Esophagus Dilatation #9

Swinging with daddy!

Lucy has esophagus dilatation #9 today.  Jason and I can't believe that she has been in to have 9 of these procedures already.  This time went well; we heard pretty much the same story - her esophagus has grown together some, but not to the extent that it was growing back together in the beginning.  She was able to handle food very well all the way up until her dilatation so we definitely feel like we are making progress - it is just so much slower than we had hoped initially. 

She did great today, as always.  The nurses love her (and they are all getting to know her well!) She took a nice long nap when we got home, drank 7 ounces of chocolate milk when she woke up (4 ounces in a DAY is a lot for her to drink typically!), and enjoyed a laid-back evening walk and trip to the park.

As we have mentioned before, she loves, loves, loves being outside and we use it as a calming mechanism often if she is cranky before nap, meal or bed time - I'm not sure what we are going to do when it is 0 degrees outside! 

We enrolled her in a local early childhood education class through our schools district called 1, 2 Buckle My Shoe.  So, on Thursday nights, we hang out with 8 - 12 other 1 and 2 year olds (and their parents).  Since Lucy is home with us or the nanny pretty much all of the time, we feel like it's good for her to meet other kids and adults and so far she seems to like it.  At this age, kids don't really play together too much, but more next to each other and it's pretty cute to watch their little social skills growing and developing.  As a parent, it's hard NOT to compare your child to others in their age group to see if they are on track.  We often get comments about how little she is for her age (she seems huge to me - 21 lbs at the doctor today!!), but I think she is tracking pretty well with her age group from a development perspective.  I can definitely say without a doubt that she is the best jumper in the group and gets some serious air on the child-sized trampoline! :)  Her new Special Education teacher has a daughter a month older than Lucy and they come to class also, so it's a great opportunity for her teacher to see Lucy in a "real" environment.

Playing with some vintage "Little People" - they used to be much smaller than they are now.

Well, I didn't intend to write a long blog when I started this, but it has turned into a rather long entry, so I will sign off for now.  Always remembering Romans 12:12 that we will be "...Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."