So, I took the girls to the doctor yesterday. The reason for the visit was to check on Alex's ears. Poor kid had pink eye (in both eyes) and an ear infection (in both ears) a couple of weeks ago, and I wanted to make sure that the ear infection was gone (since she kept pulling on her ears, and was starting on another green snotty nose this week). I needn't have worried. Alex's ears were perfectly clear.
Addison's prognosis was not as good.
I brought Addison to the doctor, simply because there was not enough time to get the kids and myself dressed, out the door and over to the daycare to drop Addison off before the appointment.
After the doctor finished with Alex, I remembered something, and asked if he would take a look at Addison's butt. Ever since she began potty training, and started wearing panties exclusively, she's been getting these little red bumps on her butt. I would put diaper creme on them, and it seemed to help, but they would always come back. I asked the pediatric urologist about it one time, but she didn't know what it was.
I assumed the bumps were a result of her pottying by herself and not wiping all the pee off her bum. She has very sensitive skin, had exzema as a baby, and reacts strongly to any type of bug bite (her school asked me to come pick her up once, saying that she had a misquito bite on her back the size of a baseball! It was big, but not that big.). I also assumed, if I could keep her bum as dry as possible (by helping her wipe at home and keeping diaper creme on her bum), that the bumps would eventually go away. I was right about the cause, but wrong about the solution.
As it turns out, Addison has a bacterial infection on her butt. Nothing serious. Its actually just folliculitis, but it won't go away without antibiotics. Great, lets just add that to her list.
So, you may be thinking, "What's the big deal? It's just a few bumps, and all you have to do is slap a little antibiotic ointment on it, and it will go away." (Actually, its a lot more than just a few bumps... it looks terrible. Like her butt has a raging case of chicken pox. I cringe every time I see it.)
The folliculitis is not the problem. It's the fact that it is always something with Addison, and that something started at birth.
Addison was born with a broken clavicle. The force with which she was yanked from my body (lovely visual, don't you think), broke her tiny little collar bone. It took me two weeks to figure out why she howled every time we attempted to breastfeed on one particular side. Although not my fault, I felt terribly guilty, like I had already failed in the duty to protect my child. Her clavicle eventually healed, and was good as new after a couple of weeks, but other problems ensued.
Around 8 weeks or so, we took her in for an upper GI and found out that she had severe reflux. "What? Babies aren't supposed to projectile vomit their entire meal after a feeding? Huh. Maybe that's why she's not growing so well." Addison was medicated for an entire year before growing out of her reflux. Boy, was I glad when that was over.
During that first year, Addison was also taking antibiotic after antibiotic for the 8 billion ear infections she had, usually one right after another. We took her to a pediatric ENT and finally had ear tubes put in when she was 9 months old. Wow - what a difference that made. I would highly recommend ear tubes for children with reoccurrent ear infections. It was difficult watching the nurse carry my baby, who was dressed in the tiniest of hospital gowns, off to the OR. But it was worth it. She had only one more ear infection after the tubes were put in. The only down side to the surgery was that we were banned from the lake, river, ocean and any other non-chlorinated body of water for the next two years. Small price to pay, if you ask me.
Next on her list is the labial adhesion. I think I may have mentioned this before. Its basically a thin membrane covering her girly parts, fusing her inner labia together starting from the back and working its way up the front. Its very common in babies and children, most of whom grow out of it once their body begins to produce sex hormones (at puberty). Most doctors will not treat the adhesion (surgically, manually or with a topical estrogen cream), unless the child is suffering from symptoms (such as reoccurent yeast or urinary tract infections) or the adhesion has advanced to such a degree that the area is almost completely closed, making it somewhat difficult, if not impossible, to pee.
(This is probably WAY too much information, but Addison is the only girl I know who can pee straight forward. Alex and I were in the bathroom with Addison the other day. I sat Alex on the floor, about three feet away from the toilet, so that I could help Addison when she was done. Addison climbed up on the potty, started to pee and almost peed all over Alex! Another side effect of the labial adhesion is that it will sometimes redirect her stream. This time, it redirected the stream straight forward, missing the toilet completely and hitting the floor mere inches from sweet little Alex!)
This is why we have a pediatric urologist (or "gynie doctor," as Addison calls her). Addison's adhesion advanced to the point of being symptomatic. In addition to stream redirection problems, Addison had her first yeast infection at the age of 2. Ugh! Now any woman will tell you that a yeast infection is not fun, but a baby?!? No child should have to deal with adult problems, no matter how minor or easy to solve. We treated the infection, but continue to simply sit back and monitor the growth of the adhesion, as the options available for treating the adhesion are invasive, somewhat dangerous and are by no means permanent. Even if you separate the adhesion (which we have done both manually and with the aid of estrogen creams), the adhesion returns and will continue to do so until Addison reaches puberty. Sorry, my dear. I really don't want you to grow up too quickly, but I would like to see you grow out of this particular problem sooner, rather than later.
So, in the past three years, Addison has had to deal with:
- a broken clavicle
- severe reflux
- constant ear infections
- labial adhesion
- yeast infections
- bacterial infections
AND... sleep apnea!
This is the real reason for the post and the reason for my concern. Have you ever laid awake all night long listening to your child as they sleep, snore heavily and periodically stop breathing?! I have. Many times. Its exhausting. And frightening.
Now, I'm no stranger to sleep apnea. Kris had it rather badly when he was overweight and wore a cpap machine for many years (a cpap is a machine that forces air into your airways to keep them open while you sleep). It bothered me when my husband stopped breathing for seconds, sometimes almost a full minute at a time... but its different when its your child.
Over the past year, Addison's tonsils have grown to gi-normous proportions, and the size of her tonsils are apparently causing the sleep apnea. She's scheduled for a tonsilectomy and an adnoidectomy on July 9th. This will be her second surgery in three years.
As mentioned above, I am supremely grateful for the health of my children. Addison may have a few problems, but they are all minor problems. Definitely nothing to freak out about.
I only mention it because I've been noticing, lately, the huge simularities and differences between my two girls. At first glance, Alex is almost identical to Addison at the same age. I'm referring not only to looks, but also to disposition and personality. A near spitting image, with one exception: Alex hasn't had to deal with the same problems that Addison has (yeah, I just knocked on wood). Other than a few minor colds, the recent eye/ear infections are the only health issues Alex has ever had (yep, still knocking on wood).
I guess that makes Addison my problem child.
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