Clara Gained Weight!

The biggest news is that Clara has gained weight!  She is now 6.314 kg = 13 lbs and 14.5 oz! 

And for once, it doesn't seem to be fluid overload of her tissues.  Granted, her weight can greatly fluctuate dependent upon whether or not she has just had one of her massive pees or poops or has one yet to come, but this is the most she has weighed since her admittance. 

To give you an understanding of the significance: Clara's weight has fluctuated right around 6 kg which was roughly 50th percentile when she was admitted at 4 months old.  But now that she is 6 months old, 6 kg puts her in the 0th(!) percentile. Her appetite has fluctuated severely over the course of our being here and after her PICU visit and this last round of chemo she had to re-learn how to breastfeed.  Even when she seems like she is eating really well, it only lasts for a day or two - and still isn't close to the number of ounces she is supposed to have in a day.  Even more important, she needs even more calories than a well baby to be able to repair her body from the chemo. 

So this was HUGE news of success after two months of feeding her at the breast, through her NG tube, continuous feeds from a pump through her NG tube at night, AND having introduced solids last week (which are unfortunately not enough to count as caloric intake yet) all in an effort to help her gain weight. 

WE (and she) DID IT!