Visit with Dr. Shay

We ended up seeing Dr. Shay, the pulmonolgist, today because he won't be in next week. That's a picture of him. He doesn't have a mustache now. I would guess that picture if 10-15 years old.

He was impressed that Wyatt hadn't really had any colds this season, particularly because both Rus and I were sick. Even if he did maybe have a cold that time we saw Dr. Saba, it was pretty mild. He once again re-iterated how bad it would be if Wyatt got sick. He could end up hospitalized. That makes me very worried about going back to work. I will definitely pick up all kinds of things there. I guess Wyatt made it through once already. We just have to be dilligent about washing our hands and not kissing him. I have to stop "eating" his fingers too.

Dr. Shay also went over Wyatt's growth charts and measured Wyatt's head circumference since the nurse didn't do it. Wyatt's head circumference is 25th percentile, length is 14th percentile and weight is 7th percentile. Wyatt was 13lb 10.8oz. His length was 25 3/4". Dr. Shay said he was doing great and growing really well. He told us most preemies don't catch up to the normal growth curve until they are 12 months.

We commiserated about using Haberman nipples as Dr. Shay's oldest had problems feeding. He did the same thing we did - tinkered with a pin or steak knife to open the hole wider. Sometimes the hole was too big, some times too small.

He asked if we had started rice cereal yet. I explained that Dr. Saba had said talk to cranio-facial when I asked and cranio-facial said not to yet. OT said to talk to the GI doctor (who we see next week). He said that for saiety we might want to consider using it. He also said it can help with reflux. It old him what the cranio-facial nurse said about rice cereal and reflux being as "old wives tale" and he said in his case it's an "old father's tale." He said with the cleft palate eating rice cereal may be tricky. Of course, we have the OT we can go back to once we get the go-ahead from GI (Dr. Mian). I have to admit that I am kind of confused about what to do with the rice cereal at this point.

Wyatt is to continue on pulmicort to prevent a re-ocurrence of pneumonia from aspiration. He said he was more at risk for aspirating formula. I asked why, thinking he was going to say because he aspirated before or because of something neurological. What he said was that because of his cleft palate he is more at risk of aspirating (which is another reason why rice cereal *might* be beneficial). He said all children aspirate some formula as they are learning to eat. I told him I was surprised no one ever mentioned he was at greater risk because of the cleft palate. Not even cranio-facial. That made me kind of mad because in NICU they made us feel like there was a neurological issue with him not handling his own secretions or that we were pushing him to hard with the eating.

I have to admit that I liked Dr. Shay again. I had liked him in NICU, but then when we saw him in his office he talked to Rus every time I asked a question. This time he addressed me. Rus thinks Dr. Shary must have read my blog. Ha. Ha. We go back in three months.

I told Dr. Shay about Early Intervention and getting the reports from the medical secretaries. So he printed out the last reports from Dr. Saba, PT, OT and Dr. Malhotra. I was actually going to also request my placental pathology report when I went in, but now that I don't have to go in for Wyatt it might be better if I put a little distance between his birth and the report. I just feel like I don't really know what happened in some ways.