2008-02-05 - 9:31 a.m.

...baby's better news..

Dear D-land friends - thanks all for your words of encouragement and support. Indeed Susi is doing better. Mom and Dad are developing a system that makes late night feedings run more smoothly, with less snapping between us. In fact, I almost got sleep last night with K's help - we are figuring out how to work together, which was not entirely intuitive from the start.

Our trip to the doctor yesterday was much more promising. Little Susi seems to have turned a corner and is putting on weight, although still not at the rate the doctor wants, and we still have a terrible time trying to get her awake, and she almost never cries. She's still on the "Fois Gras" feeding program, although we've rejected the idea of stuffing her outright, and secretly accepted that she may just gain weight at a slower rate than the doctor wants. She looks healthy in all other respects, we feed her whenever she expresses any hunger, and she is being monitored pretty closely.

When I think of other babies, this whole thrive thing is just a minor irritation. Cloudy's little guy was fed through tubes. Another friend's baby had three abdominal surgeries before he was six months old. And my sister-in-law's best friend even had to weigh the spit-up rags to monitor the weights of her premi twins. My own older sister died at the age of six weeks from a combined abdominal and heart problem. I have it easy.

In fact, in all other respects this child is a dream. She sleeps at night, she cuddles, she plays, and she never cries. I'm not kidding. We really have to work her up to get a cry out of her. And now she's currently requesting her next shot at the milk bar...gotta run.