The Baylor Family Blog

Since we will be away from home on Christmas Day, we celebrated our Christmas a little early. Matt was super anxious and couldn’t hardly wait for Eli to wake up from his nap to celebrate Christmas as a family.

Matt (and Eli) obliged me by posing for a family photo in front of the Christmas tree before opening presents!

You would never know this is Eli’s first Christmas…he acted like a pro at opening his presents!

Whats inside the present is kinda cool, but the wrapping paper and bows are much more fun! When the excitement of the bows and wrapping paper wore off, Eli did seem to enjoy his new toys!

Hmmmm…I think I’m going to be a bull-dozer driver when I grow up.

So Eli has an appointment at the pediatric allergy clinic at National Jewish in Denver on Tuesday! Everything came together much quicker than we anticipated. Even the week-long process of getting referrals completed by our pediatrician was expedited for this special case! After meeting with the specialist on Tuesday, he’ll have an allergy skin test. That part won’t be so fun We were hoping and praying that this appointment might happen before the new year…and praise God, cause He answers prayers!

Eli proudly “helping” mommy by taking clothes out of the laundry basket!

I was looking through our pictures on the computer the other day and this one caught my eye. To see how small Eli was in my arms. And then to hold him now and look in the mirror and see how much he has grown. I now walk through the stores and comment on how small the baby clothes seem. It is so easy to get caught up in Eli’s “troubles,” that I forget how far he has come! He has more than tripled his birth weight! He can crawl, recognize his daddy and mommy, have a conversation (with babbles), make associations, play, and sleep through the night. He has reached so many milestones in his nine short months! All the doctor appointments and therapy visits in some way have made my cynical–they make me forget about all the things going right, and focus on the one or two things that aren’t ideal. I strive to follow doctor’s orders, even though Eli doesn’t always thrive on doctor’s orders, and I forget that its okay to trust my intuition.

Today I brought Eli in to see his GI specialist. I was apprehensive because Eli hasn’t been able to tolerate half of the doctor’s feeding recommendations from our last visit. I was thrilled to learn he’d gained 1.5 pounds over the last month, only to be devastated yesterday at the pediatrician’s office to learn that barely puts him back on the charts. I’m trying so hard, but nothing seems to work. As his mother, I want to do everything I can to make my son’s life better. I want the best for him. But I can’t force Eli to eat. I can’t make his stomach hold down food he cannot tolerate. I can’t, I can’t, I can’t. But I can love him. And I’m learning I need to relax about all the things I can’t do, all the doctor orders that aren’t helping, all the days that don’t go as smooth, and focus on the things I can do…like holding my son, making him laugh, chasing him around the room, and building block towers with him.

I was awaiting the doctor’s response to Eli today. I was surprised to hear that he is very pleased with Eli’s weight gain and isn’t concerned that he is taking less to eat than recommended. Despite the above paragraph, it still helps to hear these words from the doctor’s mouth. Its like a weight lifted from my shoulders, pressure relieved from within me!

So now that Eli’s weight isn’t as big of a concern, the focus shifted back to the original thing that brought us to the specialist: allergies. Nothing significant came back in Eli’s labs last month. And after answering more questions, the doctor continues to think that Eli is showing symptoms of severe food allergies. The tricky part is Eli is not showing external allergic reactions, but the doctor said that doesn’t mean he isn’t reacting internally. He can put Eli under general anesthesia and scope him to prove its allergies, but that isn’t his first choice. So we received a referral to National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver. Apparently, they have a state of the art allergy center that can assist in cases of severe allergies. I don’t know a time frame for getting in for an appointment, or even what to expect at the appointment. I have started the pre-registration process, but am now waiting to hear from them.

I still have a battle in my head whether to put my son through all this testing and more doctor visits. Maybe all this is normal. But it sure doesn’t seem to be. Maybe he’ll outgrow these intolerances. But his specialist isn’t convinced. Please pray for wisdom and discernment for Matt and I. And pray that we can relax and enjoy how fun and amazing our son is! We are sooo incredibly blessed! God has been good to us and has not given us more than we can handle!

Elijah turned 9 months old today! I brought him in for his check-up at the doctor’s office today. He only had to got one shot (the flu shot) and a prick on his heel to check his iron (which is within normal limits).

Here are his stats:
Weight: 16 pounds, 6.5 ounces (2nd percentile)
Height: 26.8 inches (8th percentile)
Head: 17.6 inches (34th percentile)

Though we don’t have a lot of wiggle room, his weight is back up on the charts, and for that we are thankful! His doctor was amazed at how much he is doing developmentally. She said climbing up the stairs is a milestone for 15 months…and our son did it before he was 9 months! He’s a little genius He’s an active baby, so I have a feeling he’s burning lots of calories! He’s an expert crawler, hates being on his back (which makes dressing and diaper changes interesting!), prefers to play standing up, and is starting to walk around holding onto our fingers or other things. He can turn a tidied up room into a war-zone with toys everywhere in a matter of minutes! If we turn our back on him for a couple of seconds, he can be in another room, climbing stairs, or showing us yet another area of the house we need to childproof! Life is fun!

So far, it seems Eli has not gotten croup from me! It is a little odd for an adult to get it, but with everything else he has going on, I would so much rather have it than him! I am starting to breathe a little easier and can talk just above a whisper. So I think I’m finally on the road to recovery!

On Saturday, the three of us bundled up and headed downtown to the Festival of Lights parade. The parade was one hour long and had some really good floats! This is what is fun about living in city that feels more like a town at at times! Despite all the bright lights, holiday music and people all around, Eli was starring at me during a lot of the parade! Oh what a baby enjoys…

On Sunday, the three of us loaded up in the car and headed to Denver for Grams and Grandad Klish’s annual Candy Making get-together. Though my duties mainly consisted of caring for Eli, it was quite enjoyable being with Matt’s cousins and grandparents! There was lots of laughter! We headed back home before the festivities came to a close due to a sleepy baby, but I’m sure the end results were quite tasty!

Since I last posted, Eli has mastered the art of crawling up stairs (with some spotting of course!). He usually conquers the stairs a few times every day (or as often as daddy or mommy will let him!). He is cutting his first tooth, though his drool seems no worse than normal! He is also battling a cold, and his appetite has decreased once again. This is hard for Matt and I when we are doing everything we can to get calories in him…some things are just out of our control, though!