Our Little Clemson Monk

Okay, so we have clothes that fit Ayden, but I wanted him to have some Clemson attire in the hospital. The catch is that the outfit has to button all the way down the front for easy nurse/doctor access, and not a whole lot of clothing is made that way. Plus, Ayden is a fairly long kid, so newborn clothing sometimes fits and sometimes squishes him. Bryan got online and found this Clemson shirt, but it's 0-3 months, and he looks like he is wearing a long, bulky orange gown... kind of like a monk. It's sort of ridiculous-looking, but ridiculous can sometimes be cute on a baby, and I can't bring myself to change him!

Today was a good day, and the doctors decided to increase his calories on his feed from 20 to 24. Now, this is where we have always been caught in the past. Every time they increase his calories (the goal is 30), Ayden experiences some sort of "episode." It would be really awesome if he slept through the night with no incident worth noting... or worth stopping his feed, x-raying him, etc.

In addition to the feeds that he receives through the feeding tube, we practice bottle feeding three times a day. Whatever he takes from the bottle is subtracted from the amount given through the feeding tube. His 10AM bottle feed is always uneventful because it is too closely backed up to his overnight continuous feeds, so he's never hungry then. His 2PM bottle feed usually gets a little better, though today he went considerably down from where he was-- 8ml. However, at his 6PM bottle feed, he took 22 ml! WOW! To give you a frame of reference, Ayden needs to take 50ml at each of his daytime bolus feeds.

For clarity purposes, when we say that Ayden's stools are positive for blood, we are NOT saying that one can actually SEE blood in the stool. Only once has that occurred. The nurses take a small amount of Ayden's poop and place that sample on a small card. Then they drop some sort of liquid on the sample, and they can tell whether or not the stool is positive for blood. (It's all very CSI.)

The doctors have determined that Ayden may have experienced a protein allergy that caused an irritation in his GI system. As a result, the GI specialists changed him from the previous formula to the one that he has been on since May 19th. This formula is not as difficult for Ayden's stomach to break down, and it should allow for his system to heal. In the meantime, his stools may continue to test positive for blood for weeks. Though this is somewhat concerning for me, the doctors do not seem at all phased. I have to trust. (Trusting is something that I keep telling myself I just have to do. Otherwise, I doubt and worry about everything.)

By the way, this more basic formula smells like Cheez-Its, so I often call him "Cheez-It Boy." When we first started bottle feeding him on this formula, we added a small amount of vanilla to the formula to get him to eat it. His nurse, Havilah, asked him, "Want some vanilla Cheez-Its?" He loved the combination!

One more thing: Ayden has been smiling in his sleep for weeks now, but today... today he was fully alert as his daddy walked up to his bed. He gave his daddy a bunch of big smiles! Ayden has been a "Daddy's Boy" since he was in the womb, and Bryan has been giving him pep talks almost every night since he was born. Most of the time, Ayden listens intently and follows Bryan's encouraging words. I love that they have such a sweet bond. (I got a smile later this evening! Too cool!)

Happy Five Week Birthday, Ayden! We love you, Cheez-It Boy!

(His nurse tonight, Sarah, says, "He looks like a Cheez-It with that outfit on.")