Hello to everyone.

We took a family day today. After Xavier woke from his 9:00 o'clock nap, we headed off to the zoo. We began our day with a picnic in City Park, then spent a couple of hours strolling several of the animal exhibits.

Just before going into the gardens, we thought it best to feed Xavier. He ate some at our picnic, but was too distracted to take a whole bottle. Rebecca got another 2 ounces down him with this cloister technique.

Rebecca's favorite animal to see at the zoo, this was our first stop. Xavier was not too impressed. It took him a while to warm up to the giraffes. Later, after we put him back in the stroller, we at least got a smile.

Leaving the giraffes, Xavier did his signature flappy bird wave at dad. Excitement started to kick in.

During the (extremely lame) sea lion show, Rebecca took Xavier into the Tropical Discovery. (I stayed behind to watch the stroller as they are not allowed in the exhibit). Of all that he saw today, this definitely was where he showed the most curiosity. He even got to crawl into the bubble under a turtle tank and watch the turtles swim above his head.

Xavier found some interest with the penguins outside. Once we loosed him from the stroller's seat belt, he was standing at the rail in a flash to watch several birds swimming in the pool below.

The flamingos were his favorite outdoor exhibit. They were colorful, active, and quite loud. Also, we could stand in the shade. The day was very pleasant temperature-wise, in the mid 70s, but the shade was still welcomed as we neared the end of our touring.

Xavier wears his new hat, which we bought prior to touring the exhibits. Everyone was tired leaving the zoo, we probably stayed too long, and we had a long, long walk back to the car. The place we found to park was exactly opposite the zoo's one entry/exit (what happened to the one-time "South Entrance"? We parked right outside where it used to be). Coming and leaving, we completely circled the gardens.

Hello to everyone!

Xavier had an interesting weekend. Mom and Dad had the opportunity to attend a conference in the Denver Tech Center. The conference began Friday night and we had our hotel room paid for through Sunday. It was something both Rebecca and I have been looking forward to for several weeks. At first, we thought we would bring Xavier with us; we even arranged a crib for the room. However, as the weekend approached, we did not think Xavier would tolerate the event well.

Xavier's Aunt Chellie eagerly agreed to watch Xavier for the weekend. It has been nearly a year since we have spent a weekend away from Xavier. The last time was over the Fourth of July and he was still in the NICU. We spent that weekend packing up the Northern Outpost in Fort Collins. It was interesting and a little strange turning over the reins to Chellie.

Chellie arrived late, the traffic from Ft. Collins into Denver on a Friday afternoon is often horrid. We put Xavier down for the night before Chellie arrived. We left for the conference and Xavier woke up to find Aunt Chellie. He protested the swap out for about two hours, but after that he settled in.

The conference and the time away were desperately needed by both Rebecca and me. Rebecca and I had a few days to ourselves, something we have not had it a very long time. The weekend refreshed us, and Xavier did well under Aunt Chellie's aegis.

We returned home and Chellie left soon after. It was unfortunate, but Aunt Chellie somehow caught the same stomach flu crud Rebecca and I had the prior weekend. Still, a good time was had by all, and under Aunt Chellie's watch, Xavier set his new ounces per day record of 23 ounces.

Xavier has learned all too well how to open up the kitchen cabinets, even the Lazy Susan cupboard as seen here. He has recently started pulling things out of the cupboards and litter the kitchen floor with his new-found toys. It's also interesting when trying to load the dishwasher. Xavier climbs into the washer and pulls out the dishes being put in.

Greetings to everyone. Thank you all for your prayers.

We were able to bring Xavier to church for prayer last week. He had hands laid on him and he was anointed with oil, and prayed over. For me, that was a huge deal (you all know what a believer I am in prayer!), and it helped clam me and allowed me to gain focus. Rebecca was also inspired by it (she pressed me to get Xavier in for prayer as soon as we could). We tried to get Xavier to church sooner for prayer, but for various reasons couldn't until last Wednesday.

In the same timing, we got a referral for the first surgery. This is the surgery to insert the nasal feeding tube which bypasses Xavier's stomach and empties directly into his intestine. The doctors had also scheduled a liver biopsy, and to do the Nissan Procedure plus a series of other labs. Their thinking was, since we are already in there putting in the tube, why not get everything else.

Though we kept the referral, we told the doctors we were not going to put Xavier through this. We made it clear the Nissan Procedure was simply not going to happen, no matter what else needed to be done. Both the NG tube and the sewing of Xavier's upper stomach to his esophagus is filled with more risk than benefit. We've been doing a lot of research, and we've been observing Xavier through more educated eyes. We strongly believe the doctors have not correctly diagnosed Xavier's issues, so we are not going to allow any surgeries without significant proof of the doctors' diagnoses. There are still many, many unanswered questions for which the doctors are still silent in providing answers. What they are currently suggestion will do more harm than good, both Rebecca and I strongly think this.

Since the feeding clinic experience, we have been watching Xavier's intake very closely. In the last 14 days he has averaged about 600 calories per day, with a general trend upward and peaking at nearly 700. Just at his peaked, he got his first chest cold, which dropped his numbers back into the mid 500's the last few days. Coincidental with his cold, he cut at least one new tooth (his left upper outer incisor), so this also worked against his eating.

One of the questions (a big one we think) that needs answered is what, precisely, are the amounts Xavier needs to be eating on a daily basis. The people from the eating clinic suggested 36 ounces a day. We've run the numbers and that amount is huge! It's far beyond Xavier's capacity to hold that amount. This led to another question: if 36 ounces per day, what are they basing that amount on? A 20 pound one-year old? From our research (which we validated across several medical and government sites), it appears Xavier should be eating in the range of 760-830 calories a day. That works out to about 28 ounces a day, a far more reasonable amount for Xavier's size. Needless to write, this significant discrepancy have sent us back to the doctors for clarification, and an explanation on what they are basing their numbers on.

Through all of this, it looks like Xavier is once more taking to the bottle in a favorable way. We have had several times when he has eaten 4 oz at one time and kept it down. That, by the way, if not a miracle, is certainly something stupendous! We have not seen Xavier take 4 oz at one time in the last couple of months. We have been working with him to take increasingly larger amounts at one feeding. Our first issue is to get his stomach used to the larger amounts. Being off his feeding has let it atrophy, so it is not used to such large amounts.

We have had a couple of "divine appointments" as well. We have met several people in the last two weeks who have given us very useful information and understanding. One of the men who prayed over Xavier last week had a preemie who went through similar issues. We agreed to get together with him to learn from his experiences.

We also had a significant breakthrough that, until Xavier's cold and new tooth this past week, was getting Xavier to eat more and more every day. It was a simple thing, one we learned from a lady who runs a daycare. She got Xavier to eat 3 oz in one sitting, plus she got him to eat from a spoon with 8 confirmed swallows! We tried her bottle-feeding technique and from our first feeding using this technique, his intake increased at least 3/4 an ounce per feeding, more as the week went on. What was the technique? We swaddle Xavier! We never would have thought of this, he hates being swaddled. But, it works.

Another meeting we had was "out of the blue" in many ways. It led us to do some more research into what the doctors are telling us and added heavily to the list of questions we need the doctors to answer before we proceed with any GI tube. The benefits of the feeding tube may be overwhelmed by the problems brought on by the tube. In fact, the GI tube is likely to make things notably worse.

We are praying that

1. Xavier eat well and enough and consistently (consistently seems to be one of the real keys here); we want the diagnosis of "failure to thrive" overturned!
2. Continued wisdom and insight for us, Xavier's parents, so we make the best choices for him
3. For wisdom with the doctors and for the doctors

One of the Scriptures I've taken to speaking over Xavier every time he coughs is "By His stripes, you are healed" (Isa 53:5/1Pet 2:24).

Always, we thank you for your prayers and support. Great is our God and Father, and mighty is our Lord, Who has healed us!