The Leftover

Skyler took forever to name. We debated for months on what his sweet name should be. We talked about so many different names that I finally just said I was going to have to see the cute little guy before I named him.

Whats funny now is that after all that debate and talk and near arguments over what to name him we hardly ever call him Skyler. He is "little man", "skylie wylie" and "chubbo".

I think however my favorite nick name would have to be the name that Polly gave him. She has affectionately dubbed him "The Leftover" baby. Here's why.

Before he was born he was diagnosed with dilated kidneys. Both kidneys were large and we had hoped that things would resolve after his birth. They didnt. In fact it got worse when his little body had to start managing fluids on its own. After several invasive tests and lots of long talks with the docs it was decided that he would need surgery on his left kidney. The right one would just be watched. Now, this was not an easy task since that almost from birth the poor baby had had one long sinus infection. It took quite a bit to get him well enough for surgery and it involved keeping older kids home from school and boycotting church for several weeks prior. But, after all was said and done he had his surgery and we thought that might be the beginning of a new life for our little guy.

Dont get too comfy is what people have always told me and for this particular child it has held true. 4 months after his surgery he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes ...which seemed to be the topper. It was then that Polly said "he's the leftover....he got all the leftover genes." Sadly enough it has proven to be so true. Because since then we have also discovered that the poor kid has problems swallowing. Good grief. More problems. I think he probably needs to have a full MRI, but I am not sure I want to know about everything....just yet.

Poor leftover kid. I will say this though, no child, leftover or the first, has been more loved than this child. 8 older siblings, 2 parents, friends, cousins, aunts and uncles, grams and gramps and even neighbor kids cant get enough of this child. His body might be riddled with problems, but his spirit is sweet and strong. You can feel it......