Prayers Please

I went to the doctor for my six week check up yesterday and since Asher and I share the same doctor, she asked how he was doing as well. I told her how great he was eating and sleeping and all that jazz but that I was a little worried because he didn't seem to be gaining any weight. He spits up almost every time I feed him and I was worried that he might not be keeping enough down. She weighed him and confirmed that our little guy was just that...little. He only weighed 8 lbs. He was 8lbs 5oz at birth and then went down to 7lbs 6oz right before we left the hospital. At his 2 week appointment he was 7lbs 15oz. So that means in one month since then, he has only gained 1 ounce. Babies at his age are supposed to gain 1 ounce a day. She asked more about his spit up...how much, how often and so on...and said it could be one of two things.

1. (the one we're hoping for) Acid Reflux. The treatment is medicine to which she prescribed and we are currently administering.

2. Pyloric Stenosis. Which is the narrowing of the pylorus, the opening from the stomach into the small intestine. This causes projectile vomiting which keeps the child from digesting food properly. The treatment is surgery.

His spit up doesn't quite have the projectile aspect to it. He also seems to be very happy and healthy otherwise which is why the doctor doesn't think PS is what he has. But she does want to be sure and rule it out. So she sent us to the hospital right away to get some blood tests done. We also have an appointment in Springfield this afternoon for an abdominal ultrasound.

David left work right away and met us at the hospital yesterday to be there for the blood work. And thank goodness because when the nurse looked at the sheet, she told me to roll up my sleeve thinking that there was no way we were going to take that much blood from a baby. We corrected her that Asher was the patient. She came back after double checking and then proceeded to set 6 small viles on the counter. "Does he even have that much blood?!" I asked. As she tied a rubber band around his little arm, she told us she was going to try and find a vein since they needed to take so much. (a heel prick would be too long and painful) She stuck in a needle that looked to be the size of the vein itself and filled a syringe. Ash was so tough. He cried for about 3 seconds when she stuck him and then sucked away on his passie like a champ while we waited for the syringe to fill. Thank the Lord she stuck him right the first time. She seemed really nervous which in turn made us super duper nervous. I wish I would have taken a picture of the cotton ball she wrapped to his arm when she was finished. It looked so big compared to his little arm.

Our ultrasound is this afternoon at 2 and we sure would appreciate lots of prayers. Hopefully his stomach is just fine and it is just acid reflux. We also hope this medicine will help keep the milk down so that he can start gaining weight again. We are so used to fat babies in this house. Asher is such a trooper which is why I have been able to keep it together so well. He just gives me a big ole grin like he's telling me "Its ok Mama, I'm gonna be just fine." We love this little guy so much and just want him to be happy and healthy. Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers. I'll keep you all updated.