All Better (well, almost)

Yikes!! Okay, okay blogger land…Sorry to leave everyone hangin’ in regards to Ilya’s dr. appointments!! Seriously though, it’s great that so many people care about our little guy and I thank each & every one of you who left comments, emails or voicemails for our family.

I do have good reason for not updating yet - - honest. It seems I can’t go more than 2 or 3 months on this blog without getting sick myself. And lemme tell ya, it’s getting old already! But I think I said that the last time. I caught a head cold/stomach thing and have felt horrid since about Tuesday night/Wednesday. I think. I’ve lost all track of time now. I haven’t been able to sleep for more than an hour at a time each night without having to make a visit to my porcelain therapist (toilet), which is kinda funny considering I’ve barely eaten since Tuesday/Wednesday so technically there shouldn’t be anything left now to keep throwing up! Oh, was that TMI? (too much info?) Sorry, but that’s my reality this past week. Fun stuff.

But you’re not here to read about my failure to keep down anything I eat. So let’s get on to the good news!

Ilya’s appointment on Friday went very well. It was a combo follow-up / 15 month well baby exam. Thankfully Norm was able to go to this appointment with us because Ilya ended up getting 4 shots, poor baby, but at least he’s all set now until he’s 3 or 4. I forget which but regardless it’ll be awhile before I – errr, Ilya - has to go through that agony again. He is 30” tall, so he’s grown about 2.5” since coming home. On Friday, he weighed in at just over 19 lbs. Yeah, that’s lower than his first dr. appointment but given the past week I guess it’s to be expected that he’d lose some weight.

SIDE NOTE FOR ADOPTIVE FAMILIES - check the shot records you receive from the orphanage. We didn't realize Ilya never received the pneumococcal immunization in Russia, which may or may not have contributed to his recent illness. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics & the CDC, this vaccine is recommended for kids 23 months old and younger. Of course, always check with your Pediatrician.

As far as his pneumonia, his lungs/chest are still gunky but much better than they were. His cough is still lingering around and they told us to expect it to be there for about another 3-4 weeks. He hasn’t had a fever for quite awhile now, which is great! He stopped the steroids a few days ago, and today is the last day for his antibiotics. The suggested we continue the nebulizer treatments for at least another week. His WBC was still a little low but they’re not that concerned about it. So, things are definitely improving! His appetite is about 97% normal, he’s active again, happy and very funny. Unless he relapses, we won’t need to make any visits to the dr. this week. Good job, Ilya!

Obviously I would have rescheduled yesterday’s photo shoot if Ilya needed me to, but he was fine. I, on the other hand, should’ve stayed in bed! Ah well, such is life!