Derek - How Do I Love Thee...

We fed Derek his first solids today. A lovely rice cereal that got everywhere. And he loved it! In fact, I couldn't shovel it in his mouth fast enough. He'd get so impatient in between bites that he'd either start fussing or suck the portion of his bib that had rice cereal on it. Here are some pics of the "Rice Cereal Adventure".On a more serious note, I took Derek to his 4 month appointment yesterday. When they weighed him and I saw that he was only 10lbs, 1oz. - I knew that wasn't right. When the doctor came in, he expressed concern over Derek's growth. He has fallen of the growth curve. The first step is to go to the cardiologist. When he was born, he was born with a small hole in his ventrical called VSD, which in essence is a heart murmur. We took him to the pediatric cardiologist when he was 5 days old and she said that it's so small and since he was showing no signs of heart problems, it would probably close up by itself with no surgical intervention. Our only follow-up would be to check back in a year to see if it had closed. Because he's not growing very much, the issue has to be addressed again. If it's not his heart, they will check his kidneys and thyroid.

Of course his mother is vertically challenged and this could be all my fault, and I pray that's what it is. The doctor has taken that into account, but he shouldn't be off the growth curve completely. So, my son has to have a battery of tests done to see why he's so small. So, if you pray - please send a pray up to the Lord for him. And for me. Paul's a rock and his faith is rarely shaken, but I'm not feeling as strong. Friday was hard, but today was a little easier. And I'm sure each day will be as I walk out a path towards my little boy's perfect health.