Bye Bye Steroids!

Caroline had her last dose of steroids this morning. While Caroline didn't see it as an event needing a lot of fanfare (smile) her Mommy sure did! It is such a relief to know that we are DONE. At one point, Caroline was taking 5 medications: the steroid to treat her hemangioma, an antibiotic to prevent infection, and 3 medications to try to soothe her little tummy. And, most of these she was taking from the time she was 6 weeks old. That's too much for such a teeny baby. I don't want anyone to think that I am exaggerating our situation or "making a big deal out of nothing." Anyone who knows what I do for a living knows that I am fully aware that things could be much worse. I have followed parents on journeys they have taken with their children that I pray daily we will NEVER have to take with Caroline. But my mother's heart has also already taught me that as a parent, you want to protect your child from any type of adversity. Even if that adversity is relatively mild, compared to the worst case scenario. And to say that I haven't cried some tears over the unexpected challenge placed in our laps would be a lie. Because I have. Caroline has had to deal with more than most babies her age. She has been forced to take several vile tasting medicines on a daily basis when all she should have known was the comforting taste of warm milk. The very medicine used to treat the unwelcome visitor on her beautiful face then attacked her little tummy. The most comforting and pleasurable thing in a baby's life (eating) was often painful and uncomfortable for her. There were many days of feeling helpless, and numerous trips to the doctor to try and make things better for her. But, as my mother likes to say, "this too shall pass." And it did. And I am thankful. I am thankful that she's young, and oblivious to the comments and questions (most of them innocent, but a few have hit me the wrong way). I'm thankful that at this point, we don't have to try to answer HER questions about the "whys", or worry about her emotional development as she copes with being "different." I am thankful that more than likely, the hemangioma will be gone before this ever will be an issue for her. And, I am thankful that God has given her such a precious and sweet little personality and disposition that she takes everything in stride. We are indeed thankful, and so blessed.

5 months old!

Caroline is 5 months old today! Happy birthday, sweet pea! And Caroline says to remind everyone to click on the "follow this blog" link to the right of the page. She wants to know who's keeping up with her and all her tricks!

My visit with Santa

I enjoyed meeting Santa for the first time! I'm really lucky because Santa happens to be a personal friend of Mommy's through work, and as you can see, he's the REAL DEAL. No fake mall Santa for me. I almost got a nice handful of his beard too, but Mommy took me back before any damage could be done. I hope he brings me lots of loot because I've been a good girl!!

One week down, one to go!

One week down on weaning from the steriods....only one week to go! We are so excited! We have seen no change in the hemangioma, so it's looking promising that she will actually be able to be off the steroids for good! Already, we've noticed some differences in terms of side effects. Her little cheeks seem to be getting smaller (the "moon shape" appearance of her face is due to the steroids), and over the past few days she has not spit up hardly at all. The latter gives me hope that the tummy issues are due to the steroids. Caroline had her 4 month check up last week (Mommy was slack so it was closer to a five month check up, but oh well). She weighs 11 lbs, 12 ounces. We were really surprised she wasn't a 12 pounder! She's still very petite for her age - she continues to be in the 10th percentile for height and weight, but she's growing and proportionate so the pediatrician isn't worried. He was very surprised that Caroline couldn't tolerate rice cereal, as this usually isn't the case for babies. After the steroids are stopped, I will try again as well as trying formula. Dr. Burbridge basically said it could be steroid irritation or something else, like allergies. If she still has trouble after a few weeks off the steroid, we'll have to go back to Duke GI. Please pray that the stomach issues are not due to allergies, as this will make things much more complicated! Caroline is a pro at rolling now. She can roll from tummy to back and back to tummy with no problem. She has also discovered that tummy sleeping is kind of nice. A few times she's been on her tummy asleep in the crib when I've checked on her at night or during a nap. I tried taking out her bumper pads because of this (I don't want her to get caught face down on the side of the crib). Well, last night she woke up screaming 2 times during the night because she got her legs caught in the slats of the crib and couldn't move. At 3:30am, Mommy put the bumpers back! I just said a silent prayer that she would be protected.... I never knew what worry was until I became a Mommy! Today we're taking Caroline on a special trip to visit Santa! Hope we get some good pics.... stay tuned! Here are some more recent pictures of Caroline....most of them are of her doing what she does best right now...rolling over! This is me playing with my Papa and Uncle Todd at Thanksgiving... we had lots of fun!

Chance encounters and Duke update

We went back to Duke today for an appointment with Dr. Prose. He thinks it's time to wean Caroline off the steroid. Yay!! For the next 10 days, we will be cutting her daily dose in half, and then in half again for the following 10 days before finally stopping it altogether. So in about another month, we should be DONE! Our prayer now is that the hemangioma is finished growing, so that the steroid won't have to be started again, and that Caroline's stomach problems were in fact due to the steroids and that she will be able to soon tolerate formula and solids. We also requested a consultation with the doctor who is an expert at Duke in laser treatments. We would like his opinion regarding when/if to do the laser treatment now that the steroid treatment is ending. That appointment is not until February, as well as our next appointment with Dr. Prose. In the past month or so I've had two "chance encounters" with mothers whose children also had hemangiomas on their faces. One mother approached me while at Duke to tell me that her daughter also had a hemangioma on her face, and started laser treatments at 8 weeks old. She provided me with the name of the doctor at Duke and highly recommended him. This is in large part what encouraged Zack and I to request a consultation with this doctor. Another mother I ran into in the middle of Old Navy. She had her little girl with her, a toddler, and she had a hemangioma on her face in the EXACT location of Caroline's, except under the opposite eye. Anyone who knows me knows that it is out of character for me to approach a perfect stranger and strike up a conversation, but something told me I had to talk to this mother. Once I told her about Caroline, she seemed equally as comforted to hear from another mother facing the same situation. She shared with me that her daughter, born July of 07, was also on steroid treatment until she was about five months old. After that the hemangioma began disappearing on it's own. Now only a slightly red area is left. A visible representation of what is to be for Caroline. The Lord truly sends encouragement when you need it! He has taken care of all of the details so far, and I know He will now.