the tides are turning..

Sawyer continued a modified version of his hunger strike throughout our time in Utah and into our visit in Denver. He ate practically nothing on the flight to Pennsylvania.
...and then

that first night at my parents' house before he went to bed...
he suddenly started eating again.

Like a snap of the fingers suddenly all was right with the world. He cries hungrily for his bottles. He is eating over 700 calories every single day (his target caloric intake is between 600 and 800 calories a day).

I can breathe again. Deep sigh of relief.

Who knows what was wrong. Was he just really not feeling well since he was coming down with his first cold during the time that he was refusing to eat. Was it all of the traveling that got to him? Did it have something to do with the elevation? Is he simply more comfortable here in his hometown? (I mean, he was born here afterall).

I'm sure I will never get a good answer to why he stopped eating for So Many Days! I just pray it NEVER happens again.  To say I thought I was going to explode is quite the understatement. Thankfully it's over. Hopefully forever.

I don't know where he is with his growth now. I don't know how much his hunger strike set him back. I can't even think about it right now. I am just overjoyed that he is eating his target calories. That's all I can ask for right now.

In the meantime, some other updates:
*in the midst of the craziness of travel, Mike stepped on my breast pump and broke it.  My internal battle of whether I should continue pumping or just put Sawyer exclusively on formula was answered for me. It was really annoying that it happened, but it was kind of a blessing because I didn't have to have guilt over one more thing...

*our renters moved in. hallelujah!

*Mike is in South Carolina as we speak. He picks up our house keys tomorrow. He has already been by the house and scoped out the neighborhood and peeked inside the windows. He says everything seems great, and I'm pretty excited to see our place. *crossing my fingers and hoping for the best!

I'm starting to feel like a normal human being again, and I'm very happy to be here with my family.

ALSO, one of my best friends just got engaged! I'm very excited for her, and it's looking like the tides are starting to change all around.

Looking happily forward to all of the positive changes the next few weeks will bring.