Manic Monday

There was a lot going on today, some good, some not as good. Lewis was evaluated by a developmental pediatrician this morning. The Doctor was pleased with Lewis' alertness, he seems to be very interested in looking at faces and listening to voices. Lewis' eyes track well to the right, be he is still reluctant to turn his head or track to the left. The Doctor was also concerned with Lewis' hypertonicity (muscle stiffness) in the arms, legs and hips. She suggested an ultrasound of his hips and will follow up with Lewis in a couple of weeks to see how he is progressing.

On a more positive note, Lewis swallowed some milk for the first time today. The doctor and speech therapist suggested that he try 5 ml of milk in a bottle. Lewis coughed a little, but he did swallow some - he swallowed about 3 ml (half a teaspoon), but enough to prove he can swallow, it seems. The speech therapist will try again tomorrow. She may also order that a swallow study be performed to see whether he is protecting his airway adequately enough. It's a start.

There wasn't much time to celebrate that small victory. Shortly after the feeding success, the techs came to administer an EEG (measurement of brain electrical activity used by neurologists). They weren't particularly soothing or gentle and Lewis started in on a crying episode that lasted, on and off, for almost 3 hours. Jenn just couldn't get him to calm down, she eventually succeeded, but it was a long process.

The nurse says he slept for an hour or so and has been intermittently fussy since. It helps that you can walk around with him now - just have to take the IV pole that his milk pump lives on. They can't seem to find a reason for Lewis'unhappiness - everyone we ask has a different theory, ranging from gas to results of Lewis' injuries.

Tomorrow could be another fun one - our man is scheduled to be circumcised in the morning. They'll use a topical anesthetic, but no morphine - even the 'as needed' morphine doses were stopped for good today. Probably best to put the morphine behind us, but it won't make tomorrow any easier.