Latest on Liam

So I know everyone loves to hear how Liam is doing, and that is one of the reasons I was inspired to write this blog. Sometimes my updates would be WAY to long for Facebook. As many of you may know, Liam was recently diagnosed with baby asthma. Our poor little guy has also had multiple bouts of croup, as well as bronchiolitis - there were times Liam had both at the same time.  After months of being on albuterol nebulizers Liam still had some noted wheezing. I remember when Justin took Liam to see the pediatrician and we were told that even though his wheezing had not been audible, the reason Liam wasn't sleeping through the night was most likely because he felt like there was an "elephant sitting on his chest." I felt so bad for our little man, and was hoping he could catch a break sometime soon. When daily singular didn't clear up the issues Liam was put on a steroid nebulizer called Budesonide. Fortunately, since Liam started this medicine his breathing has improved! He still needs an occasional albuterol treatment here and there, but overall his asthma has been well controlled. Liam was also treated for 5 ear infections during his first year. In the beginning of December, Liam had Eustachian tubes placed. During the first follow up with the surgeon, we were told one of Liam's tubes was blocked with dried blood from the initial surgery.  We were hoping the ear drops would help clear up the blood, and it did! After this, Liam continued to have thick drainage that was starting to block the tubes.  Liam has been on 2 different types of ear drops to help control the drainage, and when these didn't help clear up the drainage the doctors prescribed a strong antibiotic for Liam to take. We recently finished this and it seems like the drainage has cleared up. We are very hopeful that the tubes are a success and Liam wont need another procedure. Usually after the procedure the babies get a hearing test to check their hearing, many times the ear infections cause scarring in the ear and this can impact the babies ability to hear. Liam has not been able to have his hearing test completed due to all of the drainage.  Hearing loss can contribute to speech delays. We recently had Liam's 12 month well visit with our pediatrician, and although Liam makes plenty of noise he is not consistently making 3 sounds that "have meaning." The doctor requested the county complete a speech evaluation. I feel strongly that Liam is going to do just fine, but I am concerned that he may have a bit of hearing loss. Also, he did just start in the toddler room where he is exposed to much more talking then in the infant room and I am sure his "words" are right around the corner. Liam also just started on his round of 1 year follow ups. So far the only one we have completed is with the developmental doctor. Her name is Kimberly Kuchinski, she is the Program Director of Pediatric Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at Good Shepard. We are blessed to have such an amazing team of doctors. Justin took Liam to this follow up, and the report we got was great. Dr. Kuchinski says Liam is doing great, developmentally he is exactly where he should be, we had some minor concerns over the past year about some of Liam's mannerisms, and we were reassured that Liam is not showing any abnormal signs of development. We were warned that he will still need to be watched closely, as Liam is still at high risk in the upcoming year for "tone issues." Liam will continue with physical therapy twice monthly as well as all of his other follow ups. We are so proud of our little boy! Upcoming appointments include seeing our neurologist, Boosara Ratanawongsa (Dr. Boo.) Dr. Boo used to be a neurologist at the Lehigh Valley hospital, however  she left to work in King of Prussia at the CNNH, the Center for Neurological and Neurodevelopmental Health. We were strongly urged to travel to see her as she has a great reputation, after not initially being happy with the neurologist through the Lehigh Valley hospital. Liam and I will be traveling to see Dr. Boo on Valentines day, and I am expecting a great report and will update further on our appointment later. We also will need to have our follow ups with the NICU clinic. This is a 2 step process in which we see the therapy department first, scheduled sometime in Feb. and then we see a NICU doctor in March. The clinic follow ups are important because the results of the head cooled babies goes to a national study, and as a nurse I know how important these studies are to getting this treatment the recognition it deserves. I am currently unhappy with the availability of the rehab appointments, as they have canceled two appointments with us after I changed my work scheduled! and only have a few spots open per month. I have put a call in to the director of the department in hopes that we can work something out. I will update more on these appointments soon. Liam continues to amaze me everyday with his development. He now brings me his shoes in the mornings and even tries to put them on himself. He also like to try to help mommy with brushing his unruly hair. He loves warm baths and as far as eating we have NO trouble in that department. He recently started walking, and we can't slow this little man down- he's like the energizer bunny that never stops! He is constantly getting into everything, he loves unraveling the toilet paper in the bathroom, and we can always make him giggle even when he is in the middle of crying. His best friend is our furry boxer Chloe, I couldn't ask for more. Everyday I am blessed. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't THANK GOD for these miracles. I don't know how I got so lucky as a wife and mother. Tonight we are going to attend our friends super bowl party-  oddly enough, this was the FIRST event we attended with Liam after everything happened last year. He slept through most of it, and everyone was happy to meet him finally. What a difference a year makes.