Before the hospital

Jesse and Grace had a bbq picnic at school and as is typical fashion, these are the only pics of the event!I love the kids' school. The teachers are wonderful and the principal and staff are great as well. They have had a terrific year.

Some fun pics of making cookies with the boys...this is how they "help!"Ain't they cute?

We're home!

Hallelujah! Will update later with pics of my cute little patient!

We're going home tomorrow!!

Hurray! I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. He has put on nearly a pound and all is looking good. They will send us home with the feeding tube for a week, but I am so glad that we get to do it at home. It will be good to be home with my family and have everything back to normal...if that's what you call it!

Quick update

Hopefully the next update will be that we are home and all is well. We are just waiting on one more test to come back and that is for cystic fibrosis. I feel confident that he doesn't have it and so am not concerned.
They placed a feeding tube in him last night and fed him through the night and want to continue nightly feedings for a couple of days to see if he can pack on a little weight. Since being admitted (one week ago today!) he has put on about 2/3 of a pound. Which is good, the drs. just want to see a trend.
I am going a little (lot) stir crazy. The hospital staff has been wonderful, but I am ready to be out of here. I think James could spend the rest of his life here! He loves the attention and roaming all over the place. Me...I'm tired! I've walked miles around this place and have had very little sleep. I want my own bed and to be with my whole family. Today is Danny's birthday and there will be no cake, special dinner or anything. Poor guy!
Sorry to be on such a downer...I am just ready to go home....hopefully just a few more days!

James update

We are still at the hospital. I was insistent on leaving today, but the GI doc wants to try a feeding tube for a couple of days to see if they can get at least a little boost to his weight. So far the tests for everything (celiac's, thyroid, I don't know what else) have all come back negative. They have done a work up of his caloric intake and he is eating about half of what he should be to promote growth. They are hoping that by boosting his intake over the next few days that it will kick start his eating habits. We will see. There are still a couple of tests pending (cystic fibrosis being one of them) but they are pretty sure it is just his finicky eating that is the cause of all this. This is going to be fun...he is going to have to sleep with a NG tube where they stick it up his nose and into his tummy. It's Danny's turn at the hospital tonight, so I hope they are not too miserable. I will let you know when I know more. Thanks for all the comments and well wishes.

An unexpected trip!

So much to catch up on and too little time. Here's the gist and I will give more information when I have more time.

James had his 15 month check up on Monday and he is continuing his non-growth trend...so he has been termed "failure to thrive" That landed us in the hospital Monday night so that he can undergo testing to see what the problem is. So far he has had his kidneys tested, thyroid, growth hormone, etc. Those all came back normal. Now they are running several tests to check for celiac's disease, cystic fibrosis and other things that affect his GI tract. We are also needing to track every bit of food and drink that goes into his body to see if he is eating enough. He is still at the hospital and I was able to run home to change my clothes (I only brought 1 change thinking that we would only be there 48 hours at the most!) and get a new cell phone because James broke it at the hospital. I have been feeling terribly cut off from the world with no internet and no phone, so at least I now have something. I am hoping that we will get released tonight or tomorrow...it is no fun being cooped up in a hospital room!
I will update as soon as we are released and know the results of some of these tests. I am not terribly worried or concerned. I think he will end up being just fine, they are just trying to rule out anything that may end up stunting his growth and development.

Commotion in the ocean!

That was the title to Grace's kindergarten performance. It was the cutest thing I had ever seen. The kids did such a great job and it was so fun to watch.James watched intently as well:They sang a few songs with all the classes and then each class did their own song. I have a video of Grace's class, but it will not load. I may try again later!
The teachers put a lot of work into making this a special event for the kids and we appreciate all their efforts. It was a fun night.