Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Club Feet – Fourth Casting

I made the drive to Birmingham on my own this past week for J’s casting change. Fed him before I left, he became very fussy an hour into the drive so I stopped in the Wal-Mart parking lot (of all places) to nurse him. Put him back and he got very fussy in Sylacauga. Figured I’d stop at a Wal-Mart again. Apparently I didn’t do a very good job burping him since he had spit up all over himself and the car seat. Joy!

We finally made it – should have taken a couple of hours but it took about 2 hours and 45 minutes.

He slept great that night and did awesome for the casting. He has been a bit fussy lately and I can tell that it’s because of the casts. His feet are VERY turned out, as you can see in the new cast.

Before:

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After:

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Dr. D said that he spoke with J’s cardiologist who gave the green light for putting him to sleep for the tenotomy. I have thought and prayed about how Justin should get the tenotomy. Since Dr. D said that he has been a very patient and still patient, I have been thinking that the local anesthetic would be better for everyone. J won’t remember and I feel better about that mainly due to the past heart condition. I mean, if the ONLY option was to put him to sleep and he was not a still patient during the casting, I wouldn’t even think twice about it. But, because of what I said above, I told Dr. D that I would like to entertain the idea of him giving J a local and doing it that way. He said, “Sure, Justin has done well with the castings and is pretty still so I think he would do great with a local.” Enter sigh of relief here. I’m not against putting a child to sleep if necessary. I just don’t feel that Justin needs that here.

So we go back next Tuesday for his heel cord to be cut and placed back in a cast.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Justin at One Month

Justin One MonthThe last month has flown by. I have to admit it seems as though the time has been consumed by doctors appointments and driving. He’s totally worth it all, though. This precious child is just that – precious – and special.

So Justin weighed 8 pounds and 10 ounces as of yesterday. He is finally starting to gain some weight. His one month appointment is next week so I’ll update that later.

He is totally rolling over! It’s the craziest thing to me. But, this past week, I randomly remembered I’m supposed to put him on his stomach for “tummy time” – I mean, how did I forget that, right?

So I put him on his stomach and he pushes up on his hands, then rolls one arm underneath him and pushes over with the other. He ends up on his side so he takes his other arm and swings it around and ends up on his back. I put him back on his stomach a half a dozen more times and wore him out (he fell asleep) after rolling over and over. He’s done it every day since so it’s official: he’s rolling over!

Justin is:

Holding his head up

Smiling every now and then

Sleeping at night sometimes 6 hours, sometimes 4 or 5

Very mild-mannered

Cries only when he REALLY needs something

Eats every 2-3 hours, sometimes every 30 minutes! What?!?!

Seems to LOVE his Mama! Seriously.

Loves looking outside – whether it’s the view from the changing table or in the living room under his entertainment mat

Seems to have the tiniest – but cutest features.

Sleeps a LOT!

 In hat megan made Justin BW

Playing around with a flower pot. I need to work on this more!

Coming out of the pot Justin with bonnet Sepia with bonnet

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Club Feet – Third Casting

We should be counting our blessings. Everything went well today. Carlos unwrapped his casts (these are casts that you actually peel off). Justin stretched his legs, and then we used wipes to give him a little bath. Yes, wipes! Little J won’t get a “real” bath until the casts are off for good.

J did fuss a little bit as Dr. Doyle manipulated his feet. But, he said that J is doing great with the treatment. He said “just to be on the safe side”, he will have him come back next week for another manipulation and casting. Then, he’ll have the tenotomy. We are so excited! Weren’t expecting him to be able to get the tenotomy soon. But, since he’s doing so well, he will be ready for it. Dr. D even said that he would rather do the tenotomy versus not and added that he’s regretted not doing it when he thought he didn’t need to. So, this means that J is doing great but will still get the tenotomy to be on the safe side.

Whether he will be sedated is still unsure. Because of the heart condition, Justin may not be a good candidate for the anesthesia. He has to talk to J’s cardiologist and determine whether it’s a good idea or not. He did say that Justin did well with the manipulation and didn’t wiggle much so it may not be an issue. He likes to put his patients to sleep just in case the child or baby wiggles or moves during the procedure.

Here are some photos from today:

Before and After:

Before casting With purple casts third casting

No, we didn’t choose purple…that was all they had. At least it isn’t pink!

Monday, March 21, 2011

Popular little baby

So we’ve had quite a few visitors….and love them!

My MIL was here all of last week helping with the baby, Troy and anything else that we needed help doing. She was FANTASTIC! Help is wonderful and she did a LOT of it! Troy was very happy, too. See, last week was spring break around here. What that means is that T’s regular sitter was on vacation. Therefore, we had him at home all day. I have to say that I don’t know how people do it! How do you feed a newborn, cook, feed a toddler and entertain a toddler? Someone is going to be unhappy and you’d have to choose between the newborn and the toddler. We didn’t have to do that last week because Memama was here! Thanks Memama!

Some photos:

I love this one of Memama. She has beautiful eyes.

Memama with J3Memama

This was an interesting photo. Troy is a wiggle worm. We only took 3o or more photos to get this one.

Corbitt cousins

The Corbitts.

Corbitt family

The grandkids with Grandy and Memama. Troy makes taking pictures interesting. But he was pretty good here.

Corbitt with grandkids

If only you could see the outtakes for this one. Mary was taking our picture and was making funny noises so Troy would look at her. It was entertaining for all of us!

Corbitts Russ with kids in wagonIn this picture, Brian was making funny sounds so Troy would look at him. I was laughing so Troy decided to look at me. So sweet! 

E Mary and kidsE Mary and kids1

Mamama came to visit!

E J and Mamama color

  She fell in love with Troy. It was Christmas the last time she saw him. Mamama and J2

Thursday, March 17, 2011

St. Patrick’s Day 2011

From our Leprechaun to yours….Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!

Leprechaun

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Club Foot – Second Casting

So little J had his second casting scheduled today. Appointment was at 1 in the afternoon and was with a different doctor because Dr. D was out of town. I’m of the opinion that the afternoon schedule is much busier than the morning schedule. After an hour wait, we saw Dr. G.

Okay, so Dr. G is great. Funny but very professional. I talked to him about the Dobbs bar and said we weren’t sure if we were going to opt for a certain bar or participate in a study. The study is to compare the Dobbs brace and the Markell brace. I’m just not sure yet. If we choose one or the other, we’ll keep that one for Justin throughout his treatment.

As soon as J’s casts were taken off (they are wrapped and unwrapped), he started moving his legs around. They are tiny because he hasn’t been using them but I think they are perfect. This casting did not involve any crying. His feet were manipulated and J just looked around the room while Dr. G did his thing. He has tolerated them well.

Photos below show his feet without the casts and after the 2nd casting:

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Then he got hungry.

DSC_9884Oh, and I have tendonitis in my wrist. Lovely, right? This happened with Troy, too. Hopefully it will end soon.   

We’ll be back next Tuesday at 9 am for the third casting.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Justin’s Birth Story – How his daddy helped born him (Bradley Childbirth Method)

A few months into my pregnancy with Troy, in remission from the arthritis and feeling like a superstar (physically), B and I decided to try the natural childbirth method. The Bradley Method was appealing and there was an instructor in our area. Our instructor was nothing less than interesting. I may elaborate one day. The whole pregnancy, labor and delivery went pretty well. Not easy but good.

When I found out I was pregnant with Justin, I wanted to try the natural childbirth route again. B is super supportive so he was on board. I ate right but splurged a bit more than with Troy (I had cake more than once!). Exercised but not as intense as I did when pregnant with Troy (also was chasing him around so that makes up for some exercise, right?). Ran until I was 37 weeks – but only could run a mile or so before I had to walk the rest of the way. The bike, elliptical and walking became my friends.

I felt great during the pregnancy with both children. Had more energy the last month with Justin than I did with Troy.

So, what happened? Due date was 2/24/11. I was serious when I said I didn’t want him coming early….and he didn’t. But, it happened much faster than I anticipated.

Thursday, 2/24, I rode to bunco with my friends, had some ribs and other stuff. I even had a teeny-tiny bit of wine. Contractions? No – only Braxton Hicks. Got home around 9:30 that night. I had a couple of mild cramps. By 11, I got in the bathtub because I couldn’t sleep. I watched an episode of Royal Pains on the computer (while in the tub) and noticed that I was having those cramps every 7 minutes. I started counting the duration and they were about 30 seconds.

I told Brian that something was going on and if he had something he needed to get done, he might need to do it soon. And pack a bag, which he did. I did tell him not to be alarmed but just to be aware. He and I both thought it would be a day or two at the earliest when the baby would make his debut.

We went walking around midnight. At 2 in the morning, I told Brian to call Tracey to see if she could come over and stay the night. She came around 2:30. He asked if we should go to the hospital and I told him I wasn’t sure because I wasn’t in a lot of pain. He called the hospital and was told that if I wanted to have a natural childbirth, I would need to stay at home as long as possible. Hmmm. Okay? Okay? The cramps had become a little more than cramps and were lasting longer. I tried to lay down but couldn’t really sleep. Began altering between the shower, the tub and walking around. The contractions were bearable and weren’t that intense but were closer and closer together.

At 3:30 when the contractions were consistently 3 minutes apart and lasting 60-90 seconds, I told Brian we needed to leave. I still felt really great, ate something (what, I don’t remember), was able to talk just fine but every now and then had a strong contraction that I couldn’t talk through.

Found out Dr. A was on call – my doctor! I was so excited! Was in a room by 4:15 and was ONLY 4 centimeters. The nurse said that she would need to check with Dr. A to see if he wanted to admit me and make sure I was in labor. I wanted to tell her that I knew I was in labor but didn’t. This isn’t my first rodeo! Dr. A came in and said that he saw on facebook just a few short hours ago that I was saying goodbye to Justin’s due date. He said he wasn’t expecting me.

So, of course I got in a room. My birth plan was to be monitored intermittently. I needed to be monitored for 20 minutes. Of course it wasn’t good enough (the baby’s heart rate would drop when I had a contraction) so I had to stay on there longer. I was in the bed for part of the time, then would sit and rock on my exercise ball. When I felt like I needed to walk around, I said I needed to go to the bathroom. That would work for a little while and I could get off the monitors.

So….I had back labor….again. Lovely! Last time, it was the same way but I thought it was because the baby was posterior. Not. So. I have back labor – I’m one of the lucky ones. If you don’t know, it is apparently supposed to be the most intense labor. This was intense. I have no idea what time it was but it got very, very intense. No other words can describe it (or not in my vocabulary anyway).

I never lost control but the plan to have Brian rub my back was thrown out the window. Even when he touched my back, it hurt! I kept thinking that each contraction was closer to having the baby, God isn’t going to give me more than I can handle, I prayed for God to provide me with strength.
As I laid on the bed (again), I had either 2 or 3 contractions in which my whole body shuddered. I had never felt that feeling before and I moaned (I’m not a moaner or a screamer). Intensity! It was at that point that I told Brian that I couldn’t handle the pain if I wasn’t very dilated. The nurse said she didn’t think I would be very dilated either. After talking about it and Brian trying to talk me out of it, I called the nurse into the room.

She said, “Oh, it looks like you’re working hard through those contractions now”. Oh, really – you can tell? Really?

I told her that if I wasn’t progressing (and she said she didn’t think I was), I would need some help to get through between the contractions. I asked about Stadiol (I’ve heard horror stories but I felt like I needed some help). People say it “takes the edge off” and at that point, I felt like I needed the edge to be taken off. She talked to me about it and I wasn’t sure. She left. Five minutes later I called her back and wanted something to help out with in between contractions. As she was walking out the door, Brian asked her to check me. She said she would but didn’t think I had progressed much. It had been maybe an hour?

I was 8-9 cm. Talk about a burst of energy! I knew I was almost there! Didn’t need any medicine at that point. Things sped into motion! The nurse said she couldn’t believe I had progressed that much, I told her I had to go to the bathroom (to get off the monitors) and walked around. She even made a comment about thinking I should be a natural childbirth instructor – hmmm… okay. There was a shift change about to take place so another nurse, Cynthia, was called in to help.

While the nurses were trying to get the room, bed and stuff ready, I was walking in circles in the room. I was holding my stomach to try to help with the pain. Walking helped more than anything. Strangely enough, I was able to talk. The contractions were constant.

Then, all of a sudden, I felt the baby drop. I never felt that before with Troy (but I wasn’t walking around either). I made an “oh” sound and said that I needed to push as I sat on the bed.

Okay, so the next few minutes were the most difficult. My body tried to take over and push the baby out. I was trying to let it – because I felt like I needed to. But, the nurses wanted me to wait for Dr. A. I told Cynthia that I had to push anyway. She told me that I would cause more damage if I let my body take over. Talk about mind over matter! I had to concentrate on breathing and keeping the baby from popping out. It was amazing how I was able to regain control over the situation – but it was difficult. Dr. A came in, I had 4 controlled pushes and the nurses said I had one more push to go. They had to tell me when I had a contraction. For some reason, I couldn’t feel it anymore. Last push, 5th push, and he was born at 6:28 in the morning at 8 pounds and 21 inches long. That is about 2 hours and 15 minutes at the hospital. I was surprised but very happy! I felt wonderful.

Dr. A asked me if I was ready for my “pit” – or Pitocin. Most mothers at EAMC receives this after they have a baby – even if you didn’t know it, you got it! You may have thought it was fluid but it was Pitocin. Two bags is customary. It is to make the uterus contract and prevent hemorrhaging. Dr. A knew I wasn’t a fan. I didn’t want to be stuck on the bed after the baby was born. He gave me the option to not have it. So I didn’t. I was comfortable with this decision because I was in the hospital. They should be able to help me if something happened. Problems? None! I’ve heard, and been told, that there is intense cramping after birth with the 2nd and subsequent children. I didn’t have that problem. Not-at-all!

The next 15 minutes were very special. I was able to hold Justin although he wasn’t breathing right. The nursery nurse (Leellen) was super sweet and was trying to help clear out J’s passageways. We took photos. I can see now from the photos that he was “dusty” – or almost blue. Glad I didn’t notice before. She took him over to the baby holder thing and I didn’t see him again until almost 7 hours later before he was taken to UAB.

Nine hours after Justin was born, I was released from the hospital. I took some Midol. My mom suggested I get the Rx from Dr. A filled so I did. Three hours after that, we were on our way to Birmingham. The walk from the parking garage to the NICU was at least half a mile. That means I was getting some exercise. In between it all, I was pumping every 2 hours. The next morning (Saturday), I took one of the pills from The Rx I had filled. Assuming that the prescription helped with the pain, I took it once a day for the next two days. That third day, I read the bottle and insert….it wasn’t pain medicine but was to help with excessive bleeding! I laughed out loud once I found out that it wouldn’t hurt me. And I thought I was taking some good pain medicine. The Midol was working just fine.

Some photos:

Not J’s most glorious moment…

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My wonderful doctor. I thanked the Lord that he was on call when I went into labor. And, J was born just in time (he was about to go off call).

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Monday, March 14, 2011

Through the ringer today….

almost literally. I was hoping to try and not “baby” my baby. Well, that’s going to be hard to do. It seems as though if something isn’t going to go just right, well, it’s going to happen to Justin!

It began last Friday with his PKU test that didn’t take at UAB – so an appointment was made to get more blood taken today. And, he was scheduled for, well – to be circumcised. Didn’t happen while we were at UAB and I wanted Dr. G to do the procedure because of the type he does and it’s supposed to be maintenance free – and problem free.

First of all, for a baby to have a PKU test, they need to be pricked in their heel. Guess what, Justin has casts – from his toes to his thighs. That appointment didn’t work and we’ll have to go back later.

Next, he had his procedure without a hitch. I stayed with him for about an hour before leaving. Two hours later and a diaper full of blood, we headed back to the hospital. Guess what? In the 28 years that Dr. G had done this procedure, he had never had a problem. Justin was lucky number one (maybe my mom and I shouldn’t have written a shamrock on his cast). A few hours later, the problem was fixed and we headed home.

Little man is worn out. I think I’ll baby him for now – until the next time!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Troy at 18 Months

18 months in argyle outside

 

He’s a mess but I love him to death! Energetic, excitable, funny, never-slows-down. We have to put him in a high chair to get him to be still. He is a sweet thing, too. Loves to give kisses (probably so we will tell him he’s "so sweet”).

His hair is probably too long, I have to admit, but I’m not ready to get it cut (oh, and I have a newborn!).

Weight: 29.4 pounds

Height: 32 inches

Head: 19 inches

He loves his Mama and Daddy – he says so, so much. He will put 3 words together now. We have to be careful because he will repeat (or try) EVERYTHING we say!

He’s adjusting well to his new brother. Throws a few fits but this was to be expected. As parents who haven’t chartered this territory, it is at times difficult to know how to handle him.Troy in living room

Can you see what this is below? Oh, it’s the baby’s play mat. He has decided he likes pacifiers (no, we don’t let him suck on one) and baby toys. Thus, he’s laying underneath the baby play mat. He will say “bebe” and play under it for a little while. Then he will walk over and kick it. Nice! Oh, and NO, we don’t leave him alone around the baby.

troy under play mat bw2

Troy is a HAM. I think he is funny and wants to be funny. If he sees anyone laughing (not necessarily at him), he will start laughing with his fake laugh just to try to get a reaction out of someone. He loves to chase and be chased and LOVES outside. I think he would live out there if he could.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Justin is Two weeks!

cocoon

So now we have been at home exactly the same amount of time Justin was in the hospital. I’m glad to be home!!! It is great being able to wake up to feed my child in the middle of the night knowing he is at HOME with us!

Cousins: Ryder (6 weeks), Troy (17 months), Justin (1 week)

cousins on couch

Justin and RyderIn the blue day gown I made for him. Buttons are from my grandmother (or great grandmother) – either way, they’re old!

In blue gown 1

  Two Weeks… profile J   On J's couch 1 On J's couch 

Let’s see, this is what this ball of energy is doing:

  • eating every 2-3 hours during the day and 3-4 (or 5) hours at night
  • sleeping a lot
  • learning to (sort of) cry – more like a whimper
  • lift his legs (casted) up in the air
  • projectile spit up (twice). Brian described it as from the movie Poltergeist
  • look around more and more
  • turn toward his brother making noises
  • go to the bathroom – a lot
  • whimper quite a bit while trying to latch on – I have to remind myself it’s a process
  • sleeping in the bouncy seat during the day and Moses basket at night

My mom has been with us all week. Although it’s J’s second week, it’s only his first week at home. She’s been very helpful with cleaning, cooking and helping with J and our wild child, T! Thanks KK!!!

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Thursday, March 10, 2011

Playing Catch-Up

Some photos from the past week or so…

  Me feeding Justin for the first time (3 days after he was born – first bottle). This was very awkward. If you can, look at how I had to have one arm in each isolette hole. Had to hold his head with my right hand and feed him the bottle with my left hand. Not an easy thing to do….and I have tendonitis in my wrists. Not so fun but I’m not trying to complain.feeding J for the first time

He could only eat 20 cc’s at a time.

first feeding

The first time we were able to hold Justin:B and E with J first time holding him Oh how tired I look….but I’m still proud to be able to hold my baby (after 4 days).E holding J for the first timeJ's sweet face

J’s sweet, precious feet.

feet 2

  This is the kangaroo hold. Skin to skin is supposed to be very relaxing for the baby. Notice I had to keep the oxygen next to his face but it was nice to hold him.  Kangaroo hold with Jwith mama

Memama holding him for the first time.

Memama bw  I took the below photo before I knew we’d be leaving the same day. Great one week birthday present!

One week photo Justin in Nicufeet