Ice cream

Today we took Gabriel out for ice cream. Actually, we had the ice cream and he just banged on the table, but he was having fun. I was sitting there thinking about how I am looking forward to the day where he begs Mommy and Daddy to go out for ice cream. Because that would mean that he was eating.

Yesterday we took him out to the Northwest Folklife Festival. We were gone all afternoon so we had to feed him twice while we were out. He has a nice little backpack that the pump and food bag fit into, so it's not like we're carting around loads of machinery. We can actually just put the small backpack in the caddy under the stroller, run the tube up his pants leg and go. Wonder of wonders, he did NOT reflux while we were out. We actually got to come home in the same outfit we left the house in! I was watching a couple of little kids dance around while the adults were doing their Irish folk dancing. This little girl would spin-spin-spin and then fall down on her bottom and get right back up to do it again. I want that to be Gabriel next year.

A few days ago, Mommy and Daddy resolved to be brave and change out the g-tube button on our own for the very first time. The previous two routine changes were done by the doctor with us looking on, but this time, we had to fly solo. It was nerve-wracking -- what if we screwed it up? But, we did manage to get the old one out and the new one in and all seems to be well. And we have now learned new skills.

This is a new skill we will have to keep using for awhile. Gabriel continues to not want to take food by mouth. Or, I should say, swallowing is where the hang-up is. We can get stuff into his mouth, and he LOVES his toothbrush. He'll stick his tongue out and open his mouth for his toothbrush. We don't want to mess up the toothbrush love, so we're keeping it food-free. I am continuing to tube-feed him as much of a blended diet of real food as I can fit into his day, although, per the dietician, he still gets most of his calories from formula. By making the formula as directed on the can  instead of concentrating its calories, we have lessened the reflux a small amount, but I look forward to the day where we can chuck the formula altogether. Gabriel is tolerating yogurt very well, so next step will be milk. If he tolerates milk, then I am taking that information straight to the dietician to see how we can transition from formula ASAP.

Otherwise, Gabriel is doing very well. He's super social -- such a little flirt. And he's sitting up for minutes at a time, although, he still hasn't figured out how to get himself into a sitting position. His favorite thing is still to lay on his back and kick his legs. He uses his feet to push off of walls or other objects to get around. However, he is spending more time on his tummy voluntarily and has managed to push backwards, so we may have crawling in our near future.

It's hard to believe how big this boy is and that it has already been a year!