Cookies and Crayons

Dougie has done little steps between two things a few times now but it always seemed like more of a mistake than “real” first steps. Today, they were real. Dougie was upset about not being able to reach my cake pans (they’re fun to throw on the tile floor) and was having a little fit about it. I sat down on the floor and called him over, he turned, put his arms out and took 5 little steps toward me. They were quite purposeful. I’m a little scared of when he really starts moving, but mostly excited that soon, our little man will be totally mobile.

Until we get independent mobility down, Dougie uses his cow to get around:

Dougie has learned to use his sippy cup. Since his discovery, he brings it everywhere and has little sips. I’m so glad that he finally worked out how to use it. We really didn’t want to have to put him back on the bottle just to get some water into him.

Dougie and the Sippy

Have Sippy Will Travel

The neurologist’s office finally faxed the blood test results to our pediatrician. The pediatrician called this afternoon to go over the results. It turns out, the doctor had also run some of those tests (just as part of a standard panel) when they did Dougie’s last anemia check. So, the level that the neurologist had been most concerned about we had been rechecked two week after and that test said it was totally normal. (One point to Auntie Carol for predicting it was a lab error)

The doctor did mention some levels that the neurologist hadn’t mention. First he said that one of the liver test levels was a bit elevated. He thought this was most likely a results of the iron supplements that Dougie is taking. He’s going to keep an eye on it though and recheck it at our appointment in 2 weeks. He also said that Dougie had a bit of lead in his system. We’re going to recheck that as well at his next appointment. If the level is still elevated, we’ll do an aggressive check of what Dougie could be ingesting that is causing the increased level. In the meantime, we’re supposed to keep an eye on what is going into his mouth. I also did another quick check of all the recalls for lead paint to make sure none of his toys are on there.

All in all, we’re thrilled with the results of the doctor’s call. I finally feel like we’re done with all of this and we can just relax.

The fire department in the City of Grapevine hosts a pancake breakfast with Santa every year. It’s a way for them to raise some money for a variety of their needs. The coolest part is that Santa, Rudolph and Frosty all arrive to the breakfast in helicopters. We decided to take Dougie yesterday. We ended up missing their arrival though we did see the helicopters as we were driving in.

Dougie enjoyed it. He got to meet Santa for the first time though he wasn’t sure what to make of him. He wasn’t really interested in having pancakes but Scott and I had some and they were quite tasty. We stayed about 45 minutes and then headed home. I’m so glad we went. We’re going to make it a little family tradition. I bet Dougie will love it next year.

Helicopters Outside the Firehouse

Dougie Meeting Santa

Making Pancakes

Drum Core

We finally heard from the neurologist! They said that the MRI and the EEG both came back normal. The neurologist said that he is clinically normal. So, that is great news! It doesn’t explain why he’s having the spasms but it does mean that he’ll likely just grow out of it. We’re going to give it a month and see where he is at then. He does continue to have spasms but they seem to be in a reduced phase again, so perhaps that’s a good sign.

The doctor did mention that there was an elevation in his blood levels. There seems to be a ton of things that could be causing it though. She is going to fax the blood work to our pediatrician tomorrow and we’ll follow up with him. She did mention that it could be an allergy or something. Hopefully, those results will get to the pediatrician on Monday and we can find out a bit more from him.

Get got inspired to Elf Ourselves.

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1141845691

We got the official word last night from Dougie’s pediatrician, Dougie is no longer anemic. YAY!! He needs to stay on the iron for another month to help rebuild his iron stores and then he can stop it. We’ll recheck his iron levels at his 15 month appointment. Dougie is thrilled at the idea of getting off the iron.

Still no news on the MRI, blood work or EEG. We’ll be calling about those again today.

We’ve been trying to do Baby Signs with Dougie. Apparently, it can help make the 2 year old stage a bit easier because when they don’t have the ability to say the word, they can do the sign instead. Theoretically, this reduces the number of communication related tantrums. We’ll see about that, but in the meantime, we’re trying to teach him some signs. We’ve been doing this for a few months now and though Dougie seemed to understand some of them, he wouldn’t actually make any signs. Yesterday, he made his first sign, “jump”. Yes, I know, not the most useful sign for an 11 month old but he does love to jump. We’re hoping this will be the beginning of many more signs to come.

Last Monday morning through Wednesday morning Dougie did his second EEG. As you’d expect, it was a long process. Fortunately, he actually had some spasms so at least it was a lot more productive. The neurologist called midway through to let us know that at that point, the spasms were not causing abnormalities on the EEG but she did want us to finish it.

Dougie All Wired Up

At this point, we’re waiting to hear the results of the rest of the test. We’re also still waiting on the MRI results as well as the blood test results from the testing 2 weeks ago. I plan to call about that today. Things are looking more and more positive all the time though.

I’m almost giddy as I type this. We got the word this morning that Dougie no longer has a milk or soy allergy!

November 16th, we took Dougie into the allergist. They did a scratch test there which showed no reaction for milk or soy. Apparently, they don’t consider that sufficient results though and they sent Dougie for a blood serum test as well. Those results came in this morning that there was a negative reaction and he can start on milk and soy products. More importantly, so can I. What a great way to start a week!!