Playing catch-up

Okay, so here goes:
In the past 6 months Caden has gained weight like a champ. For the first 6-8 weeks he gained almost a pound per week (I guess the norm is around half a pound a week, and to at least double the birth weight by about 5-6 months). Well, I haven't weighed him in a few weeks, but last time I did he was almost 23lbs-so I'm guessing he'll be tripling his birth weight by 6 months ;)

On the medical front, he has been to Sick Kids 3 times: first for his dermatology consult where they examined him and took photos. The doctor basically said she believes that he likely does have KTS (Klippel Trenaunay Syndrome) but an MRI is needed to confirm the diagnosis and get more information. KTS is basically characterized by a combination of the following: port wine stains (the birth marks), vascular malformations (abnormalities in growth of blood vessels-could be veins, arteries, lymphatic vessels or a combination), and tissue hypertrophy (overgrowth of the tissues in Caden's right arm/shoulder, leading to the swollen appearance). After the MRI we will most definitely be referred to the Vascular Malformation clinic, where we will hopefully get answers to our growing list of questions, and find out what treatments are available for our little guy.
The second Sick Kids excursion was to the MRI unit for a pre-assessment and for the nurse to decide whether she can administer sedation, or whether Caden will need a general anaesthetic, therefore requiring an anesthetist be present for the MRI. After a quick once over by her and the nurse supervisor, it was decided he will need to have an anesthetist put him under, mostly due to the fact that he's never had any medical imaging to tell what exactly is going on under the birthmark/swelling. I am glad they aren't taking any risks, even if it now means his MRI isn't until May 14th (Apparently it could have been done in December or January if it was with nurse-administered sedation). Soooo, Caden will have his MRI in May, and he will be put under, they are also going to have to use a contrast dye to get really clear images of the blood vessels, and after a bit of advocating on my part they will be including his head/brain in the scan. I asked for this due to the fact that the port wine stain goes up onto his head a little bit behind his right ear. I don't expect them to find any vascular malformations in his brain, but I would have hated for them not to have done it, only to decide in a couple of years that it may be worthwhile checking out-at which point he would have to be put under again I'm sure. Because of this addition, the MRI will be 2 hours long...something I'm not looking forward to.
Our most recent Sick Kids trip has been to the Physiotherapy unit. We were noticing that Caden's right shoulder seems pulled up a bit higher than the left, and that his head tilts a little to the right. Also when he was sitting in his bubo chair he slumps over to the right side. We figured this must have to do with the sheer bulk of that right arm/shoulder, and maybe that the muscles in his neck are tight on that side. So we asked for a referral to physio. The therapists assessed Caden's function and gave us some simple exercises to do with him, but they said that overall he seems to be developing well. These therapists also work closely with the Vascular Malformation clinic, so I'm sure once we have a lot more answers after the MRI we will be utilizing them more.
Other than the Sick Kids stuff, Caden has had all his regular checkups and vaccines with little to no problems. He is off the growth chart for both height and weight, and has had only one episode of a stuffy nose (knock on wood). Other than that he is in great health.
We get to meet his new pediatrician at the end of the month (he needs a family doc and a pediatrician because I guess now pediatricians don't do primary care like check ups and vaccines-I know, lame!), she will also be the one who follows up with Sick Kids regarding the KTS.

A lot of people ask us whether Caden is bothered by his swollen arm. To tell you the truth we haven't noticed even one instance where he has seemed in pain because of it, and it doesn't appear to have affected the function of his right arm or hand. He still grips tightly and reaches for things, and he doesn't ever wince or cry in pain when we touch or move that arm. The main things we do notice are that he has a bit of a harder time rolling over his right arm (larger speed bump ;)) and we have to make sure that his shirts/sweaters have a lot of room to stretch on the right sleeve. The coloring of the birthmark also seems affected by temperature and sometimes pressure. If he is in a bath or pool that is a bit cool his hand will go more purple, whereas it is usually a pinky-red color, almost like a sunburn. We'll also see this purple hue if we hold him under the arms too tightly or for too long, or if he is leaning on his right arm or armpit.

Developmentally, we couldn't have asked for a baby with a better personality! Caden's got so many little quirks and funny things he does that he keeps us laughing and smiling most of the time. His whole face lights up when he smiles, which he does often. He has started to laugh and giggle, and he's always babbling away in his own little language. He puts on a coy little face, or raises his eyebrows inquisitively, and he always seems to be flirting-babies or grown-ups, he doesn't discriminate :)
He can now roll over onto his stomach or back, and he can prop himself up on his forearms when he's on his tummy. He doesn't sit up unassisted yet, and I think this might take a while because he's so heavy! He looks at us when we say his name (most of the time) and he follows us with his gaze and reaches for things. Overall he's reaching all his milestones, with many more on the way:).
Caden and I have been hitting as many of the mom/baby groups as we can. We're regulars at Mother Goose (a sing along and discussion group for parents and babies), and we try to go to the drop ins and groups at the local early years center. Through these groups we met Danielle and baby Elly, who invited us to meet up with a fabulous group of local moms and babes. It's with these ladies (and gents) that we've gone swimming a few times, and met up for lunch dates on a weekly basis. It's been a great way to get out of the house and meet some new friends for both myself and Caden.

So now you're caught up on the bulk of what's happened over the last 6 months, but let me tell you, the day-to-day stuff is so much better than I can ever describe here! I guess now I can start blogging about what's happening in the here and now, instead of summarizing a life so far...