Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Update on Baby Ryan

Ryan and I visited with his Neurologist today. We discussed concerns about the increasing amount of irritability that Ryan has been displaying over the past several days, 2 events that occurred during this past month that may have been seizures, and Ryan's constant congestion. The Neurologist felt that the constant congestion could affect Ryan's ability to get quality sleep. A lack of quality sleep could contribute to additional seizures. He would like us to see a Pediatric Ear Nose & Throat (ENT) Specialist to rule out any structural issues. He would also like us to discuss with Ryan's Pediatrician the possibility that the solid food we just started about 9 days ago could be contributing to the irritability.

So, why not just blame the grumpiness on typical baby stuff? Well, the medicine Ryan takes to prevent seizures is known to cause irritability. If the medicine is the source of the irritability then Vitamin B-6 should resolve it. (Wouldn't it be nice if a good dose of Vitamin B-6 would resolve everyone's irritability? :)) If however it doesn't resolve and there's no other known cause for it, then the Neurologist feels the only decision would be to take Ryan off the medicine and look for another answer.

We also discussed Ryan's muscular structure. He is definitely improving in his muscle control. He can almost hold his head up now without looking like a bobble head. Not for long, but he can do it.

Ryan's leg reflexes seem to be better than they used to be. However, the Neurologist was concerned about the way he continues to position his legs with his feet resting on each other. He also does this with his hands. You might notice that he frequently holds his hands together over his chest.

I feel very thankful for this Dr. He is super bright and very compassionate. I appreciate my neurosurgeon friend referring me to him.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Jessica's Drawing

Jessica sketched this in February while watching 2 of the universe's calmest little boys. They were fascinated by her drawings.