update

Thanks for your prayers for Joseph. We had an ok appointment with the pediatric GI last week. It wasn't the quick and easy answers that we were hoping for, but it was a start. For one, there seems to be no anatomical issues. Knowing my family history, that was a relief to hear. Due to a baseline blood level antibody that is low for Joseph, we learned that we cannot completely rule out celiac disease. The doctor says that the pain Joseph is having could very likely be a learned behavior, causing him to think that he has to contort his body, and that every BM is painful. We were directed to experiment with the dosage of Miralax (something he's been on for months) to see if we can "convince" him otherwise. We had a full food allergy blood panel done on Thursday. A milk allergy could be causing all of this, too. Joseph is on a lactose-free diet, drinking soy milk. Not sure if cow's milk is the culprit, but the last week has been MUCH better. That would be a relatively easy problem to fix. {Even easier for us, since we went through a milk allergy with Hannah for two years.} Still have a ways to go with eating and weight gain, but less pain. Joseph is a trooper. This last blood draw was much better.

I posted this on Facebook, but I love this picture I took with my phone at his one-year appointment.

And this one. They were walking ahead of me across the hospital parking lot after our first round of blood work a few weeks ago.

We have a two week follow-up scheduled with the specialist. Praying things will continue to improve.

L