Bryan and Wyatt had their well child visits today. It went very well and both boys are healthy. They both had to have shots. No fun! And they both got weight and measured and poked and prodded. I am glad it is over and that they are both doing great.
Wyatt went first. He is 9 weeks old today. Wyatt weighed 11 pounds 3 ounces. He is 21 inches long and his head is 15 inches around. The doctor said he is short but gaining weight very well. That is a good sign considering we still do not know for sure what is going on with the metabolic disorder. Bryan was pretty short when he was little too. And look at him now! Wyatt is growing steadily and the doctor says that is more important then where he technically falls on the growth chart. All things I have heard before when Bryan was a baby but still nice to hear again for reassurance.
The doctor checked Wyatt over and said that every thing looked good. There is no longer a click in his hip. He has a swollen lymph node but it is no big deal. I asked him if he thought Wyatt's right testicle was descending yet. It has been hanging out pretty high but I knew it was there. He said that it was down. WHAT?! I told him it was not down when we left the house to come to the appointment. Well isn't that a nifty trick? The doctor laughed and told Wyatt he had pretty good timing! I swear they live to prove you wrong!
I asked about the reflux too. He said it was pretty normal in babies. He is not worried about Wyatt puking some of his feedings up as that is also pretty common. We should just continue to do the things we are doing (keeping him upright during and after feedings, burping him really well, the gas drops as needed) and he will out grown it very soon. Wyatt's digestive system should start maturing more in the next few weeks and the reflux will likely go away on it's own before we know it. I hope it is soon ... I am sick of getting puked on. LOL
I asked how long Wyatt can go with out pooping and the doctor said 5 or 6 days is not uncommon. We can try a little juice after a few days but otherwise don't worry about it. Being that Wyatt drinks breast milk only if his BMs become hard and pebble like then I should give him a call. But otherwise he should be good.
The doctor asked several questions about different milestones Wyatt should be meeting. He was doing them all which is always a relief. The doctor asked if Wyatt laughs yet. I said not really but I have heard him giggle a few times while he was asleep. He asked if Wyatt was smiling when he laughed and I said yes. The doctor said then that counts! Wyatt must have been having a really good dream. LOL He says that Wyatt should start doing it while awake in the next few weeks. But even him laughing in his sleep was a good sign. Good to know!
Bryan was up next and was fairly simple. He is 5 feet 1 inch tall and 140 pounds. That puts him in the 75% for height and 97% for weight. The doctor said while the percentages look a little scary he does not think Bryan is over weight in anyway . Because of his height it kind of counter balances his weight. Yes he is heavier then most kids his age but he is also a LOT taller then they are too. And visually he could see that Bryan is not at all over weight. So he felt there was no concern. Bryan has hit puberty a bit early and it shows in his measurements. It was hilarious to look back through his records and see how he was in the 8% for height and 23% for weight when he was 2 years old. 10 years later he is a moose! HA HA HA
I thought it was pretty funny to watch the doctor doing similar movements to check Bryan's hips as he does with Wyatt. Makes you realize just how long Bryan's legs have gotten. I always feel bad for the kid during the hernia check. The first look of terror comes when the doctor tells him to drop his shorts. Then again when he tells Bryan to turn his head and cough. LOL
The doctor asked him a bunch of questions. Does he play any sports? How much TV does he watch? How much time does he play video games? I mentioned that we live on a farm and that Bryan does help with the chores. The doctor was happy to hear that and said farm kids tend to be pretty active kids. So he was happy with that even though Bryan shows no interest in sports. I have a geek not a jock. I am fine with that. Especially since my geek could probably bench press most of the jocks his age ... he he he!
They both got shots. Bryan got 3 and barely flinched when he got his. He made it look far easier then it was for Wyatt. Poor baby! Wyatt also had 3 shots but boy howdy did he scream! The first one went in and he didn't react right away. You saw this slow realization of pain, his face turned red and then WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! The boy was NOT happy. The nurse said "And that was only the first one!" She rushed through the other 2 so I could pick him up to calm him down. I felt awful for the poor kid but also couldn't stop laughing. He would wail in this funny siren like increasing and then decreasing and then increasing again pattern. He was pretty ticked off for a while after that. I am glad he doesn't need any more shots until 4 months. I wonder if he will be more or less dramatic at that point. LOL
So the boys are good. Wyatt goes back again in 2 months and Bryan goes back in 6 months for a second dose of the Hep A vaccine. We are still waiting for more info on the VLCAD situation. There doesn't seem to be anything new in Wyatt's records and the geneticist has not called us back yet. So we will have to continue to make sure that Wyatt does not go past 4 hours with out eating. But then he wakes up every 3-4 hours anyway so it is not a stretch and not like I am waking a sleeping baby or anything. Hopefully we will know more soon. Hopefully it will be nothing and we can put that whole mess behind us soon.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
6 week postpartum check up
I had my 6 week postpartum check up today. I can't believe it has already been 6 weeks! I remember when OB called my room in the maternity ward the day Wyatt was born. I could not believe they were already scheduling my check up. It seemed SO very far away. And now it is here and gone! LOL Time goes by crazy fast when you get no sleep. HA HA HA
Everything went very well. I brought Wyatt with me. The nurses oohed and aaaahed over him. One commented on how the 6 week check ups were always her favorite part because she got to see all the cute little babies. Wyatt of course would not be ignored. He ate while I waited for the midwife to come in. Wyatt "talked" during the entire exam. The midwife held him for me while I changed back into my clothes. As soon as we were done and started heading back to the car he passed out fast asleep. LOL Wyatt my little attention piggie! If you are willing to hold him and snuggle him then you will be his best friend.
They made me fill out a survey for postpartum depression. I must have passed because they never said another word about it. I was honest and admitted to the midwife that I still struggle with anxiety from time to time because of Wyatt's stay in pediatrics during his first week. She said that was perfectly normal considering what happened. As long as the anxiety was not keeping me from normal activities or allowing Wyatt to participate in normal activities then it was fine. But of course if it ever got to be to overwhelming then I should call them or Gyn or my regular doctor and let them know. I have my bad days of course and I am utterly exhausted most of the time. But over all I feel great and am very happy to have my little Wy Wy. So I think I am doing well.
My c-section incision has healed well. I still have a very small opening between my ab muscles right below my belly button. She said a few crunches every day should heal that up in no time. She did a pelvic exam and said my uterus is back to normal. During the pelvic exam she commented on how strong my stomach muscles were. She laughed about just telling me to do crunches every day and then having a little trouble finding my uterus through all my muscles. HA HA HA YEAH ME! My weight is down 25 pounds from my pre pregnancy weight. She was shocked to see that not only did I not gain any weight while pregnant but I am also skinner now then I was when I found out I was pregnant with him. That is always fun!
I have had some pain in my breasts. She checked them both for signs of infection or clogged milk ducts and found none. She thinks the pain is simply my breasts refilling with milk and should go away as my breasts adjust to being milk makers. That is a relief. I did not think I had any infection but was still worried about the pain. She praised me for being an exclusive pumper. That was wonderful to hear. Some people can be very judgmental about not breastfeeding even if you are pumping. She said it is easier to do one or the other. Either breastfeed or formula feed. But to pump AND bottle feed takes a lot of time and dedication. She said a lot of woman do not stick with it. I told her I was dead set on pumping for his first year and then feeding him from my freezer stash that I plan on building up until that is gone some time during his second year. She said that was a great idea and made me feel really good about my decision. It is nice to be complemented and recognized for your hard work sometimes.
I got the ok to return to my normal pre pregnancy life. I can lift and work and other fun past times. *wink* *wink* I loaded Wyatt back up into his car seat and we headed back out to my car. I got us all settled back in and was about to leave when I realized that I had forgotten to get my doctor note to return to work. Crap! So I unload and head back up to OB. I tell the nurse at the desk that I needed a note. She got a little snotty with me and acted like I had just asked her for a kidney. She also seemed very surprised that I needed a note. *shrugs* I didn't think that was an odd request but what do I know. The nurse said that all of the midwifes were in a staff meeting and I would be unable to get my note then. I could wait and come back later. Ummm ... no ... I am paying for parking as long as I am here. So I asked her if I could call back later with the HR fax number and have some one fax my note for me instead. Again she acted like I now needed her other kidney. UGH! So I guess that will be fine.
So everything is well. I don't have to go back to the doctor any time soon. The boys have check ups in August. But other then that it is life back to normal!
Everything went very well. I brought Wyatt with me. The nurses oohed and aaaahed over him. One commented on how the 6 week check ups were always her favorite part because she got to see all the cute little babies. Wyatt of course would not be ignored. He ate while I waited for the midwife to come in. Wyatt "talked" during the entire exam. The midwife held him for me while I changed back into my clothes. As soon as we were done and started heading back to the car he passed out fast asleep. LOL Wyatt my little attention piggie! If you are willing to hold him and snuggle him then you will be his best friend.
They made me fill out a survey for postpartum depression. I must have passed because they never said another word about it. I was honest and admitted to the midwife that I still struggle with anxiety from time to time because of Wyatt's stay in pediatrics during his first week. She said that was perfectly normal considering what happened. As long as the anxiety was not keeping me from normal activities or allowing Wyatt to participate in normal activities then it was fine. But of course if it ever got to be to overwhelming then I should call them or Gyn or my regular doctor and let them know. I have my bad days of course and I am utterly exhausted most of the time. But over all I feel great and am very happy to have my little Wy Wy. So I think I am doing well.
My c-section incision has healed well. I still have a very small opening between my ab muscles right below my belly button. She said a few crunches every day should heal that up in no time. She did a pelvic exam and said my uterus is back to normal. During the pelvic exam she commented on how strong my stomach muscles were. She laughed about just telling me to do crunches every day and then having a little trouble finding my uterus through all my muscles. HA HA HA YEAH ME! My weight is down 25 pounds from my pre pregnancy weight. She was shocked to see that not only did I not gain any weight while pregnant but I am also skinner now then I was when I found out I was pregnant with him. That is always fun!
I have had some pain in my breasts. She checked them both for signs of infection or clogged milk ducts and found none. She thinks the pain is simply my breasts refilling with milk and should go away as my breasts adjust to being milk makers. That is a relief. I did not think I had any infection but was still worried about the pain. She praised me for being an exclusive pumper. That was wonderful to hear. Some people can be very judgmental about not breastfeeding even if you are pumping. She said it is easier to do one or the other. Either breastfeed or formula feed. But to pump AND bottle feed takes a lot of time and dedication. She said a lot of woman do not stick with it. I told her I was dead set on pumping for his first year and then feeding him from my freezer stash that I plan on building up until that is gone some time during his second year. She said that was a great idea and made me feel really good about my decision. It is nice to be complemented and recognized for your hard work sometimes.
I got the ok to return to my normal pre pregnancy life. I can lift and work and other fun past times. *wink* *wink* I loaded Wyatt back up into his car seat and we headed back out to my car. I got us all settled back in and was about to leave when I realized that I had forgotten to get my doctor note to return to work. Crap! So I unload and head back up to OB. I tell the nurse at the desk that I needed a note. She got a little snotty with me and acted like I had just asked her for a kidney. She also seemed very surprised that I needed a note. *shrugs* I didn't think that was an odd request but what do I know. The nurse said that all of the midwifes were in a staff meeting and I would be unable to get my note then. I could wait and come back later. Ummm ... no ... I am paying for parking as long as I am here. So I asked her if I could call back later with the HR fax number and have some one fax my note for me instead. Again she acted like I now needed her other kidney. UGH! So I guess that will be fine.
So everything is well. I don't have to go back to the doctor any time soon. The boys have check ups in August. But other then that it is life back to normal!
Monday, July 12, 2010
5 weeks old
Wyatt is now 5 weeks old! He is 9 pounds even and 20 1/2 inches long. He is doing well and getting so big already! I can't believe he has started to out grow his newborn clothes. I know that is a good thing. Especially since we are still waiting to find out the results of that final test for metabolic disorders of what ever kind me MIGHT have. It can't be bad since he is growing so well.
Wyatt has had some trouble with reflux. It can be kinda rough sometimes. He screamed this afternoon for I don't even know how long because his belly hurt. I did my best to get all the bubblies out and try and make him better. But it took a while and a lot of walking and patting and bouncing up and down to get enough of the gas out. Then he slept like an angel! We have been feeding him sitting up, keeping him sitting up for 30 minutes afterward, letting him sleep in his bouncy chair (it keeps him upright) and using gas drops when he gets really fussy like he did this afternoon. It all seems to be helping. Wyatt hasn't thrown up in days. The fussing is getting less and less and he is sleeping much better at night. WOOHOO! I can't wait for him to out grow this. I want to avoid prescription medications if we can. So far I think we will be able to.
Wyatt is developing well. He is holding his head up more and more. I don't put him on his belly us much as I should. But he does push up from my shoulder while burping him. When I do put him on his belly on the floor he tends to stick his butt in the air instead. LOL Wrong end buddy ... wrong end. Bryan was playing with him today while he was sitting in my lap. Wyatt was watching Bryan and was able to track Bryan's face from side to side several times. I was pretty impressed that not only was he able to focus on Bryan's face so well but to keep moving just his eyes back and forth over and over again. Good job little man!
Wyatt has always been a noisy baby. (As I write this he is laying in my lap groaning) He just "talks" a lot. Wyatt is always grunting and groaning and making this weird noise that reminds me of the T-rex from the Jurrasic Park movie. LOL He is just starting to coo during the last week. He only makes short little sounds. But he is starting to make them. That is good. This morning he made one of those short cooing sounds and I mimicked him. His eyes got big and he did it again. We will just have to keep talking to each other. I can't wait for the full on cooing. I remember how cute it was when Bryan did it. I can't wait!!!
I am still pumping breast milk. Wyatt will occasionally breast feed. It is getting more and more frequent. But he will only do it for a few minutes. Then he gets mad and screams until I give him the bottle. He does not have a lot of patience to wait for my milk to let down. So he quickly gets frustrated and fusses. He can be a bit opinionated so if he is fussy and my milk isn't letting down fast enough in his mind then all hell breaks loose and nursing is a bust. If I try early in the morning around 6 am when he is the most alert and calm then it works better. Also around 10 pm when he is settling down for the night. But other then that he just gets mad and refuses the breast. But I am pumping 3-4 times a day and making 30 ounces. That is enough to feed him every day and freeze a little bit. My pump is awesome and I can get it done in 15 minutes or so. I plan on continuing to pump breast milk and bottle feed Wyatt until he is a year old. 1 month down 11 months to go!
Everything is going well and Wyatt is great. I could not be more happy and feel more blessed. I am exhausted but totally in love with my little man. Being home with all my boys every day is amazing. There is nothing I love more then being a wife and a mother. An amazing dream come true.
Wyatt has had some trouble with reflux. It can be kinda rough sometimes. He screamed this afternoon for I don't even know how long because his belly hurt. I did my best to get all the bubblies out and try and make him better. But it took a while and a lot of walking and patting and bouncing up and down to get enough of the gas out. Then he slept like an angel! We have been feeding him sitting up, keeping him sitting up for 30 minutes afterward, letting him sleep in his bouncy chair (it keeps him upright) and using gas drops when he gets really fussy like he did this afternoon. It all seems to be helping. Wyatt hasn't thrown up in days. The fussing is getting less and less and he is sleeping much better at night. WOOHOO! I can't wait for him to out grow this. I want to avoid prescription medications if we can. So far I think we will be able to.
Wyatt is developing well. He is holding his head up more and more. I don't put him on his belly us much as I should. But he does push up from my shoulder while burping him. When I do put him on his belly on the floor he tends to stick his butt in the air instead. LOL Wrong end buddy ... wrong end. Bryan was playing with him today while he was sitting in my lap. Wyatt was watching Bryan and was able to track Bryan's face from side to side several times. I was pretty impressed that not only was he able to focus on Bryan's face so well but to keep moving just his eyes back and forth over and over again. Good job little man!
Wyatt has always been a noisy baby. (As I write this he is laying in my lap groaning) He just "talks" a lot. Wyatt is always grunting and groaning and making this weird noise that reminds me of the T-rex from the Jurrasic Park movie. LOL He is just starting to coo during the last week. He only makes short little sounds. But he is starting to make them. That is good. This morning he made one of those short cooing sounds and I mimicked him. His eyes got big and he did it again. We will just have to keep talking to each other. I can't wait for the full on cooing. I remember how cute it was when Bryan did it. I can't wait!!!
I am still pumping breast milk. Wyatt will occasionally breast feed. It is getting more and more frequent. But he will only do it for a few minutes. Then he gets mad and screams until I give him the bottle. He does not have a lot of patience to wait for my milk to let down. So he quickly gets frustrated and fusses. He can be a bit opinionated so if he is fussy and my milk isn't letting down fast enough in his mind then all hell breaks loose and nursing is a bust. If I try early in the morning around 6 am when he is the most alert and calm then it works better. Also around 10 pm when he is settling down for the night. But other then that he just gets mad and refuses the breast. But I am pumping 3-4 times a day and making 30 ounces. That is enough to feed him every day and freeze a little bit. My pump is awesome and I can get it done in 15 minutes or so. I plan on continuing to pump breast milk and bottle feed Wyatt until he is a year old. 1 month down 11 months to go!
Everything is going well and Wyatt is great. I could not be more happy and feel more blessed. I am exhausted but totally in love with my little man. Being home with all my boys every day is amazing. There is nothing I love more then being a wife and a mother. An amazing dream come true.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Tests and Doctor Appointments
Last week we had a lot of follow up appointments and tests to be done. It was annoying to be back and forth between home and the clinic so much. But the running around is far better then being stuck in the hospital like Wyatt's first week. Thankfully everything went well and we got done all the things we needed to get done.
Wyatt had a check up with his Family Med doctor. This was his first time meeting Wyatt. He has been my doctor since I was 14 years old and Bryan's doctor since birth. So I am happy to have Wyatt under his care also. This doctor is kind and calm and has a level head. Which is something we need after all the other doctors who just jumped off the deep end and assumed the worst. Our Family Med doctor, we will call him Dr. A, looked Wyatt over. He said Wyatt looked very good. The yellowness of the jaundice was fading. Dr. A did not think we needed to run anymore blood tests to check Wyatt's bilirubin levels. YEAH! He said that he could hear the click in Wyatt's left hip. Dr. A wanted to have an ultrasound done to check on the hip. If Wyatt's hip was not formed right from being stuck breech and it was not treated it could lead to arthritis as he gets older. If something was wrong it would be a simple fix with a brace to help ball and socket form properly together. Other then his hip Wyatt looked great. He had already gained back his birth weight at just over a week old. Dr. A did not think it was necessary for Wyatt to come back at 2 weeks for the usual well child visit. He thinks Wyatt is doing great and can wait to come back for his 2 month check up instead.
After meeting with Dr. A we had an appointment with the Geneticist to discuss where to go from here with the metabolic disorder hoopla. He asked us what Dr. A said and looked Wyatt over. He agreed that Wyatt looked like he was doing well. He felt that Wyatt's glucose readings at home were high enough and steady now. We were given the ok to stop taking his blood sugar at home. YEAH! I was so happy to not have to play vampire every 6 hours and prick poor Wyatt's tiny little feet anymore. The Geneticist reminded us to make sure that Wyatt went no longer then 3-4 hours with out eating until we figure out what is going on. The newborn screening is looking more and more like it was a false positive. But until we know for sure we need to play it safe. Keep Wyatt fed and feel free to check his blood sugar anytime he seems to be acting weird.
Thursday we went in to repeat the ECG. The first one showed a small glitch. The Pediatricians at the hospital said it might be a normal thing that happens to a lot of babies who are under a week old. But they insisted that we rerun the ECG after Wyatt is 7 days old to make sure. Thankfully the test was normal and everything was ok. Wyatt has a strong and healthy heart with no heart murmur. That is a HUGE relief for me. I am so happy both my boys have healthy hearts.
After the ECG we went to have the ultrasound done. Wyatt slept through most of it. He is so mellow that way. LOL The ultrasound came normal. Wyatt's hip looks good. Apparently the click is just left over from being breech with no fluid to move around easily in at the end of my pregnancy. He will eventually outgrow it. No need for a brace or anything. WOOHOO!
Friday we went back up to the maternity ward for Wyatt's circumcision. We wanted it done when he was 3 days old like they normally would do. But after the paperwork mess that happened on day 3 and Wyatt being in the hospital canceling the appointment we had to get it done on day 4, *sigh*, it just never got done. So thankfully we finally made and kept an appointment to have him circumcised. It went smoothly. Again Wyatt slept right through it. You have to wonder how it is that he can sleep through any procedure they seem to throw at him. I am just relieved that he has that ability. LOL We had to stick around in the family room for an hour afterward. A nurse came in to check on Wyatt every 30 minutes to make sure he was not bleeding to much. Then we were able to go home. Wyatt was pretty mad for the rest of that day. I can't blame him. He was sore and tired and had been through enough since birth.
The Geneticist wanted a skin biopsy to run one last test for VLCAD. He said it would just take one stitch. That made us cringe. Ethan asked if we could instead use Wyatt's foreskin from his circumcision instead of doing yet another procedure on Wyatt. He said yes that would work fine. He just need some skin to grow cells to use for the DNA test he wanted to run. Also with the skin he could grow and regrow cells as much as he wanted to. That would mean Wyatt would not need to keep being poked to collect blood to run various tests. It gives him the option to run what ever tests he wants as often as he wants to try and figure this puzzle out. So he was there at the circumcision waiting off to the side with a collection cup. It looked like a large to go soup cup. LOL I assume there was some kind of sterile collection cup inside the soup cup. He asked if we wanted to see it after it was done. ICK! We said no thanks. It drove me nuts the way he kept walking around and talking to us with this cup-o-foreskin in his hand! We appreciate everything you have done for us and we are happy to let you run the tests that you want to run but please take the cup with a chunk of my son in it and LEAVE. LOL It was mildly disturbing and yet funny.
So we are done with tests and doctors appointments and get to just stay home and relax this week. As long as nothing goes wrong anyway. Fingers crossed that Wyatt stays healthy and happy and we sail right through the next few weeks until his and Bryan's next appointment. Then sadly it will be time for more shots for both boys. Hopefully they both will do well and be healthy. Until then we are just going to sit back, relax, enjoy the last of our leaves and love up on our adorable little baby boy.
Wyatt had a check up with his Family Med doctor. This was his first time meeting Wyatt. He has been my doctor since I was 14 years old and Bryan's doctor since birth. So I am happy to have Wyatt under his care also. This doctor is kind and calm and has a level head. Which is something we need after all the other doctors who just jumped off the deep end and assumed the worst. Our Family Med doctor, we will call him Dr. A, looked Wyatt over. He said Wyatt looked very good. The yellowness of the jaundice was fading. Dr. A did not think we needed to run anymore blood tests to check Wyatt's bilirubin levels. YEAH! He said that he could hear the click in Wyatt's left hip. Dr. A wanted to have an ultrasound done to check on the hip. If Wyatt's hip was not formed right from being stuck breech and it was not treated it could lead to arthritis as he gets older. If something was wrong it would be a simple fix with a brace to help ball and socket form properly together. Other then his hip Wyatt looked great. He had already gained back his birth weight at just over a week old. Dr. A did not think it was necessary for Wyatt to come back at 2 weeks for the usual well child visit. He thinks Wyatt is doing great and can wait to come back for his 2 month check up instead.
After meeting with Dr. A we had an appointment with the Geneticist to discuss where to go from here with the metabolic disorder hoopla. He asked us what Dr. A said and looked Wyatt over. He agreed that Wyatt looked like he was doing well. He felt that Wyatt's glucose readings at home were high enough and steady now. We were given the ok to stop taking his blood sugar at home. YEAH! I was so happy to not have to play vampire every 6 hours and prick poor Wyatt's tiny little feet anymore. The Geneticist reminded us to make sure that Wyatt went no longer then 3-4 hours with out eating until we figure out what is going on. The newborn screening is looking more and more like it was a false positive. But until we know for sure we need to play it safe. Keep Wyatt fed and feel free to check his blood sugar anytime he seems to be acting weird.
Thursday we went in to repeat the ECG. The first one showed a small glitch. The Pediatricians at the hospital said it might be a normal thing that happens to a lot of babies who are under a week old. But they insisted that we rerun the ECG after Wyatt is 7 days old to make sure. Thankfully the test was normal and everything was ok. Wyatt has a strong and healthy heart with no heart murmur. That is a HUGE relief for me. I am so happy both my boys have healthy hearts.
After the ECG we went to have the ultrasound done. Wyatt slept through most of it. He is so mellow that way. LOL The ultrasound came normal. Wyatt's hip looks good. Apparently the click is just left over from being breech with no fluid to move around easily in at the end of my pregnancy. He will eventually outgrow it. No need for a brace or anything. WOOHOO!
Friday we went back up to the maternity ward for Wyatt's circumcision. We wanted it done when he was 3 days old like they normally would do. But after the paperwork mess that happened on day 3 and Wyatt being in the hospital canceling the appointment we had to get it done on day 4, *sigh*, it just never got done. So thankfully we finally made and kept an appointment to have him circumcised. It went smoothly. Again Wyatt slept right through it. You have to wonder how it is that he can sleep through any procedure they seem to throw at him. I am just relieved that he has that ability. LOL We had to stick around in the family room for an hour afterward. A nurse came in to check on Wyatt every 30 minutes to make sure he was not bleeding to much. Then we were able to go home. Wyatt was pretty mad for the rest of that day. I can't blame him. He was sore and tired and had been through enough since birth.
The Geneticist wanted a skin biopsy to run one last test for VLCAD. He said it would just take one stitch. That made us cringe. Ethan asked if we could instead use Wyatt's foreskin from his circumcision instead of doing yet another procedure on Wyatt. He said yes that would work fine. He just need some skin to grow cells to use for the DNA test he wanted to run. Also with the skin he could grow and regrow cells as much as he wanted to. That would mean Wyatt would not need to keep being poked to collect blood to run various tests. It gives him the option to run what ever tests he wants as often as he wants to try and figure this puzzle out. So he was there at the circumcision waiting off to the side with a collection cup. It looked like a large to go soup cup. LOL I assume there was some kind of sterile collection cup inside the soup cup. He asked if we wanted to see it after it was done. ICK! We said no thanks. It drove me nuts the way he kept walking around and talking to us with this cup-o-foreskin in his hand! We appreciate everything you have done for us and we are happy to let you run the tests that you want to run but please take the cup with a chunk of my son in it and LEAVE. LOL It was mildly disturbing and yet funny.
So we are done with tests and doctors appointments and get to just stay home and relax this week. As long as nothing goes wrong anyway. Fingers crossed that Wyatt stays healthy and happy and we sail right through the next few weeks until his and Bryan's next appointment. Then sadly it will be time for more shots for both boys. Hopefully they both will do well and be healthy. Until then we are just going to sit back, relax, enjoy the last of our leaves and love up on our adorable little baby boy.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Wyatt's first week the hardest week of my life.
Wyatt's first week has been much harder then I ever imagined it would be. It is not Wyatt's fault. He is an amazing baby. Wyatt sleeps well, eats wonderfully, only fusses when hungry, he is a very calm and alert baby. I was worried that Wyatt would be a hard baby because Bryan was such an easy baby. But Wyatt is easily following in his big brother's foot steps. Unfortunately our trip home was short lived and utterly ruined before we knew what was happening.
Wyatt and I were both doing great on Wednesday. My OB preformed an exam on me and said that I was healing well. He said that a lot of repeat c-sections heal faster and are able to go home sooner then first time mommies. I was doing just fine and he gave me the ok to go home when ever I was ready. Wyatt was examined by the pediatricians and also given a clean bill of health and the go ahead to go home a day early. We got all checked out of the hospital and gladly went home in time to meet Bryan when he came home from school. I was so happy to finally have my family of four together. Seeing Bryan hold Wyatt in our home, on my own couch brought tears to my eyes. I was finally seeing the dream that I had dreamed for the last 12 years coming true. I had a safe home, a supportive husband and now two beautiful children. What more could I have ever asked for?
But the joy was short lived. We were contacted by a Genetic Specialist from Mayo. He told us that one of the test results on Wyatt's newborn screening was elevated. It is called VLCAD and is a metabolic disorder that makes digesting fatty acids and using them for energy difficult. He wanted us to go to the ER immediately so that he could get a blood sample to rerun the test and so the doctors could do an exam based on the new information. He said we would be in and out in no time. So after only 4 hours home we rushed Wyatt to the emergency room.
I will try to make a painfully long story as short as possible. Wyatt is extremely difficult to get blood drawn from. It took a very long time to get a sample. They also did a blood glucose test as one of the symptoms of VLCAD is low blood sugar. I had been taking a nap when the doctor contacted us and it took so long to get the blood drawn that it had been several hours since Wyatt had nursed. His glucose reading was low. They gave us a small amount of time to nurse before taking a second glucose reading. After the drama of the blood draw Wyatt seemed to shut down and try to sleep. I was unable to get him latched on to nurse so that he could get anything in his belly. So of course the second glucose reading was also low. The doctor insisted that we get an IV into Wyatt immediately and start giving him glucose water to raise his levels. They spent nearly 2 hours attempting to put an IV in Wyatt's arm but were unable to get one in.
We were admitted to Pediatrics were they inserted and NG feeding tube in through Wyatt's nose. They administered 3 ounces of glucose water into Wyatt's stomach every hour. As you might have guessed between the trauma of the blood draw, attempt at the IV and the belly full of sugar water Wyatt had no urge what so ever to nurse. It had been hours since he had any breast milk. His numbers stabilized some but still were not good.
Thursday after talking to the genetic specialist and the pediatricians we were talked into letting them try the IV again. We did NOT want the glucose water to begin with and had already said no to the IV once before on Wednesday night. They were able to get a nurse from the NICU to come and she thankfully was able to get the IV in after 2 tries. Wyatt has jaundice and the doctors decided that since he was spending another night in the hospital then they might as well put him under the bililights in order to help bring his bilirubin levels down. At one point poor Wyatt had an NG tube in his nose, an IV in his hand and was naked under the lights in the bassinet. It was the most heartbreaking sight I have ever seen. It was like a nightmare.
While Wyatt was on the IV he finally was able to eat something. But he had no energy what so ever. Wyatt laid their in our arms, barely eating, not crying, not responding to touch or to pain. He was just there. Our healthy, happy, alert baby that we walked into the ER with on Wednesday had turned into what looked like a little kids limp doll by Thursday. The IV made it so he was able to start eating again but he was not strong enough or alert enough to nurse. I had started pumping breast milk Wednesday night and we were feeding Wyatt bottles of my breast milk instead.
After much argument we were able to convince the doctors to try to wean Wyatt off from the IV glucose water so that we had a chance in hell of going home anytime soon. They cut the amount in half and his glucose level dropped. It fell a lot but was still in the normal range. The over night doctor told me that he wanted to raise the glucose back up to full force. I told him no that Ethan and I did not want him on the glucose water in the first place and that we would not turn it back up now. I tried to convince him to give me an hour to feed Wyatt and recheck his glucose levels. If they still were low then we could turn the glucose up again. He said no it needed to be done now. I told him that I would not make the decision with out speaking to my husband. This was OUR son and it was OUR decision to make not mine. I wanted to call Ethan and ask him what he wanted to do. The doctor told me that we did not have time and if I waited to talk to my husband I would kill my baby. Yes you read that right. He told me that I was KILLING MY SON. I told him to leave NOW and I called Ethan to come back to the hospital. Ethan did not want to leave us there at all. But he needed to leave to get Bryan and go home. Poor Bryan's life had also been thrown into a tailspin and we wanted to at least get him home and in his own bed before school the next morning. Ethan had not even made it out of the parking ramp before I called him back in.
The doctor came in as soon as I hung up with Ethan and tried again to tell me the damage I was doing to my son by waiting. I threw him out of Wyatt's room so fast I don't think he knew what hit him! Ethan came back in and the doctor came to talk to both of us. We stood firm and told him that we never wanted the glucose water to begin with. That no one had listened to anything we said and just did what they thought was the right treatment. We told him nothing about this felt right to us. We just wanted to give Wyatt the chance to stabilize his blood sugars on his own with the help of breast milk. We told the doctor how angry and disappointed we were with his behavior and the care we had been receiving since we walked into the ER Wednesday night. I told him I had never been more insulted in my life then I was by his accusations that I did not care about my child and that if he died it would be my fault. He had no idea the hell we have been through to finally have this child and he could never understand what being Wyatt's parents meant to us. He did apologize but it is still little consolation to me.
He finally agreed to my first idea of feeding Wyatt a bottle and giving it an hour. I am sure much to his surprise Wyatt's glucose levels jumped up to the 70s. He held stable there and they slowly cut back the glucose levels through out the night. The less sugar water they pumped into him the more breast milk he drank. The more breast milk he drank the higher his glucose levels were and the more he returned to normal. We had a few levels dip down low again every time they cut back the glucose water. But Wyatt was always able to return to a high level again in 2 hours for the next reading.
Friday morning they unhooked the IV and he was on just straight breast milk. His bilirubin levels had come down some and they allowed the bililights to be turned off. It was so nice to be able to hold him again for longer then the amount of time it took to feed him a bottle. All we wanted to do was hold our son and we could not do that all Thursday night. That just made everything harder to deal with. They took 3 glucose readings after the IV glucose water was turned off and Wyatt was taking in only breast milk. All three of those readings were nice and high. They finally gave us the ok to go home. You could tell that they did not want to let us leave but no longer had a valid reason to force us to stay against our will. Which is what they had been doing since Thursday morning. There were some stipulations to us going home. Wyatt's glucose needed to be checked every 4-6 hours. Thankfully I have a meter at home and am trained in taking blood sugars. Wyatt needed to be fed every 3 hours or less. Even if that meant waking him up and forcing him to eat something. Easy things to do in exchange for the chance to go home. We were finally able to pack our stuff and go home at 4pm Friday.
They took large quantities of blood from Wyatt to run all kinds of tests. At one point his arm was taped down to a board while nurses surrounded him holding him still, getting an artery stick to draw blood from and three nurses handing off empty tubes as the filled the other ones. They did an echo cardiogram and an ECG to check his heart because the thought they heard a heart murmur and because VLCAD can cause heart issues. I have a heart murmur so it would not be far fetched for him to have one too. Wyatt does NOT have a heart murmur. Thankfully that is one less thing to worry about. They ran the test for VLCAD three times. All three times they did not get a positive result. The geneticist says there is something there but he could not figure out what it was. He called the man who designed the test and spoke to him about Wyatt's results. The maker of the test says that Wyatt does NOT have VLCAD or one of the lesser forms MCAD. He is not sure what his test results mean but he is sure that Wyatt does not have the disorder that the newborn screening read as high.
We thankfully got to spend some time at home over the weekend with Wyatt. It was extremely hard to relax after everything we had been through. But at least we were home. I finally realized that oh ya! I just had a baby and a c-section and had fallen behind on my pain medications a few times over the last few days. I was so worried about Wyatt and what was happening to him that I must have blocked out my own pain and the need to heal. I spent most of Friday night just laying in bed and crying from the pain. The pain medication I was given at the hospital was not working. Ethan rubbing my back was the only thing that calmed me enough to get any sleep. My recovery has become a little slower then it had started out because of all this. But at least I am healing now.
Bryan came home Sunday night and I thought for sure I would start sobbing when he walked through the door. I had missed him all week and was sad that he was not home over the weekend when Wyatt came home. I can not explain to you the feeling of happiness and relief to finally have both my sons home with me and my husband. Our family of four was FINALLY home all together at the same time. For more then 4 hours!
Tuesday we had check up appointments for Wyatt. First we saw our Family Med doctor. He has been my doctor since I was 14 years old and Bryan's doctor since birth. He is calm and comforting and it made me feel safe to have him take over Wyatt's care from here on out. I know that he will not over react and blow things out of proportion. He is a very level headed man. He checked Wyatt out and gave him a clean bill of health. Wyatt's skin and eyes looked good and he did not think it was necessary to run another blood test to check his bilirubin levels. His hip still clicks from being breech in the womb. We will have to look further into that with an ultrasound. But it is an easy fix and should not cause Wyatt any problems down the road. Wyatt is one week old and has already regained the weight he lost after birth. The doctor said it usually takes a baby 2 weeks to regain that weight. So Wyatt is well ahead of that and obviously eating well. He poops and pees like a champ. Normally they see like to see newborns at 4 days, 2 weeks and 2 months for check ups. Since we were in the middle of that 4 days and 2 weeks appointments and because Wyatt has already regained his birth weight we will not have to go back next week for the 2 week well child visit. The doctor thinks he will do just fine to wait for the 2 month appointment. We scheduled Wyatt's 2 month check up and Bryan's 12 year check up for the same day. So I can kill two birds with one stone and get the boys checked out and all the immunizations they need. Woohoo! Bryan is thrilled ... or not. LOL
After the Family Med appointment we headed over to meet with the Genetic Specialist. He came out to the waiting room and got us for our appointment. He looked Wyatt over and discussed with us how the Family Med appointment went. We agreed to let him take a skin sample in order to grow some tissue so that he can further check into what, if anything, Wyatt has on a DNA level. We are going to have Wyatt circumcised and he agreed to let us use the foreskin for testing instead of taking a sample from some where else that would require a stitch. We had always planned on circumcising Wyatt and this will make for one less procedure to be done on him. The geneticist said he will be waiting right there with a sample dish if need be to make sure that they don't just throw the skin sample away.
It will take roughly 5 weeks to get the results from that test back. In the mean time Wyatt is doing very well on breast milk so the doctor does not think it is necessary to put Wyatt on the special formula for babies who have metabolic disorders. Wyatt's glucose readings have been stable at home and he says we no longer need to take his blood sugar. That is a huge relief for me. Taking blood sugar readings and taking blood sugar readings from your own tiny baby are two completely different things. Even though Wyatt tolerated the testing well it still broke my heart to stick his poor little foot several times a day. And I hated the suspense and fear Ethan and I would feel every time we took a reading. If we have any reason to be concerned we will still have to take it. But at least it is not all day every day anymore.
I had such high hopes for breastfeeding this time around. I failed miserably at it with Bryan and ended up pumping breast milk and then formula feeding. Wyatt nursed wonderfully and I thought for sure it was going to be an easy go the second time around. But being in the hospital messed that up horribly. I did nurse Wyatt once after we returned home. It went well but I spent the next few hours terrified because I had no way of knowing who much milk went into him. And after spending days calculating and recording just how much milk went in and urine and poop came out of him I could not relax with out a number. Ya sure he nursed for 10 minutes. But how many ounces went in? I could NOT relax and enjoy nursing anymore. I am sad that it was ruined for me again. But I promised myself that if breast feeding did not work again I would not beat myself up this time around. I am pumping breast milk and we are all feeding it to him from a bottle. It gives us all a wonderful chance to bond more with Wyatt. The pump I had was only meant for the occasional pumping when I returned to work in August. So we purchased a new and very nice breast pump. I was amazed to go from spending an hour pumping to empty both breasts to just 10 minutes. TEN MINUTES and I am done pumping on both sides and have an ample supply of fresh breast milk to feed Wyatt. I have even been able to pump extra to start a freezer stash. No, I am not breast feeding anymore. But Wyatt is still getting breast milk. That is the most important thing to me. Look at how amazing the power of mother's milk was for Wyatt in the hospital. I truly give it up to mother nature for giving me the ability to provide something so healing to my son. While I still think formula is a perfectly good form of feeding a baby. It certainly never harmed Bryan. I will never doubt the power of breast milk again. I look forward to providing milk for Wyatt for the next year.
So Wyatt is doing well now. He is back to his healthy, happy, alert little self that we brought home from the hospital on Wednesday afternoon. I wish that we could erase the drama of the last week and just enjoy our newly expanded family. I am angry that we were put through that hell. But happy that we looked into something that could have been a problem for Wyatt. I guess I would rather all that hell be for nothing then not know and have something very bad happen to him. If nothing else the experience has brought Ethan and I closer, both of us closer to our children and brought us closer to God. Never once did we blame God or ask him why he was doing this to us. We trusted in him and prayed that everything would be ok. Thankfully our prayers were answered and Wyatt is doing well. Continued prayers that everything goes well, that Wyatt does not have any kind of metabolic disorder and that he will grow and thrive from here on out. Maybe now we can start resuming a normal life with our boys.
Wyatt and I were both doing great on Wednesday. My OB preformed an exam on me and said that I was healing well. He said that a lot of repeat c-sections heal faster and are able to go home sooner then first time mommies. I was doing just fine and he gave me the ok to go home when ever I was ready. Wyatt was examined by the pediatricians and also given a clean bill of health and the go ahead to go home a day early. We got all checked out of the hospital and gladly went home in time to meet Bryan when he came home from school. I was so happy to finally have my family of four together. Seeing Bryan hold Wyatt in our home, on my own couch brought tears to my eyes. I was finally seeing the dream that I had dreamed for the last 12 years coming true. I had a safe home, a supportive husband and now two beautiful children. What more could I have ever asked for?
But the joy was short lived. We were contacted by a Genetic Specialist from Mayo. He told us that one of the test results on Wyatt's newborn screening was elevated. It is called VLCAD and is a metabolic disorder that makes digesting fatty acids and using them for energy difficult. He wanted us to go to the ER immediately so that he could get a blood sample to rerun the test and so the doctors could do an exam based on the new information. He said we would be in and out in no time. So after only 4 hours home we rushed Wyatt to the emergency room.
I will try to make a painfully long story as short as possible. Wyatt is extremely difficult to get blood drawn from. It took a very long time to get a sample. They also did a blood glucose test as one of the symptoms of VLCAD is low blood sugar. I had been taking a nap when the doctor contacted us and it took so long to get the blood drawn that it had been several hours since Wyatt had nursed. His glucose reading was low. They gave us a small amount of time to nurse before taking a second glucose reading. After the drama of the blood draw Wyatt seemed to shut down and try to sleep. I was unable to get him latched on to nurse so that he could get anything in his belly. So of course the second glucose reading was also low. The doctor insisted that we get an IV into Wyatt immediately and start giving him glucose water to raise his levels. They spent nearly 2 hours attempting to put an IV in Wyatt's arm but were unable to get one in.
We were admitted to Pediatrics were they inserted and NG feeding tube in through Wyatt's nose. They administered 3 ounces of glucose water into Wyatt's stomach every hour. As you might have guessed between the trauma of the blood draw, attempt at the IV and the belly full of sugar water Wyatt had no urge what so ever to nurse. It had been hours since he had any breast milk. His numbers stabilized some but still were not good.
Thursday after talking to the genetic specialist and the pediatricians we were talked into letting them try the IV again. We did NOT want the glucose water to begin with and had already said no to the IV once before on Wednesday night. They were able to get a nurse from the NICU to come and she thankfully was able to get the IV in after 2 tries. Wyatt has jaundice and the doctors decided that since he was spending another night in the hospital then they might as well put him under the bililights in order to help bring his bilirubin levels down. At one point poor Wyatt had an NG tube in his nose, an IV in his hand and was naked under the lights in the bassinet. It was the most heartbreaking sight I have ever seen. It was like a nightmare.
While Wyatt was on the IV he finally was able to eat something. But he had no energy what so ever. Wyatt laid their in our arms, barely eating, not crying, not responding to touch or to pain. He was just there. Our healthy, happy, alert baby that we walked into the ER with on Wednesday had turned into what looked like a little kids limp doll by Thursday. The IV made it so he was able to start eating again but he was not strong enough or alert enough to nurse. I had started pumping breast milk Wednesday night and we were feeding Wyatt bottles of my breast milk instead.
After much argument we were able to convince the doctors to try to wean Wyatt off from the IV glucose water so that we had a chance in hell of going home anytime soon. They cut the amount in half and his glucose level dropped. It fell a lot but was still in the normal range. The over night doctor told me that he wanted to raise the glucose back up to full force. I told him no that Ethan and I did not want him on the glucose water in the first place and that we would not turn it back up now. I tried to convince him to give me an hour to feed Wyatt and recheck his glucose levels. If they still were low then we could turn the glucose up again. He said no it needed to be done now. I told him that I would not make the decision with out speaking to my husband. This was OUR son and it was OUR decision to make not mine. I wanted to call Ethan and ask him what he wanted to do. The doctor told me that we did not have time and if I waited to talk to my husband I would kill my baby. Yes you read that right. He told me that I was KILLING MY SON. I told him to leave NOW and I called Ethan to come back to the hospital. Ethan did not want to leave us there at all. But he needed to leave to get Bryan and go home. Poor Bryan's life had also been thrown into a tailspin and we wanted to at least get him home and in his own bed before school the next morning. Ethan had not even made it out of the parking ramp before I called him back in.
The doctor came in as soon as I hung up with Ethan and tried again to tell me the damage I was doing to my son by waiting. I threw him out of Wyatt's room so fast I don't think he knew what hit him! Ethan came back in and the doctor came to talk to both of us. We stood firm and told him that we never wanted the glucose water to begin with. That no one had listened to anything we said and just did what they thought was the right treatment. We told him nothing about this felt right to us. We just wanted to give Wyatt the chance to stabilize his blood sugars on his own with the help of breast milk. We told the doctor how angry and disappointed we were with his behavior and the care we had been receiving since we walked into the ER Wednesday night. I told him I had never been more insulted in my life then I was by his accusations that I did not care about my child and that if he died it would be my fault. He had no idea the hell we have been through to finally have this child and he could never understand what being Wyatt's parents meant to us. He did apologize but it is still little consolation to me.
He finally agreed to my first idea of feeding Wyatt a bottle and giving it an hour. I am sure much to his surprise Wyatt's glucose levels jumped up to the 70s. He held stable there and they slowly cut back the glucose levels through out the night. The less sugar water they pumped into him the more breast milk he drank. The more breast milk he drank the higher his glucose levels were and the more he returned to normal. We had a few levels dip down low again every time they cut back the glucose water. But Wyatt was always able to return to a high level again in 2 hours for the next reading.
Friday morning they unhooked the IV and he was on just straight breast milk. His bilirubin levels had come down some and they allowed the bililights to be turned off. It was so nice to be able to hold him again for longer then the amount of time it took to feed him a bottle. All we wanted to do was hold our son and we could not do that all Thursday night. That just made everything harder to deal with. They took 3 glucose readings after the IV glucose water was turned off and Wyatt was taking in only breast milk. All three of those readings were nice and high. They finally gave us the ok to go home. You could tell that they did not want to let us leave but no longer had a valid reason to force us to stay against our will. Which is what they had been doing since Thursday morning. There were some stipulations to us going home. Wyatt's glucose needed to be checked every 4-6 hours. Thankfully I have a meter at home and am trained in taking blood sugars. Wyatt needed to be fed every 3 hours or less. Even if that meant waking him up and forcing him to eat something. Easy things to do in exchange for the chance to go home. We were finally able to pack our stuff and go home at 4pm Friday.
They took large quantities of blood from Wyatt to run all kinds of tests. At one point his arm was taped down to a board while nurses surrounded him holding him still, getting an artery stick to draw blood from and three nurses handing off empty tubes as the filled the other ones. They did an echo cardiogram and an ECG to check his heart because the thought they heard a heart murmur and because VLCAD can cause heart issues. I have a heart murmur so it would not be far fetched for him to have one too. Wyatt does NOT have a heart murmur. Thankfully that is one less thing to worry about. They ran the test for VLCAD three times. All three times they did not get a positive result. The geneticist says there is something there but he could not figure out what it was. He called the man who designed the test and spoke to him about Wyatt's results. The maker of the test says that Wyatt does NOT have VLCAD or one of the lesser forms MCAD. He is not sure what his test results mean but he is sure that Wyatt does not have the disorder that the newborn screening read as high.
We thankfully got to spend some time at home over the weekend with Wyatt. It was extremely hard to relax after everything we had been through. But at least we were home. I finally realized that oh ya! I just had a baby and a c-section and had fallen behind on my pain medications a few times over the last few days. I was so worried about Wyatt and what was happening to him that I must have blocked out my own pain and the need to heal. I spent most of Friday night just laying in bed and crying from the pain. The pain medication I was given at the hospital was not working. Ethan rubbing my back was the only thing that calmed me enough to get any sleep. My recovery has become a little slower then it had started out because of all this. But at least I am healing now.
Bryan came home Sunday night and I thought for sure I would start sobbing when he walked through the door. I had missed him all week and was sad that he was not home over the weekend when Wyatt came home. I can not explain to you the feeling of happiness and relief to finally have both my sons home with me and my husband. Our family of four was FINALLY home all together at the same time. For more then 4 hours!
Tuesday we had check up appointments for Wyatt. First we saw our Family Med doctor. He has been my doctor since I was 14 years old and Bryan's doctor since birth. He is calm and comforting and it made me feel safe to have him take over Wyatt's care from here on out. I know that he will not over react and blow things out of proportion. He is a very level headed man. He checked Wyatt out and gave him a clean bill of health. Wyatt's skin and eyes looked good and he did not think it was necessary to run another blood test to check his bilirubin levels. His hip still clicks from being breech in the womb. We will have to look further into that with an ultrasound. But it is an easy fix and should not cause Wyatt any problems down the road. Wyatt is one week old and has already regained the weight he lost after birth. The doctor said it usually takes a baby 2 weeks to regain that weight. So Wyatt is well ahead of that and obviously eating well. He poops and pees like a champ. Normally they see like to see newborns at 4 days, 2 weeks and 2 months for check ups. Since we were in the middle of that 4 days and 2 weeks appointments and because Wyatt has already regained his birth weight we will not have to go back next week for the 2 week well child visit. The doctor thinks he will do just fine to wait for the 2 month appointment. We scheduled Wyatt's 2 month check up and Bryan's 12 year check up for the same day. So I can kill two birds with one stone and get the boys checked out and all the immunizations they need. Woohoo! Bryan is thrilled ... or not. LOL
After the Family Med appointment we headed over to meet with the Genetic Specialist. He came out to the waiting room and got us for our appointment. He looked Wyatt over and discussed with us how the Family Med appointment went. We agreed to let him take a skin sample in order to grow some tissue so that he can further check into what, if anything, Wyatt has on a DNA level. We are going to have Wyatt circumcised and he agreed to let us use the foreskin for testing instead of taking a sample from some where else that would require a stitch. We had always planned on circumcising Wyatt and this will make for one less procedure to be done on him. The geneticist said he will be waiting right there with a sample dish if need be to make sure that they don't just throw the skin sample away.
It will take roughly 5 weeks to get the results from that test back. In the mean time Wyatt is doing very well on breast milk so the doctor does not think it is necessary to put Wyatt on the special formula for babies who have metabolic disorders. Wyatt's glucose readings have been stable at home and he says we no longer need to take his blood sugar. That is a huge relief for me. Taking blood sugar readings and taking blood sugar readings from your own tiny baby are two completely different things. Even though Wyatt tolerated the testing well it still broke my heart to stick his poor little foot several times a day. And I hated the suspense and fear Ethan and I would feel every time we took a reading. If we have any reason to be concerned we will still have to take it. But at least it is not all day every day anymore.
I had such high hopes for breastfeeding this time around. I failed miserably at it with Bryan and ended up pumping breast milk and then formula feeding. Wyatt nursed wonderfully and I thought for sure it was going to be an easy go the second time around. But being in the hospital messed that up horribly. I did nurse Wyatt once after we returned home. It went well but I spent the next few hours terrified because I had no way of knowing who much milk went into him. And after spending days calculating and recording just how much milk went in and urine and poop came out of him I could not relax with out a number. Ya sure he nursed for 10 minutes. But how many ounces went in? I could NOT relax and enjoy nursing anymore. I am sad that it was ruined for me again. But I promised myself that if breast feeding did not work again I would not beat myself up this time around. I am pumping breast milk and we are all feeding it to him from a bottle. It gives us all a wonderful chance to bond more with Wyatt. The pump I had was only meant for the occasional pumping when I returned to work in August. So we purchased a new and very nice breast pump. I was amazed to go from spending an hour pumping to empty both breasts to just 10 minutes. TEN MINUTES and I am done pumping on both sides and have an ample supply of fresh breast milk to feed Wyatt. I have even been able to pump extra to start a freezer stash. No, I am not breast feeding anymore. But Wyatt is still getting breast milk. That is the most important thing to me. Look at how amazing the power of mother's milk was for Wyatt in the hospital. I truly give it up to mother nature for giving me the ability to provide something so healing to my son. While I still think formula is a perfectly good form of feeding a baby. It certainly never harmed Bryan. I will never doubt the power of breast milk again. I look forward to providing milk for Wyatt for the next year.
So Wyatt is doing well now. He is back to his healthy, happy, alert little self that we brought home from the hospital on Wednesday afternoon. I wish that we could erase the drama of the last week and just enjoy our newly expanded family. I am angry that we were put through that hell. But happy that we looked into something that could have been a problem for Wyatt. I guess I would rather all that hell be for nothing then not know and have something very bad happen to him. If nothing else the experience has brought Ethan and I closer, both of us closer to our children and brought us closer to God. Never once did we blame God or ask him why he was doing this to us. We trusted in him and prayed that everything would be ok. Thankfully our prayers were answered and Wyatt is doing well. Continued prayers that everything goes well, that Wyatt does not have any kind of metabolic disorder and that he will grow and thrive from here on out. Maybe now we can start resuming a normal life with our boys.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Wyatt Larry Has Arrived!!!
Wyatt Larry was born on June 7, 2010 at 10:43 am. 37 weeks gestation. He weighed 6 pounds 9 ounces and was 19 inches long.
We checked into labor and delivery early Monday morning. It took a long time to get us back because anesthesia was backed up. Then it took forever to start the surgery because they had a heck of a time getting my spinal block in. I remember they had a really hard time also when I had my c-section with Bryan. Guess my back just stinks for that kind of stuff. Once I was all set up they went and got Ethan and sat him by my head. Wyatt was born about 15 minutes later. They lowered the sheet so that we could see and to my surprise Ethan jumped right up and started taking pictures. I thought it was funny since he said he didn't want to see anything on the other side of the screen up until that moment. He got some great pictures of Wyatt as he emerged butt first of course. Ethan followed Wyatt over to the bassinet and trimmed his cord. It took a little over an hour to sew me back up. I got pretty nauseous and almost threw up while they were working on me. Me and anesthesia just don't get a long well. They gave me more meds to settle my stomach down again and then I was fine. I got to watch Wyatt while Ethan held him. He was very alert and looking around. Wyatt was sucking his fingers and rooting around. He came out more then ready to nurse.
Wyatt did have some funny looking legs when he was first born. I would post a picture but they almost scare me. LOL His feet had been up by his face for months now. And they wanted to stay that way after he was born. LOL After a few hours he was fine. The pediatricians stopped by this morning to check on his hips and they were doing much better this morning. The clicking in his hips was gone and he is pretty good about getting his legs to stay down now. They said it was pretty normal and he should be just fine.
Other then his hips Wyatt has not had any problems. He latches on pretty well. Wyatt nursed fantastically the first day. Now I am having trouble keeping him awake so that he is not just snacking all day and all night. That made for a long first night. LOL He is pooping like a pro and I am so glad the nurses are cleaning those ones up. LOL
I am doing pretty well already. I have gotten up and been out walking. They let me eat right away as long as I promised to take it slow. No problems with eating or drinking. They unhooked me from all the dodads and monitors now. My catheter is out and I am getting up to use the bathroom pretty well on my own. It is amazing to not have to pee every 30 minutes or so! LOL I am getting ready to go take a shower and can not wait. I remember how fantastic that felt after Bryan was born. I am hoping to get to go home tomorrow afternoon. But I won't push it either. If I need to stay until Thursday afternoon I will. But I would really love to get us home and get back into my own bed.
Here are a few pictures of Wyatt from his first day in the world!
37 Weeks
Today is my last full day of this pregnancy. I am 37 weeks pregnant and this baby is coming out Monday morning. I am more excited then I have been about anything in a very long time. I went back and forth on how I wanted to spend my last day. I could go into uber nesting mode and make this place spotless. And myself exhausted so that I might actually get some sleep. Or I could lounge around all day and do nothing but gestate and pig out while I still had a good excuse to do so. I picked some where in the middle. I did some light housekeeping. A little laundry and I picked up the house a bit. I cleand out my car so that it was ready for the ride home in a few days. I told Ethan he had to bring my Explorer cause there was no way I was going to try and get in and out of his Jetta after having surgery. That car is just way to low to the ground. I was up early this morning. I have had a strange need to be up early since I went on maternity leave. I can't explain it. But I wake up anywhere between 6 am - 9 am and acan't go back to sleep to save my life. This has become a very strange phenomenom since I have always been a sleep until noon kinda girl. But lately I have enjoyed the peace of the early morning when every one else is still in bed or upstairs. I laid back down and took a nap for 2 hours in the afternoon. It felt good to just lay down and rest. When you are this pregnant you don't sleep through the night and you just can't get much rest. And it doesn't get any better with a newborn around. LOL I put my feet up, played on the computer, watched my Netflix movie and lifted my shirt to watch one last good show that Wyatt put on after lunch. They boys worked hard outside all day so I pretty much had the house to myself to just relax and enjoy. I think that is the first time I have watched a horror movie in the middle of the day in a very long time. After the boys came in I went out and got us some supper. We munched on chinese food and watched tv. Bryan got to play WoW for a while and got himself to 80! WOOHOO for him! Ethan randomly mentioned cake at one point and I went into full blown cake and milk pregnancy craving. Luckily for me my dear sweet husband obliged and headed to the grocery store for one last pregnancy craving run.It was very nummy. And now I don't have to worry if there is milk in the house while I am in the hospital.
I was given special antimicrobial soap to wash with the night before and the morning of the surgery. They don't know if it really helps to avoid infection or not. But heck it is worth a shot. I was surprised to see that it was cherry red in color. I don't really know what I was expecting. But I guess RED was not it. LOL It smelled mildly medicine like with a hint of perfume to it. I did not think it would be that hard to wash that area. I haven't seen hide nor hair of that side of my belly in months. And I guess I haven't spent much time trying to wash it either. LOL Luckily for me I have my previous c-section scar to guide me. I just washed the general area around my scar and halfway up my belly. Nobody told me exactly where to wash with this stuff. The pamphlet says the area of surgery. So I am guessing around my scar is as good of a spot as any down there. I have to repeat the process again in the morning. I plan on getting up at 5:30 am so that I can fit a shower in again before Bryan gets up at 6 am. Maybe if I am lucky my hair will have driend from this shower by the time I take my shower in the morning. LOL That is a down side of having long and thick har.
It is a very bitter sweet night tonight. I am looking forward to being done with pregnancy. 9 months is a very long time to be pregnant. And as they grow it wears on a person's body. Everything aches, you are tired all the time, nothing in your body works right anymor, my allergies have gone haywire, my pelvis is in so much pain it hurts to even walk, I have had morning sickness, restless leg syndrome, carpal tunnel and had the poo scared out of me more then anyone needs in the last few weeks. It has been a crazy ride and I am ready for it to be over. But of course I will miss all the good things. I love feeling him move inside of my belly. When he is not two stepping on my bladder anyway. I enjoy listening to his heartbeat and movements on my doppler. It is fun to watch my belly wiggle around while he puts on a show. I enjoy rubbing my belly and having Ethan lotion it up for me. There is a closeness that I share with this baby that no one else gets to experience. I will miss all of that. But I am so looking forward to him being here. I want to see him and hold him in my arms. I look forward to sharing this experience with Ethan. I can't wait to put him in his crib for the first time. There is this whole room full of baby stuff that I can't wait to use. I want my child here safe and sound and healthy. It has been a very long road and I can't wait to move on to the next step.
I am a lot calmer then I thought I would be. Maybe that will change in the morning. I don't know. This is my second time so maybe that brings some calmness. I am not nervous about the surgery. I am a little worried about pain management afterward. But I know there are plenty of pain medications. I just need to speak up this time and not try to play the hero. Breastfeeding does make me nervous. It did NOT go well with Bryan at all and we were both miserable. Bryan and I both were much happier once I started pumping breastmilk and bottle feeding him. I truly want to make the effort this time to breastfeed. And luckily I have a longer maternity leave this time to work on it. Not to mention a supportive husband. Support was something I was SERIOUSLY lacking last time. And I know that I can pump breastmilk because I did it with Bryan. So there is always that to fall back onto. I won't formula feed this time around at all. Unless there is some medical reason that we have to. Fingers crossed we will not have any issues and Wyatt will latch on like a champ.
We are ready to go. I just need to eat a little something tonight. I can't eat after midnight. And it will be a bit before I can eat anything in the hospital. Thankfully for me the rules have changed. I was not allowed to eat solid food until the day I went home with Bryan. There is only so much jello and tea one person can stand. Now the rule is I just have to fart. Once I can pass gas they will allow me to eat solid food again. So I will be doing my best to fart with out blowing my stitches out. LOL Pleasant thought isn't it? I don't care cause I want real food! LOL
Hopefully everything will go well and we will have our baby in our arms in no time.
I was given special antimicrobial soap to wash with the night before and the morning of the surgery. They don't know if it really helps to avoid infection or not. But heck it is worth a shot. I was surprised to see that it was cherry red in color. I don't really know what I was expecting. But I guess RED was not it. LOL It smelled mildly medicine like with a hint of perfume to it. I did not think it would be that hard to wash that area. I haven't seen hide nor hair of that side of my belly in months. And I guess I haven't spent much time trying to wash it either. LOL Luckily for me I have my previous c-section scar to guide me. I just washed the general area around my scar and halfway up my belly. Nobody told me exactly where to wash with this stuff. The pamphlet says the area of surgery. So I am guessing around my scar is as good of a spot as any down there. I have to repeat the process again in the morning. I plan on getting up at 5:30 am so that I can fit a shower in again before Bryan gets up at 6 am. Maybe if I am lucky my hair will have driend from this shower by the time I take my shower in the morning. LOL That is a down side of having long and thick har.
It is a very bitter sweet night tonight. I am looking forward to being done with pregnancy. 9 months is a very long time to be pregnant. And as they grow it wears on a person's body. Everything aches, you are tired all the time, nothing in your body works right anymor, my allergies have gone haywire, my pelvis is in so much pain it hurts to even walk, I have had morning sickness, restless leg syndrome, carpal tunnel and had the poo scared out of me more then anyone needs in the last few weeks. It has been a crazy ride and I am ready for it to be over. But of course I will miss all the good things. I love feeling him move inside of my belly. When he is not two stepping on my bladder anyway. I enjoy listening to his heartbeat and movements on my doppler. It is fun to watch my belly wiggle around while he puts on a show. I enjoy rubbing my belly and having Ethan lotion it up for me. There is a closeness that I share with this baby that no one else gets to experience. I will miss all of that. But I am so looking forward to him being here. I want to see him and hold him in my arms. I look forward to sharing this experience with Ethan. I can't wait to put him in his crib for the first time. There is this whole room full of baby stuff that I can't wait to use. I want my child here safe and sound and healthy. It has been a very long road and I can't wait to move on to the next step.
I am a lot calmer then I thought I would be. Maybe that will change in the morning. I don't know. This is my second time so maybe that brings some calmness. I am not nervous about the surgery. I am a little worried about pain management afterward. But I know there are plenty of pain medications. I just need to speak up this time and not try to play the hero. Breastfeeding does make me nervous. It did NOT go well with Bryan at all and we were both miserable. Bryan and I both were much happier once I started pumping breastmilk and bottle feeding him. I truly want to make the effort this time to breastfeed. And luckily I have a longer maternity leave this time to work on it. Not to mention a supportive husband. Support was something I was SERIOUSLY lacking last time. And I know that I can pump breastmilk because I did it with Bryan. So there is always that to fall back onto. I won't formula feed this time around at all. Unless there is some medical reason that we have to. Fingers crossed we will not have any issues and Wyatt will latch on like a champ.
We are ready to go. I just need to eat a little something tonight. I can't eat after midnight. And it will be a bit before I can eat anything in the hospital. Thankfully for me the rules have changed. I was not allowed to eat solid food until the day I went home with Bryan. There is only so much jello and tea one person can stand. Now the rule is I just have to fart. Once I can pass gas they will allow me to eat solid food again. So I will be doing my best to fart with out blowing my stitches out. LOL Pleasant thought isn't it? I don't care cause I want real food! LOL
Hopefully everything will go well and we will have our baby in our arms in no time.
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