Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
A 10lb Wiggle Worm!
Time is flying by, it seriously needs to sloooooooooow down. Kaitlyn is almost 8 weeks old and the boys have been in school nearly a month. I keep waiting, hoping to settle in to our new normal, but it hasn't happened yet. Here's a little of whats been going on...
Brady started Kindergarten. He seems to be doing well, a lot better than me. He is 4 1/2 and is gone more time in a day then my husbands 8 hr work shift. He has several teachers and aides. They eat lunch in the cafeteria with the big kids which I don't like, as well as several other programs on top of the K-1 curriculum (music, art, gym, computers, and speech therapy) all with different teachers. I'm glad they have all the other programs for the kids it just seems like so much for a 4 yr old, a 45 minute computer class...really!!! Anyway, he's handling it better then me, that's all that's important, right?!
Bryce started preschool. He's doing good. He only goes 2 mornings a week which seems like just enough. He looks forward to school, but is also glad to have the days he gets to stay home with me. We've been able to have quality time together. He loves morning bike rides and baking cookies. The poor guy is really missing his brother though. They play hard all weekend!
Precious Kaitlyn! She is almost 8 weeks old and growing like crazy! A week ago at her check-up she was 10lbs! She's been sleeping threw the night for weeks now (8-9 hrs). She's been good to me. I was afraid the doctor was going to tell me to wake her up at night to feed her, but once they saw she was 10lbs it wasn't a concern. She is also quite a wiggle worm, she's rolled over a couple times now, once during an Early On appointment. Early On has been visiting weekly. They come to our house and she gets occupational therapy. They are working on head control, and laying the ground work for hand/eye coordination. She is right on track developmentally, I guess we are just trying to stay ahead of the game. They are encouraging her to take a pacifier. I went out and bought a few different kinds today, she just isn't interested and doesn't have the coordination. Building all the muscles in her mouth will help down the road, especially with speech. We've also been visiting the cardiologist in Grand Rapids. We go again on Wednesday. So far everything has been going good. She appears soooo healthy. It is crazy to think that she has that severe of a heart defect (AVSD). We haven't seen any signs of heart failure yet. They told us to watch for difficulty feeding, shortness of breath,and sweating. They anticipate these symptoms will start soon, so at our next visit they will start her on medication. Surgery will still happen in the next 2-4 months. Currently we are battling with the insurance company for them to allow us to have Kaitlyn's surgery at the University of Michigan (MOTTS). I'll leave that for another post.
For the most part things are good. We found a nearby family close to us with a little girl just months older then Kaitlyn. It will be nice to have local friends in our exact situation. No offense fellow bloggers! We will also be walking in our first Buddy Walk on October 10th. I'm amazed at all the support we've received from our close family and friends, it should be a fun day.
Brady started Kindergarten. He seems to be doing well, a lot better than me. He is 4 1/2 and is gone more time in a day then my husbands 8 hr work shift. He has several teachers and aides. They eat lunch in the cafeteria with the big kids which I don't like, as well as several other programs on top of the K-1 curriculum (music, art, gym, computers, and speech therapy) all with different teachers. I'm glad they have all the other programs for the kids it just seems like so much for a 4 yr old, a 45 minute computer class...really!!! Anyway, he's handling it better then me, that's all that's important, right?!
Bryce started preschool. He's doing good. He only goes 2 mornings a week which seems like just enough. He looks forward to school, but is also glad to have the days he gets to stay home with me. We've been able to have quality time together. He loves morning bike rides and baking cookies. The poor guy is really missing his brother though. They play hard all weekend!
Precious Kaitlyn! She is almost 8 weeks old and growing like crazy! A week ago at her check-up she was 10lbs! She's been sleeping threw the night for weeks now (8-9 hrs). She's been good to me. I was afraid the doctor was going to tell me to wake her up at night to feed her, but once they saw she was 10lbs it wasn't a concern. She is also quite a wiggle worm, she's rolled over a couple times now, once during an Early On appointment. Early On has been visiting weekly. They come to our house and she gets occupational therapy. They are working on head control, and laying the ground work for hand/eye coordination. She is right on track developmentally, I guess we are just trying to stay ahead of the game. They are encouraging her to take a pacifier. I went out and bought a few different kinds today, she just isn't interested and doesn't have the coordination. Building all the muscles in her mouth will help down the road, especially with speech. We've also been visiting the cardiologist in Grand Rapids. We go again on Wednesday. So far everything has been going good. She appears soooo healthy. It is crazy to think that she has that severe of a heart defect (AVSD). We haven't seen any signs of heart failure yet. They told us to watch for difficulty feeding, shortness of breath,and sweating. They anticipate these symptoms will start soon, so at our next visit they will start her on medication. Surgery will still happen in the next 2-4 months. Currently we are battling with the insurance company for them to allow us to have Kaitlyn's surgery at the University of Michigan (MOTTS). I'll leave that for another post.
For the most part things are good. We found a nearby family close to us with a little girl just months older then Kaitlyn. It will be nice to have local friends in our exact situation. No offense fellow bloggers! We will also be walking in our first Buddy Walk on October 10th. I'm amazed at all the support we've received from our close family and friends, it should be a fun day.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Buddy Walk
October 10 is the Buddy Walk in Grand Rapids. The goal of the Buddy Walk® is to promote understanding and acceptance of people with Down syndrome. Our family will be walking in honor of little Kaitlyn. We invite anyone and their family who would like to join us on this special day. Let me know if you are interested in walking or making a pledge. All pledges stay right here in West Michigan to help the local Down syndrome association that continues to be so wonderful to us. The more people the more fun! Let me know!!!Tuesday, September 8, 2009
A Very Special Visitor
We have had many special visitors since Kaitlyn was born. But last weekend we had an extra special guest...my 87 year old grandma. My Aunt Cyndi and Uncle Kerry were nice enough to bring her down from Manistee for a visit. My Mom has been here since the birth of Kaitlyn helping out, so we had 4 generations of girls under one roof...it was pretty neat. Enjoy the pictures! (keep in mind I was crazy enough to have a yard sale that weekend...I was sleep deprived looking lovely)
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
A photo journal of Kaitlyn's first 3 weeks
We meet!
Just out of recovery! Holding Kaitlyn for the first time!
Pictures from the NICU
Little Glow Worm! The light that helped with her jaundice.
Discharge day!!!
Brother Bryce & Sister
Brother Brady & Sister
Aunt Jenna & Kaitlyn
Sweet Baby! Its been hard trying to get a good pic with her eyes open!Monday, August 24, 2009
Kaitlyn Nicole...Finally, Her Birth Story!!!
My goodness life is crazy with 3 kids! Blogging has definitely had to take a back seat to life! Every time I think I've found a quick second to sit at the computer, something comes up and it is gone. Its all worth it though, I'm loving life. A lot has happened since I wrote last. Kaitlyn's arrival was anxiously awaited for by so many...here is her birth story!
The morning of August 4th came so fast. All 9 months flew by! My C-section was scheduled and Kaitlyn was to be born at 7:30 AM. That morning we headed to the hospital at 4:30. As soon as I got there things got started. There were a few issues with my IV, and my spinal so surgery started a little late, but with little incident Kaitlyn was born at 8:36 AM. There was a whole team of NICU staff standing by waiting to assess her, mostly due to her heart defect (complete AVSD). We knew shortly after birth she would be taken over to Devos Children's Hospital. Blair and I were able to see her for a few minutes and then she was taken up to the NICU.
Our first moment together!
Blair followed Kaitlyn up to the NICU and I went into recovery. The initial assessment from the neonatal team was great. Kaitlyn was holding her own. After an hour or so in recovery they wheeled me upstairs to hold the baby. I was so excited...relieved! My nurses did an excellent job making sure I got up to see her ASAP. It was only for 10 minutes but that's all that I needed. Over the next days I recovered fast. Every extra minute was spent up in the NICU with Kaitlyn. My Mom stayed with me in Grand Rapids and Blair drove back and forth daily to try to provide the boys with a sense of normalcy.
I was discharged on Saturday. My doctor was great. He found a way to keep me in the hospital longer so I could be closer to Kaitlyn. My hospital stay was not bad at all. We had daily visiters which really helped. Kaitlyn was discharged Monday afternoon. She was only there for 6 days. Her biggest issues were feeding, and jaundice. Feeding really wasn't even an issue. They just needed to see that she could do it on her own at a volume that was good for her weight. Did I mention she was 7lbs 15oz. We were shocked, thrilled! Every feeding they increased her intake until she was doing so well she was able to feed on demand. She took to a bottle better than nursing (but we are still working on that, pumping stinks:)). I am just relieved we've avoided feeding tubes. She's doing great! A couple days after bringing her home she already weighed 8lbs 6oz. Her jaundice was treated with a belly blanket, that was pretty neat. It was nice to be able to hold her while she was being treated. She looked like a little glow worm!
Being able to have her home has been great. She quickly learned how much she loves being held, bounced, and cuddled. The first week home we had to go for daily heel pokes to keep tabs on her jaundice. The levels slowly came down. She continues to eat like a champ, and she is awake a little bit more everyday. The boys have adjusted well. They act like she's always been here! Brady just goes about his day like normal, occasionally stopping by to talk to her or give her a kiss. Bryce is mommy's little helper. He wants to hold her, feed her, etc. They both let me know anytime she makes the smallest peep. The dog also is doing well in regards to Kaitlyn, she's very curious about the baby, but I think she is suffering from a broken heart. Unfortunately for her she has had to take her place in line, which is at the end I'm afraid. Poor Koda! All in all we are great. The next 2 weeks are crazy with doctors apts, Preschool and Kindergarten meetings, Katie's first evaluation from Early On, and much more. I can't believe Bryce is starting Preschool, and Brady Kindergarten :( Where does time go?! I'll try not to take so long between posts this next time. There will be a lot to write about!
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