Monday, July 27, 2015

Week 101: Sweet

After the emotional ups and downs of last week, we were treated to a week of just ups this week.  When I left you last week, I'd just called our pediatrician's office to try and find out the results of Lime's newborn screening tests, which would tell us whether or not he had CF.  At that time (July 20), the office denied all knowledge of the results and said they would be available at his two week checkup.  I was annoyed but resigned.

On Tuesday, we had Lemon's checkup at the CF clinic.  It was a great visit--he's up to 25.5lb, or almost the 40th percentile for weight on the WHO charts.  More importantly, at the moment he's gaining weight at 15g/day, dramatically exceeding the goal of 10g/day that his doctor had set for him.  After the weigh-in, the nutritionist came into the room and took a peek at Lime, who was with us, sleeping in the stroller, remarked on how cute he was, and said "It's such great news that he doesn't have CF."  And I said, "News?  I haven't heard any news."  But, a few moments later, the doctor came in and gave us a copy of the test results, which confirmed that not only does Lime not have CF, he actually has no CF-causing mutations at all, making him the most genotypically normal person in our family.  Interestingly, the test results were available July 16, but somehow no one thought to call us and tell us, for which they apologize, etc.  Ah, Wisconsin (and I'm not even telling you the latest on getting Lemon's vest...).  Anyhow, we're thrilled with the outcome, and look forward to the challenges of raising two boys with such different needs.






On Thursday, Lime had his two week checkup.  He left the hospital at 5lb 7oz, but managed to pack on a pretty amazing 13 oz in the intervening time, putting him at 6lb 4oz.  The doctor asked me if I had any questions, and the only one I could think of was, "Is it really true that he doesn't have any scheduled doctor's appointments til he's 2 months old?"  Welcome to raising a "normal" child.




Lemon has continued to adapt well to the arrival of his new brother.  In fact, the only time he has really displayed any jealously at all was when Nona was holding Lime.  He could care less if Daddy or I hold the baby, but Nona is his and his alone (as far as he is concerned).  

As you can see, the blog is in the process of undergoing a bit of a makeover, including a new title.  Many loyal readers liked the suggestion of using the word "citrus" in the title to reflect the two stars of the show, Lemon and Lime.  "Salt" refers to CF, which is fundamentally a disease of salt not being in quite the right places--resulting in, among other things, the exceptionally salty sweat of people with CF.  I am hoping to use my maternity leave to learn more about blog layouts and features so I can spruce things up a bit, so don't be shocked if things change from week to week for the next few weeks as I explore.  And, if there are features that you like or don't like, or things I don't think of that you would like to see added, let me know!