Mickey Button

On Thursday Emma got her mickey button. The procedure was relatively short. We had to wait almost an hour after the sedation wore off because as part of their protocol they check her oxygen levels afterwards and hers kept dipping below what they like to see for departure (90). This occured during her g-tube placement, so the nurse said that this may be "Emma's normal level". The number was dipping under 90, but she had normal coloring and wasn't discontent.



It has only been a short time since this surgery and all is going well. The biggest advantage of the mickey button over the peg tube is that we no longer have to deal with the ~10" tube that would get tucked into her diaper. She was starting to realize it was there and hold onto it during diaper changes, etc. There was always the fear of getting it yanked out.

A Day in the Life of Little e (7 months old)

I currently eat 8 times a day. I was eating 4 ounces per feeding but it just got increased to 4.5 ounces. My arching is better than when I was in the hospital in December, but it hasn't gone away. I get uncomfortable when I eat I sometimes get in the arching position. I also get into this position at other times in the day.

My development is behind. I can hold my head up for a little bit, but after a while it starts to flop backwards. I cannot sit up on my own. I can reach for toys but I do not pass them from one hand to the other. I can roll from my stomach to my side. I am content on my back and do not roll. I also do not crawl or creep. I do like to talk and am making different noises. I try to play as much as I can to work on my development, but I have to spend so much time eating and settling down after I eat. This really takes away from play time. I'm not sleeping through the night because my mom keeps waking me up to eat. Every three hours I have to eat. Sometimes I will get off schedule but then mom creeps up the following feedings (2 hours 45 minutes) to get me back on schedule.

Big C, little e

As you've probably figured out by now, the "little e" in the title of this blog is Emma.  She is classified as a failure to thrive baby, although I prefer to think of her as simply a baby who has difficulty gaining weight. So what, or whom, is "Big C". That would be Emma's big sister, Catie. Catie is four years older than Emma. The two were born around the same size, Catie weighing in at 7lb 8 oz and Emma at 7lb 6oz. As a baby, Catie was always well within the growth charts. She never had any trouble eating, and to this day is still a great eater.

G Tube Placement (5 months old)

The scheduled surgery for Emma's g-tube is slated for 9am on December 23. Emma is 5 months old. Emma cannot eat anything prior for a number of hours. On the positive side, this means a little sleep for mom. Unfortunately, she is unable to sleep, thinking about the day to come. Mom gets woken up at 8am by the nurse saying there is an 8am slot for Emma. No time to shower, mom changes out of her pajamas and off we go.

Self Conscious for Baby

Emma is too little to know, think, or care about what others think of her. So, as her mother, I take on that role. The few weeks after Emma was born and we were out in public, I used to relish in the comments from strangers, "oh, look at the baby... she's so little... ". A few months later, these comments start to get old. I remember when Emma was four, five, even six months old and people thinking she's a newborn. It was cute

A Little Background

We found out while I was in labor that Emma was breech. She had turned during the last week. When she was born, it literally looked like Emma was folded in half, with her feet up near her ears. This was a natural position for Emma for the first few weeks of her life. As I look back, I wish I had taken a picture of this for future scrapbooking. Gradually, her feet would come down to her toes.

Emma has never been a good eater. It took her about 3-4 weeks to get back up to her birth weight. She has always spit up frequently and gets uncomfortable while eating. She has never wanted to eat what she is supposed to.

Why a Blog?

I never thought I would be one to write a blog, but here I am. The goal of this blog is to, hopefully, reach out to others who have babies who are classified as "failure to thrive". I know there are others out there going through this, but sometimes it can feel like you are the only one. The sleepless nights, wondering when she's going to catch up to the other babies, the lack of answers after all the testing, and the day to day life of caring for a baby going through this can be stressful.

I hope to find others going through this or have gone through this. There are so many causes of failure to thrive and it is frustrating to not know why your baby can't eat what she should to gain the weight that other babies their age are gaining.