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We went in this morning for a routine checkup to see how Asher is doing. First of all, as you can see, he’s spilling over that scale! He is now 21 lbs and 10 oz, and 28.25 in. This was the first time we’ve left the hospital without having to adjust Asher’s diet with increasing his formula intake or enzymes. He’s doing SO well! His dietitian was ecstatic with his squishy, drumstick thighs. She kept crediting the Newborn Screening for Asher’s growth (this is how we found out Asher has CF), but all I kept doing was thanking the Lord. He’s the one who had us living in a state where this test is mandatory, He’s the one who passed the legislation making the test mandatory in AZ, and He’s the one who continues to answer so many prayers about Asher’s health.

The only change to his diet is that we have to increase his salt intake every day. We have to give him 1/4 teaspoon of table salt, which really is a lot more than it sounds. Right now we give this to him in his bottle, but when he gets a little older we’ll be able to do this by having him eat lots of potato chips and popcorn…if you know me, you know that this is already a very popcorn-friendly home so this won’t be a problem :). Just to get a bit scientific – people without Cystic Fibrosis have a small layer of salt water in the large airways of their lungs, which is under the mucus layer that lines the airways. This mucus layer in the airways helps to keep the lungs clear of inhaled particles. Asher has a mutated gene (we call this “the opposite of awesome gene”) that blocks the salt from entering the airways and water, which makes his mucus thick and sticky, which in turn traps bacteria and causes lung infections. So, although it seems like a simple ingredient, it’s pretty vital.

We also will be scheduling his Infant Pulmonary Lung Function test sometime before August. Some of you know that this was a complete disaster the first time we put Asher through this, and we are really dreading going through all this again. But, it needs to be done so they can test Asher’s lung volume and get a good look at his lungs. So, if you think of it please pray that this test would be successful this time around.

Here’s a picture of Asher with his doctor, Dr. O’Hagan.