valet parking helps

I had to take Mason to the Everett Children's clinic again (instead of Seattle Children's) for his thyroid checkup. This time I took advantage of the free valet parking! It was amazingly better than our last appointment where I parked on the complete opposite side of the hospital. Even though the valet parking made it much more enjoyable, it's still not nearly as fun as when we get to go to U Village... Anyway, Mason's appointment was great. He's healthy and he even got to skip the blood draw this time! His next appointment will be in July or August and after that he goes to only needing a checkup every 6 months!!

After the appointment we headed to a park. It was fun to use my real camera again....

bummer

Mason's last blood draw was a huge bummer. He has never cried before blood draws, has always been complimented on how calm he is, and only cries for a few seconds during it. Until last time. Poor guy kept moving his arm away and pointing to the empty tubes saying "don't need that". It took an extra person to hold him down and me distracting him with fruit snacks (which luckily I had, and know to bring for next time!) to even be able to get it started. My only hope is that he remembers in the end that it wasn't so bad. He even said so himself, something along the lines of "that was quick"... And he loves band aids, so he was excited to have one in the end.

I have been giving him two different doses of medicine since his last checkup. This is the first time I've ever had to do this, so I'm extra curious to find out how this test comes back. They don't make the dose he needs so he takes one dose during the week and a different dose on the weekends to try to get to the level he needs.

One of the things I tried to do to calm him down was to tell him we'd grab a treat afterward. I whispered what it was and then told him to tell Andrew. I think it's so cute when they tell secrets. : )

good checkup, annoying day

Mason had his thyroid checkup today - all is good.

Mason all of a sudden grew up. He no longer needs any help with his blood pressure check - he knows how to sit still...

He weighs 32 pounds - perfect.

He's 3' tall - perfect.

And he likes to play air guitar. : )

Here's why it was an annoying day. You don't even need to read it, I'll just feel better getting it out.

It started when I scheduled this appointment. I couldn't schedule it when I called because the doctor's books weren't open for 2012 yet. They weren't open when I called back, or when I called back (on the dates they told me to call). Then when they called me to tell me it was open, I found out my referral had expired. A few hours later when it was updated, her calendar was full through March. I needed an appt in early Jan.

Once they told me I could go to the Everett clinic (boo) I got a date set for today at 10:30, a work day. In fact, my first day back to work since Dec 23. So I went to work for 2 hours with hope to make it back in time to get Mason to school for lunch/nap (didn't happen, but let's not get ahead of ourselves). It would've been best to not go into work since the doctor is north and my office is south of our house, but I didn't want to make Andrew go to the appointment and I figured he'd be ready to head back to school and see his friends. Plus I thought it'd be nice to check in at work. I was in the car for a really long time today.

When I got to the hospital, I was excited to find a parking spot right near the front door. But then I realized it was way too small, so I followed the signs to the parking garage and found a spot. The problem was my spot was exactly on the other end of the crazy hospital. We had to go down the garage elevator, through a building, down an escalator, back outside though another building, along a pathway to another elevator until we finally arrived to the right spot. (For the record - I only had one glitch finding my car after the appointment, so that was fantastic).

Through the whole drive Mason was asking for milk. I didn't want to give him any because he needed to take his medicine and he needs to have an empty stomach. Then I thought I left the medicine at home (not a big deal, it would be on the way back to work) so I let him have some milk. Then I found the medicine. So I decided we'd just have lunch first then wait an hour and do the medicine then (making it so he couldn't go back to school because of the medicine timing and therefore I couldn't go back to work). Of course he fell asleep in the car so I had to wake him up to take it. Added bonus, I found out that I don't need to skip his medicine before these checkups anymore, so all of that wouldn't have mattered if I knew that.

Because we were at the Everett clinic (a small office inside Providence) we couldn't do the blood draw there. Luckily Group Health was fairly close, so we headed over there. But it was annoying. On our way back to the car after the blood draw a spider came down on his web and almost landed on my head. It was not even an inch from my face. A spider in January...really? So unlucky.

Another thing that Everett ruined for me was our lunch date. It's fun to wonder around U Village to find somewhere to eat, not so fun to wonder around downtown Everett. I decided to go to McDonalds to keep it fast and cheap since I was crabby anyway. I messed up here and all of a sudden forgot my own rule - always order chicken nuggets when you're trying to be healthy(er)! I ordered cheeseburgers and almost doubled my points. Not cool when you're in a weight loss competition.

Mason did a great job with his blood draw, but because he has a lot more words now, he kept saying how it hurt. : ( So I thought it'd be fun to treat the boys to a chocolate milkshake at McDonalds - for Mason to cheer up and for Andrew because I was worried he'd be sad that Mason was gone all day. The annoying thing here was that they don't have the regular milkshakes that I was expecting. They were expensive and McCafe style with whip cream and a cherry! Dumb.

Wow, it was worse than I thought. : ) But, the good checkup is what matters, so it's time to stop complaining now.

healthy boys: check!

Mason had his regular blood test to check his levels today (all is good) and they both got their flu shots. I am the proud owner of two healthy boys!

They were also extremely adorable while enjoying their hot chocolate.

new doctor

Today was Mason's first checkup with the new endocrinologist. I'm happy to report that she's great. And Mason is doing great as well. One thing that I will not miss, is hearing the words "mental retardation" at these appointments. The critical time frame for the medicine for kiddos with hypothyroidism is from day one to about 2 1/2 to 3 years old. After that, the brain has been formed and mental retardation is no longer a concern. Obviously Mason is doing great, but seriously, once we pass that milestone I will be a much happier person!

Mason is such an easy going guy. I don't even pack toys for him - he'd rather just sit and talk and play and people watch with me while we wait for the doctor.

After every appointment we walk around U Village and find somewhere to eat. I love it.

snuggles

When Mason turned 2, I filled out a survey for the CH study we have him in. One of the questions asked if he nurtured his animals (put them to bed, hugged them, etc) and he was so far from doing that, that the question actually made me laugh. Well, I guess it wasn't such an odd question because 2 months later, he is now very nurturing to his animals. And thinking back, Andrew started this game a little before turning 2. He used to line up his favorite 5 or so and then snuggle up with them. I guess this means they'll both make great dads some day... : )

he can do it

Almost-2-year-old Mason is very big on doing things for himself. He insists on throwing away his diaper every time. He insists on putting on his pants (thankfully he now lets me help him pull them up over his big ol diaper bottom rather than crying because they get stuck) and he's also started putting his clothes in the hamper. If I try to help with any of these things before he's ready, he gets very, very upset. He insists on doing a bunch of other stuff too - a lot of it can be frustrating, but at the same time it's great that he's trying and learning and being so smart. :) (I still love any signs that his hypothyroidism isn't a problem).

a lot

Today Mason had his last appointment with the endocrinologist that he's seen since birth. In September we will be meeting a new doctor (who comes highly recommended from our current doctor). The good news is this doctor also has a clinic in Everett so we have more options of when and where we meet, which will be a nice change.
Like usual, we headed to U Village to waste some time before our appointment. Our car is still not fixed. They felt bad about how long it was taking so they gave us another rental. This time I'm rocking another piece of crap that I can't wait to get rid of. Mason, however, is loving it.
We did a little shopping today in preparation for Mason's big-kid room. I'm very excited but had to hold myself back - Land of Nod is not a place to impulse shop!!

Mason has a new issue with broken food - he can't handle it. If a granola bar or a banana breaks in half he has a few minute meltdown before he can continue. Me, being the smartest mom in the world, decided it would be a good idea to split a burger with him instead of buying him a meal that he wouldn't eat. The problem is, in order to share a burger you have to cut it in half!! Mason had a meltdown in the restaurant before calming down to finally enjoy some dinner. And a giant milkshake. This is opposite of the problem that I had with Andrew at this age - Andrew wanted two of everything and the way I fixed it for him was to break everything in half.
He does share Andrew's love of escalators.

Mason's appointment went great. We have to wait for the results of his blood draw to know if his medicine is at the right level, but regardless, he's healthy as can be!
Because Mason is at an age where he changes so much, I never know what to expect when it comes time to his blood draw. He does amazingly well every time and I keep expecting him to lose it. Today he sat on my lap, put his arm on the chair and pointed to where the needle was going to go. He cried for a few seconds while it was happening but got over it before she was even done. The lab tech was impressed - it makes me thankful I don't have to hold down flailing arms or deal with endless crying. I hope he keeps up the good work because that is definitely the hardest part for me.
How cute is he? I'm pretty sure he's Dr Tridgell's favorite patient. :) I'm so thankful that we had a great doctor to walk us through the first two years. Not only because the first two years are the most important to keep under control but also because emotionally, these two years have taken a lot out of me. It would've been a bummer to not love the doctor taking care of our little guy! More than a bummer actually, I'm pretty sure I would've been a (bigger) mess.

more good news

For some reason, eye appointments always run late. We know it though, so we pack snacks, take walks and watch all the other crazy families and we do just fine. The key to these being successful trips is leaving Andrew with Matt! He would not have nearly as much fun as Mason seems to have. He always enjoys this waiting area for some reason. My camera died so I didn't get any pictures of him enjoying the view, but we spent a lot of time looking at the cars and people below.

The good news - his eye is still working as it should. The slight droop he has is not getting in his way at all. They also checked his 3-D vision and that's still good too!

A friend of mine mentioned that she had her daughter's eye checked out and then got to pay a bunch of money to hear everything was normal. It made me think -- we have spent A LOT of money on Mason to hear that all is fine. Of course I prefer that to getting bad news. In fact, if I ever get bad news I think I'll ask for my money back! :)

As soon as Mason turns 2, I believe his hypothyroid appointments will go down to 2 times a year instead of 4. The same with his eye appointments - once he can answer questions, those will slow down to once a year (and at age 4 or 5 will become part of his normal checkup unless there is a concern).

I am so thankful he's a healthy boy!

good news

This little cutie said 'I love you' for the first time today! He can now have anything he wants (potato peeler? you got it!).

I also got the results from his blood test and all is good. We get to keep his dose where it's at and the number they wanted to see go down went way down!

Also - have you noticed spring is starting to peek out?!! I love the sight of these trees in bloom. Other than the fact they're beautiful, it's proof spring will eventually be here!

notes

I have little notepads all over the place. I use them mostly for writing down what pictures I want to use in a blog post or our meal plan for the week, etc. I was skimming through an old one and I found the notes I took while I was talking to the doctor when they first told us about Mason's hypothyroidism.

PKU
Sophia (our doctor wasn't in that day, of course...)
elevation in thyroid hormone
M at 388.9, normal is <45
hypothyroidism
Children's for thyroid scan
lab results tomorrow

I remember it like it was yesterday.

what does it all mean?

I seem to learn something new every time we have a hypothyroid checkup at Children's. His doctor called with his results the other day (he was moved up to a higher dose) and in casual conversation she taught me so much!

What I knew about the blood test before the phone call: he gets two different levels checked (TSH and FT4). If they're high or low, they adjust his dose accordingly. The end.

What I know now: One of the levels that gets checked (TSH) is more important than the other. It is also the most sensitive so is more likely to be out of the normal range before the other. For Mason, this one is more important because it is checking the productivity of the pituitary gland. Since Mason has a little residual thyroid, the goal is to keep this number on the lower end of the range (around 2) to make sure that little piece he has doesn't decide it should grow due to what the pituitary gland is telling it. In case you've forgotten past lessons :) his thyroid is located in his throat and could be a choking hazard if he were to stop taking his medicine or let it stay over-active for too long.

The other level (FT4) is checking his thyroid. For this test, this number was in the normal range, but because the TSH was a little above the normal range, his dose was increased. Because it's just an educated guess on the new dose, he'll have another blood draw in 6 weeks. (This is pretty normal for us, although we did luck out the last two times and were able to skip the in-between blood draw because his levels were normal).

Completely unrelated.

Here are two superheros, each with chap stick and one sock on, keeping me company while I made dinner last night. So helpful.

a night out with Mason

Mason had his regular follow-up appointment at Children's tonight. Since it was another late appointment, I was able to enjoy dinner and some time alone with this little cutie.

Just a random update... Mason recently decided that he likes to eat his bananas in the peel. I'm not sure if he saw one of us do it or what, but he was very clear that, that is how he'll take his bananas now!

For dinner we shared a delicious calzone (thanks for the recommendation, Leslie!).

And my date even picked up the check. :)

I forgot about his appointment until I got into work and saw it on my calendar. He just happened to be dressed in his I 'heart' Mom shirt again - perfect for our night out on the town.

Regarding his checkup - all is good. We got sad news though that his doctor is graduating. After his next appt in April/May, we will be saying goodbye to the doctor who has seen him since birth. I unexpectedly teared up when she told me. And it didn't help when I saw her fighting back tears too. I'm praying that we feel comfortable with and enjoy his next doctor as much as we've enjoyed working with her. I'm so thankful that we got in when we did so that we could have almost 2 years with her.

evidence of growth

I'm not sure if he's growing on track, but at least there is evidence of growth! He couldn't reach this little light a couple weeks ago!

And now a little evidence that he's cute... For some reason he really fell in love with his reflection today!

And yes, those are belts around his neck. Don't worry, I only let him play with four at a time. :)

'on an empty stomach' sucks

The only challenge with Mason's medicine is that he has to take it on an empty stomach. Other than that, it's a piece of cake - in fact, he (unfortunately) knows the word 'medicine' and when I tell him it's time, he walks to the kitchen and gets ready for it. But the empty stomach thing is tricky. I have a pretty good system in place, so most days it's not a huge deal, but there are always those odd days where the timing gets messed up and it throws everything off. It's little things like making sure he gets his medicine before he takes his nap, making sure Andrew eats at the right times too so Mason doesn't see him eating at a time he can't eat, etc.

The other day I ran into one of the mixed up mornings because Andrew decided to sleep in. Mason had just had his medicine when Andrew was ready for breakfast. The solution? I pulled out Andrew's special box of things that we have to keep away from Mason. :) It totally worked! I think I'm going to make a special "keep Mason occupied when other people are eating" box with fun things that are a little safer...

PS. I'm not complaining. I know we're very lucky with the fact that his medicine is once a day, inexpensive, tastes good, etc. I just want to remember our day-to-day life stuff and this is a big part of it.

we're pretty cool

Update: his levels came back normal!! It's only the second time in his life. On top of the obvious good news, it also means we don't have to see the doctor or get a blood draw for three whole months!!

Yesterday was Mason's regular hypothyroidism checkup. It was the first time we've had an evening appointment and the first time I've gone without Matt so it felt a bit weird, but we made it!

Instead of going home and then right back to Seattle, Matt picked Andrew up and went home and I picked Mason up and headed to University Village to waste some time. Mason had a lot of fun wandering around. We walked, played with umbrellas, had dinner, window shopped at Land of Nod, had some Starbucks... basically we were rad and fit right in with all the cool people that hang out at U Village. :)

When I made the appointment, Mason was going to bed around 8. His bedtime is now 7:00, so our 6:45 appointment was a little tricky. He is usually calm and has fun playing with the nurse and doctor, but this time he cried anytime they even looked at him. After the doctor checked him out, we were off to get a blood draw. He wanted his shoes on, and he wanted out! Poor guy.

Overall he's still doing great. His growth was a little off the growth arch he's been following but they're not concerned yet. We'll check next time to see if it's a trend or if it was just a one time deal. Growth is a big part of what they watch, so hopefully he checks out okay next time so we can mark this one as just the normal up and down of toddler growth!

15 months

Mason grew up again. As soon as he moved to the toddler class he realized he wasn't a baby anymore, and it only took about a week before he was a whole different kid. He's saying more words, pointing at things and has figured out how to make sure I know exactly what he needs.

His newest words: peek - boo/tickle tickle tickle/uh-oh (we'll worry about 'real' words later, I love the words he's choosing to say!).

His newest favorites: playing outside, dancing, brooms. The biggest difference between Mason and Andrew at this age is that Mason loves his blanket and Andrew loved his paci.

I had mixed feelings with Mason when he was a baby. I didn't want the time to go too fast because he is my last baby, but I also wanted to get past the unknown stage of his hypothyroidism (which comes around age 2). Well, now that I know he's doing great, I'm ready for him to slow down. He, however, is showing all signs of being an independent guy and is not all that interested in my help. He doesn't even need to be rocked to sleep anymore. I take him to his room and he points to his crib. Today, I even think he tried to say 'nigh-night' to make sure I got it. I get it.

He continues to be a happy, easy going little guy. And he loves Andrew. Luckily for Mason, Andrew is a great big brother, so for the most part, life is good all around!