Saturday, November 13, 2010

Good News to Report

Jadyn had a great neurosurg appointment on Tuesday. The fluid remains stable so she will be followed back up with after her 1st birthday. Really though... her 1st birthday is right around the corner. Ugh... I can't even believe it. It has gone by way too fast. She did great with the sono... rolled over three times but was able to settle back down.
Thanksgiving is in to weeks and before we know it, Christmas will be here. Wow...
No new pictures since last post. Talk to you all soon!

Thursday, November 4, 2010

10 months old



I haven't wrote in a while so I figured I'd update while I "have time." It's about 10:38 pm on Thursday night and I really should be in bed but it's a mad rush to do everything I wanted to do after Jadyn goes to bed for the night. I end up staying up way too late and being tired the next day. I'm not sure if it's worth it but I can say I did get a couple things done tonight....so that was a plus.
Jadyn is doing so well. She is trucking along.... She will walk with you if you stand behind her and hold her hands. I say "one, two" and she moves her right and the left and we continue. She is standing on her own for a couple seconds which is cute. Last night you could see in her face and body that she wanted to take a step forward but seemed like she wasn't sure about it so she just fell back on her butt. That's usually what happens. Lots of times she will control herself to a sitting position. We catch her all the time playing with her toys or music table without holding on to anything. She is already into everything so I'm not pushing the walking just yet.
She has some badness in her though. Don't let the smile fool you. She loves Jake's food and water bowl. She goes after it all the time even after being told NO ALL THE TIME. She even gets yelled at and cries but continues to go back 5 minutes later. I'm not sure why she can't get it! LOL After so many trips chasing her, we finally put up the gate that separates the kitchen from the living room. It's not worth my time or energy to keep getting up and bringing her back to the living room. So, for now... three gates on the main floor, hehe.
Jadyn's 9 month neurosurg appointment was rescheduled and then again rescheduled. It's finally approaching on Tuesday and I'm a nervous wreck. Yes, I'm like this every single time but it's my duty to worry. I was a little relieved last time because Jayson took her and I didn't have to sit through the sono and wait the 2 hours before the appointment. I had no excuse not to go this time so I have to. Perhaps anti anxiety pills will be in my future :-)
Her 9 month well baby visit went well. She is growing like a weed. I can't remember if I posted something on this but she was off the charts for weight and length. She is big! The doc classified her as an average 21 month old at 9 months old, lol. Crazy!
She got her first tennis shoes. These were a must because she doesn't like to leave socks on. I needed to get something to keep the socks on during the cold so these seem to be helping. On another note... cold... it's turned cold here in Baltimore and I am not loving it. I feel like summer left so fast and winter weather is here already. I'm not sure where Fall went but it's over!
We did get some weekends to enjoy the weather and the pumpkin farms. We visited Weber's and North Run with the Durbin's two weeks in a row. It was nice. We took lots of pictures. Jadyn seemed to have a good time. Her favorite things were the wood scenes that you put your head through the hole. I have no idea why she loved them... but she did. Hey, whatever floats your boat.
Halloween has came and went. Jadyn dressed up like a Lady Bug. It was a very cute and simple outfit. Next year we'll get a little more extravgant. This year we just visited family for pictures.
I can't believe Thanksgiving and the Christmas season is around the corner. I know, everyone says time flies but it REALLY does.
Good news to report on babies... our friend Lori (co-worker too) had a litle baby girl on Halloween and our friend Kelly (and Steve) had a little baby girl yesterday, November 3rd. Jadyn has more friends on the way too. Congrats to them!
No more teeth since the last time I posted. I keep feeling for uppers but nothing yet. My new plan is the figure out how I can teach Jadyn to drink from a straw. I bought sippy cups with straws. Jadyn hasn't mastered the art of tilting her head back to get the milk/water out of the bottle or sippy cups so I thought a straw might be better but then I couldn't think of how I would teach a 10 month old to suck this straw, lol. We'll work on it.
We booked Jay's new FOP lodge for Jadyn's 1st birthday bash. We have to have it on New Year's Day evening but it's a Saturday evening so it'll work out. I can't even believe two months and she'll be 1. Are you freaking kidding me?? 1 year old. I was just pregnant. No wait.. I don't even remember being pregnant it seems so long ago, lol.
I've rambled enough. Please keep Jadyn in your prayers for a great appointment on Tuesday. Include me too for my sanity. :-) Enjoy the pictures

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

We have TEETH!




As you can see from the picture, Jadyn is doing a great job pulling up on things. She pulls up and even let's go for a couple seconds. I can't even imagine her walking. We are still weeks to months away from that but I know it'll be here before we know it. Mid September I found a tooth (bottom) in Jadyn's mouth and 1 week later a second one sprouted. She looks super cute with her two bottom teeth poking through.

8 months was such a busy month for us... crawling, clapping, teeth, pulling up.... so much!

Jadyn's neurosurg appointment was reschedule and yet again, rescheduled. We don't have an appointment until November 9th now which is 1 week after her 10 month birthday. Thank goodness she is doing so well so I don't feel uncomfortable waiting until then. Technically she was supposed to get follow up on at 9 months. I guess the neurosurgery business is busy these days.

October brings a little chaos to our lives for a couple weeks but it's not for too long. I start working 4 days a week starting on Monday. It's PPD and flu shot season. Make sure you get your flu shot!!! We are excited for Jadyn's first halloween but I don't want to rush October by.

Tomorrow is Jadyn's 9 month birthday, 9/30. Can't believe how fast it flew by...

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Crawling and Clapping at 8 months old






I haven't updated lately because everything has been fairly ordinary but for those who still check in from time to time I figured I would update a little bit. Jadyn turned 8 months on August 30 ,2010. On Sunday, August 29th she started crawling. She worked on this crawling thing for a month or more. She would roll and scoot everywhere but didn't understand the crawling business. Last week she finally got it and then she started clapping to go along with it. Now she doesn't open one of her hands but I still consider it clapping. It's cute. Whenever I tell her no, she goes into a clap. She likes to divert the "no" into something good I guess so I'll forget about the "no." Smart cookie!

The first week in August we took our first (and only so far) family vacation to Ocean City, MD. We go every year with friends around the same time. Jadyn seemed to have a good time in the sand and water. Thank goodness for her kiddie pool which she spent most time in. I did let her into the sand a bit but she just wanted to get her hands sandy then eat it. Once she started coughing, I decided we were done with the sand. We visited the boardwalk twice and got her first OCMD t-shirt.

I'm playing single mommy this week as Jayson has left us for OCMD (training?? he says!). Thank goodness it's only two full days and he'll return on Friday sometime.

Jadyn is sleeping and I feel like I should be too but I go back to work tomorrow after having a nice 5 days off. I took an extended holiday weekend which has been nice.

We took Jadyn to Honeygo Park yesterday and she had her first experience on the swing. They have two baby/toddler swings with that wraps around the front of the kid too. It was great. She loved it. I decided that both sets of grandparents will now need to get her a swing since we don't have a backyard for it.

Our next well baby appointment for 9 months will be here before we know it... Oct. 4th. I start back to work 4 days a week for Oct/Nov and probably some December . It's the busy season at KKI. Jadyn next neurosurg appointment is Oct. 12th and I'm already (yes, as always!!) dreading it. It's been so nice to have 3 months off and I know we still have 1 month to go but it's more than half way there so I guess my nervousness is starting to kick in. She is doing so well and even ahead of some other kiddos her age so we are blessed by that.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

6 Month Neurosurg Appt.







Hi Everyone
It's late.. yes, 9:10 p.m. is late for us around here so I'm going to make it short. I do have pictures to post but I need some time to upload them to the computer then to here. Anyway, Jay took Jadyn to her head sono and neurosurg appointment today. I couldn't get off work but they did come and visit me in between appointments. Anyway, so far so good. Her fluid is stable so we are released for 3 months since it's been that way for awhile now. We will visit around her 9 month birthday. Dr. A told Jay that if things are still the same around 9 months, then at her 12 month visit, we'll get an MRI instead of head sono. The MRI would def. consist of sedation because I doubt she'd sleep through it. That oughta be interesting but we still have some time for that. Just wanted to get something posted for anyone that has still been checking in. Have a great night and I'll around to posting some holiday pictures soon.
By the way, guess who turns 30 on Thursday? UGH! Let's not talk about it.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Happy July



We can't even believe it's going to be July on Thursday. Where did June go? Holy Cow! Jadyn turns 6 months on Wednesday, June 30th. 1/2 year has gone by that quick. Before I know it she'll be walking into pre-K! Whew... I'm getting old as well. I turn 30 years old on July 8th and although I'm not dreading the fact that it's 30 this year... I am dreading the all around fact that I'm getting older and time isn't slowing down. 1 week before Jadyn turned 5 months she started rolling and about 1 week or so before 6 months she is sitting up on her own. It's great. It seemed to happen overnight. She is doing a great job with it and rarely needs assistance. She does pretty good catching herself but she isn't 100 percent stable so she is always has someone very close by, if not right behind her. She is still sleeping in the co-sleeper next to me and I KNOW I need to get her out of it but it's just so hard. I'm just dreading getting up in the middle of the night for a pacifier run or whatever. Her dear father could sleep through a natural disaster right in the bedroom. I sometimes can sleep through a lot but when it comes to Jadyn making noises or waking up, I seem to wake right up. We have a lovely video monitor we received at our baby shower so I'm hoping it'll do the trick for us overnight. I had plans on getting her out of the co-sleeper last week but that never happened. I read though that technically she can stay it in until she starts pulling up and standing. I believe we have a little while on that.


As of tomorrow, it starts my 1 week count down to our next neurosurg appointment/head scan. I'm very very freaked out on this one. I just feel that surgery is approaching soon and sooner or later it's not going to be "see ya next time" response from the doc. I also get this feeling from our previous appointment where the fluid slightly increased. Ugh... I have nothing else to even say about it. I know there are MANY other things to worry about and MANY other issues that are a greater concern that people are going through... I just try to think of that. PLUS, I also try to think about how well Jadyn is developing compared to what could have been....


So anyway, it'd been awhile since I posted so I wanted to share these pictures and post an update. Hope everyone have a great holiday weekend. We are really looking foward to it. Jadyn has all her red, white and blue clothes washed and ready for wear.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

We have a swimmer!

We have a swimmer ladies and gentlemen. Jadyn's first trip in the pool was Memorial Day at her Nana's house (Mrs. Tina her sitter). She had a ball in the water. I figured she would like it from her enjoyment in the bathtub. She was kicking and trying to swim. Above is one of my new fav pictures. She is such a cute little chub! I also wanted to post that we received our next neuro. and head sono appointment for July 6th... yup, Happy 4th of July to me and while we are at it... Happy 30th Birthday too! Ugh... I was hoping for the full two months which would be the end of July but for some reason they scheduled us like after 5 weeks. I'm calling on Thursday to figure out if there was an issue for late July. We might just take the July 6th. I'm hoping that either 1)things are stable and we get released toward the end of the summer or 2) if sugery does have to happen, we can get it over with before our summer vacation. I like option #1 the best but we will see. With the last increase in fluid, I have a funny feeling we might be looking at surgery sooner than later.
Well anyway, I'd like to forget about all of it until July 6th so I just wanted to post that picture. We'd also like to give a shout out to the Aunts of our family and say Happy Birthday Aunt Cindy and Auntie (Aunt Lisa). We hope they both have great birthdays this week.
Good Night!

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Almost 5 Months/Neuro Appt. Update




Hi Everyone


We had Jadyn's head sono and neurosurg appt today. She did really well during her head sono. Last time she slept which was great but this time she was wide awake so I was curious how she'd do but she did fine. It's a very simple procedure of some gel on her soft spot and a small probe that just rolls over it back and forth as the sonographer takes some pictures and puts the pieces together. She was more concerned about playing with the lady's lab coat and cord than what was going on. She did very well. Based on the picture the sonographer left on the screen, I thought the fluid looks bigger on one side but for the most part, looked pretty stable. Obviously the doc has the final say. Her actual appointment went rather well. We didn't get the exciting news that the fluid went away or shrunk but we are surgery free for another 2 months so that is a plus. Her fluid has very slightly increased but there is no increased pressure in her head at all. They measure that during her sono by the pulsation in this vein. The doc explained that this time which I hadn't heard about in her previous two head sonos. Her soft spot remains soft. She is developing great and obviously eating like a little pony.



We were happy with the news but I'm a little sad that we were only released for another 2 months and our next appointment falls probably right before our beach vacation at the end of July. We are just staying positive and keeping track of everything.



As for Jadyn, she is working on rolling over. She rolled almost all the way over at Mrs. Tina's (her nanny) and today a couple times. She just needs to figure out how to move the arm that gets stuck under her body and she'll be all the way over. She loves to lay on her side now and she likes being on her belly for awhile. That's a plus. Once she gets on her belly she just kicks her legs so much I think sooner or later she is going to take off!



On aother note, Jadyn has a slight cough with some congestion that her mama passed along to her. I called out last Tuesday with a horrible, horrible head cold. I haven't called out in 2 years almost it seems. I was so ill. I knew I'd pass along something and I did. She started with a slight cough two days ago and it's gotten a little worse. She is still acting normal, eating fine and no fever so no need to worry but just keep a close eye on her.



Everyone else is doing well. Jake is being Jake.. the dog. We've had a busy May with 1 free weekend which was last week. We have another busy holiday weekend again. Since I have off on Mondays now it's not so exciting for the holiday but still nice for Jay to be off with us. We will be starting cereal on Monday. I'll take lots of pictures. I'm excited. I thought it'd be hard to wait until 5 months but I swear, the last 4 weeks have flew by, I didn't even have time to start cereal any earlier!!

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Jadyn's 4 Month Check Up


Jadyn's 4 month well baby check up went well. She was a gem, of course. Her length is 26 inches which is off the charts... they marked her at 97 percentile but it's just slightly past that. She is 16 pounds 12 ounces which is again off the charts at 97 percent and her head circumference is 42.5 which is 90 percentile. I measured her head the other day and only got 40 cm but I guess everyone does it slightly different but still no reason to worry right now. Dr. Lee just said she is a large child and she'll eventually slow down at some point! lol She also did some tricks with her like turning her on her tummy and she lifted her head as high as she ever has and started moving her legs back and forth like she wanted to crawl. She said based on how she is moving now.. she might be an early crawler because she is doing the moves. It was cute. She almost looked like she was swimming. She was very smiley and did really good with her two shots she had to get today. Her head is still a little wobbly but she is still working on that.

She said we can introduce rice cereal anytime between 4-6 months but she recommends trying to push it more toward 5 months rather than 4. I'm not sure what we'll end up doing but I guess for right now, we'll hold off a little longer. She technically isn't 4 months until next Friday the 30th, 1 more week.

Her head still remains a little lopsided but it's always been like that. Dr. Lee said she'll just continue to watch it but it shouldn't really be any concern.

I dressed her in a Carter 6 months outfit today and her pants are tight, ugh! Looks like we might be going through our 6 months clothes faster than we thought. I doubt they'll last through the summer at this rate, lol. Perhaps it just shrunk up a lot in the dryer?? That's what I say about my clothes.

I guess that's it. I was a rather short appointment it seemed... discussed what she is doing developmentally... any concerns... talked about eating... physical exam and then some shots.

Our neuro appt. has been pushed back 1 week so we now go on May 25th. That's out next big appointment. Already getting nervous about that one.... I have a long month ahead of me!
I'd post more pictures but I'm using our new laptop and I don't have anything saved on here. I also didn't bring the cord up to transfer the pics from my camera. I will post more soon. We have a busy month ahead of us... our only free weekend in May is the 22/23. Thank goodness for 3 day work weeks so I feel like I have some time to hang out with Jadyn and get things done around the house.
Good night!

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Happy Easter




Hi Everyone
Happy Easter to all! Hope everyone enjoyed the beautiful day with friends and family. We did.
Not much going on to post but I thought I'd share the cute Easter picture we had taken on Friday night at the Picture People. Jadyn was a doll and cooperated so well! There were many good ones but Jayson reminded me we can't buy all of them because there will many more holidays! I don't even have one picture we purchased at her 8 week session in a frame. I don't even know where to hang it and now I have her 3 month pictures done and still no room! I need to figure this out!
Time is flying. She is 13.5 weeks already and doing well. She is very smiley and interactive. My transition back to work has gone well. It seems like I never left the joint! Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday work weeks fly by like crazy. By the time it's Monday night.. it's pretty much Thursday night again. It's nice but it just shows us how fast time flies. Before we know it, it'll be time to walk her into pre-k! We certainly aren't ready for that yet!
We have our next neurosurg appointment on Tuesday, May 18th. I'm already getting nervous because I just don't know what this time will bring or the rest of the scans (if we have to keep doing this). She seems to be doing well still so that is what matters right now. She is just too cute for surgery, don't you think? ;-)
Jake wore himself out today running around at Jayson's parents for a bit and then my parents the rest of the afternoon/early evening. He had a good time and has been passed out since we got home. Jadyn had a couple cat naps so of course she passed out in the car ride home. I'm hoping she sleeps through the night. It's really late so I should be in bed already to get the most sleep. She started sleeping mostly through the night on Jay's birthday, March 24th. It was great! She has an off day here or there and wakes up around 2-3 to eat but she usually goes through until 5 am. Jay goes to work tomorrow but I have one more day. Mondays are usually catch up day from what I didn't do over the weekend. I get laundry done and some cleaning but mostly just hang out with my girl. I get everything ready for the three 10 hour shifts ahead of me too.
Jadyn received WAY too many Easter presents today but we are thankful for all of them. Lots of cute things like sunglasses, hats, stuffed bunnies, outfits, diapers, rice cereal (yes, we start next month!), and more. Me and Jay didn't do too bad either... it was the year for Olive Garden! Jay's parents and my parents both got us gift cards to Olive Garden. We love it there but the cards can also be used for Red Lobster, Long Horn or Bahama Breeze. I love not cooking!
Welp, it's almost 11 pm which means I've missed out on 1.5 hours of sleep already. Jadyn went down at 9:30 which is when I should have went to bed too. I'll be sorry tomorrow! It's going to be a lovely day in Baltimore so I hope I can get out and enjoy it.
Happy Spring to everyone! =)

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Tuesday's Neuro Appt.


Hi Everyone

Good news to report...we had our follow up neurosurg appt that included a head sono that showed her fluid remained stable since last scan 4 weeks ago so the doc is happy with that and released us until the middle of May, which is 2 months from now.
I started back to work on Monday. I was able to work out a nice schedule that allowed me to stay home two days extra a week and only work 3 days. I work 10 hour shifts now to equal 30 hours a week. Of course it's a pay cut so I've gotta pinch those pennies harder but it's worth it. We'll manage. It actually hasn't been too bad and I didn't even cry dropping her off Monday morning. However, by 10 am I was ready to quit the whole work thing and pick her up. Someone has to pay the bills!
Jadyn is doing great. She is getting so strong and she has completely transitioned off breast milk onto formula full time now. I have to say although they say the breast is the best, it's really hard work and I'm happy I finally decided to stop. She received breast milk for about 9.5 weeks which I think is pretty decent. Better than nothing!
She is full of smiles and is pretty interactive when you get her at a good moment. She has major breakdowns though when she is hungry or sleepy. She certainly needs a good snooze during the day to keep her going.
Not too much other stuff to report...no news is good news I guess. Enjoy the new pic. I love it. My mom snapped it on her phone camera. It's one of my new favorites.
I'm so happy to be off work tomorrow. It's going to be a beautiful weekend and I'm going to see if Jadyn will sit properly in her new jogging stroller we purchased of craigslist for a sweet deal. I sure do hope it works out this early because Momma is packing on the pounds. I was very lucky to lose all the baby weight so fast, so quick but it's piling back on. Yuck!
Talk to you soon!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Professional Picture



Happy 9 Weeks to Jadyn. Where has the time gone? Of course, I'm stewing over maternity leave coming to a close. I still have 1 week and 2 business days left, lol. We had professional pictures done...well from the Picture People.. they aren't super professional but we didn't get them done with the timer on my digital camera =). Jadyn usually is super smiley but she had just fallen asleep on the way to the mall and I had to wake her up for pictures. I even fed her midway through the photo session to put a little pep in her but that didn't work too much so we got some good serious shots. The one picture where it looks she is doing a swing dance or the cabbage patch dance she was a little bubbly but that's about it. Overall we liked them and of course I ended up having to have more than just the free picture we went in for. That's how they get parents!!!



We still have our neurosurg appt. two weeks from yesterday. That's another event I'm counting down. I've researched some more into the non-shunt procedure called an ETV and emailed our JHH doc about it. He is happy to do the procedure when it's time for surgery and thinks based on Jadyn's slow increase in fluid, she has some way of circulating CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) so this just might do the trick with a shunt being the back up procedure. We are pretty happy for that. We'd love to be shunt free. It's just another worry off my mind.
Enjoy the new pics. I wrap this small update listening to my daughter grunt...you know what that means!

Sunday, February 21, 2010

First Shots

On Friday, Jadyn had her first round of shots. She did pretty good. She let out a scream during the needles but quickly went to sucking her ninnie again and calmed down. Thank goodness Momma has seen lots of babies get needles and given them too which helped me keep it together, although it was still a little hard since this time the baby was mine =). Daddy stood back and didn't want any part of it.

Overall, Jadyn is doing well. She weighed in at 12 pounds 4 ounces at 7 weeks 2 days old. She is 24 and a quarter inches long and both weight and length are 90 percentile. Her head circumference is still 75th. Not really too much more to report for the pediatrician's visit. We are cleared until the end of April for her next check up and round of shots for 4 months old. Unfortunately, we will be visiting the pediatirican again if we need pre-op work up done. I'm praying we don't just yet.

We got Jadyn's next head sono appointment in the mail for Tuesday, March 16th which is exactly 1 month from her last appointment last week. She has the head sono and then appt. with neurosurg. I'm already a basket of nerves. I just keep hoping that maybe she is just one with big vents and everything has correctly itself... and there isn't a back up. Yeah... so it's a long shot based off in utero ultrasounds and last week's head sono but a Mom can dream, right?



Jadyn has been staying awake more during the day which is nice. She is so alert and active and not to mention smiley. She has started a new trick of standing up while getting burped. She is very strong. I usually burp her sitting on my leg bent over my with my hand on her chin. She gets very feisty when it's time to burp because she just wants to eat the entire bottle straight through and then some. Well she pushes on the couch because she is so angry and stands straight up. I'm not sure if this is something most 7 week old children do because I don't have too much nursing experience with babies this young but it seems a little early to be pushing up to a standing position already, haha.

Jay goes back to work on Wednesday and we'll miss him. He says he is ready to do something but not really going back to work. I've decided to return back to work early at 10.5 weeks saving 1.5 weeks of FMLA time. That means I'm REALLY on the downhill slope and it's sad. I know I'm going to start counting the days and getting more mad I'm not rich everyday. I may start playing the lottery. I don't feel I would want to stay home everyday because I'd spend a boat load of money but I don't want to work full time either. A little mix of both would be great. We'll see how it goes.

Well, enjoy the new pictures. I'll go back to stewing over March 15th-back to work date, hehe.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Peds Neurosurg Appt.






Jadyn's appt didn't go as well as we hoped. The fluid has built up slightly from her at birth head sono from today's head sono. Dr. Ahn's bringing us back in 4 weeks for another head ultrasound and follow up with him to see the progression. She will most likely still need surgery and get a shunt placed if there is more fluid build up-increased pressure next appt. He believes a slight increase in fluid will continue being seen. However, he is comfortable waiting another 4 weeks to double check the progression since she is doing well and head circum has remained fine. She is in the 75th percentile for head circum which is still fine. I also was pushing for holding off because the scans side by side on the computer screen weren't that impressive of more fluid build up. I'm not saying it wasn't there or it won't be slightly worse in 4 weeks but as long as she is fine and doing well, we would rather wait and see more progression before throwing a shunt in her body.

It's not what we wanted to hear so of course we are hoping for a miracle in the next month with the fluid being stable or decreasing some. Although we knew what we were getting into with her health concerns and we were even prepared for shunt surgery on New Years Day it's still hard to deal with after the good news...we thought maybe we had dodged the bullet, at least longer than this.

The bright side is Jadyn is here and doing well. She is otherwise healthy with no other concerns. She is doing fabulous with her head control and holds her head on her own a lot of the time. She is smiling up a storm. Eating like a champ and gaining weight like she is supposed to be.

In the meantime, I'm following up again at A.I. Dupont for the semi-new procedure that might eliminate the need for a shunt. Shunts are good and they do the trick however they can have a high infection rate and malfunction rate. Some people get a shunt and it can last them a lifetime (rare!!) however some get a shunt and for some odd reason, they are in the hospital every couple months because of an issue. And there is always the in between.... an every 5-10 year issue that really isn't that big of a deal.. in and out procedure. I guess we got our hopes up that she might not need it so this is really a letdown. I also would like to get another scan rather than shunting based off a head ultrasound. I'll bring that up next meeting.

Hope everyone had some lovely snow days and a great Valentine's Day. Jadyn joined us Saturday night for her first trip to Little Italy. I'm happy she doesn't eat table food yet or we would have really been broke, hehe. We ate at Ciao Bella which was pretty tasty, expensive but still good. She was of course a gem, besides some loud gas at the start of the meal.

Jay goes back to work next Wednesday and we still have no great sleeping schedule, lol. She gives us about a good 4 at the most 5 hour stretch at the beginning of the night and then it seems every 2-3 hours she is up the rest of the morning. Let's hope things get better before I have to head back to work...which might be earlier than I thought. If Jadyn does have to get surgery, I want to be able to take off and stay in the hospital with her and home, naturally. So, I may have to get back to work at 10 weeks to save some FMLA time to take off around surgery. Since this has all taken place today, I haven't given it too much more thought or even contact HR about this plan but I will get around to it soon. Hope you enjoy the new pictures.

Love, Us!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

6 weeks old and Snowed In!



Here are some recent pics of the lil peanut. She is growing like a weed and loves to eat...all the time. Daddy is currently feeding her again which is only 2 hours and 25 minutes later after her other bottle. I'm starting to wean the breastfeeding. I decided I gave it "my all" and I'm on the downhill slope. It'll probably be about 8 weeks/2 months worth of breastfeeding so that is better than nothing. The weaning stuff is very tricky because you have to time it perfect almost everyday. I was doing a pretty good job then I thought maybe I wouldn't stop just yet... so I got off schedule and started nursing again but now I'm back to thinking I should just wean once and for all! If you know me, you know I can't make a decision to save my life, ugh.
Jadyn is doing well. Still continues to do everything she is supposed to do... working on head control and she is doing great with that. She stays awake more these days and has been socially smiling for about 2 weeks now. I included a picture of that smile. It's just so darn cute.
I had my 6 week OB check up yesterday that went well. I said my final goodbyes to the office docs, nurses and assistants for at least 3 years or more, lol.
If anyone has been watching the news, you'll know we are completely snowed-in in Baltimore. It's really insane the amount of snow we have had in the past week. My aunt from Ga. came to visit us last Thursday and ended up spending another day because of the airport being shut down. That was great for us. The airport opened up just in time for her to fly back out and it's laying another foot to two feet of snow right now. The wind is fierce and I am praying out deck doesn't collapse because it's packed full of snow.
Our peds neurosurg follow up appointment was pushed back to next Tuesday so we will be going for a head ultrasound and then neurosurg appt. at Johns Hopkins next Tuesday morning. Fingers crossed and prayers that things continue to look good and are stable. I haven't measured her head but it doesn't look like any pressure has increased. Her fontanel remains normal.
Around the house we are slowing doing a couple odds and ends. We found a guy to tile our foyer. I must say it looks very nice. I'm glad we decided to do it. I was second guessing our decision because it was a little bit more expensive than I thought but we did it anyway. I just didn't want to spend a ton on a foyer we don't even see that much. Next on the list is carpet on the main floor and eventually a new kitchen floor. Jay goes back to work in 2 weeks from today. This snow has really messed up our "to do" plans but we'll have to get it all done before he goes back to work.
By the looks of it, we'll probably be locked in the house again tomorrow but that's okay. I'm trying to get some things done around here as well but I sure can waste a whole day doing nothing. Actually, I can waste more than 1 day doing nothing. =)
Jadyn is currently crying for more to eat so Jay had to give her a couple more ounces. Sometimes 4 oz does the trick but sometimes it doesn't. The other evening she sucked down 6 ounces and seemed like she couldn't have taken more.
That's about all that is going on in our world right now. I'll post next Tuesday or Wednesday about our appointment. Enjoy the new pics.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Week 3

Not too much has changed around the Cox household. We are just chugging along at Jadyn's pace... it's her world and we just live in it, =). Last night she slept in about two 4 hour increments which was awesome although she was down in the living room with her dad and I was up in bed so either way was fine with me. I'm still breast feeding (hanging in there!) so instead of her coming up, I just woke up when she was ready to eat, Jay gave her a bottle of pumped milk and I pumped then too. It's a lot easier and faster to just wake up, pump and go back to sleep than to burp, change a diaper, get her back to sleep, etc... It's been nice the last two nights as we have done that but poor Jay either doesn't sleep or sleeps on the couch. I'm sure we won't be doing that too long but it's been nice while it lasted.
Of course I included some pictures of the kiddo. She is such a cutie! These were taken within the last couple days. I've been trying to catch a smile. She is starting to smile a little while awake but most of her smiles happen right after she gets done eating and has fallen asleep. She is doing well... working on her head control and everything else newborns do.

We have our follow up appointment with Neurosurg on Feb. 16th. We'll have a head sono through her top fontanel at 8 am and the appt. with the doc at 10:15. I know when it gets closer I'll start becoming a basket of nerves just because we feel she is doing so well and there is no sign of increased pressure in her head, right now. I'm just worried the head sono will tell otherwise. I had Jay measure her head circumference the other day because it had been awhile since it was checked at the pediatrician's office. It was the same, ;-) but that's me being paranoid. I'll be the crazy mom on the playground with her measuring tape following her around.

Jadyn made her first mini-road trip on Monday. We went to Potomac Mills in Va. for a day of shopping and her dad was so thrilled about going. I don't recommend going if you live near Arundel Mills here in Baltimore/AA Co. The only plus about the mall was the Coach Factory Outlet and my new pink coach purse, lol. Other than that, it had just about everything else I'd shop at Arundel Mills. It was nice to get out though... although I was exhausted at the end of the day from walking.

That's about it for us. She is ready to eat so I must go!

Thursday, January 14, 2010

9 Pound Mark





Yes, we did it. After much struggles with breast feeding and finding a nice happy medium between breast milk and formula, Jadyn finally has gained back her birth weight plus a little more. From Friday to yesterday, Wednesday, she gained .5 pound (8 ounces). She eats like a champ so that is a little bit more than she really should be picking up but the doc is happy with her gain. She was 9 pounds even yesterday and we are clear from the pediatrician until the 6-7 week mark. She'll probably be due for shots that visit, ugh! I've done pretty good with the heal sticks (Jay too) and actually yesterday we waited a little longer than I wanted for her second PKU that I wanted to do it myself and get the heck outta the doctor's office.

We have made some mall visits to have lunch and do Christmas exchanges but we've been very careful and left her in the infant seat. No one gets to touch either... but many stop and want to know how old she is and this and that.
On Tuesday me and Jadyn had our first trip without dad to my work holiday luncheon at Bluestone Restaurant in Timonium. It was very tasty. She slept during the lunch which was great and after everyone was finished I got her out for a visit and then it was eatin' time. It was almost 2 weeks post delivery for me so I was feeling much better but I was still a little worried about carrying her infant seat. I hadn't put her in, taken her out or carried the seat at all. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and we even made a short stop to return a Christmas gift too.

I'm finally getting around to cleaning the bathroom and our bedroom that I have been wanting to do since before delivery. I can't relax and chill out until I know everything is done. It's just my nature... I can't control it! I took a mini break to down some McDonald's and it's back to work to finish it up. I just wanted to update this really quickly and put up a couple new pics of the babe.

As for the rest of the household... or just Jake.. he is doing pretty good. He has come around and is back to his normal eating self.. which is inhaling his food in 2 seconds flat. He got himself a haircut and looks like a completely new pup-very cute! He is sleeping overnight like a gem...like he never did before and not bothering us at 7 in the morning to go outside to pee. It's great. He is doing well. other than that....nothing too exciting is going on except eating, sleeping and pooping so we'll keep in touch.
The Cox's

Friday, January 8, 2010

Purple Friday


Just wanted to post a new picture... our first family picture and say "Go Ravens!!"

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Bitter sweetness

My, did I have no idea what I was going to endure after my OB appt. Tuesday, Dec. 29th. My water was low-below normal, I was 3 cm dilated, her head circum. was 1.5 weeks ahead (normal but getting hard to push out) and there was an open bed so I was told to go to L & D to get induced and so I figured I had to comply. They started pit on me finally at 11:15 pm. Needless to say I got 1.5 hours sleep on Tuesday into Wednesday because pit was increased every 30 minutes and vitals were taken ever 1 hour so I always had someone coming in my room. I tried to just rest as best as I could since I saw I wasn't going to get any sleep. I finally got an epidural about 12 hours later or so because they really wanted to up the pit and make faster progress. By 6 pm I was finally fully dilated and 100 effaced and ready for the biggest pushing I've ever done before. during my pushing phase I didn't think I had an epidural at all. It was the worst pain ever, ever, ever! I'm not sure what the deal was with the epidural but it certainly let me down, lol. Jadyn Nicole was born at 8:41 pm weighing in at 8 pounds, 11 ounces and 19 inches long (incorrect we found out at the docs-20.5 rather). She scored a 9 twice on her APGAR score which was great and after I got to give her a kiss, she was carted off to the NICU for evaluation and monitoring. Once I finished on the L&D unit I was pushed over to the mother/baby unit around 12:30-1 in the morning, got checked in and went to see her around 1 ish in the morning on New Years Eve. She looked like she took up the entire warmer, lol. Big baby! She was doing well... on IV fluids because she was supposed to be getting surgery on New Years Day. Her head CT scan showed some fluid but the NICU doc said wait to discuss it with our doc, Dr. A later in the day when he comes in. We visited with her a little but I had to get back to the room because I was completely exhausted and couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. Plus, I felt like a train had just hit me and I actually lived through the crash, lol.


The next day anesthesia came in at 6 am and I signed her consent for surgery. I was waiting for neurosurg to come in and discuss the CT and get consents signed for that but the hours kept passing by without a rep from the team. Around 10:30-11 am Dr A came to visit us and had just been by to see Jadyn and said she looks wonderful. He showed us her CT scan and couldn't really explain how the vents decreased dramatically and how she had a head full of brain tissue but she wouldn't need surgery (just yet), she could leave the NICU because she didn't need to be there and she could go home with us on Friday, New Years Day. I was close to tears when I heard that but didn't cry. I was probably still too exhausted to cry, hehe. She only has moderate ventriculomegaly right now. We aren't in the clear but we are certainly better off than we EVER imagined we'd be. Maybe something helped going through the birth canal?? Beats me.


We finally got baby in our room around 1:30 in the afternoon and we were super excited just to be with her. I know I was supposed to take advantage of the nursery but after not being able to be with her the first night, I wasn't putting her there the 2nd night. New Years Eve had started out as one of the best days of my life until I got the call that my Harley baby had been attacked and was being rushed to the Pet ER, once again. Those who know his story two years ago understand why I said: once again. He was shaken by a dog back in 2007 in my front yard which was his first attack. His second was more serious. The dog got him around his neck and bit him hard causing major damage to his neck/airway/esophagus. He is currently trached =( This dog was out for blood and it was really an attack this time. The animal hospital was able to stabilize him and the first 12 hours are the most important. He made it through with flying colors as he always does. He is certainly my little trooper. He has been hanging in there this weekend while the surgical team was out but after evaluation today by the surgeon, he needs many repairs. I have been busy with baby so I was
avoiding the hospital but I went up to see him Sunday night and he is so pitiful looking but doing okay. He licked my nighttime lip balm-Burts Bees off my lips, twice. He did that every night I put it on. He still sits on your foot and throws himself back so you will scratch his belly and the insides of his thighs. He was doing all his normal Harley tricks. After conversation with the team this morning and hearing how extensive the damages are and what 1:1 care he would need, we decided not to put him through anymore suffering. He would maybe need a permanent trach and very likely a GT that could or could not be permanent depending on the damage they find when they open him up. For those who know me, they know I'd do anything for him no matter the cost and trachs and GTs are my speciality but I just can't take care of him and a newborn at the same time. He was put to sleep on Monday night in Jay's arms with the support of Jay's mom and my Dad. Jay had to be my representative as I just couldn't bring myself to be there. He was my first dog after 24 years of putting a dog on my Christmas list and he has been the best little guy for the past 5.5 years, even though a lot of the time I'd tell you otherwise. I know he was well taken care of, better than most dogs and even some human beings =). I know he knows it too. The house is very quiet without him even with a new baby and Jake still. Harley surely must have been the one who brought the excitement and or yelling, hehe =). He'll always be my "first born" even if he was only a pup.

It just stinks in this time of joy with our daughter and the great news about her health that we have to suffer through something like this. We just can't seem to get a break but I know no matter what, she is most important and that is what I'm trying to focus on.

On another note, Jayson was completely awesome during all of my hospital admission and I couldn't have done it without him. He was my own personal nurse and I'm thankful for that. He was also extremely helpful with Harley and visited him many times for me when I just couldn't bring myself do it. He is also doing a lovely job as a first time dad with feedings, diaper changes, burping and all that jazz. He is already too protective of her and doesn't want one single boy around, hehe.


We had our first pediatrician visit on Monday and her weight dropped a little and her bili went up a little too so we had another appt. on Wed. Her weight was stable but no gain and her bili decreased slightly. Since she didn't increase weight, we have another appt. tomorrow (Friday) and I'm praying she at least gained something. I've trying breast feeding and to be completely honest, it's the pitts but I'm giving it a honest effort before I quit. I know this is the best for her and it's has some pretty good advantages for me too. The doc wants me to offer her breast feeding every 2 hours and it's been tough to stick to an every 2 hour schedule. It takes almost 1 hour to get her awake, alert, latched, burped, switched to the other side, and do it all over again. We really have 1 hour in between feedings. I haven't stuck to an every 2 hour schedule as supposed to but I just can't. Overnight I alternate with Jay too because it's too much for me to be up every hour. We supplement with formula and she takes both nicely.


Hope everyone had a great new years! Even though we have been through a lot, we did have a very good one too as it was the first night we were all together as a family. My goal is to update as frequently as I can but everyone who is parent know how that goes. I finally found some time to get to this and it's been a week and 1 day later. I'll also try to post more pictures soon. The two I posted was from Sunday afternoon but I have taken a bunch on my phone. I just need to send them to my email.