Appointment – Owen – Page 3

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Getting Owen cleaned out: Day 1

Posted on August 25, 2013 @ 9:40 pm by Jen — 1 Comment ↓

The hospital finally called about 10:30 and my sitter came over and even though I was mostly packed and prepped, we didn’t leave until noon (and that included turning around—thankfully before we left the subdivision—to get his B that he forgot to grab).

They weighed and measured him—holy
cow! He’s at 59.8# and 46″ tall!

Just chilling, waiting.

You can see where I get to sleep in the background.

Once he was watching TV he was okay…but he did keep asking for snacks. Poor kid…the last thing he ate was cereal for breakfast. I was going to give him a snack on the way then forgot…and of course all he can have is clear liquids.

I talked to the doctor and she’s really nice. Gave her the quick run through on his status. Of course, the past few days—that he’s been completely off Miralax—he’s pooped just fine…so I was thinking the Miralax was the issue. But…he had pooping issues before the Miralax so we really need to do this to make sure we’re starting from scratch. The doc agreed, saying the X-ray would, of course, show us what was going on.

Getting the X-ray—it came right to us!

Then it was more waiting. And then the doc came and said “Oh yes. He needs it.” She took me back to see the X-ray. She said it’s not that bad, but you can definitely see it in the lower part of his intestine. So I went back and explained to Owen that the picture showed he had lots of poop in his body—and he wanted to see it. So I took him down to see it and the doctor explained it to him as well. By the time I finished talking to the doctor I came back to see this:

Yeah, he loves the adjustable bed. 🙂

Then he was playing doctor with his patients. He diagnosed the turtle with something-I-couldn’t-decipher-poopinosis. Thank you, Doc McStuffins. 🙂

Then. Unfortunately, it was time for the blood draw and tube down the nose. He was a rock star with the blood…

And LOVED his special Spider-Man webbing…

And then they started the drugs. And it was hilarious seeing him loopy.

But then the torture began. Three people holding him down (while he was wrapped in a cocoon) while one nurse tried to insert the tube. And she couldn’t get it. She tried twice. Then another nurse tried. Then they went to a smaller, shorter tube—which went really quickly, but he was already through the roof. Poor kid.

Then back in the room he was a hot mess. Part of it was the meds, but most of it was just him not being comfortable or having any fun. He didn’t want his B, the TV, a movie, or any of his prizes. He didn’t want me to sit with him. He didn’t want dinner (which is good since he can’t have any).

The hardest part is he’d be calm one minute then crying the next saying “I don’t want this [the port in his arm] anymore.” Or “Can I take this [the tube] out now?”

One of his calm moments watching TV:

Then he’d ask to see what was on his face so I’d show him and/or take a picture.

Everyone has been nice and the place is quiet, but there’s a lot of waiting. At our 3.5 hour mark (after arrival), he still wasn’t even getting the stuff to make him poop. I know there’s a process…but I wanted it to go faster. 🙁

This is where he landed since he didn’t want to be in his bed.

He actually told me to take a picture!

Then they delivered his “clear liquids” dinner. I got him excited about the “orange ice cream” but he didn’t like it. And of course he said no to trying jello and broth. And I knew he wouldn’t like the tea or cranberry juice. Since I was starving I had the broth (my only option for food on a Sunday night is in the main hospital—and I’m not sure I want to leave him alone…and I forgot to bring snacks). I also tried the orange italian dessert and honestly can’t blame him for not liking it. The lemon jello wasn’t thrilling, either.

Then they came back to take another X-ray to make sure the tube was in correctly (it was).

So while I was trying to work on this blog post, I kept getting errors. Come to find out:

SERIOUSLY? Adult and pornography? I called the number and didn’t get anywhere. The guy couldn’t do anything (he said “it’s Sunday—no one is here”). And he had no idea if anyone would do anything anyway. So, so much for using free wifi. 😐

Owen finally asked for some juice about 6—then drank an apple and grape juice—then seemed in better spirits. I “took a walk” to check out the vending machines and ended up with cheese crackers. I guess that’s dinner. Though I did check out the cafe menu for tomorrow…and I’m definitely eating there. 🙂

After about an hour or so, Owen announced he wasn’t cranky anymore. 🙂 And then he had more fun playing with the bed and was just watching TV.

They started the IV about 7 and when he wasn’t pooping by 9 they increased the medicine. As we’re going to bed now (9:30) he still hasn’t pooped…so I anticipate a sleepless and messy night.

Yeah, speaking of being here overnight…there’s no way I could NOT stay overnight (I laugh now that I was even considering it). And obviously no one is in the room with him aside from me—plus he has to drag the IV with him—so I’ll be doing all that. Which I’m fine with…but they should really tell you that beforehand. Of course I’ll have zero problems paging the Nurse if there are any messes. 🙂 (But she told me to page her when he gets up so she can take his vitals then instead of waking him up.)

So, two cute stories:

I needed to hit the vending machines earlier so I made sure Owen was okay that I was leaving for a few minutes. Sure, no problem. A little while later I told him I “needed to go for a walk to stretch my legs” (which really meant another trip to the vending machine) and he says “Don’t be a stranger!” Where does he get this stuff?! 🙂

He loved his Spider-Man web hand, but wanted to take it off since it was interfering with him holding his juice. So we took it off but then he had to go potty. Well, somehow, in the 10′ round trip between the bed and toilet we lost the glove. I searched but it was nowhere! So I had to hunt down a nurse to ask for more webbing.

Nurse: Oh, does he need it for his IV?
Me: No, he lost his Spider-Man hand.
Nurse, chuckling: Ahhh! No problem.

And with that…good night.

I’ll be scheduling Owen’s hospital visit soon.

Posted on August 20, 2013 @ 2:30 pm by Jen — 1 Comment ↓

Today was Owen’s four-month check up with the pediatric GI. Unfortunately, we really haven’t seen much progress.

He’ll have good days and bad days, but pretty much every day he still has poopy underwear. Some of it is a matter of him not wanting to poop (which he admits) and trying to hold it in, but some of it is still the liquidy stuff that I don’t think he can control—which would mean he’s still backed up (impacted). But since he does seem to poop quite a bit (quantity-wise) I just couldn’t fathom that he was still backed up. Also, it seemed to me that when he has normal poops (i.e. not the soft squishy stuff) he has no problem going—he knows he needs to go and he goes and it’s perfect. We gave up on the daily mineral oil after the first few days because it just gave him diarrhea every single day (which is NOT what it was supposed to do).

So in talking with the doc and telling him everything…he said he thinks that Owen is still impacted. Especially when he asked if I felt that Owen was really ever fully cleaned out (like when we did the 8-hour no-food clean out)—like did he ever just get down to pure watery poops—and I said no. He asked if the semi-regular clean-outs after that were any better (we’ve been doing a semi-clean out about every three weeks) and I said no. So he said that if it was HIS son and he was at the four-month mark with no real progress, he would admit him for a hospitalized clean-out. Which could take anywhere from 3-5 days. IN WILMINGTON.

Hospitalization may sound awful, but he assured me they do A TON of them and it’s really no big deal. Some of the worst cases he’s seen? They remove 10# of poop from the kid! He doesn’t think Owen is that bad, but he thinks it’s the best bet to make sure we’re basically starting with a clean slate so-to-speak. He also warned that it isn’t the magic solution, though it can work wonders and a lot of parents said it was a miracle and wished they’d done it sooner. Of course, it won’t help with his emotional issues about not WANTING to poop, but at least we know we’ll be starting from scratch.

At this point, I’m game to try ANYTHING so I said of course we’ll do that. They said they can pretty much get us in whenever, so I just had to figure out Katie care since she can’t stay there with us. I can also stay overnight, but I don’t need to so if I think he’ll be okay then he can stay by himself.

Of course Owen was there listening to all of this and I was worried he would be freaked out or would refuse to go or would have a meltdown…but the doctor said “Kids don’t mind it at all! They can watch TV, movies, and play XBOX games!” Owen’s ears perked up. The doc asked if Owen would mind going to the hospital and he said no—and he actually wanted to go right then and didn’t understand why he couldn’t. 🙂

So I contacted my sitter (the same one we used when we went away for the weekend) because I know her summer nannying job is over, and she said she can do it…so tomorrow I have to call to schedule. I’m hoping for Sunday because I have a dinner outing planned Thursday, an old friend (one of my high school classmates) coming in from out of town Friday morning, and a birthday party and BBQ to go to Saturday. Then just hope it only takes two days and not four or five.

Stay tuned for updates!

Owen’s GI follow-up

Posted on June 4, 2013 @ 7:55 am by Jen — 1 Comment ↓

Today was Owen’s six-week follow-up. Here, he’s being a good big boy getting his blood pressure and temperature taken.

Overall the doc said he was doing well, and assured me—after I expressed concern that we had one perfect week then completely regressed—that it was normal. He informed me that it could take (and usually takes) as long to fix the problem as it took to cause it…which gives us many many many more months of this.

Impacted. Ugh.

Posted on April 16, 2013 @ 10:35 am by Jen — 1 Comment ↓

So…I haven’t been talking about it, but Owen is still having major poop(ing) issues. Everything from constipation to diarrhea. Lately we’ve been going through 5-7 pairs of underwear a day. 🙁

We’ve tried eliminating milk from his diet, he was tested for Celiac, we gave him probiotics…and nothing ever really seemed to help. So we scheduled an appointment with the GI specialist and it was this morning.

The diagnosis? He’s impacted. All the little peanut-buttery poops we’ve been getting is basically leakage because he has so much poop backed up that the soft stuff is all that will come out. (I’m sure it hasn’t been impacted the whole seven months…but it’s apparently been most of the time.)

So, we basically get to do colonoscopy prep without actually having the colonoscopy. A full dose of Miralax every hour from 8a–5pm and then a maintenance schedule of one full dose of Miralax every day PLUS Ex-Lax chocolates PLUS mineral oil PLUS as much of a high fiber diet as we can get him to eat PLUS sitting on the potty after each meal blowing up balloons (it mimics the action of pooping).

FOR SIX WEEKS. 😯

We basically have to retrain (and shrink) his colon while trying to teach him how to poop.

I can promise that tomorrow is NOT going to be fun for either of us. Nor is the following six weeks. But hopefully it will do some good… I’m hoping we’ll get back into undies fairly quickly.

So, then it was off to get him an X-ray and Tom met us there because of the whole no-kids-sitting-alone thing. Which Owen LOVED. 🙂

As far as him understanding what’s going on… He just knows he went to the doctor to see if we could fix his pooping. I explained what’s going to happen tomorrow (he has to drink lots of water and will be pooping a lot)…but who knows how much he really understands. 🙁

Photos from the day…

Dentist time!

Posted on April 1, 2013 @ 3:25 pm by Jen — 1 Comment ↓

Wow. Owen could not have been more awesome at the dentist today!!

Full cleaning.
Full flossing.
Full X-rays.

No whining.
No refusals.
No stubbornness.

Such a difference six months makes.

Then when they put his X-rays on the monitor he says “Awesome!” And he thanked the hygienist. And he agreed to share his ice cream (treat) with the dentist!

So I was just planning on giving him ice cream at home but he said he wanted a cone…so I pulled into McDonalds. They took so long with the car in front of me that the cone was dripping by the time I got it. So I cleaned it up and handed it back to Owen. Well, a mile down the road after waiting in traffic the cone was dripping all over Owen.

So I had to take a quick detour into the Best Buy parking lot to clean up the melty cone, wipe down Owen, take the paper off the cone, and clean up the drips on the car seat. :/

Four year well-visit

Posted on February 4, 2013 @ 10:17 am by Jen — No Comments ↓

Height: 45″ (greater than 97th percentile) — was 42.5″ at 36m (greater than 100th percentile)
Weight: 51# (greater than the 97th percentile) — was 45# at 36m (greater than 100th percentile)

So…overall he’s gained six pounds from his three-year well-visit…but he was actually up to 56# as of November (when he was weighed at his pink eye appointment) which means he had gained 11# at one point. But, he’s lost 5# since then. Interestingly, the doc said his weight is still a little high for his height!! But she doesn’t really know his history, as this is the first time she’s seen him. When I explained that he’s always been over the 100th percentile, she felt a little better about it.

He did really well with the weighing and vision test, but the iron test threw him for a loop since he got his finger pricked. Hoo boy. “OUCHIE! OUCHIE! OUCHIE!” And he hated the band-aid and wanted that off. And there was crying and snot dripping and the whole nine yards. Had I been expecting the iron test, I would have asked to wait and do it at the end of the appointment. Because then I had to try and get him to calm down to finish asking him the questions on the 48m assessment (things like Does he know middle, above, between, below? What is his response if you ask him what to do when he’s hungry? Can he name five colors?) so I was asking him those things…and he was NOT being cooperative since he was concerned about his finger. But then he got my phone to play with and settled a little.

The pediatrician checked him out and said everything looked good (heart, lungs, ears, etc.). I brought up my concerns about his poop…and I wasn’t overly impressed with her level of concern (or rather lack thereof). Her initial response was “Oh it can take six months to learn to poop.” Yeah, that’s not really the entire issue (and it HAS been six months). So after some urging on my part, she ordered blood work to test for celiac (hopefully just to rule it out) and agreed that we should try a no-cows-milk diet to see if anything changes. Then depending on the blood work results and our diet results, she’ll get us an appointment with the GI specialist if necessary.

Then it was time for vaccinations, which was awful…screaming and crying and snot (the usual). I debated saving the blood work (at another location) for another day, but figured it would be better to just get it all done in one day. So we went there after and he didn’t like that much, either…but it went okay.

So now we wait for results. And in the meantime, hope to see some results from the no-milk diet…

Genetic Testing Results

Posted on November 28, 2012 @ 12:02 pm by Jen — No Comments ↓

Today we went to UNC Chapel Hill to the Pediatric Genetics clinic to get the results of Owen’s (and Tom’s) genetic tests explained to us. (This was from when Owen had his blood drawn back in April—it takes a month or so to get the results, and then Tom and I had to get ours done and wait another month, and then it took a few months to get into the specialist.)

Previously, all we had been able to tell from the greek-to-us multi-page results was that both Owen and Tom had the exact same markers (Owen’s and mine didn’t match at all so I basically got no results for me). But the thing with genetic testing (that our developmental pediatrician told us) is that there are MILLIONS of combinations of things and the science is still so new that they maybe only know what (for example) 50,000 of the possible five million results mean. So while they can tell you something isn’t right, they can’t tell you exactly what effect that might have.

So today we got to talk with a genetic counselor who gave us more information. She still couldn’t really give us any more information on what effect the gene mutation has (like if it’s the direct cause of his autism or autistic tendencies) but she was able to tell us enough about the mutation that we can pretty much rule out it being anything serious.

Let’s see if I can explain this.

Basically, the part of the gene that has the mutation is in the middle of the chain—which is better than at either end where two chains connect (if it was at either end, it would definitely cause much more noticeable issues). So my brain worked it out as “It would be like origination and destination points of your trip are set in stone, but the route is variable. If either end changes, the whole thing changes, but if the route changes, it’s not a big deal.” She agreed it was an apt correlation.

Also, the other good point is that he isn’t MISSING anything on the strand—he actually has an extra set of something (his own plus the double set from Tom for a total of three instead of the normal two). And the set of three is fine—if there were four sets it would be a major problem. And lastly, since Tom has the identical genetic mutation and had absolutely no issues growing up (or today), it’s very unlikely (statistically impossible) that it is causing Owen’s issues.

So taking that and all his background (and our family’s backgrounds) into consideration, she didn’t see any reason to think this mutation was the cause of the autism and said we really don’t have anything to worry about. She will research it more to see if she can find anything, but she doesn’t expect to find much. She said the only time we will likely need to think about it again is when he hits the teenage years and/or wants to have kids—in case they have come up with a defining characteristic of that specific mutation or if it will have any effect on his own kids. We were told not to worry about getting Katie tested at all unless we started to notice any issues.

So basically everything scientifically is good…now I just have to get the in-home therapy started so we can work on his minor issues.

Diagnosis: Pink Eye

Posted on November 26, 2012 @ 4:15 pm by Jen — No Comments ↓

Yep. Owen has pink eye. 🙁

We noticed his left eye looked a little bloodshot Saturday but didn’t really think much about it. We noticed it Sunday as well…and this time there was a little extra “sleep” in the morning. I watched it all day and it wasn’t getting better—but he wasn’t itching it and he didn’t say it hurt and there wasn’t any discharge. Until this morning. His eye was pretty crusty and there was discharge. Ugh. We got an appointment at 2:15 where pink eye was confirmed by a lovely PA.

The poor kid looks so pathetic (I told Tom his eye looks drunk) and he HATES the eye drops (I wish he could understand the drops are the lesser of two evils—the cream would be even worse to apply) but he’s a trooper.

And he was AWESOME at the clinic. It was a bit of a wait—15m early for new patient paperwork, 30m to get into a room, 30m waiting to see the doctor, and probably another 10-15 with the PA—but he kept busy and was in good spirits. He let himself be weighed without complaint. He let himself get measured without complaint. And he even was pretty good with the blood pressure!

Weight: 56#
Height: 44.75″
BP: 100/65

Then when the PA was examining him, he was great with her looking in his ears, listening to his chest (and taking deep breaths!), and shining light into his eyes. He was SO good he earned a toy!!

Failure at the dentist

Posted on September 6, 2012 @ 12:35 pm by Jen — No Comments ↓

I had really high hopes for today’s visit to the dentist since it went pretty well the last time and now he’s six months older.

Ha.

Things started well enough—he went potty right after we got there. He had fun counting chairs and running around.

But then he started to have a meltdown because—are you ready?—he wanted to take his shoes off and I wouldn’t let him. I tried all my normal tricks to get him thinking about something else and nothing was working. I looked around. AHA! A water fountain. Something completely new. That got him excited, got his mind off his shoes, and kept him busy until we were called back. The front of his shirt was also soaked from trying to learn to drink!

He climbed up in the chair no problem so I thought things were going well. I told him to just sit back, relax, put his arms out, and say “Ahhhhh!”

Then he did really well wearing the lead cape (a superhero cape!) on the first x-ray (they put a piece IN your mouth and you have to stay still) and then it started to go downhill. He didn’t want to sit still and of course didn’t like the thing in his mouth…so that was the end of that. One of five x-rays. But it was one more than we got the last time so okay, fine, moving on.

The dentist had to look in his mouth (at his superhero teeth!)…which took some cajoling, but it was managed without much issue.

Then it was time for the cleaning, and that’s when the MELTDOWN started. He wanted NOTHING to do with ANY part of it—which was extremely frustrating because he did JUST FINE with the cleaning on his last visit. He finally agreed to touch the brush, but then still didn’t want it to come near him. He agreed to watch her use it on me, but again refused to let it near him. I tried to reason with him, but you can’t reason with toddlers, let alone one in meltdown mode.

So that was it. Pretty much a complete waste aside from the one x-ray and brief look by the dentist.

Good times. :meh:

Classroom observation and speech evaluation

Posted on May 23, 2012 @ 11:34 am by Jen — 1 Comment ↓

Owen had his classroom observation and speech evaluation today. Long story short, neither the teacher nor the speech therapist saw any glaring issues—and both said he seems to be above average intelligence for his age and they see no academic issues at all. They said most of what we’re seeing will probably resolve itself once he starts hanging out with kids his age.

In more detail…the classroom observation went well according to the teacher. She said he didn’t really play with the other kids, but he watched—and towards the end of the time (an hour) he started to get closer to them. She said he talked to the teacher and no one had any problems understanding him. He listened when things were explained and understood how to use the toys he was being shown (a kid’s laptop-type toy). She said from her perspective, he was just fine academically—and possibly even a little advanced (seeing as how he just turned three). So, that’s good news. As a sidenote, she said she did cut the session short by just a bit because he was getting anxious about wanting to see me—which really surprised me, but also made me feel good!—he apparently kept asking about me but kept playing…but finally said he wanted to see me and was pretty set on it. Awwww. 🙂

The speech therapist first said he is such a sweet little boy. And big for his age. And that she had to keep reminding herself he was just three because he seemed smarter than that. (YAY!) 🙂 She said some of his speech issues were age-related—for example, certain letter combinations don’t fully appear until age 6 or 7. And she said that he was very conversational—she knew he had a cat named Charlie who he played with and he watched TV in mama’s room. She was impressed with his vocabulary (he was talking about propellers and alligators) and his hearing (saying he heard helicopters outside, noticing sounds in the hallway and asking what they were) and said that when he parrots back things you say, he’s not just making the sounds—he seems to really be thinking about it and understanding it. She said in all honesty—though she hadn’t tallied his actual test results yet—she has no worries about his speech at all.

The results meeting in two weeks to discuss if he needs any special education is pretty much just a formality to say no. Which is a good thing.

Phew.

Now I just need to find him a preschool (though they said the drop-in daycare would be fine for now, too).

School screenings findings meeting

Posted on April 30, 2012 @ 9:30 am by Jen — No Comments ↓

Long story short, the school didn’t really seem to think Owen was in dire need of any special education—which, yes, is a good thing—but they did notice some areas in which he was on the lower end of normal (some language and social stuff)…but still normal (and said he was actually quite advanced on a lot of language stuff).

That said, we were able to request a more formal language evaluation (since that’s what we’re most concerned with) and classroom observation (his speech issues we’re concerned with might be better observed—or negated—by seeing him interact with kids for a longer time period)…so we are waiting to schedule those. Best case scenario, we are hoping that we can get him into a social situation (preschool) with other kids which will improve certain aspects of his language skills because he will learn from the other kids and also have to use his language to communicate with them (instead of with us who already understand him pretty well).

As a sidenote, these findings have NO effect on our ability to get the ABA (applied behavioral analysis) Therapy benefits through the military, so even if we don’t qualify for any special education programs through the school district, we will still get the one-on-one therapy.

Second school screenings

Posted on April 20, 2012 @ 9:32 am by Jen — No Comments ↓

We had told Owen that he was going to school today and he was going to get to play games…so he was VERY excited!

I didn’t realize (and they didn’t forewarn me) that I wouldn’t be in the room when they were doing the screenings…which is fine (I mean, I won’t always be there!), but it did come as a surprise. They said they would be screening four areas (socialization, fine motor skills, and I forget what else). It only took about 45 minutes and then we were on our way. We won’t find out any results until our April 30th meeting…so stay tuned.

Hearing and vision screening

Posted on April 17, 2012 @ 10:42 am by Jen — 1 Comment ↓

Today was our first appointment at the school to get Owen’s hearing and vision screened. We were there early, so they had us wait in a nice room where Owen immediately found the cars…and tipped them. 🙂

*On a sidenote, the couch and loveseat was the same exact furniture my mom used to have, just in a slightly different color.

Before the testing even started, they were impressed with him putting the toys away like I asked. 🙂

First up was hearing. Of course he had no problems pointing to the correct pictures on a chart (fire truck, ice cream, basketball, etc.). With the headphone testing, he was supposed to drop the plastic bird in the bucket when he heard the tweet, but he didn’t quite understand…but his eyes would light up and he’d smile so the audiologist knew he was hearing it. 🙂

Then it was over to the nurse where she did a few basic vision tests: naming colors of blocks as she set them out, pointing to a tiny dot on a piece of paper, and following a tiny puff ball as it dropped from her fingers. He did great with everything, and the nurse concluded that his eyesight is 20/30 and 20/40 which she said was average for his age (but the tests didn’t seem very scientific to me though).

I guess this WAS just a screening, and if they noticed anything REALLY off they’d schedule actual testing (which the same goes for Friday’s clinic). But everyone seemed happy with the results…so I guess that’s good.

Scheduling Evaluations

Posted on April 4, 2012 @ 12:18 pm by Jen — 1 Comment ↓

Getting Owen seen/evaluated at the schools is not as quick a process as I’d hoped…though part of the issue is that Spring Break is next week.

The first appointment for a brief hearing and vision test is on 4/17. They said the paperwork I have to fill out will take longer than the tests. |-|
The clinic appointment for in-depth testing is on 4/20. I’m guessing this will be similar to the tests Owen took with the first doctor and will take anywhere from 45 minutes to 1.5 hours.
The Referral meeting to go over the test results is 4/30 and should take about an hour. We will find out what they recommend as far as any special education type classes.

I guess in the grand scheme of things, it’s not THAT long, but I was hoping it would be a one-day thing I could schedule next week.

EDITED TO ADD: I also scheduled the appointment for the second opinion…unfortunately, however, it’s not until May 30 (the first opening they had)! So that’s a bit of a bummer…but the only thing I can do is call now and again to see if they have any cancellations.

First blood draw!

Posted on April 2, 2012 @ 9:45 am by Jen — 1 Comment ↓

Wow. I’m amazed.

Owen was a total ROCK STAR getting his blood drawn for the very first time this morning. :up: I expected the absolute worst…and though it didn’t start on a positive note (he didn’t want to get on the exam table for ANYTHING), it went well!

There were three techs in there (since I had told them it was his first time) and they asked me to hold him down in case he freaked out so I basically just leaned over the table and held his legs and chest…but I distracted him by telling him about the ice cream treat he would get and they distracted him by talking to him about the fish on the walls and he didn’t even feel the needle.

He didn’t flinch.
He didn’t squirm.
He didn’t cry.

In fact, he even pretended to sleep (snoring) when I suggested it. And afterwards, he picked green tape and loved it! He had to hold his arm out for just about everyone to see!

The treat I promised him for being good at the doctor! Not too many ice cream places are open at 9am, so we went to the commissary!

Welcome to autism.

Posted on March 30, 2012 @ 3:28 pm by Jen — 1 Comment ↓

So we finally had Owen’s appointment with the developmental pediatrician to check into his speech delays. We’ve actually been a little concerned since about 18-24 months, but figured he was steadily progressing, so we weren’t THAT worried—and our pediatrician wasn’t super worried, either. But at his 36 month appointment, I finally just bit the bullet and asked the pediatrician for a referral to get Owen checked out—if for nothing else to just ease our minds (if nothing was wrong) or worst case, get started on an action plan (if something was wrong).

Well, we have good news and bad news. I always like the bad new first, so here goes:

The bad news? Owen was diagnosed with autism.
The good news? It’s a very mild form.

Even though I had a tiny inkling in the back of my head going into the appointment…it was still a shock to hear and my head was just spinning from everything the doctor was throwing at me (websites, studies, possible tests, results, terminology, insurance issues, second opinions, yada yada yada). So, really, even now a day later I don’t have a lot of details…

Some points, however (which I’ll probably still muddle, but you’ll get the gist):

The doc said Owen is very intelligent (the tests he took scored him in the normal/average to slightly above average on knowledge), he just has some language issues (things like pointing at what he wants vs. asking for what he wants in a sentence) and possibly even ADHD (how busy he is all the time and his ability to play/play without other interaction).

The doc wants to run a chromosome test (basically just for us to have the knowledge) but he doesn’t anticipate anything horrible since right now, Owen doesn’t fit the profile for any of the severe instances (where he would require more tests).

The official diagnosis is High Functioning Autism. I can (and will) schedule an appointment for a second opinion with a civilian doctor in town, even though I trust and have faith in the doctor we saw. I’ve already started the process to get him enrolled in the EFMP (Exceptional Family Member Program) on base, which qualifies us for additional assistance programs (such as in-home therapy, parenting programs, etc).

The Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) is a mandatory enrollment program for all active duty personnel with family members with special needs. The goal of EFMP is to assist military families in managing the dual demands of a Marine Corps career and the special needs of a family member. An exceptional family member includes a family member enrolled in DEERS and MCTFS who possesses a diagnosed physical, intellectual or emotional need that requires specialized medical or educational services. Enrollment in the EFMP program is designed to assist the sponsor with assignment to a duty station where appropriate services necessary to support the family member(s) are available. Installation EFMP Specialists are available to assist sponsors and their family members with the enrollment process, resource, referral, and support before, during and after Permanent Change of Station transitions. Specialists also serve as advocates for EFMP families to ensure access to vital medical, educational and community services. For more information about the EFMP program please contact your installation office.

I’ll have to visit the local elementary school to get him evaluated for an IEP…which, fingers crossed, will allow him to attend preschool there (five minutes from our house). I need to start researching therapists because there’s a waiting list. And I’m sure about a thousand other things I’m forgetting or haven’t thought of/learned yet.

The good thing, however, is that the pediatrician said I’m doing everything right with him (just from watching us interact during the appointment)—so that’s positive at least—and I can just keep keeping on at home.

I have shared the diagnosis with my family and friends and they have all been amazingly supportive. In fact, the comments two friends made really stand out and I want to share them here, so I will remember them forever (and maybe someday I can read them without crying like an emotional pregnant woman):

Aaron: Here’s the thing to remember—a diagnosis doesn’t change who Owen is. All it does is attach a label to a collection of his behaviors so that you can get the appropriate assistance to help him continue to develop. He’s still the same child that you’ve been playing with and taking pictures of and sharing stories about that he’s always been.
David: That just means he’s even more special!

So, this is sure to be an interesting, frustrating, and eventually rewarding journey… Stay tuned!

Owen’s first dental appointment

Posted on February 22, 2012 @ 12:30 pm by Jen — 1 Comment ↓

Owen did great at his first dentist appointment—not perfect, but they said he was better than some 10 year olds! It took some convincing to get him to sit in the chair, and then more convincing to wear the lead robe for x-rays, and he wanted Backyardigans on the computer monitor—but there was no whining and no tantrums, so I consider it a major success! They even said that x-rays at this point are more to get him used to the idea rather than getting actual usable x-rays, so it was no big deal that they only really got one good one. And they were able to clean all his teeth and the dentist said they all look good! YAY OWEN!

Owen passed age three with flying colors!

Posted on February 6, 2012 @ 1:08 pm by Jen — No Comments ↓

Height: 42.5″ (greater than the 100th percentile) — was 39″ at 24mo
Weight: 45# (greater than the 100th percentile) — was 38# at 24mo

Amazingly, Owen got right up on the scale today without complaint!! It took some finagling to get him measured, but it wasn’t too painful, either.

Then we tested his eyes—he had to read symbols off an eye chart (he did fine, but I should have told her he could do the letters just fine). I think if it was just us, he would have done better, but he lost interest pretty quick and after the first two items, I had to resort to “Is that a tree? (No.) Is that a star? (No.) Is that a heart? (Yes.)” Apparently everything was fine, though, because she didn’t tell me otherwise. (I do know that she asked a line that even *I* couldn’t see!)

Then it was into the exam room to get his blood pressure taken. I knew he wouldn’t be thrilled with it, so I told him it was just like mama does at home with the machine (he watches me all the time) but he still wasn’t too sure. The nurse put it on his arm and said it was going to hug him a little—and he wanted nothing to do with it. Until it started squeezing him, then he said “Again, again!” 🙂 The most challenging thing, I think, was taking his temperature—he’s never had to do that before (when he was a baby, it was done rectally) so it took a little bit, but he eventually got it.

The doc checked all the basics and said he seemed great. He also wasn’t too worried about the picky eating thing. We are getting his speech evaluated, though, just to be safe and ease my mind (the doc wasn’t terribly worried, but said we might as well do it because it can’t hurt).

Owen’s 2-year well-visit

Posted on February 9, 2011 @ 4:39 pm by Jen — No Comments ↓

His current stats:
Height: 39″ (greater than the 97th percentile) — was 37.5″ at 21mo
Weight: 38# (greater than the 97th percentile) — was 35# 7oz at 21mo
Head Circumference: 50cm (between 75th and 90th percentile

Well, there’s nothing like a well-visit with the pediatrician to make you feel like a failure as a parent.

:**:

She’s not really worried about his speech (or lack thereof), but she IS worried about a) his weight and b) his lack of eating fruits and vegetables. He is 39″ and 38#—which is apparently off the chart (100+ percentile). She’s fine with his height, but she would like to see him weigh 33-34#. SERIOUSLY? He’s always been a big kid…but you’re telling me he needs to go on a diet? Of course she didn’t call it a diet but said he needs to be on skim milk (vs. 2%), I should limit the quantity he eats (especially the carbs), and he should get more exercise. Good lord. And she was amazed at what he won’t eat, saying that even though this is the age to be picky, if he’s still this picky in 6 months, she will recommend occupational therapy!! 😮

So I’m supposed to try and get more creative in giving him veggies…which sure sounds nice, but it’s kinda hard when his food options are already so limited. He won’t even let a veggie get near his plate and pushes your hand away (or hands it back to you if you sneak it on his plate)—how can I sneak it in? He loves yogurt and dips everything, but he won’t even eat veggies dunked in yogurt. We’ve tried raw, cooked, microwaved, roasted, etc., and nothing makes the cut. The kid doesn’t even really like french fries! So I’m supposed to give him a V8 or one of the fruit blends to see if he’ll drink that…and I’m supposed to make him yogurt/veggie smoothies and hope he’ll drink those. And I should let him help pick out foods and let him help prepare his food—um, yeah, I think he’s still a little young for that.

And of course, on top of all this, Owen was a screaming hot mess the entire time because he didn’t get his post-nap wake-up period (he took a 3-hour nap and woke up at the last possible minute before I was going to call to reschedule, which meant we had to fly to get out of the house on time). He bawled when we set him on the scale, he screamed when we tried to measure him, he refused to let the nurse or doctor listen to his lungs/heart…in short, it was a nightmare that Word World AND a sucker didn’t help. That’s what I get for forcing the issue and not wanting to reschedule. 😐

I just really hate feeling this way after each well visit, like I’ve failed at major things and now my kid is doomed. I know he’s not, but it sure feels that way after a visit.

🙁

Waiting for the doctor

Posted on November 10, 2010 @ 3:39 pm by Jen — No Comments ↓

Who knows why kids do what they do…

Flu shot!

Posted on November 10, 2010 @ 3:37 pm by Jen — 1 Comment ↓

His current stats:
Height: 37.5″ (greater than the 97th percentile) — was 35″ at 18mo
Weight: 35# (greater than the 97th percentile) — was 32# 7oz at 18mo

If you may recall, at his 18mo appointment, the doc was concerned about his [lack of] speech development and wrote us a prescription for an evaluation. At the time, we really weren’t that worried and just decided to wait it out. Well, he has been getting a lot better, but he’s still behind—so we wanted to go ahead with the evaluation, except I had misplaced the prescription. So I asked her to write a new one. However, after some discussion, she agreed we could actually wait until his 24mo appointment. She was impressed that he knew most of his letters, has probably 10-15 words, understands simple commands (she loved the bedtime ritual one, where he will go to his bedroom when you tell him it’s bedtime), and follows some directions.

He was a trouper with his shot and only cried for maybe 30 seconds (if that).

Updated Weight!

Posted on August 7, 2010 @ 2:46 pm by Jen — No Comments ↓

So Owen and I were at the vet’s office today and he was playing on the scale, so I asked if we could weigh him! She said he was…are you ready? 32.5 pounds! 😮 So it looks like my upper guesstimate of 31# was still way off. What a little brute!

18-month check-up

Posted on August 4, 2010 @ 6:02 pm by Jen — No Comments ↓

He was a bit of a stinker when we needed to weigh him, but really—can you expect a toddler to stand still on a scale? They wrote down 30# but I saw everything up to 33# so I’m saying 31. 🙂 I should have asked to weigh him on the baby scale or weigh him with Tom—but part of me thinks THEY should have suggested it, since THEY are the professionals. Oh well. The doc says “He’s still a big boy!” 😀

His current stats:
Height: 35″ (97th percentile) — was 34″;
Weight: ~~31# (94th percentile)~~ 32.5# (96th percentile) — was 28# 12oz

And oh, the stuff we do to keep busy at the doc’s office in the waiting room…and the stuff we laugh at Owen doing! (Sorry about the volume—I apparently had my hand over the speaker while I was recording some of it. And I may redo the compilation when I get more time—I know the titles are really hard to read, but I did it on the phone. The first video is of Owen clapping at Tom while he throws a ball around, then it’s Owen watching himself in the shiny part of the chair, then it’s a chair ride around the room, then a video of Owen just being silly, and then lastly some lip music.)

We told her we were a bit concerned about his speech (or lack thereof) and she asked us some questions and from everything we told her (him knowing some letters, numbers, etc.) she said she wasn’t REALLY worried (yet) but that she agreed it wouldn’t hurt to get him evaluated. She said he seemed very intelligent (from what she observed) and that we shouldn’t be overly concerned yet. So that’s good—although we’ll still get him evaluated.

Pediatrician Revisit

Posted on June 9, 2010 @ 9:42 pm by Jen — No Comments ↓

Since the nightly Zyrtec hadn’t helped any, we scheduled a revisit with the pediatrician. We were there on time and put it a room at our appointment time, but the doc didn’t come in until almost 30 minutes later. BOOOOOO HISSSSSS. And on top of that, it was a substitute doc, which the nurse only told me about AS we were walking into the room. Not that it necessarily would have altered our decision to visit, but I think something like that should be known as ahead of time as possible in case there were issues. I was pretty irritated by that time, too, since it’s a small office and I knew no one else was there—so why the long wait? I know I can’t possibly know all the details, so it may have been justified, but I was still irritated. Also, it was Owen’s nap time but that had been the only appointment available that day. Had the doc came in on time—or even close to on-time—we would have been out of there before the crankiness attacked (keep reading).

So the doc comes in and he’s an older Indian guy and pretty nice. Unfortunately, Owen didn’t really like him—and it was nap time—and he pretty much cried and fussed loudly the whole time the doc was looking in his ears, listening to his chest, and looking at his throat. I don’t think Owen would have been that fussy normally, so I think he knew it was someone new (unfamiliar) and didn’t like it. Luckily the doc didn’t have to do anything too invasive so it was over pretty quick. Unfortunately, Owen didn’t calm down as quickly as he normally does (like after shots).

His determination? Basically, the gunk—a minor ear infection and congestion. One wasn’t the cause of the other, but they could affect one another. Or something like that. Whatever the case, I got two prescriptions—one antibiotic and a cough syrup. And I was to continue with the Zyrtec at bedtime.

Of course, Owen was sleeping in about two minutes, so I decided to swing by Walgreens to drop of the scripts, planning to pick them up when Tom got home. But the lady said it would only be 20 minutes, so I said I’d wait, figuring that I’d still be able to get Owen in the house to finish his nap since he wouldn’t have been sleeping that long. Except that it took about 35 minutes for the scripts to be done >:XX so that by the time we got home Owen had been alseep for about 45 minutes. It seemed he was going to fall back to sleep in the crib…but he didn’t. Which meant I then had to deal with a cranky and still-tired little boy. NOT FUN. I managed to give him his medicines with not too much terror.

He did take a good two-hour afternoon nap (which my sanity really needed). The rest of the night went pretty well, and then it was time for all three meds before bedtime. It was a MAJOR struggle getting him to take the meds and that was with me holding him down and Tom administering the stuff. But we did it and as soon as we were done, Owen was fine and went right back to playing. Then it was time for his milk, and that was going well, too, until…

SURPRISE!…the projectile vomiting of wonderfully-staining fruit [blueberries and strawberries from dinner], curdled-looking cottage-cheesy milk, and all three medicines all over me…and the couch…and the floor.

Talk about YUCK. XX(

After we got the basics cleaned up, he was just fine—happy and giggling and playing. Of course. After he went to bed, the major couch clean up started (I think it will survive) and the laundry started (I hope my pants survive).

So, from now on, we’re dropping the Zyrtec and alternating the antibiotic and the cough medicine (or dropping it entirely until we think he needs it). I am NOT going to do that again.

The pediatrician doesn’t know, either.

Posted on June 3, 2010 @ 4:53 pm by Jen — No Comments ↓

So, the pediatrician said that his ears were a little red, but nothing to worry about at all. She was more worried about his congested cough, which of course sounded much worse there in the office than it normally does at home (he did some shrieking-while-inhaling thing that she DID. NOT. LIKE.) and she said she thought it sounded croup-like, but was reassured when I said he had NEVER coughed like that before that moment, and he generally only coughs, in general, a handful of times in 24 hours.

She also checked his mouth and didn’t see any new teeth even remotely coming in so teething is pretty much out.

So I’m to give him allergy meds (generic Zyrtec) once a day at dinner and then let her know if he’s better or not by Monday. She said the allergy stuff should help dry him up so that the congested cough goes away. I’ve been giving it to him on and off, but more off because I hate giving him meds if I can help it. But, apparently, I should have continued. Who knew?

That said, her best guess to the waking-crying-thing was either a) nightmares or b) the congestion waking him up, then him being freaked out. She said it could really be 100 things, and she didn’t have anything concrete to tell me…which is basically what I expected.

Freaky 15-month appointment.

Posted on May 4, 2010 @ 4:36 pm by Jen — 1 Comment ↓

So Owen’s 15-month checkup today freaked me out. Big time.

At the beginning of the appointment, the nurse asks a bunch of questions that get asked every time (Does he use a car seat? Do the parents smoke? Do you have smoke detectors in the house? Is the water heater set to 120 or less?) and then asks about the things he’s able to do or words he can say, etc. Among other things, she asked if he was able to help with simple household tasks (no), if he could throw a ball over his head (no), if he could walk up steps (well, sort of, I guess), if he knew body parts (no), and if he could run (no).

Hmmm. I normally have a LOT more yes answers, so I was a bit concerned, even though I thought the things she was asking about seemed a tad advanced. But I didn’t really think that much about it because I know he’s a little behind in speech and was fully expecting the doc and/or the nurse to be somewhat concerned (the doc was slightly concerned at his 12-month visit that he didn’t have any words yet and wasn’t walking) so I just figured maybe he was a little behind in other stuff as well. So the nurse made her notes in the chart and we waited for the doc.

So she came in and asked if I had any concerns. I said no. She asked a few questions like the nurse had, about words he could say or if he could follow simple instructions. I said no, he didn’t even talk yet. She asked if I wanted to get him evaluated and I said no, I wasn’t concerned yet. She looked a little worried, then suggested I not wait too long. Ooooo-kay.

Then she asked more questions like what words he knew and could he tell you what he wanted without pointing (like how did he let you know he wanted to read a book). I said “We really don’t do that stuff…” and I started to think I was not doing anything I was supposed to and why haven’t I been doing more and I started feeling worse and worse and the more she talked/asked questions I felt myself getting defensive…and then I heard her say something like “He should really know about 100 words by the time he’s two.”

Wait, two? He’s barely one! 88|

So I told her we had plenty of time, then. And she looked at me like I was nuts, so I said “He’s just 15 months old!” And she looked at me and I looked at her and she looked at the chart…where the [new and apparently inattentive] nurse had mistakenly written down that this was his TWO YEAR, THREE MONTH appointment instead of his ONE YEAR, THREE MONTH appointment. The doctor immediately realized what had happened and apologized profusely, saying she doesn’t have the best memory for patient’s ages so she relies on the nurse’s notes—but she should always know to refer to the birth date instead.

She then reassured me that he was perfectly on target for his age level, and she understood why I was getting freaked out when she was adamant about getting him tested—she thought he was an entire year older than he actually was. (That also says something about his physical size—that he could pass for a 2+ year old in front of his own pediatrician!)

She asked me about his nutrition, and I said he drinks plenty of milk and could live on yogurt, but that he still doesn’t do too well with “real” food, and is often quite picky. She reassured me that it’s natural, and that he still gets most of his nutrition from the milk, so not to fret too much about it. She agreed that giving him jarred Stage 3 baby veggies was a good thing.

Unfortunately, he had to get three vaccinations, and those are never fun. Also, the doc gave the shots as opposed to the nurse, and I’m not quite sure why. Maybe the new nurse is more of a receptionist only? Or she was busy? Whatever the case, the doc wasn’t nearly as good/quick as our usual nurse, and Owen screamed his little head off (more so than normal)—but the good little boy that he is, he was over it by the time I got him redressed and was scheduling his next appointment.

His current stats:
Height: 34″ (Above 95th percentile) — was 32″
Weight: 28# 12oz (95th percentile) — was 26# 4oz
Head: 48cm (75th percentile) — was 47cm

12-Month Check-Up

Posted on February 4, 2010 @ 3:59 pm by Jen — 1 Comment ↓

I couldn’t wait for today’s appointment, because I was VERY interested in how much Owen weighed—I was positive he had gained a few pounds from the last visit when he was 26#. So imagine my surprise when he weighed…26 pounds 4 ounces. Big whoop, he gained four ounces. I guess my back is just getting worse and worse and I thought (assumed) he gained more then he did. 😳

So, his stats:
Height: 32″ (95th percentile)
Weight: 26# 4oz (95th percentile)
Head: 47cm (75th percentile)

His head size also surprised me—his head looks so big that I couldn’t believe it was only in the 75th percentile.

And he apparently doesn’t like anyone to touch him now. He fought tooth and nail when the doc was trying to look in his ears, listen to his heart, and whatever other things she was looking at. Sigh.

He did, however, enjoy playing with the vertical blinds and spinning the doctor’s chair:

We now get to transition to whole milk in a sippy cup (not even a bottle!) AND get to brush his teeth after each time. That means an entirely new routine. IF he even likes the sippy cup for milk. IF he even likes the milk. I can’t wait. |-|

Then it was time for his immunizations. Four of them (well, three plus a flu shot). Two of which apparently sting like the dickens. Oh, there was screaming and crying and tears…poor kid. He was pretty okay a few minutes later, but I am guessing that was the Tylenol kicking in. He had a bottle on the way home and is now napping.

Last helmet check!

Posted on January 25, 2010 @ 6:07 pm by Jen — No Comments ↓

Today was Owen’s last helmet check—three months after he stopped wearing it—and the specialist said his head looks great! It has evened out a bit more and we don’t need to go back unless we start to have any concerns!

H1N1 Booster

Posted on December 17, 2009 @ 11:49 am by Jen — No Comments ↓

We were scheduled to get the booster shot on Friday, but with Owen’s recent barfing episodes, decided to take him in early if possible. (Yes, he’s barfed up a few meals since he’s been sick—nothing I could pinpoint to a new food or certain type of food, though.)

The doc said he seemed healthy enough although we was a bit congested (so said to give him Benedryl) but that he might have the remnants of a stomach virus, which would explain the barfing (i.e. he might be having trouble digesting the food) so she recommended a liquid diet for a few days, giving me some soy formula (better for digestion).

I also got him weighed. Are you ready?? 26 pounds! TWENTY SIX! He wasn’t naked, but how much can a pair of jeans and a onesie weigh? So he’s gained 2-3# since his 9-month appointment in November. 88|

H1N1

Posted on November 18, 2009 @ 4:20 pm by Jen — No Comments ↓

The pediatrician’s office finally got some H1N1 vaccines in, so we went in for a shot. Owen was a champ and didn’t even squawk. They didn’t have the regular flu virus, so we will get that when we go back in a month for the H1N1 Booster.