Regaining Strength

Since our last post, Finnegan has been on the mend. We've definitely had our set backs, but this morning Finnegan's shining smile and adorable little giggles reassured me that it will all be okay!

Last Friday Grandma and Grandpa Bruckner came over. We had a nice dinner, played Uno, entertained Finn, and overall had a great evening. It was hard to believe that it was already a week ago that Finn had his surgery.

This weekend Finnegan started to vomit while eating. This isn't your typical spit-up. We're talking projectile, large amounts of formula pukiness. AKA: No fun. He decided to throw up a couple times over the weekend, but he was still eating very very well. He also began doing this little wheezing sound whenever he would inhale, so we decided we'd talk to the doctor about it on Monday.

He had a scheduled appointment with his pediatrician on Monday. Here, Dr. Emm said he was pretty sure Finn had some sort of reflux going on, but didn't want to put him on medication for it until it looked like he really needed it. During that appointment we also found out Finnegan was gaining weight the way he needed to (he was up to 12 pounds 12 ounces...up 12 ounces from last week!). The doctor suggested we get him in to see his ENT to see what is going on with his vocal chords because of the stridor (squeaking noise during inhalation). He was assuming there was some sort of damage from the many attempts at intubation. Monday also meant Finnegan gets another blood draw. He was a lot more angry during this one than previous ones.
Monday evening he threw up two more times. The one time included throwing up his seizure medications.
Tuesday we went to see the ENT. They put a scope down his nose to check his vocal chords. Yeah, he wasn't too happy about that. The doctor said his vocal chords looked great (like we were surprised to hear that one), but he did show signs of moderate laryngomalacia which is literally translated as "soft larynx". What this means is that cartilage of the upper larynx is soft and immature (a word we are used to hearing when talking about Finnegan) and it collapses inward when he breathes in which causes a slight airway obstruction. This part of the larynx above the vocal chords which explains the high pitched squeaking we were hearing when he would inhale. This also can explain some of his feeding difficulties. His ENT said there really wouldn't be anything we should do for him because it is a mild case and almost all kiddos grow out of it by 1-2 years of age.

Tuesday Finnegan was a trouble-maker. He wasn't a happy boy at all. While I was tutoring Tuesday evening, Finn puked on Daddy for the first time. Needless to say, daddy was not happy, and both of us were concerned. After I got home Ian went to bed and I got Finn ready for bed and gave him his bedtime bottle and medicine. After I gave him his medicine, I set him down on my lap to get his burp cloth under his chin. He was looking away from me with his head faced outwards. As I went to turn his head toward me to tuck in the burp cloth, I noticed his neck was stiff and his eyes were fluttering. When I felt the rest of his body it was rigid as well. All signs pointed to a seizure. I put my hands on either side of his cheeks and tried to calm him. He turned his head and looked at me about 15 seconds later. I'm still not sure if it was a seizure or just Finnegan being stubborn, but either way I was a little panicked. Once he ate a little bit of his bottle, he started coughing. At first I just thought he took too much formula in at once so I sat him up a bit more and patted him on the back. A little spit up came out, so I wiped his mouth and realized that he still hadn't taken a breath in. His face turned bright red. I quickly went into mommy panic mode, but put him over my arm and hit his back as they taught us to in CPR class. He quickly began puking everywhere and took a big breath in. At this point, I knew I would not be sleeping. After my heart went back into my chest and Finnegan calmed down, I started puke clean up. Finn got a nice bath and snuggled up next to mommy. I sat him in his bouncy and took him into the bathroom while I took a shower. I didn't want to let him out of my sight. I sat up reading for a while and got up at every noise Finn made. At 1:30 am I got him a bottle and fed him without a problem. I relaxed a little but still went to check on him about every hour or so as my body would wake up or react to his noises. At 5am he woke Ian and I up coughing. It started out very dry and "barky" and then throughout the morning became a bit more "junky" and more frequent.

I eventually got through to his pediatrician's office and told them about the vomiting and the coughing and they said they'd talk to the doctor and get back to me. In the meantime, Finnegan had his Early Intervention Services Assessment for Developmental Therapy and Physical Therapy. This is also where they recommended any other services. Without much surprise, Finn is delayed. His Physical Therapist said that he is exhibiting the physical behaviors of a 1 month old, but it showing signs of older development (grabbing, holding onto things, bringing hands together). As we stretch him and loosen the joints and muscles, he should hopefully get back to normal. His Developmental Therapist also said he's delayed, but the fact he is attentive to noises, tracks a little (mostly just when he wants to), makes the consonant vowel sound of "ma", and can be soothed is a good sign. His plan for direct services from Early Intervention includes Physical Therapy and Developmental Therapy once a week. His DT will work with us and show us activities that we can do with him to stimulate his development. His PT will obviously work with us on positionings that will prevent him from getting too tight and obviously stretches. He will meet with an Occupational Therapist tomorrow to evaluate what services she thinks Finn needs. He will also meet with a Speech/Feeding Therapist in December to evaluate his needs in that area as well. So, on top of the four therapists, Finnegan has a case manager through Early Intervention, a Family Case Manager through the Health Department, and a Case Manager from the Insurance Company. All of them are female, and I ask Finnegan all the time how he gets all the ladies. When I asked him that yesterday while his Early Intervention team was here, he just smiled. ;)
Eventually, I heard back from the doctor's office. I insisted on having him come in because he cough was getting worse and he was having a hard time staying asleep because of it. At the doctor's office, we talked about breathing and what to look for again (which we were monitoring, but that cough was still bad). Since his cough was mix of dry and congested, the doctor decided to give him a steroid since croup is going around in the area. He also decided to put him on Prilosec and a different formula since the Enfamil AR wasn't cutting it. He's now on Enfamil Gentlease and he gets Prilosec every evening with some applesauce. As of last night, that was a hit! The doctor told me that if he throws up the steroids, to come back in for a shot of the steroid instead. Surprise surprise, Finnegan threw up his steroid. So, not even 2 hours after leaving the office, we went back so Finn could get a shot. My poor baby.

I went to tutor that evening and worried about Finn the entire time. I relaxed a little when Ian messaged me and said he was sleeping. He hadn't done much of that all day, so I was glad he was getting some rest. When I got home, Finn was still sleeping. After a while we woke him up to give him his medication and get him ready for bed. Ian set up the cool steam humidifier/vaporizer and I rubbed some baby vapo-rub on his neck. I was up with him a little bit throughout the night, but as his coughing subsided, mommy relaxed and slept a little bit.

When I woke up with him this morning, he was all smiles and giggles. It was a relief to see my little boy back to himself. He was still coughing a bit, but nothing like yesterday. He stayed up with me most of the morning, playing on his activity mat nearly rolling over and then sitting in his swing smiling at the birdies going around.
He finally fell asleep for a nap right as I was getting ready to take him for his blood draw. Of course! ;)
Next week he will go for his 6-month vaccinations (even though next week he will be 7 months already... hard to believe). Then, 4-6 weeks after those vaccinations they will repeat his immunological tests to see how his antibodies look. If they are still low, he will most likely be referred to an immunologist in Chicago.
This week was a challenge for another reason. After over 6 months of ups and downs, our new family will close on our first home tomorrow. I spent the week organizing homeowners insurance, switching over utilities, getting miscellaneous paperwork into the bank, and otherwise trying to make sense of all this craziness that goes with home-ownership. Since I spent most of the time worried about Finn, the fact that we are going to own a home (with the bank, of course) tomorrow it didn't hit me until I was on the phone with the City Hall getting our water bill transferred. She said that trash pickup was on Thursdays and to let her know if we didn't have a garbage can or recycling bin. I had a butterfly flutter in my tummy when I thought about having our garbage picked up at the curb. I was excited when I realized we got our own garbage can. It seriously must be the little things.

After quite the year, we are hoping that everything ends on a positive note with Finnegan and our new home. As Finn's pediatrician said, "You can't have any worse luck than you already have." ;)