Never say never...

There are a couple of things that I said I would never do concerning my son... or at least I hoped I would not have to do.

1. Put him on a medication like Zantac that could have negative side effects
2. Wake him up to feed him

Well, never say never because I guess both of those are on the table, now.

We went to the pediatrician yesterday for C.T.C.'s four month check -up, hoping that he had gained a healthy amount of weight. The last time we had been there, he had, unfortunately, slipped on his weight percentile from the 50th down to the 25th. Concerning? Perhaps, except that he had gone up on his height percentile from the 50th to the 75th. An argument could be made that he had simply stretched out. Laying him on the scale, though, I could quickly see that it was not to be. Only 5 more ounces in almost a month. Not even 13 pounds at four months of age. It seemed a bit low to me, and the doctor confirmed my suspicions and her concern. The last time, it was a signal to watch and see, but now, it was a pattern. He was no longer sustaining his level of growth. He had fallen off his curve, and something had to be done. Her previous opinion on medication was that she did not prefer to "mess with the gut floor" on infants. I know that many other physicians are quick to prescribe, but she liked to try whatever else was possible first in order to preserve a baby's stomach acid, which is necessary to manage bad bacteria. However, at this point, she said that because of his struggle to gain weight, we had no choice. What is a mother to do? Take a big breath, pray that God will protect my son from any ill side effects, and pick up the prescription. So, now, my son is on Z@nt@c twice a day and eating no more than five ounces at once (because he was not keeping down greater amounts) 6-7 times a day. I'm pushing for seven, but do you know how tough that is when he has been sleeping through the night since the age of five or six weeks? [SO grateful!!! :o)] There aren't that many hours left in the day. Even the doctor said she couldn't believe she was going to tell me to do this. I mean, wake up a sleeping baby???? She said I could just give him his first feeding the second we got up in the morning, but even that doesn't really leave enough time for every 3 hours, and he needs EVERY calorie he can get! Fortunately, he woke up on his own at 4 a.m.




He must have known it was time for him to eat. Oh, and I didn't tell you where he is at this point, did I? Yeah. That would be the 10th percentile. As in, T-E-N-T-H. When he came to us, he was in the 90-something percentile.

90th... and a chin! ;o)

Then, steadily in the 50th. Then, last time in the 25th, and now in the 10th.

10th and not an ounce of fat on him! :o(

We are giving him all the nutrition we can, but he's just not keeping it down. :o( So, we are just following the doctor's recommendations and trusting that God will help his little body to grow! You know, I thought we had learned enough about trusting just waiting for him. I didn't realize I would have this many more opportunities to learn about trusting God, now! ;o) Actually, last night was a very pleasant evening. After giving him his first dose of medication, it was the first time I can EVER remember that we were able to use a regular sized burp cloth instead of a blanket. He did not throw up even once in three feedings, and he was quite relaxed. I even felt a twinge of regret that we had not asked the doctor to reconsider doing this sooner. I mean, he seemed to feel so much better. So, that's our update. It didn't come out exactly the way I said it to myself as I was falling back asleep after feeding him this morning, but... oh, well... it's done! :0)

So, that's it.

4 feedings down.
NO throwing up for 3.
Minimal spitting up for 1. So, that's what you call spitting up??? ;o)
3 feedings to go for the day.
Weight check in 3 weeks.

Please keep praying!

Jump back on your curve, baby! ;o)

Living in His JOY, HOPE, and PEACE...