Kyle at 4 months

Ok he's going to be 5 months next week but he had his official 4 month check up this week.

So at almost 5 months he weighs just under 21 pounds and is 27.5 inches tall. Still well above the 97th percentile line on the little chart!

He also started solid foods this week, beginning with rice cereal. He is a born natural at the solid eating game, he took to slurping off a spoon right away. I was quite surprised but happy too, because Caitlin hated spoons for the longest time. Next up - apples!

He will have a follow up MRI in December to check on the progress of his surgery, but for now he's doing great. And he's allowed his first bath in 3 weeks tomorrow!

Why Aetna is my new best friend

The bill for Kyle's surgery came today.

Drum roll please...

Wait for it...

$43,000. Actually it's $43,218.77.

No word on how much of that we have to pay yet.

Ouch.

Now where did Jeff leave that $1 bill?

Bonus!

One bonus of Kyle's surgery is that he now loves lying on his tummy, something he hated until as recently as a few days ago. He rolled onto his front for the first time on that very morning, great timing there buddy! But since we brought him home he has been busy practicing and now refuses to lie any other way! Unfortunately that means he even wants to sleep that way which scares me so much I can't sleep at night...

My new obsession - broccoli cheese soup!

I've recently ventured back into the world of soup, with one of my favorites being broccoli cheese soup. Unfortunately this flavor is usually one of the most fattening, so I improvised my own lower fat version of it, which I thought I'd share.

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 an onion, diced
1 cup carrots, diced
1/2 stick of butter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 cups fat free half and half
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups chopped broccoli
1 cup shredded 2% sharp cheddar
Grated nutmeg
Salt and pepper

Sauté the onions and carrots in the olive oil until soft and set aside.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan, mix in the flour and cook for a few minutes, stirring to avoid burning. Slowly add the half and half, then add the chicken stock. Bring to a simmer then leave simmering for 20 minutes.

Add the broccoli and the sautéed vegetables and continue to simmer until broccoli is soft.

Blend using an immersion blender, or in batches in the blender, and return to the pot. Stir in the cheddar and add salt and pepper to taste.

Voilà! Serve with some nice crusty white bread.

I haven't found a low fat alternative to the butter yet, as I don't like using products that are filled with chemicals, but it's not that much divided over 4 portions.

Side effects

A rather unfortunate side effect of spending so much time in Lincoln Park over the last week has been my new found determination to find a way to move back to the city. I can't help it, I just love being there. I don't know how, or when, but I'm going to do it.

Homeward bound - hopefully

Its Sunday morning and it's been a long few days.

Today Kyle should hopefully get to come home, so long as he tolerates being held to feed this morning, which we will be starting shortly.

I'm looking forward to being back in my own bed, with my own shower! And eating a meal that isn't McDonalds - what is up with a childrens hospital that only has food available from McDonalds the majority of the time?!

All done

Kyle's surgery went well and he's doing good. We should get to see him soon.

Surgery currently underway

Stay tuned for news.