Chicken (in more ways than one)

We got the go-ahead at our last clinic visit to try "more complex foods" with Blaise. I figured they didn't mean Roquefort and, given that Blaise had a maybe-maybe-not allergic reaction to hypoallergenic infant formula that left her with bloody stool for five months, we decided not to rush it. We also didn't want to risk a major problem or a hospital admission during the Christmas/birthday extravaganza so we tried mangos and blueberries instead (both were fine).

Yesterday we sucked it up and tried baby food chicken. Blaise didn't particularly like the taste of it. Her therapist suggested mixing with applesauce to make it more palatable. I reminded her that this was Blaise and she amended her suggestion to be mixing it with peas. We might try that soon. But we're back to being cautious after a round of vomiting at bedtime last night, followed by a difficult-to-pass but still runny stool. Chicken is by far the most complex thing we've ever offered her and we knew we were likely to see some issues. We backed off for today and I'm waiting to talk with the short gut NP tomorrow about how to proceed.

In other fun news, Blaise has been having a bit of a leak around her g-button. We're not sure what's going on with it. We treated some granulation tissue around the site and changed out the button completely when it seemed like the balloon that keeps it in place was leaking. But the leak is still there. Some of it might be an older baby's natural curiosity, which has Blaise tugging at and wiggling the button. It might also just be a bad fit. We're hoping for a solution soon. This isn't a major issue at all, but it's kind of annoying to look down and realize that there's a big wet spot on Blaise's shirt again.

For her part, Blaise is babbling like crazy and has begun to respond to verbal cues for a lot of things, including "Soooo big!" (lifting her arms up), "give me a kiss" (with a kiss) and "Who's house? Blaise's house!" (a raise-the-roof gesture, a la Run DMC). She's doing a lot of social referencing with me and Ben about new things and trying to push boundaries with bedtime and naps. Her favorite pasttime is still pulling books off the shelves and paging through them, while ignoring her Christmas and birthday toys. Very strange, as neither Ben nor I are bookish in the least.