Shelby and Jake's Top Ten Things They Have Learned About Babies

I gave Shelby and Jake a writing assignment today. I asked them to make a list of ten things they have learned about babies since their brother has come home. I did not let them see each others lists. The lists are pretty comical, but I know they love him!



Shelby's Top Ten Things She Has Learned About Babies:
1.They Throw Up
2.They make funny faces
3.Babies cry all the time.
4.No sleep at night.
5.Blow outs are terrible.
6.They are cute.
7.A lot of gas.
8.Hard to entertain.
9.Fat babies stink.
10.They are funny when they dream.

Jake's Top Ten Things He Has Learned About Babies:
1.They Barf.
2.They are boring sometimes.
3.They fart a lot.
4.They are loud.
5.They are annoying.
6.They are cute.
7.Watch the front (spit up).
8.They like movement.
9.They have complicated toys.
10.They dream about eating.

Jadon is 7 weeks old!

I can't believe Jadon is seven weeks old today! It just seems crazy. He has been doing great. He holds his head up with little effort now. He has the most beautiful smile and evens gives a little laugh every once in awhile. He is starting to "talk" also. He always looks like he has a lot to say just can't quite figure out how to get it out. He has very expressive eyebrows. We had his 6 week pictures taken last Friday and they turned out soooo cute. I am very happy with them. Jadon does seem to have a case of colic. Every night about the same time he get super fussy. Matt says it is almost like a light switch has been turned on. There is nothing you can do to make him happy but walk the floors and bounce. This is our second child like this. Jake was the same way. I have read that most cases of colic are gone by 10 weeks of age. I am hoping that is true. Only three more weeks left! A friend of mine gave me a sling to carry him in so my arms get a rest and he loves it. He also loves the huge exercise ball we have. We just sit on it with him and bounce.



This week has been a very busy week for us. It was back to work for me on Monday. Jadon is intrigued with the kids. He likes to watch them play. He is having a hard time adjusting to the noise level though. Thankfully this week is spring break for us so Shelby and Jake have been home to help me!

This was a physical therapy week for Jadon. His therapist did not see much change from two weeks ago so we were a little disappointed. Yesterday he had an appointment with a pediatric neurologist how she thought the progress with the nerves in his arm were coming along. The progress we have seen so far is that he has a grip with his fingers and can move his finger and also has some control of his wrist. In physical therapy there have been some signs that the tricep muscle is beginning to work but the Dr. said she did not notice much going on with that muscle. The repair of the nerves works from the lower part of the extremity up to the top. The Dr. said that 95% of these cases of Erb's Palsy repair themselves between 3 and 6 months. She said if Jadon was going to be one of those children she thinks we would have seen more progress by now. She is concerned that he is in the 5% of cases that need more than just therapy, possibly surgery. More tests will need to be done to know more so we have been referred on to a pediatric neurosurgeon. We will most likely have to travel to St. Louis Children's hospital for this. Possibly Chicago. Just depends on our insurance of course. We are hoping to go to St. Louis. The neurologist said there is a center that specializes in the specific injuries. We also had a new diagnosis at the visit. Jadon's rt. eye has had issues since he was born also. He could not even open it for the first 24 hours and they thought it was from the swelling. Then they thought he had conjunctivitis because it was goopy so they gave us drops to put in it. Then the goopy gunk went away but he still could not open that eye as wide as the other one. The pediatrician said it was a blocked tear duct. Well, it has gotten better but is never open as wide as the other eye. Matt commented when Jadon was very young that he wondered if it was related to the same nerve thing that is affecting his rt. arm. Well it turns out he was right on the money. It was the first thing the neurologist mentioned at our visit. She asked if we had ever noticed the pupil in that eye being smaller. We had not paid attention. She checked and it was. He has what is called Horner's syndrome. Which means the nerves that got stretched are not so much in the shoulder but in the neck. There is a bundle of nerves in the neck some go down the arm to help with lifting and others go up to the face. It was very interesting. We are learning so much about how the body works. It is truly amazing!

So it looks like we will be doing a little traveling here soon. The neurologist said the surgeon will most likely have seen him for a least a consultation by the time he is three months old. They won't want to wait to long to decide if surgery is required. I would appreciate everyone's prayers of healing for Jadon.



BTW-He weighted 12 lbs 7 oz and was 22 1/2 inches long at the appointment! At 7 wks!

Happy Easter!

It was a very busy Easter weekend at our house this year. Jacob's birthday fell on Easter weekend just like the year he was born. So we had a party for him then went out for his birthday dinner and somehow found some time to dye Easter eggs. Oh and lets not forget taking care of a 6 week old too! We had a very nice Easter Sunday. A lot of our family had plans for dinner that day so it was a small group of us. Matt's parents, my parents, my sister and her boyfriend Brian, then the five of us. It was a delicious meal. After we ate and our food settled we went outside to hang out. It was a pretty nice day. Dani and Brian stuck around and went exploring in the woods with the kids then played "Around the World" with the kids. At some point Matt got out the kids scooters. I think he just wanted to start them up because they had been sitting all winter. Shelby got on one and took off. Matt got on the other one and went after her. They went down the lane and turned around to come back and Matt started racing Shelby. It was not long after that things went south. Shelby lost control of her scooter trying to go fast and beat her Dad. She wiped out good. She has road rash all the way down her right arm and some on her legs. Lets just say that even today she is really sore and really glad that it is spring break. Poor thing! After that we watched a movie and just relaxed for the rest of the day.

Mommy and Jadon dying Easter Eggs!


Shelby and Jake showing off their Easter Eggs.

Happy Birthday Jacob!

I can't believe it but Jacob is officially eleven now. It was his golden birthday. Eleven on the Eleventh of April. We had a big birthday bash for him on Friday. Somehow we fit 38 people into our itty bitty house. I don't even feel like I had a chance to visit with some of them. I hate when that happens!

Saturday was his birthday and he woke up to a bed covered in balloons. He loves it. I started doing that for him a long time ago. I wanted to find something special that I would do for him. Sometimes I feel bad because his sister was a 4th of July baby and every year she gets a parade and fireworks on her birthday. I know waking up covered in balloons on your birthday is not as exciting as fireworks but I try! That night he chose to go to Lonestar for his birthday meal. He did not get steak though. He loves steak. When Matt asked him why he said that he does not like "restaurant steaks". He likes his Dad's steaks. Matt does make a pretty mean steak. We have ruined Jake.

We mentioned when we were ordering our food that is was Jake's birthday. The waitress had horrible timing however. Jake got up to go to the bathroom and that is when the Lonestar staff came over clapping to sing to him. I had to let them know he was in the bathroom. When Jake came back we were all smiling. He knew something was up. He soon found out what. When he saw and heard them coming he said "You have got to be kidding me". It was funny. After they left we shared with him that he missed them the first time around. Overall, I think he had a pretty good birthday.