Cabell's Health

Hi everyone,

It's been a very rough week in the Stewart household, especially for the newest member.

We took Cabell to the ENT last Monday (3/23) for another video endoscopy of his throat. Cabell HATED the tube going down his nose (Who wouldn't??), but fortunately he was fine as soon as the 40-second procedure was over. His LES was still red and swollen, consistent with reflux. The goal is to see that redness and swelling go down over time as the Prevacid does its thing. He goes back for another one in May.

On Monday night, Cabell had a hard time breathing as he had a very wet, chesty cough all night long. Bradley took him to his pediatrician on Tuesday afternoon, who immediately admitted him to the hospital. They thought it could be either pneumonia or bronchitis. Before going to the hospital, Bradley had to give Cabell a breathing treatment using a nebulizer, which Cab understandably did NOT like.

I met them at the hospital just after they checked in and we spent the next couple of hours watching our baby get poked and prodded. He was really dehydrated and had to get on an IV. It ultimately took THREE TRIES before they managed to get the IV in his foot. They wrapped it up into a little boot to keep it in place.

We ended up staying in the hospital Tuesday-Thursday. Cabell spent his 3-month birthday laying in a hospital crib :( His pediatrician saw him early Weds. morning and said he could be discharged later that afternoon, but Bradley and I insisted on a doctor seeing him right before discharge. Another doctor from the practice came over and wasn't satisfied with his oxygen in blood content, so she said we should stay another night. I'm so glad we insisted on seeing a doctor again! We were ultimately discharged Thursday morning and Cab took a nice long nap when we got home.

Well, after returning home, his appetite still had not improved and we were so worried about ending up in the hospital with another IV. So I took him to see Dr. Shelly, the on-call doctor at his pediatrician's office, on Saturday morning. Dr. Shelly didn't like how Cabell sounded, so he ordered him back to the hospital for another 24-hour observation. By Sunday afternoon , he not only sounded better, but he was eating better. We think his food strike was due to his nasal congestion, which has been eased with the use of liquid Claratin.

In the two days since his release, his appetite has remained steady, which is a GREAT thing. He also sounds a lot better, with the occasional cough and raspy breathing. We will continue using the nebulizer (which he now loves- he tries to lick the gas!) until the bronchitis has completely cleared (which could take 4-6 weeks!), but HOPEFULLY the worst is behind us.

On a more fun note, Cabell continues to develop at a rapid pace. He is beginning to put toys in his mouth and drool more, which means that teething is just around the corner. He is also a smiling and laughing FOOL and loves nothing more than socializing with people. In the hospital, he managed to charm his fair share of doctors and nurses :)

We didn't take any pictures during Cabell's hospital stays (our mental images are more than enough), but I will try to get some pictures of Cab playing with his nebulizer up soon!

Some new pictures

Well, Cabby and Daddy and I have had a nice weekend. Cabell has had a couple of naps (he's taking one now- yay!), which makes me believe that the meds are starting to work because Cabell hardly EVER napped prior to this.

Babies with reflux need to be kept upright for about half an hour afer eating, so yesterday I put him in his vibrating papasan chair and he went to TOWN chewing on his hands! It was too cute, so I've included them below. I've also included some pictures of him in his cute shamrock outfit that Meme and Jeannie bought him. He had so many St Pat's outfits that we had to make sure he wore them all this week since he'd never be able to wear them again!

Tomorrow we go back to Dr. Moretz. This time, he's going to take a video of Cab's esophagus. Unfortunately, this involves another camera down the nose. Thank God Bradley will be with us for this one. The goal is to get a better view of any damage the reflux may be doing to his esophagus and to track the progress that the Prevacid may be making. Please keep Cabell during your prayers tomorrow afternoon!

Now, without further adieu, new pictures!

2 cute 4 daycare

Shamrock bootie!

Snuggle time

Almost as yummy as milk- almost.

Trying to talk and suck at the same time

The night owl naps!

When Babies Blog

Hi to all my adoring fans!
Mommy thinks I'm at daycare now, pooping and burping and napping. But what I am REALLY doing is blogging (they start us on computers at a young age now!).
I wanted to update everyone on my icky reflux (known as GER). I'm responding well to the Prevacid so far. I only spit up once at daycare on Weds and none at all yesterday. I'm nursing a little better, to mommy's delight, and my cry is getting a bit stronger.
The ENT doctor called mommy today and told her that he wants to do a video endoscopy next week to look at my throat and maybe my lungs. Mommy is so scared about them putting that tube down my nose again, but she and Daddy will be there to hold me and comfort me if I cry. The doctor said the video endoscopy will be helpful in assessing any potential damage caused by the reflux and help us estimate when I can stop taking Prevacid. Plus, I'm sure I can convince Mommy to buy me a new toy or two out of the deal!
I'm trying not to let this go to my ever-growing head, but a lot of people on Tuesday commented on how strong I am. When you put me on your shoulder, I rarely rest my head; it's constantly up and looking around. I've had pretty good neck strength and control from week one. Mommy thinks I'll make a great athlete one day.
My latest craze is putting things in my mouth- the early stages. I can take my seahorse rattle and put it in my mouth and I REALLY like to put my clothes and bibs in my mouth. I'm also much more into my papipiers (pacifiers) now. I like to tuck-tuck-tuck on them all day and all night, especially when I go to bed.
OK, the nice daycare ladies have come to change my dipey-doo, so I must go. Until next time, I guess I can trust my Mommy with keeping you up-to-date. Mooches!

Reflux and St. Pat's

Cabell had quite a day yesterday. Grandma took him to Doctor Ben for what we THOUGHT was an ear infection. Dr. Ben was concerned with how he sounded (he thought Cab may have an obstruction of some sort) and immediately sent him to an ENT. Mom called me and said I should get out there right away (I was at work), so I hauled butt in the pouring rain, just freaking out over what could be going on.

By the time I arrived at ENT associates, they had already performed the endoscopy (when a camera about the thickness of a piece of spaghetti is put down his throat through his nostrils), which Cabell did NOT enjoy). I wish I could have been there to comfort him (though I think seeing that would have been very difficult), but I am SO glad his grandma was with him!

The ENT was very nice (but SO young-looking; I swear he looked like he's my little brother's age!) and said that there was redness around his esophagus and that he has pretty bad reflux (known as GER). He said it's common in babies his age and, with proper treatment, should go away by around 7 or 8 months. He said a lot of the symptoms Cab has shown (spitup, refusing to nurse sometimes, his weak, pitiful cry lately) are all related to the reflux. He said he wanted us to go back to Dr. Ben the next morning (St Pat's) to start an "aggressive" treatment. We then realized that Cab was going to miss his first St Patrick's Day (a big deal here in Savannah), but what mattered most was taking care of our little guy.

We managed to get an early morning appointment with Dr. Ben and started him on his reflux treatment right away- baby Prevacid. We crush up half a pill in the morning, mix it in a dropper with a tablespoon of water, and feed it to Cabell. He took his first dose like a champ and I just pray that it kicks in soon. Dr. Ben said that if he went undiagnosed much longer, he could have aspirated into his lungs. He also said that Cabell's weak crying is a result of strain on his vocal chords AND that reflux can cause heartburn in babies, both of which just broke my heart. Please keep Butterbean in your prayers!

Well, we were done early enough that we made it to the parade. Cabell was a hit and had a good time once we got him out of the sun. Mr. Houston's truck was parked at the site and had dark-tinted windows, so both Hilary (a friend of ours whose son A.J. is just a month older than Cab) and I were able to nurse our babies nearby in privacy, which was great. Cabell hardly napped at ALL at the parade (maybe 10 minutes total), but he seemed to enjoy himself. After the parade, we made it over to the Houston's for the annual post-parade party and a great time was had by all. The highlight was definitely when we laid Cabell and A.J. down together and they seemed to have a GREAT time looking at each other.

Now the part you've been waiting for...PICTURES!

<---Hilary and I with some hot men we picked up at the parade.

The Sims and Stewart families (and a crabby Cabby)

--->







Snugglin' with Uncle Bubba ------->

<---The future's so bright, we gotta wear shades!

---> Chillin', a little bit of illin'

Best buds -->

This is what it's all about!! Erin go braugh!

Crabby Cabby

Well, Cabell's first full week at daycare was an interesting one. He was exhausted every day when he got home, but on top of that his cry became really weak-sounding. Well, I chalked it up to him just being tired but it has persisted for a week and is still not back to it's normal strength.

Then, this past weekend, he pretty much began refusing to nurse. I was able to nurse him a couple of times, but several other times he'd pull away and claw at me while just crying and crying. I was so scared that maybe he was trying to wean himself already considering all the bottles he's getting at daycare now.

Well, I called LaLeche League and told them about everything. Once I told the woman that Cab had a cold last weekend, she immediately said that it's most likely an ear infection that is causing his violent opposition to nursing. Apparently the position and the sucking involved really bothers their ears when they're infected. So, Cabell has an appointment with his pediatrician this afternoon and, as bad as this sounds, we're hoping that's what it is so that it's nothing permanent. Please keep your fingers crossed that the luck of the Irish is on his side! We want him to be well enough to enjoy his first St. Patrick's Day tomorrow!

Chubby Baby Alert!

I told Brad this morning that it seems that, although we have a million pictures of Cabell, we have very few of him in just a diaper (which is pretty much a baby's natural state!). So, I took some pictures of Cabell on the changing table this morning in just his diaper. I hope you enjoy looking at his chubby little self as much as I do!

He loves getting kissed loudly on his tummy!

Buddha Baby!

Short chubby legs

He loves his seahorse rattle. His ability to hold it on his own is a new development.

Cabell will sing to you as I bid you adieu!

Welcome!

Welcome family and friends to the new Stewart family blog! It is my goal to keep you all updated on what is going on in our family (since I am admittedly horrible about calling and writing letters!). Most importantly, I will try to use this as a means of keeping y'all abreast of Cabell's development- he is growing and changing every day!

This past week was my first full-time week back at work and Cabell's first full week at daycare. We are using Isle of Hope Baptist for daycare, which is also where Cabell's cousins, Mary-Cass and Gatlin go. He seems to be happy there and the daycare workers love him, but he is always SO TIRED when he gets home in the evenings. So he's cranky and tired and that doesn't leave me with much time to play with him. I just hope we all get used to this new schedule soon so that we're not all tired and cranky and can better enjoy our time together! This is a picture of a conked out Cabell after his very first day at daycare.

An interesting note about Cabell- I think he's practicing his flirting now! This morning he would give me a big smile, look away for a minute, then look at me again with a sort of shy smile. Already developing a way with the ladies!

This morning I dressed Cabell in one of his UGA outfits and was leaving for work when I realized that I was dressed in red and black, too! Maybe subconsciously I was using my clothes as a way to stay connected to my baby? Who knows!

Thanks for stopping by. Hopefully I'll be good about keeping this thing updated and you'll return for more!