So it has been a while since posting a blog entry but Paytan is down for a nap so I thought I would take this opportunity to make a quick entry about her first doctors appointment. I know that the first appointment isn't that exciting but there were a few things for us that made it quite interesting.
First I need to give you some background info on our pediatrician. He is a nice man, with a bit of a southern drawl who has been in his field for 30+ years. Dr. Burns has a very dry sense of humor, which some people would not find very fitting for a pediatrician but for us he is great. Now when my family first met Dr. Burns it was the night Paytan was born and he came out to give them an update:
Dr. Burns: "Well baby's fine but we had to kick start her to get her going on her own."
Family: "How is she doing now?"
Dr. Burns: "She's doing just fine. She was sunny side up so she has a nice big bruise on her head and her nose is smooshed to one side."
Katelyn: "Will it straighten out eventually?"
Dr. Burns: "She's okay. It isn't any worse than yours."
If you know Katelyn, you can imagine her reaction to this statement, especially since it was about 2AM. So hopefully that gives you an idea about our pediatrician and his character.
Now on to the first appointment. Kris and I were excited to see how much weight Paytan has gained. It has actually turned into a little competition in the family every time Paytan has a doctors appointment. Everyone guesses how much she weighs, Price Is Right rules, closest without going over. So when Paytan was born she was 5 pounds 6 ounces. She lost a bit in the hospital and was 4 pounds 15 ounces when she left the hospital. Then 5 days later at the first appointment she was 5 pounds 4 ounces, so almost back to birth weight. In the state of Oregon the average weight gain for newborns is about 3/4 of an ounce per day and in Lincoln County, with the great support programs for breast feeding, the average is about an ounce per day. Well Paytan had gained about twice the national average, so needless to say she was thriving.
Kris and I had started to write down questions to ask the doctor, as many new parents do so they don't end up calling the doctor or their answering service 15 times a day. We were going through our questions and one that we had noticed the last day in the hospital was that when Paytan was nursing which ever side she was laying on would turn bright red. I mean lobster red! And she would have a perfect line down the middle of her body. I had asked the nurse if she knew what this was all about and she had said that it was something that happened like when you lay on your arm and it turns red. I figured the nurse probably had seen this often so I didn't really think anything of it, until we got home.
The first few days at home Kris and I noticed that Paytan still had the same line and redness that she had in the hospital, although it was lighter and lighter each day. So we just thought we would ask the doctor.
Back to the appointment. Our last question for Dr. Burns was about the redness, which actually was happening while Dr. Burns was examining Paytan. He stopped, stepped back and blink his eyes, some what doing a double take. I thought "oh no, something is wrong with my baby." Then Dr. Burns came to and said "well, this little one is a harlequin." Kris and I looked at each other and back to the doctor with very puzzled looks on our faces. Dr. Burns proceeded to tell us that Paytan has a condition known as the Harlequin condition.
NOW I WANT TO WARN YOU NOT TO GOOGLE HARLEQUIN BABY BECAUSE IT IS COMPLETE DIFFERENT THAN WHAT PAYTAN HAS AND THE PICTURES OF IT ARE HORRIFIC!!!!! HARLEQUIN BABY IS A DISEASE AND PAYTAN HAS THE HARLEQUIN CONDITION, COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.
Basically this condition happens in babies that are premature. What happens is that their immune system is underdeveloped and when they are laying on their side their little bodies can't decide which side regulate the blood flow of, so one side gets more blood than the other. It is a perfectly normal condition and something that will go away over time. It is like when you mind is thinking about two really big tasks at the same time but you can't solve either without focusing on just one at a time, kind of like a bit of an overload. So the body focuses on just one side of the body and not the other. Then once the baby is back on it's back the body returns to normal. Dr. Burns said that he will go years between babies who have this condition, so apparently it is pretty rare, maybe why there is such little information about it online. Harlequins can either be half & half or quarters, which either way is kind of interesting. So interesting that Dr. Burns stuck his head out of the examine room and called the receptionist and two nurses into the room by shouting "Hey anyone want to see a harlequin?" I kind of felt like my daughter was a sideshow at the circus at this point but oh well. I guess it you get a chance to see something rare, I would take it.
Unfortunately by the time I started this blog, Paytan's condition has somewhat subsided so I don't have a picture of it. But Kris did some research to find out more information about this condition, which is where we found Harlequin Baby (AGAIN DO NOT GOOGLE IT!). Kris was able to find a blog that a woman had written about this condition as one of her twin children had it. IF you would like more information you can see her blog at : http://www.tclong.net/journal/?p=39.
