Esophagus Dilatation #13 and 18-month check-up

Lucy had her 13th esophagus dilatation on Friday.  She did GREAT...probably her best recovery yet.  Within 30 days of every dilatation, we have to have a pre-op at her regular doctor's office.  Usually we have it the same week of the dilatation, but because of holiday scheduling, we ended up having it done the same day as her dilation this time, so it was an early start for us.  Jason was out of town covering a tournament so my mom and dad kept Lucy and I company for the day, which was a nice treat for both of us!  The doctor stuck with the three settings on the 10 series - he thought he could have gone to a 12, but wanted to be conservative, since with this type of procedure, being too aggressive can be more harmful in the long run, as it causes more scar tissue to develop.  It had not closed very much at all, even though we waited 4 weeks, so overall a very encouraging visit!

Meanwhile, Lucy's been loving food...to the point that we have transitioned her down to only three 2 ounce feedings a day through her feeding tube.  That is amazing to me!! We are hopeful that she will continue to gain weight at this level and eat and drink even more food without the feeding tube.  She has been drinking between 16 to 20 ounces a day, which again is a huge improvement for her, compared to the measly 4 - 8 ounces she was drinking orally just a few short months ago.  She basically eats what we eat - just ground up and mixed with a sauce or liquid of some type.  She's also able to eat a few different varieties of crackers for her, which historically were tough for her to handle. Her favorite treats are pumpkin bread and mini M&Ms...and yes, I love that she can eat "treats" now!

She does a pretty good job of feeding herself and is keeping much cleaner during meal time, thanks to an awesome smock my mom made for her to wear during mealtime!  However, some meals are better than others!  She's such a jokester lately, that it's hard not to laugh at her silly antics, which often catch me by surprise...I had no idea a toddler could have such a sweet sense of humor already!

Wearing her dinner bowl

This will give you an idea of the consistency of her food - and it took me 2 days of shampoos to get this out!!

We did not pose this picture - she literally balanced her spoon on her own head!

Lucy had her 18 month check-up with her doctor earlier this week and she is growing, growing!

Here are her stats:

Height:  31 inches inches (37th percentile)
Weight: 21 lbs, 6 oz (30th percentile)

Compare that to her 12-month appointment - what a big girl!  No wonder I think she's been looking so tall!

Height:  27.6 inches (10th percentile)
Weight: 18 lbs, 5 oz (between 10th and 25th percentile)