Colby is keeping us on our toes!

On Friday of last week, I took Colby to the pediatrician's office for his every other week weight check. I mentioned to the nurse that he had been breathing really fast since Thursday afternoon. I didn't think much of it, because he has had a problem with fast breathing for a couple of weeks now and our cardiologist is aware of it. As she listened to his heart and counted his respirations, I could tell she was a little concerned. Jason and I have gotten pretty good at reading the faces of Colby's doctors and nurses! It turns out that his respiration rate was 95...way too high! He normally is around mid 50s. His sats were also higher than usual at 94%. High sats at this point is a sign for concern. His sats should be around 80 now. Then came the weight check. I always dread this part! Colby had only gained 5 oz in 2 weeks.

With all of these concerns, the nurse went to get a doctor to examine Colby just to make sure that everything was okay. The doctor's first thought, and mine as well, was that he was sick with a cold, flu, or RSV. After checking his ears, throat, nose, lungs, etc, she quickly ruled that out...thank goodness. Colby was as healthy as could be. This was great news, but it made his fast breathing that more puzzling! So, she called to consult Dr. Liske to see what he wanted us to do. Dr. Liske was concerned but not overly concerned. He seemed to think it was probably fine, but he told us to go back to the pediatrician on Tuesday for another exam. We left the office with me of course a little nervous! It is not easy to watch your baby panting helplessly while just sitting still!

Tuesday morning, we went back to the doctor as directed. We weighed first this time, and immediately got great news!! Colby had gained 6 oz from Friday to Tuesday! He is now up to 12 lb 8 oz!!! I love when he has a good weight gain. Then came the bad news. His respiration rate was now over 100. Dr. Hudson examined him and then left the room to call Dr. Liske once again. The appointment ended with Dr. Liske telling me over the phone to come on out to his office at Vanderbilt. I was fine with this, because at this point, I'm pretty worried about our little Colby!

When we got to Dr. Liske's, they did an EKG and checked his blood pressure, sats, etc as always. Then, we waited to see Dr. Liske. After a quick exam, Dr. Liske seemed pleased with how Colby looked and sounded. His respiration rate was now in the mid 50s. Amazing! I guess Dr. Liske just has the magic touch! Dr. Liske even told us that he thinks Colby is getting over the hump after his surgery. He is hopeful that Colby will continue to improve and gain weight from this point forward. We are very hopeful for this as well!!! All of my worry for nothing! Dr. Liske said he will continue to have these fast breathing spells...it is unfortunately just part of it!

Dr. Liske gave us a little bit of good news, too. He showed us Colby's growth curve. Colby is no longer on the growth chart (since his surgery), but he is following the curve perfectly. I am so happy that he is gaining!! To help him continue gaining, we are going to try increasing the calories of his milk once again. We have been using corn oil, which takes the milk to 24 cal/oz. Now, we are going to use corn oil, formula concentrate (liquid), and rice cereal. I feel like a bar tender preparing a mixed drink each time I make a bottle. If it works, though, it is so worth it! Please pray that Colby is able to tolerate the formula concentrate. The nutritionist seems to think that the liquid may work better than the powdered formula did. I sure hope so, because he was not a fan of the powdered formula!!!

So, we managed to avoid another hospital stay...thank goodness!! I guess Colby just missed Dr. Liske and wanted to see him sooner than our 6 week scheduled visit! Colby continues to amaze me with how happy he is, even with his extremely fast breathing. If I were panting like he does, I would probably be miserable! Our little Colby is not, though. He is just as smiley and happy as ever! He is such an inspiration!