So, starting last Thursday, Jack has been snotty. Not with an attitude (give that a few years!) but like snot in his little nose! It's terrible to listen to him breathe. So, Friday I called the Dr and they said to squirt some saline up his nose and suction it out with this torture device.
Well, I didn't feel like it was getting any better, so I called again on Monday and they said to go ahead and bring him in. So we went in Monday morning, and after being in the waiting room for an hour, I had already decided that he wasn't nearly as sick as the rest of these kids and I should have just stayed home! But oh well, we were here, so we waited.
I told the Dr when he came in that this was probably more of a first time mom visit than an actual sick visit...but he's nice and just laughed as he checked out the little one. Jack's 4 month appt was scheduled for Wednesday, but since we were already there, he went ahead and did the 4 month assessments! Good times. I LOVE finding out how much weight he has gained and how much he's grown! And since his last visit, we've done the formula transition, translating to mean, Jack has actually gotten to eat for the past 2 months! No more trying to get water from a rock, so to speak...
So, he weighs 13lbs 15oz which is great! He's in the 25th percentile for his age. That's up from the 10th percentile at 2 months!!!! So he's gained 4 lbs 7oz! Yay! He's also grown an inch and a half, which is great. They also measure the circumference of their head each time. Until now, I didn't know why...
So they measure his head and it's like 17 inches or something, which puts him in the 90th percentile. I'm thinking, oh, how cute! He has a big head! It's to hold all of that knowledge! Well, apparently, it's not all big head fun and games. The Dr was a little concerned. I guess the past few times, his head has been closer to the 50th or 60th percentile and this was quite a jump. He told me not to worry (um, ok) but he was going to set up an appointment at Cook's to have a sonogram done of his head, just to make sure everything is ok.
Since Jack still has his soft spot, a sonogram is pretty easy. Had we waited until his 6 month appt to see the progress of it all, he would have to have an MRI done, which they have to be sedated for. Not fun. But with the sonogram, they can see just what they can see with the MRI, so here we go.
Wednesday afternoon Jeff, Jack and I made our way up to Cook's. I have to say, we were super nervous. The way I know I'm nervous is I want to eat. I told Jeff on Tuesday night that I wanted to go eat a big ole hamburger with extra fries and ranch dressing to dip them in. And while that sounds very good, that was totally nerves. And no, I didn't get one.
We learned through all of this that the brain produces spinal fluid and there's a tube that drains the spinal fluid from the head down to the spine. The concern was that Jack's tube was blocked and the spinal fluid was just staying around his brain. Which would not be good.
Jack wasn't a huge fan of the sonogram on the head...he pretty much screamed and wiggled the whole time as I tried to hold him still so the tech could get some good pictures. And I couldn't help but wonder how parents who have sick children do it. What would it be like to see your child in pain all the time? Walking down the halls of Cook's and seeing all of those hurting children...broke my heart. I couldn't help but wonder if Cook's would be our new home. And that was super scary.
Knowing that God is good and no matter what He will take care gave us some comfort, but waiting for the results was not easy. We thought we might hear from the Dr on Wednesday afternoon, but didn't. Thursday morning I was at Jack's playgroup when I got the phone call. Dr F started off by saying he'd gotten the results yesterday afternoon, but wasn't sure about some of the wording on the report and wanted to consult another radiologist and a neurologist before calling. My heart was racing, as you can imagine! His next words were, "Now, I know your heart is racing so before I tell you anything else, I want you to know that Jack is ok." Whew. There was no blockage in the drainage tube, which is fabulous news. There was an "incidental finding" of a little extra fluid in his head, but both the radiologist and neurologist concurred that it was nothing to worry about. He said we would proceed as if everything is ok and check again at his 6 month appt. If his head size, percentile wise, has increased, he would bring him in for an MRI, but until then, he said not to worry.
I have to say, I'm relieved, but not quite over my worry. Again, I know God is good, and worrying does no good, but I still worry. Jack is right where he needs to be developmentally, which makes me feel good, and has no other symptoms of anything being wrong!
I guess a mom just worries. But today, praise the Lord for my precious, healthy little boy!
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