Someone has to be at the bottom of the weight charts, right?

And really does this kid look undernourished to you?

He certainly looks healthy (and like a healthy dose of trouble) to me.

Today Ben and I went to Children's Hospital in Birmingham (2 hours away) for a 2nd opinion on his reflux.  See, there is only one pediatric GI in Montgomery, and she thinks Ben is cured of his reflux and wants to take him off the Prilosec.  I think she is welcome to do that if she is willing to move in and live with me to carry him hours a day while he screams.  I was hoping that the GI specialists at the Children's Hospital would see things my way.  And they did.....especially when on cue, Ben emptied the contents of his tummy on the exam table....about a 2-3 ounce "spit up" session. Babies that are 1 week from their 10 month birthday should not be spitting up as often or as much as Ben.  We might as well make sure it doesn't burn him while he does it.  The doctor wants to keep him on Prilosec until he is 13 months old and re-evaluate.

What I did not expect is for there to be concern over his weight.  Personally, I was worried about his weight when his percentiles kept dropping, but after he evened out around the 8th percentile, I was no longer worried.  I actually thought he had chunked up lately, and my bathroom scale seemed to agree with me.  The scale today put him at 16 pounds 15 ounces, which is 3rd percentile.  The doctor was concerned about that alone, but couple with the fact, his height hovers around 50th percentile, it means his weight for height isn't even on the charts (unlike Liam who was always way tall but average weight, so weight for height was low but on the charts around 25th percentile).  The doctor did say he was surprised when he saw Ben.....that looking at the numbers, he expected to see an emaciated baby, but Ben looks healthy.  But coupled with his reflux, the doctor said he is tottering on "failure to thrive."

So, they brought in a dietician to lecture me about fat and calories and proper feeding of a 10 month old.  Then we were sent off to the lab where they took FIVE vials of blood....adult size vials.  I am surprised the poor baby has any blood left.  Then I was given two stool collection kits.  I need to gather his stool and drive it the 2 hours to Birmingham, making sure the stool is as fresh as possible and delivering during business hours.  So, now I just need to tell Ben to poop (TWICE) in between 6am and 12pm and drag my two boys in the  car for a 4 hour round trip.....after I collect Ben's poop in sample cups.  Sounds like the perfect making for a day of family fun, though the collection process will be easier due to the fact he is still in diapers.  Then in May, Ben has to have a sweat test, which doesn't sound bad, but will screen him for cystic fibrosis.

Really, all I wanted was a prescription for Prilosec to avoid hours of screaming.