3 in 4.

21 pounds, 2 ounces, Eli's new weight. He is not on the charts just yet but is close. He gained 3 pounds in 4 weeks, great news! We got the results back from the pediatric endocrinologist and it turns out his acid levels are still low but she said that IF he can continue to gain weight she is not as concerned. In two tests, she was able to detect human growth hormone, she found normal fat levels in his fecal specimens and his Vitamin D levels are right where they should be although most of it coming from the sun not his diet. She said she is very pleased with they way everything looks and confirmed with a pediatric nephrologist that the acid levels are not worrisome with the weight gain. Thank you Lord for keeping watch over my beloved son.

So, what did we do? Pretty much stopped feeding him fruits and vegetables. If you give Eli a plate of french fries, chicken nuggets and peas he will eat the peas and beg for more leaving all else for the birds. While I am not completely comfortable and am sure this will not be our lifestyle I am confident it will not hurt him for a few months. Matt asked me a few weeks back to change his diet, cut out the green smoothies, be a bit more lenient with refined sugars and add some meat to his diet. For me it is going to be about finding balance in the coming months with what I feel is a healthy diet for him and what will keep his weight up.

Little peanut.

Eli always has been a little peanut. When he was born he weighed in at 6 lbs, 12 ounces and 20 1/2 inches long. At his check ups he always fell between the 25th-30th percentile for height and weight. At about a year old his weight started to fall to 20th%, 15%, down to -5%. I could always attribute this to something- him being an early walker and expending lots of energy, to my extended breastfeeding. However, at his 18 month check up he continued to fall further away from the normal growth curve so our pediatrician recommended we get blood work and an urine analysis done on Eli.

I have to say I was shocked when he called me a week later to say that some of the results were abnormal. In my heart of hearts, I felt that he was okay. He is hitting everything other milestone and perfect otherwise. However, two of the numbers need to be looked at further. One is his acid level. Eli's is at 17 and the normal range is 20-32. The second is the growth hormone marker. The normal range is 55-303 and Eli is below 25 (undetectable.) At this point, we are scheduled to see a pediatric endocrinologist middle of the month. My pediatrician and another wonderful friend who is a doctor as well (thank you Clancy) assured me that while these need to be attended to, both are treatable and will be taken care of.

While we are confident Eli will continue to be a thriving, healthy and growing boy it still stirs my heart to know that I can not make this all better for him. But, it is in God's hands and I am grateful this is what he gave us to deal with (as there are other families dealing with far harder issues), grateful for a doctor who cared enough to notice, grateful for a little boy who for some reason does not mind getting pricked and prodded as long as there is a lollipop in hand, and grateful for a husband who keeps my emotions from running rampant.

Eli, thank you dear boy for all of your laughs and giggles.