Almost two years ago, this tiny wild child came into my life. We’ve had good days, we have had rough days, and we have had amazing days. All the days have pushed me to be better than I was the day before, and I know this will continue with each passing day, month, and year.

When Izzy was born, we were in a whirlwind of doctors, specialists, hospitals, and equipment (for those of you new to the blog, you can read more about that experience here).We longed for the day when kiddo could eat with us, and when we didn’t have to spend our time around a feeding pump, or a bolus syringe. We wondered if that would ever end, and if we would ever experience “normal”. It turns out, normal is overrated, and when you spend the first week of your child’s life in Children’s Hospital, you get your very own baby care manual.

After a week in the NICU and specialty care, two surgeries, hours of hospital visits and home care visits and who knows how many medical supply shipments over almost the past two years, Izzy is officially weaned from her g-tube and is eating on her own.

It feels so good to say that!

It wasn’t an easy journey. We started a couple weans in the past, and they just didn’t stick. We all ended up tired, sad, and frustrated. This time though, we had a lot of support!  We worked with our tube weaning clinic team at Seattle Children’s and our feeding specialist at NW Center Kids. Folks came to the house weekly and we worked with Izzy to help her relearn to eat and swallow. Once she was able to master those techniques, we began the actual wean which was reducing her overall calories down to 30% to trigger hunger. She would do well for the first few days, live on Goldfish crackers the next few days, but eventually she learned and we used the g-tube less and less. Here we are now, feeding her what we eat and having her choose her own meals. We’re working on meal timing, versus just grazing all day (a work in progress for me as well!), but the main thing is that she is eating consistently.

Now that the hard stuff  is behind us, we can focus on the fun. Our days are spent playing, painting and exploring. She loves climbing and hates butterflies. She dresses herself and insists on wearing hats as much as possible. She’s obsessed with boots and anything tiny (again, except for butterflies. I don’t get it) and is just the happiest little thing.  She plays hard and then sleeps hard.

Dear reader, I am so, so lucky. Thank you for being on this journey with me too!

On a completely different note-stay tuned for some posts this week about drinks and new holiday recipes (buckwheat whiskey cocktails or chocolate bourbon pecan pie, anyone!?) Some DIY goodies-I’m whipping up some arnica and calendula salves, and even some beauty and date night recommendations.

It’s been an amazing couple weeks, and I can’t wait to share more, but I wanted to share the good news about kiddo 🙂

Yours in happiness,

Raina