Yesterday was Jacob's first appointment with the pediatrician, which we had set up before we left for Russia. We had met and talked with the dr. before leaving as well, so the goal of the appt. was a "well child" visit to get him checked out from head to toe. But, since Jacob had still been battling his cold, we were anxious to have him looked over for that reason, as well.
Overall, the doc had very good things to say about Jacob's health - he had grown an inch and gained a pound since the Moscow dr visit (not sure how accurate that is...) He is well on the charts for his height; his weight & head circumference are on the charts, but towards the low end of the range. Neither the doc or us were too concerned, though - with continued love, attention, and food, we'll get his body & brain fattened up!
The bad news was about his cold - turns out he had an ear infection, and his breathing sounded weezy. (of course, by then, with all the doc's poking & prodding, Jacob was crying a bit...) So, the nurse came to give him a breathing treatment; although it helped, she was concerned given his past history of pneumonia. So, we headed over to the hospital for a chest X-ray. Also, while we were there, we had blood drawn for the myriad of tests that will be done - some just routine stuff, plus others unique for internationally adopted kids. So, a lot of blood was needed, and evidently, according to the first 2 phlebotomists, he has very small veins. He was poked once in each arm, with not even enough blood to fill one of the many tubes. So, they called in an "expert" to try one last time - a third poke! Luckily, this gal was better and was able to get all the blood needed in one try. Poor Jacob, though - he screamed the entire time!
We took him home to sleep, while I ran out to fill his antibiotic Rx, as well as medicine for at-home breathing treatments, for which I also had to buy a nebulizer at a medical supply store. (Thank goodness for health insurance, huh?) Also had to get some ear wax removal drops, because evidently he has some crusty ears! The dr office called back to say that the X-ray showed an area of possible pneumonia, but that the antibiotic for the ear infection will take care of both.
So, we now have a twice daily routine of antibiotics & ear wax drops, and a 4x daily routine with the breathing treatment. I wish I could say he likes the treatments better at home than that first one at the doctor's office but... good thing there are two of us at home right now, because it takes a dedicated person to hold him down! They do seem to be helping, though.
Today, he's in pretty good spirits - still doesn't like the nebulizer, but has more of his old appetite back, so we'll continue to "feed the cold". We'll post updates later in the week on how he's doing - we go back to the dr on Friday. Love, C&C&J
Happy 8th Birthday, Sammy!
11 years ago
2 comments:
The worst part about those well baby appts. are the poking. It is so hard to know that you are going to have to hold them down while they poke you child with a needle. It has to be even worse when they are trying to draw blood. Sorry to hear that jacob still is not feeling well. Take care and if you need any advice, we have lots of experience with ear infections.
So sorry...we also have to use the nebulizer for both our boys. We wrap them in a blanket (so they don't punch or bite us during the ordeal) and sit them right in front a fun movie while we hold them in our lap. They are very helpful and will help him to breath easier, although it feels like torture to the mommy and daddy :( Hopefully he'll be on the mend soon.
Tracy
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