Another month means another check-up for Peanut at the UIHC. In addition to the normal check-up with Peanut’s GI doctor – more on that in a bit – we were also fortunate to run into one of Peanut’s old friends – Nurse Jessica. Jessica was one of two nurses that spent a huge amount of one on one time with Peanut when she was at her sickest last year. That also means she spent a lot of time explaining things and answering questions for the DW and me. Judging by the smile on Peanut’s face, I’d risk saying she might remember her – or at least the sound of her voice.

Peanut Catches Up with Nurse Jessica

After catching up with Nurse Jessica, it was off for the routine blood work and examine with Peanut’s GI doctor. While Peanut’s growth has slowed since her last visit (17 lbs 8 oz – she’s burning a lot of calories just cruising around) her doctor is still very happy with her progression. We’ll make some minor adjustments to Peanut’s supplements (decrease D3 and copper, increase salt, and no change for her iron and liver medication) and start adding new foods at no more than one a week while increasing Peanut’s total volume. If everything stays on course, we’ll met with Peanut’s surgeon mid-September to set a date for her next surgery.

Once we were wrapped up with Peanut’s GI doctor, we took Dr. McElroy up on an offer to visit his research lab. (You may remember Dr. McElroy – Peanut was under his care when she developed NEC and during her extended stay in Bay 1 of the NICU.) Conveniently, Dr. McElroy’s research is on NEC, so this was a great chance for us to see first hand what’s being done so that future infants will never have to go through what Peanut has – or worse.

Inside Dr. McElroy’s Research Lab

While the DW and I found the research interesting, Lulu was fascinated by the lab mice, and Peanut thought it was a great time to pretend to be shy. Even though she flashed smiles at Dr. McElroy and his assistants, she squirmed like mad when she realized who was holding her for a quick picture.

Peanut Is Not Too Sure About This

All in all, Peanut had another great visit at UIHC – but the day wasn’t over yet. We hit the highway and started heading even further from home…

Where To Next?