Have some cake, will ya?

Happy birthday, Roxanne! She turned the ripe old age of one year on August 4th. On her birthday, we were at my Aunt’s house in Pennsylvania, with Dan, my mom, my two cousins and their four kids. It was a wonderful, chaotic reunion. I’d love to post a cute photo from her birthday, but in the few I took, she just looks shell-shocked. Over the weekend, Roxanne swam in a pool for the first time and enjoyed splashing around. Coming home was sad, not only because I miss the family, but because Dan is back at work after his sabbatical. It’s back to me and my girl.

A couple of posts ago, I was excited about Roxanne eating. Well, it was nice while it lasted. She was up to eating about four tablespoons of food at each meal, and then slowly tapered back down to just a few bites. I don’t really know why she started eating, and don’t know why she stopped. But the good news is that Roxanne was accepted into an intensive feeding program at the University of Virginia Children’s Rehab Hospital, so we are hoping that help is on the way. You can go here for more information on the program, if you're curious.
Roxanne will be attending the program as an outpatient, starting September 10th, for up to two weeks. That means we’ll be hanging out in Charlottesville, VA for a while, staying in a local hotel (it's about 2 1/2 hours from home). Coincidentally, Dan’s older daughter, S, is a student at UVA, and I’m hoping I’ll get to see her while I’m there.

I’ve heard glowing reviews of the program from other parents who’ve attended. The idea is that Roxanne will get feeding therapy at least three times a day with professionals who know what they are doing. The goal isn’t for her to leave the feeding program eating 100% of her food orally, but rather, that she will be on her way, and I’ll have tools to reach that goal at home. My cousin calls it "food camp." I just want Roxy to eat.















No thanks, I'm not hungry.