Stella's Heart: Happy Days

I apologize for the lack of posts. Stella is doing SO well and I hate that I haven't shared her good news with any of our friends and family that rely on the blog for information.

After we left the hospital post the Glenn we had some bad days and a few more GI issues. Stella was basically throwing up again all the time, had to go back on more meds (which upset her stomach and we hated) and was just not herself. She was fussy, vommited without warning, wasn't sleeping, and we were at our wits ends.

We took it upon ourselves to meet with a new doctor in the GI department and we love her. Among other recommendations, she advised us to take Stella off her special formula (which smells like death) and put her back on normal Enfamil. Its been almost 2 weeks since then and Stella hasn't thrown up one time. NOT ONCE. She can play on a play mate and be flat. She is sleeping in a crib like a normal baby. We can pick her up after she eats and not wince waiting for her to barf all over us. It has been Life. Changing.

And on top of all that, I decided to go for it and sleep train little miss in her crib. 4 days later, she sleeps through the night until 7 am. I never imagined we would be scheduled so quickly, but am a firm believer that God only gives us as much as we can handle. No middle of the night feeds and I'm a new woman.

So - next steps:

Stella still refuses to take anything by mouth - especially the bottle. She is scheduled for a G-tube on June 6th and we are all excited to get the NG tube out of her throat and off her adorable face. After this surgery, she should enjoy life away from the hospital for quite some time. As much as we love our Children's family, we won't miss them too much :) We even have a vacation to Florida planned for the end of June!

I will try to keep updates here because we love bragging about our precious baby and see the blog as a way to thank everyone that has continued to follow her progress and love on us all. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for every text/email/comment/gift/meal ... we couldn't have done any of this without your generous and loving hearts. It has been quite the journey and Stella has changed us for the better. For those of you who have been hesitant to reach out and and visit - now is the time! She is so fun and we welcome playmates. And for those of you still waiting for a thank you note - it's coming. We are beyond appreciative for every gift, big or little, and meal. I would never want anyone to think we've taken our help for granted.

And without further adieu ... a few pics before I go