Megan's shoulder take 2!

I am very frustrated with the results of Megan's appointment with the allergist.
The allergist ordered quite a bit of lab work so we went to the lab that they directed us to in an attempt to get her blood drawn and to see if the clustering of histamines have spread to other areas in her body.

Lab #1
Dug around in her arm without any luck. They told me as they were digging around that the needle was probably larger than her veins. My thoughts....why are you even trying then!
They decided that they weren't able to draw her blood and after giving us the materials we needed to collect her urine for 24 hours they sent us to lab #2.

Lab #2
Waited for 35 minutes as other people were getting called back (they arrived after we did).
Finally someone came out to let me know that the allergist had ordered to many labs to be drawn on a child of Megan's size. The lab had called the doctors office and requested a call back so they could decide what labs to draw first and which ones we would have to come back for. The office called back 1 hour and 30 minutes after the lab called them.
We were finally pulled into the back room and they put Megan down on a table. They searched her arms and hands for a vein that would work and could find none. Finally they decided that they were going to try to get at least one lab done by doing a heel poke....no luck there either!

What now?
We could go to the lab in the emergency room where they might be able to find a vein to draw the labs (where we would also have to pay a co-pay...and don't at the other labs).
I have decided to wait until I talk to the allergist and get his suggestion.

My poor kids!
Megan's appointment was at 9:45 a.m.
We went straight from there to lab #1. We left lab #1 at Noon
Got to lab #2 at 2 o'clock and arrived back home at 5 o'clock
Our feeding schedule was off, our sleeping schedule was off, and our frustration level was elevated!

Mobility!

On September 22, 2008 John decided to roll over from his back to his stomach.
While I was at the gym tonight (the 24th) he rolled from his back to his stomach and then back again!
Gone are the days that I can put him in his Boppy and walk away for a few minutes without worrying about him! Hopefully he stays in the roll over and then back mode for a while before he moves anymore!

Megan's Shoulder

When Megan was born she had a blister on her shoulder. The nurses and doctors thought that it was a sucking blister and told us it should go away on it's own. When the blister healed and the scab fell off there was an area on her shoulder that looked like a burn. When we took her for her 2 month check-up we filled her pediatrician in on what was happening with her shoulder. Since the time of her release from the hospital her shoulder had blistered three times and didn't seem
to be improving.

The pediatrician sent us to see a dermatologist. The dermatologist didn't want to do a biopsy because she was so small. He also felt that he knew what the problem was. His initial diagnosis was that it was simply where her skin did not fully form. We were sent home with a special soap and told to put Aquaphor on it twice daily. It should heal quickly. The spot continued to blister.


We went back to the dermatologist to get the area checked and were told that because it continued to blister it was not simply the opening in the skin as he originally thought. Megan had to have a biopsy so that we would finally be able to determine what was happening with her tiny little shoulder. Then we would be able to treat it properly.









This is a shot of her shoulder bandaged up after the biopsy.




The diagnosis..... Cutaneous Mastocytosis.....the dermatologist said that the epidermis shows mild irregular acanthosis and hyperkeratosis.....(still not exactly sure what it all means, so not going to try to explain it to you until I do)



What do we do....we have been referred to an allergist to see if we can get it taken care of....we will keep you posted!

4 months old

John and Megan are 4 months old!


Here are our stats:


Megan's weight and length: 9 lbs 5.5 oz and 21 1/4 inches long

John's weight and length: 11 lbs 5.5 oz and 23 1/2 inches long

Megan is in the 5th percentile for length, weight, and head circumference...on the preemie chart

John is in the 50th percentile for preemies.

The nurse practitioner said that they looked great and that they were doing certain things that 3-4 month olds should be doing! (Technically they should only be doing stuff 2 1/2 month olds can do). She also said that not only is Megan small, but that she was tiny compared to other babies born 6 weeks early.