2 and a half year check up

Ben had his 2 and a half year old appointment today. He was happy there were no shots today. He is all caught up on his vaccinations, so he won't need anymore until he is 3. They had me do the Ages and Stages Questionnaire. He is doing very well in all areas, though still slightly delayed in gross motor, which we knew. That is why he is in physical therapy. The nurse weighed him and took his height and head measurements. I forgot what his head was, but he weighed 25 lbs 10 oz and was 34 and 1/4 in tall. He dropped down to the 15th percentile for weight and stayed in the 25th percentile for height. It's not *too* concerning that his height stayed the same. Except that his weight dropped. He was 27 lbs 10 oz a couple of weeks ago at his pulmonology appointment and then again a few days later at another appointment. And that combined with him not gaining height, the pediatrician wants to have his thyroid checked. She also asked us to add in pediasure and ice cream to his diet. I'm sure he will LOVE the ice cream ;) The pediasure, I am not certain about. He is not a big fan of milk. Which was the pediatrician's first suggestion. She asked us to increase his milk since he drinks whole milk. But, we can barely get him to drink one glass throughout the day. So, hopefully this will help increase his weight and his fat. Because he has increased diarrhea due to the meds, this can not only make him lose weight, but lose a lot of the vitamins as well as fat that he needs. So, hopefully the pediasure and ice cream will help. We also need to go back to get his weight and height checked in July to make sure he is gaining, or at least not losing more. Other than that, he looks really good! He is doing really well. He doesn't have any infections right now. And she gave us some samples of claritin to try out to see if that helps his constant runny nose. She didn't think it looked like he had any type of an infection, so it could just be (on top of EVERYTHING ELSE),  he also has seasonal allergies like the girls and I do. I'm hoping that this helps and it is not anything related to his thyroid. I really do not want this poor child to have to go on another medication :( If we have to, we have to. But hopefully adding in pediasure and ice cream and other healthy fats will help.

Picking flowers for mommy

"I pickeded lots of flowers for you!"

What has been going on the last week...

For the last week we have had many doctor appointments for Ben. Last Friday, he had a fever at about 8 in the morning. Around an hour later, we received a note from his school that hand foot and mouth was in the classroom. So, I took him to the pediatrician to make sure he didn't have that. We got there and the pediatrician said it was possible, but since he didn't have any of the classic symptoms like sores on his hands feet or mouth, she was unsure. There was also strep in his sister's classroom a week and a half before that, so it's possible it could have been that too. Though that would have been a long time to incubate. Still not impossible. So, she gave us a paper prescription for magic mouthwash and said we could fill it if sores showed up in his mouth and to call if he got worse, but basically, if he didn't have a fever, he was probably not infectious. Well, the last fever he had was on Friday at about 1 pm. He was really happy all Saturday and Sunday.

Sunday was the Celebrate Life Transplant picnic with Lurie Children's Hospital. It was at U.S Cellular Field. There was food served and then we got to watch a Sox game. Ben was in a pretty good mood for most of it. Well, except when he bit his tongue while eating. That pissed him off and caused much trauma. I went to change him at around 1 and noticed he had a diaper rash. I applied some cream and thought nothing of it. He was still acting happy and loved watching the ball game. He kept asking questions like "what's that mommy? Oh, look at the airplane mommy. Oh, where'd it go? Oh, who hitted the ball mommy?"

After the ball game we got home and I changed him and noticed his diaper rash had gotten much redder. And it was very red on the inside of his groin. Much like yeast. I was thinking that was all it was at that point. Then, a few hours later I was changing him and noticed it had spread down his legs on the insides and backs. So, we decided to keep him home the next day and take him to the pediatrician.  I took him in, very afraid that they were going to say it was chicken pox, which he can not be vaccinated against. The pediatrician said, he had 3 things going on, hand foot and mouth, molluscum warts and a yeast infection. She gave us nystatin for the yeast and said to use triple paste for the HFM. She told us to call dermatology about the warts. She suggested keeping him home the next day, more because he was so uncomfortable (he couldn't sleep he was tossing and turning from pain) and also she wanted to make sure it was just HFM. It had spread to his arms and legs by that point, so she wanted to make very sure it was nothing more.

Well, he went back to school on Wednesday since he hadn't had a fever in a long time, and was much more comfortable by then and not contagious. He had a great day according to his teacher. Wednesday, Klara's teacher called me to tell me she had a fever, so I picked her up a little early. I'm not sure WHY she had the fever, but it went away later that night. Abby also had a fever that day, which went away later that night. But, I kept her home Thursday anyways, because I wasn't sure why she had the fever. Thursday, we had an appointment with dermatology. She said that she was very hesitant to remove his warts while his skin was still so irritated. But, we could make an appointment when it all cleared up and she would remove it, and it was also possible that they would go away on their own. It was a fun experience taking all 3 kids to that. Well, the girls were pretty good, but Ben was pretty upset because it was right at his lunch time and ran in to nap time. And then they wanted him to take his clothes off. Which he was not a fan of. But, we got through it, and the nurse gave him crackers for it. :)

It has been a very busy week, but now he seems to be on the mend. We have had appointments upon appointments, and still have more due to this. And this was for a "minor" childhood illness. But, for Ben, it caused severe pain and a severe rash and many doctor appointments. I can not even imagine, nor do I want to, what we would have gone through, or how he would have felt if it was chicken pox or measles. Some of the vaccine preventable diseases that are circulating now terrify me because of how he reacts to supposedly minor illnesses. I'm hoping he NEVER runs in to any of those. Hopefully herd immunity protects him from anything like that.

Watching the game with me and Klara

Ready to  check in

Taking a nap during the game

Ready to go home