Friday's report, and Saturday's date :)

Soooo, it's finally Saturday whoo hoo and I'm putting off doing some chores... Baby's napping so I have a sec... Wanted to update on our appointment with endocrinology yesterday. It was the first time we have seen endocrinology and I really like the doctor, but he, being a new doctor, is wanting to run a bunch of tests to rule out a bunch of diagnoses. We had to go see the vampires yesterday to steal all his blood and we'll be going in next Friday for an hour-long ACTH test to ensure Dax's glands emit enough cortisol under stressful situations. 11 months old and he has his first "official" stress test.. Because 8 months in the NICU, 3 surgeries, and hundreds of sticks and procedures weren't REAL stress :) The doctor is concerned that since he is small for his age that he may not be producing enough growth hormone, although we know Dax is small for his age because for months his calories were spent keeping him alive, not growing long legs... That, and of course, he is young for his age since he's not even technically 8 months old yet... But, it's the doc's job to rule these things out, so that's what we're doing.

The doc is also concerned that Daxton may have a condition known as septo-optic dysplasia, since he has been missing his septum pellucidem since birth. Of course, Dax has to show other diagnostic criteria, such as malformed optic nerves and wonky hormonal levels (which is why we went to his office in the first place.) A hormonal panel and optic nerve assessment were completed while Dax was in the NICU and those results were normal, but the doc wants to see for himself... So again we wait. And even though I know the condition has been ruled out before, it's still nerve-wracking to have to wait and hear it again... Guess that's what happens when you see a new doctor with an unusual boy...

So tonight is a big, big night for us... For the first time since Daxton came home, we're going to have date night... Oooohhhhh... Dax's nurse/honorary grandmother/fairy godmother is going to keep him tonight. It's a little scary, but as she keeps him 8 hours a day and knows all his medical stuff I'm feeling pretty good about it. We'll see how I actually do tonight!

I am a little worried with all the time he's spending with is nurse... She's teaching him bad things, like how to throw good temper tantrums and how to say "uh-uh" and their newest phrase, "Tyler did it." This morning I was changing an ENORMOUS diaper, and as I picked on him about the mess and the smell, I swear I heard a "Tywerdidi." Oh, let the games begin!!!

Guess that's all for now... Please keep Dax in your prayers as we wait for the latest test results, and we'll keep you posted!