Recovery

Miles is out of surgery and in the recovery area. We are sitting next to him and he is doing well. He is still sleeping from the anesthesia but did open his eyes a couple times when we were talking to him. The surgeons and nurses said that everything went well during the surgery and that he is doing great. In a little while we will be transported to the pediatric ICU where Miles will stay for a couple days. We will post more as he recovers.

It has been a long day and I'm sure it may be a long night. But, we have felt amazing peace all day and have really felt God's presence here. We also thank God for our assistant pastor and his wife, who are also friends of ours. They came to be with us while waiting for the surgery and helped us pass the time and pray for Miles. God knew that we needed a distraction today!

Scheduled for surgery

Maxon and Miles

Okay if you look at this post and the previous post, there is quite a gap!  Sorry about that; I guess life got busy for us for a while. Anyway, we are doing well, still live in Florida, and now have 2 children. We have our 2 1/2 year old son, Maxon, and our 5 month old son, Miles. It is definitely fun to have two little boys in the house. We are loving it!  And now, here is what is going on most recently:

Our 5 month old, Miles, was born a happy, healthy, and big boy at 8 lbs 12 oz.  Ever since he was born we have noticed that his head was slightly long and narrow. At his 1 and 2 month appointments we asked the pediatrician about it. He told us since his head was symmetrical, just to watch it and it should round out. Just after the 2 month appointment, I took Miles to our chiropractor who mentioned that they would need to monitor his skull shape because some kids who have that long, narrow skull pattern need to have surgery. So we took him each week to the chiropractor for cranio-occipital manipulations. At about 12 weeks the chiropractor mentioned that his head wasn't changing like it should but to give it another month. I went home from that appointment and did some research on the type of surgery for craniosynostosis, which was the skull pattern the chiropractor mentioned. I read that there are 2 different surgeries to treat this, the open procedure or the endoscopic procedure. The endoscopic procedure is only appropriate if the child is under 6 months old. So, after reading that and definitely preferring the endoscopic procedure versus the open, I had Miles to the pediatrician the next day. And from then on, it just got crazy.

The doctor gave us a referral to a craniofacial specialist in Fort Lauderdale. The specialist ordered a CT scan which confirmed the diagnosis of sagittal craniosynostosis. This a condition where the space between the skull bones that runs down the middle is Miles' head, is already fused. Left this way, Miles' brain would not be able to expand correctly as it grows, possibly causing developmental, vision, or hearing issues. The only way to correct this is surgery to remove the part of the skull that is fused and then helmet therapy following the surgery to help the bones shape correctly as he grows. After the craniofacial/pediatric plastic surgeon read the CT scan results, he told us surgery would be necessary and that Miles would be a good candidate for the endoscopic procedure.  So... Fast forward 5-6 weeks and here we are.  That is what we will be doing on Thursday, August 23.

The surgery is going to be done at Joe Demaggio Children's Hospital in Hollywood, FL and Miles should be in the hospital for 3-5 days. We have been through a lot of different emotions the past couple months and have been busy with a lot of doctors appointments. We are thankful that the surgery is finally here so we can get this fixed but are obviously a little nervous. Above all, we know that God is in this situation and no matter what happens he will watch over all of us. We have had a lot of prayers for us lately and have felt an incredible peace so far. We are planning to use this blog to keep family and friends posted on Miles' status as the surgery is completed and as he recovers. Please keep Miles in your prayers; we greatly appreciate it!

Miles

Maxon

Oh my!

Wow, my hat is off to all of you people out there who are bloggers and have children. I set this blog up to keep in touch with family and friends who are far away, but it doesn't help when I only update it every 3-4 months! When I get home from work, it is: cook dinner, eat my dinner and feed Max, do dishes or laundry or both, give Max a bath, play with Max, put Max to bed. By then, I am too tired to do anything on the computer except quickly check Facebook and email. And I only have one child! I know moms out there who have 3, 4, and 5 children who blog constantly. Please tell me, how do you do it? The one thing I cannot do is sit on the computer while Maxon plays - he either comes up to the computer and rips the keys off the keyboard, or I feel so guilty that my face is buried in the computer rather than me spending quality time with my son. Even if I update the blog once per month, that would be an improvment. I promise, I will work on this! :) Anyway, Maxon is very busy now. Not only is he walking and running around, but he is dancing, climbing, and jumping as well. I am finding this to be a difficult stage to keep him safe. He is very quick and has had a few falls already. But, how fun this stage is as well! He tries to talk and say some words, and is getting quite the personality. He wants to be as independent as possible and is definetly learning how to communicate his wants and needs. My cousin, Laurel, gave us a book for one of my baby showers titled, Baby's First Word Book, I think. Each page is a different set of pictures in seperate categories (i.e. "around the house", "toys", "food", "in the garage", "on the beach", etc). Max will go get that book, bring it to me, and point to what he wants. He will point to the soccer ball and then go find it. He will point to the strawberries and then go over to the refridgerator. The other day, Nick did not give Max his breakfast right away and Max got the book, pointed to the yogurt, and cried. How fun that he can advocate for himself now! I know at some point I will wish he didn't advocate for himself so much, but for now I like his resourcefulness.

Holidays and Pre-toddlerhood

Wow! The holidays have kept us busy and I have not looked at this blog since October. I couldn't believe the picture of Max and the pumpkins, and how young he looked! Aww, my little baby is really growing up and changing so much! As we have transitioned to cow's milk instead of breastmilk or formula, are transitioning from baby food to finger foods, and are transitioning from the bottle to a sippy cup, I am realizing that my little guy is not a baby anymore! I am getting a tiny glimpse into toddlerhood as well. This week I have been working hard to get him to use a sippy cup instead of the bottle. After going through about 6 different types of sippy cups, I finally settled on one that he was okay with and that is spill proof (very important!). Well, he will drink juice and water from the cup without problems. However, when it comes to the milk, he has shown me that he wants the bottle instead. How has he shown me? --- tantrums. Full out, arched back, kicking and screaming on the floor tantrums. What happened to my sweet natured baby boy? Now I realize this is just the beginning and so I am trying to take it in stride. I also know that this is a tough transition for him, as will be the day when I take away his pacifier. (Pushing that off until my spring break from work maybe) :)

Maxon is moving around like a little racecar now, and I am busy following him to make sure he doesn't tear the house apart. :) He is able to hold onto furniture and walk very well, and is able to stand on his own without support for approx. 30 seconds up to a minute. His balance improves each time. So far, no steps on his own yet. But, I am sort of dreading that so I am being very patient without difficulty. :) He has such a great personality. He loves to make people laugh and smile and is VERY good at it, even when he is in trouble. :) He is proud of himself when he does new things and appears to be fearless like his father. The best thing about Maxon is he is in a good mood a lot and a very happy baby. Nick is very much like that as well, and so I hope Maxon remains this way. :)

Anyway, the past few months have been wonderful. As you can see from the photos, Maxon enjoyed Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. He and I also went to Michigan to visit my family for a few days prior to Christmas and had a wonderful time! He was able to play in the snow, and go sledding for the first time. He didn't quite know what to think of all that. :) The Thanksgiving picture is Max and his cousin Haddley wearing matching "1st thanksgiving" shirts. The sledding picture is with his uncle Ken, and grandpa. And the picture with all the kids is Maxon and his cousins on Christmas eve. :) As Maxon is getting ready to celebrate his first birthday, I can't help but think back to last year and what I was doing. Last year, this evening I was having a quiet evening alone while Nick was at work (much like tonight this year). I was relaxing, enjoying some snacks and movies on TV; little did I know that I would wake up at 4:30 am the next morning when my water broke. Ah, it seems like yesterday, but so long ago. I have very fond memories of that day or two when we were so excited to meet our little man. And look at him now; I just cannot believe it. We are looking forward to celebrating with him and moving into full-on toddlerhood! :)

New Moves!

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http://www.youtube.com/

Check out the video link above; as you can see, Max (9.5 months old) has some new moves. He is now crawling on all fours, and can transition from laying on his back to being on all fours, to sitting, to kneeling, to standing (while supporting himself with his arms), and back again. And he can also do what we call, "knee walking" with his snazzy toy that we got from some friends at church. He loves to crawl around the floor as fast as he can, just to do it, and also loves to do this "knee walking." And he is so proud of himself when he does it. It is so cute!

Maxon has been eating all sorts of different food, still pureed. The pediatrician told us to start trying some soft finger foods. Well, he is not doing so well with those. He has a fairly strong gag reflex, and so any food that gets to the back of his tongue, causes him to gag. And he doesn't even attempt to chew or "gum" the pieces of food. We have had one major choking incident and so now I've vowed to keep him on a pureed diet until he is 5 years old. :) Just kidding. We will keep trying .... slowly!

Max has been getting his two top teeth in this past week and it has been a little rough! He is chewing like crazy, is pooring out drool, and is VERY irritable! And on top of that, he has been congested with the sniffles. Aww, our poor little guy!

Travelin' Man

You'll have to check out the video on our facebook page. For some reason, we weren't able to upload it onto the blog. Anyway, as you can see in the video, Maxon is now on the move. :) He is now 8 months old and can get anywhere he wants to go by army-crawling. He has been doing very well with everything. Besides moving around more, he is able to sit unsupported, has his two bottom teeth, and is now eating several different fruits and veggies. He loves anything sweet like fruits, sweet potatoes, squash, and carrots, and is not very fond of green beans. :)

We had a wonderful time this summer, just hanging out. We did go to Michigan for almost 2 weeks in August, which was so much fun. Maxon had some good, quality time with his grandma, grandpa, and uncle Ken. He loved being outdoors up there, and loved splashing around in the lake.

Now I am back to work for the school year. :( I am sad to not be home with Max anymore, but am VERY happy with our childcare for him. His Meemee is watching him 3 days per week, with daddy home with him the other 2 days. I am so happy we don't have to put him in daycare yet, and Meemee is right out our back door. So, not only is it very convenient, but he has someone to watch him who loves him! :) Meemee also watches a little girl baby who is Maxon's age and so he has a playmate there also. We couldn't ask for anything better!

Alright, that's all for now. Our computer is fixed now and so maybe I'll be able to update this blog a little more frequently! Thanks for your patience!

Gettin Dunked

The Max man had his second swimming lesson today and his daddy decided to dunk him for the first time.

Here he is swimmin away! He really just wants the toy but we'll pretend he's a natural!!!