10 Months Old

Today R.J. is 10 months old...

Bite

On Friday, when we were leaving to go to Gatlinburg, my mom called and let us know that R.J. had cut his first tooth and that there was another one on the way. He now has 2 teeth and they are so cute. You can see them more and more every day. They are right beside each other on his bottom gum. I wonder when we will see something come in on his top gums. Won't that look too cute?

Overdue Update

It's been a little while since I've updated, so I thought now would be a good time. A bit has happened since the last time I posted. Monday we went to Birmingham to see the Oncologist and let him know how treatments were going along. Things are going good and we have decided on a Chemo-therapy drug that I will be taking as soon as I am done with radiation. The name of the drug is Nexavar and Monday is my last day of radiation. That's also a good things.

Tuesday was Aaron's birthday and he turned 32 years old. I think he had a good day, despite having to take me to and from treatment. Then we went to Funtasia to play some minigolf and I had a dizzy spell and fell. I managed to scrape my knee all up, embarrass my self and feel like I ruined Aaron's birthday. We left there and the gentleman who was working, helped us bandage up my knee and gave us a raincheck. We went to our house and rebandaged the knee and composed myself. Then we decided where we wanted to eat. Aaron chose Sata Fe Steak Co. in Hampton cove. It was really good. He got an 8oz filet that he really enjoyed and I got some nachos that were reall good. All in all it was a good ending to the outing. Then we went back home and watched some of the birthday present that I got for him. I got him Way of the Master seasons 1 and 2.

Yesterday was a long day as well. We went to treatment and then had to talk to the doctor afterward. We told her about the 2 dizzy spells I had this week and the pain I've been having in my left leg and very lower back on that side. I've also been having some slight numbness in the left thigh. She increased the steroid I'm on and has scheduled me for an MRI this morning. Upon looking at the sheet that I give to admission it looks like the wrong area has been marked for the scan. We were told that I was to have my pelvis scaned and the head/brain has been marked. I recently had a head/brain scan and that is one of the areas that is being radiated right now, so there would be no need at this moment to have it scanned for this new pain. We are going to talk to admitting and see if it can't be straightend out while we are there, otherwise I am going to have to talk to the doctor and have it re-scheduled.

Aaron was able to buy the mattress for RJ's crib at our house and we were able to take him there to see and lay on it. He loved it and now his room is almost complete. The only thing missing is the border that matches the bedding and the wall hangings. We're getting there. It was a wonderful feeling getting the mattress and completing one more thing.

Thank you for all your prayers. We appreciate it and I will update again soon!!!!

Getting Prepared

It seems like this week has just flown by and it's hard to believe that tomorrow evening I'll being heading down to Birmingham to have the first procedure done on the road to eradicating the liver cancer. I feel like I've waited a long time just to get started. But, it's all in the Lord's timing and not mine.

Yesterday Mom, RJ and I went to Florence to visit my grandparents. It's been close to 5 months since they have seen RJ and we wanted to make the drive before I went to Birmingham. It was a very nice trip and they enjoyed seeing us; RJ especially. RJ was a good boy and we were VERY thankful for that. For the past 3 day's he's been quite a handul...more than what we are used to from him. It also felt good for me to get out of the house and go on a little trip. As we were on our way there, Mom and I noticed a number of little wat-not shops that we would like ot stop in. We also saw a very large yardsale, that if we had not been running late, we would've stopped to parooze their wares. We said that one day we would like to just take a drive back that way to stop in all the neat stores and yardsales along the way. That's my kind of trip!

So, as the title of this post says, I am getting prepared for the first treatment/procedure at UAB. The only thing I am really hoping for, besides that it will shrink the tumor, is that the pain is less than that of the livery biopsy. The liver biopsy was the worst pain I have EVER felt. That's all I ask. Oh, and that things do go smoothly and there are no complications. Ok, there are a few things I'm asking the Lord for. The other thing I am asking is that my family be comforted and the Lord ease their minds as I am going through this. I cannot thank them enough for all the help and support they have given me. The Lord continues to bless my family and I day to day. It is so amazing just watching how He answers the littlest of requests. I can not thank Him enough for the mercy and kindness he has shown. Having mentioned the previous things, I would ask, if you would, to pray for my family and I. We truly do appreciate it and we know the Lord hears our prayers. Thank you.

Ebay

As all babies do, RJ has grown out of a lot of clothes. So, I've decided to list these items on Ebay and hopefully I will be able to get them out of here and make a little money as well. I had 15 auctions listed and 4 of them have ended today. More end tomorrow and the rest end on Monday. Then, after I am back on my feet from the proceedure, I will list more items to sell. This first batch was not quite half of what I've got to sell. There are still 2 boxes left of things that need to make their way out of this house. Then, I need to go to my own house and make sure that I've got everything from there that RJ can't use any more.

Pictures

Mom, Aaron, RJ and I went and had pictures taken today. I was a good day. RJ did better than I thought he would do for his very first photo session. I am going to attempt to load some of them on here for you to look at.

Cuteness

I was going through my pictures for Ebay and forgot I had taken these. I thought they were pretty cute...but, I'm biased.

The Other Man in My Life

Well, technically he's not a man. My RJ...where to begin? How about in the mornings when he greets me with a smile in his pack and play where he sleeps. Or how he carries on a conversation sometimes before we go down stairs. When I pick him up from a nap and sit him on my lap he proceeds to tell me what he dreampt about...or so that's what I think. And he has a smile that when doing so, he scrunches up his little face. His smile and laugh are enough to melt your heart. Some of the littlest things make him laugh. He has a way of looking at you...that look that can make you give in to any request he may have. Mothers, I know you know it...grandmothers, I think have lost their ability to fight it. Some of his best conversations are on the changing table...don't know why. And when he rolls over, lifts his head up and smiles at you. This is just some of the things about my RJ. Our precious gift from God.

The Love of Food

Flat out...RJ loves food. He eats his rice cereal and looks like he's having spasms in his arms and legs. He does the same thing with sweet potatoes. I'm curious to see what he does with the peas, green beans, and carrots we got him. As well as food, he takes all medicine as if it were food. I am thankful for that. I'm sure there there will be a food that he just doesn't like; I wonder what that one will be. Aaron says Mexican because that's all I ate when I was pregnant with him. Either that or cheese. Hmmmmm.

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'

RJ is now rolling over on his own, from back to front and front to back. For the longest time he was trying to roll over from back to front and would get very frustrated when he wasn't able to do it. We would keep helping him and show him what he needed to do, then the other night he was playing on the blanket on the floor on his back. Then, a couple minutes later I looked down at him and he was on his stomach. It was great. Now he does it at will. The only thing is, he's getting frustrated still when he gets to his stomach. I'm not sure if he needs something to intrest him while in that position or what. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Not Much

I haven't had much to post about the past few days. I've just been trying to get back into the swing of things as well as rest here and there. Today is a day of phone calls. I've got to call Birmingham and discuss starting the process to have the tumor removed, as well as calling to get the CT scans from TX. There are a few other calls to be made about various health issues. Fun, fun, fun. The most important is the call to Birmingham.

RJ is doing great. He's blabbing, eating, and looking cute. Sometimes all at the same time. He has a little cold right now, but nothing bad and it really isn't affecting him. He's a good baby.

Ah Ha!!

So, a couple days ago RJ was being really fussy. Our "really fussy" is probably the average fussy for other babies. We are very blessed in that manner. Anyways, this morning I may have found the reason for all the uproar. It appears on his bottom gum that he is cutting a tooth. I can see the little tooth trying to peek out. So begins our experience with teething. Yeah!!

Eating 101

R.J. loves to eat!! About 2 weeks ago we started feeding him rice cereal. Mom warned me that sometimes babies don't care for the texture at first and may spit it out. Well...not R.J. He loved it. And every time he eats it he loves it. He knows exactly what to do...he opens his mouth as the spoon gets close. Since he liked rice cereal so much, and since it looked like he wasn't having a problem with it...we decided to start him on bananas. I was not sure how he would like them since he had gotten used to rice cereal. This kid loves food. He ate a whole jar the first time. He was getting soooo excited. It was wonderful. I love to watch him eat. It makes me feel good that he's eating good. However; a whole jar was probably not a good choice. The bananas made things move through him a bit faster. Oh well, now we know. I love it!!

Firsts

Well, today was a day of firsts. RJ has his first cold. So, far it's not that bad and he's not being fussy. He has a little bit of a runny nose and a cough and that's about it. I've got to call the pulmonologist on Monday to see how much of the steroid I have to give him. He was given the steroid to keep the cartilage over his voice box from getting inflamed from his cold. Also, today was the first day I have ever had church cancled where I go to church. I attend a very small church and I believe many of the people have to travel a little ways to attend. Last night and this morning it snowed and made traveling on the roads a little bit risky. So, church was cancelled. This may have been a good thing in the long run since RJ does have a cold and it really was best that he didn't get out in the weather.

Clearing off the plate

With all that is going on with our family, I told Aaron that I just wanted to get one thing taken care of and off our plate and today that happened. Today we took RJ to the pediatric pulmonologist. We saw Dr. Mehesh, who was a very nice doctor, took a lot of time with us and made sure we understood his diagnosis and that he answered all our questions. Also, he was kind enough to print out some information on the diagnosis. So, here is what we found out: RJ has what is called laryngomalacia, which is a congenital deformity where the soft, immature cartilage of the upper larynx collapses inward during inhalation, causing airway obstruction. His breathing is noisy and worrysome; however the doctor informed us that he will grow out of this. He has been given medicine for reflux and also something that should take care of his problem of spitting up 2+ hours after feeding. Also, he told us that should RJ get a cold we need to call him and he is to be given a dose of steroids. The reason is that the upper larynx can become swollen and cause further breathing problems. We were given the prescription to be filled today so that we would have it if or when he does get a cold. I love the fact that this doctor was thinking ahead! Thank you Lord for clearing one thing off our plate.

Fluke

I had to get this down before I forgot. This evening R.J. was sitting in the swing and he lost his binki. Mom put it back in his mouth and told him not to spit it out. Shortly thereafter he grabbed it with his right hand and took it out of his mouth...then, right after that, he managed to put it back in his mouth!! We all found this quite amazing. I know it was a fluke and he didn't know what he was doing, but, it was exciting and cute to see.

RJ goes to Church

Today we brought RJ to church with us. He did great. We had a bottle before we left and he only made a couple little noises during service. This is good because the service is generally an hour and a half or more. Afterward, a diaper change kept him calm for some fellowship time. This was a big step for us because there is no nursery for him to go to. Children of all ages sit with the parents during service. It is a good thing because it gives children the great example of worshiping the Lord, listening to His word being preached, allowing them to see their parents worshiping the Lord. There is a room off to the side for parents and their children to go should the child become to loud or disruptive. It was a great service and everyone loved being able to see the baby. The comment we got the most was "look at all that hair". Yep, he's got plenty of hair. Now that we've taken him this time, it will make it much easier from now on. I only wish I took a picture of what he wore...it was so cute. I'll have to put it on him just for a photo op.

Out and About

Today Aaron and I went out and about with R.J. It was a lot of fun. Aaron put the stroller together this morning and it was easy to navigate and had a smooth ride. We were able to get a bite to eat and then go to the Christian book store and pick out some . This is the first time we've taken him to a store. I was a bit apprehensive, but it was pretty easy; we just had to get our timing down and go between feedings. I am encouraged because I have been feeling like I was locked up in my house not able to go anywhere with the baby. This opens doors for us and I am excited. We will have to stock up on hand sanitizer, that's for sure. I wonder where we'll go next. I can't wait until he's able to go places and play. Oh the fun we will have.

Dr. Visit

Today R.J. had a doctor's visit to get his vaccines and for us to talk about just some general concerns we had. He weighed 8 lbs .9 oz and measured 21 in long. He's growing well. Also, the doctor said that the amount of formula he's taking each feeding is good for his weight and not to be overly concerned about increasing his feedings. We are going to see how he does on this formula and if he's still having the tummy troubles we are going to switch him to a soy formula. Both the nurse and the doctor said that their kids were on soy formula and did well. His PKU test came back and everything was good. After discussing our concerns came the not-so-fun part of the visit. The doctor gave him a dose of Tylenol before he got his vaccines. They were able to combine a couple and reduce the number of sticks he had to have. We were very thankful for that. He got a total of 3 shots and did much better than I thought he would. Right now he's just haning out in his swing taking a nap. I'm sure the Tylenol helped the whole process. He's a trooper though.

Boycott

For the past couple days RJ has been boycotting the swing. Don't know why because he loves the swing just like he loves his binky. Each time during the day I would put him in the swing after eating and he would just sit and fuss until I laid him down in his cradle. Last night it was a different story. After eating we put him in his swing and he started to fuss. Then we swadled him and put him in the cradle; as has been the normal routine for the past couple days. He laid in the cradle for a little while and started fussing...well, why don't we try to put him back in the swing. We did and he seemed to be over his boycott of the swing. He fell a sleep after a little bit and ended up going 7 hours between feedings that time. Hmmmm. We may be getting closer to sleeping through the night.

Also, a few weeks ago I called his DR to ask about the formula we were using. It seems to be giving him lots of gas. I know some gas is normal...but this is painful for him. I didn't hear back and made an appointment for him to go this Friday. I was talking to my mom yesterday and she tells me..."oh, by the way, we were checking the messages on the voicemail and the DR called and said to put him on soy formula." So, she did call back and gave us a reccomendation. I am still going to talk to her about it because Enfamil has a lactos-free formula and a soy formula and I want to put him on the best one. I also want to make sure he's getting all the nutrition he should be getting for a preemie. He seems to be gaining weight. I do, however, think if we got the gas situation under control that he would be eating more and gaining more. On average he takes 4 oz. There have been a few times he taken 5.5 - 6.5 oz in a feeding, so that tells me that he is capable of eating more.

Three times I have now chased the cat away from the fresh herbs I cut for the mini-quiches I'm making for tonight. Maybe the terragon is attracting him like catnip. Who knows. It's back to the kitchen I go.