Oct 12, 2012
Willow is doing great! She had another Dr appointment yesterday to monitor her methadone weaning, and they said since she is doing so well we can lower her dose a bit faster. She is on (and always has been) a very low amount of methadone. At the beginning she was on 0.2mg's and is now down to 0.12mg's. We were told to wait 3 days between lowering her dose to verify that she is tolerating the smaller amount before decreasing it further. They're now saying we can go down as we feel she's ready. The Dr.'s in California lower their babies to 0.10mg's then stop giving the methadone. Here, the Cleveland Clinic neonatalogists recommend lowering their babies to 0.05mg's before quitting.
She has only had 1 day since we started weaning her that she was exhibiting withdrawl symptoms and was pretty fussy. She did really well and after 24hrs she was back to herself. Her main symptom was being constantly irritable, sneezing, and couldn't sleep/ relax . She was easily consoled and did better when held but it was obvious she didn't feel good.
She was 5.8 lbs last week at the Dr. and this week is a whole 6.0 lbs!!! She eats really well, she is awake and MAD if we are late with her bottle. They want her to eat 1.5 ounces every 3 hours but she has let me know that 2.5-3 ounces is what she prefers. She is still very small but has come a long way and is continuing to be a very strong and alert baby!
Nov 4, 2012
Friday, Oct 19 was the last day that Willow was given Methadone. She was not happy about being drug-free. She was cranky on Saturday and changed to angry Saturday night, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Thursday evening, she improved and Friday she was back to the happy and sleepy baby we had glimpses of during the weaning process. Overall, she was on Methadone for almost a month after birth. That is what they had originally told us to expect; I am SO thankful that we were able to bring her home to continue the weaning from home since the original plan was to be in the California hospital until completed.
The past 2 weeks were interesting! Willow was finally done with seeing the Dr weekly! In celebration, we began with Wyatt missing 3 of 4 days of school last week with a fever, runny nose, and headache. Our family did get to make another appearance at the Doctor's (I feel we should soon get a designated parking spot) and he ended up on a steroid to help him get over the 'viral crud' he was diagnosed with having. That really seemed to help. Oliver was the next to catch the 'viral crud' followed closely by Owen, Squeak and myself. It is a nasty head cold, not horrible, but certainly not enjoyable.
Oliver wasn't slowed down that much by the cold. He spends his days doing puzzles, waking Willow, and doing spins or 'wheel-carts' (cart-wheels). While doing a puzzle, he took a break to lay out a blanket for Willow to lay on so she could watch him. He was spinning (think break dancing type moves) on the blanket and face planted the corner of our coffee table. Back to the doctor! He was super-glued back together. An impressive parenting fact... at 3 yrs old... this is his 3rd set of stitches / gluing.
And finally, Willow caught the viral mess that the rest of us had. She had a high fever and a congested nose. Lucky for her, she is under 2 months which means the Doctor wouldn't see us. Or, maybe he was sick of seeing us.. Either way, we were referred directly to the ED at Children's. An IV, blood draws, cultures, RSV swabs, caths, X rays, a lengthy discussion with 20+ (slight exaggeration) people on why I am refusing a spinal tap until results of the previous tests are completed and show it is needed, and a 24+ hour admission to the hospital showed that..... Willow has a VIRUS! Of course, I realize that it was the responsible thing to do to take her in to get checked out. Any child under the age of 2 months with a fever is referred to the ED. It was slightly frustrating to watch her go through all of the testing.
So that's how we have been spending our time!
The past 2 weeks were interesting! Willow was finally done with seeing the Dr weekly! In celebration, we began with Wyatt missing 3 of 4 days of school last week with a fever, runny nose, and headache. Our family did get to make another appearance at the Doctor's (I feel we should soon get a designated parking spot) and he ended up on a steroid to help him get over the 'viral crud' he was diagnosed with having. That really seemed to help. Oliver was the next to catch the 'viral crud' followed closely by Owen, Squeak and myself. It is a nasty head cold, not horrible, but certainly not enjoyable.
Oliver wasn't slowed down that much by the cold. He spends his days doing puzzles, waking Willow, and doing spins or 'wheel-carts' (cart-wheels). While doing a puzzle, he took a break to lay out a blanket for Willow to lay on so she could watch him. He was spinning (think break dancing type moves) on the blanket and face planted the corner of our coffee table. Back to the doctor! He was super-glued back together. An impressive parenting fact... at 3 yrs old... this is his 3rd set of stitches / gluing.
And finally, Willow caught the viral mess that the rest of us had. She had a high fever and a congested nose. Lucky for her, she is under 2 months which means the Doctor wouldn't see us. Or, maybe he was sick of seeing us.. Either way, we were referred directly to the ED at Children's. An IV, blood draws, cultures, RSV swabs, caths, X rays, a lengthy discussion with 20+ (slight exaggeration) people on why I am refusing a spinal tap until results of the previous tests are completed and show it is needed, and a 24+ hour admission to the hospital showed that..... Willow has a VIRUS! Of course, I realize that it was the responsible thing to do to take her in to get checked out. Any child under the age of 2 months with a fever is referred to the ED. It was slightly frustrating to watch her go through all of the testing.
So that's how we have been spending our time!
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