German Potato Soup with a Side of Pneumonia

Yep, you guessed it, Emily now has pneumonia. We went in to see her GI specialist and he took a listen and asked for another x-ray. He was pretty upset that they had not admitted Emily to the hospital when she spiked that high fever as he thinks she may have had a kidney infection and may still be fighting it. He was also not pleased with the choice of antibiotic they chose for the UTI and wants to reculture on Monday to see if it actually got rid of it.

So, for the first time in Emily's life, we aren't going to worry about the eating issues, "they are secondary at this point". She got a shot for the pneumonia and a breathing treatment while we were there (for four hours). We are to keep offering her food and just give her what she wants and watch for signs of dehydration. We are using her inhaler...which means she is even more hyper than normal...and paying close attention to her breathing and watching to see if it gets too labored. We will get an ng tube but probably not until tomorrow. I can't wait to get the tube because as M put it yesterday, "Feeding Emily is just physically and emotionally exhausting!" I want the break more than anything. Anyway, she is still at home and unless she runs a fever or starts coughing or vomiting, she will stay with us.

Interestingly, in regards to solids, I have been thinking for a while that maybe Em just doesn't like sweet and we should try salty. I have tried a few things here and there but she has always rejected whatever we give her. Yesterday I made German Potato Soup and I cooked the soup too long, so rather than blending the potatoes only, I had to blend the entire soup. M decided to give Em some and she loved it! She was not just opening her mouth, she was leaning forward to try to get more...yes, we are talking about the girl who hasn't eaten solids in almost three weeks. Ha!

For those who don't know, there is a lot of junk in this soup - bacon, carrots, sour cream, onions, potatoes, etc - and it is a little on the salty side. :) Who knows if she will like it tomorrow but M has declared that she just needs more flavor and salt. What's the next test? Blend whatever I am making for us and try it out...tomorrow, pork and edamame stir fry.

She has also completely rejected the sippy cup from the beginning but yesterday I was drinking water and she was interested so I gave her some sips and she didn't freak out so I put water in her cup and she played with it and was at least interested in it. SO, my daughter who gets "overstimulated by flavor" wants flavor in her food but not her beverages? Who knows...I have learned with her that nothing is final, it can all change this afternoon, much less tomorrow, but at least there is a little hope that we may have gotten somewhere, thanks to good old water and a little recipe from the Germans.

Hope your day goes well. Thank you for your prayers!! God Bless!