Jasper @ 8 mths

At 8 mths old he’s started to make more noise and will call out when he wants our attention.  He’s still very generous with his smiles and laughter, and loves to play with people- we have another social baby. He’s observant and loves to explore new toys etc. Noticed that he is trying to pull himself up on a few occasions, so he’ll probably be able to stand soon. As for new foods, we’ve started him on porridge and he loves it! He seems to prefer mushy food and food with less texture, but he’ll warm up to the food after a few tries.  He seems to be losing interest in his milk - cos he finishes it slowly, but he's still waking up for milk in the middle of the nite!

Milestones

Physically and mentally
• Lunges forward and started crawling
• Gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth
• Bangs objects together
• Drags objects toward himself
• Trying to Stand while holding onto something

Language and emotions

• Says "mama" (isn't specific)
• Begins to understand meaning of “No”

Daily Schedule:
6am - Milk 150 ml7/730am - Wake Up
800am - Bathtime
9am - Breakfast: Multigrain Cereal(5 scoops)/Yoghurt + Fruit Puree
1030am - Milk 60-90 ml
Nap (45mins)
12pm - Sweet Potato / Potato Puree + Veg Puree or Porridge+ Veg
230/3pm - Milk 180 mlNap (1.5-2hrs)
530pm - Cereal(6 scoops)  Fruit Puree/Avocado
630pm - Washup
730 pm - Milk 180 ml & Bedtime
1/2am - Milk 120 ml

Surgery Day - 9 Apr 2011

Yes 9 Apr was DDay. The boy had to fast before his surgery so we chose the early morning slot. His last feed was around 2am and around 630 am we whisked him off to Mt E as he had to be there by 730am, the op was at 830am. Prior to that we had already done a pre-registration the week before, as such everything was already prepared when we arrived- his room/name tag etc.. The Nurse came in to check his temperature and BP, and by around 8am Dr Chui came in to take a look at the boy just to make sure he was well. Around 815am, I carried the boy and we were wheeled into the OT waiting area where we met the Anaesthesian - who was a very bubbly lady. She explained that one of us could accompany him into the OT to take his GA, and since he looks to be a very calm and curious baby she will do it slowly instead of immediately placing the mask on him. She would also need to put in an IV (for emergency) and will also given him a suppository - painkiller after the surgery.

We decided it would be me to go with him, so I had to get changed into the OT clothes. Around 830am both Drs arrived and we were once again wheeled into the OT. Inside the
Anaesthesian took out her bubble toy and got the nurses to entertain him while I was still carrying him she administered the GA by placing the tube near his mouth/nose. In about 2-3mins he suddenly felt grouchy and that was when she told me "it's coming", and she placed the mask on him and a few seconds later he went into sleep mode so I placed in on the OT table and left. Dr Chui told us to go have our breakfast and we can expect him to be out by 915am or so.


By 920am we recieved a call from Dr Chui to inform us that the op was done and we could come and wheel him back to the ward. When we enetered the OT area the boy was already awake and the Anaesthesian was carry him. Dr Chui showed us the node- size of a 20 cent coin there were 2 stuck together and we could already see abit of whitish pus. The boy still looked abit "sleeply" and kept coughing due to the GA, but he slowly recovered from that and 30 mins later he was drinking water and he managed to drink his milk and took 2 naps. The clinic nurse came to check on us and went through a checklist of things we should do / look out for when we're back home. We were given Cephalexin antibiotics (5-days course) and calpol (to be taken if he has fever) medications. Review will be next Saturday.

As were using his insurance, we had to stay the min 8hrs for Day Surgery to ensure we could make our claims. So by 315pm we were able to discharge and go home.

Afternote: The boy has taken the surgery well and is recovering. He's still very cheerful and never once grouchy during the whole surgery and back home. - So proud of this boy!

Playing with the hospital gown

Doesn't have a clue what's going to happen.

The swollen and slightly red Lymph Node

This was taken @ the OT waiting area before his OP

Post Op - back to his playful self

Resting on the big bed

Updates on his Swollen Lymph Node

On 2 Apr 2011 we brought Kai to the surgeon’s clinic to take a look at his swollen lymph node (LN) since it was getting a bit red and also because we had been talking about getting it removed for the longest time. Dr Chui was very detailed in explaining the cause as well as the possible actions we could take.



If we would like to remove the LN, a day surgery would be enough. The surgery would take only about an hour but thereafter we would need to stay roughly 3 – 4 hours in the ward for observation before discharge. He would be making a small insertion around the affected area and because that area of the skin is quite stretchable it will heal fairly well. After that the LN will be taken for lab test to confirm the cause - which is the BCG.

He was very certain that the boy’s swell was caused by the BCG jab since it was on the same side and since the boy has no history of other illnesses. Asked him the risk he told us it's very safe and for normal healthy patients it will heal within a month. So without further ado we decided to get it done the following week since he told us the redness will not go away and that this infection is a very long/slow effect on the affected area- it will ultimately grow bigger and even stretch his skin, just don't know when.