested in sitting up yet. She hasn't shown any interest in TV either, maybe because her eyesight is bad. Not too sure about that one.

All of this is pretty much typical "Preemie stuff" and not anywhere near as bad as it could be, so no biggie! Don't worry, she'll grow out of most of it!

Here's a few pictures of the little monster