Lawson Andrew & Amelia Paige

Lawson is starting to feel better from getting some fluids. He had bloodwork, a CT scan, chest x-ray and stomach x-ray today. We were pleased to see that everything came back normal. Still running test in hopes of finding the problem.

We ended up in the hospital a little sooner than we expected. Lawson's vomiting has only gotten worse so we took him in for fluids. After 5 long hours in the ER, they admitted him into Children's around 10pm.

We hope everyone had a nice Christmas. Lawson had a ball and was in to everything:).

I guess you can say that we are starting the new year with a bang. Due to Lawson's excessive vomiting, we are having a gastro test (scope) done on Jan. 2. We will go into the hospital on Tuesday. They will put a tube in Lawson's nose that reaches to the bottom of his stomach. This will monitor the acid build up in his stomach. The next day (he will be staying overnight) they will run a scope down to see what is actually going on. They will also take a biopsy to see if it could be related to allergies. Dr. Brian Morris, the Gastroenterologist, said that it could be a number of things: severe reflux, allergies, a stomach issue, etc.

We are praying that we get some answers.
Please say a little prayer for Lawson this week. Thanks, Love - Eric and Ash

Lawson had his 15 month checkup and shots today. He is moving up the growth chart but isn't quite on the charts for his real age. The doctor seemed pleased with his progress. All-in-all...a good report. We don't mind "well" doctor visits:).

Hard to believe that we brought Lawson home from the hospital a year ago today. What a blessing! We discovered that his 4th tooth (top, right front)has broken through. We are so used to that gummy smile. It will be so funny to see him with teeth.

Lawson had his flu shot (booster) and his sodium drawn today. His sodium was 141, which is in the normal range. The doctor asked that we get it checked again in 3 weeks. YEAAAAA....no visits to Children's for 3 weeks!!!!!!!! (we pray:)

We are due to see the Endorcrinologist after the new year. Who knows, maybe we will have come off his medicine by then.

As for an update on everything else, Lawson is doing well. With the exception of the typical runny nose, he has been well. He is eating a lot better! We were thinking that he would have really put on some weight at his last dr visit but he only put on 6 oz. He is an active little man so he seems to be burning it off as quick as he is taking it in. That's ok though, we'll catch up:).

Speaking of active....wooo, he is on the move. He loves to walk behind his bus and throw any ball that is within reach. I guess he gets that honest:). He has this funny grin that he does now. You can see it in one of the attached videos. It is so funny. That little gummy smile cracks us up every time.

We hope that everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. Eric and I are so thankful for our family and friends. We are thankful for our health and all that God has brought us through this year.

Today we are going to see an Occupational Therapist about Lawson's eating. His gag reflex is EXTRA sensitive, which they say is very common in preemies, and we are hoping that she will give us some good techniques for desensitizing that reflex. Lawson doesn't eat a lot. In a way, I consider him on somewhat of a liquid diet. I know that Lawson is hungry and would like to eat more than he does. The problem is - - he just can't handle it. He gags and throws up.

He should be on table food at this point. Well, he isn't even on Stage 3 baby food b/c of this problem.

We are praying that the OT can help us work through it.

We made it through the tubes!! Many thanks for all your prayers!

Lawson had his sodium checked again today. It was NORMAL (138). THANK YOU JESUS! It looks like we will be going into surgery Friday for tubes.

He also had an upper GI test. That was interesting. They wrapped his legs in a towel, strapped him down, held his arms above his head and tried to make him drink the barium.
He FREAKED out to say the least. They did get a little bit of barium in him for the test. It showed his level of reflux. It was a grade 3 (the worst is a grade 5). I am waiting to hear from the pediatrician so that we can discuss the test in detail.

Thank you all for your prayers. Please continue to pray that the ear tube surgery go well Friday.

Had two doctor visits today. One for lab and another with his Ped. First, the lab...his sodium came back a little high (147). The Endocrinologist ordered Lawson to receive the DDAVP twice a day (.025). Second, pediatrician visit...he has fluid on his right ear. She didn't put him on an antibiotic. She said that she would if his symptoms get worse, but if not, the ENT will remove the fluid during surgery Friday.

We will check his sodium again Wednesday, October 11. We will also get an upper GI test. This will tell us if his swallowing is normal and it will show any obstruction. We are praying that all test come back normal.

Today would have to be the worst day for Lawson since we've been home. Lawson couldn't keep anything down Tuesday night so we took him to the pediatrician Wednesday morning. They had no explaination for him vomiting but wanted us to go to Children's to get his sodium checked and a stomach x-ray. We got to Children's at 10:15am. The stomach x-ray came back normal but his sodium came back high (150). We went to the ER to get him started on some fluids. This is where the nightmare began. No one could find a vein to even start an IV. They stuck him 9 times and finally got one in his scalp. After a couple of hours (with fluids and his DDAVP), they checked his sodium. It went down to 141. After 8+ hours in the ER, they admitted Lawson. They wanted to get another sodium the next morning so we were praying that they could draw the blood from his IV. WELL - the IV went bad at 1:30am. They were able to draw enough blood from his finger to check the sodium. His sodium was up (147). They gave him a dose of his DDAVP and told us to work on keeping him hydrated. They checked his sodium again at 4:30pm. It came back normal (141). We were discharged at 8:30pm. And boy were we ready to come home. We were all exhausted.

Today we had 2 doctor's appointments. First with an ENT, Dr. Scott Hill, at Children's South. He confirmed that Lawson was the perfect candidate for tubes. We are scheduled to get them October 13. After 5 ear infections, we are welcoming the relief.

Our second appointment was with the lab. Lawson's sodium was 141 (NORMAL). That means we follow the ween down schedule that the Endocrinologist gave us. The next step...NO MEDICINE!!!! We will have his sodium checked next Monday to confirm that it stays normal.

THANK THE GOOD LORD!

What a HAPPY DAY - Lawson's 1st Birthday! He woke up to mommy and daddy singing to him this morning. To think back to a year ago today, the emotions are indescribable. Look how far God has brought our little miracle. He is SO good.

I pray that God continues to be with Lawson as he journey's through life as a 1 year old!

I guess I thought we would never see the day that we would walk into Lawson's room and he would be standing up in his bed grinning at us over the rail. He is pulling up on EVERYTHING!

Today was a long day for Lawson. We visited the dermatologist for his hemangiomas at 8:15am. The doctor would like to leave it alone and to see him again in 6 months. Next was his sodium check. That was rough today. They had to stick him three different times (heal stick, top of hand and top of foot). His sodium was at 144. It was on the high end of Normal so we aren't going to tapper down on his meds this week. Last was a visit to the pediatrician. He had a 102.5 temp. It was viral. All-in-all, we are glad today is over.

Lawson's sodium was in the normal range this week. It was 141. So we are continuing to ween down on his DDAVP meds. We pray for another good read on his bloodwork next week.

We went for our second sodium check today. It came back normal (136). The normal range is 135-145. We can continue to tapper down on his DDAVP medicine. We will continue to check his sodium once a week for the next 2 months. We hope that it continues to be in the normal range and that we can eventually come off the medicine all together.

Another milestone is met - Lawson is crawling. He has been crawling backwards for a while and now he is crawling forward. We were at Memmaw & Pappaw Palmer's house when he took off after a ball. He is getting SO big:)!

Lawson's two bottom teeth came through this week. You can see the top ridges of them both. It is so strange to think about him with teeth. I guess we are so used to that gummy smile:).

GOOD NEWS - Lawson's sodium was normal and we can start to taper down on his medication. We will start this Friday and get his sodium checked every Friday. The reason we have to taper slowly is to give his adrenal glands time to start working again. His body SHOULD pick up on the fact that there is not enough ADH and it SHOULD begin to produce the hormone. Checking his sodium on a weekly basis will help us monitor the level.

Today was Lawson's first full day of daycare. He did great. He has 5 other kids in his class. There are 4 teachers, 2 in the mornings (Lauren & Marie) and 2 in the afternoons (Patricia & Laura). They seem to love Lawson. They say that he is a "smiley little thing:)".

Lawson went to the Endocrinologist today. Dr. McCormick had nothing but good things to say. Lawson is finally on the growth chart for his official age. He is 17 lbs. (3%) and 27 inches long (25%). The doctor said that if his bloodwork (sodium) came back normal, that he would like to taper down on his medicine to see if Lawson's body will start making the right amount of ADH. He said that will taper down over a 2 month period and take his sodium weekly. This is very exciting news. We can eventually see if he has grown out of having the Diabetes Insipitus.

I'll post as soon as we find out the results of his bloodwork.

Lawson flew on an airplane for this first time today. We flew to Jacksonville, FL to visit our grandparents and great grandmother. Lawson did great!

Today was Lawson's 9 month checkup. He did very well. The doctor said that he looked great! She said that he was not on the charts for his actual age but he was in the 10-15% (in size) of his adjusted age. His actual age in 8 and a half months, adjusted age he is 5 and a half months and he is 6-7 months developmentally.

Lawson is doing well with eating his veggies. We are starting some fruit now. The doctor said that we could continue to experiment with different food but to watch for any allergies. I told her that he was trying to drink out of my cups and water bottles. She said to try to give him a sippy cup.

She said that the hemangiomas (on his head and hip) look good. They are slowly getting smaller. They should shrink and go away. We have an appointment with the dermatologist in September.

Over all - it was a good appointment....NO SHOTS :).

Mommy started back to work part-time today. So of course, Lawson starts rolling over both ways (front-back-front-back). Rolled all the way across the room.

Lawson turned over for the first time today. He was a bit surprised but it may have been over mommy's excited reaction:).

Today Lawson saw the Neurologist, nutritionist and Physical Therapist. This appointment was set up by the hospital when we were released. We got a good report from them all. Their first reaction was, "he was a preemie?" They squeezed his sweet little thighs, observed his hand-eye coordination, etc. Overall, they said that he looks great and that there was no need to make a followup appointment. Thank the good Lord:)!!

Lawson received his last RSV shot (for the season) today. Daddy was there to comfort him after his shot:). Lawson started back on cereal today. The doctor said that it will help with his reflux.

It is amazing to see how fast Lawson is growing. He is so happy and playful. He really enjoys sitting up. He needs a little support because he gets a little top heavy. He holds his head up and looks around. Lawson has also started to reach for things (rattle, glow worm, etc). I love waking up to his smiling face each morning. God is so good:)!!

Lawson sleeps through the night!!!! He went to sleep at 9:30pm and woke up for a bottle at 5:00am. It was SO nice!

Boy is he catching up...10 lbs. 2 oz!
Lawson received his RSV immunization today. We also had our first visit with the Endocrinologist at Children's Hospital (Dr. McCormick). They just did bloodwork and said they would call with the results in a week. The bloodwork will basically show his sodium level and several other hormone levels. It will tell us whether we need to adjust the dosage of his medicine (DDAVP). We have to see the Endocrinologist every 3-4 months.

Lawson is 5 months old today!

Lawson weighs 8 pounds 3 ounces. He has gained a whole pound in a week. He's catching up!

Today Lawson got his RSV immunization. He has to get one a month through the month of March. (RSV season is October- March)

Today is Lawson's 4 month checkup. He weighs 7 pounds 3 ounces. He got 4 shots today. It was hard for Mom to watch but...it's a part of it.

I apologize for the lack of post to the site. Little Lawson has been keeping us quite busy. He has done well at home. He is a bit spoiled.
He is taking 3-4 ounces of milk at each feeding and he eats every 3 hours. Lawson is a night owl. He loves to be up from 9pm-11pm. We have to work on that:). He wakes up every 3-4 hours during the night.

We hope everyone had a nice Christmas and a Happy New Year. We continue to be thankful for all of you. We couldn't have made it this far without you!