Steak and potatoes kinda guy

Hi friends!

I guess I'd better go ahead and say that it seems that I am only capable of writing a monthly blog update. I always plan to write more but the little people are just keeping me too busy.

So, I'm sure you are curious about the title of this blog post.

Well, our boy is eating.

Well, actually....it's more like he is pigging out!

We've been amazed by the progress our little man has made with eating. He started a little slow and now he is a real pro!

Our awesome OT encouraged us to try all kinds of food to see if he has any texture issues or trouble chewing different types of food. The kiddo eats it ALL. No joke.

Thus far the only food he refuses to eat is lima beans. Who can blame him?!?!

Jude's favorite foods are the "man foods". Steak, potatoes, beans....you get the idea. He's always been a big boy....now the food he is eating is going to make him even bigger!

We are SO proud of him!

So, I am sure you all want to know about his g-tube. Does it stay or does it go?

As of right now, it will remain with Jude.

Right now Jude doesn't know how to drink so he is still receiving most of his fluids (water and soy milk) via g-tube. In the last few weeks he has been "drinking" a little bit here and there. He never learned to suck so pulling fluids into his mouth is a challenge. Currently he is working on drinking via a squeeze straw....kinda like a juice box. For the last week or so he has taken about 2oz 3 times a day. And this evening he took 4oz at dinner! (Mommy did a happy dance)

So, that is one of our big prayers right now....that Jude will learn to drink with his mouth. It is so hard to imagine him receiving all of his nutrition by mouth. But I'm confident that the Lord can get him there.

And thank you for your encouragement and prayers during this feeding journey. It has been a lot of work and we are so thankful that Jude jumped on board so quickly. We know of many CDH families that struggle for years with eating by mouth. It is such a hard spot to be in and a huge commitment to practice eating meal after meal...day after day.

Earlier this month Jude had a small procedure done at our local hospital. He went under anesthesia and was placed on the ventilator for the procedure. He remained stable throughout the entire surgery and came right off the ventilator without any trouble. Praise God for making it so! The original plan was for Jude to stay overnight so that the doctors could monitor him. But Jude handled his post-op time so well that we went home in the late afternoon!

Jude isn't walking but he could be! He is just so dang hardheaded (guess that is a plus when you are fighting a life-threatening birth defect. The boy just won't give in!) and clearly wants to walk on his own timetable. Crazy kid!

We are still slowly coming out of isolation. Jude is experiencing more and more of the outside world. We are still keeping him out of nursery at church and keeping him away from anyone that we know to be sick. Thus far he hasn't been sick and we are so thankful for that! Thank you to everyone who continues to help us keep Jude healthy until his lungs can grow bigger and stronger.

Jude still appears to be allergic to dairy products but at our last allergist appointment Jude's doctor did a blood test and the results of that blood test suggest that Jude might be able to pass an in office "challenge" of drinking/eating dairy. We of course would LOVE for him to have dairy products because (you know the boy will love cheese!) it would greatly expand his menu options. His in office "challenge" will be on May 31st...we will keep you posted.

In other fun news, a friend of ours captured our two cuties in some sweet Springtime photos:
ALL PHOTOS BELOW CREDITED TO CHERI RITTER PHOTOGRAPHY

I nearly cry every time that I look through these pictures. Love our kiddos so much. The Lord has been so good to us.

P.S. You can check out Cheri Ritter's website and Katie Preuss' website (she did our Christmas photos) on the sidebar of our blog. They are both amazing!!