Last Monday we went to get Delaney weighed and to see what our future held in store. She came in at 9 lbs 5 oz, which meant we were able to continue with the breast feeding regime. This was certainly good news, but we are supposed to check in again in 10 days to see if we're still making progress. Sometimes small growth spurts can muddy the waters, so they want to keep a close eye on her. More good news came when Delaney passed her latest hearing test; the bad news, however, was that she had to get her latest series of immunization shots and we're hoping that will not impact her weight next time. She always has a few off days following her shots. Someone forgot to mention to Brandon that shots were on tap during the well check-up. It's just as traumatic for parents as it is for children.

Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa we were able to take Delaney on her first camping trip. It's a lot to take on tent camping with an infant, but with the camper we go in style. Even with all the rain we had a good time and look forward to our next trip. Brandon and Jennifer also realized this weekend that it was their 11th wedding anniversary- my how time flies.

We finally have some good news to report this week.

Last Monday we made a second trip to Denver to see the GI specialist. After the previous visit and all of Delaney's tests, we put together a game plan that seemed to be working. During the second visit Delaney had gained some weight and was noticeably happier, so the doctor asked Jennifer what she wanted to do. After six months of hard work, of course she wanted to breast feed exclusively. Surprisingly, the doctor gave her the green light to breast feed and our world has really taken a turn for the better. The only caveat is that tomorrow we need to go get Delaney weighed and call to report the weight. We don't know what an adequate weight is (they're trying not to stress us out with numbers, which we appreciate), but if she's not where she should be we may have to mix in some bottles to supplement. Hopefully she's gained enough weight that we can just keep on with breast feeding. No pumping, bottle washing, milk storing, formula mixing, and constipated Delaney has been a real treat for everybody.

When we were in Denver, we did get to break a sweat on the mini-golf course, and we certainly got our fill of windshield time throughout our beloved mountains. After a long week we were able to enjoy some of our local Cattlemen's Days events. Meredith rode on the Gunnison Art Center's float during the parade, and then we hit the rodeo on Saturday night. Grandma & Grandpa Diamond were in town camping this weekend so we had a nice visit with them as well.

Delaney is really doing well, and for now we're feeling confident that she'll keep it up.

You probably noticed that we overhauled the blog. It was overdue, and we look forward to a bright future for our entire family.

This past week we are happy to report that Delaney's feeding issues saw some improvements. She's still on two medications that help soothe the reflux, and we continue to feed her smaller portions more frequently. We've been working really hard to rebuild her trust, and reassure her that eating is a good thing. Unfortunately, she's incredibly constipated (from the medicines we assume) which is leading to some discomfort. The good news is that she's started to renew her interest in breast feeding and Jennifer plans to keep working on that. Jennifer's perseverance on the breast feeding front is pretty amazing. I would guess that the average woman would have given up by now- but not Delaney's Mommy. We head to Denver again early tomorrow morning to check in with our GI specialist. The drive isn't real fun but we are glad our doctor cares enough to request a follow-up visit. We look forward to visiting with him.

We are constantly learning just how similar Meredith and Delaney are. We discovered that Delaney loves to snuggle with her "pink" (little pink blanket with the stuffed animal on it). It helps her get ready to eat, comforts her when she's fussy, and also helps her get to sleep. Should've known...

The Fourth of July 2010

We finally made the trip to Denver to see various specialists about Delaney's feeding issues. We'll have to wait until Tuesday to touch base on some of the test results, but overall we now feel a little better about things. Based on what we saw during the x-rays, everything seems to be functioning properly internally. She was prescribed a new medication to help her feel better, and we've been doing pretty well with smaller, more frequent feedings. The doctor's think it may be one of three things: a straight aversion to feeding (for whatever reason), food allergy, or reflux. For now, we're trying to address the reflux end of things, and hope that over the next few weeks Delaney starts to enjoy her feedings again. She's in good spirits, and is really starting to vocalize and smile a lot.

Meredith stayed with the Mowery's in Powderhorn, and from the sound of it had a lot more fun than we did travelling across the state. While in Denver we stayed at the Ronald McDonald house, which would have been fun for Meredith if she had come. It's nice that those types of places are available for folks that come in from out of town. The drive home from Denver on Saturday was a long and frustrating experience which reminded us why we don't typically travel on holiday weekends!