Unexpected Anxiety

The day is coming that marks the anniversary since our unexpected journey with Caleb began. Even though, there is plenty to keep me busy with moving, plannng a micro birthday party, keeping up with Caleb, and cleaning I find myself reliving those moments. It seems that there are more times that my minds drifts off to "what I was doing last year on this day". Well it was a Sunday and I was helping host a very fun baby shower for a friend of mine. Then I become a little anxious thinking of what is to come on October 1st. It's wierd that I am anxious becasue God provided us with a very surreal sense of peace the ENTIRE time a
nd to feel anxiety now, just seems out of place. But I guess i can use those moments to remmeber how unbelievebly BLESSED we are to have Caleb with us.

Caleb's last visit to the doctor was a good one. He is 27 and three quatrers long and 20.5 pounds. He is already caught up on the growth charts for his actuall 11 month and and his adjusted 7.5 month age. We will plan to incorperate meats into his diet and will see the doc again in Janurary, when she said maybe we can look at introducing milk products. She is confident that Caleb will out grow whatever is keeping him on his high cost diet of broken down amino acids. As of now we were told that we should feed Caleb according to his adjusted age of 7.5 months becasue his digestive tract is still maturing at that rate. I know many people ask about the age difference and it's funny how some

times it matters to one doc and not the next. Caleb is still belly crawling & getting faster and faster each day. He crawls a little on his hands and knees but realizes that it's better for his speend to be on his belly.

If you would like to read Caleb's story you can start it here.

Moving Forward...literally

We went to the regular Ophthalmologist yesterday to see how Caleb's eyes are doing and to check his vision. This eye doctor differs than the ROP doctor because she is not looking just the ROP but the overall health of his eye. She said that Caleb was doing just perfect for his corrected age (7 months) and sees great. She did not want to see us back until he's 3 years old. It's hard to imagine that time will go by so quickly and we will be back before you know it. Our next visit to the ROP doctor is on October 3rd, for hopefully what will be our final send off. We have our last hearing test this afternoon and that will be one more specialist that we can cross off the list of having to see. Caleb has been doing so amazing the last several weeks. He has been learning to scoot around the floor and and getting quite good at it. Therapy has been such a huge blessing for him and I wish every child could benefit from having and extra set of eyes to look out for them. It's been a great bonding time for Caleb and I too since we practice at home. I have come to realize that so many people have a negative idea of therapy, and I wish that could change. There isn't anything wrong with it it's just a way to improve what you already have. He has been trying new foods as well and I think we have discovered he loves Cantaloupe. He gets this glazed look in his eyes and is off in his own little land when he's chewing on his teething net filled with cantaloupe. He's not a huge fan of those baby puffs or Cheerios, He grunts when he feels them on his tongue and acts as though he is gagging still. I guess it will take some time before he will learn to accommodate the new texture. He is a fan of celery though. Sometimes we let him chew on the stalk during dinner and he really enjoys that. We have estimated that he is just over 20 pounds or so and is becoming a little hard to handle for this tiny mommy. I saw this carrier that would be great to have. A lady at physical therapy let me try it out and boy was it comfy. You can see the carrier I'm talking about here. We've been planning a small get together for Caleb's Birthday with will be an owl theme in honor of my favorite time of the year and our little whoo. Just cake and Ice cream by the pool and a few friends to celebrate ALL that GOD has brought us through. October 5th will come sooner that I can realize and there is still more small projects for me to do to get ready. The word on the street is that Caleb's Grandmas might make a trip out to celebrate with us.... I hope they can because we'll have a HOOT together.

Fun times in California!

I wish they all could be California BOYS!!!!!

Caleb took his first trip on a plane to visit his friends and family in California. Here are some pictures of the fun he had while we were there. Since our arrival home Caleb received his 2nd tooth which is fully in now. He has been doing quite well with eating an array of veggies a fruits. His favorites are apple, peas, and sweet potatoes..who could blame the little guy?

His therapy sesions are going well and he is all but crawling....scooting and schimming all over the place. As Ryan and I watch this little miracle grow into a strong and determined little boy there are so many memoires that flood our minds and emotions that overpower our heart. I hardly can't belive that the day he was born he was only 1LB 10 oz and now on the cusp of what I'm guessing is 20Lbs. We really are so honored to be his mommy and daddy. I have been telling Caleb his birth story (kid friendly..of course) but I have yet to find the right version. One day i woudl really like to maybe write it down and have it made into a kids book. what do you think?

California Fun!

Small Victories!

I AM committed to making a consistent schedule in posting updates about Caleb. Every single milestone I want to celebrate and give God the glory He deserves. We just got back from California and Caleb was an amazing traveller. He slept all 4 flights to and from California. We went prepared for the worst.... we had toys, pacifiers, chew beads, teething gel, ear plugs, music, and anything else we could think to help sooth him incase it was not a good flight, but I guess our prayers were answered and there was nothing to worry about. However once we got there Caleb's sleeping schedule was less than stellar the 1st night. He woke up several times throughout the 1st night, but finally he settled into a great routine of sleeping 12 hours each night during our visit. My mom was very kind by inviting our family and friends over to meet Caleb and it was a little weird no seeing our son for the entire day as people were visiting with him. Many of you know that Caleb has been teething for the last few months and we have been anxiously awaiting for any indication of his 1st tooth popping through.....well on Saturday, July 16th I saw the tiny tooth breaking the surface of his gums making it's way through Caleb's glistening saliva. Just to be sure I stuck my finger to touch it and sure enough I felt the hard ridge. I was so happy, yet confused because there was no swelling or redness to his gums. Anyway I guess that could be a trend since there wasn't any indication that our little micropreemie would come so early too. Caleb has been doing very well on his solid foods and we have been slowing increasing how much he is eating. I think one of the most difficult parts about being a parent is that there is no set of instructions on how to do things because each baby is so different. We have found what works best is giving Caleb solids in between his bottles and since that has helped us put him on a schedule we are happy. As the year is inching closer to his birthday again I am so thankful for all the nurses and doctors who have made it possible to have our son with us. Thanks for checking in with us!

Be Blessed....

Caleb Update

Hi !!!

I am so sorry for such a delay in posting updates. Thing have been pretty hectic since the last time I posted and a lot of great changes have happened.

First I want to give you all of Caleb's Stats.

He is 9 months old

weight : 18 pounds (10th %)

height: 26 inches long

He is eating solid foods now and has tried butternut squash, carrots green beans and bananas. He rolls over when he wants to from his tummy to his back. He has discovered his toes and his ears recently and enjoys touching them both. Caleb is such a happy baby and smile all the time and makes a lot of noise. He just became aware of an "outside" voice and enjoys practicing it very much.

The EYE doctor said that she was very happy with how his eyes have been progressing and said that if all continues to go as it has been then she would only see us ONE more time..... please keep those prayer coming. We were so excited about that new the other day.

The EAR doctor said that he has no doubt that Caleb hears just fine and does not think that he has any hearing loss. WOO HOOO!!! They asked us to come back in September for a final screening and after that we shouldn't have to go back!

The Pulmonologist (LUNG) discontinued Caleb's APNEA machine TODAY!!!! That is a huge milestone we just passed. We are so very thankful GOd has given Caleb such a string body that has really been working well together. The doctor just made it very clear we need to stay away from anyone who is sick...... Caleb is still at rick for RSV or any other kinds of respiratory illnesses.

Caleb has also been continuing his therapy and we were just encouraged to take him to the pool to help his little athletic body loosen up a bit, so I'm sure one it stops raining we will surely take advantage of that recommendation.

I know Caleb has been drooling a lot more for that last couple of months and that is a sure sure sign of teeth to come, but he hasn't had any other indicators until 4th of July. Caleb woke up just after midnight had a low fever and was a little fussy. Why is it that fever always come at night?..... Nonetheless it went away during the day and then came back and then went away...... and then again in the middle of the night he woke up again.. so for the last few days Mommy and daddy have been tired all over again trying to comfort our little growing boy.

So as you can tell we are well on our way to no longer having multiple visits to the specialists office. Each day I see Caleb become more and more adjusted to what his peers are doing and there is nothing better than knowing what an awesome and amazing GOD we serve. Tune in next time for more pictures..... and thanks for praying for our family!

Moving Forward

Hi All!

Sorry that this post has been late coming. On Tuesday we made our way to the gastroenterologist. The excitement had been building for sometime because I was hoping to hear that Caleb was doing well enough that we could start solids. All the indicators were there, but we were instructed to wait since he had such a difficult time in the beginning of his life. So On Tuesday Dr. M said that we could start with cereal and then introduce a new flavor once a week. I think that his first food will be Butternut Squash since I still have some from our co op. CAleb's first go with cereal was a little funny. He wasn't quite sure what to do with the new texture. He tried a few bites and then became very angry. So we washed it down with a little milk and then half way through the bottle tried again which seemed better. With each feeding he has much improved his intake and ability to eat cereal. I'm so excited to be making his baby food that is one thing that I knew I always wanted to do for many years now and since we have been running our Organic Co Op I am more excited.

Caleb is 16.2 pounds and 24.75 inches long.

Our visits to the eye doctor and ear doctors went very well both gave us great reports on Caleb's progress. The ear doctor no longer has any concerns about his hearing. His eye doctor said that his eyes are progressing very well and it should be just a few more times visiting to be sure that everything is completely resolved.

Sitting Pretty

Guess who is sitting?

That's right today Caleb has been sitting all by himself. I'm so happy for him. He will be 8 months on the 5th of June (4 months adjusted). I now he is doing more and more because of his therapy sessions and I am so thankful he has a great therapist. She is so encouraging and has such a gift with working with babies.

On another note I have to say that I am a little obsessed with hearing other people's stories about their micro preemies. I feel like we belong to a special club or something, except no one wants to belong. I was reading this blog and my heart hurt so much for this family. There seemed to be so much guilt, anger and frustration through out the journey... I prayed for them as I read the blog...then I went to bed and the next day I resumed reading. Their son was in the NICU nearly as long as Caleb, but just couldn't get off the ventilators.... they did a tracheotomy but he was still requiring too much help to breathe. In they end they we not able to help him and he went to be with God...He was on the ventilator to long and had Chronic Lung Disease. I was so very much overwhelmed with gratitude at what God has given us. I know the medical odd were against us... because he was a boy, because he was 24 weeks..because it was out of the blue. But we have made it so far. This whole experience has given me a different perspective on Love and Life. I try to find JOY in everything. I do find Joy in our son, even one those days when I'm not sure what to do. I don't take for granted what a privilege it is to be a parent. I no longer want my parenting to follow a book or style but be filled with faith, love and laughter for our family.

Our family has been praying for another family who has a little one in the NICU who isn't doing very well. She too has been on the ventilator for a very long time. I can only ask that God will continue to bless them. Please pray for baby S.