Nathan

Ever since Nathan was 1.5/2ish, he would have these outbreaks on his face. His face would puff up and turn red. It took us awhile, but we narrowed it down to dog saliva. He LOVED going to Nonnie's house and would play with their dog's toys. For a child that age, it is only natural to touch their eyes, nose and mouth. Next thing you know, Nathan's face would be swollen and red. Everytime we saw the doctor, I would mention it to her. We were pretty much blown off that it was probably nothing and that they don't like to do allergy testing that early. Finally one day Nathan's face was entirely puffy so I packed him in the van and drove right to the doctors. Sure enough, it must be an allergy. We were told to use Clariton or Benedryl if/when it happened.

Nathan with a puffy face...the pic doesn't do him justice and this was after the swelling had gone down at the doctors office

It worked for awhile. Then, one day Nathan was at Nonnie's house again while Mommy and Daddy worked. All of a sudden Nathan was having trouble breathing. My sister called me and I left work. Sure enough, his breathing was very short. I took him to the doctors and she gave him a nebulizer treatment, sent us to get an x-ray and then we went back for another nebulizer treatment. Turns out Nathan is also asthmatic. He was put on Flovent during the fall/winter months to keep his lungs strong!

To make a long story short, our pediatrician left town and we were in the search for a new one. We switched to Genesis Pediatrics and our new doctor is awesome! She sent us for allergy testing for Nathan so we saw Dr. K . She examined Nathan and he was to remain on the Flovent for the fall/winter and she also prescribed Singulair and Vera Mist and he gets Albuterol as needed. The scratch test showed Nathan is allergic to cats, dogs, pollen and a strain of mold. She also suggested we take Nathan for a sleep study to see if he has sleep apnea.

Nathan with the scratch testing. He was so brave!

Things seemed to be going well with the meds, until we went to see Dr. K for a followup. Unfortunately, Nathan caught a cough and it was just lingering. She also asked us if the Singulair caused any behavior problems. THAT was it! That is where my sweet little man went! His attitude had changed dramatically and he was acting out more than usual...he was more aggressive. She told us to try taking him off it. He hasn't had it for 4 nights and we have already noticed a change!

Anyway, the purpose for this update was to tell you about Nathan's sleep study. We went Friday, March 11th along with my sister and my niece Kendall. We got to the center at 7pm and the kids got their pj's on and brushed their teeth. Kendall allowed the nurse to attach the wires, but not Nathan! He was deathly afraid so we waited til he fell asleep, which was very quickly! Around 9:30 Nathan's nurse came in and started the hour long process of attaching the wires. She got a few on and then started the test, saying it would be great to have it started asap just in case he wakes up and rips them off. She was able to get most of them on and Mommy was able to start my Nicholas Sparks book!Playing with the bike! The second picture is a little blurry, but I love how he is trying to escape! JUST as I was about to turn out the light and try to sleep (12:30am) Nathan woke up. I couldn't get to him quick enough and he ripped every single wire off! 17 sensors on his head/face, 2 belts around his middle, 2 sensors on his chest and 2 on his leg, a thermistor and canula to his upper lip/nose and a sensor light on his finger. He wouldn't lay still til he found and pulled each one off. Meanwhile, the nurses can see/hear everything going on and assured me that she would be in if I needed her. Nope...I sat there trying to calm my little man down and that wasn't possible til the wires were all off. So at the end, I was helping him pull the wires off knowing that if we got them off he would be able to fall back asleep.

Beefore the wires were pulled off! He looks so little and sad!

All night, the nurse came in and tried attaching the wires/etc. All night, Nathan would wake up in a panic and pull them off. Around 3:30am, he was finally too exhausted to fight much...finally saw the sensor light on his finger as being kinda cool, like a flashlight! All the while, Kendall was up and wouldn't go back to sleep. It was to the point where they were ready to send us all home! But Nathan started to accept the wires/sensors and was able to finish the sleep study! We were able to go home at 6:15am!

Nathan and I went home and fell back asleep til 11:45! Todd took Brayden and Caroline to shop for a present for a party they were invited to later that day. We woke up and Nathan took a nice bath to clean all of the paste out of his hair. He was so happy for it to all be over and Mommy was so proud of how brave he was! We get the results at the end of the month!