Thanksgiving Trip and Medical Updates Galore November 30, 2007
We seemed to have managed to survive our first overnight road trip. Adam had a bit of a tough time, though, with the long hours in the car on top of having a food reaction and cutting tooth #7 while we were away from home.
On Monday I took him to see the GI, and that was a big disappointment. We had to wait an hour to be seen and then all I got from the doctor was a talk about formula. Adam’s growth has been leveling out some, and the doctor made me feel guilty about that. I wanted some suggestions on how to proceed with solids with him, but the GI totally passed the buck to the allergist. I left there in tears feeling inadequate and frustrated.
I called Adam’s pediatrician that afternoon, and thankfully he made me feel much better about the situation. He said that I didn’t need to rush out and order formula (he’d have to be put on Neocate, a mucho expensive amino acid formula). He suggested that we run some blood tests just to make sure Adam’s nutrition level, iron levels, and basic blood chemistry looked ok. He also added tests to rule out the Diabetes Insipidus now that Adam’s weight is plateauing some. He said as long as all of that came back ok then I should just keep breastfeeding Adam without supplementing and keep working on getting him on solids.
We took him to the hospital to get his blood drawn on Tuesday, so they could run all of those tests. That was not fun, as they actually had to draw blood from the tiny vein in his arm.
We got the results back this week from all of the tests but one, and they were all normal. He’s showing no signs of DI, and his electrolytes, white blood cells count, hemoglobin levels, and a myriad of other things all look good. We should get the result back of the one last test that had to be sent out next week sometime. I’m also going to be bringing Adam in for a weight check in a week just to make sure we’re ok there.
Thankfully in addition to the good test results, we’ve also been able to figure out the tummy stuff. It turns out that he’s been reacting to chicken. We’re also pretty sure that he’s been reacting to something in the chili I’ve been eating, either the beans or tomatoes. I retrialed the chicken and had a big confirmation but have not retrialed beans or tomatoes yet. We feel that it’s more important to start working on solids again than trying to figure that one out, so all three are on the forbidden list for now. Obviously that cuts into my diet a lot, especially now that the only meat I can eat is pork, but what ya gonna do.
The really good news is now that I’ve taken all of those out of my diet, he’s doing so much better. So much so that we’ve started him on some rice cereal and are keeping our fingers crossed that things go ok.
Adam had yet another doctor’s appointment on Tuesday to see the specialist that he sees for his torticollis and plagio, and he’s officially graduated! He still has a slight tilt, but it should improve as he gets stronger now that he’s more mobile.
Adam also started cruising last weekend, and that’s fun to watch. He also learned the art of throwing a temper tantrum, the little goober. And he waved goodbye for the first time today. He’s just learning new stuff all the time.
Giving Thanks November 21, 2007
It’s easy to figure out what I’m most thankful for this year. It’s getting to look at this face every day.
And getting to have moments like this every day.
Words can’t even begin to express how thankful I am to have Adam in my life. The gratitude I feel because I am able to call myself Adam’s mom is immeasurable.
I hope everyone has a very happy Thanksgiving. I know that despite the fact that I won’t be able to eat a single bite of Thanksgiving dinner that I’ll be having a wonderful holiday with our little guy by my side.
10 Months and Some Change November 13, 2007
Adam turned 10 months on Saturday. The big news of the week comes on the helmet front. His helmet had been getting really tight, so I brought him in yesterday to see if it could be adjusted. The orthotist said that he was just outgrowing it, that nothing really could be done. Our next head scan was scheduled for the 21st, but he asked if I wanted to go ahead and get one done while we were there.
We did, and it turns out that Adam’s asymmetry measurement was down to 4.9mm, so we’re done with the helmet! That’s really amazing progress from where we started at 16.5mm. It really is nice to see his cute little head again. I don’t think any of us are going to miss that piece of plastic one bit.
Adam is unfortunately still having tummy problems. When I took him back to the pediatrician, he ran some tests to check for bacteria, parasites, salmonella, and the like, and they all came back normal. We’re going on 6 weeks of this stuff, and it’s getting old fast. Things are a little better than they were in the beginning, but we’re definitely not back to normal yet. I went ahead and made an appointment with the pediatric GI, because I really don’t know what else to do at this point. Their first opening was on the 26th, so if he’s not better by then I’ll be bringing him in.
Adam’s pediatrician recommended that we might try giving him some solids based on his theory that it may allow the missing enzymes causing his “slick gut” to come back a little faster, so we nervously made another attempt at solid food, this time with applesauce. I wish I could say that things went well, but it just made things worse. He definitely reacted to the applesauce in a significant way, so we’ve stopped giving it to him.
It’s pretty disappointing to have another failed attempt at solids under our belt. As much as I love breastfeeding him, it really can be a lot of pressure to be his sole source of nutrition at this age. Plus, I really just want his little tummy to be better. It’s hard when there is no real end in sight to all of this.
The tummy stuff combined with the fact that he seems to be on a teething spree has not allowed much improvement on the sleep front. He’s only rarely going more than 2 hours at a stretch, and sometimes I long for the 2 hour stretch. I understand now why they use sleep deprivation as a form of torture.
Despite it all, he’s making great strides. It’s so much fun to watch him learn new things all the time. Even when I’m so tired I can’t think straight and so frustrated with the GI issues that it makes my head spin, that little face can still make me smile in no time flat.
