Gerber Baby

Nurse Lindzie thinks Carter is so cute that he should be the Gerber Baby. I told her that he'd be a terrible baby for Gerber since he refuses to eat! They'd go bankrupt if it was up to Carter to advertise food for them :)

Carter's had a rough few days. Yesterday he spent a large part of the day crying and screaming. He had not slept in over 24 hours, except for a few 10-15 minute naps. He seemed very uncomfortable, but we couldn't put our finger on what was wrong. He got numerous baths, which usually put him to sleep. Even one of our favorite Doctors tried to soothe him, which lasted all of 30 seconds before Carter screamed in his face. This morning, Nurse Susannah saw the light and gave him a dose of Ativan and he's been peacefully sleeping ever since. After talking to the Doctor today, we seem to think it's a combo of withdrawals (it's only been a week since his methadone was stopped), reflux and an upset tummy (I will keep the details to myself). I wish he could talk so he could tell us what's wrong. He's scheduled for a GI test in the morning so send lots of prayers that they don't find anything major.

We want to thank everyone for your suggestions and effort to get Carter feeding. Please keep the ideas coming b/c there's an answer to his puzzle out there somewhere. We had discussed pacifier feeds with his therapists a few weeks ago, but decided it was not a good idea because the pacifier is the only positive thing Carter has to associate with oral skills. Everything else that's been done to him is negative. The one way he can soothe himself is with his paci. So, we don't want to ruin that by adding a negative stimulus (food) to the pacifier.

We've tried dipping his paci in milk--he hates it. We've tried squirting a drop of milk into the corner of his mouth while he sucks on the paci--he hates it. We've tried milk, pedialyte, water--he hates it. We've tried bottle nipples shaped like a pacifier--he knows the difference. It seems like he doesn't like liquid in his mouth for some reason (aspiration, breathing difficulty, problems coordinating, pain when swallowing, a taste association between the milk and vomiting...who knows?). At this point, we're counting the months until he can have solids and then we may just send the bottles on a Life Flight helicoptor ride to the coast to dump them into the ocean.

I will post cute pics and an update tomorrow.