A few updates

The MRI results came back and everything is normal. Nothing came up that was abnormal in either his brain or spine. That is a big relief but it still leaves us wondering why his leg was giving out and why he was having headaches. However; his leg is no longer giving out and although on occasion he does seem to have a headache, it’s almost rare now and is probably allergy related. This week, Ryan gets the night splint for his left leg. Hopefully, it won't effect his sleep too much. Last week was his first session of physical therapy and my mom said he had a great time. At the therapy center, they have a big room they call the gym which has toys & equipment galore. For his first session, the therapist had Ryan work on going up and down stairs. Ryan has trouble walking down stairs but I think it’s more of fear, rather than not being able to. He can walk down stairs holding on to my hand, but not by himself. So, the therapist will be working on that among other things such as his mild toe walking, getting him to learn how to jump, strengthening his left leg & helping him learn how to use his legs to ride a “ride on” toy. For the latter, he can ride on his ride Mickey Mouse car, but he only pushes himself backwards. As much as we’ve attempted to teach him to use his feet to go forward, he can’t (or gets frustrated and won’t). I’m sure with the therapist’s techniques; he will be able to master it.

We’ve begun getting Ryan’s room together for the transition to a toddler room. This weekend, Dean installed a ceiling fan with a light and while he was in the attic, he went ahead and installed one in the spare bedroom as well. I’m still on the search for bedding though..It’s hard for me to make a decision but I think with Dean’s help we’ll order something this weekend. I believe we will be waiting until Thanksgiving weekend to make the transition. This will give us 3 nights to make the transition without having to get up for work the next morning. I’ve heard at least the first night is very hard but I expect the other several nights may be just as hard.

Ryan went back to preschool last week after being out the week before because he was sick again. If you remember, the weekend after his first day at preschool, he got sick with a cold (he only goes one day a week). That lasted for two weeks. We sent him back to preschool and then he got sick again. This time it only lasted about 5 days. I decided to start giving him probiotics once a day since I had read that it helps build up the immune system. Also, I am being diligent about giving him his multi-vitamin and at least 4-8 oz. of orange juice for kids that has added vitamins. We sent him back to preschool last Thursday and so far, so good….no signs of sickness (knock on wood!).

We’re hoping for good weather for the upcoming weekend. We want to take Ryan to the Fall Harvest Fair which has a petting zoo, kiddie rides & a pumpkin patch. We took him last year and he had a great time so I know this year he will have even more fun since he’s a year older. This past weekend we had to break out some old toys. It was cold & raining all weekend and every couple months or so, we dig out a tote that has toys that we’ve put away. Even though they are old toys, they are somewhat new to him since he hasn’t played with them in a few months. This is wonderful, as it keeps him entertained for a few hours with something other than his cars. For some reason sometimes he gets bored playing with his hot wheels/matchbox cars, which is hard to believe since he has so many of them!

It's Nemo!

We finally found an adorable Halloween costume for Ryan. Nothing I had seen caught my eye and I found myself laying in bed one night pondering what costume to get. I had my heart set on Frankenstein but the one at the party store was not all that cute and it was too big anyway (I hate those average toddler sizes which fit a big range). One night Finding Nemo came on TV and I briefly considered Nemo. Then a couple days later one of my co-workers mentioned she had gone to the Disney Store and they had cute costumes..Nemo being one of them. So, off to the Disney Store we went. We considered Mickey Mouse but they didn't have his size so we tried the Nemo costume on and were sold on it! Ryan walked around the store with it on and he got many smiles & laughs from people. Hopefully, he won't hate us too much when he's older..hehe

MRI

Ryan had his MRI Friday at the Children's Hospital, but of course they don't give you the results. We have to call the doctor on Monday to let him know the test was done and I am guessing to make a follow up appt. with him (the Neuro.). Dean and I both have a feeling nothing was found. The test seemed to go fairly quick. We got there at the crack of dawn..well, almost. It was early though. By the time I did the necessary paperwork, they took us back, got Ryan's vitals and put the IV in his hand, an hour & 45 minutes had gone by. Then there was a little more waiting before the nurse & anesthesiologist were ready to administer the medicine that would put Ryan to sleep. Oh boy, let me just say, he did not go to sleep without a fight! I held him and the nurse put the sleepy time medicine in his IV. They had 4 vials and they ended up using 3. The nurse commented that the former NICU patients usually put up a fight which I totally believe and understand why they would. Once he was asleep, we had to leave and went to get a drink & look around in the gift shop. I used to like going into the gift shop if I had the time before going up to the NICU. Most of the time I didn't buy anything but the inventory seemed to changed every couple weeks and they always had cute baby items I wouldn't see anywhere else. The test took about 90 minutes and he was awake by the time we got to the recovery room. I must say, the nurse that was with him the whole time was a doll. She was so nice & Ryan took to her right away. When we first went back to get his vitals, she was sitting at the desk doing his paperwork. She started talking to him and as soon as his vitals were done, he got down from my lap and went right over to her and sat in her lap! Yep, he's such a flirt! hehe.. When he woke up after the MRI, he was just as calm as a clam. She gave him some graham crackers & juice. After a little while, they let us go. Once we got home he was still very unstable from all the medication. He couldn't do much of anything and for Ryan that was not acceptable. He had a total meltdown that lasted an hour before he finally fell asleep in my arms. He only slept an hour which was not long enough for the medicine to wear off. He was still stumbling around ao we had to hold him or get him to try and sit down. For someone who is very active, this was pure hell. It was not easy for us to see Ryan so upset. By late afternoon we were all exhausted but thankfully the medicine had worn off enough and Ryan was able to get back to playing with his cars, trucks and other toys. Today was a complete turnaround & he was back to his normal self. I just hope he doesn't have to be sedated for anything else anytime soon.

Miracle

I've been thinking the past few days about how much Ryan has changed and am a little sad. I'm sure every mother has that feeling though...happy but sad. Happy that their baby is growing up, learning new things every day & is healthy but sad because well, their growing up! I've been trying to incorporate reading a short book to Ryan. When he was an infant we would read him a story and I would rock him & sing to him. Once he learned to walk, that ended. He wanted no part in being rocked, reading a book or having me sing to him. He'd rather run around his room and see what he can get into. This past week he's been really content to let Dean and I read a book to him. Even though it's only 5 minutes or less of reading, it's still nice to settle down and have him sit on my lap instead of just brushing his teeth & putting him in his crib. Maybe soon he'll let me sing to him again. My favorite song to sing to him was and still is Miracle by Celine Dion. I found the song when I was putting together a video montage for the March of Dimes, March for Babies walk. I went out and bought the CD right away. All the songs are beautiful but "Miracle" is the most amazing song I've ever heard. Listen to the words...