Summer went out with a BANG!

I have mentioned previously about our new hometown and the eerie similarities it seems to share with Pleasantville. Bry is not handy but after years of hard labor under the watchful eye of his father, he feels comfortable and confident in his ability to garden. I think that's why he is putting so much time and energy into the removal of the EVIL IVY and all the other brush that is keeping our front yard from looking like the picturesque yard it can be.
Again, our weekend was spent with Bry shoveling, and digging, and sawing pieces of overgrown hedges and digging for rogue roots near our front patio. Mo and I spent a lot of time on the front porch. She in her new $3 car my parents picked up at a yard sale while I just watched it all.
I bring up the Pleasantville comment, because as we... I mean Bry... was working our neighbors from across the street invited us over to their backyard, where we met another set of neighbors and their children. We relaxed as the kids played in their nicely manicured backyard. Mo loved their swing set and was able to climb up the slide to the top in no time flat. Of course, being the ever cautious parent, I made Bry grab her off. She loved the grass, the "big kid" toys, and playing with the kids.
We were there for nearly an hour and half when it happened.
Out of no where, she went to try and run towards the stairs to the house. Somehow she lost her footing and BANG, she hit her forehead, and face straight on with the metal handrail. Immediately it turned black and blue and swelled up. She spent all of five minutes crying on me, thrashed when we tried unsuccessfully to put ice on it, and ultimately found Dora play mats to be more exciting.
This is what she looked like at dinner that night:


Today, three days later, it's still a nice purple shade. Of course, leave it to my kid to make summer go out in a bang!

The Birthmark & The Bump - Revisited

It has been sometime since I wrote about Moira's head and I have noticed that we do get the occasional traffic on that entry. I guess there are a lot of kids out there being born with hemangiomas and dermoids cysts. Now, I'm not quite sure how many are lucky like us to have both on the same forehead, but I know that my entry helped me vent my own frustrations and hopefully it was helpful to others too.
So, here we are, Moira is 14 and a half months old. The hemangiaoma is still there, but things are changing. We've noticed it's definitely getting less bold. It formerly was a deep crimson red and if you touched it felt like a blister. This picture was taken when she was about five months old. I found that the first couple of months, I took a lot of pictures strategically so that the hemangiaoma was out of the picture. Needless to say, we have quite a few pictures that look like I just cut the top of her head off. If you look in the picture, the dermoid isn't too obvious. We *think* it's because her face was so full that you couldn't really see it.
Here is a recent picture. I think there is a noticeable difference, especially when you compare the two side by side. The pediatric plastic surgeon did say it can take upwards of five years for the hemangioma to completely disappear, but I'm hoping it goes away sooner. I'd love for Mo not to have to worry about it when she starts school.
As for the dermoid, it seems like it's getting more prominent as she's getting older. Maybe it's as her face changes and she's loosing the baby fat, or maybe it's because we put her hair up more. Either way, it's there.
We've decided to wait a year or so before we have it surgically removed. The pediatric plastic surgeon told us that it does need to be removed, as there is a risk for infection, but it's not an emergency. Of course, I would like to put off the surgery for as long as possible. They will need to sedate her and put a breathing tube down her throat which scares me far more then surgically removing the dermoid. We hope that in that time frame the hemangiaoma gets smaller, so if that needs to be surgically removed too we can do both at the same time. So maybe this time next year, Mo will be gearing up for surgery.
There are still people in the public that comment on her hemangiaoma. I get the occasional "Did she hurt herself?" or the "Ahh, those boo-boos will get better!". There are a lot of well-meaning (usually grandmothers) people who stop to tell me about their grandchild or niece or neighbor who had one and now as they're 25 the hemangiomas are gone, like magic. And, unfortunately, there are still rude people out there that lack the etiquette to speak like a human and utter some comment that usually brings out my inner mama bear. Luckily, those instances are few and far between.
A lot of our friends and family have commented how much they notice a change in her hemangioma. Comments like "Wow! It's so much lighter now!" and "You totally can tell a difference!" make me feel a little better about it. It also makes Bry and I feel like we aren't loosing it, since we see her everyday and really want to believe that the hemangioma is going away.
Most days, I don't see it anymore. Just like when you look at someone you love. You don't really see just their eyes or nose or lips, you see their whole face, their whole person. That's what I see when I look at Mo. I see my beautiful yet crazy little girl!

Black Eyes and Pig Tails

Even though it's only Wednesday, Mo already had an eventful week. On Monday night, we made the trek to my hometown to pay our respects to my Aunt's sister Trina who passed away suddenly at the age of 47. God bless you Trina.
Instead of me driving to Bry's work and then switching cars, allowing him to drive Mo in her car seat back home and me driving to the service by myself, I had the great idea to just pick up Bry at work on the way and all go together. In my head, it seemed like a good idea. We'd go in together to the funeral home, pay our respects, and then head out. Unfortunately reality had a different plan for us.
First off- I forgot the local town Dogwood Festival (yes, a fair in honor of a tree. Don't get me started. There's a queen and everything. Don't believe me? Check out Tracey's blog She was the Dogwood queen of 1995 and it's item number 97 on her list.) So back to the festival, the funeral home is located about one block from the park. Needless to say, parking at 6 O'clock wasn't too easy. Then we get to the funeral home and a long line had already formed. As we walked to the front of the home, I saw my brother and then my sister and parents and Great Aunt Mary all come together. We go in together as Bry decides to hang out in the back of the funeral home to wait.
Like I said, the line was long and there were beautiful pictures of Trina and her family throughout her life. There were pictures I remember seeing at my Aunt Celine's house. Pictures of Trina with her son Jesse, and lots of pictures of Trina with my cousins. It took us some time to get to her family members. After giving hugs and condolences I noticed Bryan frantically waving to me in the back of the funeral home.
Apparently he had taken Mo outside since it was getting filled inside. Obviously there isn't a park or playground nearby and after holding her flailing body for 10 minutes, he decided the blacktop driveway was the safest place to put her.
She fell flat on her face.
It took her a good ten minutes to stop crying. Immediately a bruise formed right under her cheek and she had a little brush burn too.
My poor baby got her first shiner!




These pictures were taken two days after the fall.

Last night after Bryan apologized for the hundredth time, Mo was playing on the floor in our living room. He mentioned how nicely her hair is coming in. As I sat down next to her, I started playing with her hair a bit and realized it WAS getting long.
Long enough for


PIGTAILS!




I think since they are still in the small stage, I'll call them piglet tails. This is an important milestone in having a little girl.
Don't believe me, check out these posts:
Twice the Love
Multiple Baby Pile Up
My baby is growing up!

We Got Results!

Finally, almost a month since the much dreaded CT scan, we got the results. It appears the cyst is exactly what they thought it was - a benign, dermoid cyst. Not cancerous and not a barbell type that would have meant surgery to her skull. For the back story, here's The Birthmark and the Bump. I believed everything was okay, but as long as the doctor didn't call to let us know, there was that small, slim chance that he was wrong and it was bad. I can let that worry go! She's fine!
I was taken aback though, when, after telling me the good news, the pediatric plastic surgeon's assistant wanted to schedule the outpatient procedure to have it removed. The earliest appointment at the outpatient surgical center was Aug. 13.
After taking a gulp of air, I decided to tell the assistant to wait to schedule Mo. I want to talk it over more with Bry and get an opinion from my sister, the pediatrician, about doing it now versus waiting a little while. I know it has to be removed, as it can get infected, but this time, unlike the CT scan, she must be put under anesthesia and have a tube down her throat. Would it be better to just do it now or wait until she's 2 or 3?
For now, it's time to discuss and research the surgery. It's also time to be thankful that Mo's head is okay.

Still waiting.

I called the pediatric plastic surgeon this morning to see if they had the results from the dreaded CT scan.
It took me 15 minutes to figure out which number I was suppose to call. I called what I thought was the correct number, but after listening to the voice go over all the options- of which none were the correct one, I got a live person. After explaining who I was, why I was calling and whom I wanted to speak, she gave me another number and hung up. I called that number. At least there was no voice directory. I got a live person immediately. After explaining yet again who I was, why I was calling and whom I wanted to speak I was informed...
the doctor is on vacation...
until next week.
So basically we wait until then.
I have caught myself staring at the bump every so often. Trying to figure out what Mo will look like without it. Trying to imagine what surgery will be like when/if they remove. Finally, I have let my mind wander to the what if it is a barbell type cyst- only a few times. It scared me too much that I won't let myself think about the fact there could be, even if it's only a slim chance, a cyst inside her skull equal in size and shape as the cyst on her forehead.
I refuse to let myself worry about that possibility.
I trust the doctor when he said the chance of such a cyst is slim.
Of course I would have preferred if he said that the chance of such a cyst was non-existent, but what can I do?
So now, we wait.

Sigh of relief.

I don't know how else to explain it.
I can breathe a little easier now as Moira's CT scan is over. As I wrote about in my entry The Birthmark and the Bump Moira has what the plastic surgeon believes to be a dermoid cyst on her upper right forehead. We had an appointment at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHoP)this past Friday morning for a CT scan.
When we first met with the plastic surgeon, he mentioned a CT scan and casually mentioned that Moira would be sedated for the scan. He explained how it would be a low dose of medication and basically she would be in a light sleep, mainly because she could not lie still without it. From that appointment until this past Wednesday, I have been silently freaking out inside about the potential of Mo being sedated.
I know people, even children, are sedated day in and day out, for scans, and surgeries and all different medical procedures with little to no fanfare. I know in the logical part of my brain that this is true.
But in mommy brain, I was freaking out. What if she had a reaction? How would she handle the meds? What would she be like after? Would we lose a day or a couple of days as she rebounded from the after-effects? How would I handle her going under?
All that worry was for naught. My first glimpse of a different option came on Wednesday when a nurse called and let me know they could try doing the scan WITHOUT sedating her. Of course, my heart lifted as she mentioned the words without sedation. The problem, however, would be that she would need to be sleeping for them to preform the CT scan.
Yeah, that might happen! My kid who is literally running from sun up to sun down, would be able to sleep through a CT scan. HAH!
On Friday morning, just as I jumped out of the shower and was about to bathe Moira, the phone rang. It was a nurse, Ryan, (yes, a male nurse) who was in charge of the CT scheduling. He again reminded me that they could try to do the scan without sedation if she was asleep. His advice- keep her awake. Sit in the back of the car for the hour and 15 min. trip and keep her awake.
IT WORKED!!!!
We got to CHoP and spent a little over an hour and a half in the waiting room. Mo was a champ! She played and talked to other kids. We only ran into one hurdle. When Bry was checking in, we found out that the plastic surgeon's office did not send in the script. After a delay of about a half-hour, we were called in and right around 11she started to get a little antsy. We went into the prep room, met (the male nurse) Ryan, and waited for our turn. As I held Mo in my arms she started her "sleepy song". When she's tired she actually sings to herself to sleep. It's more of a hum, but it seems to be our indicator that she is on her way to dreamland. So she started humming and before Bry could remove his sweater, she was out!!! Ryan happened to walk by just as she nodded off and upon seeing that, he decided to get us into the CT scan STAT!
He took a blanket and I passed off my sleeping baby to him. We walked to the CT scan room, all the while I'm praying and hoping and wishing that she stays asleep. As they brought up a gurney from the ER for another child needing a CT scan, Ryan explained he was going in the lab to sit and we'd be next.
I continued to pray- stay asleep. STAY ASLEEP!
We were up. Bry and I put on the protecting aprons as Ryan successfully got Moira onto the examining table.
She didn't move or make a sound, even as they strapped her onto the table.
The other nurse explained that it would take about 10 minutes and off the went. Bry and I looked at each other and we both thought the same thing.
She'd be up in a minute.
We were wrong, as we watched the seconds tick on the clock, she slept. She slept through the entire 20 minutes she was on the table. Just as they undid the Velcro her eyes shot open and she looked menacely at the nurse. When she saw me she gave me a great big smile and I sighed a big sigh of relief.
She did the scan without sedation! I basically skipped out of there. Mo was famished and ate nearly an entire banana before we made it out of the parking lot.
The scan is over. I can breathe easy.
Now we have to wait for the results.

UPDATE: Date for the CT Scan

I will now be holding my breath until April 3rd. Moira is scheduled for her CT scan on that day. My baby will turn 1 on Wednesday and then on Friday we're going to get her doped up and God willing, find out that the bump is nothing to worry about.

The Birthmark & The Bump

When Moira was born, like any good parent we laughed when she let out that first cry and then when they gave her to Bry we happily counted her fingers and toes. As the days went by and we got more familiar with her we kept track of her feedings, diaper changes, and sleeping schedule. We feel in love with her beautiful face. I mean, how could you not? It was early on, about the second week of her life that we noticed the red mark on her forehead. As we went to those early pediatrician appointments he told us that he assumed it was a stork bite and that it was nothing for us to worry about. So we didn't worry.
I lied. I worried. I wondered if it was something else and sure enough it is.
As the red patch got bigger and deeper in color, we realized it wasn't a stork bite. Instead, our pediatirican informed us it was a hemangioma. Again, he reassured us that of all the birthmarks, strawberry hemangiomas are the best to have. They typically stop growing at about a year and within 5-7 years completely disappear. We've noticed a change. 3 Months

9 months

At first, I was kind of embarrassed by the "hemang". I would try to put hats on her to cover it up. I didn't want to answer "what's on your baby's head?" or "Oh, did she hurt herself?". It got annoying. I learned quickly how blunt people can be, as strangers had no problem just coming right up to me and asking what was wrong with her.
Nothing is wrong with her, it's just a F---ing birthmark!!!
Bryan intially googled and searched the web for doctors and specialist and more information on hemangiaomas.I recommend not googling it. We realized early on how lucky Mo was to have it on her forehead. Bry saw pictures of babies with entire nostrils or eyelids covered by the hemangiaoma. He read of children having them in their inner ears or covering their mouth. I gradually got over hiding it, and now we don't even see it. It's just part of Mo.
Around 2 months we also realized that the bump on the other side of her head that wasn't going away. Initially our pediatirican told us that he thought it was just a bruise from delivery. I mean, that made sense. Delivery is quite the traumatic event. As time went by, we realized that the "bump" wasn't going away. It looked like a small marble under her skin.



Like the hemagiaoma, our pediatrician recommended that we just monitor it. As we went to our 3 month and then the 6 month appointment the "bump" was still there. It was at the 3 month appointment that he used the term dermoid cyst for the first time. Again, Bry searched the web and I talked to my sis, the famous Dr. Jeanna 2nd year pediatric resident and Lynsay, our Physican Assistant friend. We both pretty much found the same thing: not too dangerous, most likely needs to be surgically removed, can cause infection, miniscule cancer risk.

What would we do next? Have it removed? But that would be surgery...on her FACE! Let it stay? What if got infected? What if it was cancerous?

We decided to see a specialist. It makes be so thankful to be in the greater Philadelphia region as The Children's Hosptial of Philadelphia is only a short car ride away. After Bry's research we met with a pediatric plastic surgeon affliated with CHoP. Of course when we walked in we assumed everyone would think we were there for the hemagioma.
We were right. Even the doctor asked if that was our reason for the visit. He then examined the cyst and gave us the news we expected. It most likely was a Periorbital dermoid cysts (a cyst occurring near the eyebrow often found in children) and he suggested that it should be removed. He also explained that while he doesn't believe the cyst to be a dumbell configuration (a cyst extends through a suture line in the skull like a dumbell) we would have to do a C.T. Scan to rule it out.

I am a little nervous as Moira will have to be sedated for the procedure. I don't like that one bit. We have decided to wait until she is at least one year old, as Dr. Jeanna pointed out, at a year old, she is abetter age for the anesthesia. I realize my baby would not sit completely still for the scan and so sedation is our only option, but I still worry. I assume like any parent in this situation.
So now we wait. That is where we are right now. Waiting for the doc to call us back with our C.T. Scan appointment. Wiating to rule out the barbell cyst. Waiting for the time to have the cyst cut out. Waiting for the bump to go bye-bye.