Little Lucia: Giddy up Green Shake!

Our bird is turning into a lady and with that comes a distinguished palate and new activities! Lucia’s diet her first two and a half years lacked in variety-Muy Mucho! It consisted solely of my breast milk then infant formula then Pediasure. And not to forget her first year she was only fed by a feeding tube. Sure we wanted to give her more but we were worried about aspiration if we changed the thickness or flavor and I honestly just wasn’t ready to go there. BUT I DID! Move over sugary Pediasure, we are going GREEN! After working with different thicknesses, practicing the swallow for months with therapists and watching and listening with a careful eye and ear, Lu has shown us that she can handle other foods! She’s drinking real foods beautifully pureed via a powerful Vitamix and then given to her through a bottle. Whole foods-spinach, kale, apples, peppers, peaches, Greek yogurt, almond milk, beets, avocado, prunes, fresh herbs and more! Bacon and Eggs- YES! Chili-YES! Pumpkin spice smoothie-You BETCHA! And this past week -Salmon and veggies! Wow Lu! It is fun to make her “smoothie of the day” and this week we are consulting with a dietitian to make sure she is getting all she needs to BLOOM as she is meant to BLOOM! Katie Garces, I think of that card often- "Every flower needs to get through a little dirt before it can bloom" and Katie added “BLOOM LUCIA BLOOM!” Well, now we feel we are well on our way to watering her with the appropriate nutrients so she can bloom even more. We have also purchased some new eating tools- a vibrating straw, new teething and oral stimulation thing-a-ma-jigs, and Lucia is definitely showing improvement. We pray that one day she will be able to enjoy pureed foods by spoon, and use the spoon herself or just feed herself with her sweet hands. We dream of a family meal where our Lu can sit at the table and enjoy all the foods that we do! Up up and away-we will try!

Mom, you have got to be crazy if you think I'll drink that!

Well maybe, i'm pretty hungry and perhaps its a shamrock shake?!

Hey Lubirdy! She likes it!

Our bird has also been riding a horse- Horse therapy once a week for the past 6 weeks- Giddy Up! According to her horse therapy entourage-all 4-5 of them- they said this past Sunday was her best session yet! Riding, touching, smelling, walking and feeling every muscle of the horse can be so therapeutic for everyone and especially for kids that may need more input to develop and understand their muscle tone. It’s really awesome to watch. A little bird on a big horse, sometimes singing her song, sometimes trying to lay down and sometimes sitting up tall with a smile or her beautiful content look upon her angelic face.

We are happy. We are so happy she is eating well. We are so happy she is improving and enjoying her riding lessons. And we are so happy with our family of four, plus 2 dogs=six. And Scout, oh her little sister Scout is more than we ever hoped for. Things are happy in our little home.