Seizures

For those of you who have been asking I thought I would write about what has been happening with Nathan.  On Tuesday May 15 he had his first seizure.  It was just Nathan and I at home and I was putting him in his bouncer when his whole body went limp and he could not hold up his head or move his arms or legs.  His eyes were glazed over and his mouth was quivering like he was cold.

It took about a minute for him to come back around and then I called the his pediatrician who immediately thought it was a seizure.  They sent us to instacare but all of his tests came back normal so they told us to take him home and watch him.  He had two more seizures that week and so on Friday we called his doctor and made an appointment to see him on Monday.

He didn't have any seizures over the weekend but at the Monday appointment Doctor Ferrara gave us a referral to see a specialist at Primary Children's.  But when I called to make an appointment the soonest I could take Nathan in was the end of August. 

He had a seizure on Tuesday and then a horrible one on Wednesday while Shayne (Matt's mom) was watching him.  The seizure lasted almost two minutes and he would stop breathing for short intervals throughout.  I was so worried about him especially because they were so frequent and his doctor told me to take him to Primary Children's if I was really nervous so I went and picked up Nathan and my mom and we headed up to the emergency room.

We saw two different doctors and a few different nurses who suggested having an EEG test and a CAT scan.  The EEG test was horrible, Nathan has never cried that much in his life.  They attached 23 wires all over his head and then wrapped it with gauze.  The test lasted 45 minutes and when they removed the wires poor Nathan had huge red sores all over his head.

After the EEG we waited several hours and then had a CAT scan done.  That test was way less traumatic for Nathan and I and the test results came back good.  The CAT scan showed that he had not had any trauma to his head, no bleeding, no blood clots, and no tumors.  But we still didn't have any answers.  They made us an appointment to meet with a neurologist that Friday and then sent us home.

Nathan had seizures on both Thursday and Friday and I was so worried and felt so  helpless.  My mom came with Nathan and I to the neurologist appointment where we got the EEG tests.  They unfortunately came back inconclusive.  When the doctor told us that I felt complete hopelessness.  We had seen so many doctors and still no one knew what was wrong with my baby.

Luckily the doctor could see that I couldn't stand to be sent away again and so she made a few suggestions.  She started Nathan on a low-dose seizure medication that we can gradually increase to try and control the seizures.  She also requested to have an MRI to try to give us more answers.

Nathan has still been having pretty regular seizures but they seem to be much shorter, and he hasn't been going as out of it as he was.  The MRI is scheduled for Friday, June 8 and I am hoping and praying that the MRI will give the doctors the information that they need to help Nathan.

The past few weeks have been so difficult and emotional for our family.  The seizures have been hard on Nathan and are to the point where he will cry for hours after he has one and not let you put him down.  Matt and I have both been exhausted both physically and emotionally and are trying to do whatever we can to take care of our baby and get the seizures to stop. 

Even though it has been a challenge Matt and I have felt so much love and strength from our family and friends and are so grateful for the support that we have been given.  I know the Lord has been watching over us and blessing us and giving us so much comfort and strength.  I am so grateful to have such a sweet baby who has been a trooper through all of the testing and exams.  We love Nathan so much and can't wait until the doctors figure out these seizures so that Nathan doesn't have to suffer because of them any more.

Topaz 2012

We left Thursday, May 3 to go on the annual camping trip to Topaz with Matt's family.  It is almost a three hour drive, and Nathan was not thrilled about the idea of being in his carseat for so long.  Luckily he slept most of the drive.

We arrived down at Topaz around 4 and got all of the bikes unloaded and the trailers set up.



It was pretty windy and cool, and we were all tired from the drive so we ate dinner and went to bed early.  Nathan did great sleeping in the trailer, way better than we expected he would. 

Nathan and his sleeping bag

The next day we woke up early thanks to Nathan and Luke.  We had breakfast and then Matt and Dan left for the day to dirt bike with Matt's aunt and uncles.  Shayne, Brittany, Bryce and I stayed back at camp with the babies and Annie.

Annie and her little doggie booties

View from our campsite

We cooked dutch oven for dinner that night and of course, made smores and had a campfire. 

The next day Matt cooked his mountain man breakfast in the dutch oven for everyone.  It was absolutely freezing so Matt mostly cooked outside by himself while the rest of us waited in the trailer.



We spent most of the day hanging out at camp.  We all shot guns and went for walks, and Brittany and Bryce did get out for a short ride on their bikes.  Nathan and Luke had a lot of fun spending time together and always kept their eye on each other.

We let Nathan sit on Marty's little motorcycle and there is no doubt anymore about whether Nathan is a Kasteler.  I think in a few years he will be begging Matt and Grandpa Dan to take him for rides on their bikes.

By Saturday afternoon Nathan and Annie were completely exhausted.  They crashed together on the bed and slept the majority of the afternoon.

We ended up leaving Saturday night because we were all exhausted and ready for a good nights sleep in our own beds.  But we did stop at our favorite gas station just outside Topaz to get our Farr's ice-cream!  The trip was so fun and we can't wait for the next Topaz trip!



Six Months Old!

Nathan had his six month appointment on Saturday with Doctor Ferrarra.  I just love his doctor!  He and his nurse are so sweet with Nathan and are so good to answer all of my questions.  And this appointment Matt and I had a ton of questions.  I feel like Nathan has changed and grown more in the past two months than he ever has.

Nathan now weighs 17.5 pounds and is 27 1/2" inches long!  He is now in the 46th percentile for his weight and 82nd percentile for his height.  This is a huge improvement because he has always been in the 20th percentile for weight.

Sadly though the doctor diagnosed Nathan with eczema which he unfortunately inherited from me.  The doctor said that it is probably the reason he has stopped sleeping through the night and to put hydrocortisone on his skin and especially his back every night before he goes to sleep.  We also have to switch his baby lotion to cetaphil and monitor how long he is in the bath for.

Other than that the appointment went really good.  His doctor said to watch out because he should start crawling in the next three months and I'm so excited I can't wait. 

My Baby Can Sit!

Nathan can officially sit up on his own!  He has had pretty much no interest in sitting ever unless he was sitting on your lap.  Well we had his six month appointment on Saturday and the doctor said to be watching because he should start sitting up soon.

Later that afternoon I decided to put him in the sit position just to see what he would do.  He looked at me strangely and then I said "Look at you! You are such a big boy!"  That did it!  Nathan began smiling and laughing and sat up all on his own.

He would sit up for about two minutes on his own before falling backward or sideways.  Then I would put him back up sitting and he would begin laughing again and sit again!  It will probably take another week or two for him to get it down completely  but he is definitely on his way!

Matt and I Are Officially Co-Workers!

Matt has decided to join in on all the fun and work at Utah Property Management Associates with me!  My company posted a position a couple weeks ago and Matt decided to apply just to see.  Well Matt got called back, had two rounds of interviews, and had his official first day today!

Unfortunately I work on City Creek properties and Matt will work for a PRI property but our offices will be just down the street from each other and we will still see each other around and be able to carpool!

Binky Addict

About a week ago I put Nathan down for bed at his usual time and he acted like he was going to sleep.  Half an hour later Nathan began crying.  I went into his bedroom thinking that he had probably just lost his binky like he usually does.

To my surprise, Nathan was crying with his binky in his mouth.  But he didn't just have binky, he had two!  Nathan had rolled in his crib, found the spare binky and was banging it against the one already in his mouth. Nate was crying because he couldn't figure out how to get both binkies in his mouth at the same time! I think its safe to say that Nathan is officially a binky addict!

Leaving Town

Matt, Nathan, Annie and I are all leaving Salt Lake tomorrow to go camping for the weekend!  I am starting to get so excited to leave town and get a break from work but mostly I am excited to spend three and a half days straight with my family!

This will be the first time that we have taken Nathan anywhere overnight and so I am pretty nervous about that one.  But I am hoping for the best and can't wait to leave.  Tomorrow afternoon can't come fast enough!