August 11, 2000

In these last two weeks Arran has had a couple of doctors appointments.  He visited with the nephrologist and she made suggestions on how to increase his weight gain.  We are now adding 1 ml of Canola Oil to his bottles 4 times a day.  This is just to add calories to his diet.  On August 4th Arran had his ears cleaned out and his hearing checked again.  Last time he scored a 70 on the right ear and a 40 on the left.  Normal hearing is 20.  This time he scored a 35 in each ear. We are all very happy about this.  It basically means that he will more than likely not need hearing aids at all now. His hearing loss was probably due to a wax build up in his ear.  Then on August 7 he went and got new casts on.  These are again the semi rigid casts and they will stay on for 3 weeks.  The doctor gave me the prescription for his shoes and we are planning on putting his shoes on him when these cast come off, if all goes right.  Then on August 9th we had 2 appointments. Arran had his 4 month check up and he got 4 shots. He was not a happy camper.  He checked out and he actually gained a little weight.  Very good check up for him.  Then we had an Infants and Toddlers appointment and they showed us some more exercises to due with him to make him stronger.  Soon he will be a buff little baby.  Thats all I have to report for now. Oh and by the way, we got a dog.  Her name is Lorna Doone and she is a basset mix.  Both boys seem to be getting along with her.

August 1, 2000

Arran has had several doctors appointments since the last update.  He went and had his casts replaced. The doctor had to put three different sets of casts on his left leg because they were too tight.  We spent all day in the office until it was finally right.  He also had a NICU follow up appointment in Baltimore.  They examined him and they are keeping tabs on where he is and where he needs to be.  Right now Arran is doing ok.  He does have a problem that is starting to worry all of us a little.  He is not gaining weight.  We have tried a couple different tactics in order to get him to gain weight.  Tomorrow we meet with the Kidney doctor and get her opinion on another tactic we might try.  We have to balance his calorie intake with his kidney problems so that one issue doesn't complicate the other. Keep him in your prayers. Thank you.