I'm in a bummer of a mood tonight and having a hard time sleeping, so I thought I would try to turn my mood around, by thinking of things that make me happy. That said, here are the top 10 things I love about Brian Thomas.
10. His smile. This is a given. Have you seen the child? He's always smiling. He can't help himself. And anyone near him who sees his killer smile is powerless. They have to give in and smile right back at him.
9. His big, huge, blue eyes. They're his Dad's eyes, so of course I'm going to love them. Just like Shawn's I've had more opportunity than anyone to gaze into Brian's eyes. It's like seeing an entire solar system when you look into them. They are so detailed and so deep. I LOVE his eyes!
8. He's silly and because he's silly I get to be silly too. I sing all day long now. Not because I am good at it, but because Brian's loves it. I dance all day too, he loves to dance around and to watch me dance around like an idiot. My favorite is our own special peek-a-boo. I don't even have to cover my face or leave the room. I just have to look around and pretend I can't find him. He thinks it's the best game ever. Silly.
7. His excitement for life and for learning. He actually slaps his entire arm on his leg, my leg, the table...whatever is closest, just because he's excited. He investigates EVERYTHING. He just wants to know all that he can and is thrilled in doing so.
6. He reaches for me. He knows I'm his and he reaches out to come to me. He can make coming into a room feel like walking down a red carpet simply because he wants me to hold him!
5. He gives people purpose and makes everything more special. Granddad has his Grocery Tuesdays. It's what he talks about all week long. The whole family felt it at Christmas. Brian just makes everything better.
4. He made me want to quit something I love...teaching...to stay at home. He helped me to slow down and enjoy every moment. No one could have told me that I would quit my job and put my career on hold and made me believe it. He made me see that there are some things in life worth putting your plans on hold for.
3. He's always happy. Sure, he has his moments, but generally speaking, he's a happy kid. He thinks everyone should pay attention to him at all times, and he knows how truly entertaining he is. He finds happiness in making everyone else happy. Isn't that how we should all be?
2. He has no understanding of social graces. He farts, burps, even pushes out a poo complete with grunting and a red face and has no concept that these things are "socially unacceptable." He doesn't' understand embarrassment and he doesn't care what anyone thinks.
1. His laugh. He can giggle and shriek like nobody's business. It's infectious. Everyone should have the experience of hearing Brian Thomas laugh. It can make your whole day. Even when you're in a bummed out mood :)
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Snow Day!
The weather men finally got it right! Northern Kentucky got dumped on last night...lots of beautiful SNOW! And Brian's first real snow!! Now I know that the people who had to drive in this mess (Shawn included) probably aren't as excited about it as I am, but since my kiddos are out of school today I have no babysitting duty so I get to play!
I couldn't resist taking some pictures of Brian out in the snow, so I put on his big brown snow suit and we headed out back. Ruben came along as well. I measured 6 inches with my ruler before Ruben stole it. Here are some pictures of the experience. Note that Brian is mostly just looking at Ruben or looking at me like I'm nuts. There's a half smile in one of the pictures, maybe two. He really hates being bundled up, so don't blame the snow for the expression on his face. Also, he can't really sit up in the snow suit, so he was a bit uncomfortable in most of the pictures!
I couldn't resist taking some pictures of Brian out in the snow, so I put on his big brown snow suit and we headed out back. Ruben came along as well. I measured 6 inches with my ruler before Ruben stole it. Here are some pictures of the experience. Note that Brian is mostly just looking at Ruben or looking at me like I'm nuts. There's a half smile in one of the pictures, maybe two. He really hates being bundled up, so don't blame the snow for the expression on his face. Also, he can't really sit up in the snow suit, so he was a bit uncomfortable in most of the pictures!
Monday, January 26, 2009
PT and Flu Shot
Today was Brian's physical therapy evaluation at Children's in Northern Kentucky. Shawn got to go since he had taken the day off tonight. We met with a PT named Elizabeth Oliverio. She was very nice and young, and Brian liked her a lot. This is not unusual, of course, since he tends to like everyone!
It turns out that Brian has torticollis, which means his neck muscles are tight on one side (in his case the right side). This is correctable with physical therapy. She gave us 2 exercises to do with him 4-5 times daily and we have to hold him in a specific way to make him use his neck muscles in a way that will strengthen them. We will go back to Children's to see Elizabeth bi-weekly until he's "cured." Mostly this is on us to correct at home. She will just be checking in to make sure it's working and to adapt the exercises as necessary.
After the PT appointment we ran across the street to Dr. Price's office and Brian got his booster flu shot. He was asleep in the waiting room, and woke up when we put him down on the table for his shot. He didn't even notice that the shot went it and actually SMILED at the nurse when she was putting the bandaid on. She said that NEVER happens! He has such a wonderful disposition :)
He's napping now, and gets to enjoy an appointment free day tomorrow. So we will wait for 2009 blizzard that's supposed to arrive tonight and with any luck enjoy a snow day tomorrow!
It turns out that Brian has torticollis, which means his neck muscles are tight on one side (in his case the right side). This is correctable with physical therapy. She gave us 2 exercises to do with him 4-5 times daily and we have to hold him in a specific way to make him use his neck muscles in a way that will strengthen them. We will go back to Children's to see Elizabeth bi-weekly until he's "cured." Mostly this is on us to correct at home. She will just be checking in to make sure it's working and to adapt the exercises as necessary.
After the PT appointment we ran across the street to Dr. Price's office and Brian got his booster flu shot. He was asleep in the waiting room, and woke up when we put him down on the table for his shot. He didn't even notice that the shot went it and actually SMILED at the nurse when she was putting the bandaid on. She said that NEVER happens! He has such a wonderful disposition :)
He's napping now, and gets to enjoy an appointment free day tomorrow. So we will wait for 2009 blizzard that's supposed to arrive tonight and with any luck enjoy a snow day tomorrow!
Friday, January 23, 2009
Medical Update: The helmet and the ENT
Now that I have decided to be brave and share this blog with others, I thought I would put Brian's medical updates on here rather than sending lengthy emails about how he's doing. That way if you want to know, you can check here to find out, and if you don't want to know all details, you don't have to!
On Tuesday Mom and I took Brian to The Brace Shop near Christ Hospital for his helmet fitting. This involved some pretty fancy 3-D imagining with lasers! I wished Shawn could have been there to see the technology. Anyway, it helped to go to the shop for lots of reasons. First, there were pictures all over of other kids in their helmets. I've seen kids in them before, but it helped to see a whole bunch in one place. This was also helpful because it gave me ideas in terms of what color to get, or which pattern. There were several patterns to choose from, but I noticed the cutest helmets (if you can call them cute) were the solid colored ones that the parents had decorated. So, we went with blue and we have plans to deck it out with stickers. This will be nice because we will be able to change it up whenever we want. Remind me I said this when I am complaining about having to change out the stickers because they got yucky in a month or two!
Going to the shop was also helpful because in seeing the 3-D imagining, it was made clear to me that his head is quite misshapen and we are doing the right thing. To quote Mom, "we don't see past his big blue eyes and million dollar smile." This couldn't be more true. When viewing the 3-D image it was quite obvious that his head is off by quite a bit and needs to be fixed. Just because I don't notice it on a daily basis, doesn't mean that the mean kids when he gets to junior high won't! Why give kids more reasons to make fun?
Finally, it was helpful to go to the shop because I got to actually hold one of the helmets and ask all of my questions of the nice man who measured Brian. The helmet is actually pretty light, he will have to wear it 23 hours a day, it does have to come off for 1 hour daily, some babies have a harder time sleeping with it on (GREAT JUST WHAT WE NEED) and yes, he may loose some hair, but hair grows back. The only permanent change will be that his head will be (and stay) rounder when this is all over with!
Onto the ENT appointment, which was REALLY early this morning. Side note: Brian and I enjoyed a 2 hour nap after the appointment :) Anyway, the ENT said things look good. His loss has not worsened, he's had no infections and the fluid that was in his ears at the last ABR test is no longer there. Basically, it looks good that his loss has stayed the same all these months. Generally it gets worse in most cases. So, we will continue along this same past. We have another hearing test at 9 months and another ENT appointment following this. They just want to monitor his hearing to see how things progress.
So all in all, good news. It's often overwhelming and hard for me to believe that we are having to do all of these interventions, but I know I should be thankful that the interventions exist and that Brian is generally happy and healthy. I keep saying to anyone who will listen; I honestly don't know how I would have worked and kept up with all of these appointments. Kudos to all of the working mom's I know and love!
In case you are wondering, the next appointment is MONDAY for PT. Again it's very early in the morning, but it's best to have early appointments at Children's because otherwise you wait forever. Tuesay is his 2nd flu shot (they get two at this age) and Wednesday we go to pick up the helmet. Always something :)
On Tuesday Mom and I took Brian to The Brace Shop near Christ Hospital for his helmet fitting. This involved some pretty fancy 3-D imagining with lasers! I wished Shawn could have been there to see the technology. Anyway, it helped to go to the shop for lots of reasons. First, there were pictures all over of other kids in their helmets. I've seen kids in them before, but it helped to see a whole bunch in one place. This was also helpful because it gave me ideas in terms of what color to get, or which pattern. There were several patterns to choose from, but I noticed the cutest helmets (if you can call them cute) were the solid colored ones that the parents had decorated. So, we went with blue and we have plans to deck it out with stickers. This will be nice because we will be able to change it up whenever we want. Remind me I said this when I am complaining about having to change out the stickers because they got yucky in a month or two!
Going to the shop was also helpful because in seeing the 3-D imagining, it was made clear to me that his head is quite misshapen and we are doing the right thing. To quote Mom, "we don't see past his big blue eyes and million dollar smile." This couldn't be more true. When viewing the 3-D image it was quite obvious that his head is off by quite a bit and needs to be fixed. Just because I don't notice it on a daily basis, doesn't mean that the mean kids when he gets to junior high won't! Why give kids more reasons to make fun?
Finally, it was helpful to go to the shop because I got to actually hold one of the helmets and ask all of my questions of the nice man who measured Brian. The helmet is actually pretty light, he will have to wear it 23 hours a day, it does have to come off for 1 hour daily, some babies have a harder time sleeping with it on (GREAT JUST WHAT WE NEED) and yes, he may loose some hair, but hair grows back. The only permanent change will be that his head will be (and stay) rounder when this is all over with!
Onto the ENT appointment, which was REALLY early this morning. Side note: Brian and I enjoyed a 2 hour nap after the appointment :) Anyway, the ENT said things look good. His loss has not worsened, he's had no infections and the fluid that was in his ears at the last ABR test is no longer there. Basically, it looks good that his loss has stayed the same all these months. Generally it gets worse in most cases. So, we will continue along this same past. We have another hearing test at 9 months and another ENT appointment following this. They just want to monitor his hearing to see how things progress.
So all in all, good news. It's often overwhelming and hard for me to believe that we are having to do all of these interventions, but I know I should be thankful that the interventions exist and that Brian is generally happy and healthy. I keep saying to anyone who will listen; I honestly don't know how I would have worked and kept up with all of these appointments. Kudos to all of the working mom's I know and love!
In case you are wondering, the next appointment is MONDAY for PT. Again it's very early in the morning, but it's best to have early appointments at Children's because otherwise you wait forever. Tuesay is his 2nd flu shot (they get two at this age) and Wednesday we go to pick up the helmet. Always something :)
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Time for a helmet
Cranial molding cap actually. Brian needs one. And soon. In fact, he's getting fitted on Tuesday. They will use this sock hat type thing with lasers in it to create a 3-D rendering of the type of helmet he needs. That information will be shipped off to Arizona and by the end of the month, he will be wearing the helmet 23 hours a day until the end of April.
I know it's what's best for him. I keep telling myself that. I keep reassuring Shawn. But it just SUCKS! I know I will cry every time I see him in it for awhile. I know Shawn will laugh, which will make me cry harder. I just hate having to do what's best when it hurts so much :(
I know it's what's best for him. I keep telling myself that. I keep reassuring Shawn. But it just SUCKS! I know I will cry every time I see him in it for awhile. I know Shawn will laugh, which will make me cry harder. I just hate having to do what's best when it hurts so much :(
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Old Wives Tale
Have you ever heard that feeding a baby some cereal before bedtime will make him sleep through the night? I have, countless times, and for some reason I let my doctor convince me that it's just an "old wives tale." I'm here to tell you-it's not! Brian has been really struggling with sleeping at night. Before teething took over our lives, he was getting up one time each night-around 4:30 to eat, and then sleeping again until 8ish. I thought that was pretty good considering his age and size. However, once teething came along, our nights have been anything but silent. He would be up at midnight, 1, 2...you get the idea.
So I took my Mom's advice and tried giving him cereal Thursday night. He slept until 3:45, ate, and then went back to bed until 9. I was still suspicious, could have been a fluke, so we did it again on Friday. He slept 12 hours! Now, it turns out he had a slight fever, probably from the teething, that I'm sure helped induce this comatose like sleep, but I won't say I minded the long, long sleep I was permitted to enjoy! Last night wasn't so great. I think he slept too much during the day on Saturday (again due to the fever) to be able to lay down for a long time during the night, but I guarantee you we will be giving him cereal again tonight and hoping it will work it's magic once again!
Did I mention that I hate to be wrong? This time though, I must say I'm okay with it!
So I took my Mom's advice and tried giving him cereal Thursday night. He slept until 3:45, ate, and then went back to bed until 9. I was still suspicious, could have been a fluke, so we did it again on Friday. He slept 12 hours! Now, it turns out he had a slight fever, probably from the teething, that I'm sure helped induce this comatose like sleep, but I won't say I minded the long, long sleep I was permitted to enjoy! Last night wasn't so great. I think he slept too much during the day on Saturday (again due to the fever) to be able to lay down for a long time during the night, but I guarantee you we will be giving him cereal again tonight and hoping it will work it's magic once again!
Did I mention that I hate to be wrong? This time though, I must say I'm okay with it!
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Diaper Rash and New Poop
Brian has been battling diaper rash for well over a month now. First he had a yeast infection...imagine Shawn's face when I told him his son had a yeast infection! We finally got that cleared up and then the diaper rash set it. So many people have ideas on how to clear it up! We've done the baking soda soaks, warm wash cloths instead of wipes and tonight, I finally broke down and let him play in the nude for about 45 minutes. For a little girl baby this would be no problem. For my little boy, it mean several "wet" towels and many toys in need of sanitizing. We'll see if it gets any better...
Then there's the new poop. Breast milk poop is gross. It has a yeasty smell and is kind of runny. It often shoots out of the back of the diaper, or out of the leg holes. But, it's NOTHING compared to the new poop that goes along with solid foods. EW! Shawn described it tonight as a dark, stinky pancake stuck in Brian's butt. That's about right. It's so yucky! Amazing the things we put up with for our children. And in this particular area, I know it's only going to get worse. I babysat enough in high school to know how disgusting it is to walk into a bathroom responding to the calls of a toddler only to be presented with a little behind up in the air, held apart by two little hands. Double EW!
Then there's the new poop. Breast milk poop is gross. It has a yeasty smell and is kind of runny. It often shoots out of the back of the diaper, or out of the leg holes. But, it's NOTHING compared to the new poop that goes along with solid foods. EW! Shawn described it tonight as a dark, stinky pancake stuck in Brian's butt. That's about right. It's so yucky! Amazing the things we put up with for our children. And in this particular area, I know it's only going to get worse. I babysat enough in high school to know how disgusting it is to walk into a bathroom responding to the calls of a toddler only to be presented with a little behind up in the air, held apart by two little hands. Double EW!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)