July 24th, 2008

Kinnick and Carver were weighed again, yesterday.  Carver gained 5.5 oz and Kinnick gained 2 oz.  So, Carver is now 19 lb 5.5 oz.  Kinnick is 16 lb 10 oz.  I had to stop a couple of Kinnick's night feeds recently because of the G-tube leaking.  Her poor tummy was so raw around the stoma that it was bleeding.  She just cried huge tears.  The leaking is under control again - not sure what we're doing to make it better or worse.  I suppose it is possible that it is related to teething.  I've been told that the saliva from teething causes add'l stomach acid and perhaps the stomach acid is causing the leaking.... who knows.  

We're taking both babies off their "baby" formula.  Kinnick is moving to a 1 year formula - Peptamen Jr.  Carver is moving to Pediasure.  These are both 30 cal per oz.  This will reduce the volume that they have to consume in a day.  Kinnick will only need 8 oz over night.  She will be able to consume the rest by mouth during the day.  We're hoping to somehow squeeze the add'l 8 oz in sometime during the day.  It doesn't sound like much, but we're pretty much maxing out her tummy space right now during the day.  So, it may take a while.  Carver is still pretty much all G-tube, so no big change for him.  He'll just get 7 oz at night.  It's so crazy.  Carver weighs more then Kinnick, but requires far fewer calories to gain weight.  She's a busy bee.  So, she's burning up the calories.

Kinnick and Carver are both working very hard to prop sit.  We're just about there.  I'm hoping they'll have it mastered within a month.  Carver is rolling from back to stomach with no problem now.  He's actually pretty fast at getting to his stomach, now.  He loves being on his stomach.  I think it's also helping some of his neck strength.  He still likes to rest his head, but he's doing better.  It's so hard to tell if he's just not interested in holding it because he can't hear and doesn't see well, or if he just can't do it.   We're working with Carver to get him to stand (with help of course).  He doesn't want to put weight on his feet.  His legs cross a lot.  He steps on his own toes.  He's doing a little better this week, but he has a LONG way to go.  Kinnick stands really good with help.  She just doesn't want to bend her knees to walk.  So, this is what we're working on with her.  She knows how to roll to her stomach, but hates being on her stomach.  I think it's because her stomach is always so raw.  Hopefully the G-tube will disappear soon, or at least not get used much.  Maybe then her tummy can heal and she'll tolerate being on her tummy more often.

I'll be scheduling another trip to MI in August.  I'm so tired of the long distance travel, but it's something we have to do.