53 Seconds of Delicious Babyness

He's still a little wobbly, but getting stronger every day!

Exersaucering

Jack has shown remarkable improvement in his weight and muscle tone since his 4 month check up, but he's still a little behind where Ryan was around this age. Here's Jack, 19 weeks, in the Exersaucer, propped up by a blanket and not sure what to make of sitting up.

Here's Ryan at 16 weeks (propped up by Daddy).

And here's Ryan at almost 26 months...

Once Again, Unexpected

Boy, have we been on a roller coaster lately - first, I got invited back to work at the MS Society two days a week, helping out with editing and event planning, then we had Jack's disappointing 4 month check up and a trip to Children's Hospital, then my dad and stepmom came for a lovely long weekend visit with trips to the zoo and the Stock Show (outside of Kauai, my favorite place on Earth, seriously). Sam finished his master's thesis, I booked our flights to Kauai, and Ryan got croup and hasn't slept through the night in four days. Now, finally...

I woke up Saturday morning at 5:45 with a throbbing ache in my lower abdomen. I thought it might have something to do with the Mirena IUD I had inserted in December (yep, two kids is my limit, for sure!), so I called my midwife, who suggested I go to the ER. After rousing my in-laws to come stay with the boys, Sam and I arrived at Lutheran at 7 am (where I delivered both boys and Sam had his elbow stitched up after a Labor Day home improvement project went awry).

The ER staff took blood and urine samples and sent me to get an ultrasound. Everything looked fine there - no problems with the IUD or my other "girl parts", so then they ordered a CT scan to look at my appendix (my blood counts were fine - no sign of an infection anywhere). I make it sound like this happened fairly quickly, but since Lutheran serves the entire west side of Denver, it was pretty busy and I didn't get the scan until noon. I had to drink a nasty concoction to "opasticize" my innards - which was the only thing I got to eat or drink ALL DAY.

Sam kept teasing me that I just wanted attention and to have a day off from Mommying, but I assured him that I would have rather scheduled a massage and a pedicure - the spa has heated towels, too.

The CT techs put an iodine-based dye through my IV to get a better look at everything. She warned me that I would feel very warm, and I did, especially in my face. A few minutes after we returned to the ER, Sam peered at me and said, oh-so-lovingly, "Your face looks weird - it's all splotchy." I rang for the nurse, who noticed my tongue was swollen, and the doctor ordered some Benadryl for my obvious allergic reaction. I had a nice long nap at that point...

The CT scan came back, and the doctor told me they couldn't see the appendix. Since my bloodwork looked okay, they weren't sure what to do next, but my pain was worsening (even with the Fentanyl), so they brought down a surgeon, who suggested they admit me. She proposed two options - I could stay overnight and they could run all the tests again tomorrow, or she could do an exploratory laproscopy to try to get a better look at my appendix. Considering I hadn't eaten anything since Friday's dinner and I knew I wouldn't be allowed to eat or drink anything until I had surgery, I opted for her to go ahead with the laproscopy.

I got moved up to the surgical unit (and into a MUCH comfier bed - imagine going from a dorm room mattress to Westin's Heavenly Bed) and put on the OR schedule. At 6:30 pm they moved me to pre-op, and a few minutes later the mask was on and I was out cold. When I woke up in post-op the surgeon told me she discovered I had very early appendicitis, which is why my blood work had not yet shown any infection. She complimented me on being so in tune with my body that I recognized pain that should not be ignored - she said a lot of people would have blown it off until it got to an emergency situation where she had to deal with sepsis, etc. I can't imagine ignoring that pain - I told Sam that it felt like the contractions I was having four hours into labor with Ryan, only contractions stop hurting after 45 seconds or so - this pain was constant and alarming.

I now have three small incisions on my abdomen that should heal pretty quickly. I'm going home this afternoon but can't lift more than 20 lbs for a week, so Sam will take Monday and Tuesday off of work to help out with the boys. Once again we got amazing care from the staff at Lutheran, and I took full advantage of the room service - for hospital food, it's actually really good (coffee needs work, though, but hey, I didn't have to cook!). Sam's parents and sister were kind enough to come stay with the boys and entertain them - Ryan knows that Mama is at the doctor but she'll be home soon.

Sorry, no pictures. I should have asked the surgeon to take pictures during the laproscopy - wouldn't that have been a hoot? I suppose I could do a Google image search for photos of an appendix, or perhaps we'll just leave it up to the imagination...

Isn't It Grand?

My dad and stepmom came to visit this weekend - it was their first time meeting Jack; they hadn't seen Ryan since Christmas 09. We spent a lot of time just hanging out around the house.

Ryan helping Mama cook dinner

and showing Grandma Charma how he puts plastic toothpicks in a spice shaker (a great fine motor skill builder and color-identifying practice)

Peter Cat was happy to get any attention, even if it came in the clutches of an uncoordinated 4 month old.

Blowing out the bougie-candle at Grandma Fleming's house

Jack figuring out the basics of rolling on his side on the giant activity mat Mama and Grandma Charma picked out.

They took Ryan for a walk one afternoon after nap to give us a little breather. I don't think they realized quite how hilly our neighborhood is! It's easy to get DOWN to the playground; coming back up will give you quite a workout.

Dude, these are the coolest hands, EVER.

A lapful of grandkids

We headed to the "Colorado" playground near the library to play on the fake natural structures - Ryan really liked the ropes.


Jena, James and David met us there, and then we all headed over to Village Inn for lunch.

Right before heading back to the airport, PawPaw read Ryan his naptime stories.

National Western Stock Show 2011

I know Disneyland bills itself as "The Happiest Place on Earth", but I beg to differ.



C'mon, does Disneyland have TRACTORS?

Unexpected

Yesterday we took Jack in for his four month appointment. We love our pediatricians because they are always so effusive about how happy and healthy our kiddos are, exclaiming over Ryan's giant babyness and Jack's long long legs and torso, so I had little reason to suspect this visit would be any different.

I was quite surprised, then, when Dr. Nancy came in with a rather serious look on her face and immediately commented on Jack's weight (or, really, his lack thereof). He's in the 92nd percentile for length, but only the 10th percentile for weight. At two months he was on track to be in the 40th percentile, so she was really worried that he was not gaining as he should be. I explained that he had been quite gassy and colickly lately, and not sleeping well at night. I also reminded her that I am also chasing around an active two year old and am often nursing Jack cradled in my arm while I wipe Ryan's face or extricate him from some place that seemed (to him) like a good idea at the time...

Dr. Nancy instructed us to extend Jack's nursing time, with a big burp halfway through to remove any bubbles that might make him feel fuller than he really is, and to give him infant gas drops when he seems upset. He also had thrush in his mouth, which was causing him a lot of pain and making him not want to nurse very long, so we got medicine for that. We are also to give him extra bottle feedings of breast milk mixed with formula and cereal (she thinks he may also have reflux, and the cereal will help keep the food from gurgling back up his esophagus). In addition, I cut out dairy from my diet - that help Ryan overcome some major tummy upset, so I'm sure it will work with Jack, too - though I'll miss my ice cream and homemade yogurt (I'll celebrate with a Ben & Jerry's party whenever Jack weans...).

She also diagnosed him with low muscle tone (hypotonia), noting that he is not as strong as most 4 month olds and giving us a referral for a physical therapist who will come to the house and work with him as well as giving us exercises we can do with him daily to help build muscles.

In addition, I had noticed that while snuggling with Jack or burping him on my shoulder, I felt a slight curve in his spine. I mentioned it to Dr. Nancy, who looked at it herself and agreed that it was just outside of normal, with the appearance of congenital scoliosis, and that we needed to see a specialist to take any necessary early action. We asked for a referral for Children's Hospital, since we had such a good experience with them with Ryan, and were able to get an appointment today.

I took lots of photos while waiting for Dr. Glancy, an older doctor who has been practicing pediatric orthopedics in the Denver area for years (Sam's mom is a retired Special Education teacher, and she recognized his name as having worked with many of her physically disabled students).

Here, Dad, I can help hold it!

A full tummy, at last!

And a big burp!

Dr. Glancy was very nice, and yes, he was quite astonished by the length of Jack's torso, exclaiming "Well, this just goes on forever, doesn't it!" He sent us to get an Xray, and diagnosed an 11 degree curve. He said they don't label it scoliosis until it's 20 degrees and they don't do surgery until it's 40 degrees. He also told us that he didn't see anything that would lead him to believe that Jack's spine will curve any more - more likely that his underdeveloped muscles are not supporting his bones enough for them to grow straight, and our campaign to Make Jack Fat should get everything sorted out. We have a follow-up appointment in four months to make sure that is the case.

The curve is hard to see in this scan of the Xray print out they gave us - it's right in middle of his abdomen, where the white mass of organs goes all the way across. In the original Xray, you can even see his little teeth, just hanging out in his lower jaw, just waiting to bust through - hopefully not for a few more months, though!


After the appointment we headed out to the airport to pick up my dad and stepmom, who were coming in for a long weekend. They haven't met Jack yet, and haven't seen Ryan since Christmas 09.

Next time Jack goes to DIA will be for his first trip to Kauai in April!

ED 1/23: Operation Make Jack Fat seems to be working - he has gained a pound in a week; we return to the pediatrician's office on Wednesday to see if he's getting back on course.

Sledding 201 (ALSO FAIL)

After my last disastrous attempt to take Ryan sledding, I decided to take a less is more approach in the hopes that he would be less freaked out by a smaller hill in a familiar setting. We packed up the warm clothes, the sled and Baby Jack and headed over to Jena's house to scoot down the little slope in her backyard.

I knew from the get-go that it would not work out any better than last time:

Full-on toddler fit

Jack, however, did not seem bothered by the 18 degree temperatures.

Jena and David attempt to pack down the snow to make a nice sled run.

Ryan decided he could be outside as long as he wasn't actually standing in or touching (or being touched by) snow, so he perched on the metal patio chair. He also refused to keep his mittens on (he is 2, after all!).


Again, Jack was pretty unperturbed by the whole thing.


Finally we gave up and headed back inside, where David got to practice being a big brother (his little sibling will arrive in late April).

Sledding 101 (FAIL)

We had a nice snowfall over New Year's weekend and Jena invited us to go sledding on the hill at the junior high, which is just about exactly between our two houses. Sam is still working on his thesis, so he stayed home with Jack while I bundled Ryan into his snowsuit and boots. He really enjoyed playing in the snow last winter, so I was surprised when he started to pitch a fit once we got to the hill.

Ryan and David are usually pretty strong influences on each other, for better or worse - skinny Minnie David eats more when dining with hollow-leg Ryan; Ryan followed David's example in throwing toys indoors (both were quickly shown the error of their ways). Their favorite game is to follow each other around the kitchen island in a kind of slow motion chase scene. Given this copycat nature, I though Ryan would warm to the sledding concept after watching David sled, both on his own and with his dad James, whom Ryan adores.

Obviously, not. Here he goes in for a snuggle from Jena.

David, who is having a total blast, seems confused by Ryan's loud objections to this thrilling adventure.

Finally I loaded Ryan back in the car and headed home, determined to revisit sledding at a later date - perhaps on the tiny slope in our yard first. Just as we were pulling in to the garage, Jena called an asked if they could come to our house, since as we pulled out of the school parking lot, David started chasing our car, called "Ryan! Ryan! Ryan!".

Jena is due with her second baby in late April, so James got a refresher course in helping tired little ones settle down to nap.

Perfectly matched goofballs, these two...