Busy Monday

Harlie had feeding therapy today for the first time since the end of May. And we got our original occupational therapist back! YAY! Allison started with us when Harlie was just a few months old. Last summer she went to work in the clinic at Children's here in Richmond. And it finally worked out that she had a slot open for Harlie.

Overall, Harlie did really well during therapy today. Allison said that she was excited about what she saw today. And she gave me some pointers on how I should manage Harlie's behavioral issues during therapy at home. Normally we weigh the food, the drink and her bib - before and after feeding therapy. That way we can see how much she's actually swallowing. Today she ate 9 grams (which is less than a half an ounce). I think some of my problem is that I wanted her to eat something measurable. And when she did, I wanted her to eat more the next time. I felt so much pressure to start to see her volume increase. But Allison said that if we work on her skills to eat that the volume will come naturally. So, I'm not going to weigh everything for a week, and then I'll start to spot weigh - to take some of the pressure off. I am sure that in some way Harlie could feel the pressure from me. So, hopefully that will help me relax a bit, which hopefully will mean better feeding sessions.

Murphy started swimming lessons today. He's already told me numerous times that he doesn't want to go back. We told him it's important that he knows how to swim. To which he replied, "But I already know how to swim"! Nice try.

You might remember that he had a week of sports camp at the YMCA a couple of weeks ago. He was not a fan. And barely participated. Well, last week, every time we went to the gym (for me to work out and for him and Cooper to play) he would sing from the backseat, "YAY, no more sports camp"!!!

And then when we left the gym this morning to go to swim lessons I asked him if he had fun playing. He told me that there was a boy playing with a blue car and he wanted to play with it, too. He said that the teacher made the boy share the toy with Murphy. Then he told me "but sharing was not my idea. I wanted him to give it to me". Nice. Ugh - sharing. That has got to be one of the hardest concepts for a kid to learn.

On to my Dad... a couple of weeks ago he went to his doctor and told him that he had no energy and that he was getting concerned that he wasn't gaining his weight back. So, they ran some tests and did a colonoscopy. They found a tumor and scheduled surgery - which was today. He did very well. They removed the tumor and will biopsy it. We should know the results Wednesday or Thursday.

There was some concern about his gall bladder, but during the surgery, the surgeon decided to leave it alone. My Mom said he already walked around a bit today, which is great. He just can't eat anything for a while, and then will only be able to eat liquids. Then I think on Thursday he can start to eat solids again. Crazy! He said he was starving when I talked to him tonight. He sounded great, though. So, hopefully this will give him his energy and appetite back. I think they were thinking he would be in the hospital until Saturday.

Well, that's it for tonight. Please keep your fingers crossed that the results of the biopsy will be good.

Thanks,
Christy