Happy 2 Month Birthday

Luke's 2 month birthday actually wasn't a very happy time. He was admitted to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital on April 24, 2009 due to "failure to thrive". He had consistently been gaining 4 ozs. a week up until this time. Then during the span of a week and a half he had a net gain of only 1 oz. We found out late on Friday afternoon at the pediatrician's office that we would have to go to the Vanderbilt ER since the pediatrics unit was already gone for the day. Luke finally got his own room late Saturday evening. Over the weekend they ran several tests: Chest X-ray, Ultrasound of his brain, EKG, Echo Cardiogram, Blood Work, etc. Everything came back okay. It wasn't until Monday that we were able to start working with the specialists. They determined that Luke has an uncoordinated & weak suck- swallow pattern. This causes him to become frustrated while eating and he burns more calories than he takes in. Much to our dismay a feeding tube had to be put in through his nose. He is allowed to eat on his own for 20-30 minutes and what he doesn't finish we give to him through the feeding tube. This will continue until he's able to eat the required amt. in the specified amount of time. (He's getting better at this!!) We were able to come home on April 30th. It was a long, hard week, but things are looking much better for our sweet boy. He is gaining about an ounce a day! It is wonderful to see his smile and watch him discover new things! As a friend recently said, Luke will have such a story to tell of how God has worked in his life, and so do we!


Luke had his Mr. Bear from home, Mr. Otter that daddy brought back from the Atlanta Aquarium, and Champ (the Vanderbilt Children's mascot) to watch over him.

This was the first time Luke was given a pacifier. It can help develop a stronger suck. Luckily he hasn't become dependent on it, but just likes it every now and then.

Daddy is feeding Luke from a Haberman bottle. We had tried giving him regular bottles before just so we would be able to go out on a date sometimes, but he didn't like them at all. This bottle has a controlled flow which keeps him from becoming overwhelmed.

How appropriate that our bathroom had a sunshine light!

We were all so glad to be going home! Luke wore socks on his hands to keep him from pulling at his tube. We no longer use the socks since they come off so easily. He has managed to pull his tube out half way a couple of times, and all the way once. These times have required momma and daddy to be up in the middle of the night figuring out what to do. He's done great when we have put it back in.

This picture was taken just the other day. Look at those chubby cheeks :)