Zak's Fluoroscopy

This morning Zak and I went to University of Maryland Hospital for one of his tests for the wheezing. They did what is called an airway fluoroscopy which is basically a live movie of him breathing. They look at his trachea from different angles and look for any abnormalities. The radiologist told me that he didn't see anything problems and it doesn't look like his trachea is collapsing at all. So that is good news, but we still don't have an answer about the chronic wheezing. So we are now scheduling an upper GI where they will give him a barium solution and watch it go through his esophagus and into stomach to watch for any problems. The pediatrician talked to a pulmonologist and she wanted to start Zak on Zantac in case he has silent reflux which could cause wheezing if untreated. We will schedule to meet with her once the upper GI is done.

Zak Wheezing

Well, Zak has always wheezed on and off. But when ever we would ask the pediatrician about it he wouldn't be doing it. So they never found anything with it. It has gotten worse over the past 2 weeks. He is now wheezing all the time and it is getting louder. I took him to the pediatrician last night since it was getting worse. They listened to his breathing and did a breathing treatment for him in the office. His breathing did not improve at all. So the pediatrician sent us to get a chest x-ray which turned out to be fine. The pediatrician said that he thinks Zak has 2 things going on. First, possibly a viral illness even though he has no fever and is very a happy. Secondly, he might have an anatomical issue which Zak would eventually outgrow. Basically it means that Zak's muscles around his trachea are weak so it will collapse once and a while causing the wheezing. But with this usually the breathing gets better sitting up and worse laying down and Zak is the opposite; he is better laying down and worse sitting up. So I am waiting for a call from the pediatrician today to talk about some more possible testing.

Trip to FL

Well, we just got back from FL yesterday. The flights were really good and the boys had no major problems or meltdowns. We were able to take 1 carseat on the plane so we got to sit together which was great. The weather in FL was awesome, in the 70's and 80's the whole time. The boys got to wear shorts and t-shirts and no socks...they loved it. We had lots of fun visiting my mom and everybody else down there. Piper had fun with the boys also. She did really good with them and they loved watching her. She did get a little annoyed once and while when they started to use her toys, but what almost 2 year old wouldn't. The boys pretty much kept to their normal schedule while there which made today easy and just back to normal. They are getting so big and developing new things.

Zak is now eating solid food twice a day and loves it. He has mastered bananas and we will try squash tomorrow. He is so close to rolling from his back to his tummy. He has the cutest laugh when he is happy, it makes us crack up listening to him. He has also mastered getting anything and everything in his hands into his mouth. He loved using the walker while in FL so my mom is sending it to us to use here in MD. He has definitely found his hands and now holds them together and plays with them. We are working on sitting unassisted, but not really successfully yet.

Ryder has just started to try out solid food. We have given him bananas, but he has not mastered it yet. Mainly he just holds it in his mouth and some might get swallowed. But he will get it soon enough, we will stick with bananas until he gets the hang of it. He is such a talker! He has lots to say all the time. He also has a very silly laugh and loves to yell in delight. He has gotten much better at getting toys into his mouth. He has also mastered holding his hands together and playing with them. He is still rolling from his tummy to his back. We had professional pictures done in FL and he showed off and wouldn't stop rolling which made picture taking difficult of course. We are working on sitting with him as well, he seems to be a little better at it.

They will have their 6 month check-up and vaccines on February 25 so I will update their weights and lengths then.

Getting So Big

Sorry it has been a while since the last update. The boys are getting so big. They are both developing at such different rates and doing different things. We are getting ready for our first trip with them, on a plane to FL to visit my mom. We are excited, but there has been lots to do to get ready. We will be leaving Saturday Feb. 2 and coming back Monday Feb. 11.

Zak has really made some big progress with development. He has mastered getting anything and everything into his mouth now. He loves to play with toys and put them in his mouth. He also likes to hold and chew on his Laugh-N-Learn doggie he got for Christmas. He has discovered his feet and loves kicking them around and watching them. He has figured out how to get the toys on his jumperoo, swing and 5-in-1 gym to play music by kicking them or using his hands. Zak is also trying so hard to hold his own bottle which he succeeds at sometimes. He is not a good napper at all. He will take a few short naps, but usually not a really good one. he is sleeping from 8pm until 8am which is nice, He has gotten super clingy with me which hopefully will just be a phase.

Ryder is a little behind Zak, but is making his own progress as well. He loves chewing and sucking on his hands. He will grab onto toys if you put them near his hand and then he tries to get his mouth to them. He has rolled from his tummy to his back. He is a really good napper, seems to be sleep so much better than Zak. He also sleeps from 8pm until 8am along with 1 or 2 short naps and a nice long nap in the middle of the day. He likes to stand up on my lap and is working on sitting unassisted. He will reach and grab for rings that we hang from his carseat and take them to his mouth. Ryder also has learned how to kick at the 5-in1 gym and play with the toys on his swing and jumperoo.

They are both doing so good! We have their 6 month check-up and shots on Feb. 25 so we will get updated weights and heights then.

Christmas

The boys had a great 1st Christmas! On Christmas Eve we spent some time with my grandparents and also at Ben's house to visit with family. The boys got lots of fun toys and clothes even though they did not really realize it yet. Christmas morning they woke up at 530am and decided not to go back to sleep which is very unusual for them. Ben works from 630am until about 12:30pm. We all went to my family's house in Annapolis to visit and finally got the boys to take a nap. They got more fun toys to play with also. I will post some pictures in the next few days.

Surgery

Yesterday the urology office called and we got a date for the boys' surgeries. They will have them on Monday April 28. So a while away, but there is a date now. They need to be 6 months adjusted and 15lbs which is why they went for the end of the month to make sure they have hit the 15lb mark by then.

Rolling Over

Today Ryder rolled over from his tummy to his back about 4 times in a row. So I got the video camera, but could only get him to do it one more time. Here is a link to see that video:

http://s270.photobucket.com/albums/jj90/zak_ryder/?action=view&current=071219-001.flv

You can hear Zak in the background not very happy. He has not shown any interest in rolling over yet.

Urologist

Today Ryder has his urology appointment. There is no longer a hernia or hydrocele which is good. There are a few issues that will be corrected during his operation, but it will be an in and out surgery which should go fine. They said it would probably take about 1.5 hours or so. The office will call later to schedule the surgery for sometime in April. Zak will also be scheduled for his circumcision the same day.

4-Month Pediatrician Appointment

This morning we had the boys 4 month check-up. They are doing good. Zak weighed 11lb 6.5oz and was 22.75 inches long. Ryder weighed 9lb 14.5oz and was 22.5 inches long. They are both growing well and pretty much developmentally close to a 4 month-old. They have a few things that they are not doing yet, but developmentally they are looked at as being 10 weeks behind so they are ahead of what is expected for them.

Ryder goes to see the urologist next week and then we will schedule his surgery and Zak's circumcision probably for sometime in March. They go back to the pediatrician in February (meanwhile they will go back monthly for their RSV shots).

Here is a cute website that my mom made of the boys and Piper:
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1232357721

In the next few days I will go through the pictures and update them with newer ones.

1st Snow

The boys had their first snow on the day they turned 4 months old, yesterday! It snowed steadily all day. We got about 2.5 inches or so by the end of the day. I will post a few pictures of them in a little bit.