We finally had our CT scan and appt with Dr. Jeter on July 28th. The scan went very quickly, it took all of about 5 minutes maybe. Kadin was very cooperative, too. I took ALL the kids, since it was only the day after Robbi returned from her summer with her dad. I think there were 7 of us on the trip that day. Very busy ... but anyway, we had the scan done and then went to visit with the cranial/facial surgeon. The wait in his office was FOREVER! It was unbelievable. I could write a very long "short" story on my wait in the waiting room and the 3 precious little children that were waiting with their mommy (bless the mommy's heart!!!!) Anyway, that Dr. said that he wanted to refer us to West TX Rehab and go ahead and see about Kadin being fitted for a cranial helmet. He put it all in perspective for me, saying that Kadin's head could continue to reshape itself, but then again, it could not ... it's a chance we would be taking by not going ahead and having him wear a helmet for a month or two. So I called and made an appt with the Rehab and we had the scan for that on August 3rd. Danny was home from work in time to go with us and to be there with any questions. If anyone has ever had to be without your spouse for any length of time so they can work, you know how much better it is when you have 2 parents taking care of the child instead of just one! I was and am so grateful that he was able to make it home to go to this with us. So, in short ... it should be about another week and we will have a helmet for Kadin. We don't know how long he will have to wear it, we will go back every week I think and have it tightened and re-fitted according to his growth. I am apprehensive because I don't want him to hate it, but the Dr. at the Rehab did tell us that the problems usually lie with the parents and the grandparents, and to take comfort in knowing that the children adapt fairly quickly to their change! He will be wearing it 23 hours out of the day and having it off only one hour for me to wash his head and clean the helmet. Summer is not going to be his friend, I'm thinking .... Guess we will see! We are excited to see the helmet though, it is supposed to be firetrucks! :)
After our visit was complete there, we decided to go to my OB clinic and see if, by chance, my OB Dr. was in her office. I had kept in touch with her some during the course of our stay in FW, but had not contacted her much since we returned home. Life just kinda got very busy ... It is safe to say that I absolutely adore my OB doc ... she is/was amazing to me in my desperate time of need. Frankly, she was amazing to me the entire time that I was in her care. I was sick quite a bit with Kadin, and she did everything she could to make sure that I was comfortable, healed, and progressing like I needed to be. Honestly, I could go on and on and on for days about her and what she means to me and my family. She saved not only my life, but the life of our child when she shipped us to FW on October 28, 2008. I remember vividly her sitting on the edge of my bed in labor and delivery, teary-eyed at what was unfolding before her eyes, and believing for the best for me, our baby, and our family. Anyway ... we made it to her office and asked the receptionist if she was in and if she had a minute to visit. I wish I had a camera the minute that we walked around the corner. Her eyes lit up, her draw hit the floor, she was very surprised, but quickly took Kadin from Danny's arms and marveled at God's miracle!!! The few minutes that we spent catching up on what we went thru will forever remain precious to us ... you just don't find Dr.'s like her any more. Even all of her staff remember us and shared in the joy of having such a precious baby boy. She still has Kadin's picture up on her baby board, the pic of him when he was just about 7 days old. It is hard to look at now sometimes. It is amazing how your body adapts to such trying circumstances just so you can make it thru them! That's truly what happened in our situation. I could never see Kadin as the frail, threatened, very critically ill baby that he was ..... I'm not really quite sure why I didn't, but I didn't see it until much later, when the odds had turned in his favor. So anyway, we were glad that we stopped by the OB's office and had that mini-reunion with her and her staff. She is such a blessing, and anyone that works for her is blessed.
I got a call the other day that I am a little concerned about but only maybe because I don't quite understand it all, but our Pediatrician said that he was going to refer us to a neurologist in FW to have Kadin checked out thoroughly. He said that his CT scan did not come back completely "normal" and that it indicated that he had some enlarged ventricles, which could be perfectly "normal" in a micro-preemie such as Kadin, or it could be a cause for concern. Either way, we are not able to get in to the Dr. in FW until around December probably. I have done a little research trying to understand what can happen with enlarged ventricles, and I just get frustrated. I know I shouldn't do that if the Dr. is saying that right now there is really no reason for concern, just something that need to monitor for now, but it is still one of those things where I would like to know what is going on and I just don't. All I heard him say was "shunt" waa waa waa waa and a few other words that I can't even bring myself to type and I refuse to accept. Kadin's progress and development is amazing, and it's all because of GOD, and I know he is going to be just fine ... I will still do the smart thing and have him checked out but I will not get down about any of it, especially because of how we see him interact and behave with us. There is nothing abnormal about the way that he interacts with us or behaves. He is truly a miracle and I will not give a foothold to anything that will tear that apart!!! Don't get me wrong, I adore our Pediatrician, and I respect his professionalism and his expertise, and that is why I will go along with his referral to FW to have things monitored. I just won't accept that this is anything except routine for what micro-preemies go thru ... especially because Kadin had six brain scans while he was still in the NICU and they all came back NEGATIVE for brain bleeds, which we understood was also to be a miracle in itself !!! YAY GOD !!!
He had his 9 month check up today and it was fantastic! He is now weighing 14 pounds 8 ounces, he is 25.5 inches long and is doing very well!!!!! We are also looking at scheduling an appt with his pediatric surgeon to have the one last surgery that he needs to be finished with all that. We also scheduled is one year check up while we were there and it is so hard to believe that in just 3 short months, Kadin will be one year old. We will celebrate November 3 ... February 23 ... and February 28th! You think I'm kidding ... I'm not, but at the friendly advice of my OB Doc, no, we will not make a brat out of the miracle baby !!!! ha ha ha ha
Thanks for sharing in our latest journey with Kadin. I know I have probably left out a bunch in this update, but it is late and I'm tired ... if I remember anything else I will add it. Going to bed now, long day tomorrow also. We will be retrieving our car from my husband's "job" since it's been sitting there for almost a month now !!!
G'night...
Leslie
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
What? An update finally?
Yes I know. I am horrible at updating anymore, but that is really a good sign if you think about it. Life is in full swing around the Kirkpatrick household and we couldn't be happier! I actually can't believe it has been 2 months tomorrow since I have updated anything. That's so hard to imagine it has been that long and it only seems like yesterday since I wrote the latest entry.
We did have another appt in FW in June. We went to see the eye Dr. and everything there checked out just fine. They said Kadin was a bit far-sighted, but that it was normal for a baby his age. Dr. Norman also said that he couldn't tell anything had been a problem with Kadin and that he truly is a miracle child! Yeah, just what I wanna hear !!!!! Every time we go to the Dr. we realize more and more just how blessed we are and have been with Kadin's progress in his life. We encounter so many families that have seen sooooo much with their children already. Don't get me wrong ... we have seen a lot of turmoil and troubles with Kadin, but it seems like it is nothing compared to what we learn about the struggle of other family's with their babies. We are extremely blessed!!!
Kadin is doing so well. He is still in occupational therapy but even the therapists say that he is more like a 7 month old (he is 8 months old) than the adjusted 4 months that he "should be" for being so early. He is pushing 14 pounds right now so he is healthy at that ... He loves his bottle and is reaching for it now, will hold it for just a few seconds but more like is just touching it while he feeds. He loves apples and cereal, bananas and cereal, and just like his daddy, is NOT much on the veggies! He is not sitting up unassisted or anything like that, but we are working on it and frankly, as long as he is taking it at his own pace, I'm not worried about it ... he is still progressing every day.
Kadin is also very much a happy baby. He isn't smiling at us because we smile at him, he is smiling because he is happy. He laughs and giggles, babbles all the time ... he LOVES his voice. He loves to make noise. For awhile I was concerned that he wasn't crying when he was hungry, or crying for any reason, but that has all changed, lol ... HE CRIES! I think it was just a matter of discovery in that area, but he's doing just fine at letting me know his needs and his disapprovals!
Finally ... he is rolling over and getting on his stomach, holding his head up, and looking all around. When he first started being on his stomach (of course) he could not hold his head up, we were working with certain neck and back muscles to strengthen him because he favored one side a LOT. It has misshapen his head too and it was feared he would have to have a special helmet to reshape it. Our appt for that CT scan and visit to the specialist is scheduled for July 28th, but the therapist that just came to the house said that according to her experiences, Kadin's head is not meeting the requirements to be fitted with a helmet. I have noticed that in the past month, his head has continued to take on a new shape (a normal one!) the more that he is not laying on his back and turning his head to that favored side. He now likes to lay on his side and flip flop around in the bed when he sleeps, so his head is getting fair coverage on all sides !!! YAY! Guess we will see .....
I'm concerned about the way that he vomits sometimes during a feed. It's as if he gets choked and out it comes. Even in Wal Mart ... all over himself and all over me. It's ok ... he's not in the hospital hooked up to tubes and machines, so momma can handle ANYTHING that he has going on! I just want to make sure there isn't anything going on with his little tummy that causes him to give his feeds back ...
It is so hard for me to believe that Kadin is almost 9 months old. It just seems like yesterday we came home with him, at 4 months old (newborn size!). Life has been so full and busy around here that the time really has passed rather quickly. For awhile, my mind had been preoccupied with several other things and I feel like I was just going thru the motions of some aspects of life, but with my children, I soaked in every moment I could, and still do. I am so proud of the progess that Kadin has made and how my older children have been so instrumental in his development. They carry him around, particularly the 7 year old, my daughter doesn't let him cry, so anytime he is a little fussy (even when I have put him down) she is right there picking him up to soothe him ... and my oldest son, who hasn't really spent much time with Kadin except the last few weeks, has been very helpful without me even asking for his assistance ... he will take Kadin to the couch to "watch tv with his big bubba" and has even fed him a bottle or two. Awesome awesome children I have ... I am so very blessed. Now if we could only get my husband a local job so that he could be here also ... family is just not complete without Daddy!
I just wanted to update for a few minutes since it has been so long since I have done so. I am going to add a couple of pictures on the site, so I hope you enjoy them. If you are on myspace or facebook and reading this, the pics are actually on my blogger acct so you may have to browse to that site to see them ... it is http://kadinsjourney.blogspot.com in case you don't have it.
I will try to blog more often and add more pictures ... Blessings to all ...
Leslie
We did have another appt in FW in June. We went to see the eye Dr. and everything there checked out just fine. They said Kadin was a bit far-sighted, but that it was normal for a baby his age. Dr. Norman also said that he couldn't tell anything had been a problem with Kadin and that he truly is a miracle child! Yeah, just what I wanna hear !!!!! Every time we go to the Dr. we realize more and more just how blessed we are and have been with Kadin's progress in his life. We encounter so many families that have seen sooooo much with their children already. Don't get me wrong ... we have seen a lot of turmoil and troubles with Kadin, but it seems like it is nothing compared to what we learn about the struggle of other family's with their babies. We are extremely blessed!!!
Kadin is doing so well. He is still in occupational therapy but even the therapists say that he is more like a 7 month old (he is 8 months old) than the adjusted 4 months that he "should be" for being so early. He is pushing 14 pounds right now so he is healthy at that ... He loves his bottle and is reaching for it now, will hold it for just a few seconds but more like is just touching it while he feeds. He loves apples and cereal, bananas and cereal, and just like his daddy, is NOT much on the veggies! He is not sitting up unassisted or anything like that, but we are working on it and frankly, as long as he is taking it at his own pace, I'm not worried about it ... he is still progressing every day.
Kadin is also very much a happy baby. He isn't smiling at us because we smile at him, he is smiling because he is happy. He laughs and giggles, babbles all the time ... he LOVES his voice. He loves to make noise. For awhile I was concerned that he wasn't crying when he was hungry, or crying for any reason, but that has all changed, lol ... HE CRIES! I think it was just a matter of discovery in that area, but he's doing just fine at letting me know his needs and his disapprovals!
Finally ... he is rolling over and getting on his stomach, holding his head up, and looking all around. When he first started being on his stomach (of course) he could not hold his head up, we were working with certain neck and back muscles to strengthen him because he favored one side a LOT. It has misshapen his head too and it was feared he would have to have a special helmet to reshape it. Our appt for that CT scan and visit to the specialist is scheduled for July 28th, but the therapist that just came to the house said that according to her experiences, Kadin's head is not meeting the requirements to be fitted with a helmet. I have noticed that in the past month, his head has continued to take on a new shape (a normal one!) the more that he is not laying on his back and turning his head to that favored side. He now likes to lay on his side and flip flop around in the bed when he sleeps, so his head is getting fair coverage on all sides !!! YAY! Guess we will see .....
I'm concerned about the way that he vomits sometimes during a feed. It's as if he gets choked and out it comes. Even in Wal Mart ... all over himself and all over me. It's ok ... he's not in the hospital hooked up to tubes and machines, so momma can handle ANYTHING that he has going on! I just want to make sure there isn't anything going on with his little tummy that causes him to give his feeds back ...
It is so hard for me to believe that Kadin is almost 9 months old. It just seems like yesterday we came home with him, at 4 months old (newborn size!). Life has been so full and busy around here that the time really has passed rather quickly. For awhile, my mind had been preoccupied with several other things and I feel like I was just going thru the motions of some aspects of life, but with my children, I soaked in every moment I could, and still do. I am so proud of the progess that Kadin has made and how my older children have been so instrumental in his development. They carry him around, particularly the 7 year old, my daughter doesn't let him cry, so anytime he is a little fussy (even when I have put him down) she is right there picking him up to soothe him ... and my oldest son, who hasn't really spent much time with Kadin except the last few weeks, has been very helpful without me even asking for his assistance ... he will take Kadin to the couch to "watch tv with his big bubba" and has even fed him a bottle or two. Awesome awesome children I have ... I am so very blessed. Now if we could only get my husband a local job so that he could be here also ... family is just not complete without Daddy!
I just wanted to update for a few minutes since it has been so long since I have done so. I am going to add a couple of pictures on the site, so I hope you enjoy them. If you are on myspace or facebook and reading this, the pics are actually on my blogger acct so you may have to browse to that site to see them ... it is http://kadinsjourney.blogspot.com in case you don't have it.
I will try to blog more often and add more pictures ... Blessings to all ...
Leslie
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Kadin's Visit to FW (written 05/27/09)
We are on our way home right now. Kadin's appt with his lung doctor went well. She gave us a schedule awhile back to start weening him off the oxygen and we started that when they gave it to us. Shortly after we started, Kadin got sick. He was sick for a couple of weeks so we had to keep the oxygen on him during that time. We started all over on the weening after that. They had given us a target sat that they wanted Kadin to stay above and he always stays above it unless he has the monitor on and is kicking his feet. (since the probe goes on his foot) Today his pulmonologist told us she is writing an order to have the oxygen company come pick up their equipment since he is doing so well. This doesn't mean that he doesn't need to be watched. We will still need to keep a close eye on him all the time. She also said if he needs steroids between now and his next visit with her in August then we will have to look at getting inhalant steroids to keep. Not sure why, but im not worried about it either, mainly because the only time he needed them he caught a cold from one of the kids ... and since they wont be in school, chances are minimal that they will be sick this summer. So, YAY! We will see how it goes.
Before our appt this afternoon, we went to Harris Methodist to the NICU to see if we could see any of our little angels working there ... they announced we were there and within just a minute one of our favorite RT's came running out! It was awesome to see her again and all the nurses that we saw too. We also saw an off duty secretary that we absolutely ADORED and our favorite tech, too!!! The only sad part about our trip was we had planned originally to go ahead and go to Danny's daughter's graduation (KAYLIE) in Texarkana but that was made impossible since our bank acct got seized ... thank GOD for health insurance for Kadin since they pay mileage for us to go back and forth to his appointments or we wouldnt have been able to go to FW either!
Thanks for all your prayers and well wishes for Kadin and his progress ... I still can't grasp sometimes just what a little miracle he really is.
Before our appt this afternoon, we went to Harris Methodist to the NICU to see if we could see any of our little angels working there ... they announced we were there and within just a minute one of our favorite RT's came running out! It was awesome to see her again and all the nurses that we saw too. We also saw an off duty secretary that we absolutely ADORED and our favorite tech, too!!! The only sad part about our trip was we had planned originally to go ahead and go to Danny's daughter's graduation (KAYLIE) in Texarkana but that was made impossible since our bank acct got seized ... thank GOD for health insurance for Kadin since they pay mileage for us to go back and forth to his appointments or we wouldnt have been able to go to FW either!
Thanks for all your prayers and well wishes for Kadin and his progress ... I still can't grasp sometimes just what a little miracle he really is.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Kadin Rolls Over
Seriously? Already? Yes, he did it today and we were all amazed !!!
We had him laying on the office room floor, on a huge quilt. He was kinda fussin', nothing was really pacifying him, and then we realized it seemed as if he was just babbling.
My husband laid in the floor with him and was talking to him. We had noticed for a week or so that he was "throwing" himself, sorta kinda kicking his feet, arching his back, and pushing off to one side. He started doing that while laying on the quilt and then my husband said "He just rolled over!!!" I was in disbelief ... I am so proud!
Danny rolled Kadin back over onto his back to see if he would do it again, and YEP! He did ... this time he left him on his tummy (he was in a position that the occupational therapists have recommended we attempt to get and keep him in) so we just left him there for a few minutes until he kicked his feet enough that he rolled himself back over to his tummy.
Amazing! I am just so proud of Kadin!!! Wish I had video, since youtube is now one of my favorite sites!!
We had him laying on the office room floor, on a huge quilt. He was kinda fussin', nothing was really pacifying him, and then we realized it seemed as if he was just babbling.
My husband laid in the floor with him and was talking to him. We had noticed for a week or so that he was "throwing" himself, sorta kinda kicking his feet, arching his back, and pushing off to one side. He started doing that while laying on the quilt and then my husband said "He just rolled over!!!" I was in disbelief ... I am so proud!
Danny rolled Kadin back over onto his back to see if he would do it again, and YEP! He did ... this time he left him on his tummy (he was in a position that the occupational therapists have recommended we attempt to get and keep him in) so we just left him there for a few minutes until he kicked his feet enough that he rolled himself back over to his tummy.
Amazing! I am just so proud of Kadin!!! Wish I had video, since youtube is now one of my favorite sites!!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
General update on Kadin
I know, it's been a LONG time since I have updated on our little miracle ... my bad, but we have been so busy living life here it is unbelievable!
First of all, let me say what a blessing this baby is. He is the most precious thing ever and I don't say that just because I am his mommy, I say that because of what a gift he is to all of us. I watch his interactions with his daddy and I melt. I watch him look at his big sister and brother and I melt. I see him recognize his Nanny and my sister, Ti, and my eyes water .... you know what I mean?
He wasn't supposed to make it. He wasn't supposed to be here. He fought tooth and nail from the minute he was born to make it to where he is today and I am so thankful to God for being able to have him. He is with me almost 24/7 and my thoughts are constantly toward him in what he might need, or is he breathing, or is his head turned the right way, etc .... When he's sleeping I check on him all the time. What mother doesn't worry about their child? I just had some extra worries to go along with this baby.
Our pulmonologist suggested we start trying to wean him off the oxygen. About the time we started, he got sick. The dr. thinks it was a little cold. He was wheezing and had rattles in his chest ... really scared me! But I gave him his meds, antibiotics, steroids, and breathing treatments, and today he is all good!
I don't know what he weighs exactly, but at the Dr.'s office on April 29 he weighed 11 pounds and 4 ounces. I am sure he has gained since then. He is outgrowing all the clothes we have for him! He is just amazing! Have I said that already ??? :)
I am giving him rice cereal now. He doesn't quite seem to like it and is learning how to move it to the back of his mouth to swallow and sometimes he flat refuses to eat it, but that's ok .... I talked to his pediatrician and expressed my concerns for him drinking half a bottle and pushing it away, but still grunting and groaning like he was hungry, not to mention trying to eat his fists. (which I think is a darling instinct that almost all babies exhibit when they are hungry!) I was worried because I would feel like he should be hungry but he would not ever cry. He doesn't cry very often, but when he does, he means it. So, the Dr.'s office told me to try the cereal to see if keeping his tummy heavy for a little longer helped, and wow ... He is SLEEPING for a good 3 hours during naps when before we started cereal he would just nap for about half an hour and be back up acting hungry again! *sigh, I was exhausted!*
Kadin is sleeping thru the night and has for about the last month. He usually turns in around 10:30 after his last bottle, and he is very good about sleeping until about 7:30 every morning! It's like clockwork, you can count on him being awake then! We are putting the oxygen on him only at night and his pulse-ox monitor too because most of the time he will work the cannula around to give his ear some oxygen too. If he sats good thru the night, we never even know anything, but occassionally it seems he gets into a deep sleep and breaths are shallow and then his monitor will go off ... or then again, we have the times he wakes up a little earlier and kicks his feet wildly and his monitor goes off WITH EVERY MOVE, ha ha ha ha ha.
I have a video I wanted to post but it has me making a fool of myself in it to make Kadin laugh. It's hilarious. Maybe I will upload it to youtube and let you all see it. he is so cute in it ... smiling and laughing. He does a lot of that lately ... just brings tears to my eyes !!!!
We have an appointment in FW one week from today, on the 27th. We were going to go to that and then travel on to Texarkana for Danny's daughter's graduation, but since our bank account got wiped out, the extra travel will not be possible ... which sucks really really bad. She wanted us there and we wanted to be there, but it isn't going to happen. And I hate it. Anyway, we MUST go to his appointment and his insurance helps us with the travel and the motel room, otherwise, that would be a big problem also. I will update on him after that appointment and try to post some more current pictures as well !!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)