Slow Growth

Last Friday, May 30th, Elisabeth & I took Nathan to go see Dr. Bennett. I was hoping for positive news; steady growth and Nathan being developmentally OK. Boy, I should have asked for something easier like a Dr. Pepper through a drive up window. Nathan grew 1 oz this last month making his total weight 12lbs 3 oz (10%). I was also told he isn't doing that well with the muscle tone in his neck, trunk, and legs. I know why he doesn't have great tone: there were distractors on his jaw for 8 weeks and there's a button in his belly making it hard to put him on his tummy. Dr. Bennett was concerned that Nathan is acting a little more like a 3 month old instead of being over 4 months old. It was really discouraging for me and I can see that Nathan needs his heart surgery so he can be strong enough to overcome some of his other problems. Dr. Bennett put Nathan on 30 calorie formula to which Nathan responded by having an upset tummy and severe diarrhea. I was grateful that on Monday afternoon Dr. Bennett called himself to see how Nathan's feedings were going. We changed his caloric intake to 24 cal/oz. I'm hoping that Nathan will not be so fussy and will start feeling better.