Some Food For Thought

Tonight, for the second night in a row, Abby fell asleep watching a slideshow of her baby pictures. See, Jason wasn't home for bedtime and she wanted to see Dada. It was when we got to this picture that she became curious.

She pointed to the feeding tube and asked, "What's that?" I told her that it was how she got her food when she was first born. She was too weak to be able to drink the amount of formula that she needed, so they had to feed her through a feeding tube. 

Her response? "Ewww, gross!"

My response? Unbelievable.

Looking at that picture made me remember how difficult it was for her to eat. Literally, she would fall asleep while eating. For her, sucking down an ounce was like running a marathon. I still remember the day when she drank her first full bottle (a two ounce bottle, mind you) . She fell asleep quickly and I ran out to the waiting room to share the good news with Jason. I remembered that time like it was yesterday, how I would coax her into eating by rubbing her cheek, how I would talk to her and tell her how well she was doing, and how one day I came in and she'd finally gotten the feeding tube out.

It is unbelievable to me that she is the same kid - that the little one who struggled so to eat can now eat all day if I let her. This is the same kid who can now pack away pizza and hot dogs like a champ - the same kid who loves apples, oranges, and bananas - the kid who eats popsicles like they are going out of style, and requests "sauce" for her ice cream - the kid who now eats just like millions of other kids.

How wonderful to have that reminder, that even though she had a rough start, she has come so far. It was a happy thought to end our day.

It seemed like Abby either was eating or
chewing on "Bucko-Gun" today.

Abby wanted Bruiser in the picture too.