Overdue...

So it's been far too long since I've written on here, but as you can see a few things are different! I'll try to keep it short and sweet, but we have a lot to catch up on! -- I'd like to add, please pardon any grammatical errors or run on sentences, I've been up since 4am today!

L:
He has about 4 more weeks in his helmet, and then he will be done with it! We had our most recent appointment with the orthoist this past Friday, and have seen some good changes in the symmetry in his forehead and the width of the back of his head but the "shelf" is still a good bit more prominent than we'd like. Ultimately our clinician said that his head is pretty hard in certain areas and won't be able to change shape much beyond the direction it has gone. All this to say, we are VERY happy we pursued the helmet, and very happy that we saw some results. We have no regrets :)

L also woke up with croup last night at 4 am, and after trying the steam shower and cold air we still ended up going to the ER for steroids. I am thankful he seems to be ok, but rather exhausted today! We're praying the cough he and Ziah now both have don't keep them up tonight. It seems I've contracted some sort of cough in the process too so I'm also hoping for some sleep myself!

Other than all that, he is now a very skilled crawler (sometimes uses one foot and one knee), can run around the house if he holds on to your hands, and has 4 adorable teeth (which he has only begun to realize he can bite with.. uh oh!). He will play by himself for a while which is AMAZING to me, since Z has only recently acquired that skill. Oh, and he thinks the cat food is fun to play with, and it's even funnier when I give him a firm "no" and look at him with the "mom look" in the eye. He giggles like it's the funniest thing he's ever seen.. I may be in trouble with this one yet!


Z:

Z is doing very well! I cannot believe how much she has grown and changed, and I'm probably more sentimental about it with #3 on the way! She finished up her ballet class with a recital (on a real stage in an auditorium-- they were the 3rd to last group to go up, and had to wait almost 2 hours before it was their turn to dance), and she did WONDERFULLY!! (Ok I'm probably biased, but based on my expectations of her walking on stage, seeing the lights and people, and sitting down, she was amazing!). I have a video, so if you're interested shoot me an email and I'll send it to you :) (It's only 2 min long or so.)
She had her last gymnastics class today 'till summer session, and will move up from the Mini-Gymies class to the Mighty-Gymies, so I'm excited that she'll get to learn new things.

Other than this, she is LOVING wrestling with L, (and I should add that he thinks it's hysterical), and I love watching their relationship develop.

Me:

Well, as you can assume from what I've said, and the picture at the top of the post, I am due with baby #3!!! A huge surprise, but welcome nonetheless. We know God definitely wanted this baby with our family so we're getting ready to adapt on or about January 1st, 2012! (Although both L&Z were overdue so I'm not expecting anything less of this little one.) Overall I've been feeling surprisingly good, with the exception of exhaustion. I figured out that sugar makes me nauseous, so I've just cut out almost all sugar from my diet and have been relatively ok. I think God knew I wouldn't do well with nausea and taking care of the other two :)

J:

J is doing well, I think. Again I'm speaking for him so perhaps to get a real answer you'll have to ask him yourself, but I can update you on what I do know. I'm certain he's adjusting a lot already with dealing with an exhausted wife, and two very energetic children. He works very hard every day, and comes home and takes care of us, and I am so thankful for him. He's playing softball and so far had minimal injuries, and enjoyed having his own "thing" to do every week.

I wish I had more energy to write today, but I hope to have more energy to write very soon and keep you updated more often.

we will & we will not

So it's been a week since my last post, and a lot has happened with our family although it seems not much has changed.

L: We went for our first official adjustment on the helmet yesterday (again thank you to L.D. for the company and extra set of hands!). His head circumference hasn't changed (which is a bit of a bummer, since circumference increase = head growth = more rapid shape change), but the clinician did point out some increase in round-ness in the back of L's head. This made me happy, because I had thought I noticed the same thing the day before, but thought it was all in my head. The clinician took some more of the 'foam' part of his helmet out to allow for growth, and we were on our way! Unfortunately by the time I took L's helmet off last night at 9pm he had a bright red spot on his forehead (probably due to the helmet rubbing too much), which hasn't gone away. Guess what this means?... you got it! Another trip to Northern VA tomorrow (boo). I am bummed that we have to go back so soon, but as a blessing in disguise it turns out that J doesn't have work for tomorrow so he can join us and it will be a little family trip.

As far as L's tummy issues go, we think he's back to (his) normal, except he's been VERY fussy/irritable/difficult to put to sleep the last few days, which is the opposite of his personality.. Perhaps it's just teething, but I'm wondering if his reflux meds just aren't doing their job anymore.. I have a call in to the GI to see if there's anything else to do for now, but I have yet to hear back. I also scheduled L's upper GI for next Thursday, so hopefully that will come back normal, or perhaps with some answers. I think that's all for the little man.. I will still stick by my comment in the previous post.. he is handling all of this AMAZINGLY well, I am so proud to be his Mama :)

Z: Z's doing well this week :) She's had a lot of time with her "older brothers" (the neighbor guys who watch her from time to time-- thank you K & R), Nana, and her Aunt S. I can tell the time away from me (because I've been driving to VA and busy with other things going on) is affecting her a little, but she was able to go back to gymnastics and ballet this week which is great :) ----It was her idea to make the paper hats in the picture, which was a lot of fun!

Me: I'm doing well... I've had a few moments of frustration and worry, but the words I've heard over and over for my entire life seem to be finally sinking in. Worrying doesn't help ANYTHING or ANYONE, and trusting that God will take care of everything is a much better use of my energy. I am able to be in the moment a lot more with the kids when I'm not constantly worrying about the next thing to do. There is one thing I've been having a hard time with, and that is that I am feeling a bit disappointed at my lack of ability to stay in contact with people, and/or my follow through on promises to email/call, etc.. By the time I feel like I have any significant time to spend making a phone call it's usually after 9pm and I know most people are winding down their day also at that time. I am hoping to figure out how to balance all of this doctor stuff, spending quality time with the family, getting house projects done, and now keeping in touch with people, all at once. That said, from what I've experienced so far it seems that there are seasons for everything and right now it's one of being very focused on our family and I have to prioritize everything else appropriately for this season.

J: J turned 30 Monday!!!! We had an awesome weekend filled with friends and family and eating delicious meals :) (Okura's, PF Changs, and a friends' house!) Other than that things are pretty normal around here for him (I think) :) Oh, he's starting softball again soon and is really looking forward to it.

So that's it for us for now...

We will take each day as it comes.
We will be thankful for all that we have.
We will pray during the times when we feel like we need more.
We will do all we can.
We will not worry.

I said hey....

... what's going on?

Well, I (and then we) decided to start a blog so we could keep everyone who IS interested in what's going on with our family informed, and then I'm not sending out unwanted email updates to those who aren't :) I wish I had the time to make a phone call to everyone and keep in contact that way, but then I think I would be on the phone the majority of every day!


I'm thinking I'll start with the youngest in the family (since he has the most going on these days), and go from there... so for L:
L got a "helmet" called a DOCband this past Monday to treat something called plagiocephaly and scaphocephaly. Basically these huge words mean that his head is shaped a little funny (plagio being angled and flattened on the back/sides, the scapho part being that the back of his head sticks out quite a bit, creating a kind of shelf). The DOCband was created for him by a company called Cranial Tech, who makes helmets custom to each child (a 3D image is used to create them), and then there are voids left in the helmet where they want the brain to grow and fill out, and where L's "bump" is, there is gentle padding that will discourage it to protrude further. The helmet is meant to be worn 23 hours a day, and are used for an average of 3 months. We researched the company extensively and they are the best out there from what we have learned. Unfortunately the closest location is in Annendale, VA so we have to drive out there every week or two for adjustments until the process is done. I am actually going out there again tomorrow because there is an area of L's head that is rubbing too much on the DOCband (poor Z is in for a long day-- 3 hrs one way and only about 45 min at the appointment in between!).

L is also dealing with some eating issues.. He has reflux, which he is being treated for with Omeprazole, a milk allergy and potential soy allergy (for which he is on hypo-allergenic formula), and has so far been seemingly intolerant to any baby food we've tried. This could be due to his reflux or new allergies or intolerances. After L adjusts to his helmet (which is actually going VERY well other than the one spot we have to have fixed), and gets over this stomach virus (he's had one every week for the last three weeks!), we're going to try apples.. either baby food, or in one of those mesh bag feeders to see how it goes..
EDIT: Don't let all this medical stuff with L mislead you though.. He is probably the happiest, easy going baby I have ever met/heard of. He is SUCH a blessing and makes me laugh at least once every 30 minutes.. and I'm not exaggerating!



Z:
Z is doing very well overall. I am definitely having issues feeling bad that L seems to be getting so much attention compared to how much I am able to give her, but I know that I am doing my best trying to balance them out and let her know that she's still my favorite daughter ;)
Z is taking ballet class and gymnastics weekly, both of which she loves! She has a ballet recital at the beginning of June, and although she loves her class I expect that as soon as she gets on stage she'll probably sit down for the whole thing :D

Me:
I'm doing pretty well, pretty tired and off and on stressed with all of this, but I know God's taking care of everything and everyone, and pretty soon this will all be just a memory anyway :) I can't believe my baby is already 7 mos old-- that gets to me every once in a while :)

J: He's doing really well (I think). He's a wonderful husband and dad -- I LOVE seeing how excited Z & L get when they see him walk through the door after work! J still gets up with L at night to feed him, so I know he's tired some, but after me being sick for literally 3 months straight this winter, J realized I needed to sleep to stay healthy.. I know it may not last forever but I am so very thankful! (L has to eat at night because of his reflux and food allergies, he can only eat small amounts at a time, and we have to make sure he gains weight properly... otherwise he would be sleeping through the night at this point!)

I guess that's about it for now.. I'm sure I'll have more to add soon. Please feel free to email, call, text, facebook (is that a verb?), or comment :)