The nurse sat me in a special chair in the middle of the exam room and checked Spencer's pulse. I was surprised that they didn't want to weigh him, she just asked me for that information.
The doctor came in and explained all that he would be doing. He said he would check his ears, nose, and throat. Then he would use drops to numb Spencer's right nostril before placing a scope down his throat. While the drops would help, he warned me that Spencer wouldn't like it. I would need to hold Spencer's arms and legs down and his nurse would hold his head.
Spencer didn't even like having his ears checked! The nose was fine. Then the doctor used a tongue depressor to check his throat. He had to really fight to get in there and said Spencer has a strong jaw. Tell me about it! He's teething and bites down on my nipple! No teeth are necessary to cause pain.
The drops were alright. The doctor said they don't taste very good. You could tell that Spencer could taste them, but it didn't seem to me that he was reacting much to them. It looked like a lot of liquid to me, too.
Spencer had 2-3 feeding tubes placed while in the NICU, but I never had to witness the process. Daddy did. It was rough. We discussed whether he needed to stay to support me or take Sasha back out to play. I decided we'd be alright without them. Spencer won't remember today, but Sasha might. He asked if I was sure. Um... I think so.
I knew Spencer's feet wouldn't really be a problem. I just had a blanket over him. He likes to keep his fists in front of (if not IN) his mouth, though, so I had to hold them down away from his face.
The nurse held his head very still and I kept his hands down. Spencer screamed for the entire procedure. Thankfully, the doctor was quick. It only took 1-2 minutes. As soon as he was done, I whipped it out and let Spencer nurse. He was hungry and needed the comfort.
The doctor believes Spencer may have had a bulbous epiglottis, but that he has grown out of it. I pointed out that the cardiologist heard the stridor just 3 weeks ago. He said that Spencer could absolutely have grown out of it in that amount of time. No surgery or anything, so this is all good news. I don't know if the stridor is gone, I haven't noticed it. It wasn't terribly obvious in the first place.
The doctor said he'd leave the door shut for me (for privacy to finish nursing) and to just let myself out when we were done. He was very polite. He said he'd send a note of his results to our pediatrician as well as the cardiologist.
 I couldn't find a good anatomy shot to share, so here is a cute photo of Spencer resting after his appointment. |
For the rest of the afternoon, Spencer kept spitting up. I was covered in milk! I am hoping this is normal following the scope procedure. If it continues into today, I'll call our pediatrician.
We'll be seeing the cardiologist again next week and the pediatrician the week after that. I hope that the pulmonary hypertension has improved. (Healthy wishes to that effect are most welcome!)
