Monday, August 27, 2012
Sunday, August 26, 2012
11 months old!
Clearly Gary and I have not gotten down a good blogging rhythm so our posts tend to be very sporadic. Sorry about that. If I posted as many times as I thought about it, you would all know more about our lives than you care to, I'm sure.
Anyway, yesterday Landon turned 11 months old!! It's hard to believe our baby is almost 1. The last month has been somewhat frustrating healthwise for him because he has had an ongoing ear infection. After 3 rounds of antibiotics, it seems like he's finally kicked it for now but we were told to keep him on a "short leash" since he still has a lot of fluid in his ears. He seems to be doing much better know and is back to eating like his old self pretty much which makes meal times much easier for us.
It's been a busy summer with 2 vacations (NC and Michigan) and 1 more trip for Brittany's wedding. Travel is fun but I'm pretty sure the days of "relaxing vacations" are behind us! We've also taken on a plot at a community garden. When we took it over it had already been planted (lucky for us) so we've been trying to figure out a good schedule over there to water, weed and harvest! It will be fun next year to start from scratch and figure out what we want to plan for the whole season.
Landon has started up physical therapy for the next several weeks to help him build the muscle he needs to crawl and walk. He moves pretty quickly across the room these days, but he still does an army crawl dragging his belly on the ground. He props up on all 4s pretty frequently, but drops down to his stomach when he wants to move. We got him a little musical table this week and he's really enjoyed standing at that and pushing all the buttons to make sounds and music. He is smiling and laughing a lot, which is great to see after he had a crabby few weeks. He's started smacking his lips when he sees something he wants to eat like when I'm getting is food ready or when we are eating something he wants. Gary was sitting on the floor eating cereal for breakfast this morning and Landon climbed up Gary to try and get it smacking his lips the whole time. He still yells a lot and just likes to be loud and make noise. He enjoyed interacting with other babies and other kids. He really loved spending time with his cousin, Abigail, while we were in Michigan. He just loved watching her and laughing at the things she did.
Yesterday we went to the Congenital Heart Walk for the Rocky Mountain region. It was on the campus where the children's hospital is that Landon has spent so much time. It was so bizarre to go up there and not go in the hospital! It brought back memories too, to go in the Chipotle close to the hospital and remember going there for dinner sometimes while he was in the hospital and just thinking about what things were like. We enjoyed getting to spend some time with the other members of the Mended Little Hearts group we are part of and walk with them and celebrate the lives of these brave kids! If you would like to donate to our donation page for the walk, you can do so here. Funds raised will support the missions of the ACHA (Adult Congenital Heart Assocation) and CHF (Children's Heart Foundation).
Summer is winding down and we are excited for fall!
Anyway, yesterday Landon turned 11 months old!! It's hard to believe our baby is almost 1. The last month has been somewhat frustrating healthwise for him because he has had an ongoing ear infection. After 3 rounds of antibiotics, it seems like he's finally kicked it for now but we were told to keep him on a "short leash" since he still has a lot of fluid in his ears. He seems to be doing much better know and is back to eating like his old self pretty much which makes meal times much easier for us.
It's been a busy summer with 2 vacations (NC and Michigan) and 1 more trip for Brittany's wedding. Travel is fun but I'm pretty sure the days of "relaxing vacations" are behind us! We've also taken on a plot at a community garden. When we took it over it had already been planted (lucky for us) so we've been trying to figure out a good schedule over there to water, weed and harvest! It will be fun next year to start from scratch and figure out what we want to plan for the whole season.
Landon has started up physical therapy for the next several weeks to help him build the muscle he needs to crawl and walk. He moves pretty quickly across the room these days, but he still does an army crawl dragging his belly on the ground. He props up on all 4s pretty frequently, but drops down to his stomach when he wants to move. We got him a little musical table this week and he's really enjoyed standing at that and pushing all the buttons to make sounds and music. He is smiling and laughing a lot, which is great to see after he had a crabby few weeks. He's started smacking his lips when he sees something he wants to eat like when I'm getting is food ready or when we are eating something he wants. Gary was sitting on the floor eating cereal for breakfast this morning and Landon climbed up Gary to try and get it smacking his lips the whole time. He still yells a lot and just likes to be loud and make noise. He enjoyed interacting with other babies and other kids. He really loved spending time with his cousin, Abigail, while we were in Michigan. He just loved watching her and laughing at the things she did.
Yesterday we went to the Congenital Heart Walk for the Rocky Mountain region. It was on the campus where the children's hospital is that Landon has spent so much time. It was so bizarre to go up there and not go in the hospital! It brought back memories too, to go in the Chipotle close to the hospital and remember going there for dinner sometimes while he was in the hospital and just thinking about what things were like. We enjoyed getting to spend some time with the other members of the Mended Little Hearts group we are part of and walk with them and celebrate the lives of these brave kids! If you would like to donate to our donation page for the walk, you can do so here. Funds raised will support the missions of the ACHA (Adult Congenital Heart Assocation) and CHF (Children's Heart Foundation).
Summer is winding down and we are excited for fall!
Thursday, July 26, 2012
It's been 6 months. . .
. . . since Landon's last surgery. It's hard to believe- I didn't even realize it until this morning in a doctor's appointment I was asked how old he has at his surgeries and I realized that it's been 6 months. It's amazing to me that at that point he had spent so much of his life in the hospital but now it seems like so long ago and I'm sure he remembers nothing about it. It has been incredible to see him come so far in 6 months and to turn into a somewhat normal happy baby. He is still a little bit behind developmentally in a few areas- we went to a child development center today to see a phsyical therapist and she said that he has low muscle tone and some weak muscles which is probably why he's not really crawling more than an army crawl. We'll do some physical therapy to help with this and hopefully he'll catch up at some point.
Gary mentioned that he was waving in the last post but his newest thing now is clapping. It doesn't actually make much noise but he definitely claps his hands and it makes Gary very happy (anyone that knows Gary pretty well, knows that he claps ALL the time).
He's getting more into watching little videos on the TV like baby einstein, sesame street, etc. It's fun to watch him totally dazed out and in awe of whatever is on the screen. He's a pretty happy kid for the most part and we are so grateful to have had 6 months of no hospital stays!
Gary mentioned that he was waving in the last post but his newest thing now is clapping. It doesn't actually make much noise but he definitely claps his hands and it makes Gary very happy (anyone that knows Gary pretty well, knows that he claps ALL the time).
He's getting more into watching little videos on the TV like baby einstein, sesame street, etc. It's fun to watch him totally dazed out and in awe of whatever is on the screen. He's a pretty happy kid for the most part and we are so grateful to have had 6 months of no hospital stays!
Monday, July 9, 2012
Wave Landon... Wave!
It's been a little while since we posted so I wanted to at least get a short post out there. We just got back from vacation, from which we will have a detailed post in the coming days.
Landon has been doing great over the last month and a half since we last posted. He is growing stronger and taller every day. I think Allison said he was in the 32nd percentile yesterday which is astonishing. It has gotten to the point where I don't really worry about that anymore.
Last week Landon started to wave at us upon request. Some times more quickly than others but an exciting event for us to see him mentally develop. He is still not crawling yet, but "inching" is the best way to describe it. A little closer every day. A little behind the eight-ball there but gets closer and closer. He is putting weight on his legs now and can hold himself up against the sofa/coffee table for longer periods of time. He can't lift himself on his own there, but I have a feeling this will happen once he starts to crawl. He is also learning how to place his blocks into the container (sometimes better than others!).
His attention span is also markedly increasing. It is fun to watch him watch things intently. He loves his bottle, any piece of paper given, our kitchen faucet, any puppet and any animal sound mommy makes. Mom does this way better than daddy. Updated pictures will be coming in the next post.
Gary
Landon has been doing great over the last month and a half since we last posted. He is growing stronger and taller every day. I think Allison said he was in the 32nd percentile yesterday which is astonishing. It has gotten to the point where I don't really worry about that anymore.
Last week Landon started to wave at us upon request. Some times more quickly than others but an exciting event for us to see him mentally develop. He is still not crawling yet, but "inching" is the best way to describe it. A little closer every day. A little behind the eight-ball there but gets closer and closer. He is putting weight on his legs now and can hold himself up against the sofa/coffee table for longer periods of time. He can't lift himself on his own there, but I have a feeling this will happen once he starts to crawl. He is also learning how to place his blocks into the container (sometimes better than others!).
His attention span is also markedly increasing. It is fun to watch him watch things intently. He loves his bottle, any piece of paper given, our kitchen faucet, any puppet and any animal sound mommy makes. Mom does this way better than daddy. Updated pictures will be coming in the next post.
Gary
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
One Year Ago Today....
One year ago today, we got news that Landon was going to have a heart defect. A major defect that would likely entail three surgeries. Suffice to say, it was the hardest day of our lives. All the worry and anxiety and and the feeling of complete helplessness. We knew we would have to wrestle God with this for 20 weeks before he was even born. Seems like a blessing to know beforehand, but having to agonize over it for months before he was born was daunting.
Landon has spent approximately 39 days in the hospital. Been to numerous other doctors appointments. Had two surgeries and a catheterization. Consumed bottles of medicine. Fought acid reflux when he was trying to recover. Had RSV. He has dealt with a couple of other colds along the way. Was on oxygen for three months at home, which brought many other challenges along with it.
But you wouldn't know that he has been through any of this if you met him for the first time today.
The other day he was playing in his exer-saucer and we realized some obvious cognitive development. There is a little toy on there that makes different sounds when you push it. If you push the same button four times in a row it begins to play music. Landon likes the music so much that he will push the button as fast as possible to get to the music. When he gets there he stops and listens to the music. I love that he takes time to stop and listen to the music.
Seems like a small thing, but to us it is awesome because this quells one of our biggest fears. That he won't cognitively develop normally. Little things like this make a huge difference.
I am so grateful for everyone who have been in his life these past 7 1/2 months. He wouldn't be doing so well without all of the love and affection poured on him. He laughs so much. He laughs more in one day than I do in a year.
Landon sleeps through the night now. No coincidence that this started briefly after removing the oxygen at night. The cord is quite annoying to have shoved up your nose. He is also starting to make consonant sounds. Every day is different, but better than the previous.
Praise God for the miraculous start to his life.
Gary
P.S. The bolded sentences are on purpose. Go back and read them one more time to realize how amazing this journey has been for us.
Landon has spent approximately 39 days in the hospital. Been to numerous other doctors appointments. Had two surgeries and a catheterization. Consumed bottles of medicine. Fought acid reflux when he was trying to recover. Had RSV. He has dealt with a couple of other colds along the way. Was on oxygen for three months at home, which brought many other challenges along with it.
But you wouldn't know that he has been through any of this if you met him for the first time today.
The other day he was playing in his exer-saucer and we realized some obvious cognitive development. There is a little toy on there that makes different sounds when you push it. If you push the same button four times in a row it begins to play music. Landon likes the music so much that he will push the button as fast as possible to get to the music. When he gets there he stops and listens to the music. I love that he takes time to stop and listen to the music.
Seems like a small thing, but to us it is awesome because this quells one of our biggest fears. That he won't cognitively develop normally. Little things like this make a huge difference.
I am so grateful for everyone who have been in his life these past 7 1/2 months. He wouldn't be doing so well without all of the love and affection poured on him. He laughs so much. He laughs more in one day than I do in a year.
Landon sleeps through the night now. No coincidence that this started briefly after removing the oxygen at night. The cord is quite annoying to have shoved up your nose. He is also starting to make consonant sounds. Every day is different, but better than the previous.
Praise God for the miraculous start to his life.
Gary
P.S. The bolded sentences are on purpose. Go back and read them one more time to realize how amazing this journey has been for us.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Spring Update
Landon is now 7 months old and has been doing great lately! He has been eating really well (most of the time) and at his last cardiologist appointment his heart function was good and he seems to be growing and developing on track. Not to mention he is so much fun and his personality is coming out a lot!
He has another cardiologist appointment today (the last one was a month ago) and his 6 month checkup with the pediatrician tomorrow. (We got a month behind since his 4 month appt should have been right when surgery was happening). We are hoping that the cardiologist (dr brames) will give us the ok to take him off oxygen completely and possibly lower his lasix dose to once a day instead of twice. We've been putting off refilling the oxygen tank because I am so hoping that I can call them and say "TAKE IT AWAY!" Just coming off the oxygen will be a huge relief to us. He wakes up every morning playing with the cord and gets himself tangled in it all the time. We can only keep it so far out of reach when it's attached to his face. It's definitely easier him being on it just at night rather than all the time, but when we have to put the tube in his night he hates it!
He has been doing so much lately! He is doing some sitting on his own for short periods of time and if you let him sit with the boppy pillow around him he'll sit much longer. He's well into solid foods now and seems to have a differenct reaction everytime we feed him. The first time he tried apples he ate them all but I gave them to him earlier this week and he gagged. He has most recently tried avacado (not much reaction either way), peas (mixed reactions) and pears (mixed reactions). He has really started rolling ALL over the place since he masterd rolling back to front this weekend. He can easily travel several feet in the matter of a few minutes!
It's so sweet to see him smile at Gary and I whenever we've been away (or even out of the room for just a few minutes). He's a very smiley boy and he's laughing all the time- he always cracks up when I give him eskimo kisses (rub our noses together) and when I squeeze his little tush (not really sure why on that one!). He really enjoys his "buddy" at daycare, oliver, who is almost 11 months now. Oliver is always happy to see Landon when we get there in the morning.
(by the way, Gary and I are doing fine too :-)
Nate and Ashley and their son Drew came out from DC for a weekend and we went to the St Patricks Day parade
Gary's brothers and their families came out to visit us over Easter weekend. We had a great time and Landon got to meet some of his aunts and uncles and his cousin Abigail!
Landon's Easter Outfit
Playing with a football
After eating his first veggies (carrots, can you tell?)
Sitting up!
Playing in the excersaucer
Having fun with daddy!
He has another cardiologist appointment today (the last one was a month ago) and his 6 month checkup with the pediatrician tomorrow. (We got a month behind since his 4 month appt should have been right when surgery was happening). We are hoping that the cardiologist (dr brames) will give us the ok to take him off oxygen completely and possibly lower his lasix dose to once a day instead of twice. We've been putting off refilling the oxygen tank because I am so hoping that I can call them and say "TAKE IT AWAY!" Just coming off the oxygen will be a huge relief to us. He wakes up every morning playing with the cord and gets himself tangled in it all the time. We can only keep it so far out of reach when it's attached to his face. It's definitely easier him being on it just at night rather than all the time, but when we have to put the tube in his night he hates it!
He has been doing so much lately! He is doing some sitting on his own for short periods of time and if you let him sit with the boppy pillow around him he'll sit much longer. He's well into solid foods now and seems to have a differenct reaction everytime we feed him. The first time he tried apples he ate them all but I gave them to him earlier this week and he gagged. He has most recently tried avacado (not much reaction either way), peas (mixed reactions) and pears (mixed reactions). He has really started rolling ALL over the place since he masterd rolling back to front this weekend. He can easily travel several feet in the matter of a few minutes!
It's so sweet to see him smile at Gary and I whenever we've been away (or even out of the room for just a few minutes). He's a very smiley boy and he's laughing all the time- he always cracks up when I give him eskimo kisses (rub our noses together) and when I squeeze his little tush (not really sure why on that one!). He really enjoys his "buddy" at daycare, oliver, who is almost 11 months now. Oliver is always happy to see Landon when we get there in the morning.
(by the way, Gary and I are doing fine too :-)
Nate and Ashley and their son Drew came out from DC for a weekend and we went to the St Patricks Day parade
Gary's brothers and their families came out to visit us over Easter weekend. We had a great time and Landon got to meet some of his aunts and uncles and his cousin Abigail!
Landon's Easter Outfit
Playing with a football
After eating his first veggies (carrots, can you tell?)
Sitting up!
Playing in the excersaucer
Having fun with daddy!
Friday, April 13, 2012
Easter and Visitors
It's been several weeks since I posted! As always, we've had a lot going on but the last few weeks have been even busier than usual! The week after I had the stomach flu (my last post), Landon came down with a cold (which Gary and I got too, of course) which was later diagnosed as RSV. RSV usually just looks like a cold in adults and kids but in really young babies or other babies who are at high risk (Landon), it can become a serious problem. It was certainly not a fun time for any of us, but luckily Landon made it through without any trips to the hospital. (There were, however, multiple trips to the pediatrician since he wasn't getting better for several days). We put him back on his oxygen during the day for a few weeks to help him get through it- he had it for about 3 weeks. Now he's all better and back to normal pretty much- eating better again and everything. It was certainly a challenge when Gary had to be in Denver for 5 days during the women's final 4 weekend- Landon and I were both sick and pretty miserable.
We had started him on rice cereal a few times but when he was sick we didn't want to push this new thing. He's been back on it for about a week though and does ok with it. He doesn't love it but at least seems to not spit ALL of it out at least. I just gave him carrots for the first time today and it seemed to be a mixed reaction, so we'll see what he ends of liking the most. He's eating very small quantities of course, just getting using to swallowing stuff that's thicker than milk and eating from a spoon.
We got the go ahead from the cardiologist last week to let him sleep at night as long as he wanted to (basically not wake him up to eat if he is sleeping). This is so great because it means sleeping through the night is at the end of the tunnel! The last few nights he has gone 8 hours after his last feed of the day before waking up hungry! Other developments- he smiles more all the time, blows raspberries a lot, and jibber jabbers a good part of the day. He seems to love the sound of his voice, though isn't really saying consonants much yet. He loved to stick out his hand and let me kiss it- I always get a big smile from that. Still not rolling much from back to front- he gets like 80% there but won't flip himself all the way over. He has 2 teeth now but I think more must be ready to pop through soon because he is drooling a lot and chewing on stuff constantly! He loves to smile at mom and dad and watch the action as we move around the room.
Heartwise the cardiologist is very happy with where he is- his function, flow and oxygen saturations all look good. Hopefully at our next visit in about 3 weeks we'll be able to get rid of the oxygen completely and lower one of his meds. He's only on 3 at this point, but 2 of them are twice a day- fewer doses are always a wonderful thing!
This last weekend both of Gary's brothers and their families (including Landon's cousin, Abigail) came in town to visit and meet Landon. We hung out a lot at the house did a few things around town- it was a lot of fun to just spend time with them and celebrate Easter together. He's officially met all of the aunts and uncles (and cousin) now, but we've got much more extended family we're hoping he'll get to meet over the summer. We're so grateful that he is doing so well- his weight gain has been good (we don't even have to get weekly weight checks with home health anymore!) and he is so much better about eating now that a few of his teeth have popped through. He's a good kid and seems to be loving life. I'll try to post some recent pictures in the next few days.
On a different note, Gary and I received some tragic news recently. One of our former students from the youth group we volunteer with at our church died in a climbing accident last weekend. He was a well-loved young man who lived an active and full life and loved Jesus with all his heart. He was an example to so many of the students and leaders alike of what it meant to live a meaningful and adventurous life. I have been blown away by how his family has sought to glorify God in every step of this process and honor the memory of their son. They have strived to do things in a way that represents Ryan and points to Jesus, even if out of the "norm". His funeral was one of the most incredible times of worship I've been a part of in a long time and even though it was sad at times, it truly was a celebration of his life. Please pray for the Wahl family in the weeks and months ahead. I know it will be a difficult journey for them and that the joy of knowing he is in Heaven will sometimes be outweighed by the loss of Ryan's larger than life presence.
We had started him on rice cereal a few times but when he was sick we didn't want to push this new thing. He's been back on it for about a week though and does ok with it. He doesn't love it but at least seems to not spit ALL of it out at least. I just gave him carrots for the first time today and it seemed to be a mixed reaction, so we'll see what he ends of liking the most. He's eating very small quantities of course, just getting using to swallowing stuff that's thicker than milk and eating from a spoon.
We got the go ahead from the cardiologist last week to let him sleep at night as long as he wanted to (basically not wake him up to eat if he is sleeping). This is so great because it means sleeping through the night is at the end of the tunnel! The last few nights he has gone 8 hours after his last feed of the day before waking up hungry! Other developments- he smiles more all the time, blows raspberries a lot, and jibber jabbers a good part of the day. He seems to love the sound of his voice, though isn't really saying consonants much yet. He loved to stick out his hand and let me kiss it- I always get a big smile from that. Still not rolling much from back to front- he gets like 80% there but won't flip himself all the way over. He has 2 teeth now but I think more must be ready to pop through soon because he is drooling a lot and chewing on stuff constantly! He loves to smile at mom and dad and watch the action as we move around the room.
Heartwise the cardiologist is very happy with where he is- his function, flow and oxygen saturations all look good. Hopefully at our next visit in about 3 weeks we'll be able to get rid of the oxygen completely and lower one of his meds. He's only on 3 at this point, but 2 of them are twice a day- fewer doses are always a wonderful thing!
This last weekend both of Gary's brothers and their families (including Landon's cousin, Abigail) came in town to visit and meet Landon. We hung out a lot at the house did a few things around town- it was a lot of fun to just spend time with them and celebrate Easter together. He's officially met all of the aunts and uncles (and cousin) now, but we've got much more extended family we're hoping he'll get to meet over the summer. We're so grateful that he is doing so well- his weight gain has been good (we don't even have to get weekly weight checks with home health anymore!) and he is so much better about eating now that a few of his teeth have popped through. He's a good kid and seems to be loving life. I'll try to post some recent pictures in the next few days.
On a different note, Gary and I received some tragic news recently. One of our former students from the youth group we volunteer with at our church died in a climbing accident last weekend. He was a well-loved young man who lived an active and full life and loved Jesus with all his heart. He was an example to so many of the students and leaders alike of what it meant to live a meaningful and adventurous life. I have been blown away by how his family has sought to glorify God in every step of this process and honor the memory of their son. They have strived to do things in a way that represents Ryan and points to Jesus, even if out of the "norm". His funeral was one of the most incredible times of worship I've been a part of in a long time and even though it was sad at times, it truly was a celebration of his life. Please pray for the Wahl family in the weeks and months ahead. I know it will be a difficult journey for them and that the joy of knowing he is in Heaven will sometimes be outweighed by the loss of Ryan's larger than life presence.
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December 2012