Our Hospital Stay

Colton’s Stats:
He was born on January 6, 2016 (I like to say 1, 6, 1, 6)
Weight: 6 lbs 13 oz
Length: 19 ½ inches





Soon after Colton was born, I realized I didn’t know much about Down’s Syndrome. I had seen people with it many times, but I never really knew all of the medical concerns. Hunter immediately began researching to learn as much as he could. I took on more of the “mom” role and just took care of my baby. I was also trying to recover, myself. Hunter filled me in on things I needed to know, along with the doctors. We had the sweetest nurse who put together a binder for us to take home with tons of information, resources, testimonies, etc… I still don’t know all there is to know about DS, but I am learning new things every day. Just like pregnancy, DS can vary from person to person. You can read about it as much as you want, but you never know how it is going to affect your child. That’s why you have to take it one day at a time. I quickly found out that a lot of babies with DS have major heart defects and/or feeding issues. A lot of babies go straight to the NICU and have to stay for a little while. Luckily, Colton’s echocardiogram showed only normal transitional newborn stuff. No major heart defects! Hallelujah! I kind of think that’s why we didn’t know he had DS while I was pregnant because none of the ultrasounds showed any heart problems. They also are born with low tone. Doctors like to use the term “floppy.” When I’d try to burp Colton, he’d just curl up like a shrimp. He just felt really squishy and it made it harder to hold him. His muscles will get stronger, but he will need therapy to help him. He will be able to hold his head up, sit, crawl, and walk eventually; it just might take him longer than a “typical” child. Feeding issues arise because of their low tone in their mouth, tongue, and throat. They normally don’t have a very good suck and it makes feeding them difficult. Colton actually has a pretty strong suck, so we didn’t have any feeding issues. He only lost 3 oz in the hospital. We were able to leave the hospital after two days, which is such a blessing.



A very proud big brother!



However, while we were at the hospital, Colton did have a few issues with his blood. His platelets were low, which is called Thrombocytopenia. (Thrombocytopenia is a condition in which you have a low blood platelet count. Platelets (thrombocytes) are colorless blood cells that help blood clot. Platelets stop bleeding by clumping and forming plugs in blood vessel injuries). They were afraid to circumcise him because they weren’t sure he’d clot after surgery. We didn’t want him to bleed profusely, so we decided to delay the circumcision until that issue was resolved. We left the hospital uncircumcised. His poor little heels were so bruised from them trying to draw blood so many times. The doctor ordered a Genetic Test, so they drew blood for that and sent it off to UAMS. The results would take approximately 3 weeks. We also had trouble keeping his body temperature in the 98 degree range, so he did have to spend some time under a heat lamp, but that wasn’t a big deal. His body temperature finally rose and he was just fine. So, we got to go home and begin life as a family of 4.





We were told that having a baby with DS would bring more doctors’ visits than a “typical” newborn. In the beginning, it would be overwhelming, but it would eventually slow down and life would begin to feel normal. Besides weight checks, our first official visit was to ACH in the Hematology Department. I’ll share what that visit was like in my next post. Stay tuned…