Four Months and possible surgery

Watching football, and yes he really is looking up and watching BYU play!!



Does your Chain hang low??




Preparing for the cold Utah winters!!

Well I wanted to update family and friends on the current status of Julian.

Go back to a couple of weeks ago, I noticed that Julian had a weird ridge on his head that started at his forehead and went to the middle of his head. It kinda felt like a mini mountain range on his head. I knew that babies heads are still growing and are different than an adults head, so I just made a mental note of it, since I knew he was having a doctor appointment in a couple of weeks.

Fast forward to yesterday. Julian had his four month check up. They weighed him, got his height, and measured his head. When the nurse took us back to the room to wait for Julian's doctor, whom I love by the way, I noticed the sheets of paper that tell the percentile your baby is in. They read as follows;

Weight: 14.25 pounds = 30%

Height: 25 inches = 30%

Head Circumference: 15.8 inches = 5%

When I saw the head circumference. I realized that two months ago it was 15 inches and he was in the 24%, and has now dropped to the 5%, this automatically reminded me to ask about his head.

When the doctor came in the first thing he asked was if I had any questions. I told him about my concern with his head. The doctor starts to feel around his head, and then tells me that his is going to get a different doctor who specializes more in this area. He comes back and said that doctor was with a patient, but would join us when she can. So we continue with our check up. Everything is looking good, sounding good, and then the other doctor came. She felt Julian's head and definitely recommended that Julian get X- rays. And started saying things to the other doctor like " I cant find his soft spot, there might be over lapping of the plates, and you might even need a cat-scan"

So I was starting to get a bit worried at this point. The doctor sent me over to get some X-rays. He then progresses to talk to the radiologist about how to get the right shot. Julian and I wait for 15 min as the doctors start pulling out different books, and discussing how to take the X -Ray because they don't usually need to see what they needed to see. I appreciated that they were taking time to make sure they do it right, it just doesn't make you feel good, when you know that you might have something so different that the doctors aren't a 100 percent sure what to do.

So we take the X-rays, Julian was perfect and just sat there with his big eyes taking in all the new scenery, then we go back to the doctors room. Once there the doctor brings up the X-rays, and is positive that the plates are not overlapping. I thought great we are good then. So the doctor says he will hand the X-rays over to the radiologist and see what they have to say. He tells me that if I hear nothing from him then everything is fine, and he will call if there is something else wrong.

I honestly felt when we left, that everything was fine, and was not at all expecting to receive a phone call.

So today at about 12 in the afternoon, I get a phone call from the doctor. He proceeds to tell me that Julian has craniosynostosis, which is a condition in which the sutures close too early, causing problems with normal brain and skull growth. Premature closure of the sutures may also cause the pressure inside of the head to increase and the skull or facial bones to change from a normal, symmetrical appearance. Craniosynostosis occurs in one out of 2,000 live births and affects males twice as often as females. (www.chw.org)

So on Monday Julian will go in to have a C T Scan, and we will be placed with a specialist in Salt Lake City. The most common treatment is surgery. and it requires a lot of medical follow up to make sure everything continues to grow properly. My doctor said that we caught it really early, so that is really good.

Right now I guess we take it day by day and see what the specialist has in store for us.

Other highlights with Julian include:

He loves to make noises and giggle and hear himself talk. He recently discovered his feet, to the point that he is constantly grabbing and holding on to them. He is mister snuggles, and I love hims so much. I am trying to be strong through this, and I have confidence that everything will be ok. I just have to have faith.

We would greatly appreciate all your prayers during this time