On Friday I took Snuggles in for his One-Year check up. This was actually his third visit with the doctor since we arrived home from our trip. The first was due to his not recovering completely from the flu, and at that appointment we realized how little he weighed, 16lb 11 oz pounds. To put this in perspective, he weighed 8lb 5 oz at birth, and 16 lbs at 6 months. It was a HUGE drop on (or rather OFF) the growth chart. The doctor ran a few labs which came back negative, and with the help of some probiotics, we were able to stabilize his digestive tract. The doctor gave me lots of food suggestions to help him gain weight, and I took him in for a recheck the next week. He was back up to 17 lb 9 oz. This was very good, but still nowhere near where he should be, and still below 0% on the weight chart for his weight at this age--although his head is still measuring in the 85%. The rest of my children are on the small end of the charts, so generally we wouldn't be too concerned, but Snuggles has gone from being our biggest baby to being our smallest. At Friday's appointment, he weighed only 17 lb 10oz. Anyhow, we decided to go ahead and run a panel of tests to see if there was an underlying reason that is hindering his weight gain. Especially with everything he has been eating! The doctor wanted to look at a number of different things including his thyroid and various allergens. It was awful taking him to have his blood drawn, but I did take him to a good friend of ours though, who is excellent with babies. It was still sad to see him have to go through that, but it didn't take long for Snuggles to be back to his sweet, smiley self, as you can see. I will be meeting with the doctor again in a couple weeks to find out his results. After finding out about all my food sensitivities, I am wondering if this could be the case for Snuggles. I guess we will see. I will keep you all updated. Thank you all for your prayers!
Thanks be to God!
Today Catholic Cuisine will be hosting its first From Thy Bounty Fair, with the theme of First Holy Communions.
the author recommends a Decorated Sheet Cake.You can also prepare for a first communion or confirmation a large flat white cake (or any kind of cake), with a white icing. It can be decorated in any of the following ways (among others).
- With the words "Happy (or Blessed) First Communion (or Confirmation), " plus the child's name.
- With a short quotation from Scripture, such as "Blessed are the pure in heart; they shall see God" or another of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5), or from Psalms, perhaps.
- With the image of a dove, often a symbol for the soul.
- With an image of a chalice and a paten (the flat dish holding the sacred Host.)
- With the image of a standing person praying with arms outstretched (from early Christian art).
- With an early Christian image of two angels carrying a "sacred monogram" that is, the letters chi and rho (x and p), which are the first two letters of the Greek word for Christ.
First Holy Communion Certificate
"Most Holy Trinity, I adore Thee, My God, My God,
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided.
