Failure to Thrive

I realize I left everyone hanging not updating since our hospital visit.  Baby GL came home as expected on the Friday before Labor Day weekend.  He gained some weight during his stay which seemed to satisfy the doctors.  I still feel that the hospital stay was unnecessary.  There were other ways to accomplish what they needed without sticking my son is a small hospital room with no where go to go.  Had they thought it through and known about the MRSA situation I can only hope they wouldn't have done that to him.  Now we have to go through another round of three negative results to not be put in isolation if every there is another hospital visit.  We thought we had two negatives but then he ended up positive this last time around.  Just the icing on the cake, I guess.  


Once Baby GL was home he seemed to adjust back to his schedule.  We are still experiencing daily vomiting fits.  Something we are experimenting with is taking him off the viagra meds we started for his heart a few weeks back.  I'm wondering if that adds some sensitivity to his stomach.  Baby GL will vomit just seeing that spoon coming near him.  I really don't think that's a natural reaction. The goal coming out of the hospital was to get Baby GL to eat 5 jars of food or yogurt with a teaspoon of oil added to each, 16 ounces of Compleat Pediatric, as well as 4 ounces of whole milk.  So far we've only been successful with 3 jars of food or yogurt and maybe the full amount of liquids.  He's just so small you hate to stuff him because it will just come right back up.  It's a constant struggle.


On the contrary to Baby GL's weigh issues, his energy is as excitable as can be.  He resists naps, he jumps and crawls around at any given moment and will not sit still at any point during the day.  Even when he sleeps he manages to roll around do much he wraps the oxygen cord around him so many times it comes off the oxygen tank.  I've woken up to the whooshing sound coming from the tank after he's pulled it off.  Usually that would be a sign that it's time to come off the oxygen.  The doctors don't seem to see it that way.  They actually thought adding one more cord, a feeding pump, was a great decision.  Sure, why not.  Let's never get sleep because we'll be up all night unwrapping our son.


I still have a lot of hostility towards the doctors after this last hospital stay.  The doctors diagnosed Baby Gl as "failure to thrive".  I've heard other babies being diagnosed as such.  However, when you hear that about your own child you start to question everything.  Most of the time I just think about how that should really be called something else.  If my son was "failing to thrive" why would he be crawling around, giggling, walking, rolling, talking, etc.  That to me is the definition of thriving.  He's alive, he's healthy and very happy.  Yes, he's small.  So let's plan the diet and stop defining it.  


Aside from all the crazy stuff we've actually found a lot of great times this week.  I took Baby GL's little baby pool out for him to play in.  He loves to play in the bath now, splashing around, standing up against the edge of the tub then sitting, then up again.  I figured the pool would be just as great. It was fun, but not the same effect.  We've been trying to play more with Baby GL's cousins and to take him around other people.  He's been experiencing a lot of separation anxiety.  It's not good when he doesn't even recognize his own grandparents.  


It's been another week of adjustments, to say the least.  We've begun t realize that this is how our life will continue.  I have no fears that Baby L won't catch up as he gets older.  The comical thing is that my 2 month old nephew wears the same size clothing as Baby GL, who is now 18 months old.  Well, so many parents wish their babies would stay babies longer.  I guess we get to experience that in real life.