Tante Marieke, good and bad feeding, and our bad boy (photos)

Loki's Tante (aunt) Marieke arrived yesterday from Holland. She is very excited to see him, having saved up many hugs and kisses in the last six months. And the feeling appears to be mutual.

In recent days, Loki's mood has greatly improved. After a tumultuous few weeks of my absence, Oma and Opa leaving, Loki and Mom being ill, and surgery, he had become much less happy, smiling and laughing less. In recent days, he has returned to his old self.

There is good and bad news about Loki's feeding. The good news is that Loki is gradually eating very small amounts of food. In the last three days, he has begun to put bits of various foods in his mouth, chew them, and then either swallow or spit them out. He likes avocado, baked veggie chips, fried green beans, cheese, and potatoes baked in oil. We recognize that these are not healthy foods. But the point now is to get him to eat anything.

Also, Loki's reflux seems less severe now than before.

The bad news is that Loki's feeding tube comes out of his button about as easily as it did before the recent surgery. We now use an elaborate system of his diaper strap, a girdle, several pieces of tape, and Loki's own body to keep the tube in place. But these are still not enough: Last night it came out in the middle of the night, which we realized when Mom noticed that his clothes and sheets were all wet. Thus we had to get up and change these clothes and sheet, plus the diaper and girdle, and reinstall and retape the tube--all while Loki was crying quite loudly.

Today, a baby and mother whom we met at the Alta Bates NICU visited. This young boy is about the same adjusted age (i.e., similar due date) as Loki, and was at a very similar stage of development. It was fun to see them side-by-side, and interacting.

However, we discovered that Loki is quite territorial. When the both of them were standing on opposite sides of Loki's wooden activity center (see photo below), Loki gradually walked around to the other side in an apparent attempt to push his friend (or frenemy?) away. Later, when the boy played with Loki's stacking rings, Loki took them away. And when they were near each other, Loki even tried to sort-of bite him!

Tante en neefje 1:


Tante en neefje 2:


Loki pushes aside his NICU "friend":


Happy, dancing in bed:


Oaktown family:


Here are a couple old ones that we had overlooked. Mom and Loki in the emergency room when Loki got sick while I was away:


And Loki at the UCSF hospital, right before he got his G-tube, over a month ago:


Videos coming shortly.... I must edit them a bit, and am experiencing some technical difficulties.