We returned last night from our planned Tartu inpatient hospital stay. So. 👏 Much. 👏 Good. 👏 News. 👏 There's no way to easily explain it all in an instagram story or a tiny facebook post, so blogpost here we go!
Hospital miracles and redemption
43 Weeks: Her tooth is here
It's been nearly a month now since that Saturday we rushed to the hospital with Eloise. You'd think we would be back in the swing of regular life by now but, strangely, we aren't. It almost feels like Brian and I are starting over from scratch.
40-42 weeks: Treasures from trials
To say we’ve had a few rough patches over the last weeks may be an understatement. In case you missed recent events I posted about on Eloise's facebook group and the stories of Eloise's instagram page, I'll recap it. And then move on to those treasures I mentioned. The very short version On Saturday, November... Continue Reading →
39 Weeks: Maybe solids were magic
I've been kinda freaking out. In the best way possible. I was fully preparing myself for a lifetime of Eloise struggling with food intolerances. Not only that, I was mentally making peace with the fact that not only would I also have to stay on a limited diet for quite some time as I continued... Continue Reading →
38 Weeks: Mushed Banana Giggles
Brian here. I don't often write blogs, partially because I'm so impressed with Mallory's ability to communicate through them, and partially because I never really feel like what I have to say would be meaningful or useful to anyone. But I thought hey, I could give Mallory a bit of break so she could spend... Continue Reading →
37 Weeks: Still holding on
At times, it feels like the “problems” never stop. We solve one problem, then another pops up that’s just as big. Or bigger. I guess that’s life with Eloise. No rest. Sigh.
Control is an illusion
She's mostly not eating. Again. These last few days, increasingly it's felt like we've moved backwards in time to a few months ago when it was a constant struggle to get her to eat. When we needed to try every trick in the book to coax her to get close to enough milk in her... Continue Reading →
32 weeks: New (good) problems
We’ve got a few new problems. But they are ones I’m glad to have.
31 weeks: Where has baseline gone?
I still cannot for the life of me imagine why anyone who doesn't have a newly diagnosed baby with some sort of chromosome abnormality would want to read these insanely boring weekly updates about our lives. I feel almost guilty writing it all up, but it's become a helpful exercise for me to reflect on what went well, and what we may need to focus on a bit more.
I realized I have a superpower
As far as I could tell, the only areas I had Brian beat in the parenting department were milk production and the uncanny ability to hear Eloise waking up in the middle of the night. (Brian can sleep through anything.)
30 Weeks: A few steps forward, a few steps back
Eloise turned 7 months old yesterday. Sadly, though, this past week has been a rougher one for her. We seemed to have moved backwards a little on the pain front. The good news, though, is that we moved forwards in a few other pretty great areas. Eloise through the months. ❤️ Steps back: Food and... Continue Reading →
29 Weeks: The miracle train keeps on chugging
This last week, Brian and I just kept locking eyes, laughing and saying, "She is doing SO great!" Gosh it's been good for our souls. https://videopress.com/v/5DicIO1S?resizeToParent=true&preloadContent=metadata Brian has quickly noticed Eloise likes his beat-boxing. Those giggles -- we live for them. I have now seen that a number of kiddos with her deletion didn't laugh... Continue Reading →
27 Weeks: What a weird time
This week has been an odd one. So many highs but also so many strange not-quite-lows. It was almost like a roller coaster of "OH MY GOSH THIS IS SO EXCITING!" to "Man this sucks -- I hope this is just temporary." This photo kinda sums up our week. I’m happy to be on a... Continue Reading →
26 Weeks: So many Roses
A week after we got Eloise's diagnosis, a wise fellow named Jeff sent Brian and I a podcast suggestion: Awesomeology (GRATITUDE) with Neil Pasricha. (Yes, for all of my [Transfer]Wise colleagues, THAT Jeff.) I was still in shock and in a deep, dark hole of grief when he sent us that fateful message. But, at... Continue Reading →
A solid start to 6 months
Last night, before I went in to feed Eloise for the final time of the day, I peeked in at Brian who was sitting in our office on the couch. With this current diet, things you normally celebrate with —like cakes — are out of the question. So I’d set my mind on the idea... Continue Reading →
24 Weeks: Cautiously optimistic on the food front
After setback after setback, I feel hesitant to say maybe the food situation is getting better. But. Maybe the food situation is getting better. At the very least, she had less pain episodes this week.
23 Weeks: Celebrations and Food drama
Week 23 was not full of the breakthroughs I expected. In fact, we had some pretty big setbacks. But it wasn't all bad.
Week 11: Wonderful and weird
This was original posted on facebook in 2021 around a month after we found out about her diagnosis. This week was both wonderful and weird At this second, most of the time I just feel like a normal mom. Eloise is literally breastfeeding 95% of the time she’s awake these days. (And, unlike her bottle... Continue Reading →
Eloise The Tiny Fighter 