Sickling Status

This morning Porter Boy awoke in okay spirits, but only drank about 6 ounces of formula, and his temperature was still hovering around 101-102 degrees. In a texting conversation I'd had with Megan yesterday afternoon, she'd suggested that, in the case that he was still running a fever today without any coughing, runny nose, etc., I go ahead and take him into the pediatrician to get checked out. She said that in babies with fevers but without any other symptoms, they sometimes consider whether a UTI is the cause. So, I took her advice and called as soon as the office opened. We were able to get an appointment at 9:45, and though I was afraid that would mean we couldn't make Porter's 10:30 helmet checkup, I knew that his health was our #1 priority. I called our orthotist to give her a head's up on our situation, and luckily she had a little wiggle room and would still be able to see us even if we showed up a bit late. I rushed to get myself and the kiddos dressed and ready to go, and we arrived at the doctor's right on time.

"And why, pray tell, are we in this place again??"

Playing "I Spy" with the mural on the wall.

We were called back shortly afterward, and the nurse walked us directly to the scale. Confused, I asked, "Wait, are you getting his measurements now?" She said, "Yes, I was just going to weigh him." I explained that Porter had been having some weight issues, so I'd like to remove his helmet and clothes to get as accurate a number as possible. (I mean, I guess his little romper doesn't way too much, but that helmet?! I wouldn't exactly say it's as light as a feather.) As I placed him on the scale, I was fully prepared to see a number that was significantly lower than his last weigh-in, since it's been such a struggle to get him to eat the past couple of days. You can imagine my shock when I looked at the screen and saw 16 pounds! That is 2 ounces more than the last time he was on the same scale, almost a week and a half ago. Now granted, it's not that big of a gain, but all things considered, it's no small gain to this momma! Before leaving us, the nurse also took his temperature, and I was happy to see it had lowered slightly to 100.3. 

"I may be down, but I'm not out!"

Big Brother has been so patient.

"Dude, just drink it already!"

"Seriously, these appointments are putting a damper on our social schedule."

After a little wait, Dr. T came in to meet us. She asked what had brought Porter in to see her that day, and I explained about his ongoing fever, diminished appetite, and not acting like himself. I also told her the advice that Megan had given me regarding the possibility of a UTI, as well as gave some background on our troubles the past three and a half weeks. After our chat and checking him out, she said that during the summer it's not uncommon for kiddos to catch viruses that cause a fever with no other symptoms, and for that fever to last up to three days. She believes that is what he has (rather than a UTI, which she didn't think likely, or hand foot and mouth, which she looked for), and said if he is still running a fever on Wednesday, then I should bring him back. So ultimately, there's nothing we can do to fix the problem, but I'm still glad I took him in. Better safe than sorry, right?

From there, we rushed over to the orthotics office for Porter's appointment there, arriving just 10 minutes late. We saw Jenna today, who took his measurements and said that they are continuing to improve. (I haven't written a whole lot about it on here lately, but we can definitely see a difference in his head!) I briefly explained our recent growth issues to her, as well, and asked for the number she got for his head circumference, which was 44.8 cm. (This is just 3 mm more than he's been measured at both the pediatrician and endocrinologist, but I'll take whatever mm I can get!) She assured me that his head was growing very well for his age, and in fact had grown more in the last month than in the previous month, so that was encouraging. While Jenna left to grind down some spots inside Porter's helmet to make room for his growing noggin, I snapped a couple of pics of the boys, who by that point were both reaching their limit.

Starting to feel the effects of no morning nap...

"Let's blow this joint!"

We stopped at the front desk to try to make our next appointment (at 3 months they do another scan so we can really see the difference treatment has made!); however, after waiting a couple of minutes for someone to come out, I opted to get the boys home and call to schedule later. I fixed the boys lunch, and though Porter wasn't cranky, he was clearly not all that interested in his food. I could tell he was trying, however, and after lots of grazing he managed to put a small dent in his grilled cheese sandwich and chunks of pear (but not really in his avocado).

"I may eat it, but that doesn't mean I have to like it!"

K provided entertainment/tried to steal what food P didn't want.

Ahh, there's that stinker face.

After lunch, Kaiser got the sudden inspiration to cook, so we spent 30-45 minutes with plastic containers and wooden spoons on the kitchen floor "baking" cookies, cakes, and casseroles. (P.S. Everything we made turned out delicious!) 

Mixing up our ingredients.

Much to Kaiser's chagrin, Porter kept pouring out all of the "ingredients".

Then it was upstairs for clean pants, reading books, singing, and naptime. I tried to give Porter the remaining half of the sippy cup he'd drunk at the doctor's, but he strong-armed me once again. (At this point in the day, he's normally had 14 ounces, and I've only been able to coerce him into 9.) I'm about to go get both of the munchkins up, so here's hoping that we have better luck with the next meal!