Lasered AGAIN!!!

Today was Henry's 3rd visit to the dermatologist, Dr. Hagstrom. We both thought the hemangioma on his neck was looking much better, however when you opened the fold there was a spot that was still not healed. Also the heman. on his lower back is starting to break down a lot and has bled a few times so she decided to treat the neck and lower back this time with 4-5 laser pulses. The last appt. which was 2 weeks ago he received 9 pulses to his neck and the appt. before that he received 34 pulses to his neck. So we are gradually getting there.

Dr. Hagstrom did suggest that when Henry is older (Between 1-3 years of age) we should surgically remove the one on his neck. She said that since it has causes so many problems and is often painful it makes sense. She said that if it did shrink on its own then the area will most likely look like a deflated balloon and surgery would be necessary eventually anyway. The other hemangiomas will be left alone however. Unless the one on his back becomes a bigger problem which she is not expecting.

She also thinks that the laser treatment today was probably his last treatment and he has made great progress. He is now bandage free and we will continue to put ointment on the areas along with aquaphor. He seems to be in much less pain so we are happy!

Henry Rolls Over!

Henry went in for his 4 month checkup on April 20 last week and the nurse put him on his belly to see how well he was using his upper body muscles- which wasn't going too well, he hates tummy time!

She actually said, 'well, it doesn't look like he wants to push up or anything' and she started to flip him back over but instead he popped up and rolled over. I was kind of waiting for him to give the nurse the finger too. Since then he has been performing his new trick often.

See rolling over video here: If I can get it to work!

At his 4 month checkup he weighed 12 pounds, 12.8 oz., 24 inches long. 12 percentile in weight and 18 percentile in length.

Laser Surgery Day

Today we went to see Dr. Hagstrom. She did the laser procedure and Henry screamed and hated it but now he is doing great and we can pick him up and he isn't crying.
The hemangioma still looks the same and the laser did not shrink it at all but it did seal it up so that it is not oozing and bleeding and therefore it doesn't hurt as much. The laser procedure took about 30 seconds and we had four people hold him down and Chris held goggles to his face. We all had to wear special glasses to protect our eyes as well. Henry wailed. But was brave- note the sticker on his shirt.

We given a topical antibiotic that we have to put on 3x a day and then on top of that we have special gauze that is infused with vaseline that goes on top of the hemangioma and then we put a large bandage over the whole thing and that stays on with tape. She also gave us rx ointment that will numb the skin if he is having a hard time.
Needless to say, Henry seems very comfortable now.

We go back in one week to follow up and she may laser again but we will see. She did say that hemangiomas of his kind seem to grow until baby is about 3.5 months old (which Henry is 3.5 months old) and then they begin to shrink down which can take up to 5 years at which point the skin may look saggy. Cosmetic surgery is an option if it is bad enough but I'm not really thinking that far down the road. I am just happy he isn't in pain again and I can pick him up without hurting him.

I did ask what are some causes to having these. She asked me a few questions and I had 3 'things' that often result in hemangiomas (this is not proven but most derms. agree) 1. Henry was premature. 2. I had preeclampsia 3. My placenta halfway detached depleting oxygen to capillaries causing them to bunch. Hopefully for future babies I can avoid all three. That's all for now, I will update again on Monday after visit 2.