A Little Worried

Since Cora's cardio and pediatric doctor appointments last week I started noticing a few minor changes in her. The biggest one being that she would sleep right after eating. No awake/floor/play/wiggle time. None at all whatsoever. I thought maybe it was just from her shots so I decided to give it a few days but come Monday I didn't see any improvement. It started to worry me so I decided to call the cardiologist to see if her heart conditions would cause her to be more tired from working over time. She said it wouldn't but that she would be doing clinicals next week and could do a limited echo on Cora herself and suggested I make an appointment for next week. She said to follow up with Cora's primary doctor.

I then called her pediatrician and left a few messages. Four o'clock came and I hadn't received a phone call back so I started to get more worried and called to speak with the pediatrician's nurse. She told me a few things to watch for overnight and that the doctor would call me first thing in the morning.

In the morning Lance drove my car to work because he didn't have time to put the chains on his car. I was a little bummed out because the car seats were in my car and that meant I couldn't go to the playgroup at the mall. Oh well, it's not the end of the world. Right after I told Lance to forget about switching me cars, the pediatrician returned my call and wanted to see Cora. (This was yesterday). So I called Lance back and told him I needed the car ASAP.

Dr. Keblawi (we call him Dr. Kaboom) checked her over and listened to her heart several times. He couldn't hear the murmur getting louder/worse so he wasn't too concerned about that. He asked about her eating and I didn't realize it until he asked, but she was eating less. The last 3-4 days she went down to 4 oz and the last 1-2 days she went down to 3 oz. He wasn't worried enough to put an iv in her but is definitely concerned about her eating, the recent appetite just isn't enough. Especially with her body burning more calories because of her heart conditions.

He told me to document and keep monitoring her feedings, wet diapers, spit up, etc. and prescribed an infant Zantac for her acid reflux. (Which turned out to be $88 for one month! Thank goodness for insurance). He wasn't too concerned at all with her sleeping so much during the day nor was he concerned about the milestones. (She doesn't smile or laugh). He also ordered the two results of her newborn screening since it wasn't in her chart and ordered some additional blood tests. He wants to make sure none of that has changed and that there isn't an underlying issue. The blood-takers had to poke her three times, the flow just wasn't enough to get a good draw and they ultimately didn't end up with enough for the more insignificant tests. That means she's dehydrated. Even more important that I document her feedings so she doesn't start to lose weight.

I don't know if I'm overly paranoid about her health. I seem to jump to conclusions with minor changes like this which probably won't amount to anything at all. I guess I watch for the little things because of the cysts on her brain and her heart conditions; I don't know how major those are or if their severity has changed. Regardless, I'm glad I took her in. Better to be safe than sorry. I'm so, SO thankful for her awesome pediatrician!

My poor sweet girl was so tuckered out and all bandaged up after the appointment, makes me so sad!