I turned 10 months old!
Doc Visits
2/23 Eye Exam. He looks perfactamundo and our next appointment is a YEAR from now. Or at least I thought. Kaz’s broken blood vessel in his right eye (click on the pic to see it) has popped up 2 more times since this appointment and now the opthamologist wants to see him next month to “check out some things”. Normally this wouldn’t be a concern but 3 times in the same eye…perhaps an “ologist” should take a gander. Hey, better safe than sorry.The great Synagis battle of February 2009 is now over and the winner is, by a long shot (ha ha I made a funny and didn’t do it on purpose), KAZ! On March 11th Kaz finally got his Synagis shot. We’ll have to wait and see about April. RSV season typically only lasts through March but I guess CA is experiencing a high concentration of cases so the CDC may come out and say to extend it. Which means the battle starts again. Oh yay, cause we’ve got nothing better to worry about. For instance….
3/6 Children’s Hospital Sleep Test Results
I got the results today (3/30) and I won’t drag it out. Let me give it to you strait – Kaz still needs to be on the O2. That’s the bottom line. Here’s how the results shook out.
During the sleep test Kaz’s oxygenation levels were typically between 92–94% which is lower than they would like for a child his age but if we compare this sleep test to the last, it’s good news – ahhhhhhhhhh a little sigh of relief.
September 2009 vs. March 2010
- Central Apneas = 93 vs. 52
- Periodic Breathing Episodes = 34 vs. 28
- Obstructive Hypopnias (Obstructed breathing) = 3 per hour vs. 2.75 per hour
- During REM sleep Kaz has a tendency to desat to a level that is concerning 5% of the time. For an adult that may be okay but not for our little guy.
- No hypoventilation (no CO2 elevation)
- Kaz is currently on ¾ of a liter of O2 – during the test at this level there were no desats. GREAT, we can lower the oxygen. WOAH Nelly! We could lower the oxygen but there is a bigger picture to look at. He’s doing well at ¾ of a liter. It won’t hurt him, if anything it will help strengthen his lungs in the long run by eliminating the need for them to work harder when he desats. Ultimately the risk, low oxygen can mean pulmonary hypertension which is no bueno. So ¾ of a liter it will stay.
- It’s a central breathing kinda thing. It’s neurological. “Huh?” Brain immaturity. “What are you saying?!” Don’t panic! I need you to take a deep breath, exhale, and smile because developmentally he is fabulous!!! He’s growing beyond his corrected age and his motor skills (according to the occupational therapist analysis which happened on 3/17) are of NO concern. He’s doing great for his corrected age for both his fine and gross motor skills. Neurologically they think his brain to lung function connection is a little immature. Keep reading, it’ll be ok.
- I know you are all asking the same question I did – what can we do to “cure” him? Give him a dose of time and keep him on the O2 – the doc very confidently said she anticipates he will grow out of it. He will MATURE.
- Currently he wears the oxygen only overnight. Which she said was “okay”. Well, ok isn’t good enough so of course I pressed for some clarification. She shared that if it didn’t interrupt his naps and if he was cooperative, she would encourage us to try to put on him during his nap times as well. Again, read the “Why is this happening?” section for the rationale.
- We will do another sleep test in 6 months to see where we’re at – September 2010.
- The fam is planning a trip to Myrtle Beach in September so I asked the doc about traveling again and she said he could with an in-flight oxygen tank and only after an altitude simulation test was conducted to calibrate his true oxygen needs while in flight. This means a month before our trip we will have to take the test and see about a travel oxygen machine for the mee mees time. We’ll keep ya’all posted and we’ll be sure to bring the sunscreen.
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3/20 Oma & Dzia Dzia flew in from WI to see our little superhero and love up all on him. It was a really good vacation for all. We didn’t do anything “special”. We visited, chatted, ate, and snuggled the big 22 pounder. Aaron and I were amazed at how much it seemed he grew and developed within the week. Wow, when you are not distracted by all the “have to’s” in life it’s incredible what you notice.
Kaz ate it all up. He really seemed to love being fed by his Oma and his Dzia Dzia putting him to bed. It’s moments like these that feed your soul. I’m contently fat on love and I don’t care if I ever shed a pound.
Firsts
Late February Kaz started swimming lessons. Unfortunately it's an indoor pool so you really can't get any good pics. Apparently he's a natural (kicking, stroking, swimming under water - yes, I had to purposely dunk my baby under water - not cool man but I did it!) which is somewhat ironic considering he didn't come into this world swimming.
Other firsts include his first trip to the Arboretum, the dog park; his first time on a swing (he wasn't too keen on this - he was more interested in the little ladies in the swing next to him - OF COURSE), and his first time in a walker. The OT said with close supervision and for a few minutes a day it might be a good thing to develop his gross motor skills. Did I mention with CLOSE supervison. How'd he do - uh look at the pic, he fricken LOVED it!
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Just for Fun
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These are Kaz's insta-buddies. All born within a month of eachother and the gorgeous little doll in the middle in the absolute cutest outfit I've ever seen is Maysen and they are already celebrating her 1st birthday together. Kaz will be 11 months tomorrow and my head is spinning just thinking about it. The dashing fellow in yellow is Caleb and his birtday is 30 days after Kaz's.
Weren't we all pregnant just a second ago talking about our "birth plans" - HA! Look at how blessed we are ladies!
