We've Come a Long Way

After his first X-ray at 2 weeks old...the beginning of the process in a search for answers.

Our 8 month photo shoot...Gotta LOVE that smile!






Look how much he has grown! After arriving home from a recent weight check!


We've come a long way!

Back when Beckett was turning six months old, I meant to do the typical "Happy Six Month Old" post. I fully intended to post some six month pictures, stats, and accomplishments. However, I never did--obviously. To be honest, six months was a little tough. We are so thankful for his first six months and for his precious smile, and take neither for granted, but it was a hard six months, including a couple of hospitalizations, a couple of feeding tubes, a minor surgical procedure, blood tests, x-rays, invasive procedures, and weekly or bi-weekly check ups at the pediatrician's office. And countless sleepless nights.

Honestly, at 6 months, it did not feel like we had made much progress. We were still feeding a baby all night long. We were still struggling to gain weight (well him, not me. Ha!) Our baby cried during the evenings and would only sleep in my arms. He seemed so uncomfortable, and still so new. We still did not have any solid diagnosis as to why he was so chronically constipated. We knew he was diagnosed with Failure to Thrive but did not know why he wasn't growing at a typical rate. And let me tell you, I don't think parents want to hear their children called a failure to -- anything. So constantly hearing a failure to THRIVE is hard and does hurt, as thriving is something that is supposed to come so naturally.

But now, here we are, 2 short months later, and ready to do a Happy 8 Month Old Post! We have come so far and learned so much about our little boy. He is doing so much better, and we are so proud of our little man!

To start with, he is hitting his developmental milestones within a normal range. He babbles and smiles at everybody! He is quite the little flirt. He is sitting up and rolling both directions. He is SLEEPING in his own bed all night (with the exception of waking up for feedings) most of the time. He takes naps in his bed, too! He grabs at toys and will reach for something if he really wants it. Everything seems to go straight to his mouth, which is wonderful, really. He also waves by flapping his arm up and down. Precious! We are so thankful that he is learning new things every day and so aware of the world around him. It is amazing.

As noted by his pediatrician at his last appointment, we have come along way where his health is concerned as well. We had a check up and discussed that he has made progress, and we know more about how to care for him. It was a very positive appointment, and a helpful reminder of how far we have come and how much we have learned. We now know the cause of several of his GI problems, and we are receiving treatment for them by one of the few motility specialists. We learned that he does have that abnormality of the nerves in his colon. The pathology was clear that the nerves are present, but not what they should be. This could be either an immaturity that will mature over time, or it could be the way he will always be. Only time will tell. Either way, we are thankful for knowledge because now we can help him. He is now able to stool nearly every day, and this helps him feel so much better! Also, we know that he has Delayed Gastric Emptying. We had the emptying scan done that actually measured how long it took for his 4 ounces of formula to go through his stomach. It was a very concrete answer to what we had assumed for a long time. His stomach is definitely slow to empty, so now he is on the appropriate drugs for that as well. His spit up has decreased substantially as now food is actually emptying into his small intestine at a more appropriate rate, thanks to the medicine. We have heard of adults who have DGE, and report that the medicines change their life. And they live successful, healthy lives. So now Beckett has these new and specific diagnoses that can be treated and maintained daily. We do have to put a bit more thought into his daily feeding than most parents of eight month olds, but it is all very manageable. Over the last two months, we have learned that while yes, he does have these difficult problems, they are very controllable at this point.

We are thankful for the progress that has been made over the last two months in both Beckett's health and his development. We still have some questions and test coming up in the future, but when you look back, we have really come so far already. I can't believe he is eight months old! Thanks for reading!