Ruby Hope McKee Starling

We've had a busy few days.  Finally yesterday we got to just hang out and relax. 

Ruby saw the GI doctor on Friday.  He said she looked great.  We got the go ahead to reduce her to 5 feeds a day if she can handle it.  That means we can finally take advantage of the fact that she sleeps through the night!  To get to 5 feeds she needs to be able to take 140ml every 3-4 hours during the day.  So far she is handling as much 135 ml during her feeds.  So, we are almost there!  We also don't have to go back to the GI Doc until the end of January!  Woo-Hoo!!!!  It's nice not to need a monthly check-up with him.  He did say that he's not willing to say she won't ever need a fundo, but we can worry about that later.  She is steadily eating more solids and he was happy with her improvements in eating.  Her weight gain dropped off but she still gained.  She was 13lbs 13 ounces.  We have been skipping feeds in the attempt to make her hungry.  He wasn't worried.   She looks well nourished and is happy.  Ruby was so happy at the appointment.  She was jabbering and smiling at EVERYONE.  All in all it was a good appointment.

Ruby also got her first dose of H1N1 vaccine.  She will get another in a month.  I know there is controversy about how many vaccines are needed.  For now the US Health Department is still recommending two doses for children under two.  Ruby's doctors are, too.  We got it at the Pulmonologist's office.  Her pediatrician didn't have any yet.  We did have to get one with the preservative.  Everyone involved in our decision making process agreed that the benefits out weigh the risks.  We were able to get one of the first shots because Ruby is so high risk.  I'm not sure if the fact that I called everyday had anything to do with it, too. 

Another nice development on the sleep front is that Ruby is able to ride in a running stroller now!  That means a couple days a week I can sleep in and take Ruby  on my run later in the morning.  She can only handle 3-6 miles in the stroller.  I can't take her on my Saturday,Monday, and Wednesday runs, but Tuesday and Thursdays are perfect distances.  She seems to really like it. 

We now have a standing swinging date with Maddie and Ben on Mondays and Wednesdays.  Ruby really likes to swing!

When Ruby had her fill of swinging, we sat down in the rocks and played.  She loved the feel of the rocks on her feet.  Hopefully the weather will continue to be nice and we can play outside all winter.

I have filled up the hard drive on lap top with pictures of Ruby.  We have over 5,000 pictures.  Chris's big computer is borken due to a power surge.  For those of you who have seen our house you'll know how weird it is that Chris's big computer isn't working or that we have no more hard drive space at the moment.   Hopefully Chris can get it fixed soon and we can backup the pictures.  I can't download to many more photos.  I have some cute ones, but they'll have to stay on the camera for now.