Happy Valentine's Day! There's a lot of love going around our home these days with Libi now on the move - crawling, assisted standing/walking. Here's the latest on our sweet girl:

Thumb Removal Surgery

Libi had outpatient thumb surgery recently. They removed the extra digit from her left thumb so she'd have better mobility and a cleaner look for her hand. We planned this surgery several months in advance after Libi turned one because the younger she is, the more time she has to acclimate and not know any different. In typical Libi fashion, they said it would take 1 hour for surgery and it only took 25 minutes. She's recovered very nicely over the last few weeks while coping with limited mobility. Despite the change in appearance, we’ve always called it her lucky thumb and I think it’s still just as lucky. 

Developmental Progress

Like we said, she is on the move! Libi crawls speedy quick, climbs up and around on whatever she can, pulls to stand, cruises, and has even started taking steps with her push walker toys! She has mastered the words “mama”, “dada”, and “daddy”, and she recently started on “uh-oh”, “stinky”, and “blankie”. She still has physical therapy, speech therapy, and music therapy,  but her occupational therapy has been reduced from weekly to monthly as she is meeting all the goals they set for her so quickly! We still remember when the doctors told us she wouldn’t have abilities past those of an infant.

Weight Gain & Daily Vomiting

Libi has always struggled with weight gain due to Fanconi Anemia, but this past month was the first time she had lost weight. We are working with her dietician on ideas to help her as we’ve switched from strictly formula to formula at night with a blended diet during the day. This means that we blend real food together to make a “smoothie” that can go through her G-tube. It’s better for her long term health because it allows her body to digest things just like you or I would. Her reflux has come back full force though with 1-3 vomits per day, and it has definitely been a stressor! Her calories all come from the food we put through her G-tube, but she is still practicing eating by mouth and has made a lot of progress. She will now try most things you offer her, but continues to mostly chew and spit it out. She is enjoying an occasional sip of juice and water via straw or cup too! We'd appreciate prayers for an end to these emotionally-draining and morale-lowering vomit episodes that occur daily.

My 3rd Pregnancy

I'm 37.5 weeks today and am delighted to share that I was released from the high risk pregnancy center recently! They physically had to hold my hand and say “you and your baby are okay. We do not need to see you anymore.” I needed to hear that to push me through our last bit of pregnancy with  baby girl #2. It has honestly flown by! Apparently what they say is true- when you have another one to chase around, you don’t have as much time to just sit with your thoughts! Though she kicks me daily and tries hard enough to remind me she’s there 😅 We will do testing for FA after she's born, but currently we're riding the high of a “normal” pregnancy and have been given no negative indications like we experienced with Libi.

Libi’s Heart ♥️ 

It was very sweet to have an echocardiogram today on Valentine’s Day! But even sweeter to hear that her heart is “normal” from their standards. Our sweet heart girl, with a healed heart, on heart day. We are still in awe of how much God has worked in her life thus far. 

Overall, we're doing well and are incredibly thankful. We are heading into prep mode to welcome our newest peanut soon, and we cannot wait to watch Libi be a big sister! Stay tuned for a wonderful fundraising event happening in Richmond in April for FA! Your continued support means so much ♥️