Hannah had her feeding tube placed on Thursday. All went smoothly, and she is doing well overall. We are still managing some discomfort, which is normal. And we're still figuring out our new routines, which will take some time and adjustment. But we are grateful to have this behind us and see her adjusting pretty well.

Thank you for your continued support and prayers. Please pray that Hannah would continue healing, that there would be no signs of infection, and that the tube would stay put for the next six weeks. (If the tube falls out in the next six weeks, we need to immediately place an emergency catheter and then book it to the nearest pediatric ER. So thinking about it coming out is stressful. And, of course, she can't tell us if it comes out, feels funny, etc. And she likes to tug and chew on the extension, so we're having to keep her away from it.) And, of course, please pray that the tube would be beneficial for her long-term health. We want to see her grow and thrive and get the nutrition and hydration that she needs.

We also want her to continue to enjoy mealtimes. This was one of the issues that we had with her team pushing for the tube early on. They wanted her to get all of her calories from the tube, which would make her not hungry. It concerned us that she might not be as interested in food and eventually be turned off from it or not be able to advance her feeding skills. We think that we have a good plan in place now to help keep that interest going, but we want to maintain that. A lot of the rhetoric around the tube was always, "Just switch to the tube and go all-in on that. It's easier and less stressful." My response was always, "Well, sure. It'd be easier for all of us to get one. Imagine how much more time I'd have if we didn't have to meal plan, grocery shop, prepare, cook, and eat meals. We could get a lot more done. And we'd be able to optimize our calories and nutrition, too. Maybe we should all get one." But everyone knows why this is a problem. Food is more than calories and nutrition. It's also for pleasure, connection, community, celebration, and more. As much as it is a pain to constantly think about meals, I wouldn't want to give up the pleasure of eating unless I really had to. So it's important to us that we maintain this for Hannah. She is a happy eater who loves to be at the table with us and eats pretty much anything we put in front of her. She doesn't have any conditions that would prevent her from being able to eat. (Some people are at risk for aspiration or have other conditions that prevent them from being able to eat orally, and for those people, the tube is truly life-saving, but she doesn't have any of these.) Her skills are just immature - similar to those of an older infant or very young toddler. So she can't consume a large enough volume of food to keep up with her growth, but she enjoys eating, and we want that to continue. So please pray that we would be able to strike that balance and keep advancing her skills while giving her a boost nutritionally.

Your gifts continue to be a blessing to us and enabled us to stay two nights in a nearby hotel and get a wee bit more sleep than we otherwise would have, which is so important! So thank you, thank you, thank you! Praise God for his Church. I don't know how others make it through hard times without the blessing of the body of Christ.