Dec 17 11
by cara
at 7:38 AM
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Updates on The Littlest Apple and Baby Slingshot

The Littlest Apple

I’ve had several emails and comments from the other tubie mommies out there wondering how The Littlest Apple has been doing.  Here’s an update for you!

A few weeks ago, we had a checkup with The Littlest Apple’s GI at Texas Children’s Hospital.  The Littlest Apple has been making excellent progress!  His appetite seems to have increased a little bit (for him anyway).  He actually eats breakfast now, which is probably the most telling of all.  He also seems to have what we think are hunger pains now-something he’s never experienced before.

We started The Littlest Apple on probiotics (Culturelle for Kids) in early October when he was on antibiotics for an ear infection and sinus infection.  An interesting development: he stayed healthy until this week (amazing for a kid who gets sick ALL the time)!  Our GI was all for the probiotics as well and recommended another brand (BioGaia) that has been proven to help some infants with gastroparesis.  I’ve been taking probiotics for over a month too, and I’ve also been feeling great.  Probiotics: get some!

The Litttlest Apple’s current weight is 34.6 pounds, and he’s 39 inches tall.  (He’s 4 years and 3 months old.)  That makes him “perfectly proportional” according to the GI.  He’s still small for his age, but he actually appears to have a little bit of body fat now, especially in his belly and cheeks.  Here he is with The Picky Apple after his preschool Christmas Program…

For comparison’s sake, here is The Littlest Apple a year ago (3 months into g-tube)….

And two years ago (a few months before he got his NG tube)….

Amazing difference, right?!

Now here’s the puzzling part…The Littlest Apple’s most recent gastric emptying study shows that his stomach emptying is extremely slow and worse than ever.  In fact, this was the slowest his stomach has ever emptied (and we’ve done 5 of these studies!).  It doesn’t quite add up with all of the great weight gain and increased appetite we’ve seen, but the doctor thinks we should just keep doing what we’re doing until we hit a wall.

In fact, we’re decreasing his night feeds via g-tube even further!  Woo hoo!

Now if we could just expand his food selection during the day….He still doesn’t eat any meat other than chicken nuggets (one brand only) and pepperoni.  Also, no veggies.  None.  He tried a tiny bite of sauteed red pepper the other day, which was nothing short of miraculous.  And he let us add chopped up pepperoni to his favorite meal of buttered noodles.  It’s the little things.

Mealtimes are still a huge, frustrating struggle for everyone involved.  Now that I’m more aware of how the food I eat affects me, I can’t help but wonder if The Littlest Apple is affected similarly.  He had an AWFUL afternoon yesterday after consuming bright green frosting by the spoonful at his preschool Christmas party.  So it would seem that sugar and/or food dyes certainly have an effect on him.  Gluten is another thing I wonder about, but it is such a huge part of his diet that I can’t imagine cutting it out completely (though we did experiment with this when he was younger and thought he might have Celiac).  At this point, I’m just trying to limit the sugar and junk and make more of an effort with his food during the day.  I’d also LOVE to go back to blending our own formula to use for his night feeds, but with a new baby on the way, I just don’t see that happening.

Baby Slinghsot

My C section is in LESS THAN 3 WEEKS!

Why the C-section?  My doctor (who is normally all for VBAC) feels very strongly that I need to have C-section because of the surgery I had with my ruptured ectopic pregnancy.  Not only am I having a C-section, but I need to have it at 37 weeks, because I am at a high (higher?) risk of rupture if I go in to labor naturally.

37 weeks is early, y’all, and as excited as I am to meet this little guy in a few short weeks, I certainly have my fair share of concerns.  The Littlest Apple was born at 36 weeks and spent 10 days in the NICU.  I guess my biggest concern is lung development, but I’m praying that all will be well.

My concerns were eased somewhat when I had a growth scan ultrasound earlier this week.  Baby Slingshot appears to be growing right on track.  No low amniotic fluid, no IUGR like I had with The Littlest Apple.  And even though the weight estimates provided by ultrasound are super unreliable, Slingshot is weighing a pound more than The Littlest Apple did when he was born.  And that’s a good thing!

As for the rest of our baby preparations….we’ve got LOTS to do, and I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed with Christmas PLUS getting ready for baby.  The nursery isn’t anywhere near finished and we still don’t have a name picked (though we’ve narrowed it down to 2).  Time to get busy!

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5 Comments
  1. Txtanya Txtanya permalink

    The Littlest Apple is looking healthy and happy.  Glad to hear all is going well, and praying you will have a smooth delivery.

  2. Cara permalink

    Thanks, Tanya!  Merry Christmas to you and your family!

  3. Leslie permalink

    Good luck with everything coming your way! My son was born right at 37 weeks and other than a little jaundice, he was completely developed and healthy. I hope everything goes well for you and baby

  4. Cara permalink

    Thanks, Leslie!  It’s so great to hear that your son did just fine at 37 weeks!  

  5. Cara permalink

    Thanks, Leslie!  It’s so great to hear that your son did just fine at 37 weeks!  

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