God's Grace is Sufficient

Good morning. Here we are at 12:40 in the morning. This seems to be our regular wind-down time. He has spent the last hour in the jungle gym playing and stretching himself. He really loves that thing - thanks Shannon. That has proven to be very functional for what he needs. He is beginning to bat at the stuffed animals that hang from above. There is a music mode on there that turns on when the baby kicks or hits at a toy or one of the supports. I'm not sure if he is learning that he can make it come on but he kicks at it often when the music goes off to turn the music back on.

Yesterday was our appt. with the therapist friend of ours. This went very well and it was very helpful to learn what things to watch for. They were able to look at the situation objectively which was a little blurry for Joy and I no matter how much we try to stay objective. I think that Joy and I were able to come away from there more in tuned with each other and what we want for John. I think it was especially good for Joy in that it challenged her to think about this differently than what she had been and that different way of thinking is to be more proactive. So thanks to my friend - we really appreciate and value your input. You are a very gifted therapist with a heart for the kids.

A new issue that has caused increasing concern for us is gagging. This began about 3 weeks ago with just some non frequent gags. But now that they have become more frequent, it has caused us to be more cautious. They only happen when we don't get all of his burps out and not when he eats. So we believe that it is more likely to be reflux and his ability to handle the reflux because of low tone. With that said, we are going to first try some reflux medication to see if this helps him. If this doesn't help, then we will look at a swallow study to get a better handle of what is going on.

Another reason for not getting all excited about this (but then again, we aren't very excitable people when it comes to health care; we are quicker to act than to get excited). As I was saying, the other reason is that he continues to gain weight very well. Joy took him to clinic today to weigh him and he weighed 9lbs. 5oz. with a onezy on and he was 21 1/2 inches long. We are very pleased with his weight gain and his eating ability. I would however like him to become more efficient on the bottle in the next couple of weeks as I (Dad, babysitter and Therapist) will be staying home with him to help give him the head start that he needs.

I am looking forward to being with him during the days that Joy works. We are entering into a fun time with him as he is starting to interact with us by following us with his eyes, smiling (randomly, but smiling none the less) and cooing. He loves music so we dance a lot. I'm unsure how long I will be with him because of a few jobs in the works so we will see what happens. His well-being and health are our priority though.

As for new pictures, I will try to get some up by the weekend. My classes have occupied most of my time as you can see that I am not posting as often. We continue to give thanks to the Lord for His protective hand over John. We consider him to be much more than what we expected. Thanks also to everyone who visits our blog. May it be a blessing to you, it is fun writing it. Feel free to email me or leave a comment, we would like to hear from you. Take care for now...Jay