Anders Per!

**I just sent this as an email and thought I'd put it into the blog...***

Dear Friends & Family,

I'm sorry that we haven't been able to give you this news sooner, but if you read on you'll understand why. We had our baby boy Anders Per on Sunday, June 22nd at 1:18 AM. He weighed 7 lbs. 1 3/4 oz, and was 19.5 inches long. Labor and delivery went fairly well and quite quick. We stayed in the hospital for less than 48 hours and went home. Anders (on-durrs) means Andrew in Swedish, but originally the name Andrew is Greek and it means "manly." Per (like "pear") means Peter in Swedish, and in Greek it is "rock". We were excited to be able to combine our Scandinavian heritage with Biblical names as well.

A few days after coming home, I was noticing that Anders just wasn't as lively as he should be and he was not eating and going to the bathroom enough. His temperature reached a low of 95.6 on Thursday, the day that we took him into the ER at Childrens Hospital in St. Paul. Immediately, Anders was wrapped in very warm blankets and began a bunch of tests, including three spinal taps. Because of the dehydration, it was very hard to get enough spinal fluid on the first try, so that's why it took three tries. The same thing was true for taking blood and inserting iv's. It took several tries for that as well. Even though he was so sick, our little man put up quite a fight and cried really hard during all of these experiences, which was difficult for us to see and hear but also reassuring.

All the tests that have been done on Anders have come back negative, which is good news. The conclusion is that he probably had a really bad virus that caused him to be so sleepy and not able to eat and thus become dehydrated. We stayed in the hospital with him for three nights while he was getting re-hydrated with saline and also receiving antibiotics and anti-viral drugs intravenously. After one night of fluids, our Anders started to be himself again and had enough energy to eat.

We're home again, as of Sunday afternoon. It feels so good to be here, instead of at the hospital listening to beeps and having our sleep interrupted. We're grateful that Anders seems to be feeling better. Because of his infection, we're going to have to be more careful with him these first few months as far as not exposing him to illness and large groups. So, please do not be offended if we need to say no to having you all hold him and touch him, or if we ask for you to wash your hands. I already was a germ freak, and I'm even more of one now after this experience.

Another thing that we're going to have to investigate more is that I noticed a small dimple/divit on Anders' lower back, along his spinal column. I asked the Dr. about it the other day at a follow up appointment and she said that it might actually be an indication of Spina Bifida, a condition in which the neural tube does not close completely during pregnancy. I'm baffled by this possibility as I have faithfully taken my prenatal vitamins, containing folic acid which is supposed to help prevent neural tube defects. However, after reading some information on Spina Bifida, I learned that not only is it an environmentally caused condition but also a hereditary one...another thing that we're not sure of as there isn't anyone we can think of who has had something like this in our families. There are several varying degrees of Spina Bifida, and the mildest form is sometimes completely undetected and people can live completely normal lives. The more serious forms usually cause paralysis and muscle and joint problems, among other things. My mind has been wandering off worrying about whether or not Anders may have this condition, but the fact is, nothing has been formally diagnosed yet. We are going back for another follow up appointment with Anders' regular pediatrician who has been out of town and hasn't met our little guy yet, and that appt. will be on Monday. If you think of it, we would greatly appreciate your prayers for Anders. He might be completely fine and the little dimple might just be something unique on his body and not harmful at all. From what I know, he will have to have an ultrasound to detect any mishaps in his spinal column. I'm also hoping that we can take a closer look at the x-rays that were taken on his entire body when we were at the hospital. Maybe that will give us some more clarity.

In the meantime, Anders seems to be doing okay. I'm just trying to be very careful to watch him and feed him as much as he wants to eat and then some.

Thank you to all who have been praying for us and encouraging us. We so appreciate your thoughts and prayers. This has been a really dramatic week here and I know that it is God who is upholding us.

If you are in the area, we would love to see you for a short visit or chat with you on the phone.