One down...one to go.

It is amazing how it seems time can fly, but yet some days seem like they will never end!  I remember when we got the brace on Jadon we were like he will be 15 weeks old when he'll get this thing off, that's like FOREVER!  And now here he is, 15 weeks old and its been one week since he hasn't had the brace on, yet it seems like it's been such a long time since he's had to wear it!  Crazy!

Now we are on to the next "attachment".  Jadon had his orthatist appt on Monday and he strongly felt that he needs a helmet.  Kids normally wear them 4-6 months.  Since Jadon is so young they thought it would be on the shorter end, but the fact that his head is "severe" it could take a little longer.  I guess he wears it until both the orthatist and Dave and I agree on his head being good enough.  It was funny cause the orthatist was like, it's a big time commitment on coming to appts.  You start with every week, then every other week until the end.  I was like, I know no different than going to multiple appts every week, why not?! Isn't that just what everyone does when they have a baby??  That's all I know!

Jadon has really been gumming his hands and just about anything he can get in his mouth.  Wondering if teething is coming in the future.  He had a hard time falling to sleep last night, which is very unusual for him...I guess we'll wait and see! 

My "little guy" is already wearing a size 3 diaper at night!!!  Holy smokes!  The size 2's just weren't holding it all in.  I'm interested to see what the doctor says at his 4 month appt.  Wondering if cereal is in his near future since he's getting so big.  It's a crazy thought that soon we'll be getting out the spoons and bowls...and the high chair!! 

Ding Dong, the brace is Gone!!

Yeah!!!  Jadon is done with the brace!!  I'm so excited to have one less thing on my plate, but even more that his hips were looking good.  He is such and amazing baby!  He had 3 appts today and he's doing so well with it.  I had to wake him up for his u/s and he just layed on his side and smiled at me while they did the u/s on his hips...they were very surprised at how good he was, he barely moved for them!  I do feel bad that his day has been so messed up...but I guess he's being a little more flexible than me! So, we go back when he's 6 months for an x-ray to see how the bones are forming in his hips, to make sure everything still looks good.  They will also keep an eye on the tortocollis to make sure PT is helping.

So, one thing down, now onto the next!  Next week he sees an orthotist for an eval on his head.  If he feels we need a helmet (and I'm pretty sure he will) he will have another appt to get fit for the helmet via laser and then it takes a couple weeks to get it in.  Glad we're starting the process now.  The neurologist thought he needed one and was impressed at his head control so thought he could get one now instead of waiting.  Dave and I have some awesome plans to deck out his helmet if he needs one...details to follow! 

So Jadon, how do you really feel about being done with the brace??

3 months!

My little baby is already 3 months!  He now looks like a little boy, not a newborn anymore!  Here's some updates!

• He loves to smile! 
• He found his voice!  Its common for him to wake up around 5:30 am and just talk to himself...thankfully he puts himself back to sleep!
• Jadon loves his naps!!  I normally have to wake him up or he wouldn't eat! His last nap of the day is now shortened to 30 minutes...thankful cause this can be around 7pm and don't want him sleeping and missing his last feeding! 
• Jadon's face lights up when daddy comes home!  He loves to play with him...I have a feeling I'll be watching the two of them sing and dance the night away many many evenings to come!  I can't wait!
• Tomorrow we see the neurologist to check out his head...I was convicted that I was praying for his head to "heal" and everything to move back, but not believing it would...so, I'm thankful I realized this and am now praying that God would also increase my faith.  Either way, I just want Him to be glorified.
• Wednesday we go in for an u/s to see if we can be done with the brace!  I can't wait!! 
• Jadon's still going to PT twice a week.  I can sometimes feel that I'm a failure as a mom because of this...I try to do all the exercises and keep him from looking only one way....He is definitely improving but he has a few degrees to still get his head turned the other way completely and he will still turn his head his "comfy" way...mostly when he's tired though.  I'm thankful we caught this early, but it can be hard when you don't see an end in sight. 
• I had to pack away some 0-3month clothing :(  He now wears the 3 month ones for now...I'm cutting tags and washing is 3-6 month clothes.  I'm excited he's growing, but it's hard to pack away clothes already! 

Grandma bought me a Mickey Mouse sleep sack that came with this cute hat!!

12 weeks

12 weeks already!  Not sure if that's technically considered 3 months, or if you have to wait till the actual birthday...but anyway, crazy!  Here's some updates:

• He is really good at tracking you now and loves to smile, giggle, and tease mom with the bottle!
• We had gone back to PT twice a week and have noticed a huge difference in his tortocollis.  We have even caught him sleeping with his head looking the other way!  I believe this week will be the last week of two appt...I hope so! 
• The final countdown to hopefully two weeks left in the brace!  I will say I love having him out during awake time!
• He loves the bath!  Daddy makes bathtime so fun and he loves splashing.
• He has been eating 7oz 4x/day and then takes a dreamfeed of about 3 oz between 10:30-11:00pm.  This helps him sleep till about 7:30am. 
• He takes 2 long naps about 2 hours long then in the evening he takes about a 30 min nap...guessing he may be dropping this soon?
• He loves his daddy!  Especially loves it when daddy makes music!
• He found his fists and has been chewing a lot lately...taking his nuker way more than before...I'm wondering if he's starting to teeth already!  Yikes, I'm not sure if I'm ready for that!!
• Jadon now plays with his play gym!  It's so cute, he just lets his arms and legs go crazy and they wack all the toys and he is just amazed!  I'm trying to have him get use to some individual play time.  I think it's good for both of us, and especially as he gets older its healthy for him to be able to entertain himself for a little bit. 
• We are waiting on a phone call to set up a consult to see if he needs a helmet.  Both the nurse practitioner and the PT think he will...either way will be ok...just praying if he needs one that we can start soon (at 4 months) so he can be done by the middle of summer!! 

I'm thankful he is so flexible.  This week we ran 4 days of the week (3 for appts) and he did well.  I think its harder on me cause I'm afraid it will mess up his schedule.  I think that's my biggest anxiety right now.  Why, I do not know...cause every time I think I figured out his "routine" he changes!  My fear is always that it will affect his night time sleep and he will be up. I'm enjoying my 9:30pm-6:30am sleep!!

I've been reading Jill Savage's "Real Mom, Real Jesus", and it has helped me a lot!  It's a learning process to be so selfless with having children!  I think it was extra hard since I have been a homemaker for 8 yrs before having him...I had my "routine" (can you tell I'm anal about routines??) and I was used to doing what I wanted when I wanted...now I can't even run to Target when I need something.  I take that back, I can, but with the weather and cold/flu season I choose to keep him home.  Anyway, this book has really helped me lean on the Lord and to realize I need to make time to be with Him daily and rely on Him to be the mom He wants me to be.  One day at a time...

Love this action shot of all the toys flying around!

I've been waiting!

Ever since having Jadon, I've been itching to take a nice long walk outside with him and the dog.  Well, having a winter baby really doesn't allow that!  God knew that having a baby would be a HUGE change for me...and he knew that I love to walk my dog and get outside...so, I really feel he's been blessing me with this amazing weather lately!  It's all for me (hahaha!). 

Yesterday it was 48 degrees out!  WOW!!  It's normally below zero this time of year!  So, after Jadon's pt appt, I got the dog all ready, put on my spring jacket and went on a 3 mile walk!!  Praise GOD!  I've been waiting and waiting to do this, and I thought I'd have to wait until at least April or May, but NO, God allowed me to do this in JANUARY!!  It was beautiful out!  I didn't even need gloves!  We did our normal loop and I even threw the ball in the park for Zander.  Jadon slept the whole time. 

God knew I needed a little reminder of the "good old days" of getting out, and he made it even better with my little boy and some warm weather!

My new world

I follow a infertility forum called Stepping Stones through Bethany and it has been such a blessing to me in my journey.  I'm now in a new category, praise God, called Parenthood After/Amid Infertility and Loss and I've found it SO helpful to have other moms there to help me along this path.  Anyway, a poem was recently posted there that made me laugh at my new life...minus the multiple toddlers.  I could so relate though!

If You Give A Mom A Muffin

by Kathy Fictorie


If you give a mom a muffin,
She’ll want a cup of coffee to go with it.
She’ll pour herself some.
Her three-year-old will spill the coffee.
She’ll wipe it up.
Wiping the floor, she’ll find dirty socks.
She’ll remember she has to do laundry.
When she puts the laundry in the washer,
She’ll trip over boots and bump into the freezer.
Bumping into the freezer will remind her she has to plan for supper.
She will get out a pound of hamburger.
She’ll look for her cookbook (“101 Things To Do With a Pound of Hamburger”).
The cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail.
She will see the phone bill, which is due tomorrow.
She will look for her checkbook.
The check book is in her purse that is being dumped out by her two-year-old.
She’ll smell something funny.
She’ll change the two year old’s diaper.
While she is changing the diaper, the phone will ring.
Her five-year-old will answer and hang up.
She’ll remember she wants to phone a friend for coffee.
Thinking of coffee will remind her that she was going to have a cup.
And chances are…
If she has a cup of coffee,
Her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.

I can so relate to this!  This morning I was eating breakfast, doing my hair, doing laundry, getting something out to defrost for dinner, and doing a study all while my coffee was going cold!  I love being a mom, but I find that my memory has gone out the window.  I need to do things as I remember, hence the going in circles, if I want to get it done! 

2 month check up

Jadon had his 2 month check up today.  He weighs 12lb 6oz (so he almost gained 6 whoppin pounds since birth!) and is 23.75in long which was at the 65% mark.  I want to say his weight was at the 35% mark...but I can't say for sure.  All I know is that they said he looks great and keep doing what we're doing cause he's growing! 

I put on a new outfit today (most outfits are "new" since he can now wear pants during awake time with the brace off!) and the pants are close to being too short already!  Man!  Oh well...he just looks so darn cute in outfits!

We worked out (or I should say Dave did) Jadon's immunization schedule.  We are kinda going off of Dr. Cave's schedule with some modifications.  He will get his first shot at his 4 month appt.  It's so hard to have to make these decisions about your child, but we are doing the best that we can with the info we've been given.  In any decision we make, we know God is ultimately in control and we can find peace in that. 

We've been doing cloth during the day for about two weeks now, and I LOVE it!!!  I am so impressed with them and I never thought it would be this easy.  I'm thankful I did my research before having a baby so I could make sure what type I would like to work with.  The pockets are great for us, and I especially love that they are one size and that I can add more absorbency if needed.  I'm temped to start using them at night, but right now he's sleeping through the night, and why ruin that to save on one disposable diaper, right?!!

Sleep...it's an amazing thing!!  This week we've been on a pretty good eating schedule with Jadon.  He's eating about 7 oz  four times a day.  We are waking him (ok...Dave is..) at about 9:30 pm to eat which he then sleeps until 7:30-8:00am!!  The last couple weeks he would eat around 5 or 6 then go to bed around 7 or 8 and then want to keep sleeping.  Well, he'd wake up at 3 wanting some food...so we "adjusted" that and so far it's been helping a lot!  I am way too "wise" as a mom to say that we have figured this out and it's the end of the story!  Once I feel I figured something out, it usually changes and I'm back at square one...but I'm just going to enjoy this routine while I can!

His doctor didn't feel the clunk in his hips today, which is great.  If all goes well, he only has 4 more weeks left in the brace.  We are going twice a week to physical therapy for the tortocollis.  I've been really trying hard to plug away at all the exercises we need to do at home to help it and I've seen improvement, but I don't know where he should be at at this point.  I also just have a feeling that he will need a cranial cap as well.  His left ear and forehead have moved forward and he has a pretty nice flat spot on his left side...I know this can change once he gets mobile and can sit up, but I'm just preparing myself.  Probably around the end of February beginning of March we will find out if that is needed.  I'm so thankful that all of this can get taken care of in the first year!  I'm also looking forward to just having my baby and no "attachments"!