Thank you for visiting my blog! If you are visiting because you have experienced a pregnancy or infant loss, let me say that I am so very sorry. I started this blog shortly after our Baby Grady was stillborn on November 12, 2008. Please visit the sidebar below called "Labels" to find the topic in which you are interested, or just read as your heart desires.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Appointments and Teeth

This has been the week of appointments for sure!

Tuesday, Matthew had his first official physical therapy appointment. It went really well. Unfortunately, it was not the same one who did his evaluation, so she was not able to see the improvement he had made on his own since our last visit. I really like this lady, though. She's very good, sweet and gentle with him. She commented on how happy he was and how much he smiled. She said that she could "see pure joy on his face". Yes. That's what he brings me every day.

PURE JOY!

He wants nothing to do with the reclining position anywhere (which makes me very sad because we/I have loved the bouncy seat!). It's all about trying to sit up these days, and he's getting a little better with tummy time. In fact, he stayed on his tummy the longest he ever has during therapy. They had the coolest Playskool bee that he absolutely loved. I was ready to go buy one for him until she told me they were really old. Oh well. If I were more knowledgeable about ebay, I might try there, but it just overwhelms me!

I wish I had gotten a picture of him on his tummy with the bee, but this is the only one I got this week. Tummy picture next week for sure!


Yesterday was Matthew's big day of appointments. Thankfully, Gib decided at the last minute to go with me. The weather started out terrible. It was so nice to have an extra set of hands and a chauffeur to drop us off and pick us up at the front door. Thanks BeBe!

First was his appointment with the pediatric surgeon. I REALLY liked this doctor. He had an excellent bedside manner, but we did not get the news we were hoping for. Our Little Bear must have surgery. Instead of having a hydrocele like we thought, the doctor called it a hernia. His intestine has not fallen into his sac, but there is a definite opening that did not close between his abdomen and scrotal sac. It starts out small in the morning and gets larger as the day progresses. This is a sure sign that there is fluid communicating between his abdomen and his sac. He said it didn't feel like a simple hydrocele where the fluid is contained, and that it will not close on its own. The doctor went into a long explanation, but the gist of it is that prolonging the surgery could impair the development of his testicle on that side. So, we are going to try to schedule surgery in April during the week of spring break. He goes back to the cardiologist in March for another echo to check on the hole in his heart. The doctor said the anesthesiologist would want an echo before surgery and that it was fine to wait until then. I'm not excited but am thankful that it is a common surgery and will be done as outpatient. I will certainly be asking for prayers as the time gets closer!

I was amazed that we were in and out of the surgeon's office within an hour! Fortunately, the neurologist (who is across the street) was able to see us early, so off we went.

Matthew had a very good visit and got a great report from the neurologist. However, Mommy did not have such a good time. I don't like change, and I don't embrace it well, even though I know it's a part of life. I was expecting Dr. S., Mr. Personality himself to come in, but instead walked a tall blond woman who was the PA. There is absolutely nothing wrong with PA's, but we did not schedule our appointment with her, and I did not want to see her. Especially since Dr. S was there. I did not hide my surprise well and actually was very rude to the woman when she walked in. She was very nice, but I still don't know how we ended up with her. And I did apologize for being rude. But even when I was checking out, the receptionist looked puzzled and scheduled his next visit with Dr. S. Part of the reason I was disappointed was because I wanted him to see how Matthew had improved. Oh well. Maybe Matthew will blow his socks off when we go back in 4 months.

Yep, 4 months!

If you remember from Matthew's 6 month check up, I was concerned about his head circumference. They measured his head at the neurologists office and plotted it on their growth chart. I voiced my concern to the PA, and she showed me the curve and where Matthew plotted. He is following the curve almost spot-on which is exactly what we want. This put my mind at ease.

Matthew has a few small flat spots on his head that I'm a little concerned about. Emphasis on the word *little*. He likes to sleep in certain positions and often falls asleep in his car seat on the way home from taking the girls to school. I leave him in the car seat on the floor of his room and he takes the best nap! Anyhoo, I wanted her to look at these areas. She said she could see what I was talking about and that it didn't concern her right now. But then she said we could do a "banding screen" at the children's hospital to screen him for potential problems, etc. I politely declined a test that isn't absolutely necessary right now. I truly think once Matthew learns to sit up, it will help tremendously. It will also help when he learns to roll over and sleep on his tummy. I can't wait to see him curled up in a little ball with his bottom in the air...

We were home by noon yesterday and our second appointment wasn't supposed to start until 11:40. Woo-hoo! Gib worked on school work, Matthew napped, I messed around on the computer and enjoyed connecting with a childhood friend on facebook (yes, I reactivated my account last weekend), and enjoyed some snuggle time with my Little Bear when he got up from his nap.


Today I took Matthew to get his 6 month shots that I delayed from last week. He cried, of course, but recovered nicely and was smiling again in no time. Fortunately, with the exception of physical therapy next week, we don't have any more scheduled appointments in our near future.

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Quickly onto another topic...teeth.

Jessica lost her last baby tooth last night! I can't believe it! She is done with baby teeth forever. It really does make me sad that she's growing so fast. This means that she will definitely be getting her braces in May. Oh me. Good times. I guess. She's excited, but I know from experience that the excitement wears off very quickly!

And Matthew is cutting his second tooth already! I noticed it night before last while bathing him and dug my fingers in to get a better look today. I can't wait to see two pearly whites shining below when he flashes his handsome smile, which is like, all the time!

That's all for now.

Love,
Tonya

2 comments:

  1. Tonya...I love the picture of you snuggling with Matthew! And the top picture makes me want to pick that sweet baby up and cuddle him too. Love those chunky legs.

    Glad therapy went well. And that you are seeing progress.

    Love ya,
    Linda @ Truthful Tidbits

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  2. I love the snuggling picture! U know in my head that babies change so quickly, but I'm still amazed. I hope things continue to go well for the little guy.

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