Growth update

Jacob will undergo a scope procedure on June 3 that hopefully will give us definitive answers as to what's impeding his growth.

The medical procedure, called a sigmoidoscopy, is a minimally-invasive operation that will primarily check for inflammation on areas that impact the absorption of nutrients. Of course, the doctor will check for other things that I shall avoid explaining until I complete my marketing residency at Williamson Medical Center.

Erin and I have been concerned with Jacob's slow growth ever since he was born. He has always been a picky eater and never one to overindulge. Even when he was on formula he struggled to finish a six-ounce bottle. It got to the point that we had to put him on an unusual feeding schedule of every two hours, per a nurse's orders at our original pediatrician's office in Clarksville. That just made it worse because he was always full from the previous feeding.

But he did continue to grow, albeit along the bottom curve of the growth chart. Our pediatrician in Clarksville, who was the only reason we didn't want to leave that town, kept telling us Jacob was just small-boned and petite, based on the number of vertically challenged people on all sides of our families.

We recently changed pediatricians in our new hometown of Smyrna because we didn't think the first one was listening to our concerns. We always thought we were just another number at this popular private practice.

So we found a new pediatrician near our house, and it was one of the smartest moves we've made since Jacob was born. Our current pediatrician, who's practice has been open for only a year, gave us the attention we'd been yearning for since leaving Clarksville. He listened to our concerns and set us up with a GI specialist at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital.

What really concerned him was for the first time Jacob had actually lost weight, booting him off the growth chart altogether. In the past couple weeks, for example, Jacob's weight dropped from 22.6 to 22 even. A few ounces may sound minuscule, but it's equivalent to a ton for a 25-month old who's already 13 pounds below the average weight.

So we met with the GI specialist last week who recommended the scope procedure because we've exhausted all dietary supplements--Carnation instant breakfast and other high-calorie foods--to fatten him up without medical intervention. The doctor was especially concerned with Jacob's weight loss.

We also told him Jacob had negative results from testing his kidney function and for Celiac disease. He said the Celiac test Jacob yields few false negatives, but he will check for it nevertheless.

We'll post an update following the procedure.

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I would be remiss not to end on a positive note: Jacob finally got his appetite back! I don't know if Jacob's two-year molars have complete poked through because he always has his hands in his slobbery mouth, but they're certainly not affecting the little piglet's appetite.

It helps that he now can TELL us what he wants to eat. He can say cracker, cheese, noodles, cookie, eggies, juice and waffles. He enjoys taking ownership of his meals. He had a waffle for dinner a few nights ago. Why?

Because he said so.