What a week!!!

Well actually it's more like what a COUPLE of weeks! Poor Ryan had been in a world of hurt for quite a few days. I chalked it up to severe teething pains as his upper right molar was trying to bust through the gums. Then someone mentioned a possible 18 month growth spurt since he's right around that age. Made total sense to me as Ryan always seems to hit his spurts early. So I looked it up and and found that those with brain abnormalities have a much more intense reaction to this particular growth spurt. There is apparently a massive brain development at this time making things very uncomfortable and stressful for Ryan. Slap on that nasty old molar and his 4 canine's also rearing their ugly heads and welllllll...things were horrifically awful for my poor babe. He would scream, sob and squirm constantly throughout the day. Tears would stream down his cheeks.

I couldn't handle seeing him hurting so badly so I took him to the ER this past weekend. They took some x-rays and ultrasound of his lungs, liver, pancreas, kidneys, gall bladder, bladder, bowels etc...basically everything! It all looked fine (so good to hear that everything internal is working for him). They did however discover a tiny bit of poop back up and prescribed him a little something to help. Well it does seem to be helping him, however his clothes, diapers and blankets are suffering the consequences...haha...as is my washing machine!!! He's also getting Advil for his teeth as Tylenol just wasn't cutting it. He's also still getting his iron, thyroid and antiepileptic meds. Given everything he's taking I decided to wean him off his melatonin and he's doing pretty ok without it. He's never been a great sleeper (since his been on Vigabatrin) and I know melatonin doesn't KEEP you asleep it just helps you FALL asleep which has never really been an issue (knock on wood!). It would be great to get him off the iron too as it's turned his teeth into an awful grey colour which you can sort of see in the above pictures. But obviously the supplement is essential to his health so who cares about a few stained teeth (well...ALL his stained teeth)! He'll be going for his routine thyroid blood work in another month or so so I'll have the pediatrician include an iron check as well.

So for the last few days I'd say Ryan's discomfort has improved...hard to say if it's the Advil, the fact that his molar finally popped through a bit or because he's pooping more! Right now I don't care about the reason I'm just happy that he's feeling a bit better!

Now we just have to hope that he stays healthy as next week he goes for his ear tube surgery at Mac. We're so anxious to see if the tubes will improve his hearing and if it does, will he begin to babble?!?! How we crave hearing his sweet little voice make new noises. I do think he's been trying to make new sounds and I can only hope that the tubes will allow him to build on that!

Now for the GOOD, GREAT and MIND BLOWING fantastic news!!! On Monday, March 26th around 4:00pm, Ryan got himself up into a sitting position from the floor!!! It was a HUGE feat for him physically and cognitively! My Mom was just about to leave after watching Quin for me while I had Ryan at the dentist (to check his swollen gums and teeth stains)...I was watching him from the kitchen doing his rocking back and forth in his semi-crawling position. All of a sudden he sat back on his heels a bit, started to twist his body and wiggle his legs around...then in the slowest of all motions he kept twisting and getting higher and higher!!! All I remember saying is, "oh my god, oh my god" as I rushed over to give him the tiniest bit of support so he didn't topple over on his face but he did ALL the work himself! It was by far one of these most amazing and surreal things I have ever witnessed!!! I'm so glad my Mom was there to experience it with me! We cried and laughed and cried some more! Poor guy though I was so excited and proud that I scooped him up a little too quick as I was squealing and therefore gave him quite a scare...his little lip came out and he sniffled a bit but was ok after some extreme lovin'! My goodness even just typing about it makes me get goosebumps all over again! He's our little fighter for sure and is seeking revenge on those that say "he will never..."!!!