New Tricks

Took Jim Beau to the doctor the other day because I suspected that he had another ear infection.  And, he did!   So he is back on antibiotics.  We did get a referral to see an ENT but the next appointment they had was January!   I am going to try to get us in somewhere else sooner.

In addition to the ear infection, Jim Beau has two bottom teeth that are almost in and FOUR teeth on the top that are trying to come in.  He is trying to find anything and everything to chew on!    Here are some pictures of his latest tricks.

Standing up

pulling up

climbing

bugging Alex

being cute

Check up at Shands

We had a check up at Shands on August 24.  (yes, I have been bad about updating!).    Jim Beau weighed 14 lbs 15 oz and I think he weighs about 16 lbs now.   His head was still in the 90th percentile while his weight was just barely on the charts!   Dr. Kays asked what I had been feeding him and when I told him he said, "that boy needs some steak!"   So, when we got home I steamed some top sirloin and pureed it.  It looks like cat food, but I think Jim Beau likes it ok.    I also made him a pasta puree and am trying to feed him things that are higher calorie.   He still gags if something is not pureed enough and he still does not have any teeth.

Their only concern with Jim Beau is his weight.  Even on the reflux meds he can't seem to take more than 4 oz of milk at a time.    It really hit me when I saw my 5 month old niece down an 8 oz bottle.  Jim Beau is 9 months old and can't drink that much!   He still wakes up in the middle of the night (sometimes twice) to take a bottle and I can't complain about that.  At least he is eating!  

Otherwise, Dr. Kays said Jim Beau is "delightful."   Duh!  :)  

As we were leaving we went down and got a chest xray.  This is the first time they have had to put Jim Beau in the little contraption that keeps them still.  He was so pitiful.  It is kind of hard to explain but they sit them down and put their arms up and then enclose them in these plastic doors so they can't move.    He didn't like it at all!

Here he is being delightful.

helping Dr. Dickey (look at how he handles those instruments!  I just know he will be a surgeon himself someday!)

telling Dr. Dickey all about it

Thanks for the picture, Dr. Dickey!

In other news, Jim Beau starts physical therapy next week.  They approved us to have once a week physical therapy in the home, which is great!   He has to ride around in the car enough as it is.   He needs a little help with trunk support so that he can sit up on his own.   Since the time that they approved the PT, he has started crawling, which is good.   I don't know that it is a real crawl, but more like an inch worm movement.  Either way, he can get to where he wants to go, which is usually some sort of cord or piece of paper!   At the beach last week I think he taught his cousins a thing or two about crawling!

Since the ear infection that he had back in July, he has had two more.  I'm not sure that they ever really went away.   This last time they tried him on a different antibiotic that I think worked better.   I can't believe he is already nine months old!!!  Pretty soon we will be celebrating his first birthday!

Heart of the Matter

Can you imagine ever being thankful that your child had a heart defect?     Well, I sure am!!

Lately,  I have really been thinking about how fortunate we were that Jim Beau's CDH was diagnosed before he was born.   If he did not have the heart defect then we never would have had the level 2 ultrasound, which showed us the CDH.   It is also very interesting that the heart issue was not discovered until I was 34 weeks pregnant.  The heart beat had sounded normal every other time.   You could say that it is a mystery, but I think it was all God's plan.  My OB said he thought Jim Beau was trying to tell us to take a better look at him and I agree.

We had a cardiology appointment last week and the doctor was very impressed with how Jim Beau is doing.  He wasn't worried about his weight and did not think they needed to do an EKG or an echo.  We don't have to go back for four months!   woo hoo!

In other Jim Beau news, he is really eating well.  He gags every once in a while if the food is too thick, but he has liked everything I have given him.   He isn't sitting up or crawling yet, but we will hopefully start physical therapy in the near future to help him with that.   He had his heart surgery at 3 months old and we weren't allowed to do tummy time or lift him under his arms for 6 weeks, so he is just a little behind.   He can get where he wants to go by rolling and doing the GI Joe scoot.

He had his first sickness recently while we were in Alabama -- pink eye and an ear infection -- but he is doing great now.

We go back to see Dr. Kays on August 17 so hopefully he will be pleased with Jim Beau's progress!

Smart?

I think I finally thought of something smart!   Jim Beau is doing pretty well with solid foods.  He really likes the brown rice cereal.  I can't get him to enjoy bananas yet, though.  Maybe I ate too many when I was pregnant!  

Anyway, the only issue we have is that Jim Beau gets preoccupied with the spoon while I am feeding him.  He grabs onto it and sometimes I let him have it and go get another one.  But, then he wants that one too.  So, tonight I put my arm sort of across his stomach and he was playing with my watch while I fed him, which made me think of those toys they make that velcro to babies' ankles.   I went and got one and attached it to my watch and he LOVED it!  He played with that thing the whole time I was shoving food in his mouth!

I can really tell that since he has started solid food that he has gotten bigger.  Go Jim Beau!   We go back to see Dr. Kays on August 22 so I hope he is happy with how Jim Beau is growing.

Powerful Prayer

Billy Graham's daughter, Ruth, has been praying for Jim Beau and visited Capitol Hill last week!   Check out her blog post.

Ruth Graham Visiting Capitol Hill

Eating

I'm thinking that it is really time for Jim Beau to start enjoying his first foods.   He still really loves his milk and I'm not sure I'm ready to cut back on that until I think he has the eating thing down a little better.  We had a cardiology check up today and he is gaining weight, just not enough.   Tonight I gave him cereal and sweet potatoes.  It is so funny.  He doesn't open his mouth, but instead I put the spoon up to his lips and he sips it off of the spoon. Very messy!  

He has reverted back to waking up every three hours at night to take a bottle.   He nearly takes four ounces at a time at night, which  is really good for him.  During the day, however, I think he is distracted by the things around him and he won't take that much and so it seems like he is eating all day long!     I would LOVE to get him on a better schedule, but right now I'm just going to feed him when he's hungry.  Eat Jim Beau!!

Well Baby Check Up

We had Jim Beau's 4 month Well Baby check up today.  He is really 5 1/2 months old, but he could not get any immunizations until 8 weeks after his heart surgery, so we are a little behind.    He is 25 inches long and weighs 12 lbs.   It makes me laugh because Jim Beau's cousin Alexa who is about 6 weeks old, already weighs 12 lbs!

I asked the doctor to figure out what percentile Jim Beau is in because Paul is always wanting to know that.  Turns out he has been in the 0 percentile for weight the past three times he has been weighed!!   Let's hope he really catches on to the cereal thing so that he can gain some weight.   Doc put him on a bigger dose of Zantac to help with reflux, so maybe it will start feeling better to him to eat more.   He is in the 44% for head circumference (shocker!) and 14% for length.

Jim Beau wasn't too excited about the rice cereal so I went ahead and tried the oatmeal and I think he likes it!  I'm also already trying pears and apples.   Yesterday and today he actually opened his mouth for me to put the spoon in, so that is good!    Here is a picture from a few days ago!