Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Let the good news keep coming!!
Billy had his "early intervention" evaluation yesterday with Denver Options. Denver Options early intervention program is basically designed to help children who are behind in regards to milestones. The idea is that the sooner you address the issue, the sooner you can start to fix it. Billy's pediatrician thought that he might be behind in his speech/language skills, so he referred us to them. He wanted to be especially proactive given billy's epilepsy. When i spoke to a representative from denver options, she decided that due to his condition, he should be evaluated in all areas of development (cognitive, gross motor, fine motor, language etc...). We went through the evaluation and they basically said "sorry, we can't treat him. he's RIGHT ON TARGET!!" Yay!!! He hasn't fallen behind at all!! That's such great news, b/c epilepsy (and i'm sure any condition involving the brain) typically has a pretty significant effect on development, specifically cognitive development. I don't think Kyle and I could be more psyched (except for when we heard he didn't have a metabolic disorder)! It feels like such a weight has been lifted! God has been (and continues to be) very, VERY good to us!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Reflecting
Today was Billy's second Easter. I was thinking today about how different this Easter was compared to last Easter. Most obviously, Billy has gotten MUCH bigger and so independent. Last Easter he was only a few days old and was held 90% of the time. This year, he wanted to crawl all over the place and didn't want to sit still for more than 30 seconds! Kyle and I have changed a lot too. This time last year we were so insecure about our every move as parents, and doubted ourselves constantly. This year, we move fluidly through every situation, and rely on each other when one of us gets that insecure feeling. Maybe I should have noticed these things more around his birthday, but there was so much going on. I think now that he has been cleared of any metabolic disease/disorder (thank the Lord), my mind is much clearer :o) This year brought so many struggles, but together as a family, we dealt with everything much better than I would have thought. It has brought Kyle and I even closer. And it has most definitely strengthened our bond with and faith in God. Although I am still racked with anxiety about how another little one will change our world, I find comfort in our new "abilities" and especially in our faith in God. We can do everything in Him who gives us strength.
Okay, serious portion over :o) Here are some updates:
Billy got his 3rd tooth today! It's on the top, to the left of the middle. How silly that will look if it fully makes it's way through before the other 3! Then we might have to call him hill billy :o)
My daytime sickness seems to have disappeared. However, night sickness has taken it's place. I feel pretty nauseous every night right around bedtime. Screw you, hormones! Not baby, HORMONES! :o) (knocked-up, anyone?)
Kyle and I were hoping for a few weeks for this little bambino to be a girl, but we've sort-of flip-flopped. Of course EVERYONE says they just want a healthy baby, doesn't matter if it's a boy or a girl. Duh. But honestly, we don't have a preference this time. We're thinking we want a girl eventually, so if this is her, GREAT! But, Billy also NEEDS a baby brother to rough house with...so if this is a boy, GREAT! So, waiting for the gender ultrasound is really not something I am counting down to. All it will really do is determine how i decorate his/her room (b/c the grandparents will go crazy buying anything else we'd need). And I don't even want to think about what effort that would take right now...i'm exhausted. Always. Naps are my favorite.
Like i briefly mentioned before, Billy has been cleared of any metabolic disorder. So officially he has "non-categorical epilepsy." Basically all we can do is assume that his brain was/is growing at such a rapid rate that "wires" got crossed, resulting in seizure activity. Hopefully in november we can discuss taking him off his meds :o) This is also a great diagnosis b/c now we can stop worrying about his small stature. He's not small b/c something is wrong. He's small b/c that's how he is. That's how God made him. And he's perfect :o) Let me tell you, having a small child certainly has it's advantages: easy to carry, rarely have to move up a size in clothing=rarely buying new clothes, smaller diapers are cheaper, perhaps we can work the system and let him travel as a lap child for longer since he looks so young! Okay, so maybe that last one isn't true, but the others are!
I feel more excited for this baby now. Maybe not as excited as i was for billy. I'm still very anxious about how it will all work out (with a toddler, sleep deprivation, a husband on shift, hormonal issues etc...), but i have been looking at the future with this baby in a more positive light. Don't get me wrong, there wasn't a point where i outright didn't want to be pregnant. It's just that i kept focusing on how hard it will be. But lately, I've been trying to focus on how great it will be. Specifically watching the 2 kiddos play together, and watching another little miracle hit all the incredible milestones.
Wow that was a long post! Maybe i should start posting little posts but more often...probably not gonna happen :o)
Okay, serious portion over :o) Here are some updates:
Billy got his 3rd tooth today! It's on the top, to the left of the middle. How silly that will look if it fully makes it's way through before the other 3! Then we might have to call him hill billy :o)
My daytime sickness seems to have disappeared. However, night sickness has taken it's place. I feel pretty nauseous every night right around bedtime. Screw you, hormones! Not baby, HORMONES! :o) (knocked-up, anyone?)
Kyle and I were hoping for a few weeks for this little bambino to be a girl, but we've sort-of flip-flopped. Of course EVERYONE says they just want a healthy baby, doesn't matter if it's a boy or a girl. Duh. But honestly, we don't have a preference this time. We're thinking we want a girl eventually, so if this is her, GREAT! But, Billy also NEEDS a baby brother to rough house with...so if this is a boy, GREAT! So, waiting for the gender ultrasound is really not something I am counting down to. All it will really do is determine how i decorate his/her room (b/c the grandparents will go crazy buying anything else we'd need). And I don't even want to think about what effort that would take right now...i'm exhausted. Always. Naps are my favorite.
Like i briefly mentioned before, Billy has been cleared of any metabolic disorder. So officially he has "non-categorical epilepsy." Basically all we can do is assume that his brain was/is growing at such a rapid rate that "wires" got crossed, resulting in seizure activity. Hopefully in november we can discuss taking him off his meds :o) This is also a great diagnosis b/c now we can stop worrying about his small stature. He's not small b/c something is wrong. He's small b/c that's how he is. That's how God made him. And he's perfect :o) Let me tell you, having a small child certainly has it's advantages: easy to carry, rarely have to move up a size in clothing=rarely buying new clothes, smaller diapers are cheaper, perhaps we can work the system and let him travel as a lap child for longer since he looks so young! Okay, so maybe that last one isn't true, but the others are!
I feel more excited for this baby now. Maybe not as excited as i was for billy. I'm still very anxious about how it will all work out (with a toddler, sleep deprivation, a husband on shift, hormonal issues etc...), but i have been looking at the future with this baby in a more positive light. Don't get me wrong, there wasn't a point where i outright didn't want to be pregnant. It's just that i kept focusing on how hard it will be. But lately, I've been trying to focus on how great it will be. Specifically watching the 2 kiddos play together, and watching another little miracle hit all the incredible milestones.
Wow that was a long post! Maybe i should start posting little posts but more often...probably not gonna happen :o)
Saturday, March 26, 2011
I am no good at this!
Man. It has been so long since i've done a billy update. I think i'm using facebook as my updater a little too much. I'll try my best to change that from here on out! That could be hard though since...
WE'RE EXPECTING!!! the little mister or miss (cross your fingers for that "miss") will be here around Nov 14th!
Yeah, I know to most of you (all 4 of you that read this), this is old news. But i have to document it somewhere other than facebook! And Lord knows i am not going to actually grab a pen and write this stuff down :o)
So yeah, i'll try to be more frequent with my posts, but that may be hard since i just started a job as a nanny (love it) and i've been feeling pretty nauseous rather often lately!
Billy will be one, a whole year, in just a few days. I know its mostly hormones, but that thought makes me want to cry. I mean BAWL. The first few months with billy were pretty rough, but then time just started flying by, and that breaks my heart! I'm trying to make a point to really focus on him, to try really hard to save these memories, before the 3 of us turn into the 4 of us! Don't get me wrong, I am THRILLED we will soon have another little baby to love, but the thought of not being able to spend as much focused time on Billy breaks my heart. I know it'll be good for him: he'll gain more independence, and eventually have a partner in crime (amongst many other things). But it still makes me a little bit sad. And guilty. Sad that i will probably miss out on things i would have noticed without the sleep deprivation and distraction of another kiddo. And guilty that we've brought this on him (what sometimes seems like) too early. I'm going to make a concentrated effort to take more picture of the 2 of us (and daddy when he's not working, poor daddy) so that we have them to look back on some day (since i seem to have the memory of a goldfish, haha). Like i said, i'm sure its the hormones making me feel this way, but that doesnt make it any easier!!
I'd like to keep this as a special place strictly for billy memories, but i think it'd be silly to have a blog for each kiddo... So, the address and title of this blog will stay the same for now, but i'm sure i'll be changing it in the near future!
I should really get some sleep before the next wave of nausea hits :o) Nite!
WE'RE EXPECTING!!! the little mister or miss (cross your fingers for that "miss") will be here around Nov 14th!
Yeah, I know to most of you (all 4 of you that read this), this is old news. But i have to document it somewhere other than facebook! And Lord knows i am not going to actually grab a pen and write this stuff down :o)
So yeah, i'll try to be more frequent with my posts, but that may be hard since i just started a job as a nanny (love it) and i've been feeling pretty nauseous rather often lately!
Billy will be one, a whole year, in just a few days. I know its mostly hormones, but that thought makes me want to cry. I mean BAWL. The first few months with billy were pretty rough, but then time just started flying by, and that breaks my heart! I'm trying to make a point to really focus on him, to try really hard to save these memories, before the 3 of us turn into the 4 of us! Don't get me wrong, I am THRILLED we will soon have another little baby to love, but the thought of not being able to spend as much focused time on Billy breaks my heart. I know it'll be good for him: he'll gain more independence, and eventually have a partner in crime (amongst many other things). But it still makes me a little bit sad. And guilty. Sad that i will probably miss out on things i would have noticed without the sleep deprivation and distraction of another kiddo. And guilty that we've brought this on him (what sometimes seems like) too early. I'm going to make a concentrated effort to take more picture of the 2 of us (and daddy when he's not working, poor daddy) so that we have them to look back on some day (since i seem to have the memory of a goldfish, haha). Like i said, i'm sure its the hormones making me feel this way, but that doesnt make it any easier!!
I'd like to keep this as a special place strictly for billy memories, but i think it'd be silly to have a blog for each kiddo... So, the address and title of this blog will stay the same for now, but i'm sure i'll be changing it in the near future!
I should really get some sleep before the next wave of nausea hits :o) Nite!
Monday, January 24, 2011
So much to catch up on!
Once again, it's been months since i posted. Watching 2 kids while trying to cook and clean (and catch up on my favorite shows, haha) doesn't leave a whole lot of time for posting! I'll post the highlights of Christmas later (maybe?), but here is a video of billy's latest skill!
He took a few more "steps" (i am not sure what to call the individual movements involved in crawling...) before I could find the camera. He still prefers to army crawl, but every once in a while he'll sneak this in!
He took a few more "steps" (i am not sure what to call the individual movements involved in crawling...) before I could find the camera. He still prefers to army crawl, but every once in a while he'll sneak this in!
Friday, November 5, 2010
Has it REALLY been that long?
wow. Sorry for the lack of updating. I can't believe i haven't posted since AUGUST! I'm embarrassed. So much has gone on...let me see if i can give you the cliff's notes version of our last 3 months...
September was spent in Montana, and we had a blast. I took a ton of pictures!! Billy went on his first flight,
went to his first parade,
his first carousel ride,
his first football game (and first tailgate, but he did NOT enjoy that),
he met SO many family members (ggma joan, ggma fonise, uncle mark, aunt jeri, uncle adam and a TON of cousins), he learned to actually eat baby food (and discovered his LOVE of prunes, and severe dislike of green beans), he learned how to shake his rattle and put his paci in his mouth, he went (temporarily) from 3 naps to 2 naps a day, he got a little better at sitting up,
we bought him a new exersaucer that he loves,
he learned how to scoot backwards in his walker,
October was even more exciting, but in a much different way. The first 2 weeks were spent bascially lounging at home and meeting up with all the friends we missed. Then we went to AZ for a week, and that's where it got REALLY exciting. First, the good news: Billy perfected his ability to sit,
he rolled from back to front, and he ate an entire jar of baby food in ONE SITTING! Now, on to the not-so-great but not-so-terrible news: He had 4 seizures. Not the kind one typically pictures (falling on the floor, shaking uncontrollably). Basically he had focal seizures where he zoned out and didn't take any breaths for about 30-45 seconds. then he came to and fell asleep almost immediately. Lynda and I took him to the hospital and they admitted him. They performed test after test (upper GI scan, EKG, blood work, urine analysis, EEG and finally and MRI) and he stayed a strong, happy boy through most of it.
Even with the IV in his hand (which he chewed on)
And again with the IV in his head
The tests determined that he had in fact had seizures. They put him on medicine and we haven't witnessed another since (thank GOD). However, the side effects of the meds are less than pleasant (irritability, drowsiness, rage, low appetite...), but he is getting over them!
November thus far has been rather uneventful. We spent most of it working through his new found attitude (thanks to the meds). We recently let a little girl name zoey in on our everyday fun (I watch her while her mommy and daddy work), and it has been wonderful! She has influenced little Billy in so many ways. He talks more, eats more solids, and has even started to use rolling over as a form of transportation :o) We love having her around.
Well, that's all for now! Tomorrow is turkey day, and I'm sure i'll have plenty of fun pictures to post of billy eating!! yay!
September was spent in Montana, and we had a blast. I took a ton of pictures!! Billy went on his first flight,
went to his first parade,
his first carousel ride,
his first football game (and first tailgate, but he did NOT enjoy that),
he met SO many family members (ggma joan, ggma fonise, uncle mark, aunt jeri, uncle adam and a TON of cousins), he learned to actually eat baby food (and discovered his LOVE of prunes, and severe dislike of green beans), he learned how to shake his rattle and put his paci in his mouth, he went (temporarily) from 3 naps to 2 naps a day, he got a little better at sitting up,
we bought him a new exersaucer that he loves,
he learned how to scoot backwards in his walker,
October was even more exciting, but in a much different way. The first 2 weeks were spent bascially lounging at home and meeting up with all the friends we missed. Then we went to AZ for a week, and that's where it got REALLY exciting. First, the good news: Billy perfected his ability to sit,
he rolled from back to front, and he ate an entire jar of baby food in ONE SITTING! Now, on to the not-so-great but not-so-terrible news: He had 4 seizures. Not the kind one typically pictures (falling on the floor, shaking uncontrollably). Basically he had focal seizures where he zoned out and didn't take any breaths for about 30-45 seconds. then he came to and fell asleep almost immediately. Lynda and I took him to the hospital and they admitted him. They performed test after test (upper GI scan, EKG, blood work, urine analysis, EEG and finally and MRI) and he stayed a strong, happy boy through most of it.
Even with the IV in his hand (which he chewed on)
And again with the IV in his head
The tests determined that he had in fact had seizures. They put him on medicine and we haven't witnessed another since (thank GOD). However, the side effects of the meds are less than pleasant (irritability, drowsiness, rage, low appetite...), but he is getting over them!
November thus far has been rather uneventful. We spent most of it working through his new found attitude (thanks to the meds). We recently let a little girl name zoey in on our everyday fun (I watch her while her mommy and daddy work), and it has been wonderful! She has influenced little Billy in so many ways. He talks more, eats more solids, and has even started to use rolling over as a form of transportation :o) We love having her around.
Well, that's all for now! Tomorrow is turkey day, and I'm sure i'll have plenty of fun pictures to post of billy eating!! yay!
Monday, August 16, 2010
Some of Billy's faves (in no particular order)
His daddy
His swing
His grandparents
His mommy
His bumbo
Trees
His bibs
His soft/scrunchy toys
His floor gym
His johnny-jump-up
His hands
His paci
Sleeping
Waking up
Blowing bubbles
Eating
His reflection
His bath
His feet
His swing
His grandparents
His mommy
His bumbo
Trees
His bibs
His soft/scrunchy toys
His floor gym
His johnny-jump-up
His hands
His paci
Sleeping
Waking up
Blowing bubbles
Eating
His reflection
His bath
His feet
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Swimming :o)
Billy and I decided to go swimming with Sophia and her mommy Amanda yesterday. After his nap I fed him and put his little swimmers diaper on and then i put his sunscreen on and then i put his tiny trunks on.
I didn't want his little belly or back to get too much sun on our walk to the pool, so I grabbed the tee-shirt that uncle David bought him and forced it over his large head. Doesn't he look so much like daddy with the huskers shirt and trunks?
Definitely an "outfit" daddy would wear.
I was excited to put his life vest on him for the first time!! He loved it at first, b/c he could hold on to it.
But when we got in the water, the vest floated while his body sank a little, so the vest ended up pushing those chubby cheeks up to his eyes! :o) Very cute, but not very comfy for him. I told kyle what happened and he said "did you put it on the right way?" and I gave him a little attitude and said "is there a WRONG way to put on a life vest?!?" and then he reminded me of the straps that go between the legs to hold it down. oops. Definitely forgot to use those, hehe. So we are going to try again on Sunday, with daddy around, to see if billy like it better when it's on right!
I didn't want his little belly or back to get too much sun on our walk to the pool, so I grabbed the tee-shirt that uncle David bought him and forced it over his large head. Doesn't he look so much like daddy with the huskers shirt and trunks?
Definitely an "outfit" daddy would wear.I was excited to put his life vest on him for the first time!! He loved it at first, b/c he could hold on to it.
But when we got in the water, the vest floated while his body sank a little, so the vest ended up pushing those chubby cheeks up to his eyes! :o) Very cute, but not very comfy for him. I told kyle what happened and he said "did you put it on the right way?" and I gave him a little attitude and said "is there a WRONG way to put on a life vest?!?" and then he reminded me of the straps that go between the legs to hold it down. oops. Definitely forgot to use those, hehe. So we are going to try again on Sunday, with daddy around, to see if billy like it better when it's on right!
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