Beantown!

On our way into Boston we stopped by my cousin's house. Truthfully they really feel like my aunt and uncle. We hadn't seen each other in over twenty years! We had a delicious dinner and told stories of Great Grandma Zimroot and Peter. What a lovely way to start our Boston visit! Thank you Cheryl and Richie.

So the clinic. First of all, Angela, the DS clinic coordinator is amazing. She made everything about this day feel easy. Second, our little Bean did remarkably well. He was his sweet self from 9 - until 2! Pretty amazing.

When we arrived, a nurse came and did a weight and length check on Bean. He is 19 lbs, 6 ounces and 27 1/2 inched long.

Our first appointment was with the dentist. She talked to us about the importance of preventing cavities in Nate's baby teeth. The dentist swabbed both Nate and I for Streptococcus bacteria (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streptococcus_mutans). She also did an oral exam - Low and behold she saw several tooth buds on the top and bottom of Nate's mouth!!! Besides seeing the outlines of these baby teeth, we learned that dry red cheeks and smelly pee pee diapers can indicate that teeth are on their way. Just the other day E and I were noting just how pungent Nate's diaper was (sans poop). With the increase of drool, the theory is that babies tend to get a little more dehydrated when they are teething. Maybe this explains our difficult nights! Poor baby!

Next we saw the nutritionist. Nate ate (and of course didn't do his funny behavior stuff or choking). He 's right where he should be in terms of weight and length. We talked food and milk. She did give us the go ahead to start yogurt - yummy!

After this appointment Nate got super sleepy and took a short shnoozey. He then went to see the physical therapist. She was great - so experienced and insightful. On cue Nate rolled from his belly to his back and then from his back to his belly. Such a performer. She had a whole bunch of toys and put him in all kinds of positions. He loved it! At one point she used a little wooden chair as a little desk for him. His legs were tucked under and he could play with his toys on the flat part of the chair seat. I think we really need to build him something like that. The physical therapist did notice that he is tilting his head a bit to one side. Because if this and some of his other gross motor challenges, she recommended weekly PT for him.

Next Nate went to see the developmental pediatrician. The doc asked lots of questions and did a thorough examination of Nate. He recommended that we get a post natal genetic work-up with Nate to see if there was anything else going on w/him and if we were likely to another child with DS. Also the doc talked about accessing more services for Nate. Last, we spent a good amount of time talking about that strange behavior Nate does - mostly when in his high chair. Prior to our visit we shared this video with Angela (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dql00S-7sS0) and then she sent it to the docs we saw on Thursday. I guess there was enough concern about the behavior that the doc and Angela wanted us to see a pediatric neurologist. Because we are here an extra day, Angela was able to schedule an EEG this morning for Nate before his eye appointment.

Speaking of our appointments today....we need to get ready! We'll post pics tomorrow.