Additional Needs

Here’s my Secret Weapon for Surviving Long Hospital Visits…

Posted by Brittney Baumgartner on 27th April 2015 Additional Needs, Disabilities

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They, at Scottish Rite Hospital, will be cathing Oliver to fill his bladder up then test his pressure.

We will move on to Nuclear Medicine and have him injected with a dye, wait about an hour, and go back to have scans to make sure his kidneys are functioning like they should.

Due to Oliver's diagnosis of spina bifida, he has a higher risk of needing to be cathed due to nerve damage, and an incompetent bladder.

So far, Oliver has been able to go on his own without any help.

We are on medication for his bowel program (lactulose and sena).

I have found these easy to take when mixing them with his formula.

We do them once a day, a bottle apart.

So being at a higher risk for these bladder problems, it thus puts him at a greater risk for urinary infections and all those nasty things that could harm the kidneys.

This is why we do the testing, and this is why injecting this dye is our only choice.

Oliver doesn't just have this type of urology testing though.

He has had appointments for the Spina Bifida clinic at Scottish Rite, neurology appointments for the VP shunt he has placed, visits to the nutritionists, therapists, podiatrists, orthopedists and more!

I have literally opened up a new section in my brain to solely remember his doctors' names, reasons for visits, numbers, etc.

If you know babies, then you know hours and hours stuck at doctors' offices can be quiet the hassle.

For this, I have come up with my cry-proof method to making Oliver relaxed and comfortable during these hour long visits.

I would first like to introduce this awesome toy I found at Baby's R Us.

It has this activity set that can be removed and you can insert your ipad device into a screen protected area.

It has a little piece that if you rotate it, it will block the home button so your child doesn't constantly click it, exiting the program by accident.

Now I am not one to just put an electronic in front of my child to keep him or her busy, but this works wonders for those busy appointment days.

Even if we don't use the iPad, Oliver can keep somewhat busy with this activity set that can click over the iPad.

For Oliver tho, he enjoys this free app that shows fish swimming around like an aquarium.

It also has the cute little lullaby music that puts him right to sleep!

Also be sure to pack extra food, incase the stay runs longer than expected and if you use diapers, bring extra!

I once ran out of diapers on our first visit to Scottish Rite and it was not fun.

Now to keep Oliver comfortable, I have a stroller than can interchange into a little bassinet and I bring a blanket to keep him nice and snug.

Visits at the doctors are pretty uneventful now.

Of course, if you have any quirks that work for you and your family, we would love to hear them so please comment!