School Days

Abby has started back to preschool again (Tuesday). I miss her. I am able to get more done in the morning instead of doing ABR therapy like I have been doing, but it feels empty.

She has the same nice teacher that she had last school year which is great. We are still praying and looking for a deafblind intervener to work with Abby at school. After finding out there are 11 students in her classroom compared to 7 last year, our concerns about Abby's needs being met have become more immediate. We have another IEP meeting coming up in the next 3 weeks. Hopefully we will be able to address this issue, again.

We wish Abby could tell us about her first day back. Was it scary? Was it noisy with all those new kids? Where they nice? Did you sing songs? Or read books? Did you have time to rest?

We look forward to the day when she will tell us these things.

She came home tired which is a good sign, I guess. She looked like such a big girl being rolled into school.

On a side note, we have switched to a different formula this month. She has been on Pediasure with fiber but we have been noticing signs of discomfort during and after her feedings. Reflux is still a problem for Abby and probably will be for a long time, despite appropriate doses of GERD meds.

We saw her gastroenterologist the other day who suggested a few things we could try. Changing formula was the first on the list. She's already 'failing' the medication trial that usually comes second. Next was to do an endoscopy exam to see what is going on in her tummy and esophagus. He also mentioned gj feedings, where her g-tube would extend down into her intestines. It would bypass her stomach so that she wouldn't reflux any formula. The major downside of this for us is that it's moving farther away from "normal" feeding behaviors; plus she would have to have a slow drip of formula going for 12-18 hrs a day. Yuck! What a pain. We've done this before and much prefer bolus feedings. He said this option would come before doing another fundoplication, which she has also already endured (at 9 months old).

For now we will continue to give this new formula a try. Her comfort level has improved since starting it, so that is a Praise!