Alphabitty Moments

Please join Alphabitty moments and record those little moments in life that sometimes go unnoticed, and might be forgotten. Or, use moments that you will never forget but want to share with others anyway! Go to http://www.4loveoffamily.blogspot.com/ to join in!

I didn't post last week, but here it is!

And this week's too!

GI Appointment *INTERRUPTION*

I am interrupting my original post with breaking news. The baby pictured above is Stellan, the one I've been asking you to pray for. They are leaving shortly for Boston to be with some highly specialized heart doctors. He is going to have a risky operation. Please pray for Baby Stellan and his parents, also his three siblings. Click HERE to get updates.
I am also interrupting to ask you to pray for Kaleigh. She is the same age as Baby J, but was born really premature. She is having a surgery to fix multiple problems. Click HERE to get her updates.
Our baby is getting better, and we are so thankful. But there are so many other families out there getting bad and scary news on theirs. Thanks for praying for them too.

Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to Children's we go
Doot do doot doo doot
Doot do doot doo doot
Hi-ho, hi-ho hi-ho hi-ho

I just read on someone's blog that they sing/whistle this song as they get all of their children into their van. I had it in my head as we drove off to yet another appointment. Ready, Set, GO!

I dropped M off at kindergarten on the way to Baby J's appointment today and as I looked at the building (rather this was one of the buildings)I worked at at one time, I was ever so thankful that I am facing these challenges as a stay-at-home mom (with a full time job IN the house) rather than working full time out of the house and trying to fit all of this in. When Snug was a baby we spent the first 6 months in and out of specialist's due to "preemie stuff", but most of the time #1 took him as I taught 25 first graders half-heartedly wishing I was there to know what was going on. It is nice to be able to dedicate myself 100% as much as possible this time.

It seemed to take forever today, but it was the normal 2 hours from arrival at the office until we left. My mom came to help #1 with the Draycare kids while I was at the appointment. I guess I was just so excited to show Dr. K my new fat chubbier baby that I was a bit impatient! She was indeed impressed! Here are his new stats:

Length- 26 3/4 inches 5th % He had been at 26" for MONTHS, except the "we think he may have grown almost 1/4 inch" report at his last appointment 3 weeks ago. Today there was no doubt, he is getting longer.
Head-can't remember size, but 3rd%
Weight- 16 lbs 7 oz, not yet on the percentile chart, but close! This is the same weight for those of you who have kept track that our family doctor had him at last week...they are not concerned about it not having changed in the last two weeks because a) they are different scales b) he is still WAY up from the 13 # 12.5 oz we were sitting at for MONTHS. He has gained 1 lb 5 oz on his own since we left the hospital March 19, almost 4 weeks ago.

What does this mean? Well, for starters it means we continue to PRAISE GOD that he is growing :o) Ok, even if he wasn't growing we would still need to praise Him, but it is a lot easier when things are looking up, isn't it? It also means that within a few weeks (we go back in 3 again) he may be on the low-normal end of growth for kids his age!

It doesn't mean that anything has changed in his diagnosis or his treatment. He is still labeled "failure to thrive" (although my cousin and I discussed that they HAVE to put something in the blank on the computer and there really isn't anything else to "call" it) and is still on the same diet. Although clearly he is thriving he is not ON the growth chart so he is not out of the dark yet. he does have his own "growth line" now...and it doesn't go straight across and then down :o)
Baby J will continue to get a 75% PediaSure, 25% breastmilk mix. The doctor said again today that he simply cannot make it on breastmilk or formula alone. His caloric needs are still REALLY high. Why? Your guess is as good as theirs. As long as he grows and continues to develop physically he doesn't need an answer.

Just answered the phone and it was Children's scheduling department. We are practically on a first name basis now. J/K Baby J has an audiologist appointment on May 21. His speech therapist suspects he isn't hearing everything he should. I personally rack it up to MSH* that everyone else, including one of our dogs, in this house has. *Male Selective Hearing

I was so thankful for my sling today. Waiting that long to see people in a tiny room, albeit they have new and interesting toys, gets long for both of us. After he had seen everyone who needed to actually SEE him, I put Sir Cranky Diaper him back up in the sling and he immediatly fell asleep. The dietiation/nutritionalist doesn't have to see him, as much as discuss what the doctor found and then go from there. I was also thankful to not have to lug the entire carseat with me. Now that Baby J is getting bigger, that thing is getting HEAVY. It is kinda nasty out so I made sure that he had a hat on and warm clothes, but being up against my body he's getting quite a bit of warmth too.

SOOOOO, I was really happy to see the doctors really happy...I was really expecting to get to start him on solids again, but not yet. They have tested him for food allergies, which I wasn't aware of. I thought they did it with a skin test and then blood test. apparently while he was in the hospital they ran the necessary blood tests, and went a step further in testing his biopsies from his EGD for Celiac and food allergies. No worries, they found nothing!. He can still have 2 tbs rice cereal approx. 3 days a week. Poor kid is going to go to kindergarten and be eating Gerber 3rd foods. Who am I kidding? I would make it myself, it wouldn't be Gerber. Ok, I exaggerate.

Thank you for your prayers!

P.S. here is a funny for you. I tweeted it last night, but want to share it here also.

Snug "I pay"
#1 "OK"
Snug "Jesus fank you fow fooood, and fank you fow Krogers, amen."
I would normally thank Jesus for Aldi because of their prices, but the free cookie and "car" cart must be higher on Snug's list.

Some of my tweets are not coming through, so my "stories" I send out don't always make sense. I had said "Where was I? In the bathroom." yesterday not just randomly to confuse everyone. I had FIRST typed "Snug dumped the entire laundry basket of clean clothes on top of Baby J". THEN I typed "Where was I? In the bathroom." Seriously, Snug is going to kill him one of these days. First the sucker, then the laundry. Good thing Grandmommy is here to hold down the fort, huh?

Better Late Than Never?

Ok, probably not. Part of the deal when you sign up to have your blog listed in Serious.Life Magazine is that you'll help them advertise by telling your readers when they have a new (free) issue out. Um, it's been out for like a week and I didn't post. I always read (most) of it before I post about it for you. Today I finally had 3 seconds to sit down and check it out! It is getting kinda long, so I don't read all of it. Hey, I am lucky to finish "Parents" magazine before the next issue hits my mailbox and it is sitting right in front of me!
Anyway, Serious.Life April is out, and you should check it out. I liked:
The excerpt from 4 Little Men & Girly Twins
The article by Ken Hamm
My blog being listed

Happy reading!

I ♥ faces Spring

I absolutely have fallen in love with this photography blog. It gives me something to work towards as I take pictures of our family each week. It is also nice to see what other people have entered. I know I am not a photographer, but I can try, right? I do take a photography class! This week there is an amateur category, and I am definitely an amateur. Do you like to take photographs? Go to http://www.iheartfaces.blogspot.com/ and join in!

This week's entry, aside from being amateur, is supposed to be Easter/spring.

This is Snug in his Easter suit standing by his "hide and seek" tree. This tree is where he covers his mouth and counts "one, two, free, here I tum duys!" His eyes show all the excitement he sees in life. Always ready to play, always has something funny to say, always ready for action.

Please leave any polite critisim you have, and please join in this fun photography contest!

I Couldn't Have Said It Better...AND Easter Pictures *UPDATED*

I was all ready to post about what Easter really means...and then I read this and really, I couldn't agree more. So please read this and then come back and finish this post.

I wanted you all to read that because, at our house, we do enjoy Easter eggs and handsome outfits, and time with friends, and big fancy dinners. BUT we know first and foremost that Easter is about Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross. Our Good Friday service and Easter services at church were so good, and really really hit home for me this year. Please enjoy our pictures, but please know that "the bunny" is NOT the reason we have a "Happy Easter". Snug loved decorating Easter eggs with our next door neighbors at their house.Dipping the spoon was probably his favorite part.

Snug and I are planting a garden this year. We are starting some seeds inside. He had fun with the soil more than anything.

These pictures capture so much personality. Snug is quite the comedian and loves to make people laugh. I only hope that he keeps his big personality in check as he grows up so that he does not come off as obnoxious. He is truly the sunshine in our home.

Our project gave me the idea of this dessert for our Easter dinner. It is layers of chocolate pudding and brownie, topped with crushed Oreo (off-brand for me of course!) cookies, dyed coconut, and gummy worms. It was very yummy!

Our boys got their Easter baskets buckets earlier in the week, but still enjoyed showing them off to our neighbors after our shared lunch today. Look who is getting some chub to his cheeks!Snug got this outfit from one of the familys I sit for. Their son wore it in a wedding last year. He didn't want to wear the tie...he wanted to wear a necklace instead. We compromised and he has a necklace on UNDER the shirt :o)Baby J is wearing a 'suit' that Snug wore two years ago. If I remember later I'll post some pics of him wearing it. My power cord isn't working and my battery is dying fast. *Update* wiggled and jiggled and got the cord working...for now. Here is Snug in the same outfit (below). He was like 2 days shy of being 7 months old when these were taken on his first Easter. Look at those cheeks! These pictures give Baby J a little more perspective. Snug was a preemie and always on the low end of the growth chart. He is a month and a half younger than Baby J when I took these pictures and definatly bigger than Baby J is today. The great news was that a little over a week ago when I tried it on him it was too big and I wasn't sure if we'd even bother using it. Due to his recent 'unofficial' growth spurt, he got to wear it! Unofficial is because Wednesday is his official at the GI specialist growth check. I can't WAIT to see her reaction :o)

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Baby J is not as um...as much as a show off (?) as his brother. More the serious type! This picture captures him! (Notice how in many of his pictures his mouth is open a bit? That is part of what we are working on in speech therapy with his muscles...but he is always looking and thinking and watching.)

The boys dressed and ready for church.Mom and dad, see our hardwood floors? I took pictures of the demo but haven't posted them. For our IRL friends, check our Flickr page later if I can get the power source working. This floor was under our carpet.

From our family to yours, HAPPY EASTER!