Caleb, grandma and I participated in the Seattle Heart Walk this weekend. It is one of the largest walks in the nation in both participation and donations. Due to the traffic getting to the walk, we were running a little late. We didn't get there until after 8:30, but that turned out to be perfect. Most everyone was in the stands so we got to walk around the outside area without too many people.
We picked up a red hat (the "survivor hat") for Caleb and for grandma. Then we went and wrote a sign about who we were walking for. It said, "I am walking for..." and we crossed out "walking" and put in "rolling." Caleb was rolling for himself, and grandma had one that said she was walking for her grandson. I just was there to push the stroller! hehe
As we started the course, there were tons of people just streaming out of Quest field (where the Seahawks play). We had the choice of doing a 3.5 mile route or a 1 mile route. Well, as we were decided if we should walk up the viaduct or not, we were stopped by a reporter from the PI that wanted to talk to grandma about why she was walking. I pointed to the baby. "This is why we are walking." He was surprised to see a survivor so young (although I'm sure there were others there.) He interviewed us, and then walked along the route with us.
We ended up chosing the 1 mile route because we got so far behind with the interviewer--we were actually some of the last people to finish. We were at the end, but did pass two old ladies with canes and a little boy with a brace on his leg--if that tells you how far behind we were. hehe In any case, we finished the walk and were a little like, "Wow, that was quick" because we took the short route.
It did keep us dry, though, because those who took the 3.5 mile walked on top of the viaduct and we walked underneath. We got back before the majority of the crowd and were able to walk around the booths, etc, in Quest field. We crossed the finish line and got our photo taken. It was cool. :)
After that we decided to take off because Caleb fell asleep, and just then everyone from the 3.5 mile was coming back. We just missed the crowds! Whew. We were able to leave without a big lineup. We lucked out on our timing.
Overall, Caleb managed to raise $200 for the heart walk. Not bad for a 6 month old. Thank you to everyone that helped us out. We very much appreciate your support!
I'll be looking in the Seattle P.I. for Caleb's story tomorrow!!!
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Monday, October 1, 2007
Doctors Appointment!
Caleb had his regular check-up with his cardiologist last Wednesday. He was cranky and tired because we woke him up, didn't feed him, then drug him to the doctor's office. He told the lady who was weighing and measuring him all of his troubles, and didn't let her get a blood pressure. I was worried about our start as his screams filled the building!!
But we got thru (apparently he's about 16.5lbs, although he wasn't cooperating too well...) and to Colleen, who does our echos. We had breakfast with Colleen, and she popped in a Baby Einstein video to keep him entertained. He wasn't sure which he liked more--the movie on the tv or the images of his heart on the screen. He layed there and she got all of the shots that she needed for once! They were even to see the left side of his heart!!
What they discovered:
~All TGA repairs leak at the suture sites--his are leaking at a very low rate so this is good
~His flow to the left lung is still open
~The flow is still asymmetrical
~The pressures on his right side of his heart are doing very well
~His blood pressure and EKG was very good
As his cardiologist said, "This is just a good news visit!" Yay!
Then we went to the eye doctor. Ha... the little guy had to throw me a curve ball. His eyes are normal vision for his age (which is slightly far sighted). That's good news. He is using both eyes equally. That is good news. He, however, only uses one eye at a time. The other one goes "out." Their suggestion? If it doesn't get better in a month: surgery.
Oh little bug... let's not do any further surgery! The eye doctor did say that his farsightedness will help it improve if it does improve. Is there a history of this in the family, he asks? No... my little guy is apparently a trend setter! LOL
My idea is that while he was in the hospital, he didn't have enough things to focus on, so his eyes got behind. And now it might be too late to get them back without a serious intervention. Guu.
But we got thru (apparently he's about 16.5lbs, although he wasn't cooperating too well...) and to Colleen, who does our echos. We had breakfast with Colleen, and she popped in a Baby Einstein video to keep him entertained. He wasn't sure which he liked more--the movie on the tv or the images of his heart on the screen. He layed there and she got all of the shots that she needed for once! They were even to see the left side of his heart!!
What they discovered:
~All TGA repairs leak at the suture sites--his are leaking at a very low rate so this is good
~His flow to the left lung is still open
~The flow is still asymmetrical
~The pressures on his right side of his heart are doing very well
~His blood pressure and EKG was very good
As his cardiologist said, "This is just a good news visit!" Yay!
Then we went to the eye doctor. Ha... the little guy had to throw me a curve ball. His eyes are normal vision for his age (which is slightly far sighted). That's good news. He is using both eyes equally. That is good news. He, however, only uses one eye at a time. The other one goes "out." Their suggestion? If it doesn't get better in a month: surgery.
Oh little bug... let's not do any further surgery! The eye doctor did say that his farsightedness will help it improve if it does improve. Is there a history of this in the family, he asks? No... my little guy is apparently a trend setter! LOL
My idea is that while he was in the hospital, he didn't have enough things to focus on, so his eyes got behind. And now it might be too late to get them back without a serious intervention. Guu.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Lung Scan Results
So... we went to Children's for the lung scan. It was pretty uneventful. Caleb doesn't think much of getting IVs, but he does seem to like the test. He let the nurses velcro him into place without much issue. When the cameras came down he looked at them and even pet them a little bit. After a while he decided things were too boring and went to take a nap.
I figured out why I thought I saw two functioning lungs on the scan. It turns out that the camera takes a front and a back view. What I thought was two lungs was the right lung forwards, and then the right lung backwards. There should really be four lungs on the screen. This time he did indeed have four, which meant that the balloon worked and his lungs were functioning.
After several days (hey, wait, weren't we supposed to find out that day?? Why yes, yes we were!) we found out that his lung blood distribution wasn't as even as we had hoped. They were hoping for 70/30 (55/45 is normal). Caleb turned out a 87/13.
But this means something good: The ballooned artery is still open.
The next step was supposed to be a stent and surgery, but the doctors at Children's got together to discuss what to do. They were faced with the probability that the ballooning would close again. The right side of his heart, however, was showing no signs of strain from pumping the blood unevenly. The key turned out to be what was going on *after* the block.
For some reason, Caleb's blood vessels are larger than normal. Not good, not bad, it just is what it is. But because of this, they want to put off the surgery. They are still hopeful that this bloodflow can grow.
I'm talking to him nearly every night about this. He is definitely working on growing up! He's getting huge. He's glad that he doesn't have to have any more operations at the moment. And so am I.
They are going to be watching this very closely (big surprise there!). If everything stays open, they're going to see what develops. If it doesn't stay open, they'll take further action, which will probably be a stent through the chest wall. September 26th is our next appointment. So let's hope that things keep growing like he does. :)
I figured out why I thought I saw two functioning lungs on the scan. It turns out that the camera takes a front and a back view. What I thought was two lungs was the right lung forwards, and then the right lung backwards. There should really be four lungs on the screen. This time he did indeed have four, which meant that the balloon worked and his lungs were functioning.
After several days (hey, wait, weren't we supposed to find out that day?? Why yes, yes we were!) we found out that his lung blood distribution wasn't as even as we had hoped. They were hoping for 70/30 (55/45 is normal). Caleb turned out a 87/13.
But this means something good: The ballooned artery is still open.
The next step was supposed to be a stent and surgery, but the doctors at Children's got together to discuss what to do. They were faced with the probability that the ballooning would close again. The right side of his heart, however, was showing no signs of strain from pumping the blood unevenly. The key turned out to be what was going on *after* the block.
For some reason, Caleb's blood vessels are larger than normal. Not good, not bad, it just is what it is. But because of this, they want to put off the surgery. They are still hopeful that this bloodflow can grow.
I'm talking to him nearly every night about this. He is definitely working on growing up! He's getting huge. He's glad that he doesn't have to have any more operations at the moment. And so am I.
They are going to be watching this very closely (big surprise there!). If everything stays open, they're going to see what develops. If it doesn't stay open, they'll take further action, which will probably be a stent through the chest wall. September 26th is our next appointment. So let's hope that things keep growing like he does. :)
Monday, August 13, 2007
General Check Up!
On Friday, Caleb saw his regular doctor. Why?? Just the standard 4 month check up. Whew!
How nice just to have a normal check-up. :) I had my check-up earlier in the day, and then it was Caleb's turn. He was pretty excited about the whole thing.
He watched the nurses and the doctor, very interested in what they were up to. He was weighed and measured without issue. He is now 14.5 lbs and 26 inches long! That bumps him up to the 50th percentile in weight (from the 25th). His height was in the 50th percentile, but that was also boosted up to the 70th percentile! Whoa! Go baby!
Apparently with all this extra O2 that he's getting, he's going to use it to grow like a little weed. :)
He also showed off, slapping his feet down onto the paper they had on the exam table. It was very loud to talk to the doctor over the sounds of the laughing and squeeling. He thought the whole exam was a great play-date with the doctor. I hadn't seen him have that great of a time before!
Of course, all good things must come to an end, and his friend the nurse betrayed him by sticking him with not one, not two, but THREE needles. Oh, the little one cried. He was so betrayed and hurt, and just didn't know what to do. He hollared for a little while, and finally calmed down.
The next few days he was grumpy and achy.
It didn't stop us from trying his first solid foods, however! At the doctor's office we got the okay for him to start rice cereal. On Sunday evening I pulled up a chair, put him in his "Bumbo" and showed him the bowl and spoon. Caleb thought they were pretty funny. He thought the camera in his face was pretty funny, too. He laughed as the spoon was getting filled, and watched it as it came towards his mouth. In it went... and the little one gagged. Apparently he thinks rice cereal tastes as good as I think it does!!!
Well, the gagging stopped, and we have lots of pictures of a smiling boy with rice cereal dripping down his chin, his shirt, his sleeves, his hands and.... well, almost everything else! He did very well, and actually did get a few bites to eat before he got angry with the whole process. He was hungry and wanted food. Silly guy didn't realize he was already eating!
The little guy is in bed now, and I think I will get some sleep, too. Ta! :)
Or as Caleb would say: UNGOWA!
How nice just to have a normal check-up. :) I had my check-up earlier in the day, and then it was Caleb's turn. He was pretty excited about the whole thing.
He watched the nurses and the doctor, very interested in what they were up to. He was weighed and measured without issue. He is now 14.5 lbs and 26 inches long! That bumps him up to the 50th percentile in weight (from the 25th). His height was in the 50th percentile, but that was also boosted up to the 70th percentile! Whoa! Go baby!
Apparently with all this extra O2 that he's getting, he's going to use it to grow like a little weed. :)
He also showed off, slapping his feet down onto the paper they had on the exam table. It was very loud to talk to the doctor over the sounds of the laughing and squeeling. He thought the whole exam was a great play-date with the doctor. I hadn't seen him have that great of a time before!
Of course, all good things must come to an end, and his friend the nurse betrayed him by sticking him with not one, not two, but THREE needles. Oh, the little one cried. He was so betrayed and hurt, and just didn't know what to do. He hollared for a little while, and finally calmed down.
The next few days he was grumpy and achy.
It didn't stop us from trying his first solid foods, however! At the doctor's office we got the okay for him to start rice cereal. On Sunday evening I pulled up a chair, put him in his "Bumbo" and showed him the bowl and spoon. Caleb thought they were pretty funny. He thought the camera in his face was pretty funny, too. He laughed as the spoon was getting filled, and watched it as it came towards his mouth. In it went... and the little one gagged. Apparently he thinks rice cereal tastes as good as I think it does!!!
Well, the gagging stopped, and we have lots of pictures of a smiling boy with rice cereal dripping down his chin, his shirt, his sleeves, his hands and.... well, almost everything else! He did very well, and actually did get a few bites to eat before he got angry with the whole process. He was hungry and wanted food. Silly guy didn't realize he was already eating!
The little guy is in bed now, and I think I will get some sleep, too. Ta! :)
Or as Caleb would say: UNGOWA!
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Updates
Caleb went to the cardiologist and they checked him out. Of course they couldn't see the left side of the heart. Isn't that just the case? So they said they think the artery is still open, but they are unable to see for sure.
Of course, that's not good enough for my doctor, so we're going to have to go into the hospital for the lung test in nuclear medicine again. It always seems like something is going on, doesn't it? Anyhow, we'll be heading in there near the end of the month, but will get the results right that day instead of having to wait for them.
We're hoping that the baby has at least a 70/30 split with the bloodflow to the lungs. The normal amount is 55/45, favoring the right side. Most of us are probably walking around with that. So we're talking to the baby about it, letting him know what his score should be.
If he makes the 70/30--no further action to be taken. We woot, we party, we do the happy dance!
If he does less than that, then they talk about the stent again. They cannot put an adult stent through the leg on the baby. If they do this, they will have to go in later and *rip it out.* This involves open-chest, real hard-core heart surgery. No thanks. So they have 'invented' an option. They will go to the surgeons, go thru the chest wall with an adult size stent (not opening the chest bone) and put it in place.
This will then require several smaller "surgeries" through the leg as the baby gets older to open up the stent into the full, adult size it will become.
What I am hoping for is this: Now that the lung gets the idea that it's supposed to be having a good blood flow, and now that the baby is on aspirin therapy, the two will combine (wonder twin powers, ACTIVATE!) and let that bloodflow grow like it should!
We found out the aspirin is every day for life. :) Hope the baby likes aspirin.
Of course, that's not good enough for my doctor, so we're going to have to go into the hospital for the lung test in nuclear medicine again. It always seems like something is going on, doesn't it? Anyhow, we'll be heading in there near the end of the month, but will get the results right that day instead of having to wait for them.
We're hoping that the baby has at least a 70/30 split with the bloodflow to the lungs. The normal amount is 55/45, favoring the right side. Most of us are probably walking around with that. So we're talking to the baby about it, letting him know what his score should be.
If he makes the 70/30--no further action to be taken. We woot, we party, we do the happy dance!
If he does less than that, then they talk about the stent again. They cannot put an adult stent through the leg on the baby. If they do this, they will have to go in later and *rip it out.* This involves open-chest, real hard-core heart surgery. No thanks. So they have 'invented' an option. They will go to the surgeons, go thru the chest wall with an adult size stent (not opening the chest bone) and put it in place.
This will then require several smaller "surgeries" through the leg as the baby gets older to open up the stent into the full, adult size it will become.
What I am hoping for is this: Now that the lung gets the idea that it's supposed to be having a good blood flow, and now that the baby is on aspirin therapy, the two will combine (wonder twin powers, ACTIVATE!) and let that bloodflow grow like it should!
We found out the aspirin is every day for life. :) Hope the baby likes aspirin.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Palpating Pedal Pulses
When we spoke with the doctor about the cath procedure, he wasn't very sure of what the outcome would be. He said he was doubtful that they could balloon him, and doubtful that he could stent him... in fact he was suggesting that the better alternative would probably be to send Caleb to the surgery team and have them implant the stent. He basically said, "I could be an hour, I could be three, I don't know."
Well... when we were past the hour mark I started to relax. I had been telling everyone all morning that the balloon procedure would work, and that's just the way it is. Caleb and I had talked about it. The stenting didn't end up sounding as bad as I was afraid of, but I still didn't want that. I knew Caleb wouldn't want it, either.
After visiting the Parent's Center, I was walking back to visit the gift shop, and one of the doctors passed me. He was one of Caleb's original doctors and had recognized us from our original stay. He visited us that morning in the the pre-op area. In any case, he gave us a quick update. When they used the dye in his blood, the right lung instantly darkened and was full of blood. A small, pencil thin line of dye did eventually show up on the left side. He said that the doctor perfoming the procedure was "very surprised" but they were able to get a wire through. But that's where it was left, and the doctor didn't know what he was going to do from there yet.
I was very encouraged by this news indeed! After a while I got the page and went to listen to the doctor. I got some pretty pictures out of this deal. Before and after. Well, they did end up balooning the artery. There was a signifigant improvement over before (ie blood was flowing!!), however, blood wasn't flowing everywhere it needed to go... yet.
The doctor said that it might just fix on its own, now that the blood vessel was pumping blood where it should go, and might grow and expand like it needs to. He felt that the problem was at the beginning of the artery where he balooned it, not out in the branches. He said this wasn't very likely, but could happen. The second option was that now that there was bloodflow, in six months or so they might go in and give the baby a stent after all when he's bigger.
What we do now: Watch it. Make sure it doesn't close back up. Have an echo with our favorite cardiologist on Wednesday.
We spent the night at Children's for observation. What they ended up observing closely was his right leg. That was the side they went through the groin veins on, and although rare, the vein could colapse and not give blood to the rest of the leg. The signs were "a foot as blue as your jeans." This being said, Caleb's right leg was visibly paler than his left, and you could feel a temperature difference.
It was difficult to "palpate" his "pedal pulses." What this means is that it was difficult to feel his pulse in his right foot with your hand. The doctor who did the cath came back and felt that the bandage was too tight. He loosened it. In another hour he came back and loosened it a little more, and brought his doppler with him. (A doppler is a machine that listens to pulses--the same idea as the one that they use to listen to the baby's heartbeat when he's still inside the mama!) He "wasn't convinced" he was feeling a pulse in Caleb's foot The doppler proved there was a pulse.
All night long and all morning long everyone was concerned about the foot, and confused over the foot. Here the foot has pulses that you can feel no problem, there the foot has no pulses that you can feel, the foot is lighter than the other, the foot is colder than the other... one of the guys said, "If we didn't have the other leg to compare it to, then we would just think it was fine."
In the end, they sent him home and just told us to keep an eye on it.... bah, crazy stuff.
Well... when we were past the hour mark I started to relax. I had been telling everyone all morning that the balloon procedure would work, and that's just the way it is. Caleb and I had talked about it. The stenting didn't end up sounding as bad as I was afraid of, but I still didn't want that. I knew Caleb wouldn't want it, either.
After visiting the Parent's Center, I was walking back to visit the gift shop, and one of the doctors passed me. He was one of Caleb's original doctors and had recognized us from our original stay. He visited us that morning in the the pre-op area. In any case, he gave us a quick update. When they used the dye in his blood, the right lung instantly darkened and was full of blood. A small, pencil thin line of dye did eventually show up on the left side. He said that the doctor perfoming the procedure was "very surprised" but they were able to get a wire through. But that's where it was left, and the doctor didn't know what he was going to do from there yet.
I was very encouraged by this news indeed! After a while I got the page and went to listen to the doctor. I got some pretty pictures out of this deal. Before and after. Well, they did end up balooning the artery. There was a signifigant improvement over before (ie blood was flowing!!), however, blood wasn't flowing everywhere it needed to go... yet.
The doctor said that it might just fix on its own, now that the blood vessel was pumping blood where it should go, and might grow and expand like it needs to. He felt that the problem was at the beginning of the artery where he balooned it, not out in the branches. He said this wasn't very likely, but could happen. The second option was that now that there was bloodflow, in six months or so they might go in and give the baby a stent after all when he's bigger.
What we do now: Watch it. Make sure it doesn't close back up. Have an echo with our favorite cardiologist on Wednesday.
We spent the night at Children's for observation. What they ended up observing closely was his right leg. That was the side they went through the groin veins on, and although rare, the vein could colapse and not give blood to the rest of the leg. The signs were "a foot as blue as your jeans." This being said, Caleb's right leg was visibly paler than his left, and you could feel a temperature difference.
It was difficult to "palpate" his "pedal pulses." What this means is that it was difficult to feel his pulse in his right foot with your hand. The doctor who did the cath came back and felt that the bandage was too tight. He loosened it. In another hour he came back and loosened it a little more, and brought his doppler with him. (A doppler is a machine that listens to pulses--the same idea as the one that they use to listen to the baby's heartbeat when he's still inside the mama!) He "wasn't convinced" he was feeling a pulse in Caleb's foot The doppler proved there was a pulse.
All night long and all morning long everyone was concerned about the foot, and confused over the foot. Here the foot has pulses that you can feel no problem, there the foot has no pulses that you can feel, the foot is lighter than the other, the foot is colder than the other... one of the guys said, "If we didn't have the other leg to compare it to, then we would just think it was fine."
In the end, they sent him home and just told us to keep an eye on it.... bah, crazy stuff.
Friday, July 27, 2007
At Children's
I am in Children's Hospital's new Parent area at the moment. Caleb is having his procedure in the heart cath lab. We just ate lunch and are now looking aroud. I just saw the internet and thought I would pop on. You know an addict when you see one.
The little dude did really well this morning for not getting to eat. I woke him up at 1am for a bottle (he didn't sleep-walk but he sleep-ate!) He probably didn't even know I was there! But he ate 3oz and then went back to sleep. When I got him up to put him in the car seat, he was still in the same position.
We got to Children's and they put us in a waiting area.... where we waited. He was weighed, measured and put in a gown. Thankfully he went to sleep for a while. Then when he woke up he realized that he hadn't ate yet and started to hollar. This was at about 10am when his procedure was supposed to start.
After he calmed down, the doctors showed up, and finally they took him back at about 10:20 a.m. I went up to the cafeteria and had the famous grilled cheese sandwich that they serve here. TWO THUMBS UP on this thing... I swear it's worth coming to the cafeteria here just for the cheap food. haha But it's not healthy food... go figure. The best things here are the grilled cheese, the cheeseburger and the fried chicken strips!
Ah well, just stopped by to explore the area... will update. :)
The little dude did really well this morning for not getting to eat. I woke him up at 1am for a bottle (he didn't sleep-walk but he sleep-ate!) He probably didn't even know I was there! But he ate 3oz and then went back to sleep. When I got him up to put him in the car seat, he was still in the same position.
We got to Children's and they put us in a waiting area.... where we waited. He was weighed, measured and put in a gown. Thankfully he went to sleep for a while. Then when he woke up he realized that he hadn't ate yet and started to hollar. This was at about 10am when his procedure was supposed to start.
After he calmed down, the doctors showed up, and finally they took him back at about 10:20 a.m. I went up to the cafeteria and had the famous grilled cheese sandwich that they serve here. TWO THUMBS UP on this thing... I swear it's worth coming to the cafeteria here just for the cheap food. haha But it's not healthy food... go figure. The best things here are the grilled cheese, the cheeseburger and the fried chicken strips!
Ah well, just stopped by to explore the area... will update. :)
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Bah News.
Bah. Bah bah bah.
So I got a phone call about my little guy today. It turns out that the pulling in his newly fixed heart is affecting the bloodflow to his left lung after all. So now he has to have another procedue, which will happen on Friday at Children's Hospital. This will require another overnight stay.
I have more details, but I must say I've had a very long and very tiring day...
So I got a phone call about my little guy today. It turns out that the pulling in his newly fixed heart is affecting the bloodflow to his left lung after all. So now he has to have another procedue, which will happen on Friday at Children's Hospital. This will require another overnight stay.
I have more details, but I must say I've had a very long and very tiring day...
Friday, July 13, 2007
Ha! A new post!
Let me tell you, we have been very busy...
Last month Mr. Caleb was feeling a little under the weather. We took him to his regular pediatrician and they sent us for an overnight in the hospital. Any other baby they said that they would have sent home with a "keep an eye on him." But they wanted to keep an even closer eye on him. So we spent the night at Children's Hospital. What was wrong with him? Who knows!! His fever was gone by that afternoon in the ER, and he was playing and being a normal baby. His breathing, which had turned to a rough grunting, was smooth once again.
That week his family from Kentucky came to visit: Auntie, Nana and Great Grandma (aka Granny). We had a good week with them. He didn't mind getting poked and prodded by family. :)
Today we had his "Lung Profusion Scan." They checked to see how much blood was flowing from the heart to each lung. I do not know the results of this scan... the techs wouldn't even give me an idea. From my viewpoint I could see there WAS indeed blood flowing to each lung, and to me it looked like there was a difference, but not a huge one. Of course, I am not a tech, and I cannot say for sure.
We also had his weight-check and doctor visit. He is 12.5lbs now. I was mistaken earlier when I said he was 50% all the way. He was 50% in height/head size. 25% is where he is on his weight. So I got a skinny little guy. He's actually not all that skinny! He does have a cute little belly, nice chubby thighs and arms... a dinky bum, though! He has the cutest little bottom.
He's doing well, except we must now add another doctor: an eye doctor. His pediatrician thinks that his eyes are very slightly crossed. So they just want to make sure there are no eye muscle problems. As we've heard countless times, it's better to fix this stuff now than wait until he's older (and yet we've heard countless times that they're waiting until he's older to do certain things!)
Last month Mr. Caleb was feeling a little under the weather. We took him to his regular pediatrician and they sent us for an overnight in the hospital. Any other baby they said that they would have sent home with a "keep an eye on him." But they wanted to keep an even closer eye on him. So we spent the night at Children's Hospital. What was wrong with him? Who knows!! His fever was gone by that afternoon in the ER, and he was playing and being a normal baby. His breathing, which had turned to a rough grunting, was smooth once again.
That week his family from Kentucky came to visit: Auntie, Nana and Great Grandma (aka Granny). We had a good week with them. He didn't mind getting poked and prodded by family. :)
Today we had his "Lung Profusion Scan." They checked to see how much blood was flowing from the heart to each lung. I do not know the results of this scan... the techs wouldn't even give me an idea. From my viewpoint I could see there WAS indeed blood flowing to each lung, and to me it looked like there was a difference, but not a huge one. Of course, I am not a tech, and I cannot say for sure.
We also had his weight-check and doctor visit. He is 12.5lbs now. I was mistaken earlier when I said he was 50% all the way. He was 50% in height/head size. 25% is where he is on his weight. So I got a skinny little guy. He's actually not all that skinny! He does have a cute little belly, nice chubby thighs and arms... a dinky bum, though! He has the cutest little bottom.
He's doing well, except we must now add another doctor: an eye doctor. His pediatrician thinks that his eyes are very slightly crossed. So they just want to make sure there are no eye muscle problems. As we've heard countless times, it's better to fix this stuff now than wait until he's older (and yet we've heard countless times that they're waiting until he's older to do certain things!)
Friday, June 15, 2007
Big Week!!
Well, this was a huge week for the little one. Little guy, big times.
Monday came all too soon for mama. It was the day that I started back at work. This is a good thing because now I am getting paid again (I ran out of my vacation/sick time). So I’m back at work doing my thing. It went well at first, and I can make it generally through half a day before I start missing him so much. Honestly if I could make this same money and work part-time, I would love that. I like being out of the house and talking to people, and yet I also like being with my little bug. I try to keep the phone call down to once a day to my mom.
The first day I called and she picked up he was crying in the background. This started me crying at my desk. I wanted to be there and hug him and have him crying in my ear in person!
Wednesday didn’t come soon enough. What was Wednesday? His cardiology appointment, and the day I took off from work. Usually we leave the house before 8am and get home about 1pm. It’s a long day, so I thought I would just take the remainder of the day off to be with him.
The cardiologist went well. He was weighed, measured and declared cute! I didn’t get an exact weight off of them, we were having so much trouble trying to get the bug to stretch out for his height that I forgot. He was measured twice in height, and the end result was 23 inches. The nurse felt he looked longer than that, but he wasn’t going to cooperate to find out.
After we went through that wiggly episode, we took him for the echo. He sat still for like… 12 seconds. Then he started to wiggle and get upset. He didn’t like the cold gel on him, and he didn’t like the probe pushing on him. A bottle let him keep quiet (but not still) for a few minutes. Finally they let him fall asleep on me before they did a few more scans. In the end Caleb declared he didn’t like having his belly pushed on by the person doing the echo (who is a nice lady!) and woke up to complain about it.
They followed this torture up with a blood pressure (ANGRY baby) and an EKG (he didn’t really care). Both of these looked fantastic.
His cardiologist said that everything is looking so well. What she is concerned about is that she cannot see the left part of his heart in the scans. Why not? A) Wiggly baby, B) Scar tissue on the front of his chest, C) the left side is hard to see and D) the little guy is a ‘difficult scan’ even today. What she wants to see is how the blood is flowing to the lungs. If blood to the lungs is going well, then she knows that part of his heart is going well.
The next step: A chest x-ray. So we went down to the x-ray, and we were shown on a stuffed bunny how the baby was supposed to lay for his x-rays (and asked if anyone could be pregnant—I know the answer to this is definitely no, but it’s still a scary question to someone who just had a baby!). Let me tell you, Caleb did NOT think much of this at all.
At all.
I’m sure the other parents were all a little scared at the screams that were going on. At least we know that the lungs are definitely working!!
The torture was soon finished with and we went back to our room to wait. The doctor examined the chest x-rays and then came back with her report. The bloodflow to his lungs is definitely un-even. How un-even? They can’t tell from the x-ray. What they are going to have to do is do another one, but this time with an IV with special tracers so that they can tell how much is going to each lung.
If it is 60/40ish… no problem.
If it is 80/20… no problem now, but it could be a problem when he’s an adult. She’s now looking 20-40 years down the road for him. She mentioned that she’s overly cautious and conservative, and this we know.
If things are fine: great, no problem.
If there is something that needs to be fixed, then he will need to go to the cardiac cath lab to see if there is anything that can be done about it. This test that we’ll do will be within the next few months.
To prove how well he was developing, Caleb decided to show them his stuff. He sat up, held his head up very nicely, and then rolled over. Yes, he rolled from his back to his front. He was so surprised and shocked that he let out a yell. I rolled him back over, and he just rolled right back on his tummy. I left him there for a moment, but he would have nothing of it.
And still… yes there is more… he wasn’t even going to leave his day alone! He and I were playing together, and I was blowing raspberries onto his tummy and giving him a little lift into the air. He had a great smile on his face. Then suddenly I lifted him up and down, and he looked at me and laughed out loud for the first time!! A real laugh!! Again it startled him so much he wasn’t sure what to make of it. He decided that was enough laughing and hasn’t made a peep yet.
Oh what a sweet boy I have!! I just don't like the fact that now I only get four hours a day with him before he's going off to bed, and only 20 minutes in the morning when we have our a.m. bottle together. Please note he gets the bottle, I just get to snuggle with him. :)
Monday came all too soon for mama. It was the day that I started back at work. This is a good thing because now I am getting paid again (I ran out of my vacation/sick time). So I’m back at work doing my thing. It went well at first, and I can make it generally through half a day before I start missing him so much. Honestly if I could make this same money and work part-time, I would love that. I like being out of the house and talking to people, and yet I also like being with my little bug. I try to keep the phone call down to once a day to my mom.
The first day I called and she picked up he was crying in the background. This started me crying at my desk. I wanted to be there and hug him and have him crying in my ear in person!
Wednesday didn’t come soon enough. What was Wednesday? His cardiology appointment, and the day I took off from work. Usually we leave the house before 8am and get home about 1pm. It’s a long day, so I thought I would just take the remainder of the day off to be with him.
The cardiologist went well. He was weighed, measured and declared cute! I didn’t get an exact weight off of them, we were having so much trouble trying to get the bug to stretch out for his height that I forgot. He was measured twice in height, and the end result was 23 inches. The nurse felt he looked longer than that, but he wasn’t going to cooperate to find out.
After we went through that wiggly episode, we took him for the echo. He sat still for like… 12 seconds. Then he started to wiggle and get upset. He didn’t like the cold gel on him, and he didn’t like the probe pushing on him. A bottle let him keep quiet (but not still) for a few minutes. Finally they let him fall asleep on me before they did a few more scans. In the end Caleb declared he didn’t like having his belly pushed on by the person doing the echo (who is a nice lady!) and woke up to complain about it.
They followed this torture up with a blood pressure (ANGRY baby) and an EKG (he didn’t really care). Both of these looked fantastic.
His cardiologist said that everything is looking so well. What she is concerned about is that she cannot see the left part of his heart in the scans. Why not? A) Wiggly baby, B) Scar tissue on the front of his chest, C) the left side is hard to see and D) the little guy is a ‘difficult scan’ even today. What she wants to see is how the blood is flowing to the lungs. If blood to the lungs is going well, then she knows that part of his heart is going well.
The next step: A chest x-ray. So we went down to the x-ray, and we were shown on a stuffed bunny how the baby was supposed to lay for his x-rays (and asked if anyone could be pregnant—I know the answer to this is definitely no, but it’s still a scary question to someone who just had a baby!). Let me tell you, Caleb did NOT think much of this at all.
At all.
I’m sure the other parents were all a little scared at the screams that were going on. At least we know that the lungs are definitely working!!
The torture was soon finished with and we went back to our room to wait. The doctor examined the chest x-rays and then came back with her report. The bloodflow to his lungs is definitely un-even. How un-even? They can’t tell from the x-ray. What they are going to have to do is do another one, but this time with an IV with special tracers so that they can tell how much is going to each lung.
If it is 60/40ish… no problem.
If it is 80/20… no problem now, but it could be a problem when he’s an adult. She’s now looking 20-40 years down the road for him. She mentioned that she’s overly cautious and conservative, and this we know.
If things are fine: great, no problem.
If there is something that needs to be fixed, then he will need to go to the cardiac cath lab to see if there is anything that can be done about it. This test that we’ll do will be within the next few months.
To prove how well he was developing, Caleb decided to show them his stuff. He sat up, held his head up very nicely, and then rolled over. Yes, he rolled from his back to his front. He was so surprised and shocked that he let out a yell. I rolled him back over, and he just rolled right back on his tummy. I left him there for a moment, but he would have nothing of it.
And still… yes there is more… he wasn’t even going to leave his day alone! He and I were playing together, and I was blowing raspberries onto his tummy and giving him a little lift into the air. He had a great smile on his face. Then suddenly I lifted him up and down, and he looked at me and laughed out loud for the first time!! A real laugh!! Again it startled him so much he wasn’t sure what to make of it. He decided that was enough laughing and hasn’t made a peep yet.
Oh what a sweet boy I have!! I just don't like the fact that now I only get four hours a day with him before he's going off to bed, and only 20 minutes in the morning when we have our a.m. bottle together. Please note he gets the bottle, I just get to snuggle with him. :)
Monday, June 4, 2007
Friday check and another big day!
On our Friday weight check, the baby was 10lbs and 13oz. Huge! Well, in my opinion. In their opinion he still needs to bulk up. They're making a nicely chubby baby. Apparently he's still behind in his weight, even though he looks happy and chubby to me!
Today we went to our first Mariner's game. We didn't stay very long--there were some loud and obnoxious people in our row, and the baby couldn't get his little nap time in. You can imagine that didn't make him happy. So we moved!!
The baby sat and looked around, and was very interested in the lights and the people around him. He was watching a lot of what was going on. The last few days he's been very interested in his surroundings. It is like something just clicked and now he's noticing that his world is more than just a few feet in front of his face.
On Sunday we had his portraits taken. It was quite the adventure. We had to do all sorts of poses, and all kinds of contorting to get ourselves those shots. The pictures turned out fantastic. We're going to get them back in 7-10 days, and already have next month's appointment. We went in there with a coupon, but left with a ton of photos ordered. Oops.
Other than that... I'm tired, cranky, and logging off... :)
Today we went to our first Mariner's game. We didn't stay very long--there were some loud and obnoxious people in our row, and the baby couldn't get his little nap time in. You can imagine that didn't make him happy. So we moved!!
The baby sat and looked around, and was very interested in the lights and the people around him. He was watching a lot of what was going on. The last few days he's been very interested in his surroundings. It is like something just clicked and now he's noticing that his world is more than just a few feet in front of his face.
On Sunday we had his portraits taken. It was quite the adventure. We had to do all sorts of poses, and all kinds of contorting to get ourselves those shots. The pictures turned out fantastic. We're going to get them back in 7-10 days, and already have next month's appointment. We went in there with a coupon, but left with a ton of photos ordered. Oops.
Other than that... I'm tired, cranky, and logging off... :)
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Caleb's Big Adventure
Today was a big day for the little boy! :)
He started out by waking up relatively late. He slept in until just after 10. I got him up and brought him into our bedroom. He was wearing his green striped PJs with three turtles on them that say, "One.. Two... Three... Cute as can be!" And it's true, he is cute!
Caleb sat on my arm with his feet pressed against Eric's side. Eric tickled him, and the baby laughed and smiled. They played for about twenty minutes, although when Eric's attention started to wane, the baby reminded him who was boss with a few swift kicks in the ribs. Yeah, try to play the game, will you, daddy?? Take THIS! *kick*
When he was finishing playing, I brought him downstairs and we filled up the bathtub for the first time. Normally he just gets a sponge bath or is suspended via hammock over the water in the tub. Today he's old enough and his scar is healed enough for a bath where he can sit in the water. We didn't use a lot of water, just enough for his bum to be covered and his legs to splash if he kicked. At first he was like, "OMGNO!" but then he realized the water was just fine. I did try to put him in the deeper end near the end of our bath, and he said no thanks to that one. One step at a time, I guess.
After that he had his first 100% formula bottle. He's been on fortified breast milk since he was born (26 calorie for those of you who know). Now he's taking so much volume per feed, and my supply is dwindling so I'm moving him to formula. For me, this is a big stress reliever, because it's hard to realize that you can't make enough food to feed your own child. I've gone through a lot of emotions over it, and I think finally I've come to terms with it. As for Caleb, he drank 3oz both feeds he's taken it, and doesn't seem to mind a bit.
After an afternoon nap, Grandma and I packed up the little dude and drove him to the Bellevue city park. We walked the 1/2 mile loop around the park, with the little one in the stroller. We stopped at a bench to watch the baby ducks (well, Caleb mostly kept his eyes clothes with the bright light and the wind, I don't think he noticed the ducks at all). The walk was seemingly enjoyable for him. Today was very hot--81 degrees at 6pm when we were on the walk, but very breezy.
Caleb may think the camera is part of my body... it's always pointed at him!
Now that we got home, he's having a little bef0re-bed cranky time. :) Boys!
He started out by waking up relatively late. He slept in until just after 10. I got him up and brought him into our bedroom. He was wearing his green striped PJs with three turtles on them that say, "One.. Two... Three... Cute as can be!" And it's true, he is cute!
Caleb sat on my arm with his feet pressed against Eric's side. Eric tickled him, and the baby laughed and smiled. They played for about twenty minutes, although when Eric's attention started to wane, the baby reminded him who was boss with a few swift kicks in the ribs. Yeah, try to play the game, will you, daddy?? Take THIS! *kick*
When he was finishing playing, I brought him downstairs and we filled up the bathtub for the first time. Normally he just gets a sponge bath or is suspended via hammock over the water in the tub. Today he's old enough and his scar is healed enough for a bath where he can sit in the water. We didn't use a lot of water, just enough for his bum to be covered and his legs to splash if he kicked. At first he was like, "OMGNO!" but then he realized the water was just fine. I did try to put him in the deeper end near the end of our bath, and he said no thanks to that one. One step at a time, I guess.
After that he had his first 100% formula bottle. He's been on fortified breast milk since he was born (26 calorie for those of you who know). Now he's taking so much volume per feed, and my supply is dwindling so I'm moving him to formula. For me, this is a big stress reliever, because it's hard to realize that you can't make enough food to feed your own child. I've gone through a lot of emotions over it, and I think finally I've come to terms with it. As for Caleb, he drank 3oz both feeds he's taken it, and doesn't seem to mind a bit.
After an afternoon nap, Grandma and I packed up the little dude and drove him to the Bellevue city park. We walked the 1/2 mile loop around the park, with the little one in the stroller. We stopped at a bench to watch the baby ducks (well, Caleb mostly kept his eyes clothes with the bright light and the wind, I don't think he noticed the ducks at all). The walk was seemingly enjoyable for him. Today was very hot--81 degrees at 6pm when we were on the walk, but very breezy.
Caleb may think the camera is part of my body... it's always pointed at him!
Now that we got home, he's having a little bef0re-bed cranky time. :) Boys!
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Days days days
The days go by really quickly. We have all kinds of things to do, nearly every day!! Caleb is doing fantastic. He has his moments (like today when he didn't sleep too well last night, and then cried a lot this morning.) but overall he's coming into his own schedule.
He will sleep anywhere from 4-7 hours at night (I have no idea how to predict which he will do, there doesn't seem to be a pattern). When he wakes up he hollars and is delivered a bottle. When he's finished sleeping he'll not fall asleep after the bottle, but instead look around the room wide-eyed.
We will get up and go downstairs and have some "kick boxing" time. He has a little chair he sits in and kicks and punches at a plastic blow-up ball. When he's finished with that he'll huff and puff. When picked up he'll usually need a diaper change, followed by a short nap. Then it's time for another bottle.
Somewhere in there we usually include a bath and some smile-time. He's starting to smile and have the beginnings of a laugh. He has also mastered sticking out his tongue! (Grandma taught him this) If you're not paying enough attention to him during a diaper change, you might just look down to see that he has a huge grin and his tongue sticking out at you.
Usually near the early evening/late afternoon there is a cranky period. He's unsure what to do. If it's a VERY cranky period we turn on the vacuum cleaner and he actually calms down quite well to that sound. At 10pm/10:30ish he has his nightime bottle and hopefully falls asleep quiet happily.
Friday we have a weight check... let's see how massive he is!
He will sleep anywhere from 4-7 hours at night (I have no idea how to predict which he will do, there doesn't seem to be a pattern). When he wakes up he hollars and is delivered a bottle. When he's finished sleeping he'll not fall asleep after the bottle, but instead look around the room wide-eyed.
We will get up and go downstairs and have some "kick boxing" time. He has a little chair he sits in and kicks and punches at a plastic blow-up ball. When he's finished with that he'll huff and puff. When picked up he'll usually need a diaper change, followed by a short nap. Then it's time for another bottle.
Somewhere in there we usually include a bath and some smile-time. He's starting to smile and have the beginnings of a laugh. He has also mastered sticking out his tongue! (Grandma taught him this) If you're not paying enough attention to him during a diaper change, you might just look down to see that he has a huge grin and his tongue sticking out at you.
Usually near the early evening/late afternoon there is a cranky period. He's unsure what to do. If it's a VERY cranky period we turn on the vacuum cleaner and he actually calms down quite well to that sound. At 10pm/10:30ish he has his nightime bottle and hopefully falls asleep quiet happily.
Friday we have a weight check... let's see how massive he is!
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Friday appt post script
Hmm... dunno how to edit things and it's too late to try to figure it out. :)
Just wanted to say he's right on track, right in the middle as far as growth goes. Just a bit either above or below 50% in all categories of height, weight and head size. Not so bad for a baby that had such a rough start!
Just wanted to say he's right on track, right in the middle as far as growth goes. Just a bit either above or below 50% in all categories of height, weight and head size. Not so bad for a baby that had such a rough start!
Friday appointment
So I'm a little late...
We went to see our regular pediatrician on Friday. Just your normal two week check-up. The little guy is weighing 9.5lbs according to their scale. He was more than that the Friday before, so they just claimed the difference in scales. All I know is that he's big!
He's doing great as far as the regular check up goes. He is a little advanced in the fact that he will smile at us. He is a little behind in the way that he hasn't started to reach for anything in front of him yet. Well, today I swear he reached for something, so we'll call it even. hehe He does track things visually and reacts to noises.
They checked his thyroid levels and gave him 4 shots and an oral vaccine. They tried drawing blood out of both arms, so each limb is poked full of holes. :( He was NOT happy at all about this development. He was having a good time at the doctors, and yet this ruined his mood. I don't know if I've ever heard him scream like that. Luckily when I was able to hold him he calmed down. But he was so instantly tired that he passed out in my arms. He slept until about 4am with little waking inbetween.
He'll have another weight check in 2 weeks, and another appointment in 4 months. We're not having as many appointments and doctor visits now. It makes me wonder if he'll be so "good" next time. hehe He'll not be used to getting poked and proded.
We're starting to get out in the world a little more. We can go for walks and to the store and to friends' houses now. Not for long, we are not pushing it, but he's still out there in the world looking around. There are so many things to show him, so many things to learn!!
We'll get started on all that... after we try to get some sleep tonight...
We went to see our regular pediatrician on Friday. Just your normal two week check-up. The little guy is weighing 9.5lbs according to their scale. He was more than that the Friday before, so they just claimed the difference in scales. All I know is that he's big!
He's doing great as far as the regular check up goes. He is a little advanced in the fact that he will smile at us. He is a little behind in the way that he hasn't started to reach for anything in front of him yet. Well, today I swear he reached for something, so we'll call it even. hehe He does track things visually and reacts to noises.
They checked his thyroid levels and gave him 4 shots and an oral vaccine. They tried drawing blood out of both arms, so each limb is poked full of holes. :( He was NOT happy at all about this development. He was having a good time at the doctors, and yet this ruined his mood. I don't know if I've ever heard him scream like that. Luckily when I was able to hold him he calmed down. But he was so instantly tired that he passed out in my arms. He slept until about 4am with little waking inbetween.
He'll have another weight check in 2 weeks, and another appointment in 4 months. We're not having as many appointments and doctor visits now. It makes me wonder if he'll be so "good" next time. hehe He'll not be used to getting poked and proded.
We're starting to get out in the world a little more. We can go for walks and to the store and to friends' houses now. Not for long, we are not pushing it, but he's still out there in the world looking around. There are so many things to show him, so many things to learn!!
We'll get started on all that... after we try to get some sleep tonight...
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
MY doctors appointment
I had my 6 week checkup today. I am doing just fine, thanks for asking.
I am having a little trouble with the old emotions as of late, but as my doctor pointed out I am in the "high risk" category for post partum depression. Oy.
Um... what else? I went shopping at Target and bought the baby a bunch of stuff.
I adore him. I absolutely adore him!!!!!!!!!!!!
He is beginning to like me now. hehe That sounds silly, but he's starting to bond with me as the primary caregiver. He is more likely to respond to my attentions to him than before, although he still can say, "Bugger off!" and just scream in my ear if he feels like it.
Friday is his next appointment... he's nearly 10lbs as of last Friday, I wonder how much weight he's gained in a week. I think they might be taking him off the fortified food soon as he's packing the pounds on quite nicely. He is taking a lot of volume at this point.
Ooh, must go make another bottle. He's starting to wiggle himself awake.
I am having a little trouble with the old emotions as of late, but as my doctor pointed out I am in the "high risk" category for post partum depression. Oy.
Um... what else? I went shopping at Target and bought the baby a bunch of stuff.
I adore him. I absolutely adore him!!!!!!!!!!!!
He is beginning to like me now. hehe That sounds silly, but he's starting to bond with me as the primary caregiver. He is more likely to respond to my attentions to him than before, although he still can say, "Bugger off!" and just scream in my ear if he feels like it.
Friday is his next appointment... he's nearly 10lbs as of last Friday, I wonder how much weight he's gained in a week. I think they might be taking him off the fortified food soon as he's packing the pounds on quite nicely. He is taking a lot of volume at this point.
Ooh, must go make another bottle. He's starting to wiggle himself awake.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Myologist? No Urologist!
So it's getting harder to come up with boring titles, and nearly impossible to come up with witty ones. Therefore you get horridly bad ones.
We visited the baby's urologist today. Don't ask me to pronounce her name because I cannot. Basically what she said is the same thing they said before. He as a little tad bit of kidney reflux (urine going from the bladder to the kidneys instead of the other way around). So in order to prevent infection he's on antibiotics for the next several months.
At about 3 months they'll want to do another ultrasound. She says that he'll just grow out of this. It is hereditary in some sort, so either Eric or I probably had this, but never knew about it. We just have to watch out for bladder/kidney infections.
Too many kidney infections can lead to high blood pressure, and let's face it, he doesn't need that.
Other than that, the appointment left me wondering why I left the house before 7am to get to it. Caleb was apparently wondering as well as he urinated all over their exam table to show them that he did, indeed, have excellent kidney function.
We visited the baby's urologist today. Don't ask me to pronounce her name because I cannot. Basically what she said is the same thing they said before. He as a little tad bit of kidney reflux (urine going from the bladder to the kidneys instead of the other way around). So in order to prevent infection he's on antibiotics for the next several months.
At about 3 months they'll want to do another ultrasound. She says that he'll just grow out of this. It is hereditary in some sort, so either Eric or I probably had this, but never knew about it. We just have to watch out for bladder/kidney infections.
Too many kidney infections can lead to high blood pressure, and let's face it, he doesn't need that.
Other than that, the appointment left me wondering why I left the house before 7am to get to it. Caleb was apparently wondering as well as he urinated all over their exam table to show them that he did, indeed, have excellent kidney function.
Whoa... it's *how* much??
Ok... just received one preliminary statement from Children's.
This is just part of his care there, this doesn't include anything from Evergreen or any prenatal stuff.
As of May 4, my current account balance: 249,576.60
Ooh. How about that raise??
Well, if we're still paying this off when he's 18, it will be well worth it. Not only that, but by then he can get a job and help out! LOL
This is just part of his care there, this doesn't include anything from Evergreen or any prenatal stuff.
As of May 4, my current account balance: 249,576.60
Ooh. How about that raise??
Well, if we're still paying this off when he's 18, it will be well worth it. Not only that, but by then he can get a job and help out! LOL
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Heart Doctor Visit
We saw our cardiologist today! How funny that my 1 month old baby has a cardiologist. But that he does. I love his cardiologist. She is so amazing and bright. She's the same age as me, so it's kinda strange to look at what life paths people take. I try to organize a party for 200 people on board a cruise ship--she saves baby's lives. Her name is Meg and she's a lot of fun and just excited to be helping people. :) (In fact, one of her friends is the baby's pediatrician--they remind me a lot of each other!)
ANYHOW... we started the day with a little surprise. He was going back to sleep at 6am. He doesn't do that. Usually he lets me get to bed and then "WAH!" But today, since I needed to be up, he thought he would go to sleep. We got him into the car and off to the doctor's. He doesn't like the car. Most babies love the car, mine will only tolerate it if we're on the freeway, otherwise he says: "WAH!"
When we got to the doctor, I had to visit the restroom to unload the 40lb diaper that he made for me while yelling, then we went to get weighed and measured. I didn't see how long he was, but this kid is now just over 9lbs!!! This was followed by our echo. The ultrasound went really well, with one pause in the middle to heat up his bottle when he got too fussy. It was during his breakfast time and he wanted some. Then, for fun, he loaded his pants once again.
His O2 levels were sitting around 95/96, which is normal because after he got his tummy full and emptied it, he fell asleep. Zzzzz. They poked, proded and did whatever they could to him and he just took it all so well!
The heart looks and sounds great, and I felt a burst of happiness when my cardiologist used the statement, "When they removed his heart disease..." Oh how wonderful! There is no sign of the turbulent blood flow or the stiff chamber, so those issues worked themselves out.
What they are looking at now: When they do the switch, the little things (such as the connections to the lungs) that were attached to the arteries are now stretched a little further because of the new placement. They just are watching to make sure that everything stays in a good spot and there are no issues from the stretching. But all looks well at this point.
As my cardiologist said, "He's so freakin' cute!"
We need to go back: next month.
They took him off one dose of his Lasix (this drug that makes him have to weeeeeee a lot). We're keeping everything else the same now, as they don't like to muck with too much at a time. Which is fine with me. I would like him off more of the drugs, but I'll take what I can get.
After the doctor's, we went and visited my work. :) It was so great to see everyone. Caleb announced he was there with a "WAH!" and after he gathered everyone around him he promptly went to sleep. He's heavy to carry around now, the little porker! :) My arm is tired!! But he was introduced to most everyone, but we kept it short. It was getting close to lunch time and he's still "new."
Speaking of lunch time, I need to get working on that!
ANYHOW... we started the day with a little surprise. He was going back to sleep at 6am. He doesn't do that. Usually he lets me get to bed and then "WAH!" But today, since I needed to be up, he thought he would go to sleep. We got him into the car and off to the doctor's. He doesn't like the car. Most babies love the car, mine will only tolerate it if we're on the freeway, otherwise he says: "WAH!"
When we got to the doctor, I had to visit the restroom to unload the 40lb diaper that he made for me while yelling, then we went to get weighed and measured. I didn't see how long he was, but this kid is now just over 9lbs!!! This was followed by our echo. The ultrasound went really well, with one pause in the middle to heat up his bottle when he got too fussy. It was during his breakfast time and he wanted some. Then, for fun, he loaded his pants once again.
His O2 levels were sitting around 95/96, which is normal because after he got his tummy full and emptied it, he fell asleep. Zzzzz. They poked, proded and did whatever they could to him and he just took it all so well!
The heart looks and sounds great, and I felt a burst of happiness when my cardiologist used the statement, "When they removed his heart disease..." Oh how wonderful! There is no sign of the turbulent blood flow or the stiff chamber, so those issues worked themselves out.
What they are looking at now: When they do the switch, the little things (such as the connections to the lungs) that were attached to the arteries are now stretched a little further because of the new placement. They just are watching to make sure that everything stays in a good spot and there are no issues from the stretching. But all looks well at this point.
As my cardiologist said, "He's so freakin' cute!"
We need to go back: next month.
They took him off one dose of his Lasix (this drug that makes him have to weeeeeee a lot). We're keeping everything else the same now, as they don't like to muck with too much at a time. Which is fine with me. I would like him off more of the drugs, but I'll take what I can get.
After the doctor's, we went and visited my work. :) It was so great to see everyone. Caleb announced he was there with a "WAH!" and after he gathered everyone around him he promptly went to sleep. He's heavy to carry around now, the little porker! :) My arm is tired!! But he was introduced to most everyone, but we kept it short. It was getting close to lunch time and he's still "new."
Speaking of lunch time, I need to get working on that!
Monday, May 7, 2007
"Normal" Baby
Caleb is starting to feel like a "normal" baby. I put that in quotes, because I've noticed there doesn't seem to be such thing as a "normal" baby. Sitting around Children's Hospital you see that there are all kinds of definitions of normal, and as one of the nurses said to me, "if you try to define normal, you'll just go crazy, you just have to define trends." He was telling me that it was "normal" for a baby's heart rate to be in the upper 150s, but since Caleb's was normally sitting in the lower 140s it was a sign that something was up with him.
Anyhow... he's learned a few things. Because of the way that we're burping him (the normal over-the-shoulder route is out with his chest hurting) he's starting to learn to hold his head up very well. He held it up for several minutes on his own today--a bit wobbly still, but up. He's able to pick it up and move it in order to look around.
He has learned to kick. I think this started when he's just been angry. He gets red, he gets mad, he flails his arms and legs about in anger. But now, he'll sit in his rocking chair in non-rocker mode and happily kick his feet. He uses this method to scootch himself further down into the chair.
Rolling is a new sport for him as well. Roll to the left, roll to the right--he can do both. He used to sleep on his side, but now he likes to roll at least once during his sleep. When we're trying to change his diaper--"roll." Unfortunatly that also usually means that he might be gearing up to do something else on his changing table.
Last night I got up to "fix" the screaming that was coming from his room. I was shocked to see that my son had rolled onto his back, moved half way down the bed, removed his hat and had his nightgown pulled up to his tummy, ready for a diaper change. At first I thought my mom had been in there and maybe just stepped out to warm up a bottle, but no. No... he's just that sneaky, that son of mine. :)
He has been feeling a bit better the past few days, but still has some tummy trouble. We are able to get some good play time in, though. He's not just yelling hours on end, which is a nice switch. I will still be glad when he's off all his medications and his tummy can adjust.
What's in the future? Well, as far as advancement I'd say he's going to be ready to laugh soon. He may also discover his feet. He looks towards sound, but has yet to reach out for things put in his line of sight, so we're heading there.
In terms of appointments, we have to follow up with Urology on... oh, right, I haven't made that appointment yet. His heart doctor is Wednesday, his regular pediatrician is next Friday. My follow up appointment is the next Wednesday.
Hopefully we'll settle down so we're not going to the doctor every few minutes! :) That will be nice.
Heck, that might even be "normal."
Anyhow... he's learned a few things. Because of the way that we're burping him (the normal over-the-shoulder route is out with his chest hurting) he's starting to learn to hold his head up very well. He held it up for several minutes on his own today--a bit wobbly still, but up. He's able to pick it up and move it in order to look around.
He has learned to kick. I think this started when he's just been angry. He gets red, he gets mad, he flails his arms and legs about in anger. But now, he'll sit in his rocking chair in non-rocker mode and happily kick his feet. He uses this method to scootch himself further down into the chair.
Rolling is a new sport for him as well. Roll to the left, roll to the right--he can do both. He used to sleep on his side, but now he likes to roll at least once during his sleep. When we're trying to change his diaper--"roll." Unfortunatly that also usually means that he might be gearing up to do something else on his changing table.
Last night I got up to "fix" the screaming that was coming from his room. I was shocked to see that my son had rolled onto his back, moved half way down the bed, removed his hat and had his nightgown pulled up to his tummy, ready for a diaper change. At first I thought my mom had been in there and maybe just stepped out to warm up a bottle, but no. No... he's just that sneaky, that son of mine. :)
He has been feeling a bit better the past few days, but still has some tummy trouble. We are able to get some good play time in, though. He's not just yelling hours on end, which is a nice switch. I will still be glad when he's off all his medications and his tummy can adjust.
What's in the future? Well, as far as advancement I'd say he's going to be ready to laugh soon. He may also discover his feet. He looks towards sound, but has yet to reach out for things put in his line of sight, so we're heading there.
In terms of appointments, we have to follow up with Urology on... oh, right, I haven't made that appointment yet. His heart doctor is Wednesday, his regular pediatrician is next Friday. My follow up appointment is the next Wednesday.
Hopefully we'll settle down so we're not going to the doctor every few minutes! :) That will be nice.
Heck, that might even be "normal."
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