8 Week Check-Up

Gabe went to the doctor last week for his 8 week check-up. He weighed in at 12 lbs 3 oz & was 23.5 inches long. He is definitely growing very fast & getting more & more alert everyday. He has started to coo & "talk" to people & continues to smile daily. The doctor said everything looks good except for some fluid retention in one of his testicles. He recommended an ultrasound to hopefully identify a source. I hadn't really noticed a problem myself, but then again I have no idea what size they were supposed to be & I don't make it a habit to examine them thoroughly. :) After he mentioned something though, I realized there is a noticeable difference between the two.

Gabe also got four vaccinations. He took one orally & then got three shots in his legs. I felt so bad holding his legs down so the nurse could give him the shots. He just screamed & screamed!! But, he seemed to calm down fairly quickly afterwards & even fell asleep in the car on the 10 min ride home. He slept most of that day (made David happy) & just didn't seem his normal busy self. He typically cannot lay/sit still, always waving an arm or kicking his legs, very wiggly to try and hold for long. But David said he just wanted to lay still all day & even cuddled with him quite a bit. He ran a slight fever that night, but he slept fine & ate well. He was a little fussy the next day, but baby Tylenol seemed to help him calm down.

Gabe's Bugs Bunny band-aids

The next day we went for an ultrasound at the hospital at 7:15 in the morning. I wanted to try & get things done before I had to be at work at 8:30. We got back fairly quickly & the ultrasound only lasted for about 10 mins. Gabe had a dirty diaper to begin with so we just took it off & laid him on a towel on the exam table. I had to hold his legs down so that the tech could get the images she needed. Gabe was not very thrilled about this but only seemed to whimper & quietly fuss so I knew he wasn't in pain. Throughout the scan, Gabe peed twice & pooped once. I guess we should have tried to keep the diaper on him! Luckily, the female ultrasound tech was unfazed & said she had boys so she understood. I felt so bad that he peed on her. The results were read by a doctor later in the day, but the ultrasound was inconclusive. There was definitely fluid in the testicle, but no obvious cause for it. So, we were referred to a Urologist.

The next day, David took Gabe to see the Urologist by himself. I had some meetings/software training at work that I couldn't easily get out of, & I wasn't sure if anything was going to be done that day anyway. David had to fill out paperwork when he got there & Gabe started to fuss & cry a little. A little old woman came up to them & offered to hold Gabe while David finished. So, she walked him around the office until David could take him back. Very nice of her! David liked the doctor a lot. He even undressed & re-dressed Gabe himself instead of asking David to do it! The diagnosis is a inguinal hernia which has probably been there since birth. When his testicles descended through muscle before birth, the opening didn't close properly & it is possible for part of the intestine to be slipping in & out. The only solution seems to be surgery to close the opening & drain the fluid. This particular doctor hasn't done the surgery in years, so we have been recommended to a pediatric surgeon. We have an appointment in about two weeks to discuss surgery & what age to do it at. My big concern is the anaesthesia needed, but it would be nice to have it done before Gabe gets too mobile & it causes discomfort. Apparently this is a fairly common problem (2 or 3% of boy babies), so I'm sure the surgeon has seen this & will have appropriate recommendations. I just keep hoping it doesn't cause pain in the mean time. Poor baby!!!