An Update on Gage (As if anything ever changes...)

Well, the teeny man continues to gain about one ounce per day. Right on target. And now he's actually ON the percentile chart thingey! He's in the first percentile for height and weight. He now weighs 12 pounds, 9 ounces. So proud of the kiddo.

He should have long ago foregone his late-night feeding, and I know he would be able to do it and sleep the full 11 or 12 hours at night, but I still give him that late feeding, just to help him with his weight. So I feed him like at 11 or 11:30 every night. I don't mind it so much. I read Stieg Larsson novels while I feed him. Murder mysteries? Yes, please!

And may I venture to say.... (worried about jinxing this again)... I think his Prevacid is kind of helping him. Finally. Perhaps it takes a few weeks to get into his system good? I mean, he still barfs way more than the average kid, but I no longer feel like he is a human fountain. He only goes through two outfits per day now, instead of four. But still goes through like 10 burp cloths, and four or five blankets. However, I sense a subtle bettering in his barfing situation.

As far as his white blood cell count, blah. He went right back up to a 23, where he was when he started. He's supposed to be at a 17.2. So the doc ordered some more advanced test, which required the phlebotomist (I think that word is so fun to say) to poke Gage yet AGAIN, this time collecting two more vials. Some kind of test for some random, strange, little-known viruses. The test results will be given to a specialized hematologist up in Rexburg, and we will be working with him from here on out on the stupid white blood cell thing.

It's the strangest thing. No fever. Seems to feel great. Smiley and happy. X-rays, urine, examinations.... nothing have shown anything wrong with him.

So that's frustrating. But we keep praying and having Ben give him blessings, and I feel in my heart that we'll figure this all out, and that everything will be okay.

Gage is just the BEST. I could tickle him and kiss his toes and watch him smile at me all day. He's getting really good at tummy time now , which makes me happy. He seems to be holding his head a lot better lately (he's going to be evaluated on his torticollis by an OT tomorrow to make sure). He adores bouncing on my lap, pushing his feet against my legs. He thinks that is so dang cool. We need to set up our Johnny Jump-Up for him. As soon as I get my dang Christmas tree down. He has discovered his feet and is constantly trying to touch them with his hands. He usually needs a little extra help, but once he has those toes in his hands, he holds on for dear life. When I kiss his toes, he grabs at my lips with his toes, like a little monkey. He giggles a little bit now, though he's not an easy laugher. He's more of a Constant Smiler. Like the Constant Gardener. But with smiling. The best way to get him to giggle is to blow raspberries on his tummy. Micah thinks it's so cool when I do that. He likes to try to blow raspberries on Gage's tummy, too, but just ends up kind of slobbering on him. It's cute.