Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Tummy Creeping
GO Keaton, Go! Mommy is smiling ear to ear today, tears in the eyes and just so proud to see her son "creeping" across the floor. The Physical Therapist with First Steps came out yesterday and worked with Keaton a little on the tummy creeping and then came out again today and he did it all on his own. He puts one arm out and then pulls the opposite leg to the side and scoots across the ground. Tried getting him to do it later this afternoon and he still did it, but he was pulling both legs up under him at same time instead, and rolling to get places. SO, was still doing it, just not as well. And Kyle got to see him doing it later after the therapists had left and he was so proud and in shock. I don't know what was more fun, seeing Keaton creep or Kyle get so excited. Either way, I am so proud.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Fake Coughing
Keaton has developed this new habit of fake coughing in the mornings. Not sure where he would have learned it since we don't ever cough really. He will wake up about thirty minutes before I get him out of the crib and just fake cough and talk until I go to get him. It is so cute and silly. As I type this though I am getting a little nervous wondering if maybe it is an actual cough or attempt to clear the throat and he is struggling to. Hmmm, will have to bring this up at his nine month check up.
Physical Therapy came yesterday and Keaton was screaming while I was working with McKenna so she offered to put him to bed for me. SO sweet and helpful, so I said yes. Then in the afternoon I noticed he had a scratch on the back of his head, which is a really dry spot of skin too. So I think she may have accidentally scratched him with her watch. Poor guy.
McKenna did really well with her PT yesterday. The therapist decided to try to help her with eating. So she sat McK in her highchair and putting rice cereal all over her hands and face and mouth, and much to my surprise, she allowed it AND she even sucked her lip in and put her cereal covered thumb in her mouth a couple times. I nearly started crying I was so proud and excited. She did gag once but it was such a small gag I hardly think it counts.
She also set an all time low yesterday with retching only four times. Of course two of them had spit-up and one of them was a decent size spit up, but hey, there were only four and we are grateful for that. It's not even 8 this morning and has already had three REALLY bad retches so I think yesterday was just a special blessing.
Alright, McK has really bad hiccups, Keaton is talking and coughing trying to hint he is hungry and ready to get out of the crib, and my house is a wreck. Guess those are signs I should start my day. Praying it's at least half as successful with improvements as yesterday.
Physical Therapy came yesterday and Keaton was screaming while I was working with McKenna so she offered to put him to bed for me. SO sweet and helpful, so I said yes. Then in the afternoon I noticed he had a scratch on the back of his head, which is a really dry spot of skin too. So I think she may have accidentally scratched him with her watch. Poor guy.
McKenna did really well with her PT yesterday. The therapist decided to try to help her with eating. So she sat McK in her highchair and putting rice cereal all over her hands and face and mouth, and much to my surprise, she allowed it AND she even sucked her lip in and put her cereal covered thumb in her mouth a couple times. I nearly started crying I was so proud and excited. She did gag once but it was such a small gag I hardly think it counts.
She also set an all time low yesterday with retching only four times. Of course two of them had spit-up and one of them was a decent size spit up, but hey, there were only four and we are grateful for that. It's not even 8 this morning and has already had three REALLY bad retches so I think yesterday was just a special blessing.
Alright, McK has really bad hiccups, Keaton is talking and coughing trying to hint he is hungry and ready to get out of the crib, and my house is a wreck. Guess those are signs I should start my day. Praying it's at least half as successful with improvements as yesterday.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Sleeping and Talking
My favorite time of night is when McKenna's feeding bag has to be changed. I drag my feet out of bed, turn off the feeding maching, hook her venting up and head to the kitchen knowing that once I hook her new bag up I can stare over her and watch her sleep and then sneak into Keaton's room to make sure he is still breathing and jpeaceful.
Keaton is the cutest sleeper. He sucks his thumb and looks like he is at such peace. Each time I sneak into his room he is in a different position and a different area in his crib. I imagine that if I were to record him one night I would see him tossing and turning. The cutest part is when he is laying on his tummy with his bottom up in the air, arms trapped under his tummy and mouth open drooling. SO so cute!
Keaton now has two teeth on the bottom and he makes a whistle type noise trying to talk. He still doesn't babble any words. But he sure does try. And he has the most adroable laugh. It's contagious. He loves to be held upside down, to do the airplane on mommy's knees and when the word "Peas" is sung. Yeah, not sure why but he does.
Keaton isn't crawling yet, but he certainly is trying! He floats on his tummy, swims his legs and hands in the air and grunts as if that will help his body move. First Steps has taught us to push on one knee at a time to help encourage the crawling but so far it has not helped and just frustrates him more than anything.
McKenna finally found her voice today. She has been making a deep "Cat call" type noise all day. It is hilarious! SHe has been doing raspberries a lot lately, but for her to put a noise with the raspberries, or a noise other than grunting because she wants something is awesome. Brings tears to my eyes and a smile across my face.
McKenna struggles to sleep. She can't really nap well during the day because she has to sleep in the room that all the activities are goin on in due to the retching. So napping is a struggle. ANd at night not sure what it is but she usually wakes up around 2 or 3 and cries loud screams the rest of the night every twenty minutes, making it difficult to get much sleep. But the past week she has had a couple good nights of sleep. Not nights in a row, but still, they are nights of sleep non-the-less. So we are very grateful for that!
McKenna takes after her mommy and sleeps with her hand on her face, or near her head. SHe doesn't do well without something to hug on, like a blanket or stuffed animal. And though it takes her a while to fall asleep, she is the cutest little sleeper you could ever see.
Feel so blessed to be a mom. Even with all the difficulties we have had I still reflect on this year and thank God a million times over that we have our babies, and they are alive. Excited to see the journey God has for them and what they will do, who they will be, where they will go.
Keaton is the cutest sleeper. He sucks his thumb and looks like he is at such peace. Each time I sneak into his room he is in a different position and a different area in his crib. I imagine that if I were to record him one night I would see him tossing and turning. The cutest part is when he is laying on his tummy with his bottom up in the air, arms trapped under his tummy and mouth open drooling. SO so cute!
Keaton now has two teeth on the bottom and he makes a whistle type noise trying to talk. He still doesn't babble any words. But he sure does try. And he has the most adroable laugh. It's contagious. He loves to be held upside down, to do the airplane on mommy's knees and when the word "Peas" is sung. Yeah, not sure why but he does.
Keaton isn't crawling yet, but he certainly is trying! He floats on his tummy, swims his legs and hands in the air and grunts as if that will help his body move. First Steps has taught us to push on one knee at a time to help encourage the crawling but so far it has not helped and just frustrates him more than anything.
McKenna finally found her voice today. She has been making a deep "Cat call" type noise all day. It is hilarious! SHe has been doing raspberries a lot lately, but for her to put a noise with the raspberries, or a noise other than grunting because she wants something is awesome. Brings tears to my eyes and a smile across my face.
McKenna struggles to sleep. She can't really nap well during the day because she has to sleep in the room that all the activities are goin on in due to the retching. So napping is a struggle. ANd at night not sure what it is but she usually wakes up around 2 or 3 and cries loud screams the rest of the night every twenty minutes, making it difficult to get much sleep. But the past week she has had a couple good nights of sleep. Not nights in a row, but still, they are nights of sleep non-the-less. So we are very grateful for that!
McKenna takes after her mommy and sleeps with her hand on her face, or near her head. SHe doesn't do well without something to hug on, like a blanket or stuffed animal. And though it takes her a while to fall asleep, she is the cutest little sleeper you could ever see.
Feel so blessed to be a mom. Even with all the difficulties we have had I still reflect on this year and thank God a million times over that we have our babies, and they are alive. Excited to see the journey God has for them and what they will do, who they will be, where they will go.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Exhausted
Life has become exhausting. I love it, don't get me wrong. But each day I wake up hoping and praying for a miracle for my baby girl. Each day comes to an end with me still waiting. And each day I am continually reminded that MY timing is certainly not GOD'S!
McKenna has done great since she got back from KC. She has improved in so many areas and I am so proud of her. She is sitting up - with support of course - and can even "balance" on her own for up to ten seconds at times. Her head support has improved so much. When we came back she couldn't hold her own head up when sitting or being held. She still can't hold it up after short periods of time because she gets so exhausted but the increase on time she holds it up is great.
McKenna can now play with toys infront of her when laying down. She is enjoying the playmat and pulling on the things dangling in her face. She still can't grab things or really reach out for things when sitting, but occasionally she can do this too and those days are exciting to see.
She is still not eating, but at least she is allowing us to touch her mouth and she makes a game out of it. She sticks her tongue out occasionally too, allowing us to touch it. Speech Therapist says this is great step forward. She also has told us though that each day she doesn't eat is that much closer to her never eating again. And that eating issues can cause speech issues. Talk about pressure to get her eating TODAY.
The thing is that there is so many areas that McKenna has improved but so many areas she still needs to grow or strengthen. Each day I wake up and go through a list in my head of what she needs to work on, how I will work on it, how many therapists will see her that day, what will the follow up be, what will her response to them and treatments be and will we see any improvement. It grows exhausting and depressing. I want to enjoy my babies. Want to hold them, cuddle them, play with them and let them know that life is good, but instead feel like I am continually shoving information and techniques down McKenna's throat just trying to get her one step closer to where Keaton is or where the babies should be with development.
Keaton in the mix of this seems to get ignored a little bit during the day. I do my best to spend time making him laugh, helping him sit, play with toys, but so much of my focus is on getting McKenna better that sometimes thirty minutes will go by before I even notice that I haven't worked with him on anything. It's difficult juggling two babies.
I am so grateful to be a mom and even with the exhaustion of the day - emotional more than physical - and the people coming in and out of the home, and the ongoing activity and craziness I absolutely love my babies, love being a mom and love that God has blessed us by being parents to these two gorgeous children.
McKenna has done great since she got back from KC. She has improved in so many areas and I am so proud of her. She is sitting up - with support of course - and can even "balance" on her own for up to ten seconds at times. Her head support has improved so much. When we came back she couldn't hold her own head up when sitting or being held. She still can't hold it up after short periods of time because she gets so exhausted but the increase on time she holds it up is great.
McKenna can now play with toys infront of her when laying down. She is enjoying the playmat and pulling on the things dangling in her face. She still can't grab things or really reach out for things when sitting, but occasionally she can do this too and those days are exciting to see.
She is still not eating, but at least she is allowing us to touch her mouth and she makes a game out of it. She sticks her tongue out occasionally too, allowing us to touch it. Speech Therapist says this is great step forward. She also has told us though that each day she doesn't eat is that much closer to her never eating again. And that eating issues can cause speech issues. Talk about pressure to get her eating TODAY.
The thing is that there is so many areas that McKenna has improved but so many areas she still needs to grow or strengthen. Each day I wake up and go through a list in my head of what she needs to work on, how I will work on it, how many therapists will see her that day, what will the follow up be, what will her response to them and treatments be and will we see any improvement. It grows exhausting and depressing. I want to enjoy my babies. Want to hold them, cuddle them, play with them and let them know that life is good, but instead feel like I am continually shoving information and techniques down McKenna's throat just trying to get her one step closer to where Keaton is or where the babies should be with development.
Keaton in the mix of this seems to get ignored a little bit during the day. I do my best to spend time making him laugh, helping him sit, play with toys, but so much of my focus is on getting McKenna better that sometimes thirty minutes will go by before I even notice that I haven't worked with him on anything. It's difficult juggling two babies.
I am so grateful to be a mom and even with the exhaustion of the day - emotional more than physical - and the people coming in and out of the home, and the ongoing activity and craziness I absolutely love my babies, love being a mom and love that God has blessed us by being parents to these two gorgeous children.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Teething
Woo hoo. Last night Keaton started cutting a tooth on the bottom front. It has broken skin but it doesn't really show yet, you can just feel it. What an exciting thing to discover. He hasn't been too fussy until this afternoon/evening. So we gave him a little Tylenol. He has been really tired all day though and seems warn out. Excited for the teeth that show. He is going to be adorable with them.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Scootin' and Pushin'
Poor little Keaton wants so badly to crawl, get around on his own and be independent. He can't even sit up yet on his own but is already trying so hard to scoot and reach things. First Steps is teaching us how to help him learn to crawl or grab things. Really it seems to frustrate him more than anything.
Keaton talks all the time now. He grunts so loud when playing and interacting and his laugh is the most wonderful sound a mother could hear. He is a true joy to watch and play with. We are so blessed.
We are working on a few different things with Keaton. Sitting up is the main one. He can sit on his own for about five seconds. Daddy says it's just mommy balancing him, but I still consider it "sitting". We are working on him crawling too, standing, talking or saying coo words and much more.
Keaton weighs 15 lbs 8 oz. He is eating oatmeal daily and we will give him baby food starting this week. He is 25 inches long and can finally use his toy that helps him stand on his own if we put pads under it so his feet can rest flat. It's fun to watch him on his own.
McKenna is doing better too. She is more energetic and reaching out for toys more. Still not doing much on belly time. She doesn't have back or arm muscles really, but you can see her trying so hard to push herself up to see what's going on.
McKenna has the most amazing smile. She scrunches her nose and opens her mouth like she is going to bust out laughing. It is contagious.
We are working currently on McKenna sitting up, standing with support, belly time and lifting her head on her belly. Also doing sit ups to build the arm and back muscles and trying to get her to use her left hand more - she is very right side dominant. It is so fun to watch her growing and to see how quikly she is catching on to things.
McKenna currently weighs 13 lbs...yes, she hit 13 lbs last night and we were so excited. She is 23 inches long. She eats special formula but is still fed through a feeding tube. Can't have anything in her mouth without it causing her to gag or retch, but when we feed Keaton oatmeal each day we offer her water on a spoon so she learns that she is suppose to eat. Occasionally that makes her gag too but for the most part she keeps her mouth shut or just grins at us as if to say "goodness no...you ain't gettin' that in here". Yes, her grammar is amazing.
Keaton talks all the time now. He grunts so loud when playing and interacting and his laugh is the most wonderful sound a mother could hear. He is a true joy to watch and play with. We are so blessed.
We are working on a few different things with Keaton. Sitting up is the main one. He can sit on his own for about five seconds. Daddy says it's just mommy balancing him, but I still consider it "sitting". We are working on him crawling too, standing, talking or saying coo words and much more.
Keaton weighs 15 lbs 8 oz. He is eating oatmeal daily and we will give him baby food starting this week. He is 25 inches long and can finally use his toy that helps him stand on his own if we put pads under it so his feet can rest flat. It's fun to watch him on his own.
McKenna is doing better too. She is more energetic and reaching out for toys more. Still not doing much on belly time. She doesn't have back or arm muscles really, but you can see her trying so hard to push herself up to see what's going on.
McKenna has the most amazing smile. She scrunches her nose and opens her mouth like she is going to bust out laughing. It is contagious.
We are working currently on McKenna sitting up, standing with support, belly time and lifting her head on her belly. Also doing sit ups to build the arm and back muscles and trying to get her to use her left hand more - she is very right side dominant. It is so fun to watch her growing and to see how quikly she is catching on to things.
McKenna currently weighs 13 lbs...yes, she hit 13 lbs last night and we were so excited. She is 23 inches long. She eats special formula but is still fed through a feeding tube. Can't have anything in her mouth without it causing her to gag or retch, but when we feed Keaton oatmeal each day we offer her water on a spoon so she learns that she is suppose to eat. Occasionally that makes her gag too but for the most part she keeps her mouth shut or just grins at us as if to say "goodness no...you ain't gettin' that in here". Yes, her grammar is amazing.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Hanging On, Kind Of
Have never felt so helpless, stressed, sad for my baby girl. Watching them dig a hole into her stomach with scissors yesterday, without pain meds or numbing cream, was heart breaking and makes me feel so guilty. Not sure what else I can do to help her or how to make her feel better or get better or move forward with a healthier future and it is so frustrating that doctors here have no answers, doctors in KC don't care, and we are left here as parents helpless with no direction or hope. Praying tonight is the night of miracles and that God heals our baby and that this is just one more stage to her testimony.
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