Catch up.

It’s been awhile…  and it’s been a busy summer!  Thought I’d do a quick catch-up post on all things Connor-related, and post a few pictures for the family.

At 19 months old, Connor weighs 21.5 lbs and is 30.7” tall.  (This is an increase of 6 oz. and 0.7” from his 18-month well check.)  These stats are currently over 3 weeks old… and I know he’s at least gotten taller, by the lack of breakable decor displayed in our house right now.

We had a follow-up appointment in mid-July with his nephrologist, and Connor underwent another VCUG and renal ultrasound.  The morning began with making Connor fast, so we left the house without a drop/ounce of food in him.  The ultrasound was a little difficult – he had a hard time holding still and staying happy.  Then came the VCUG – it was a nightmare!  He wasn’t being hurt during the procedure, just made pretty uncomfortable in his nether regions… but he lost it when they strapped his little, naked body down to the board (and, so did Mommy!).  Though the testing only took about 15 minutes, it was excruciating trying to calm down his screams and comfort him.  Luckily, they were able to perform the test to an accuracy level of 90% (which we’ll gladly take, to not go through it again).  So now, we’re ecstatic to report that Connor has grown out of his urinary reflux and has no signs of protein droplets in his kidneys!! 

With the absence of urinary reflux, Connor was taken off the prophylactic antibiotic he’s been on since birth.  That means…  NO MORE MEDS!!!  (He came home on 8 different medications in April 2009… and now, he’s only taking his daily multivitamin – woohoo!) 

Lately, Connor’s been taking on dog-like qualities – he frequently crawls around with his tongue hanging out, drools all over everything, eats his Cheerios off the floor without using his hands, and laps up his bath water with his tongue.  Teething (4 molars + incisors) only explains the excessive drool…  yep, we’re so proud.

Unfortunately, the x-rays taken during his VCUG did show some severe constipation.  A battle we’ve been waging against since December-ish.  We can directly tie his digestive problems to his diet (which we carefully watch/restrict), his fluid intake (which we struggle with on a daily basis), and the amount of stimulation he receives (which we also try to monitor/restrict).  If we don’t stay on top of those 3 components of his day, every day, then Connor pays for it… in the worst way.  It’s incredibly painful for him and very difficult for us to watch.  The nephrologist was quite alarmed by the images of Connor’s constipated intestines, and seemed bothered that I wasn’t falling all over myself in surprise and worry.  I hope he could detect my weariness regarding the issue – we’ve been fighting this for months.  He was the 2nd specialist to prescribe Miralax for Connor (the 1st being his surgeon in March).  Daily laxatives are not exactly the direction I want to go with Connor (plus it would require the ever elusive fluid intake), and his pediatrician is vehemently against the idea.  His pediatrician also thinks it’s no big thing to push 30+ ounces of fluid daily on an unwilling toddler (we’re lucky to get around 18 ounces).  In the meantime, I’m giving Connor probiotics daily, trying to take it easy with him, feeding him good “pooping” foods, and he’s slowly complying to an increased fluid regimen.  The more consistency we’re able to give him, the more dirty diapers we receive.  It’s a win-win for everyone!  :S 

We don’t have to follow-up with his nephrologist again until January 2011.  Yay!

We’re still struggling a little bit with Connor and projectile vomiting.  (Sounds like a barrel of bodily fluids fun at the Sprik house, doesn’t it?!)  We’re happy that the frequency has overall decreased, but we mostly wish it would just stop completely.  Especially on the nights that Brian is out of town.  :S  More vomiting = more weight gain concerns.

Connor continues to meet regularly with his physical therapist.  All in all, PT issues are going well – he’s a master crawler and turbo cruiser!  He’s recently conquered climbing the stairs and can scale up his step stool to the ottoman to the sofa in a matter of seconds.  We’re still working on his descent, but he’s making great progress.  Hoping to encourage him to stand on his own, his PT suggested getting him “real” shoes to wear during the day, at home.  So we did.  :(  {$ka-ching$}  This is supposed to make him more aware of his feet, by adding weight to his appendages.

I do worry that we’re going to have to revisit the speech therapist soon, as his skills don’t seem to be progressing much in this area.  Cognitively he’s understanding and retaining more each day, and he’s getting better at non-verbally communicating what he wants.  But, he’s not trying to say any new words, and we haven’t heard his animal sounds in a couple of weeks.  It’s probably just a phase, but it’s something I want to stay on top of. 

In a couple of weeks, Connor gets to see a pediatric dentist for the first time.  Fun.  His baby teeth are sadly quite warped from all of the antibiotics, so we’re going to see if there’s anything that needs to/can be done for them.

And now, the rest of the pictures…

We spent a fun weekend in Michigan, where Connor got to go swimming in Grandpa & Grandma Sprik’s pool and watch all the “Yo Gabba Gabba” he could beg for!

Little ball of energy – all peaceful.  The other night we went to check on him before we went to bed… he rolls around, moaning a little in his sleep, then started clapping (apparently congratulating himself in his dreams)… too funny! – July 14, 2010

Out bumming around… – July 31, 2010

Connor loves to be outside!  Funny kid – the grass doesn’t bother him on his knees (crawling around), but he doesn’t like to walk in it.  This swim day, Connor spent about as much time outside the pool, as he did inside it.

Nice, Daddy… nice. – July 31, 2010