Frustrating appointment today

I mentioned in my post last night that Nate is sick and his 3 year check up was this morning. Poor Nate (and poor Mama) could barely sleep last night for sneezing and coughing, and I'm guessing his throat hurts too. The doctor checked him out this morning and didn't see any infections and thinks its a cold. So there's nothing I can do for him, basically. He's pretty miserable today, and I just hope this doesn't last as long as his recent illness!

Nate is 36 inches tall (about 20th percentile) and 36.5 pounds (about 80th percentile). His doctor really frustrated me. He asked if Nate could give a urine sample. Um, no. I usually can't even get him to pee in the potty. He then asked how many words Nate can say. I said he can pretty much say anything, and he's putting sentences together--at least 500 words. A few minutes later while he was examining Nate, he said, "So you really think he has at least 500 words?" Yes. He says, "So, this whiny, baby stuff he's doing now....?" I said, "He's sick. He's whiny." I could have smacked him.

The doctor asked if Nate had been to an eye doctor at all, and I said I needed to make him an appointment with an optometrist before school starts. He said he would prefer him to see an opthamologist. Okay, I've been researching this for a few months. On the one hand, an opthamologist is good for kids with spina bifida to see because the kids sometimes have related eye issues (but there's no reason to suspect Nate has those issues). On the other hand, two occupational therapists have told me that when Nate is looking at a picture, he looks at the top and not the bottom. They think it may be one of his "sensory" issues, and who knows, it could have something to do with his delay in walking. Like the ground looks really far away or something. At our last session with our genius OT, she suggested a specific behavioral optometrist, so I had decided to make an appointment with him. I explained all this to the doctor. He says, "I don't know much about sensory issues. How can I say this politically correctly ... that's kind of a fringe diagnosis, not really accepted by the medical community yet." Great, another person who doesn't believe in Sensory Processing Disorder. It doesn't really matter if this guy believes its a real thing or not, I KNOW it is. So I dropped the issue, but I'll do as I had originally planned and take Nate to the behavioral optometrist. This guy has met Nate a handful of times, and his therapists and I understand his issues better, M.D. or not.

I told the doctor I had some concerns about Nate's mouth. For at least a couple of months now, Nate has been drooling excessively (his shirt is constantly wet), he's needed his pacifier 24/7, he's been chewing on his pacifier (something he's never done before), and when he doesn't have the paci in his mouth he's chewing on his fingers. It's like he's teething, except he already has all of his teeth. A couple of his therapists have hypothesized that this is a sensory thing, that he's going through this "oral" stage that all babies go through, just really late. That explains everything except for the drooling. So I report this to the doc, and he says, "Eh, I'll look in his mouth, but he's doing this because the new baby is coming." Huh? First of all, Nate doesn't understand this baby thing enough to regress just yet. I can see if after Georgia gets here, he needs his paci more. That makes sense. But why is Nate drooling like a faucet because he has a baby sister coming? That does not make sense.

Moving on, I brought up the "milk bump" on Nate's face. That's what the doctor called it last time I asked about it, and he told me he would remove it today. It's been there since January, and it should have gone away by now. The procedure was as simple as popping a pimple, but Nate was already feeling bad, and he pretty much freaked out. He lost his paci in the floor, freaked out even more. It wasn't fun.

When Nate was about a year old, we joined this Duke University Neural Tube Defects study. They ask you questions and get a blood sample. The goal is to eventually figure out the cause of SB. Anyway, we did all that was required of us a couple years ago, except we did not get a blood sample from Nate. He was just too little and chubby and we'd had bad experiences with getting blood, so I told them we'd do it later. Recently they contacted me and asked if we could send in the kit they gave us. Well, I have misplaced the kit. So I just mentioned today to the doctor that we are part of this study, and I'd like to bring Nate back to get a blood sample for it. He said we could just do a finger prick today and go ahead and get the sample. Okay.

So the nurse comes in and does the finger prick, and Nate is now really screaming. She goes to put the bandaid on, and I asked if it was a latex free bandaid. She said yes, then asked if Nate is allergic to latex. I said he is on precaution for latex because he has spina bifida and they are all on precaution. She says, "Cause I'm wearing latex gloves." Then she goes to pop off one of her gloves. I said, "STOP. Do not take off that glove, because then the powder will be in the air, and he can inhale that." That's actually more dangerous than him just touching latex. She said, "Next time when the nurse who brings you into the room asks if he has any allergies, tell them about the latex." I said, "I DID!!!" Oh, they didn't mark it on his chart. All the while, Nate is screaming.

Then she says she's going to go run the labs and walks out of the room. Okay, she obviously doesn't understand why she took the blood, so I hauled my screaming child out the door because we weren't waiting any longer. The nurse is kind of scratching her head and asked what this blood was for. I told her, and she said this blood wouldn't last long enough for that purpose. SO WE JUST DID THAT FOR NOTHING. She was still talking to me, and I just walked out the door. Nate was practically inconsolable.

Ugh. So I'm not going to take either of the kids to that doctor anymore. He just gets on my nerves. This is the second time he's ticked me off. I'll try one of the other doctors in the practice, and if that doesn't work out, there are plenty of pediatricians to choose from in Louisville.

Nate came home and took an early nap. He's laying on the couch, coughing and sneezing and being generally pitiful right now. I just hate it when he's sick.

Georgia update--32 weeks, 3 days

I had an OB appointment and ultrasound today and wanted to share the latest of Miss Georgia. The ultrasound was to look at her growth, and she now appears to be 4 pounds, 11 ounces. That's one more ounce than Nate weighed when he was born at 32w5d. The tech said she is just slightly above average. I'm really relieved she's a good weight since she'll be delivered at 37 weeks. I'm telling you, if I was allowed to go to 40 weeks, I think I'd have 9 pound babies. :)





Anyway, we got to see her cute little face, and she has the chubbiest cheeks! She opened her mouth a few times, and then she streeeeetched! It was adorable. The ultrasound tech was nice enough to switch the ultrasound machine over to 3D so we could get a better look. (You usually have to pay $100 to get a 3D ultrasound). This is a picture of a picture of her little face, but maybe you can see her chubby cheeks?

Only 4 weeks and 4 days left! I found out today that the c-section is scheduled for 8:30 am July 31.

I'm sorry to say that I think Nate is getting sick again. Yesterday his nose was running, he was sneezing, and he was very irritable. Today, all that got worse, and he started acting really tired (climbing on the couch to lay down), and his voice started sounding strange, kinda like when he recently had croup. Ugh, I really hope we don't have to go through this again! Fortunately, his 3 year check up is in the morning, so I'll get him looked over.

I mentioned a few months ago that we were accepted to participate in the Littlest Heroes Project. It's an organization that pairs awesome photographers with families like ours that have a little hero on our hands! And the photographers do free photo shoots and give free photos. We got paired up with Priscilla Baierlain here in Kentucky, and we've been talking over the last few months. We've had to reschedule twice due to weather, but yesterday we were finally able to do our photo shoot! Remember how I said Nate was cranky yesterday? Yeah, not the best time for a photo shoot. He'd go from happy to melting down in just a few minutes, and by the end of the shoot, he was just plain melting. We went to Waterfront Park down by the Ohio River in downtown Louisville. Nate wanted to do two things. First, he wanted to walk holding onto my and Blake's hands and have us swing him. Okay, well, that probably makes a cute photo, sure. Um, the first 75 times. Then I'm pretty sure she's got all the swinging Nate photos she can use. Second, he wanted to "walk by myself." Awesome! We love that he wants to walk by himself, and that he's now willing to do it outside of our living room! However, this entails me and Blake crouching on the ground about 10 feet away from each other for him to walk between us. I loved that she was able to get pictures of this. But after he walked to me, then Blake, then me, then Blake, then me, then Blake ... oh, about 150 times, yeah, she got enough pictures of that. It was difficult to get any good portraits of him or the whole family. He just wanted to do what he wanted to do. Good times. But I'm sure the photos will turn out great, because the photographer is awesome. I will share them when I see them!

(By the way, I'm playing around with how the blog looks, if you're wondering.)

Nate is 3 years old today

So, my baby is now a preschooler, I guess? I want to press a pause button on life.

Three years ago yesterday, I was in the hospital on bedrest, had been for a month. It was Saturday night, and Blake and I had just taken a tour of the NICU earlier that day in preparation for Nate being born. We hoped to make it a little more than a week longer to 34 weeks. I started feeling bad that night and thought I had eaten a bad hot dog. :) (Seriously, what kind of hospital feeds a pregnant woman a hot dog anyway?) But I was feeling bad ... oh, about every three minutes. After not being able to sleep, I called the nurse, and they decided to send me to Labor and Delivery for monitoring. I was on monitors all night, and they didn't show any contractions, but the nurse taking care of me KNEW I was laboring. Which was a big no-no after the in-utero surgery we'd had 9 weeks earlier. The next morning, my favorite doctor, Dr. Collins, came in to check me, and I was 3 cm dilated. That meant it was time for Nate to be born! He was 32 weeks and 5 days gestation. Blake was in the OR with me for the c-section, and I was soooo happy that Nate cried when he was born. He was 4lb, 10oz and 17.5 inches long, born around 1pm on Sunday, June 25, 2006. He was sent straight to the NICU, and all the grandparents came to the hospital and got to visit with him while I recovered. That evening I was finally well enough to get in a wheelchair to go see him. He was in his isolette fussing, and as soon as the nurse put him in my arms, he quieted down and was happy. He had tubes and wires all over him, but he was beautiful.

Nate's birthdays have been emotional for me as I remember all we went through with his pregnancy and NICU stay, and also as I reflect on how far he has come during the year. This year has been incredible. Right around his second birthday, he got his first set of braces, and the very next day he pulled up and cruised for the first time.

Then in September, he started walking in his walker!

In January he started walking with holding one hand.

And in early June, he began taking independent steps. :)

Besides the walking, he has just grown up so much. This time last year, he was saying a lot of words, but wasn't really putting too much together and was still babbling a lot. Now he can carry on a conversation with you. He's in a big boy bed. And he's just generally acting like a big boy these days. Soon he'll be a big brother and will be heading off to preschool.

This week we have had to say goodbye to his Early Intervention therapists. :( Monday was his last day of his developmental playgroup with Miss Leslie. Since October, he has come a long way--when he started, he avoided playing with other kids his age, and now he initiates play with other kids! On Tuesday, we went to the mall play area for our last session with Miss Dee, his PT. Dee was the first person who really "got" Nate. I'll never forget her second visit here, when we were trying unsuccessfully to get Nate to walk in his walker, after observing him for awhile she said, "It's not his legs. He has sensory issues." I had no idea what that meant, but that was the beginning of all of us really understanding Nate and how to help him progress. She gave us a lycra swing to swing him in, and the very next week he was walking in his walker. She's an amazing PT, and we're really going to miss her! Then yesterday was our last session with Miss Karol, the genius OT. We only had her for a few months, but I learned so much from her. Nate still has hippotherapy and aquatic therapy, and I'm relieved to cut back from 5 therapies a week to only 2. Except now we're probably going to add one more PT session per week. I really don't want to, but it seems he needs it.

Blake has been working really long hours this week, so he came home from work early today to celebrate Nate's birthday. We went to Hometown Pizza (yum), and Nate got free pizza and a brownie! Then we came home and played outside, where Nate got really, really dirty. I gave him a bath, and he decided he wanted to come downstairs and walk with me and Daddy. So for the next hour, he walked all over the living room, giggling and yelling. One time he said, "I can't stop! I can't stop!" laughing the whole time. Then I threw a ball for him to walk after, and I asked him if he could bend over and get it. He said, "Um, no. I sorry." :)

Anyway, it's been a wonderful three years since Nate came into our lives, and I'm so proud of him. Happy birthday, Nate!

Update #3--Nate's birthday/Father's Day

Nate's 3rd birthday is actually this Thursday (June 25), but the celebration has begun. Since a lot of the family was in town for the shower, Nate got a lot of gifts! As soon as the shower was over, Nate got his gift from Granna and Pop--his "bwack twuck."

It has a real working radio, which he thinks is the coolest.

Cruising around the yard.

Nate's favorite song came on the radio.

Grandma and Papaw got him his new car seat, plus a Thomas play tent and some Thomas books. He's been in this tent most of his waking hours since. He also got lots of other gifts from other family members.

This morning, the celebration continued. We went to church, then the zoo. It rained pretty hard for part of the time we were there, and the rest of the time it was just wet enough to not be horribly hot.

Guess who was at the zoo! Dora and Boots! By this point, Nate was way overdue for a nap, and he cried and cried when we had to leave Dora ... all the way back to the parking lot and beyond.

But after a short nap on the way home, he was ready to play again. Uncle Lucas gave him a book.

Where's Nate?

Here's his cake! (Don't worry, the rest of us had leftover shower cake :)

So after the baby shower, birthday celebration, and Father's Day, all three of us got very spoiled with gifts this weekend! It's been such a busy few days, but wonderful fun.

Update #2--Baby shower!

Friday, my friends Mindy, Kathryn, and Jenny, who I've known since college, all came in for my shower. We got the house ready, the shopping done, and some of the food ready, and we went out to dinner. We had so much fun!

Mindy hosted the shower, and it went great. We played games, ate great food, and oh my, I got a lot of gifts! I got the motherload of beautiful girly clothes plus more! Here are some pics.

Pretty decorations

How cute is that watermelon?!

My Rolling Pin cake!

Opening gifts Nate got to show off his walking

Look at all these clothes!!!!

Blankets and bibs and burp cloths! Plus a video monitor, sling, book, diapers ...

Our new stroller!

It was a really great party, and I was so grateful to everyone who came and for all the gifts. With Nate, there was so much going on and I was in Nashville for the last almost 10 weeks of my short pregnancy, and there was no opportunity for a shower. So it meant a lot to me to get to do all this normal baby stuff this time around. Thanks for a great party, Mindy!

Update #1--thesis defense

Lots to update on the last few days, including lots of pics, so I'll do this in a few posts. I'll start with last Wednesday. Nate had OT in the morning, then PT in the afternoon, then we had to go to Ohio. Well, of course Nate wouldn't take a nap between OT and PT--he was too excited. After 2 hours of him just laying in bed talking and singing, I went up to get him. He said, "Mama, I want to go to OHIO!!!" :) Of course, PT wasn't much fun with a whiny sleepy child, but we got through it and left. Okay, Athens, Ohio, is in the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. I guess I forgot just how remote the place is. There's no good road to get there, and there's no radio station for miles around, and I didn't even get cell phone service for most of the trip. It was a miserable trip with a whiny kid. Then Nate had to sleep with me, and he likes to put his feet all over me. Georgia decided to do some jumping jacks around midnight. Anyway, none of us got much sleep. My mom met us there to help with Nate, thank goodness.

BUT the thesis defense went great! My committee was so excited about the project and just very complimentary of my work and my writing. It felt really good. We spent most of our time talking about ways to effectively implement the program, which didn't have anything to do with whether I passed or not. I did pass, and they did request a few additions/changes that are due by July 9. I think I'll get my diploma in August! Whoo! The drive home was much better, probably because I was smiling the whole time. :)

This morning, Nate was standing up on the recliner, then falling on his behind. He was saying, "Watch me, Mama! Watch this!" I know all kids learn this "watch me, mama" thing, but it just cracks me up that it's almost innate. Then when he was falling, he was saying "Weee!" and then "Can you say that, Mama?" Ha!!!

Nate is such a star at aquatic therapy. From the minute he walks in, the little old ladies are all over him, telling him how cute he is, watching him swim, encouraging him to kick his legs. :) Today he was such a ham--he kept swallowing water because he was too busy talking and laughing to close his mouth!

When we got home, Elizabeth was due to come over any minute. It started raining out, and the storm was so bad that the satelite went out. Nate said, "Ewizabef will fix it." Apparently this happened last time she was here, and he has far more faith in her to fix the tv than me. :)

If I don't update tomorrow, keep me in your thoughts. We're heading up to Ohio for me to defend my thesis on Thursday at 10am. Prayers appreciated!

Georgia update

I'm having doctor appointments every two weeks now, and I had one today. I'm 30 weeks and a few days pregnant now. I told my doctor that I had concerns about leaking amniotic fluid--she knows how paranoid I am because my water broke so early with Nate--so she did a test that came up negative for amniotic fluid. She also confirmed that I'm not dilated at all. And she sent me for an ultrasound to check for fluid! I love my doc!

So I got to see little Georgia, and she has plenty of fluid around her. (Normal is between 8-25, and she has 19.) The ultrasound tech said she's weighing about 3lb5oz now! I'm hoping she'll at least double that by July 31. It was nice to get a little peek at her and know she's still doing okay. Not that I don't feel her at all hours of the day!

Nate went to playgroup this morning, and his teacher said he danced the whole time he was there. So I think that says he's definitely feeling better! Blake asked him what he wants for his birthday (I'm truly at a loss for what to get him) and he thought about it and said ... "Presents." Thanks, that's helpful.

Finally feeling better!

That was a loooooong week of both me and Nate feeling awful. Besides the head and chest cold stuff, the worst part was that neither of us had any energy whatsoever. I had to cancel all of his therapy, we didn't go to soccer, and I'm so glad no one stopped by the house to see what a disaster area it had become. This morning, Nate slept until 10:30! I was starting to get really worried that he had pneumonia or something to make him so tired/lethargic. Then I was determined to get some housework done this morning, but I had to stop every couple of minutes to lay down so I didn't pass out! I was getting very frustrated with myself.

But by this afternoon, Nate was crawling around like a madman, talking my ear off. That's when I realized how little he had talked all week. The most he had said was a "yeah" if I asked him if he felt bad, or he would whine if he wanted something. So it was nice to hear him happy again today. He found a bug and followed it around for awhile, yelling "Buuuuuggg! Where are youuuuu?" Then he started yelling "Coweeeeeen!" Ha! Never heard him say my name before, but I guess he's heard Blake calling for me. Then he said, "Mama, it's a great day to run!" and he took off speed crawling across the floor! A couple hours later, I got my own energy back and was able to kick some laundry butt. Blake and I hung curtains, worked a little in the nursery, he cleaned the living room carpets ... ahhhh, I'm feeling much better. Nesting must be kicking in. :)

Yesterday, even though Nate and I were seriously not in the mood to drive over 2 hours, but I had planned a Spina Bifida playgroup in London, KY (eastern part of the state). Two other little boys came, along with their parents and grandmas and one sibling, and my mom and Pat from the SBAK were there too, so it was a decent little turnout. There's so little in the way of programming and services for the SB population in eastern KY, so I thought this playgroup would be a great start. Nate did show off his walking skills, and a younger little boy got to try out his walker, and us moms got to chat about preschool and orthotics. I think it was a success! I hope Nate didn't infect either of the other boys. Afterwards we had dinner with Pop and Uncle Wucas. :)

This is a big week! Wednesday evening we're heading to Athens, OH, and Thursday morning I'll defend my thesis! If you'd just stop and say a little prayer for me, I'd appreciate it very much. Then Saturday is my baby shower, and Sunday we're celebrating Nate's 3rd birthday as well as Father's Day. I'm sure I'll be in the mood to party after my thesis defense is over. (Well, let's hope so....)

Tomorrow it's back to our regular therapy, and I also have a doctor's appointment. So I guess I should be turning in.

We're sick.

Monday, Nate and I went to a luncheon that the Spina Bifida Association of Kentucky was hosting as part of a golf scramble. This is where I ate off the same fork as Nate, and he passed his germs to me. I didn't know he had germs. By that night, he had a fever. The next morning I took him to the doc. He said his ears looked fine and he didn't have strep, but his throat was really red and he had some sort of virus. Nate was pitiful. I was also starting to feel bad, so we stayed in bed together most of the day. Wednesday morning, Nate woke up crying and moaning, and he was losing his voice. Blake thought he had swine flu. :) So I called the nurse, and she suspected he had croup. I took him back to the doc, who gave him a prescription for a steroid that should make him feel better by the end of the day. I was feeling worse.

This morning, Nate woke up crying again. Blake brought him downstairs, and Nate was so upset that he flailed himself off the couch, and that just made him mad. He had absolutely no energy today. He just laid on the couch, then slept from noon-4, then laid on the couch some more, then went to bed at 7. I feel so bad for him. In the meantime, my cold has gotten worse! I am miserable! It's after 1 am and I cant sleep for the sneezing and stuffy nose. We are a mess.