Isaac Visits the Heart Doctor

At Isaac's 2 year old well checkup (back in November), his doctor heard a heart murmur. Due to some family history, his doc recommended that we take a visit to the Sanger Pediatric clinic. We finally had that visit the week before last. As it turns out, Isaac's heart is completely normal. We learned that most children do have heart murmurs and a majority of them do not cause any issues. However, we are so thankful that our pediatrician recommended this visit because by going to see this specialist, we were able to confirm that Isaac does not have any heart issues that could cause problems later on.

My mom went with us to the visit, and it was all in all, a fun adventure. The fun started out in the waiting room, where there were several kid-friendly toys, which Isaac loved. He especially loved the ride-on fire truck. He kept telling us he was "going to hospital" and then "find parking spot."

When it was time for us to go back, Isaac needed to go pee-pee (of course). So my mom went to the room with Elise and the nurse while Isaac and I went to the bathroom. After that, the nurse met us and weighed Isaac (31 pounds) and checked his height (37 inches). Then we went into the room and the nurse immediately put sticky tabs all over Isaac's chest and belly for an ECG. I was surprised at how simple the procedure was. After putting maybe 10-12 stickies on Isaac, she clipped colored leads onto them, and then she pressed a button on the ECG machine. No sound, no vibration, no nothing. After about 10 seconds, she had a readout of Isaac's heart. She did this twice before telling Isaac he could remove the stickies. After that, she left and a resident physician came into the room. She was wonderfully thorough in her questioning of Isaac's medical history and family history. She also really liked Elise. She listened to Isaac's heart while he was sitting up and also while he was lying down. She closed her eyes and listened for a really long time. After that, she said, "I can't hear a murmur. We'll see what Doc H thinks." She left and then we waited for a loooooonnnnnnggg while. Isaac ate his snack bars. Elise ate her puffs. Elise nursed. I ate Isaac's snack bars. Elise played with toys. Isaac played with toys. Isaac pulled wipes out of Nanna's wipe packet. Isaac wiped every surface he could find in the exam room...

Once bellies were full and the room was sanitized by a two-year-old, the doctor came in. Not just any doctor. The Director of Pediatric Cardiology. He was very kind and had a wonderful way about him that helped Isaac stay relaxed during the exam. He listened to Isaac's heart and did find a murmur (which he pointed out to the resident.) and he did a little test where he had Isaac lay on his back and lift his legs up while he was listening to his heart. He determined that Isaac has a completely normal heart murmur and is very healthy. He told us clearly that this is "nothing." We were so thankful to hear those words! He said he'd write a letter to Isaac's pediatrician to let her know the good news. The doc and the resident then goofed off with Elise and Isaac a little bit before heading out of the room.

Once we'd gathered up our things, we headed to checkout. Isaac was given some coins to use to get a toy from the toy vending machine. While it was dispensing, I was praying that he wouldn't get a "girly" toy. He got a moose toy, instead, that he loves. It's small enough to carry in his pocket. Isaac took the moose on several more rides in the fire truck. Then we told him it was time to permanently park the fire truck. After bribing him with lunch at Moe's, he finally got off.

And with that, we celebrated the good report with a delicious lunch at Moe's (and some fun grocery shopping at Great Harvest and Trader Joe's, of course!)

Here is our healthy and strong boy, riding on the fire truck and having a blast:



Thank you Lord for a thriving boy with a healthy heart!

Fresh apple juice!

Today, Isaac and I made apple juice! A few years ago, I inherited a Champion juicer from my mom (thanks Momma!!), but I haven't really used it all that much. I knew that the right time would come, and I believe that time is now! With all my interest in natural living and eating healthfully, it only makes sense to add fresh fruit and veggie juice to our diet. I had some apples that I got for a good deal at Aldi last week, so I decided to use those for my first juicing experiment. I believe it turned out well! I've got enough juice for about three adult servings or a weeks worth of Isaac-sized servings (I always dilute his juice). The apples were the Gala variety, and to minimize discoloration of the juice, I added 1/4 of a fresh lemon while I was juicing.


I moved Isaac's high chair into our kitchen so that he could experience the moment with me, but I think he enjoyed eating his bananas quite a bit more than watching me act like Rachel Ray. Anyway, he seemed to like the end result of my experiment!

The juice is delicious, and I have some pulp left over that will give me a nice challenge tomorrow. Maybe some apple sweet bread or something like that... Any ideas?


Yum!

Six month stats...

Isaac had his six month well visit today. He had a blast with his nurse, J-Lynn and his doctor, Dr Colyer at Southlake Pediatrics. I mentioned this in an earlier post, but Dr Colyer is our neighbor! She, her husband and their two daughters live in our neighborhood. Dr Colyer and I talked about the fact that we'll probably see each other at the neighborhood pool over the summer. She said I am free to ask her questions or discuss any concerns whenever we see each other. Isn't that the coolest thing? Our doctor lives in our neighborhood and doesn't mind if we ask for her expertise while our kids are splashing together in the pool!

Anyway, Isaac loves his doctor and nurse already, and he put on a show of grins, smiles, and laughs for them today. He also had to get his six month shots. Those weren't fun, but, as always, he was a trooper! We've got the routine down - Tylenol beforehand, nursing afterwards, and smiles and laughs on the way out. He was even "talking" with the registrar as we left!

Here are his numbers and percentiles:
Weight: 18 lbs (55th percentile)
Height: 27 3/4 in (90th percentile)
Head: 43 1/4 cm (45th percentile)

According to Dr Colyer, Isaac is growing very well, for which we are most grateful. It's amazing how you think you love your little one as much as you can possibly love someone, and then the next day, your love-o-meter grows and, BAM, you love them even more! Wow!

Growing so fast!

Our little man is now 16 weeks old! Next week, we'll be doing our four month photo shoot! It's a cliche, but time really does fly. A longtime friend shared this quote with me yesterday - "The days are long, but the years are short." I don't know who to attribute that quote to, but it is definitely true. I can't believe that this coming December, Steven and I will celebrate 10 years since he asked me to be his girlfriend! TEN YEARS!!! And they have ALL been incredible but certainly flown by too fast!

Anyway, before I start reminiscing... Isaac is such a wonderful part of our family and we truly thank God for blessing our lives with his presence. These days, he is babbling (we call it talking!) quite a bit, and this past week he has started blowing bubbles with his mouth. It is very cute! Sometimes, instead of "talking", he'll blow bubbles and spit to make a sound when he is trying to communicate with us. He also smiles all the time, or at least when he's not hungry or sleepy! He loves to suck on his hand, and in the past day or so, he has started to single out his thumb for sucking. We have tried to use a pacifier with him to no avail. He is not interested. Not only does he put his hands in his mouth, he is starting to put everything else in there too! He loves his "teething books", and he can chew on those for 30 minutes or more.

He is a very healthy boy, and we are looking forward to a good report from the doctor on his four month well visit. He does have severe eczema, so we have been working hard to manage that. Since his skin is very sensitive, we've been experimenting with different lotions, soaps, and clothing materials. So far, we've found some success with using a small amount of hydrocortisone cream and then lathering him up with Eucerin lotion twice a day. Apparently his skin is very itchy, so he scratches it with his little fingernails often. We are constantly working to help his skin heal up from each day's new scratches! And since he's sucking his hands, putting the mittens on him at this age is frustrating for him. Hopefully he'll grow out of this soon, but until then, we will keep doing our best to manage it.

I had mentioned a while back that I was going to be working with Isaac on a routine this month. He has been doing wonderfully so far! With the exception of a growth spurt that he had recently where he was eating every two hours, Isaac has gotten on a three hour eating routine. He begins the day around 7:30-7:45 when Steven gets him out of bed and changes his diaper. Here is what the rest of a typical day looks like (give or take 30-45 minutes):

8 AM - Isaac eats and then plays
9:30 AM - Isaac goes down for his morning nap
11 AM - Isaac eats and then plays again!
12:30 PM - Isaac goes down for his midday nap
2 PM - Isaac eats and then plays
3:30 PM - Isaac goes down for his afternoon nap
5 PM - Isaac eats and plays
7:30 PM - Isaac eats and then we get him ready for bed
8:30-9 PM - Bedtime!
2-3 AM - Wakes to eat... and I wake to feed... We are both very sleepy, and after the feeding we go back to bed! :)

Isaac sleeps well at night - only waking to eat in the early morning. Therefore, it would be considered that he "sleeps through the night" since that means sleeping for a stretch of 5-6 hours. During the day, his naps have been lasting between 30 minutes and an hour and a half. Sometimes, I believe he wakes after 30 minutes because his body is transitioning from light sleep to deep sleep, but he can't quite make the transition and put himself back to sleep. Sometimes he does, though, and we're quite proud of him for that!

Isaac is energetic and loves to play on his playmats, in his infant chair, and in his exersaucer! He bats his toys, grabs them, and kicks enthusiastically. He also talks to his toys. We try and take a walk each day, and he loves riding in the stroller. He is usually very quiet during our walks, taking in everything that he sees! Also, he loves going to Walmart! The high ceilings and colorful products keep him entertained long enough for me to buy groceries and even browse what I call the "get you to spend money" aisles. If you're a frequent Walmart shopper, you know what I mean! :)

Here are some pictures we've taken this past week:

Getting ready for a stroll...

During Isaac's first picnic; at Renaissance Park during Daddy's lunch break!

Playing on his playmat again! This was one I got at a yard sale for $4! And the yellow sun toy that he is reaching for was a gift from Aunt Michelle. He loves it!

Our little boy in his blue jeans...

"Your goodness is so great! You have stored up great blessings for those who honor you. You have done so much for those who come to you for protection, blessing them before the watching world."
Psalm 31:19