Carter's Visit with the ENT specialist

Carter saw the Ear, Nose & Throat doctor yesterday.  This appointment was scheduled for him while he was still in the nicu.  And it is always tough trying to time feedings with an hour drive to Springfield.  So we get there and go to check in, only to be told that this is the day the doctor is in Lebanon seeing patients.  And we were the second people to arrive at the Springfield office instead of Lebanon.  Thank you "Beth", whoever you are for making us drive 100 miles with a crying baby when we didn't need to.  So after all that, we came back to Lebanon and saw him here.  He had some concerns because of the hemangioma on his head.  He said sometimes if they are prone to have those, they can get them in their throat and it will constrict their airway.  So he ran a scope down Carter's throat to have a look (this was less fun than driving with a crying baby).  He has what he calls a floppy airway.  This causes him to have a stridor, or make funny squeaking sounds when he eats, essentially trying to get all the muscles working correctly between his windpipe and throat.  It is expected he will outgrow this by about 7 months.  There were no signs of a hemangioma in the throat, which is great news.  He suggested prescribing beta blockers, given orally, to begin to reduce the hemangioma on his head.  He said earlier treatments involved steroids, but they had greater side effects.  I guess beta blockers are the newest treatment for this.  The down side - they slow the heart rate somewhat. We are going to discuss this with Carter's pediatrician and get his opinion.  I have also read they can lower blood sugar levels, so I feel like if we do this, he should be frequently checked for both blood pressure and glucose levels.  Hard decision to make.  The studies say the sooner you begin treatment for hemangiomas, the more successful their reduction is.  But he just got off his apnea monitor and not sure we want to do anything that might affect his health.  Praying God will show us what decision to make.

A Clean Bill of Health!!

Carter saw his pulmonologist today and they said he no longer needed his apnea monitor!!! Yay!  No more loud alarms in the night!  He had several alarms this past 2 weeks, but they were all false.  And they said he should be growing out of his "periodic breathing", which is common in preemies, where they have periodic pauses.  A pause of longer than 20 seconds is considered apnea.  He hasn't had any of those in a while.  His little face looks fatter every day!  He is now up to 8 lbs, 5 oz.  Growing like a weed.  At his last pediatrician check-up, he was in the 25th percentile for his weight.  He is now in the 50th percentile!  We are so thankful for his progress. 
When he was still in the NICU, he developed a small pink spot on his forehead. The nurses called it a "storkbite", or birthmark, and said it would likely go away.  Well, It didn't.  It is now referred to as a hemangioma.  It is a collection of blood vessels close to the skin.  The pediatrician said it was common in preemies, and most of them reduce in size or totally go away by the time the child is 18 mos-2 yrs old.  Carter's is about as big around as a nickel, and raised maybe 1/4".  We asked about just having it removed, but the doctor said if you do that now, he will have a permanent scar.  If we wait and it goes away on its own, there will be no scar.  So we will wait and see.  It doesn't seem to bother him, or hurt or anything. 
So, all in all, a great report today!!

Happy Two Month Birthday!

Carter is two months old today!! He had his two month doctor visit on Friday. He now weighs 7 lbs. 5 oz. And he is 19" long!  He has grown so much. He got his first vaccinations, cried the biggest cry I have ever heard him cry!  Poor guy! We gave him some Tylenol to help with the pain and avoid fever, which he didn't care for, but it seemed to help him sleep. He is really starting to look at you now. At first he didn't really focus on anything, but now he gazes at your face while your talking to him. We read our first real book on Saturday and I thought he would like seeing the bright colors of the book, but he just watched me as I read, which was just fine! In the last week he has had more spitting up than usual,  and the doctor said they usually peak about now and then it will taper off. He suggested giving him a half of a pepcid instead of a fourth and it seems to be helping.
It's still amazing to think that this is who we all wondered about while he was in the womb.
What he would look like, who's eyes he would have, if he would have hair, what would his personality be. Time has nearly stopped - my house is a total disaster, all projects are on hold,laundry piles up, and its all ok, because we have paused to watch this amazing new life unfold before our eyes!  We are truly blessed to have this little guy in our lives!