Five Year Check-up...

Alexander had his Five Year check-up appointment today with Dr. M.

He passed everything with flying colors - hearing, vision, and showing off his sense of humor!
Dr. M was impressed with his growth and seemed to really enjoy the conversation the two had. Dr. M asked him about school, activities, what he likes to play with. At one point he asked him what he likes to eat and Alexander responded with 'broccoli & carrots'. Dr. M asked me if I prepped him for the questions. It didn't look any better for me when Alexander "whispered" to me to make sure we tell Dr. M about all the vitamins he takes. Needless to say it was a great visit, Dr. M is pleased with his progress and Alexander is one healthy, happy little boy!

4 Year Check-up

Today Alexander had his 4-yr checkup with Dr. M.

Per usual, I was telling Alexander ahead of time that we would be going to see Dr. M for a check-up so that he wouldn't freak out the minute I pulled into the parking lot. We talked about it frequently so that he knew it was happening soon. And he seemed okay with it....

However has soon as I parked the car, he started to get nervous and his eyes filled up with tears. Thankfully I was able to distract him before he started to break down. We got inside and I was expecting him to freak out, but after a few small whimpers he seemed just fine. We saw Dr. M walk by and Alexander immediately starting talking to him.

After a little bit of waiting, it was our turn. Alexander ran ahead of me right behind Dr. M and couldn't wait to get in the room. First stop was height/weight check. He hopped right up on the scale and then stood properly with his back to the wall to be measured. He even had the perfect manners in regards to asking questions. (who was this child?)

His weight was 35 lbs and 41". Dr. M actually made Alexander go back to check the height as he couldn't believe that he grew more than 4" in a year. But he was pleasantly happy that Alexander seems to have grown into the right size for his age. No longer is he in a low percentile for his height/weight. He's in the 50-75% percentile for Height and 25-50% for Weight.

He asked Alexander questions about what he eats, how he sleeps, what he likes to do, what he watches for tv, etc. (Thankfully Alexander only gave Dr. M one answer about tv rather than 5-10 possible answers). Dr. M was impressed with Alexander's ability to answer questions and was even more surprised that he knew his right & left and he could even give Dr. M driving directions.

Dr. M then did the check-up - eye test was cute (he has really good vision) and he did well, spine is straight (wooo), and Alexander did very well following what Dr. M asked him to do. The only thing Dr. M checked a few times was the hearing test. His left ear was fine but it seems as if there was a bit of fluid in the right ear. He asked if Alexander had a cold recently and he hasn't really hadn't anything besides a little bit of sniffling, etc. But just to check, we're going to go back in a few weeks to repeat the hearing test.

The last part of the check-up was shots. I explained to Alexander that he might have shots during this visit and he asked Dr. M if we could skip that part. However Dr. M had to explain that it was very important so we could keep him safe and healthy. Dr. M did then tell him that he could yell, scream, and cry because it's okay to not like shots. Alexander was fine sitting on my lap but just kept asking not to have any. Dr. M then gave him the first one, which was fine. But as he was finishing the first one was when Alexander started to cry. He gave him the other 2 and Alexander cried a little bit more (still not a lot of crying). But by the last/4th one Alexander was sad saying he was all done. It went by quickly and once Dr. M was finished he explained that because he did such a great job, he doesn't have to get any more shots like this until he is 12 years old. He then made Dr. M count how many years away that is....overall Alexander did very well while getting his shots and only cried a bit. And the crying stopped pretty soon after too.

So all in all, it was a very successful visit with a very well behaved little guy!

I'll update how the next hearing test goes although I/Dr. M are not concerned as it's probably just a bit of fluid from a small cold.

Flu Shot...

This afternoon Alexander had his yearly flu shot. I had been prepping him that we were going to Dr. M's office for a flu check-up and he seemed fine with it. In fact he was even excited we were going. I didn't tell him about the shot until a bit before and even still seemed fine.

We were going to see Dr. D this time and Alexander was super excited. We played with his cars in the waiting room without incidents. It was our time and Dr. D came out to get us. She was very friendly and Alexander couldn't wait to follow her into her room.

We explained to him that he was getting a flu check-up and that he was going to get a shot in his leg. "Oh Mom" And with that it was over - it was quick.

And while he didn't actually cry, his eyes did well up and he looked so sad. Even Dr. D said that it was those moments that broke her heart where the kids didn't cry but looked so sad. Alexander just sat on my lap and then said "but Mommy it hurts". So Dr. D rubbed his thigh a bit & put on a band-aid and in about 1 minute, he was good as new.

I even got him to stand on the scale (a whopping 33.6 lbs)!

After the doctor visit, we went to McDonald's for a little treat and headed home. He fell asleep on the way home which was probably because he didn't nap at school. I expected to have a long night with him during bedtime since he fell asleep but nope...I was able to get him partially changed and in bed. He ended up sleeping for almost 11 1/2 hours!

3 Year Check-Up

This afternoon, Alexander had his 3-year check up with Dr. M which was much improved over the 2-year check up.

Due to his anxiety about going to Dr. M's, Mommy & Alexander have been doing a lot of reading "Elmo, It's Check-Up Time" to get him prepared for the check-up. We've also been using the doctor kit to listen to his heart, check his ears & eyes. He was very excited to go to Dr. M's the days leading up to the appointment, even that morning when I dropped him off at school.

However, when I picked him that quickly changed. He kept saying how much he wanted to go home and by the time we drove down the street to Dr. M's office, he was in tears. He kept clinging on to me and would not let me sit or move around in the waiting room. He kept just saying over and over as he was crying "Mommy, I want to go home now please" which was cute & sad all at the same time.

Finally Dr. M came out to get us and Alexander immediately stopped crying. I wasn't sure if that meant he was going to freak out but he seemed okay. Dr. M asked him if he wanted to bring in the big panda and that intrigued Alexander. He slid right down and picked up the panda (which was almost as tall as he was) and brought him into Dr. M's room. Once in the room, he was fine! You'd never know that he was crying & upset.

He was so excited to show Dr. M his Elmo doctor book and how Elmo gets a check-up. He even showed him his dentist gloves and how Mommy uses them when she checks his back & tummy. He let Dr. M do the full check-up and even hopped onto the scale to see how much he's grown. He's 30 lbs & 36". His percentiles are also pretty low -15% percentile for height and 31% percentile for weight.

We talked about eating habits, sleeping habits and considering Alexander was talking to Dr. M the whole time he was able to see his speech. I did mention that most times Alexander doesn't use his "S" or "F" letters although he can use them when he's not being lazy. We got the thumbs up re: eating and as for sleeping, Dr. M said that if he gets out of his bed during bedtime to let him get out & cry but not to give in and go upstairs...which made me feel better as that's what I've been wanting to do.

Overall a good visit with Dr. M despite the crying moments in the waiting room...

Big Week...

We have a very big week coming up!

Not only is it St. Patrick's Day & Alexander's birthday party but we have Alexander's 3-yr check-up with Dr. M. To top it all off...Alexander is going to the dentist for the first time!

I've been doing a lot of prepping him for both the dentist appointment and his check-up. I've been telling him what Dr. M will do by checking his back, listening to his heart and looking in his ears. And so far he hasn't said "no Dr. M" which is progress. Each night this week that we brush teeth I explain that we have to make sure we have nice clean teeth because we're going to see the dentist next week and he's going to look in his mouth. He seems more excited that the dentist is going to have purple gloves.

I don't know if the dentist does have purple gloves or not...

I'll keep everyone posted on how both appointments go & what Alexander's reaction is.

Flu Shot - Part II...

Tonight, we had Alexander's follow-up appt for his flu shot. Judging by how the last appt went, I was a bit nervous but also sad for the little guy.

After I picked him up from school and he immediately asked if we were going to Target. I told him I needed to stop somewhere else first and his immediate response was "no, no Dr M". It AMAZED me that he remembered that is how I mentioned going to the appt last night. He didn't cry but he was whimpering & kept saying no.

I pulled up to the office and he sounded very sad with his whimpers but didn't cry. We walked inside, still no crying. We've already made a huge improvement over last appt! He let me talk to the front desk, and sit in the waiting room without crying or yelling to leave/go home.

Lee (Dr. M's wife) came in to say hi and Alexander did not cry. Then Dr. M came to get us and although Alexander held on to my arm pretty tightly, still no crying! Dr. M looked at me with surprised eyes! We get into the room and Alexander started to whimper again but not fully crying. I pointed out Dr. M's stethoscope which is also green. Then A pointed out Dr. M's mustache & glasses.

Then it was time to for this shot and this is when he started crying only because I was holding down his arms. But it was over before you knew it and Dr. M was putting on a blue band-aid and Alexander was THRILLED! Then he stood on my lap so we could get his pants back up, and he looked at Dr. M and said "thank you!" and slid down. Then he waved and said "Bye Dr M".

Dr. M was SHOCKED, reached over to give Alexander a hug & called him precious! Alexander was very polite & nice and waving to Dr. M as we were going...so hopefully next time he has to go he'll remember he wasn't scared last time.

It's that Time of the Year...

Normally, our doctor is relaxed about flu shots, doesn't really push them, as he feels they are more useful to the extreme cases rather than the average-joe-kids. Due to the current cold/flu season already kicking in and the concerns of H1N1, I spoke to the Dr to get their thoughts on whether or not we should get Alexander a flu shot this year. We have not given him flu shots in the past. The office said they were very supportive of parents who wanted to get the flu shots for their kids, especially with kids who have breathing/asthmatic issues. Since Alexander fell into that category, they strongly suggested we get it done for him.

So this afternoon, I took Alexander to get his flu shot with Dr. M. I picked Alexander up from school and explained that we could go to Target to get a book but I first had to stop at the doctor's office. He immediately knew. He got all upset and said he didn't want to stop at the office just go to Target. Once I pulled into the parking lot, he was sobbing & couldn't see out his eyes. I was hoping because we were on time that the wait wouldn't be bad but unfortunately Dr. M was in with someone. We ended up waiting for 20 LONG minutes, all of which Alexander was terribly upset & wanted to leave.

As soon as Dr. M came out to get us, Alexander freaked out. He hated going into his room and wouldn't let me sit down at first. He also fought me trying to get his pants off so much so that Dr. M had to help. Thankfully the shot itself was super quick and as soon as the bandaid was about to go on, Alexander was all smiles. He let him put on the bandaid, pull up his pants, and then he slid off my lap and said: "Okay, Dr, thank you have a nice day" just as if nothing happened. It was almost hysterical.

We were walking out and Lee just laughed at me and how quickly he rebounds! Unfortunately the flu shot is a two-parter so we'll have to go back in a month to finish. Hopefully next time there will be less waiting!

Calm Before the Storm...

Here is a picture of Alexander waiting patiently in the ER. This was one of the few moments where he was not bawling his eyes out. I'm sorry for the lack of details but will be posting the whole story later tonight once I get home.

Long story, short: he fell at school, was in a lot of pain, went to the doctor, then to the ER. Got X-rays, nothing broken, just a sad, sore little boy.

Doctor Appointment: Details...

This morning we had Alexander's 2-year check up. It didn't go that well. Alexander was upset, in the car, on the way to the appt, so even though he was calm by the time we got there as soon as he saw Dr. M he started to cry & grab on to me with a deathgrip.

It was our last group visit and unfortunately it was only Alexander and Lucas. Drew didn't make it and Kate dropped out before our last group visit. Lucas is very cute and has gotten pretty tall. Despite Lucas' height & sleeping habits, it appeared that Alexander & Lucas were pretty much on par with each other with eating, language, playing, etc.

However, Alexander & Lucas did not get a chance to play together as Alexander clung on to me, crying, the whole time. I had to stand and rock him otherwise he would go into fits. At one point, he calmed down and just snuggled up with me. And he was fine if Lee (Dr. M's wife) would speak or touch his foot, but if Dr. M tried to come near me, Alexander freaked.

It was time for Alexander to be weighed/measured and I thought it might go okay as Alexander had been calm for a bit. Nope! He struggled every time Dr. M touched him to listen to his breathing or look at his ears. We tried to get his height but he kept squirming, and trying to get an "accurate" weight was darn-near impossible. So we basically have estimates...which means the trying to figure out the height when the child is 2 may not necessarily be accurate in Alexander's case.

Once Dr. M was done, I put Alexander's shoes back on and it was as if Dr. M vanished (although he was still very much in the same room)!! Alexander was all smiles, talking to Lucas and Lee. He was telling me to put my coat on, and he was getting the bag off the couch ready to go. He waved, said bye, blew kisses. Everyone was in amazement at this "new" persona considering that he was so upset for 45 minutes! He even gave Dr. M a high-five! Who knows...

Here are the approximate details (reminder: approximate not actual)
Height: 33 1/2 inches
Weight: 26 lbs

2 Year Check-Up...

Today, Alexander has his 2-year check-up which is also the last group session we'll have. From now on, Alexander will have his own appointments.

My prediction: Alexander will freak out when he sees Dr. M. He won't want to be weighed or measured. However if he does allow it... Weight - 26 lbs 2 oz; Height - 34 1/4 inches. Again, this is purely my guess-timate.

The only way it will happen is if one of the other little boys goes first and Alexander has not already gotten upset.

Keep your fingers crossed...

Sickie...

Tuesday afternoon, I got the call that Alexander had a fever of 101.5 and had to be picked up. This was the description I was given "He was clammy & cold and had no energy". But since it's the school rule to be picked up with a fever, we had to go get him.

He was napping so thankfully they let him finish his nap before we had to get him. Dan picked him and hung out with him that afternoon at home. I called the doctor and they didn't have an opening slot until 5:20pm and it didn't make sense to wait 2 1/2 hours or go home and come back, so I made an appointment for Wednesday morning. Might as well get the little guy checked out...

Alexander was in good spirits that afternoon but you could tell the little guy was sick. Snot, little appetite, sneezing, coughing. He went down to bed immediately - in fact he's been asking to go into his crib the past 3 nights. He's been waking up extremely early which is when the coughing fits kick in and since he had a fever the day before, he couldn't go to school on Wednesday. It was going to be a Daddy & Alexander day.

We brought him to the doctor on Wednesday to get looked at. Dr. M was out of the office so the doctor, Dr. D, who has begun sharing his practice checked Alexander. She was very nice, pleasant & helpful. At first Alexander seemed hesitant and he didn't want to go into the room but once she pulled out the bubbles he calmed right down.

After checking his ears & listening to his breathing/chest, she said he had your typical winter cold. His lungs were fine, with no fluids. He did not have pneumonia. His ears were a little red on the inside, but nothing significant. She gave us some drops to help with his ears, although he hasn't shown any indication of irritation with his ears. She also gave us a prescription for antibiotics, however we don't have to fill that unless he gets worse. She'd much rather wait & see if it runs it course and not just medicate him for the sake of medicating. Again, she was quite pleasant.

While there, we tried to get Alexander to stand on the scale even with the bubbles but he didn't seem interested. The quick moment on there was about 25.4, so he's still a wee thing, if that is in fact even close. Of course the whole day, Alexander had no fever but really didn't want to nap until late in the afternoon.

He went to school on Thursday, with no fever and Ms Debbie said he had a good day. He also ate more of his lunch than he has all week, so that's a good sign...

18 Month Dr Appointment...

Alexander had his 18 Month Dr appointment today. Meltdown. That's the best word to describe it. It was only Alexander & Drew (Kate left the group/practice and we don't know where Lucas was) so it should have been pretty easy & lowkey.

At first, Alexander & Drew were playing just fine and sometimes with each other. Lee came in to get things started and we were filling her in with updates. Dr. M joined us shortly after. And then things changed. Alexander panicked. He started to cry and it quickly escalated to silent screams of hysteria. Both Dan & I tried to calm him down and although he wanted both of us to hold him, he was not able to calm down. Dan took him out of the room and he calmed down. After a bit, Dan brought him back in but Dr. M was not there so Alexander was fine. But Dr. M was just going out to get his scale & other tools. As soon as Dr. M walked back in the room, Alexander ran over, clung to my body and started to cry again. Poor little guy probably thought he was getting more shots.

And I've noticed that when Alexander is excited (happy, sad, upset, etc) and I'm holding him, he'll pinch me quite hard! I have the bruises to prove it.

Because they weren't getting shots, this was going to be quick especially with just two of them. Dr. M went over to Drew to check him out & weigh him. Drew was pretty good except for a little fuss at the scale part. This whole time Alexander is FREAKING out. We're talking meltdown to the Nth degree.

Dr. M comes over and asks me to hold him as best as I can. He checks his ears, chest, and measures his head. He checks his stomach and abdomen and said everything looks good. Alexander does have a slight cold (sniffles/congestion) but there's nothing in his chest and his ears look fine. Then it's time to weigh him. Yeah... Alexander was having no part of that! We tried and tried and tried. Nothing. The best weight we could get was 23lbs but that's what he was at his 15 Month appt (22 lbs 15 oz) so we're not going by that. Maybe sometime this week, I'll call Lee to see if I can pop in after work when Dr M has a patient so Alexander won't see him and try to weigh him that way.

Overall - an interesting experience but a major meltdown for the books!

Rough Night...

Wednesday night we had Alexander's last MMR shot..I was a bit nervous since last time he was horrified and this time we didn't have a pacifier. Plus, a little boy just after a shot, in rush hour traffic with no pacifier does not a good time make.

He was actually okay at the doctor's office. He was trying to give Dr. M his fishy and waving. But as soon as Dr. M rubbed the alcohol swap, Alexander freaked out. His whole body turned into a giant 2x4 with flailing arms. The shot was super quick and after a brief moment or two of cuddling, Alexander fine. By the time we reached the receptionist desk, he was happy & waving.

The drive home was better than anticipated until we got 20 minutes out. Then he started to cry, scream & turn to hysterics. He was crying harder & harder. As I got off the exit, I thought to myself "wow, we're pretty lucky that he's never made himself sick with his crying". Well I jinxed it because when we were on our road, he was crying so hard that he got sick. Poor little guy threw up all over himself. It was something right out of the Exorcist!

I pulled in the driveway and tried to clean him up as much as I could in the car. We got inside but not easily as he was crying, screaming, & kicking. I got his clothes off and started the tub. I tried to give him water, let him walk, hold him - but nothing made him happy or calm down. He was probably crying for another 20 minutes once we got home. We were sitting on the tub and he was crying yet snuggling into me. As soon as I filled the tub, he calmed down and started to fall asleep. WHAT? After 40 minutes - he just falls asleep? Odd.

I sat on the tub for a bit then moved to the couch where he kept sleeping. Tried to bring him upstairs and he wanted no part of that. As soon as I came back down he fell asleep again. He slept on my lap for about 20 minutes and then woke up as if nothing happened. We played with his blocks, took a bath, read some books and then went to bed as if it was a normal evening.

Odd.

Fifteen Month Check-Up...

Alexander had his 15 month check-up today with Dr. M. Everything is going well. It was a fairly quick appointment considering there were 4 babies (sorry, toddlers) and they all got shots.

It was fun & interesting to see them all interact with each other or completely ignore one another. Overall, Dan & I agreed that they are all on par with each other. Some may walk better than others, another has more words in their vocabulary, but for the most part they're all in line. There were no major surprises or incidents, so it really wasn't that crazy.

Alexander woke up @ 4:30am this morning, so Dan & I were expecting a very cranky appointment, but he was really well behaved. In fact, he sat on my lap on the floor for a good chunk of time. Just peacefully sitting there drinking his milk. Dan & I were amazed at how relaxed he was. He never just sits there. Another interesting point was when Dr. M was sitting with each baby checking ears, measuring, etc, Alexander would just stand there and watch in awe. Kate (another baby) would do the same thing and just keep trying to peek around Dr. M to see what he was doing.

As for measurements, Alexander is still the smallest of the group by far! Drew & Kate were 29 & 28 lbs respectively and Lucas was around 25/26 lbs. Alexander wasn't quite there. Same thing with the height & head. Alexander was 3 inches shorter than Lucas and 4 than Drew & Kate.

Alexander's info:
21 lbs 15.8oz
30"
45.1 cm (head)

Alexander got 2 shots and hated every second of it. He screamed bloody murder. He got the last of the Dtap & HiB. He also got the shot for Rubella as we did decide to split up the MMR vaccine into 3 separate ones to help be proactive in eliminating any possible risk of autism being linked to the MMR vaccine. (I believe we were the only ones who decided to do it that way) He has to go back in July & August for the Measles & Mumps shot. But then no more shots until he's 4, so hopefully that won't cause a fear of the doctor with shots every time. Overall a good visit and we go back in September for the 18 Month Check-up.

I know there is medical evidence to show the MMR vaccine is not linked to autism but then there are other things that show me that it's too much of a coincidence of the timing and how babies change. This is more solid piece of mind for us that if we can work to prevent something that will allow Alexander's life to remain healthy & happy, then as a Mom, I'm going to do it.

Dr Visit...

Friday afternoon around 4p, I got a call from Ms Megan at school. She told me that Alexander had broken out into hives and it was all over his stomach & legs. Six minutes later I was walking thru the door at school...it really does pay to have his school SO close to our work. She was right, his whole belly was covered in weird patches of hives. She said they didn't appear to be itchy or bothering him. But she did say that two other kids in his class also broke out but their doctors said it was not necessary to go see the dr.

I wasn't sure we'd get to see Dr. M since it was 4:20pm and the office closes @ 1:30pm on Fridays. I left a message for the office explaining the situation. I went to the mall (which was right down the street) to get some Benadryl in the hopes that Dr. M or his wife would call and I wouldn't be on the highway heading home. Sure enough, she calls! I explain the situation and she says that schools usually want you to have him seen but there's nothing to be done. I told her that they didn't ask it was more for my piece of mind as well that it wasn't more than just hives and eczema.

Thankfully they were still in the office and told me to come on over (WOO!). We get to Dr. M's office and Alexander is a bit shy with Lee (Mrs. M) but then quickly warms up to her. He's waving, blowing kisses, and even says 'turtle' after she pointed out the turtle on his jacket. We walked into the exam room. Alexander walked all the way just by holding onto one hand. As SOON as we turned the corner and Alexander saw the back of Dr. M, he FREAKED out. He could not stop crying. Okay, screaming. We weren't even in the room yet and Alexander was not happy. So of course having Dr. M exam his stomach, back, ears & throat didn't help.

After the exam and a run down of the situation again, Dr. M is positive it is nothing viral and more of a contact issue, especially since two other babies had the same thing. He said there was not a lot to do but to keep an eye on it. If he seems bothered or itchy, give him benadryl.

He's broken out a few times this weekend, but they don't seem to be bothering him in the least. They start on his stomach, chest, and back and have a tendency to move up around his neck and then disappear. He also seems to break out in the late afternoon after his 2nd nap. We've given him a bath and lathered him up with Aquaphor so hopefully these don't last long. Also, hopefully they let him go to school tomorrow.

Twelve Month Check-Up...

It's official - Alexander is still a peanut. He was little when he was born and he's still little now. And we love him just the way he is!

We had our official 12 month check-up today with Dr. M and his wife. Alexander did exceptionally well, even though the appointment was during nap time. In our doctor group, there were only 3 out of the 4 babies so it was a relatively quick appointment. We discussed eating, sleeping & development. All 3 of the babies are right around each other in terms of crawling, standing, starting to take steps, sleeping & what they're eating. Alexander is still the only one without teeth, but hey no biting!

His official details are Weight: 19 lbs 13 oz; Length: 28.5"; Head: 44.5 cm. He only grew 8 ounces since his last doctor visit on February 20th. The other two babies were 28lbs & 24 lbs respectively.

Alexander had two shots today (chicken pox & pneumoccocal) and also had blood drawn to test for lead & anemia. His blood level (hgb) is 13.6 which is just fine. We'll get a call from Dr. M if the lead results come back abnormal, but no one is really worried as all of the paint in our house is within the last 3/4 years so it doesn't contain lead. Alexander was okay with the blood being drawn, he just didn't enjoy being constricted. He cried really hard with the shots though. Thankfully, those ended quickly.

Overall, a successful doctor visit with Dr. M. We'll see them for the 15 Month Check-up at the end of June.

Birthday/Doctor time...

Today is my birthday (Happy Birthday to me!) and I took the day off from work...who wants to work on their birthday to have a quiet me-day! Unfortunately/Fortunately (depending on how you look at it...), Alexander got to spend my birthday with me.

Alexander came down with his virus again. It started Monday night as he was going to bed; he developed a small cough and did not have a good night sleep. Tuesday afternoon, school called me to pick him up because he had a fever of a 102*.

That night he was miserable - coughing, sweating, and genuinely unable to sleep or get comfortable. Finally I brought him in with me so he could be more up right. At one point, he was so hot that neither of us needed blankets. We took him to Dr. M yesterday morning to have him check him out. Fortunately, the RSV test came back negative so it's just a crappy cold with a fever. So he gave us a prescription for albuterol for more neb treatments which will help his breathing/wheezing and we're just to continue with the Motrin for the fever. Hopefully this doesn't last long.

While we were at the the doctor, Dan joked about getting him weighed again. Dr. M's wife went into another room and came back with a scale - yeah! The wee little lad is not even 20 lbs yet - 19lbs and 5 ounces. I have a feeling he'll be just about 20 lbs for his year checkup.

Doctor Visit...

As I mentioned in the Week Forty One recap, Alexander started feeling under the weather on Sunday. He seemed to get progressively worse throughout the night - coughing, runny nose, phelgm, congestion, wheezing - typical crappy cold symptoms. But on top of those he had a fever, constant fussiness, sleeping often but not quality sleep, & not really wanting/able to eat. He certainly wasn't himself. One minute he'd be okay, the next minute he would sit on your lap crying quite hard with tears streaming down his face, then he would want to cuddle up on your shoulder.

Sunday night he didn't sleep well and was constantly coughing, moving around, trying to breathe, and whimpering in his sleep. Monday night was about the same but not as constant. So, he stayed home from school on Monday & Tuesday. I stayed with him Monday morning and then Dan came home to take the afternoon shift as I had a mandatory meeting I had to attend at work. Dan then stayed home with him all day on Tuesday.

I figured I'd see how he was on Monday and maybe it was just a quick passing cold, but if he was still the same or worse, I'd call the doctor. Since there wasn't a lot of change I thought it would be a good idea to bring him in. Thankfully we did. Lee (Dr. M’s wife) was very happy we did and she even said “you are very in tuned with your little one”

Dr M said he doesn’t just have a minor cold but because of his symptoms he is under the notion that he has RSV (Respiratory syncytial virus). His wheezing was pretty bad so thankfully Dr. M was able to hear it which helped determine that it wasn’t just a cold. He swabbed his nose to send to the lab to confirm RSV – we should hear back tonight or tomorrow by the latest. (Results came back from the lab and RSV is negative so the poor guy just has a really bad cold.)You could tell he wasn’t himself because one minute he would be fine and babble and then the next minute he would scream and cry pretty hard for no reason. He was miserable when Dr. M was just listening to his lungs. He didn’t have a temperature as we were there but he was warm. Dr said with this it’s quite common for the temp to go up & down several times. He also said that this is probably going to get worse before better because he’s only in Day 3 of a usual 8 Day long process.

We had a nebulizer treatment there in the office – and thankfully didn’t have to use a mask because I don't think Alexander would have taken to that but instead put the medicine/vapors in front of his face. He gave us one for home to use when he gets wheezy and unable to eat or settle down. He told us to use it about every 4 hours if he's really bad or when needed, especially right before bed. Dan seems pretty freaked out by the whole thing but my thinking is if we do this when needed then it will help reduce the risk of severe breathing problems where he’ll have to go to the ER.

What was cute was when we started to pack up to leave, Alexander would wave to Dr M. He did this a few times and Dr M seemed to get a kick out of this - although he sees this all the time, I'm sure.

Dan brought him home and the little guy wouldn't sleep so he hung out with Daddy for the rest of the afternoon. Once I got home, I gave him a bath which I was hoping would relax him a little before we did his next treatment. After his bath, he had some Motrin, his treatment (which he wasn't all that excited or happy for), Saline for his nose & Vicks on his chest. We certainly tried to front-load all of the preventive options so he won't be miserable for too long.

He's sleeping now but he keeps coughing, wheezing, and trying to breathe thru the snot. Hopefully the humidifer will kick in like it started to last night.

9 Month Doctor Visit...

Alexander had his 9-Month Doctor appointment today. There were no shots at this appointment so it was going to be quicker & easier. It was also quicker because there were only 3 babies instead of 4. One of the babies had a family engagement that could not be rescheduled, but thankfully they didn't drop out of the group. We'll see them again at their year appointment. The other two moms were happy to hear, as I was, that they didn't drop out because we liked them all.

We covered the vitals, eating, sleeping, development & any concerns. Each baby seemed to really be doing quite well. They were all sleeping pretty regularly, eating well and all were developing nicely. It was cute to see them interact, yell, and scream with each other, and they would jabber on when another would make noise.

Dr. M & his wife were quite happy at their progress and how they're developing. They were observing how their motor skills, interaction & stranger anxiety all played out. Alexander & the little girl did very well and the other baby was only slightly concerned but as long as he was able to see his Mom, he seemed ok.

Alexander loves Dr. M. I don't know if it's his deep voice or his mustache, but he just looks & stares intently when Dr. M talks. Especially if Dr. M is examining Alexander, he just looks up at him. It's quite cute. Alexander did well but of course the kid wouldn't wheeze so Dr. M could hear. We brought that up as our concern that he still wheezes daily. Dr. M's philosophy is that if it's not altering his life or making him unhappy or unable to function they why mess with it. Since there's no fluids in his lungs, he would much rather see how it plays out then put the kid on medication or treatments. Although I completely understand his logic, I just wish I knew why he was wheezey and why it's worse sometimes but not others.

Overall, it was a quick visit with a clean bill of health. Here are the vital stats from his Dr. Appt:
Weight: 18 lbs 14 oz; Length: 28"; Head: 43.2 cm

(Although our Doctor doesn't believe in telling us percentiles, I looked up his info just to get an idea... Length = between percentile 25 and 50 & Weight = between percentile 10 and 25)

Thoughts from Dr. M...

I spoke to Dr. M more than a couple times this week and there's nothing new to report. Which can be a bit frustrating. Dr. M confirmed that he did not have pneumonia nor did he blockage of his air passage. He still is not sure what the cause of the wheezeing is. He says he's hesitant to confirm "Asthma" even though the definition of asthma is constant wheezing.

However folks with asthma have disruptions in eating, sleeping & behavior and since Alexander is not affected in those areas at all yet he wheezes fairly consistently, we're at a stand still.

Our latest discussion was that it's a game of "wait & see". The next step WOULD be to put him under and put tubes down his throat with a camera to see if he can see anything. NEITHER him nor I want to do that since there is absolutely NO reason why Alexander should be put under. And thankfully Dr. M agrees, he feels that at this time he's still healthy & happy so there is no need to subject him to a procedure like that.

Whew... guess it's back to the game of "wait & see"