I'm going back to work tomorrow! UGH! I've really enjoyed my maternity leave and I'm very thankful that I have a job that allows me to take this much time off. But alas, all good things have to come to an end. And I'm back tomorrow. Austin is going to start daycare and I'm not pleased about this. I know once he gets mobile, it will be much easier. I'm just worried that they won't follow through with all of the physical therapy he needs and I certainly don't want to see him regress at all. Jake is very excited though that Austin will be at the same school as him, so I know he will keep an eye on him throughout the day.
In other news, Austin learned a new trick last week. He ROLLS! He has mastered rolling from his back to his stomach, but not so much from his stomach to his back. Its very hard to keep him on his back now, and he's really enjoying his tummy. I got it on video...
He is also loving his exersaucer (with a blanket around his middle to keep him snug in place since he's still too little for it). Jake is an excellent helper with showing him how all of his toys work :)
Say a little prayer for Austin that he adjusts well at daycare and that the teachers follow through with the necessary therapies and precautions for him....mommy is soooo sad :(
Monday, September 26, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
Happy Birthday to the big boy!
4 years ago, we welcomed into this world the most perfect little boy any parent could imagine. Little did we know that day that Jake was deaf and his diagnosis would start a whirlwind of events that would effect everyone around him (for the better). As parents, we have had to watch our son go through numerous doctor's appointments (more bloodwork than I can even remember), therapy appointments, two surgeries, two ER visits, two leaves of absences from work, three daycares/schools to accommodate his therapies, thousands and thousands of miles on our cars driving to appointments a few times a week, and changing our lifestyle to adapt to a child with hearing loss.
I wish I could say that these past four years have been easy. They haven't. We have had to do things to help our son learn how to listen and eventually speak; things other parents take for granted. We have had to adapt to having a child who can't hear us during bath time, pool time and sleep time. We went through a year of having our son wear a hat at all waking hours of the day because he would take his "ears" off and put them into his mouth, or throw them across the room. We had to learn sign language so that we could communicate with our son. We have had to watch our son have balance issues and be the one to always fall when all of his friends were already running and jumping. We have had to hear alot of comments (some not so nice ones) about our son and "what those things are on his head". I could go on for days about how much our lives have changed. And more importantly, how much Jake has had to endure.
But all in all, I wouldn't change this experience for the world. We don't take anything for granted. Every milestone, every accomplishment, is so amazing. And the most important thing of all is that Jake is the best little boy I know (and I'm not just saying that because I'm his mom).
We have watched our son grow into a little man and he is a pure delight. Kevin and I are able to look back at these years and laugh at all we've been through. Yes, laugh. And because of all he has been through, and all of his hard work, he is in a mainstream Pre-Kindergarten class (one of the youngest in his class by the way) and at the same level as his hearing peers...who I might add, have been hearing over a year longer than him! Pretty awesome lil guy he is!!!
Oh how he has changed in these past four years....
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY FAVORITE BIG BOY. LOVE YOU BUDDY AND I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!!!
I wish I could say that these past four years have been easy. They haven't. We have had to do things to help our son learn how to listen and eventually speak; things other parents take for granted. We have had to adapt to having a child who can't hear us during bath time, pool time and sleep time. We went through a year of having our son wear a hat at all waking hours of the day because he would take his "ears" off and put them into his mouth, or throw them across the room. We had to learn sign language so that we could communicate with our son. We have had to watch our son have balance issues and be the one to always fall when all of his friends were already running and jumping. We have had to hear alot of comments (some not so nice ones) about our son and "what those things are on his head". I could go on for days about how much our lives have changed. And more importantly, how much Jake has had to endure.
But all in all, I wouldn't change this experience for the world. We don't take anything for granted. Every milestone, every accomplishment, is so amazing. And the most important thing of all is that Jake is the best little boy I know (and I'm not just saying that because I'm his mom).
We have watched our son grow into a little man and he is a pure delight. Kevin and I are able to look back at these years and laugh at all we've been through. Yes, laugh. And because of all he has been through, and all of his hard work, he is in a mainstream Pre-Kindergarten class (one of the youngest in his class by the way) and at the same level as his hearing peers...who I might add, have been hearing over a year longer than him! Pretty awesome lil guy he is!!!
Oh how he has changed in these past four years....
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| 4 weeks old |
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| 1 year (enter HATS) |
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| 2 years |
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| 3 years |
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| 4 YEARS!!! |
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY FAVORITE BIG BOY. LOVE YOU BUDDY AND I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!!!
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
5 months old!
Austin has a new nickname...Gooser. (Silly Goose has migrated to "Gooser") He loves it, haha. If you know me, you are not surprised, as I have nicknames for everyone! So, the lil Gooser turned 5 months old yesterday. I can't even believe it. I came across an email today that I sent out to my family and friends a few months after we received Austin's diagnosis. Just reading that email again made me upset. If I had known on that day as I wrote that email, what kind of post I would write today, 8 months later, I would have been so grateful...and most importantly, I would have enjoyed the remainder of my pregnancy.
Austin is doing great. PERFECT actually. We are never "out of the woods" so to speak, but I really couldn't have asked and prayed for him to be any more perfect than he is. Several people have asked me to call up those doctors who were so negative during my pregnancy and let them know how perfect Austin is. Several people want me to scream at those doctors, to tell them how horrible they are to have put our family through what they put us through. But, thats not the type of person I am. And I really, truly, 100% believe, that Austin is a miracle. I really believe that those doctors were telling us the truth about how much fluid there was, and what they have experienced seeing ultrasounds like Austin. I do feel that they could have "educated" us better and maybe went about it all differently, but all in all, I'm not mad. This experience has strengthened my faith so much more. I put my faith and trust in the Lord, and I received a little angel.
And an angel he is. He is such a happy boy. Smiling and laughing all the time. He now weighs over 16 pounds. We started rice cereal a few weeks ago. He is still trying to get the hang of it, but he is doing well with it. He still gets physical therapy once a week and he is doing very well with it. He is putting lots of pressure on that shunt side of his head now. He rolls over onto both of his sides from laying on his back. He does well with tummy time. We are working on getting him to put more pressure onto his hands on tummy time. He reaches and grabs for toys and tries to sit himself up when reclined in his bouncy chair. He also puts nice pressure on his legs. The only thing he doesn't do (that he should at this age) is reach and grab for his feet. We are encouraging that though and I'm sure he'll pick it up quickly.
Here are some recent pics and a cute video. (He is laughing at his brother saying "Wipey, Wipey" as he was swinging a wipe around)
Austin is doing great. PERFECT actually. We are never "out of the woods" so to speak, but I really couldn't have asked and prayed for him to be any more perfect than he is. Several people have asked me to call up those doctors who were so negative during my pregnancy and let them know how perfect Austin is. Several people want me to scream at those doctors, to tell them how horrible they are to have put our family through what they put us through. But, thats not the type of person I am. And I really, truly, 100% believe, that Austin is a miracle. I really believe that those doctors were telling us the truth about how much fluid there was, and what they have experienced seeing ultrasounds like Austin. I do feel that they could have "educated" us better and maybe went about it all differently, but all in all, I'm not mad. This experience has strengthened my faith so much more. I put my faith and trust in the Lord, and I received a little angel.
And an angel he is. He is such a happy boy. Smiling and laughing all the time. He now weighs over 16 pounds. We started rice cereal a few weeks ago. He is still trying to get the hang of it, but he is doing well with it. He still gets physical therapy once a week and he is doing very well with it. He is putting lots of pressure on that shunt side of his head now. He rolls over onto both of his sides from laying on his back. He does well with tummy time. We are working on getting him to put more pressure onto his hands on tummy time. He reaches and grabs for toys and tries to sit himself up when reclined in his bouncy chair. He also puts nice pressure on his legs. The only thing he doesn't do (that he should at this age) is reach and grab for his feet. We are encouraging that though and I'm sure he'll pick it up quickly.
Here are some recent pics and a cute video. (He is laughing at his brother saying "Wipey, Wipey" as he was swinging a wipe around)
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Earthquakes and Hurricanes
In the short 4 months Austin has been in this world, he has gotten to experience an earthquake, a hurricane turned into a tropical storm, flooding, power outages, trees down, road closures and evacuations! All in the same week!!!!!
Thankfully, we were very lucky and only had some minor damage with trees down (and power outage) when Hurricane Irene hit this past sunday. Have to admit, it was the scariest storm I have ever witnessed....with the winds knocking down MANY trees by us. Our backyard is very steep with many, many tall trees. We decided to leave mid-storm once the first tree fell, coming within a few feet from the house. Kevin and I really thought we would return that evening to find a tree through the house....thankfully that was not the case!
Here is one of the trees....
Prayers and thoughts to all of the families that lossed a loved one or had damage to their homes and neighborhoods. Hope everyone was able to stay safe. And special thanks to G, N, B and K for allowing us to house crash during the storm....
Thankfully, we were very lucky and only had some minor damage with trees down (and power outage) when Hurricane Irene hit this past sunday. Have to admit, it was the scariest storm I have ever witnessed....with the winds knocking down MANY trees by us. Our backyard is very steep with many, many tall trees. We decided to leave mid-storm once the first tree fell, coming within a few feet from the house. Kevin and I really thought we would return that evening to find a tree through the house....thankfully that was not the case!
Here is one of the trees....
Prayers and thoughts to all of the families that lossed a loved one or had damage to their homes and neighborhoods. Hope everyone was able to stay safe. And special thanks to G, N, B and K for allowing us to house crash during the storm....
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
4 months!
Austin is 4 months old already! I know I've said it a million times, but time is flying!!! He is doing great. He is where he should be for his age in all areas. Gross motor he is really improving and really starting to stretch out and use the right side. We started infant massage last week as well, which he really enjoys. He is laughing now (still waiting to get that on video). He actually began to laugh at Jake initially, just out of the blue. He is infatuated with Jake...loves him and just stares at him. He's still eating like a champ too....almost too much. He eats every two hours (although we've been trying to stretch him out a little more), about 5 ounces a clip! And boy if you go 10 minutes past that that two hour mark, he's screaming like he's never eaten before!!! He continues to sleep through the night (from about 9:30pm to 5:30am). Its all a matter of routine now, which he has taken onto very well thankfully.
We met with the neurosurgeon last thursday to go over the MRI results. She showed us a comparison picture from Austin's brain at birth to his brain now and the back of his head has a lot less fluid. There is still quite a bit of fluid in the front part, but since they turned up the settings on his shunt, we anticipate that by his next MRI in six months, that fluid should be down as well. The report read that he is missing his septum pellicidum (which is the membrane between the ventricles and brain) and that only part of the corpus callosum can be viewed. Both of which may still be related to the increased fluid in his brain, but its too early to tell. Either way, he continues to do fantastic, so the findings don't really matter that much.
I tried him in the baby carrier (facing me) and he hated it. I thought he was too little to be facing forward, but I decided to try it that way....and he LOVES it. So much so that he wants to stay in it for hours....hurts my back though so we do about an hour. And boy is he cooing and "talking". So funny! Loving every minute of him.
Here are some recent photos...
We met with the neurosurgeon last thursday to go over the MRI results. She showed us a comparison picture from Austin's brain at birth to his brain now and the back of his head has a lot less fluid. There is still quite a bit of fluid in the front part, but since they turned up the settings on his shunt, we anticipate that by his next MRI in six months, that fluid should be down as well. The report read that he is missing his septum pellicidum (which is the membrane between the ventricles and brain) and that only part of the corpus callosum can be viewed. Both of which may still be related to the increased fluid in his brain, but its too early to tell. Either way, he continues to do fantastic, so the findings don't really matter that much.
I tried him in the baby carrier (facing me) and he hated it. I thought he was too little to be facing forward, but I decided to try it that way....and he LOVES it. So much so that he wants to stay in it for hours....hurts my back though so we do about an hour. And boy is he cooing and "talking". So funny! Loving every minute of him.
Here are some recent photos...
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| Talking to "Mr. Sheep" |
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| Tummy Time |
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| Showing off his "Looking to the right" skills |
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| Happy Head |
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| Some lovin from the Big Bro |
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| The boys and their "Yankees" |
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| More brotherly love |
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| Lovin mommy time in the carrier! |
Monday, August 8, 2011
Signs (PART DEUCE!)
For those of you "non believers" (in signs of course!) out there, you have to re-read my original "Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs" post here:
http://miracleinweyville.blogspot.com/2011/01/signs-signs-everywhere-signs.html
Now that you have a sense of how powerful Signs can be, I have to tell you....it happened again!!! No lie!!!
Yes, I am the first one to admit that Austin is doing amazing...perfectly...and is a pure miracle, for which I am extremely thankful and grateful everyday. And when Kevin begins the paranoia, I am the first one to tell him that God is not going to let anything happen to Austin and that we have to continue to put our faith in him first, that he has never let us down. With all of that said, I am human, and have had my times where I still find myself praying for a "sign", just to reassure me once again that Austin will continue to do amazing! Its a little bit comical and I often feel like the Lord is listening to me thinking "Is she for real? How many SIGNS do I have to send her?" Nonetheless, he came through again for me.
The other night I was watching a movie and it ended a little before midnight. I switched off the DVD player and the TV came back on. I wasn't really paying attention, but happened to look up and see this man on the TV, talking. It was a close up, you could only see the man from about his shoulders up and he was the only one on the screen. He was talking to me....well, talking to the camera, but it sure seemed like he was talking to me. At this point, it became obvious to me that it was some sort of religious show and this person was a preacher. I took a minute to listen to him. I listened to him talk about how God is a healer and all you have to do is ask him to heal and believe that he will heal. And this man talked at great length about miracles and all things being possible through Faith. He went on and on and honestly, I was so taken back by what I was hearing that I don't even remember everything he said. I certainly got the jist though.
After a few minutes, the camera panned back and now appeared a woman along side the man. The two joined hands and said "Let us pray". I lowered my head and prayed with them. Prayed as they asked the viewers to put their hands over the body part that needed healing (I of course just sat there dumb-founded and listened). They said a prayer about healing and miracles, and then the man said that there "is a man out there right now, who had trauma to his head, and there was hemorraging which resulted in a lot of fluid around his brain. God is healing you right now. Right now as we speak, the fluid is disappearing and the trauma is now gone". The man and woman continued to talk about different viewers whose prayers were being answered but at this point, I was in tears and just sat and cried....a happy cry. This was my sign. The sign I had asked for yet again. I quickly went into Austin's bedroom, where he was sleeping peacefully, put my hands over his head and said another quick prayer. Then I went over to Jake, placed my hands on his ears and prayed for him as well.
When I got back to my bedroom, I looked in the guide channel to see what that show was (which by the way had just ended at this point)...it was The 700 Club. I had heard of it, but never actually seen it. At any rate, all I know is, for the show to be on the tv when I switched it over from my movie; for me to catch the last 10 minutes of that show; for them to be discussing healing; and for them to actually talk about a brain injury being healed.....all of that is not coincidental in my eyes. Its just amazing!
Today we went for Austin's MRI. He did awesome. Brain is expanding the way it should, still some extra fluid in the ventricles, but they turned up the shunt a little and expect Austin to continue to do amazing!! We go on thursday to meet with the neurosurgeon and go over the actual images....
Thanks again to all of you who continue to pray for Austin and our family. Your prayers continue to be heard. And I made a promise to share every bit of my story, my faith, my miracles and my hope....and so here it is, once again.....so thankful.
http://miracleinweyville.blogspot.com/2011/01/signs-signs-everywhere-signs.html
Now that you have a sense of how powerful Signs can be, I have to tell you....it happened again!!! No lie!!!
Yes, I am the first one to admit that Austin is doing amazing...perfectly...and is a pure miracle, for which I am extremely thankful and grateful everyday. And when Kevin begins the paranoia, I am the first one to tell him that God is not going to let anything happen to Austin and that we have to continue to put our faith in him first, that he has never let us down. With all of that said, I am human, and have had my times where I still find myself praying for a "sign", just to reassure me once again that Austin will continue to do amazing! Its a little bit comical and I often feel like the Lord is listening to me thinking "Is she for real? How many SIGNS do I have to send her?" Nonetheless, he came through again for me.
The other night I was watching a movie and it ended a little before midnight. I switched off the DVD player and the TV came back on. I wasn't really paying attention, but happened to look up and see this man on the TV, talking. It was a close up, you could only see the man from about his shoulders up and he was the only one on the screen. He was talking to me....well, talking to the camera, but it sure seemed like he was talking to me. At this point, it became obvious to me that it was some sort of religious show and this person was a preacher. I took a minute to listen to him. I listened to him talk about how God is a healer and all you have to do is ask him to heal and believe that he will heal. And this man talked at great length about miracles and all things being possible through Faith. He went on and on and honestly, I was so taken back by what I was hearing that I don't even remember everything he said. I certainly got the jist though.
After a few minutes, the camera panned back and now appeared a woman along side the man. The two joined hands and said "Let us pray". I lowered my head and prayed with them. Prayed as they asked the viewers to put their hands over the body part that needed healing (I of course just sat there dumb-founded and listened). They said a prayer about healing and miracles, and then the man said that there "is a man out there right now, who had trauma to his head, and there was hemorraging which resulted in a lot of fluid around his brain. God is healing you right now. Right now as we speak, the fluid is disappearing and the trauma is now gone". The man and woman continued to talk about different viewers whose prayers were being answered but at this point, I was in tears and just sat and cried....a happy cry. This was my sign. The sign I had asked for yet again. I quickly went into Austin's bedroom, where he was sleeping peacefully, put my hands over his head and said another quick prayer. Then I went over to Jake, placed my hands on his ears and prayed for him as well.
When I got back to my bedroom, I looked in the guide channel to see what that show was (which by the way had just ended at this point)...it was The 700 Club. I had heard of it, but never actually seen it. At any rate, all I know is, for the show to be on the tv when I switched it over from my movie; for me to catch the last 10 minutes of that show; for them to be discussing healing; and for them to actually talk about a brain injury being healed.....all of that is not coincidental in my eyes. Its just amazing!
Today we went for Austin's MRI. He did awesome. Brain is expanding the way it should, still some extra fluid in the ventricles, but they turned up the shunt a little and expect Austin to continue to do amazing!! We go on thursday to meet with the neurosurgeon and go over the actual images....
Thanks again to all of you who continue to pray for Austin and our family. Your prayers continue to be heard. And I made a promise to share every bit of my story, my faith, my miracles and my hope....and so here it is, once again.....so thankful.
Monday, August 1, 2011
No rest for the weary in Weyville...
Where to begin?? Well, we took our very first family "vacation" to Delaware last weekend. Austin did rather well for the almost 4 hour ride down there. We stopped halfway at a rest area for lunch and Austin decided to have what some would call his worst blow-out explosion in his diaper ever! Took me thirty minutes to clean him up on one of those tiny cramped changing tables. I ending up throwing his whole outfit in the garbage! All we heard for the remainder of the trip was Jake asking "Are we there yet? Almost there mommy? Mommy just a little bit longer? Mommy, just about there?" It was so annoying it was comical.
On the way home, we stopped at the Please Touch Museum in Philly. Jake had a BLAST! I highly recommend it for anyone who has a young child and is in the area. Austin didn't really enjoy the ride home that much, very cranky and cried a lot. Who could blame him? Its a long ride for a 3 month old!!
Then, last week, Austin surprised us all with a bout of THRUSH! Yep, Thrush. Jake never had it, but I knew enough about it that I knew the symptoms. And sure enough, took him to the pediatrician and he had it, pretty bad. So, he's still on meds for that. Luckily its not really that big of a deal.
Austin then had his evaluation for Early Intervention. He did fantastic! He passed all areas in the average or above average range. In physical development, he scored a 98 (average is 85-115)! Not too shabby! (Jake coincidentally failed almost every section for his EI evals, his highest score out of all areas was 77!) Normally, Austin wouldn't have qualified for EI with scores this high, but hydrocephalus is an "automatic qualifier" for services. So, he will be getting physical therapy once a week. They even agreed to give him infant massage! I'm excited about that. The little bugger still clenches his fists, but didn't clench them at all while they were evaluating him! Wouldn't you know thats how it always goes, right? Great to hear how well he is doing though!
Today I had to take Austin for bloodwork (for his upcoming MRI on August 8th). Poor lil guy. It was so traumatic for him. The techs were literally squeezing and holding his arm so tightly, and then his blood wasn't flowing out, so they had to twist the needle! I thought they pulled his arm out of the socket (flashback to visions of Jake's nursemaid's elbow when he was only 10 months old!) because Austin just kept screaming. Thankfully he seems to be fine now and has been a little happy head since.
Kevin and I are really enjoying having a son who coos! Here's a cute clip from today of Austin "talking" and enjoying his bouncer...(I apologize about the crummy taping..the cat was attacking my legs!)
On the way home, we stopped at the Please Touch Museum in Philly. Jake had a BLAST! I highly recommend it for anyone who has a young child and is in the area. Austin didn't really enjoy the ride home that much, very cranky and cried a lot. Who could blame him? Its a long ride for a 3 month old!!
Then, last week, Austin surprised us all with a bout of THRUSH! Yep, Thrush. Jake never had it, but I knew enough about it that I knew the symptoms. And sure enough, took him to the pediatrician and he had it, pretty bad. So, he's still on meds for that. Luckily its not really that big of a deal.
Austin then had his evaluation for Early Intervention. He did fantastic! He passed all areas in the average or above average range. In physical development, he scored a 98 (average is 85-115)! Not too shabby! (Jake coincidentally failed almost every section for his EI evals, his highest score out of all areas was 77!) Normally, Austin wouldn't have qualified for EI with scores this high, but hydrocephalus is an "automatic qualifier" for services. So, he will be getting physical therapy once a week. They even agreed to give him infant massage! I'm excited about that. The little bugger still clenches his fists, but didn't clench them at all while they were evaluating him! Wouldn't you know thats how it always goes, right? Great to hear how well he is doing though!
Today I had to take Austin for bloodwork (for his upcoming MRI on August 8th). Poor lil guy. It was so traumatic for him. The techs were literally squeezing and holding his arm so tightly, and then his blood wasn't flowing out, so they had to twist the needle! I thought they pulled his arm out of the socket (flashback to visions of Jake's nursemaid's elbow when he was only 10 months old!) because Austin just kept screaming. Thankfully he seems to be fine now and has been a little happy head since.
Kevin and I are really enjoying having a son who coos! Here's a cute clip from today of Austin "talking" and enjoying his bouncer...(I apologize about the crummy taping..the cat was attacking my legs!)
Jake writing his name....
And in closing, here is a CLASSIC Jake-ism. Before viewing, let me give you a little synopsis of the situation. I am videotaping, Kevin is sitting on the couch next to me holding Austin. Jake climbs up in between us, puts his hand in front of the camera, realizes "oh, hey, there's my hand....and THUMB"...and the rest is just classic (complete with Jake's own twist of the song at the end). Gotta love him.....
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