Monday, April 30, 2012
Happy 1st Birthday, Little Man
Carter is one! How did that happen so fast? We celebrated with lunch after church, a little birthday cake and swimming in the afternoon. Very fun day. But more festivities are still to come. Party this weekend with a bunch of family. Can't wait.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Our Vegetarian?
Carter has had eating issues from day one- actually day 5 when he decided that breast milk was great, but only in a bottle. We saw immediately that he didn't take a bottle properly, and it seemed to be painful when he ate. So it came as no surprise that when Carter was diagnosed with reflux at about six weeks old. Carter was given baby Zantac for his reflux, and twice a day, we forced the medicine down his throat, and twice a day it was a battle of wills combined with a lot of tears.
From then until now, Carter has associated putting anything in his mouth other than a bottle or his fingers as pain, bad, don't even think about it. Kids love their pacifiers, Carter hates them. Kids love putting toys in their mouths, Carter doesn't. The mouth was a source of pain and a couple rough intubations didn't help matters. Not to mention, Carter has cut a tooth every other week for the last couple months. The kid has 8 teeth, and it seems as though we will be getting more shortly.
When Carter was six months, we (Val) started introducing baby food into his diet. This was greeted with the saddest, don't do this to me face in the world. The spoon was the enemy. The gross carrot mash was the enemy. Anything baby food related was the enemy. This caused many frustrated days and nights for us (well, mostly Val). Was it a sign of developmental delay? Was it the reflux? Was it the constant teething? Was it remembering mouth pain? Probably yes to all.
Carter has been seeing a pediatric occupational therapist along with a pediatric physical therapist for the last three months, and we have seen great strides in many areas. Since pediatric occupational therapist is a long title, we call her the hippie lady for short. The hippie lady is not a very nice person. She is very crunchy, and you would probably see her at a Grateful Dead show on weekends. Why is she not a nice person? Her judgmental comments frustrate Val. And to suggest that all our pictures need Photoshop because of his red, eczema covered cheeks did not endear her to us. That being said, the hippie lady has done many, many mouth exercises with Carter and suggested certain oral stimulators that we are starting to see pay off!
About six weeks ago, we (Val) put away the spoon and baby food. We went for small pieces of soft food, and used our hands. Within days, Carter started eating off our fingers, and not giving us the bitter beer face. He loved grilled cheese, bread, and any carbohydrates. Finally some victory with food! Maybe the hippie lady knew what she was doing after all.
Today Carter is back to using the spoon, eating the second stage baby foods, enjoying bananas, grilled cheese, and other foods. We may have turned a corner, and he seems to be engaged in eating! Small victories are so worth it.
That brings me to my topic. Carter doesn't like any type of meat. Turkey, chicken, beef, he's not into it. This is a battle we are happy to face. Be picky, but at least eat. We can work on this!
Val has been so frustrated, but never gave up. She is a blessing to have as a partner in this journey. Thanks love for all of your hard work .
From then until now, Carter has associated putting anything in his mouth other than a bottle or his fingers as pain, bad, don't even think about it. Kids love their pacifiers, Carter hates them. Kids love putting toys in their mouths, Carter doesn't. The mouth was a source of pain and a couple rough intubations didn't help matters. Not to mention, Carter has cut a tooth every other week for the last couple months. The kid has 8 teeth, and it seems as though we will be getting more shortly.
When Carter was six months, we (Val) started introducing baby food into his diet. This was greeted with the saddest, don't do this to me face in the world. The spoon was the enemy. The gross carrot mash was the enemy. Anything baby food related was the enemy. This caused many frustrated days and nights for us (well, mostly Val). Was it a sign of developmental delay? Was it the reflux? Was it the constant teething? Was it remembering mouth pain? Probably yes to all.
Carter has been seeing a pediatric occupational therapist along with a pediatric physical therapist for the last three months, and we have seen great strides in many areas. Since pediatric occupational therapist is a long title, we call her the hippie lady for short. The hippie lady is not a very nice person. She is very crunchy, and you would probably see her at a Grateful Dead show on weekends. Why is she not a nice person? Her judgmental comments frustrate Val. And to suggest that all our pictures need Photoshop because of his red, eczema covered cheeks did not endear her to us. That being said, the hippie lady has done many, many mouth exercises with Carter and suggested certain oral stimulators that we are starting to see pay off!
About six weeks ago, we (Val) put away the spoon and baby food. We went for small pieces of soft food, and used our hands. Within days, Carter started eating off our fingers, and not giving us the bitter beer face. He loved grilled cheese, bread, and any carbohydrates. Finally some victory with food! Maybe the hippie lady knew what she was doing after all.
Today Carter is back to using the spoon, eating the second stage baby foods, enjoying bananas, grilled cheese, and other foods. We may have turned a corner, and he seems to be engaged in eating! Small victories are so worth it.
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| little messy, but full and happy |
That brings me to my topic. Carter doesn't like any type of meat. Turkey, chicken, beef, he's not into it. This is a battle we are happy to face. Be picky, but at least eat. We can work on this!
Val has been so frustrated, but never gave up. She is a blessing to have as a partner in this journey. Thanks love for all of your hard work .
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Eczema - the bane of my existence
It may sound crazy, but of all the stuff we've been through with Carter surgeries and delays, I have to say, the most difficult thing to deal with has been his eczema. He's almost a year old, and we've been dealing with it almost his whole life. It's mostly on his cheeks, although he does sometimes have flare ups on his knees and elbows. We've tried every lotion, cream, soap, oil, etc. We've changed detergents and shampoos. We put gloves/socks on his hands to keep him from scratching his face and drawing blood. I cut and file his fingernails a couple times a week. And with all that, he still looks like this.
Honestly, I think he would be the world's easiest kid if we weren't constantly dealing with the eczema. While falling asleep or if he wakes up in the middle of the night, he scratches his face raw. So while I could just let him self soothe, instead I have to stand near the crib and keep his arms tucked under the blankets or keep the socks off his hands (he's recently learned to get them off with his teeth). During play time and eating time, we have to constantly keep him entertained so he doesn't scratch. Anytime he's bored, tired, or grumpy, the first instinct is to scratch. And while trying to keep his hands away from his face, I regularly lose my patience and occasionally lose my mind.
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| and this isn't even that bad. we don't take pictures on the bad days |
Honestly, I think he would be the world's easiest kid if we weren't constantly dealing with the eczema. While falling asleep or if he wakes up in the middle of the night, he scratches his face raw. So while I could just let him self soothe, instead I have to stand near the crib and keep his arms tucked under the blankets or keep the socks off his hands (he's recently learned to get them off with his teeth). During play time and eating time, we have to constantly keep him entertained so he doesn't scratch. Anytime he's bored, tired, or grumpy, the first instinct is to scratch. And while trying to keep his hands away from his face, I regularly lose my patience and occasionally lose my mind.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Helmet, Month 1
We've got a little over a month of cranial remolding (helmet) under our belts. And let me tell you, that thing is starting to STINK. And I thought my old catcher's helmet was gnarly. We get to give it a alcohol bath every night to kill the bacteria and we can wash it to help the smell, but there's really no way around it - anything you wear for 23 hours a day, every day is going to stink.
Good news is, Carter seems completely adjusted. He sleeps through the night and is getting better at managing the extra 1/2 pound of weight on his head. He's moving pretty good - thanks to our awesome PT, Ami and lots of hard work at home.
We had a check up last week and the Orthotist is happy with the head remolding that's happening under the helmet. But he'll still probably have to wear it for 5-6 months total. So we're looking at having it all summer long. So we apologize if you smell us coming. At least he looks cute in it though...
Good news is, Carter seems completely adjusted. He sleeps through the night and is getting better at managing the extra 1/2 pound of weight on his head. He's moving pretty good - thanks to our awesome PT, Ami and lots of hard work at home.
We had a check up last week and the Orthotist is happy with the head remolding that's happening under the helmet. But he'll still probably have to wear it for 5-6 months total. So we're looking at having it all summer long. So we apologize if you smell us coming. At least he looks cute in it though...
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Happy Easter
We celebrated Easter with the Jorritsma family today. Also, it was the Maestro's birthday. Happy bday, Dad. And to top of the festivities, we celebrated all the April birthdays - including Carter.
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| Happy Easter |
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| Opening some early birthday presents |
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| Happy 1st Birthday (he got to try a little cake) |
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| Having fun with the cousins |
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