EEG

Inara received her first set of vaccination September 5th. She did great - she did not even cry when they poked her (yes our baby is just that mellow). She ran a low grade fever 99.2 for the rest of the day - but was not really fussy, ate like a champ and slept through the night. The next day she was her happy self - smiling & cooing.

About 3-4 days later I noticed that she stopped smiling and cooing, stopped responding to my voice and preferred to look at her surroundings rather than us. No big deal, all babies have bad days and exploring their environment is an important milestone. However, she did not return to herself. I took her to the Pediatrician who spent over 30 mintues with us and Inara did not respond very well. She would not look at the Pedi often (3 times in 30 minutes and only 2 smiles with no cooing) and the Pedi noticed she kept looking to the right and raising her right arm. She consulted with a Pediatric Neurologist who stated she could have had a reaction to the Pertussis part of the DTP, could have baby migraines but was most concerned with the head turning and arm raising - this could indicate subclinical seizure activity. Immediately I broke down in tears. We went of an EEG on Friday at the Dell Childrens Medical Center. We also began intensive behavioral stimulation.

That Friday we returned to the Pedi who cried because Inara was doing so well. She was back - smiling, cooing and responding to my voice. I absolutely adore our Pediatrician. If you are in the Austin area I highly recommend Dr. Elizabeth Reidy of Schoolhouse Pediatrics.

The EEG was negative - no seizure activity noted. Thank you God.

The Plan: No more Pertussis. The Pertussis part of the DTP is still linked to causing permanent brain damage in infants. Lovely, let us hope Inara is not one of them. If she continues to demonstrate this behavior at 4 months we will be scheduling an MRI to determine if Inara is suffering from migraine headaches (rare but possible for infants). The avoidance of eye contact is a sign as this indicates the infant is overstimulated. We will also be continuing with a delayed immunization schedule and passing on Rotovirus, opting out the of the MMR and giving the M, M, and R at seperate appointments by themselves as well as not beginning that injection until at least 16-18 months of age, delaying Hepatitis B until the start of school, passing on Hepatitis A until the start of school and no flu shots will be given - ever. Basically following Dr. Bob Sears alternative immunization schedule. If you have not read The Vaccine Book I highly suggest you do.

Inara continues to do well. She can roll from tummy to back and does many times daily (she has been rolling since about 6-7 weeks), she can lift her head, neck and chest completely off the ground, support weight on her legs, bat at toys, reach and grasp toys as well as attempt to reach her toes. She is cooing, smiling at us and complete strangers, maintaining eye contact for several minutes and even has a specific call for me which does contain the "m" syllable. She is one smart cookie, she knows who has the milk!

Please continue to keep us in your prayers and send good thoughts to our precious baby girl.