Weighty Issues

I wrote earlier this month about my trip down to Lusaka with Jack. He had been struggling with stomach issues for months. Multiple times a day he would fill his diaper with the most offensively odoriferous load. Every time we took him to the clinic, they would prescribe a new antibiotic. His stomach was hugely swollen but he wasn't gaining any weight. This wasn't due to poor appetite as he ate everything in sight.

 

Since I was traveling to Lusaka with our volunteers I decided to take Jack down too to a clinic with better lab facilities. It sure was challenging traveling with a 16 month old again--especially on public transport--and especially one with 'stomach issues'.

The good news is that we were finally able to get all his tests done and have a consultation with our doctor friend. She told me that all the antibiotics that Jack had been given had wiped out his good bacteria. Basically, all the food he was eating was passing straight through without his body having a chance to absorb nutrients.

In order to fix this Jack needed to drink buttermilk and/or yogurt instead of milk and take probiotics and vitamins to build up his bacteria load.

Four weeks later Jack is doing much better. He's learned how to alk and even though he's still quite small for his age, today we weighed all the kids and found out that Jack has put on a kilo (over 2 pounds)! that is as much as he gained in the whole last year. Such good news!!

You can read about how Jack came to stay with us by clicking on the 'Exactly One Year Ago' link at the end of this post. Read to the very end...

In related news, Joseph has also gained weight. He now weighs over 3 kilos (over 6 and a half pounds)!

We do have one problem with him. He does not do well with normal baby formula. When Joseph first arrived, he didn't drink well. Our latest volunteer team had brought two tins of formula with them. It claimed to be nearly as good as breastmilk so I gave it a try. He immediately drank it straight down.

Once he was eating well, I tried giving him the regular formula, but he threw it right up. I've since tried giving him soy formula and he does fine with that. Trouble is, we can only get that formula in Lusaka. At least we can find something for him. I'm glad we have options....

This was a good day!

Exactly One Year Ago: A Baby with a Grin to Die For