Well, I've finally found a few moments to finish telling you about Sydney's great adventure...We finally got home Monday night and it felt so good to finally have the whole family together under one roof. As much as the kids love their grandparents they were more than ready to be home as well. And more importantly, they could hardly wait to get their little hands on their baby sister. They didn't really have a chance to hold her and love on her when she was born.
The girls were very eager to hold her,
but Sammy was more interested in pushing her in her swing even though Sydney doesn't look to sure about that idea!
The next day we had to take Sydney to see her doctor as a follow up for being discharged from the NICU. It was the first of many that we've had in the past few weeks. Again, I have seen God's hand at work here because we have been blessed with a great doctor who seems genuinely concerned about Sydney, not to mention the fact that his own son had spent time in the NICU for the very same thing. So, he knows exactly what we are going through...if that is not God divine intervention, then I don't know what is!
Since then she has been to the doctors quite a few times. Her first "Well Child" visit on Friday, which was her two week check up, went pretty well other than she was not back up to her birth weight like they want to see by that age. So, the doctor wanted us to come in a few times during the next week just for weight checks. I took her in the following Wednesday and she was up from 8.4 lbs to 9.2 lbs! I was so excited that she had gained almost a pound in less than a week! It may seem like a silly thing, but it was very important to me.
That Tuesday night we took Sydney in for an ultrasound on her cyst. Because of everything that had happened after her birth the subject of her cyst had been put on the back burner. I was actually kind of nervous because I had no idea what to expect as far as if the cyst was still there, if it had grown or not, or if it had twisted during birth. I was praying and hoping that it was just gone all together and we wouldn't have to worry about it any more, but the ultrasound showed that it was still there. Of course, the ultrasound tech couldn't tell us anything more than that at that point so we had to wait until Friday when we saw her doctor again.
According the report the cyst is about the size of a dime, which is quite large for a little baby. And of course, the doctor has no idea how to handle this because he had never heard of an infant having an ovarian cyst. He said we have a very unique little baby to say the least! He said that if it does burst that she will be in a lot of pain, so that has me worried. He just doesn't know what to do, so he has referred us to a baby gynecologist at the U of M Hospital in Ann Arbor. That appointment is set for this coming Wednesday.
Speaking of U of M, we made a trip down there this last Monday to see a neurologist. Sydney has been having some twitching spells while she is in a deep sleep. When I first mentioned this to her doctor he named off some medical term for it and said it was normal. But then the next day she did it again for about 10 minutes on and off. It just didn't seem right and it kind of scared me. I was worried that maybe she was having seizures so the doctor thought it was best that we take her to see a specialist just to be on the safe side
During the visit they did not run any more tests on Sydney, but the doctor did go through all the reports with us and we discussed everything that happened before and after her birth. The doctor came to the conclusion that most likely her apnea was caused by, or partly caused by, 'wet lung'. Because she was born so quickly her body did not have time to excrete all the fluid from the lungs as it would during a normal birth. This is a very common attribute to apnea apparently and the doctor said she will just out grow it.
She also said that even if she did have a subarachnoid hemmorhage (bleeding on the surface of the brain) that the blood would absorb eventually and she would be fine. She didn't think that there was any damage to her head when she fell either because there were no signs of any fractures to her skull. As far as the twitching goes, she didn't feel that she was having seizures, and she named off some other medical term for it that I can not remember. She did give us some things to watch for that could possibly be signs of seizures, and if any of those things happened she could come back and get another, longer, EEG done to see what's really going on.
After that she checked her all out and said other than her apnea she appears to be a perfectly healthy little baby! She has great coloring, is a healthy weight, and is hitting all the milestones for a baby her age. What a relief to hear that! The doctor was so kind and said that if we had any more concerns that we were always welcome to come back or call at any time. Once again, God is taking care of our little girl and providing the very best care for her!
Well folks, that's about it so far. Other than that we've just been hanging out at home and getting in lots of cuddle time. I have to admit that it's been a little harder than I thought it would be to get back into the swing of things though. I guess I thought things would return to "normal" a little more quickly than they have. But, considering everything that has happened I'd say we're doing pretty good. The house may look like a tornado went through, and the dirty dishes might sit in the sink for a few days, and the laundry is piling up, but right now I have more important things to do...and I couldn't be more thankful!
The girls were very eager to hold her,
but Sammy was more interested in pushing her in her swing even though Sydney doesn't look to sure about that idea!
The next day we had to take Sydney to see her doctor as a follow up for being discharged from the NICU. It was the first of many that we've had in the past few weeks. Again, I have seen God's hand at work here because we have been blessed with a great doctor who seems genuinely concerned about Sydney, not to mention the fact that his own son had spent time in the NICU for the very same thing. So, he knows exactly what we are going through...if that is not God divine intervention, then I don't know what is!Since then she has been to the doctors quite a few times. Her first "Well Child" visit on Friday, which was her two week check up, went pretty well other than she was not back up to her birth weight like they want to see by that age. So, the doctor wanted us to come in a few times during the next week just for weight checks. I took her in the following Wednesday and she was up from 8.4 lbs to 9.2 lbs! I was so excited that she had gained almost a pound in less than a week! It may seem like a silly thing, but it was very important to me.
That Tuesday night we took Sydney in for an ultrasound on her cyst. Because of everything that had happened after her birth the subject of her cyst had been put on the back burner. I was actually kind of nervous because I had no idea what to expect as far as if the cyst was still there, if it had grown or not, or if it had twisted during birth. I was praying and hoping that it was just gone all together and we wouldn't have to worry about it any more, but the ultrasound showed that it was still there. Of course, the ultrasound tech couldn't tell us anything more than that at that point so we had to wait until Friday when we saw her doctor again.
According the report the cyst is about the size of a dime, which is quite large for a little baby. And of course, the doctor has no idea how to handle this because he had never heard of an infant having an ovarian cyst. He said we have a very unique little baby to say the least! He said that if it does burst that she will be in a lot of pain, so that has me worried. He just doesn't know what to do, so he has referred us to a baby gynecologist at the U of M Hospital in Ann Arbor. That appointment is set for this coming Wednesday.
Speaking of U of M, we made a trip down there this last Monday to see a neurologist. Sydney has been having some twitching spells while she is in a deep sleep. When I first mentioned this to her doctor he named off some medical term for it and said it was normal. But then the next day she did it again for about 10 minutes on and off. It just didn't seem right and it kind of scared me. I was worried that maybe she was having seizures so the doctor thought it was best that we take her to see a specialist just to be on the safe sideDuring the visit they did not run any more tests on Sydney, but the doctor did go through all the reports with us and we discussed everything that happened before and after her birth. The doctor came to the conclusion that most likely her apnea was caused by, or partly caused by, 'wet lung'. Because she was born so quickly her body did not have time to excrete all the fluid from the lungs as it would during a normal birth. This is a very common attribute to apnea apparently and the doctor said she will just out grow it.
She also said that even if she did have a subarachnoid hemmorhage (bleeding on the surface of the brain) that the blood would absorb eventually and she would be fine. She didn't think that there was any damage to her head when she fell either because there were no signs of any fractures to her skull. As far as the twitching goes, she didn't feel that she was having seizures, and she named off some other medical term for it that I can not remember. She did give us some things to watch for that could possibly be signs of seizures, and if any of those things happened she could come back and get another, longer, EEG done to see what's really going on.
After that she checked her all out and said other than her apnea she appears to be a perfectly healthy little baby! She has great coloring, is a healthy weight, and is hitting all the milestones for a baby her age. What a relief to hear that! The doctor was so kind and said that if we had any more concerns that we were always welcome to come back or call at any time. Once again, God is taking care of our little girl and providing the very best care for her!
Well folks, that's about it so far. Other than that we've just been hanging out at home and getting in lots of cuddle time. I have to admit that it's been a little harder than I thought it would be to get back into the swing of things though. I guess I thought things would return to "normal" a little more quickly than they have. But, considering everything that has happened I'd say we're doing pretty good. The house may look like a tornado went through, and the dirty dishes might sit in the sink for a few days, and the laundry is piling up, but right now I have more important things to do...and I couldn't be more thankful!
2 comments:
those pictures are beautiful jenn!
I will be praying for you all week...as usual, but especially thinking of you on Wednesday.
My heart is smiling at the happiness on your faces in the pictures! I will be praying as well!
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