Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Walking a fine line


Sometimes, "wait, watch and hope for the best" is the most appealing option, and I was relieved to learn that Bryce's pediatrician agrees that this is one of those cases. All of his tests came back clean, and we haven't had any more unwelcome surprises in his diaper. Our own experiments with fortified versus straight breastmilk have clearly demonstrated that he needs the extra calories to grow, so I am very reluctant to tinker with his diet. The doctor concurred that since he's doing so well, it is better to continue with the Elecare in the hope that he'll eventually outgrow his extremely sensitive and immature digestive system. Based on Bryce's reaction to the nearly constant rumbling in his tummy, his indigestion isn't a whole lot of fun, but it's far less dangerous than being six pounds forever.

In other news, Bryce hit another important visual development milestone! Christie has been working very hard to get him to follow objects with his eyes, and on Tuesday evening, he was clearly tracking a little Frosty the Snowman toy. He may have been following the blinking red lights in Frosty's cheeks, rather than the toy itself, but we're pleased as punch either way. We were also cleared to discontinue Bryce's apnea monitor during the day, because he hasn't had any apnea spells since he was discharged, but they want us to continue using it at night for another month due to his occasional reflux/low-heart-rate spells.

I'm actually writing this post from 32,000 feet above somewhere in middle America, and the fact that I'm confident enough in Bryce's health to take a day trip for work speaks volumes about how far we've come. There's still a long road ahead, but at the rate he's been growing during the past week, he'll hit 7 lb., 12 oz. (Logan's birth weight) a lot closer to Halloween than Christmas. Go, twinkie! Print this post

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