untethered

Iris surprised us by continuing to vomit into this week, making it three weeks since the vomiting first started. After a break during the few days my dad visited, she started up again. Evan also came down with a totally debilitating stomach flu. He was able to pull it together to help our nanny clean up some of Iris's vomit while I was at work one day, but spent most of his time in bed. I came home that afternoon with chicken soup and saltines for the both of them.

The days have blurred together for me, but we took Iris to the emergency room one evening this week after vomiting. It wasn't exactly that she had a true emergency. Rather, we just had to have someone look at her. I had been on the phone with our pediatrician and our cardiologists several times in the past couple weeks, but hadn't brought Iris in to see them. This was partially because we had the idea that it was possible that Iris got a stomach bug from her most recent visits to the doctors and why expose her to more germs if everyone was reasonably sure it was a stomach bug?

The trip to the emergency room ended up not being all that helpful and we subjected Iris to a needless x-ray of her belly. That night I decided, "No more formula." She hasn't vomited since stopping the formula, which, by now makes four vomit-free days (assuming we make it another few hours tonight). She's now on rice and quinoa milk, and I'll probably add hemp milk to get in more calories. She is eating well and I think she'll put on some of the weight she has lost, which is 10 oz.

I took her to see the pediatrician the next day and she gave me some little jars to get stool and urine samples. Otherwise, she agreed with stopping the formula and wanted to get probiotics into Iris in any way possible. She also wants me to talk to the cardiologists again, which I was already planning to do.

No cannula in that nose.

In the midst of all of this, something great has happened. Iris no longer is on oxygen during the days! I can hardly believe it. Neither Evan nor I fully understand what it means. We've lugged around this heavy and annoying oxygen tank with us for 1 1/2 years, along with the maddening oxygen cord.  We've been longing for the day when we can free her from her oxygen leash and yet it feels so anti-climactic. And now, suddenly, we have a baby free who can run anywhere she wants, untethered. She still has oxygen when she sleeps, so we are not totally free of the oxygen.

Dara and Iris hanging out on Saturday afternoon.

Evan went out of town for a business trip for a few days and my mom flew back to spend a few days with us to help out. She had just been here a few weeks before and was here for the beginning of the vomiting episodes. She has been a huge help in every way imaginable. The house is cleaner when she is around, and the endless pile of laundry in our TV room diminishes. We also get as many date nights as we can cram in. And it's really fun to hear Grandma and Iris laughing together.

Iris loves her Grandma...

...because Grandma makes funny noises.