gaining weight and dropping meds

Well, I guess the title of the post says most of it.

Saw the Pediatrician today and learned that Samuel is 10 lbs and 13 oz - 12th percentile, up from the 7th a few weeks ago. Good sign given all the spitting that's gone on. Overall that has seemed to decrease some and Samuel is definitely a different baby now that he's off the Reglan. We're glad to have him back.

We are also cutting back on one of the medications slowly - since if you go cold turkey with this drug it can induce seizures and hallucinations (not really what we're looking for). Once that one is gone (in about a week to 10 days) we'll be down to just 3 medications - 2 for reflux and one as a prophylactic antibiotic.

No definite news on the NAM front. We're still talking with folks in Atlanta, trying to discern whether or not 'the best thing' is the necessary thing - if you follow. We met with the ENT and the Audiologist on Monday. The hearing tests weren't terribly conclusive, but what they were able to conclude is that Samuel most likely (they sounded pretty definitive) has profound hearing loss in his left ear. They didn't test the right ear because it had some fluid on it and would therefore have not tested accurately. They want to repeat the test sometime when Samuel is asleep ... and since they don't make house calls, that'll be during some procedure. During which anesthesia event, it is likely, we will have 5 different procedures done (if we can get it all coordinated): ABR, tubes in his ears, lip repair, possible J-tube placement and correction of possible choanal atresia. The less times they have to put him to sleep the better. Also saw the Ophthalmologist yesterday. No real new news there, other than to confirm that Samuel's eyes don't / can't function well and most likely function very little. It is still too early in his development to determine with any kind of accuracy or certainty what exactly he can see - him not being real communicative and all. So it really just comes down to our observing him and trying to discern what he is observing / paying attention to / being interested in.

Since Samuel is gaining weight, we are having to increase his feed amounts. This continues to be tricky as it seems like he's got a small stomach and can't handle significant increases to volume or concentration. So - having learned the hard way with the latter - we're taking it real slow.

That last phrase is about right for all of it these days. Trying to take it real slow and not get too far ahead of ourselves - really not get too far ahead of where the Lord has us. One day at a time ... it is beginning to sound cliche and trite to me, but it continues to be true - and he continues to be faithful to us.