6 Weeks!

Baby Callan was 6 weeks old yesterday! I'm so happy with his growth and progress and I am loving the fact that I have gotten to enjoy such a long "newborn" stage. A week ago he weighed 6 lbs 6 oz so he's probably around 7 lbs now. He is such a good baby and is so much fun. He has on and off nights with sleeping, but overall I think he's getting better and better.

{laugh}

We are very grateful that he is able to receive a Synagis shot every month and will be getting his second one on Friday. Synagis is a medication that protects him from getting RSV. It is similar to vaccine, but with a vaccine they inject the inactive virus so that your body will start producing antibodies to fight that virus so it will be prepared if you get it. With this, they actually inject the antibodies so his body won't even have to make them. If he was introduced to RSV his body will be able to start fighting it off before it even affects him. The antibodies will eventually die which is why he has to get a shot every month and the shots cost $1500.00 each. Which is nothing when you've met your out of pocket maximum on your insurance by the end of January:)

Speaking of which, in case you're trying to decide if you need insurance or not (because we've been in that boat before), Callan's medical bills have amounted to around $100,000.00.

THANK HEAVENS FOR OUR INSURANCE!

We have been blessed to have to pay only $2,000.00 of that amount. Before Tyson's parathyroid issues and surgery we didn't have insurance for about a 6 month period of time. Thankfully nothing happened to us during that time, but we had a strong feeling that we should sign up for insurance again and just sacrifice a little in order to afford it. The day our insurance started, January 1st, was the day he passed out while ice fishing as a result of his hypercalcemia. We felt so blessed at that time to have made the decision to get insurance even though neither of us had any health issues prior to that! And we feel the same way now. Tyson changed jobs in August in order to get more hours and therefore lower our premiums for better insurance. Little did we know we would have this little bundle of joy who needed so much extra care!

That was a detour - back to Synagis. The pediatrician said that in the 14 years he's been giving Synagis he's only had one baby get RSV. So that is great news. If you're like me you're probably thinking, why in the world have I never heard of this before and why can't my kid get it! It's a little ridiculous if you ask me. There are apparently very strict rules on who can receive the shot. They told me you can only get it if you are born under 32 weeks gestation or born under 34 weeks with a sibling under 5. I asked because I wanted Easton to get it too, but he doesn't qualify. It makes me so mad because I have friends and relatives whose kids have been barely hangin on with RSV. I don't understand why this shot can't be more widely available! It doesn't

make sense. Anyway...

We're so glad Callan is healthy. He doesn't even spit up. The only thing wrong with him is he has an umbilical hernia. He just got it this week so I haven't even shown the doctor yet, but I know that's what it is because Easton had one too. (Which is weird because they're not hereditary.) It's when part of the intestine pokes into the belly button. It's really gross because you can push on it and feel the intestine squeeze back into the stomach but it pops right back out when you let go. Anyway, these are fairly common and usually go away by themselves within a year. You can see it in this picture.

Happy healthy boys!