My sweet boy

(Burt family - if you read this post - please note the towel he is on. I remember them from when we were kids. I think I used this once when us girls stayed the night after a dance in high school and I wore it on my head home. I could never return it because it reminds me of all the amazing childhood memories at your house. It has a few holes but is still my favorite towel to use for my kids. Sorry I stole it!)

My sweet little man is doing a fabulous job eating. I have not written about it, because I'm afraid to jinx it. However, it's been a solid week, so I'm hoping worrying about eating is possibly behind us at this point. He is up a lot more at night, not sleeping as well, but eating like a champ. I don't wake him to eat anymore, I just let him do his thing, and he's doing great at it! We are still at in calories to his breast milk for now, but the last two visits to the doctor prove that he is gaining a decent amount of weight. He's eating about 18 to 25 oz a day with no push. I am positive this results from being on medication for his reflux. He is on prevacid and another one, name escaping me now. We tried each individually, but both together has allowed him comfort enough to eat. Although he is still quite uncomfortable for most of the day. I feel so sorry for him. He gags, chokes, coughs here and there, he is gassy but has a hard time expelling it. He'll wake up out of a dead sleeping choking on whatever is coming up his pipe. I remember how horrible that felt while I was preggers with him. My poor little man. He is sleeping in his swing and only on his back to be changed quick. Much of his PT exercises are on his back so I just emailed his therapist to see if there are modifications we can make to help him out. I know we could prop him up but this kiddo is so darn squirmy he lasts maybe 2 seconds in the same position. Sometimes he'll gobble up 3 ounces every 2 to 3 hours and other times he'll drink only an ounce here and there, sometimes he'll eat every hour and cluster feed. Many might think this is horrible, but he can drink the first ounce so fast I actually find it works for us. He downs that ounce in a few minutes and is done and then we can play with sister. I'm no longer sitting for an hour trying to get him to finish a meal. He eats when he wants and it goes much quicker. If he's not serious about eating we quit and come back to it in a bit. It's a nice new phase that works well for a mommy of two!

Unfortunately with this little guy it's always one step forward five steps back. Over the last few weeks his breathing has been different. He is retracting quite a bit and tucking in under his ribs and at his throat. Sometimes, his head will bob like he is out of breath. His pediatrician didn't seem overly concerned, but I know somethings not right so we went to see a pulmonary pediatric specialist. She agrees that there is something quite wrong, but she thinks it is structural since she doesn't hear anything when she listens to his lungs. We will be taking him to the ear nose and throat pediatric specialist on Monday. He also goes to a gastrointestinal pediatric specialist on Wednesday since his reflux has been horrible. The pulmonary specialist thought that maybe his adenoids and mechanics, if you will, are underdeveloped. Some think that because of his low tone he is using different muscles to breathe. The only issue I have with that theory is I know that it was better at one point,so I don't know what all of this would have to do a structure. Hopefully we find out more this coming week that will help us give him some relief. The following week, we go for an echo to make sure his heart still looks good. I'm really hoping we don't have any surprises in that area, especially contributing to his breathing and how hard he has been working to breathe. :/ Just when I get to stop worrying about one thing, a new worry arises. 

Other than all this nonsense that our little man has to deal with, he is the BEST baby a mama could ask for. He is the happiest little boy around. He is very talkative and smiles a ton. He makes very silly faces and loves to hold conversations with anyone. He bursts out with loud calls and scares himself. He is as patient as they come. He tells me what he needs all the time, and he will tell me for 20 minutes in little spurts before he even begins crying. I'm sorry I sometimes take advantage of this Everett when I'm tending to your sister. If I catch him at the right time, I can put him down for a nap awake. If I miss my turn, I bounce him around for 10 to 15 minutes (usually) and he's out. We have our on days and our off days. 

You are my sweetest little boy Everett Lang, our little tiger! We love you!!!