Joey's lungs and a few other things

Well, we are fully aware that Joey's lungs are fully effective. ha!

Joey and I visited the pulminologist today. First of all, I hate yahoo mapping system. I still love it over all the others, but today, we are not friends. I yahooed my way to the middle of nowhere and panicked. The stupid map took me to the middle of a residential area on Landsbury Drive. When I came to a "T' intersection instead of Lake Hearn Drive, I was quite irritated. Thank GOD for the great navigational system in my car. I haven't exactly figured out how to use it, nor have I really taken the time (looks like I should now, huh...), but it at least is GPS and knows where I am at all times. AND, ALSO thank GOD for internet on the cell phone. I was able to GOOGLE MAP my way from Landsbury Drive to the doc's office. Turns out that I wasn't supposed to go anywhere near Landsbury, but instead, get on the interstate and hit a few exits down. I did, and then got lost again. I had to call Evelyn to figure out where I was. We finally made it. I was expecting to arrive 15-20 minutes early to relax and fill out paperwork, but I walked in right at 10am, our appt time. Ah well. Can't do it all right.

They took us back and weighed him. He was 20 lbs, 14 oz. My arms could swear he weighs about 3 lbs more, but I'll assume their scale is pretty accurate! ha!

The nurse then took us back to the doc's room where we hung out for a few minutes telling the breathing story to the nurse. Then Joey and I went to have his little chest xray done. We both had to wear the protective garb, and I held on to his little arms while they took the xray. He sat so still and just smiled and waved. He was having fun.

We went back into the room and finished up the questioning with the nurse, and about 20 minutes later the doc came in. By then, I couldn't keep Joey entertained, so I was glad when she finally made it in. He finally had someone else to look at and reach for. There's only so many things you can touch in a doctor's office before you get into the "germy" areas.

She asked a bunch of questions, trying to lean one way or another, and dismiss other theories based on our answers. She poked and prodded a little bit, listened to his chest and his sinus cavities. She said he sounded great, and that his little chest xray was perfect. (It was so cute to see his little lungs and his heart. We even saw his jaw and all his little teeth. SO CUTE! So little!!!

She had 3 different theories but 2 of the theories didn't really hold a lot of water, so she narrowed it down to one. She believe that the muscle that rests between his trachea and esophagus wasn't quite developed properly and it was "floppy." Nothing to be worried about, thank God. It will develop on its own by the time he's about one year of age. It just "flops" around a little more than normal when he breaths in, and she said it will sound worse with time, because his little lungs get stronger with his age, pulling air harder and faster through his wind pipe than when he was younger. That makes sense, of course.

So there's nothing really to do, except for watching for warning signs that he is having trouble breathing. She said that most likely that won't be the case and that he will develop fully and perfectly.

Whew. Takes a big load off our minds.

After we left the doc office, thanks to the navigational system, i was able to make it over to a nearby mall. We walked around for a little while before a friend of mine from my Missouri days called me to meet me for lunch. We had been trying to get ahold of each other for a while since I had been here and we finally were going to be able to have lunch. Her name is Susanna and we haven't seen each other in close to 6 years. WOW...I just figured that up just now. That's a while. We were kindred spirits when we first met that long ago, and our "close proximity" friendship was short-lived, but in that short time, we were practically sisters, so much in common, and shared some fun times together.

She said she could meet us about 20 minutes away. So Joey and I, with the help of our lovely nav system made our way up to see her. We met at a BP station before we figured out where to go. It was sooo great to see her! She was as sweet and beautiful as ever, full of life and energy. She's a physical therapist, and she's been coordinating a Christian conference that's been very challenging. She spoke of a guy that she's interested in, but not sure where its going or what the Lord has for that situation. I can't believe that she's not snatched up yet. She's such an amazing person. She's picky though, and she speaks as though that's her fault. Its not. You HAVE to be picky. I'm glad she's been picky. :)

Our lunch was so short, but how do you pack 6 years into 45 minutes? Impossible, so we've vowed to stay in touch through phone and email better than we have done in the past. (How easy it is to lose touch!) I'm excited that we've reconnected, especially since we come to Atlanta often to see family. We'll be able to get together more often.

Joey is fast asleep now upstairs. He caught a few naps in between places, when I was trying to figure out where the heck I was going. He just needs a good solid nap so he doesn't terrorize the baby sitter tonight. Yes - we do have a sitter tonight for Joey and my nephews. We are going to check out a cool restaurant called Two Urban Licks. Sounds a little odd, but I've heard this place is AMAZING. I can't wait! Joey has been having trouble going down to sleep lately so I'm hoping that he won't be so bad tonight. I'd have to put that stress on someone else. Ugh....