Ashton had her monthly appointment at Children's on Wed. She will go to the pulmonary clinic once a month until she is a year old, then she will go quarterly for the rest of her life. Of course when she turns 18 she will have to go to an adult care clinic. At these appointments they basically weigh her and measure her just like at the regular check-ups all babies have. They also do a "cough culture." This is where they stick a swab to the back of her throat and gag her to get her to cough on it. It is NOT FUN. However, it is the worst part of the appt, so it could be worse:) They culture this to see if there is any bacteria the first couple of times she grew strep. However, the last time we were in the hospital they did one and it was the first one to come back completely clean! So, we are praying this one is clean as well. If she grows a bacteria, they may treat with oral anitbiotics (usually some form of amoxil) or if it is a bad one (I'll write more about those later) or she is symptomatic and they can't get rid of it, she may have to go into the hospital for IV antibiotics.

After the measuring and weighing (triage), we wait for a long time then we see the dr. She just asks questions and listens to her breathing. We also see a respiratory therapist who just checks on how treatments are going, and if we need anything equipment or med wise. Then we see a nutritionists who tracks Ashton's growth. At this appt her weight was 14lbs and 1 oz and she was 24 inches long. This is in what they call the green zone, 50th percentile or above, which is NO RISK! Great news! She also got great reports from the the doctors so this was a great appointment. I want to stress that the doctors are continually amazed at how well she is doing. Especially with her history of RSV, which can cause damage in babies that do not have CF, they expect problems with that. However, to date, there are none. They are somewhat shocked at her wonderful condition, but considering the God our family serves, we are not:) We are simply pleased and thankful beyond measure.

As I have time I will write more about her daily treatments, and some general information of CF that some of our family and friends might be worrying about. Also, Ashton hit a milestone this week:) We've been trying to make her laugh with no luck, we just aren't funny enough, until big brother got in on it that is.. Jackson did it! He was so excited.. he exclaimed "She likes me!" Love you guys... keep checking back...