Medical stuff

Today is a big day for Emma. She is having a palate expander placed by the orthodontist. She'll have it in for about 2 months and then she'll get braces. She has an anterior crossbite which means the upper front teeth are inside the lower front teeth. We saw three orthodontists who had three different opinions (and price tags) about how to address the problem. Each did recommend doing it now while the jaw is still growing, so that's where we're at. The ortho will help get her jaw growing properly and then she'll get braces again later to straighten her teeth.

Benjamin has been amazing us with his eating lately. Over the last month to 6 weeks, we had been cutting out one tube feeding a day (lunch) and having him replace it with oral intake. The GI doctor wanted us to further reduce his tube feedings down to 2 a day after he adjusted and then have his weight checked in a month or so. Just as we were getting ready to stop tube feedings at dinner, Benjamin announced that he didn't want the pump anymore at all. He wants to do it all by mouth and finally seems to have the skills to do it. For the last 3 days, he has only received a feeding at night while he's asleep (shhh...don't tell him that). Everything else has been by mouth. He is much more interested in food and loves to have snacks, etc.

We'll just have to let Benjamin take the lead with this and see where it goes. I'm hopeful that it may stick and he may be getting close to getting off the tube. His mouth still tires relatively easily and he needs prompting to keep eating, but all in all, we can't complain. He has made HUGE strides over the last few months. His chewing is significantly better and faster which aids the whole process. I think preschool will be helpful also as he sees his peers eat lunch.

Yeah for Benjamin! Now if we could just get him to drink a little milk, we would be all set.

Last week, Benjamin had another medical adventure. He woke up bawling in the middle of the night and Sean found him sitting in the bathroom. He said it hurt when he went potty, so our guess was that he had a urinary tract infection. Throughout the rest of the night, he tried to sleep, but was pretty uncomfortable. I took him to see a pediatrician (not his - vacation, of course) who took a urine sample and she said it was "very colorful". Confusingly, the culture came back negative 2 days later, so they claimed he didn't have an infection. I didn't believe that for a second, so the ped called the urologist (also not his - vacation, as well) who said to leave him on the antibiotic. In the course of this adventure, I also had the ped look at some swelling in the region where Benjamin had his hernia repair. It has been there for a while, so we were thinking it was probably swelling related to the surgery. The ped didn't think that was the case so long after surgery. After arguing with the urology office, they decided to have us bring him in to have it checked (they were pretty reluctant as Benjamin's urologist was on vacation). The nurse practitioner didn't feel it was an emergency situation, but that it warranted keeping an eye on. After pushing back a little further, we ultimately had Benjamin seen by another urologist in the office (our second visit to the office that day) who examined him and ordered a sonogram. The sonogram seems to show that Benjamin has a hydrocele which is a fluid pocket in the groin area. This problem is very common for newborns and typically resolves itself within a year. In Benjamin's case, it seems to have appeared after his hernia surgery. The urologist said he has never seen anything like that before. Benjamin certainly keeps the docs on their toes. We don't really know what the resolution for this will be, but we'll keep you updated. Benjamin will see his urologist, Dr. Cortez, next week for a follow up.

Alex started his allergy shots after he got back from Chicago. He was very nervous the first time, but Sean went with him and got his first shots that day as well. Alex and Sean have to receive 2 shots each time due to the number of allergies they have. Sean has been going in 3 times per week and Alex has been going twice a week. Once they get up to their maintenance dose, they can go once a week for the next year or so. Then once every 2 weeks for the next year. Then once a month for the third year. It's a big commitment, but hopefully it help. Sean seems to be a little more affected by the shots than Alex. Sean's arms swell a little and get pretty itchy, but the reaction has been localized. Alex has had very little reaction which is great for him.

Just when you were wondering if that was it for the Buckley medical update...nope...I also found out this summer that I have hypothyroidism which means my thyroid gland is underactive. The endocrinologist has put me on some synthetic thyroid hormone so hopefully my system will be be better regulated soon. Mainly I have been very tired over the last several months which I was attributing to having 3 kids. The medication takes several weeks to work in your system, so I'll be rechecked next month. I'm not noticing much difference yet, but I'm hopeful.

Thank goodness for our insurance!