Sick Baby

Caroline ended up coming down with a cold that quickly turned into an ear infection over the weekend. She's had several sleepless nights the last few days and has just felt pretty rotton, but she seems to be on the mend now. Last night she was finally able to sleep. She's on 10 days of amoxicillan for the ear infection. At least she's used to taking medicine and I don't have to fight her to get it down! This is her second cold and she's not even in daycare! I can't imagine what it would be like if she was. I guess she would just be sick all the time. Thank heaven for grandmothers! :-)

Update from Duke

We saw Dr. Prose today and at least for the moment, we will be in a state of "watchful waiting." He pulled up a pic he took of Caroline in October and compared it to her now, and it seems the hemangioma has not grown an incredible amount. It has changed some though, so we need to keep a close eye on it to make sure it does not grow any more. We will be going back in two weeks for Dr. Prose to take a look again. The good news is, steroids WILL NOT be in Caroline's future regardless. If the hemangioma seems to still be growing, she will be started on a new medication called propranolol. This is actually a blood pressure medication that has been around for a long time, but is new on the scene in terms of treating hemangiomas. If you are interested, here is a link to learn more about it: www.hon.ch/News/HSN/616440.html All in all I'm just relieved that we have options other than the steroids and that Caroline won't have to go through that again. I'm also doing lots of research myself to learn more about the propranolol and trying to talk to some other parents whose children are taking it. I am also going to consult via email with a vascular surgeon in New York who is well known for specializing in hemangiomas regarding the appropriate time for surgical removal/intervention. Dr. Prose did say today that he thinks that some sort of cosmetic or plastic surgery will be in Caroline's future at some point. Weighing all the options and knowing the right thing to do is very overwhelming at times. We want the best outcome possible for Caroline to minimize any differences in her appearance. Please continue to pray for us that we are led to the right information, the right doctors, and the right treatment for Caroline.

A funny conversation.....

First of all, I did hear back from Dr. Prose and we have an appointment for Caroline on Friday at 10am. I'll update about that when we return later that day. I know I've mentioned before that Caroline likes to "growl." Ever since she was about 3 months old, she has done this. It's her "happy noise" and her means of communication. When she's playing with a toy she likes, she growls. When she sees me peer over the crib to get her up in the morning or from a nap, she smiles and growls. When she saw the neighbor this afternoon, she greeted her with a smile and a growl. It is the primary sound she makes! So I took Caroline to her 6 month check-up with the pediatrician today, and our conversation went something like this: Dr. Burbridge: "Do you have any questions or concerns today?" Me: "Well, Caroline is not making a lot of babbling sounds yet, should she be?" Dr. Burbridge: "Well, she should at least be making SOME sounds. Does she make any sounds at all?" Me: "Yes, she growls." Dr. Burbridge: (Smiles and laughs) "She growls?" Me: "Yes, she makes a noise like this (I precede to "growl" at the doctor)" Dr. Burbridge: (Smiles and laughs again) "Really?" "Well, I wouldn't worry about it too much. She will probably grow out of it and catch up to making the consonant sounds. We will reassess it when you come back in three months." Years later I'll be telling Caroline how much I worried about her delay in speech development because of her "growling." I've really got to get that on videotape!

Discouraged....

Caroline's hemangioma is growing again. I've been suspecting it and questioning it for over a week, constantly examining it everyday trying to decide if it is truly getting bigger or if it's just my imagination. But it's getting bigger. The growth is not as rapid as in the early weeks before steroids but it is growing nonetheless. I emailed Caroline's doctor at Duke yesterday to let him know of my concerns. I'm going to try to get her in to be seen by him earlier than her scheduled appointment in February. The thought of having to put her back on the oral steroid is disheartening, to say the least. I'm hoping that Dr. Prose may have some other options for us. Please pray for Caroline and whatever may be ahead of her in terms of treatment, and that Zack and myself would be provided with the information and wisdom needed to make the right decisions. I'll update again when I hear from Dr. Prose.

Half way to one!

Happy 6 month birthday, Caroline! It's hard to believe that you are half way through your first year with us! We love you more than you can imagine! Here are some pictures taken today, 6 months old. Caroline is wearing an outfit that her Aunt Tracy wore when she was a baby!

The Last Time

As I got Caroline dressed this morning in what is one of my favorite outfits of hers, I realized this will be the last time she will be able to wear it. Her feet and toes are squished at the end and when she reaches out her arms the sleeves are more like 3/4 length than long like they should be. She's finally starting to outgrow her 3 month clothes and move into the 3-6 month size (this gives you a clue as to how small she really is...6 months old and just now growing out of 3 months size clothing). As I've been putting away her too small clothing into plastic storage containers, I've had the slightest twinge of sadness here and there that she'll never wear those clothes again! She just gets more and more fun as the days go by and amazes me at what she is able to do, but as she continues to get farther away from her newborn days I realize just how fast she is growing! Six months have passed in a flash, and obviously the next six months will too. It's things like an outfit that doesn't fit anymore that reminds me to slow down, leave the world behind, put aside life's stresses, and just enjoy the moment. Enjoy being a Mommy to a precious little girl, because in terms of what's important, nothing else even comes close. So here are some pictures I took of my precious girl in her too small outfit while I was enjoying the moment......

Not a fan.....

So I found out this morning that Caroline is NOT a fan of baby oatmeal. I decided to try the oatmeal this time instead of the rice cereal, but it did not go over well. She made the most horrible faces I have ever seen and actually gagged a bit! I seriously think she would have rather had several doses of the steroid than anymore of that oatmeal. We tried three bites and quit. Oh well, back to rice cereal. I wish I had taken some pictures.....her face was priceless!

If you're interested.....

I've gotten several questions lately from people who are curious about exactly what Caroline's birthmark is and want to know more about it. Sometimes those questions are from strangers in the middle of Babies R Us (that happened to me last weekend), but I figured that there are probably those of you reading our blog who care about Caroline and may want to know more as well. If you're interested, here are some websites to check out which I think explain hemangiomas well, and the most commonly used treatment techniques. http://www.novanews.org/hemangioma1.htm This is the website of the National Organization of Vascular Anomalies. They talk about the different types of hemangiomas on this site. FYI: Caroline's hemangioma is considered a "combined" hemangioma. http://www.birthmark.org/hemangiomas.php This is the website for the Vascular Birthmarks Association, which has some good information as well. For any parents with children who have hemangiomas who are following our blog (I know of a few), the two websites above were the ones I found to be most helpful, accurate and informative. Also, I am SO happy to talk to any parent who would like to talk with another mother walking a similar path. Just contact me by email: zhubbard@bellsouth.net

First Cold!

Caroline has had a bit of a head cold this week so she's not feeling her best. She started feeling bad this past Saturday, and was pulling on her ears and fussy. I took her to see the Doctor Sunday morning (our doctor's office has hours for sick visits on both Saturday and Sunday- fabulous!) because I thought she might have an ear infection. No infection, but there is fluid behind her ears which indicates that she has a cold. To top it off, she is desperately trying to cut a tooth. I can feel it right under the surface, so it will soon make an appearance! We are giving her Tylenol, rubbing her down with Vicks Baby Vapor Rub at night and running a humidifier when she sleeps. Poor girl. Hopefully she will be feeling better soon. So far, Caroline is tolerating formula just fine. She's up to one ounce in every bottle and so far, so good. Our next challenge: rice cereal....again! We'll try that this weekend and see how she tolerates it. Now that she's almost 6 months old, I'm ready to put some variety in her diet- some bananas and sweet potatos would be good! We'll start with the rice cereal and then move on to the baby food. Caroline continues to roll and roll and roll! She likes being on her tummy more and more too. Her newest "trick" is that she has found her tongue. She loves to stick it out over and over again and if we stick out our tongues at her she tries to imitate us. She loves for us to make animal sounds- she likes "Old MacDonald" and her "Baby animals" book. She also loves for us to read to her, especially her "So Big" baby Elmo book. Her absolute favorite thing to do right now is bounce in her jumper seat. It hangs from the doorway and she has learned how to really make herself jump and bounce. We've got some video of her doing this which I will post as soon as I figure out how! Our little girl keeps growing and growing!

Caroline's First Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas and Caroline's presence this year made it even more so. Little ones make Christmas so much more fun! We spent with holiday with my mom and my dad's side of the family. We had Christmas Eve at my grandmother's (which has been tradition for as long as I can remember) and then Christmas Day at my mom's house. Here are some pictures of Caroline enjoying her first Christmas...... Spending time with great-grandmother Mamaw Santa came to see me!! Opening presents Fun with my new toy! Playing with Gigi With my aunt Tracy and soon to be uncle Jon Caroline has been off the steroid for almost two weeks now! We started trying formula again today, and so far, so good. We'll be increasing the amount slightly tomorrow. Please pray that her tummy is completely healed and she continues to tolerate it!