Great Progress

Jereth is gaining more muscle control. He is close to being able to sit up on his own. He now holds his own head up when we pick him up. The physical therapist was very impressed with how much improvement he has made in the last week and a half.

And best of all...

Growing Again

Now that Jereth is back on the feeding tube at night he is again gaining weight. His development is still quite delayed - about that of a 3 - 4 month old. He still needs help holding his head up at times although he can roll over quite well. He's getting more "tummy time" at his own choosing, which is very good.

He is working towards sitting up, but still needs support. Crawling still seems a good way off. Jereth is progressing at his own speed and the most important thing is that he is making progress. We are grateful for each little step.

Back on the Feeding Tube

Jereth has been off his feeding tube for almost a month, but has not been gaining weight - in fact, he's been losing weight. So he's going to have to endure the feeding tube again. He'll still get to take a bottle during the day, but the rest of his calories will again be pumped into his stomach at night.

We were really hoping he was ready to take this next step, but he's shown us we moved too fast and he wasn't ready. Yes, it's disappointing, but we need to keep him healthy and growing. So if this is what it takes, this is what we'll do.

Feeding Tube Progress

Jereth's feeding tube has become a fun battle of wills - he pulls it out on a regular basis and really doesn't enjoy having it put back in - but then I can't think of anyone who would like to have a tube stuck up their nose and fed down their throat and into their stomach.

Monday afternoon he pulled it out for the umteenth time while Mom and Dad were out running errands and he was home with Spencer and the other children. Instead of putting it right back in I gave him a bottle (he's been taking an ounce or two at a time in the mornings so I thought we'd give it a try in the afternoon - I figured if he would take as much by mouth as he would have received through the feeding tube he would be fine).

Recent Pictures

Sweet Jereth has become very good at pulling his feeding tube out. When he is awake it is getting very difficult to keep the feeding tube in.

On the upside, we were told that when he pulls the tube out is a great time for taking pictures. So I enlisted big brother Spencer's help yesterday and we got some nice pictures of Jereth. Enjoy...

Better and Better

Jereth looks and acts better every day. We're working slowly on weaning him from the feeding tube. He gets to be unhooked for about four hours each morning and is taking a bottle - just a couple of ounces for now.

He is gaining weight and is getting stronger. He can almost roll over and is holding more of his own weight when we help him sit up. He is alert, responsive, and as sweet as can be.

Great Progress - Major Milestone

Jereth has not needed any air support (even at night) for over a week now. His lungs and airway are doing their jobs and he looks great. One tube down, a tube and a wire to go.

The physical therapist worked with him on sucking and eating yesterday and said he did very well. Today he was able to take over an ounce of his thickened formula by bottle. When he is able to get enough calories from a bottle and baby food he can get rid of the feeding tube. That's the next milestone we're looking forward to for him.