In previous years, I have been thankful for turkey and pumpkin pie on this holiday and not so thankful for the five pounds I would gain in 4 days! This year, Thanksgiving has a whole new meaning for me. My heart is full and my spirit joyful. There are few words to express my gratitude to the many people that made the miracle of my son possible and to those that provided support along the way.
I wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving full of love, happiness, and lots of turkey and pumpkin pie!
Love,
Alysa
P.S. This slideshow might take awhile to load.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Latest in Bradyville
Medical Update
Brady's EEG came back normal! We spent 3 hours Monday at Children's Hospital going through the cleft palate clinic to confirm that he does have a submucous cleft palate, but it is not severe. The doctor said he should not have issues feeding and it shouldn't be the cause of his head congestion (which has been chronic since I met him in July) and his hearing is perfect. The one thing that could be a problem is speech. If it is affected, then surgery will be necessary, but not before he is about 4 years old. I'm hoping that with all the sounds he is already making, that speech won't be a problem.
Daycare
I'm going to back to work on Monday. I can't believe a month has passed by already! We went to daycare yesterday and today for a few hours each day and will go tomorrow for a half day before we start full time next week. He was so enthralled with the new toys that he didn't even notice I was leaving or had left. He did crawl up to me when I came back though yesterday. Today he was asleep and was very disoriented when I woke him up. Poor baby. Because he is still taking two naps a day (he needs it!) and cannot self feed (not even a sippy cup yet), has to have his own mushy food, and is not comfortable going outside in the play area, he is in the infant room rather than the toddler room. He is by far the oldest and most active child in there and keeps the teacher running. He will transition to the toddler room eventually, but he has to be able to feed himself and eat chunky stuff, go outside, and function on one nap a day. It could be awhile. Unfortunately, the toy selection in the infant room isn't going to cut it for much longer. I may ask to bring a couple things in that would still be appropriate for the tinier ones.
Eating. Or Not.
The nannies at the babyhouse told me they always had to feed Brady first, because as soon as he saw the food he became incredibly impatient. I was thrilled that Brady was such a good eater. He has eaten everything I have ever given him and with enthusiasm, until the last few days. Very same food he's been eating for weeks, but has decided he doesn't like it. It is pretty funny to watch, but also very frustrating. He not only makes faces, but starts crying if I dare to try another spoonful. Pureed peas were yesterday's insult. Tonight the eyes welled up, then he started gagging and actually vomited a little from pureed green beans that never made it past the tip of his tongue. Sheesh! What a performance that was!
No Peas Video
(Apologies in advance for the baby talk -- not my usual voice with Brady!)
I'm on a mission to start making his food, rather than using the jarred baby foods. The Occupational Therapist at the clinic told me that the Gerber (or any) level 3 foods are hard transition foods, because they are gloppy with chunks in it. The texture is inconsistent in the kids' mouths and they don't know how to handle that sudden piece of whatever. Makes sense. He comes across a very soft chunk of carrot, pea, or pasta, and he starts coughing and spewing food. So, I just made up a batch of turkey, mixed veggies, and rice. He cried before the spoon ever got to his mouth when I tried a taste test, but wolfed a good 1/2 cup down at lunch. Woo-hoo!
The Out of Doors
Brady had his first experience with snow and grass in the past couple of weeks. He wasn't too fond of either! Unfortunately, the grass is starting to die now and is kind of prickly.
The snow was cold and scary. Mom wasn't fast enough or far enough away with the camera.
Cat Relations
Callie is tolerating Brady as just another nuisance now.
Damn! There he is!
Guess I'll just have to wait.
That toy is looking pretty fun, though.
He's not looking -- go!
Uh-oh! Tuck the tail and run!
Brady's EEG came back normal! We spent 3 hours Monday at Children's Hospital going through the cleft palate clinic to confirm that he does have a submucous cleft palate, but it is not severe. The doctor said he should not have issues feeding and it shouldn't be the cause of his head congestion (which has been chronic since I met him in July) and his hearing is perfect. The one thing that could be a problem is speech. If it is affected, then surgery will be necessary, but not before he is about 4 years old. I'm hoping that with all the sounds he is already making, that speech won't be a problem.
Daycare
I'm going to back to work on Monday. I can't believe a month has passed by already! We went to daycare yesterday and today for a few hours each day and will go tomorrow for a half day before we start full time next week. He was so enthralled with the new toys that he didn't even notice I was leaving or had left. He did crawl up to me when I came back though yesterday. Today he was asleep and was very disoriented when I woke him up. Poor baby. Because he is still taking two naps a day (he needs it!) and cannot self feed (not even a sippy cup yet), has to have his own mushy food, and is not comfortable going outside in the play area, he is in the infant room rather than the toddler room. He is by far the oldest and most active child in there and keeps the teacher running. He will transition to the toddler room eventually, but he has to be able to feed himself and eat chunky stuff, go outside, and function on one nap a day. It could be awhile. Unfortunately, the toy selection in the infant room isn't going to cut it for much longer. I may ask to bring a couple things in that would still be appropriate for the tinier ones.
Eating. Or Not.
The nannies at the babyhouse told me they always had to feed Brady first, because as soon as he saw the food he became incredibly impatient. I was thrilled that Brady was such a good eater. He has eaten everything I have ever given him and with enthusiasm, until the last few days. Very same food he's been eating for weeks, but has decided he doesn't like it. It is pretty funny to watch, but also very frustrating. He not only makes faces, but starts crying if I dare to try another spoonful. Pureed peas were yesterday's insult. Tonight the eyes welled up, then he started gagging and actually vomited a little from pureed green beans that never made it past the tip of his tongue. Sheesh! What a performance that was!
No Peas Video
(Apologies in advance for the baby talk -- not my usual voice with Brady!)
I'm on a mission to start making his food, rather than using the jarred baby foods. The Occupational Therapist at the clinic told me that the Gerber (or any) level 3 foods are hard transition foods, because they are gloppy with chunks in it. The texture is inconsistent in the kids' mouths and they don't know how to handle that sudden piece of whatever. Makes sense. He comes across a very soft chunk of carrot, pea, or pasta, and he starts coughing and spewing food. So, I just made up a batch of turkey, mixed veggies, and rice. He cried before the spoon ever got to his mouth when I tried a taste test, but wolfed a good 1/2 cup down at lunch. Woo-hoo!
The Out of Doors
Brady had his first experience with snow and grass in the past couple of weeks. He wasn't too fond of either! Unfortunately, the grass is starting to die now and is kind of prickly.
The snow was cold and scary. Mom wasn't fast enough or far enough away with the camera.
Cat Relations
Callie is tolerating Brady as just another nuisance now.
Damn! There he is!
Guess I'll just have to wait.
That toy is looking pretty fun, though.
He's not looking -- go!
Uh-oh! Tuck the tail and run!
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
A Doctor a Day...
Brady had his first appointment with his pediatrician last Thursday. I had a couple of things I was concerned about, but instead I was thrown for a loop after she examined him. Seems he very likely has a cleft palate! It is officially called a "submucous cleft palate" because the roof of his mouth does have a lining. His uvula (the thing that hangs in the back of your throat) is in two pieces, which is an indication that the palate did not fully come together. She took one look and made this announcement. I'm baffled at how it is possible that not one of the doctors in Kaz recognized it.
This diagnosis causes several other things to make sense now: his chronic head congestion, irritated throat, and his discomfort when eating lumpier foods. We have an appointment with the cleft palate team at Children's Hospital in Denver next Monday. We'll confirm the diagnosis, then over a period of 1.5 hours, we will meet with a social worker, have a hearing test performed, then run the gamut with the specialists: pediatrician, ear-nose-throat specialist, plastic surgeon, dentist, genetic counselor, occupational therapist, and speech therapist. By the time we leave, we will have a verbal recommendation on treatment, which generally means surgery. Needless to say, my head is still spinning!
Since last Thursday, Brady has also had 7 vials (yes SEVEN) of blood drawn for labwork (all at once -- 20 minutes of screaming while I held him in a vice-grip), first round of vaccines (including flu shots for both of us) Monday, a ninety-minute EEG appointment yesterday (after what might have been a mild seizure last week), and back to the doctor today for more bloodwork and to check the TB test. All these doctor visits are exhausting for both of us! Overall though, he is gaining weight and doing well.
Trying the mesh feeder so he'll learn how to feed himself and to chew. Yum! I have to admit to loving watching that little mouth at work when he eats at this age. I know it won't be so cute for much longer once he learns how to chew.
Other than all this fun, things are going well. In the last couple of days he has decided that screaming like someone is trying to kill him is a ton of fun. He's not in pain, he's just fine, but apparently likes the sound of his own very loud screeching voice! I keep waiting for the police to knock at my door. Anyone have any suggestions how to tone him down? My ears are ringing!
First time in the oh-so-fun playpen.
Every time since in the not-so-fun playpen.
Callie is also tolerating him a bit more. He wouldn't leave her alone while she was eating last night though and she hissed at him then bopped him on the head. I've been trying to keep a close eye on them so no swatting, scratching, or other damage would occur to either of them. Apparently she gets that he is just a baby. She just bopped him on top of the head (no claws out), exactly like she used to do to Merlin when she would get annoyed. It was really rather funny and he was startled, but still very delighted with the whole thing. He giggled and started crawling right after her. Sigh. Poor Callie.
He is destined to be a contortionist, I think. He squeezed under the rung on this chair...
Planned his next move...
Over he goes...
Almost there...
All in an attempt to reach the one that is ignoring him in true cat fashion.
This diagnosis causes several other things to make sense now: his chronic head congestion, irritated throat, and his discomfort when eating lumpier foods. We have an appointment with the cleft palate team at Children's Hospital in Denver next Monday. We'll confirm the diagnosis, then over a period of 1.5 hours, we will meet with a social worker, have a hearing test performed, then run the gamut with the specialists: pediatrician, ear-nose-throat specialist, plastic surgeon, dentist, genetic counselor, occupational therapist, and speech therapist. By the time we leave, we will have a verbal recommendation on treatment, which generally means surgery. Needless to say, my head is still spinning!
Since last Thursday, Brady has also had 7 vials (yes SEVEN) of blood drawn for labwork (all at once -- 20 minutes of screaming while I held him in a vice-grip), first round of vaccines (including flu shots for both of us) Monday, a ninety-minute EEG appointment yesterday (after what might have been a mild seizure last week), and back to the doctor today for more bloodwork and to check the TB test. All these doctor visits are exhausting for both of us! Overall though, he is gaining weight and doing well.
Trying the mesh feeder so he'll learn how to feed himself and to chew. Yum! I have to admit to loving watching that little mouth at work when he eats at this age. I know it won't be so cute for much longer once he learns how to chew.
Other than all this fun, things are going well. In the last couple of days he has decided that screaming like someone is trying to kill him is a ton of fun. He's not in pain, he's just fine, but apparently likes the sound of his own very loud screeching voice! I keep waiting for the police to knock at my door. Anyone have any suggestions how to tone him down? My ears are ringing!
First time in the oh-so-fun playpen.
Every time since in the not-so-fun playpen.
Callie is also tolerating him a bit more. He wouldn't leave her alone while she was eating last night though and she hissed at him then bopped him on the head. I've been trying to keep a close eye on them so no swatting, scratching, or other damage would occur to either of them. Apparently she gets that he is just a baby. She just bopped him on top of the head (no claws out), exactly like she used to do to Merlin when she would get annoyed. It was really rather funny and he was startled, but still very delighted with the whole thing. He giggled and started crawling right after her. Sigh. Poor Callie.
He is destined to be a contortionist, I think. He squeezed under the rung on this chair...
Planned his next move...
Over he goes...
Almost there...
All in an attempt to reach the one that is ignoring him in true cat fashion.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Rooaarrr!
Halloween was a bit lost on Brady. He was sick (so was Mommy) with our colds, but our good friend "Aunt" Deb came over and turned it into a fine celebration. I hadn't bought a costume prior to leaving for Kaz and since Halloween is HUGE here nearly everything was sold out when I finally did go looking on Thursday. We did find one, although it was a little small, but did the trick for a short amount of time.
Deb loved greeting the trick-or-treaters (went through 2 big bags of candy) and by the end of the evening, Brady would crawl giggling to the front door as well to see what ghouls and goblins were out there.
Deb also brought us a carload of goodies! Brady got a ton of new toys, a big bag of clothes, a new dish set and sippy cup, many other fun things, and a GIANT "Welcome Home Brady" cookie! THANK YOU, DEB! You made our first Halloween very memorable.
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