Wednesday, February 11, 2015
February 11, 2015 "Casting #3"
Rayden turned 7 weeks old yesterday, 2-10-15, which was actually his original due date! He is growing so fast. He had three doctor appointments this week also.
1-Pediatrician- Rayden received a Synagis shot today. Synagis is used to help prevent a serious lung disease caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in children at high risk. Dr. Chiodo wants to give him one more dose of this next month hoping to prevent Rayden from getting sick. Rayden seems to be hungrier this week so Michael and I decided to up his feeding from 2.5 oz to 3oz every 4 hours. Dr. Chiodo approved. His bottom doesn't seem to be any better this week so she suggested we use an old remedy of corn starch, Vaseline, and baby powders to dry it out some. I pray this works!!
2-Orthopaedics- Rayden's feet are moving so rapidly. I can't believe we are already on our third set of casts! Dr. Narotam said we are already halfway finished with the serial casting. With his feet almost straight, the risk of the casts slipping off are higher now so Dr. Narotam used a special 'glue' to prevent slippage. During this session Rayden had a reflux episode with milk shooting out of his nose again. I scooped him up right in the middle of the casting. We had to incline him on a pillow to finish. I was pleased with the doctors patience and concern during this episode. I was able to take a few pictures of Rayden's feet before they put on the new casts.
3-Ophthalmology- A great report! The swelling on Rayden's optic nerves have gone down. The busted blood vessels are all clear now. Dr. Gertsch says the pressure in his head must be stabilizing. He also said Rayden seems to be focusing age appropriately. He said Rayden had the bluest eyes! I agree!
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3 comments:
Dr. Mary Ann is awesome. My son and daughter are patients there also. My son was diagnosed with a life threatening disease at birth so there were lots of doctor visits and we spent most of our time (first 7 years) at UNC. She is terrific and I hope you all adore her as much as we do. Rayden is growing so fast. I truly enjoy hearing all the progress that Rayden is making. God is good. Continued prayers for you all. <3
I just came across your blog tonight and am typing this message from the ICU. My daughter was just born on Dec 24th with a golf ball size brain tumor and, while I can't begin to imagine what you're going through, I can't believe the similarities in our journeys (we too stayed at a Ronald McDonald House).
I only have some anecdotes to offer with regards to reflux and diaper rash. As far as the diaper rash goes, open air is the best remedy. I would cover the ground with burp cloths for my first daughter and give her as much open air as possible. We never found a cream that worked for healing the skin but we did find one that worked as a protectant for the times she had to wear a diaper. It was called SensiCare and was by the brand Convatec. It was next to impossible to find back then but it might be easier to find online now. In between diaper changes we'd wipe her clean but leave on any residual cream.
http://www.convatec.com/products/skin-care/sensi-care/sensi-care-protective-barrier/p-609e1b05-269d-4dfb-8ca6-711554d3629b/3_0007/
Cloth diapers seemed to help too. We settled on Bum Genius 4.0s.
For reflux you might want to look in to cow milk protein and soy protein intolerance. Some people have claimed that it's more common in kids who started on formula (all mine had to) but I'm not sure how true that actually is. You'd have to cut all soy and dairy from your diet while he was eating bread milk if that is the case. It made such an incredible difference for my daughter, much more than the zantac did. She wasn't able to tolerate dairy until some time around 18 months. Cutting soy and dairy is not easy, sorry.
The other things we've found to help were keeping her upright for at least twenty minutes after feedings and having her sleep at an incline.
I've read that stomach sleeping can be good for reflux but never felt comfortable enough to try it because of SIDS risks. We did have her sleep on her side and used rolled up blankets as bumpers to keep her in that position.
Stay strong and best of luck.
Chris, I would love to speak with you more. My email is tbradley@harnett.k12.nc.us
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