6 months

6 months. Half a year. Sometimes it feels like an eternity and other times it seems like a blink of the eye. 6 months ago I had no idea if my little man would still be here. What his life would be like. I'm so glad he's here and in our family. I wouldn't trade him for the world. I love his guts. Literally and figuratively. I tell him that every night.

Because allergies run in our family(dang it), long before baby #2 entered this world, the allergist recommended we feed "it" nothing but breast milk until 6 months of age. This can lessen the likelihood of developing allergies. I believe her and I followed her advice. Except I cheated by about 2 weeks. I was dying to feed Jax some rice cereal. Not so much for his sake, but more for mine. Maybe to feel "normal?" Plus I know how much he loves to eat and how much/all of his life will revolve around food.

The rice cereal was well received. He didn't quite know how to keep it all in but he enjoyed the little bit he was able to swallow.

With his condition (I'll just refer to it as SG instead of typing out short gut each time) there is no telling which foods he'll be able to tolerate and won't tolerate. There are some that most SG patients don't do well with but only trial and error will show us. I have to proceed with solids in the same fashion as I did with Carter. One at a time, and only that food for 3-5 days. To make sure he will tolerate it. Not going into anaphylaxis shock like Carter, but diarrhea. So far so good with the rice cereal. And hoping that solid foods will slow the little guy down a bit. It's sad when you hope your baby might get constipated!

The tentative plan with solid foods is this: NO fruits. None. Those keep healthy movement...we don't need that. So for now, no fruits. Hopefully some day he can try them and handle them in small amounts. He can try some veggies. But not any that can cause gas (broccoli/ onions) and staying away from the higher calorie veggies. Veggies still have natural sugars and sugar is hard for SG people. So some veggies but not all. We've been told that the best thing to try next is Meat! Pureed, stinky baby meat. Proteins are good for his condition and less likely to cause mayhem inside! And unlike most babies, the dietitian said to add table salt to the meat if he doesn't like it. He doesn't absorb as much sodium as most people so some added salt is fine, even recommended. So this whole food thing will be interesting. Kind of intimidating to be honest.

I was never able to feed Carter normally either. We could never sneak him bites off our plates because of his allergies and now we can't with Jax either. I know it doesn't really matter, but it's something I feel bad about missing. Sneaking him a bite of my ice cream and cake or something.

I allow myself to feel bad only for a bit. And then I am humbled by this picture:

Bottle on the right: 5 mL of milk. That's 1 tiny teaspoon. When Jax was finally able to start eating by mouth, at about 10 days old, this was all he was allowed to eat, every 3 hours. Nothing more. It was almost a joke to put this tiny amount through a bottle nipple. One day he threw up and the Dr. took him down to 2 mL. Do you know how hard it is to measure that tiny of an amount? But he would take those 5 mL like a champ and burp like he'd finished a real bottle. Never been prouder!

The bottle on the left is where he is now. Full feeds. Full calories. 5 1/2 ounces every 3 hours. He isn't absorbing the full amount of calories but our hopes and prayers are that he will, and soon. He has impressed all his Dr.s and surgeons by eating full feeds by mouth. Some SG people never eat by mouth. Some are fed entirely by TPN(nutrition through veins) and others by a tube directly into their stomach. Jax is still on TPN to supplement what he isn't absorbing. But even that progress has amazed some. He started on 24 hours of TPN. 100% of his nutrition was being pumped into his veins, missing the digestive system. When we brought him home the first time he was on 21 hours. Today: 12 hours. And most likely he will stay here for awhile. His surgeon predicted 18-24 months on TPN. We're hoping for less but preparing for the long haul. Everytime we talk with someone new they are amazed that he is on as little TPN as he is. He's our miracle baby. Still a long road but we're willing.

To get Jax more interested in toys and rolling around we've been letting him experiment with different foods that will provide an extra "uumph" to his taste buds. First the carrot. Not impressed. (he's not sporting an off the shoulder outfit. We just leave one arm out while he is connected to his TPN)
Give the kid licorice.....much better! The only problem is that his older brother gets a little jealous and usually ends up needing his own piece.

His coordination to get this skinny piece of licorice in his mouth is still improving. He often misses but he gets that tongue of his and licks at it and makes the cutest noises.

And lastly, a Pajama shot. 13 lbs and 6 ounces of cuteness. We have fought sooo VERY very hard for these 13 1/2 pounds. And we're proud of them, and very thankful for them. Jax will never be the biggest kid in his class but that's ok. We wouldn't want him to be the biggest AND the cutest!

He is in the 3rd% for weight and 81st% for height. Our string bean. I am having the hardest time finding things for him to wear. His length is one size and his weight is another. He either gets to wear really baggy clothes or high waters. Hopefully we can even the playing ground between those 2 sometime soon.

Happy 6 months Jax. We are so grateful for you and so glad you're ours. We love every bit of you and fall deeper in love each day.

Love your guts!