Starting Solids

So Mr. Preston is now 6 months old and is very ready for solids. I was planning waiting a bit longer,but since he is showing all the very ready signs, we're going with it. So at 26 weeks he had his first bite of avocado and a little taste of sweet potato. It was quite the event....messy and fun event. Not sure he actually ate anything but he had fun. Although the sweet potato was not a hit.

I Dislike Hormones

So apparently I'm really sensitive when it comes to things hormonal. So you know all the pregnancy symptom possibilities that MAY occur, but aren't really likely, well, in true Kristen fashion, they all found me. Arg!

1. Screwy postpartum thyroid
2. Varicose veins
3. Hair loss and bald spots!! I'm having to do a comeover, for real! Thank God I have enough hair for four people.
3. ' Pregnancy Mask' on my face, and my derm says it's really difficult to get rid of. Fabulous.
4. Lots and lots of weight loss while BF'ing..too much despite eating far more than I actually want ( even though my thyroid is regulated now )

And then, of course, while pregnant, you add:

Hydronephrosis of the right kidney
Gall bladder attacks
Passed kidney stones while pregnant and grew two huge ones
Preterm labor which led to LOVELY BED REST and lots of other goodness
Incompetent cervix
Esophageal spasms
Severe round ligament pain
Vasospasms of the breast which became apparent while nursing, even though I've prob always had them


Am I really thinking about ever getting pregnant again??!! Holy Geez! I'm totally leaving this up to God. Because honestly, I'm scared just thinking about it.

Head Assessment

As mentioned previously, we took a trip to have Preston's 'plagiocephaly'/mishapen head assessed and measured today. We got his full report complete and his head is truly assymetrical, it's not just our imagination. But we haven't made any decisions yet, as previously decided. But I did want to share a couple pics of Mr. P today as they were taking pics of his head shape. Hilarious!! And PRECIOUS!!

Love, love, love this boy. I think he would be cute wrapped in a trash bag!

Preston @ 24 Weeks

Here are just a few more photos to get you all through your weekend. I know, like me, you can't get enough of this precious baby. Here are a few from yesterday and today.

First time to wear shoes! Look how ADORABLE I look! Like a REAL little man! It's making Mamma so sad that I'm growing up so fast!

Daddy is so silly when he gets me dressed..

 Daddy and Baby visiting at dinner

 Sweet, sweet moments ..

 oh..hahaha..this one obviously got out of order... Miss Kelsey thoroughly enjoying her comfy pillow in her crate taking a nice mid day siesta

 Baby and Randy (his fav giraffe) with Mamma at one of our MANY doctor appointments this week

 Man, I'm horrible at this..this one loaded out of order too...dang it..this is the heap of clothes and toys for the next 6-12 months that we bought Preston at the Just Between Friends Consignment Sale. Whoooo hooo!!! So much fun and great deals! You can't beat a jacket for two bucks. Wash it and it's as good as new. Plus, this should hold us over for a while.  :)

 This is Mr. Eli obviously asserting that he doesn't want his title as the baby of the family usurped by Preston. He helps himself in the bouncer and exersaucer all of the time.

Daddy " feeding" Mr. P his first bite of hamburger! He loved it!

The beautiful flowers from my amazing hubs today. I had a rough morning today so he came home with these in hand. Aww...lovin it! And him!...( are you seeing the common denominator in all the pics...Mr. Eli!)

New Things for Mamma and Baby

Preston and I both have some new stuff to report. He is still a growing and changing little man. His weight gain has still leveled off, but he is still gaining, which is, of course, excellent, and the docs are not worried in the least. So we keep doin' what we're doing. Mr. Preston has truly found the dogs this week, at 24 weeks old. He loves them and stares at them all the time. He grabs and touches them anytime he gets a chance...well, pulls their hair. But they don't mind. At this point, I think they are just grateful for the attention.

Preston and Eli. 24 weeks.

He is 5.5 months and we will be starting him on solids in the next month, so we've been getting him ready. He is showing more signs that he is ready. He can sit well in his high chair, he is very interested to watch us eat or drink, and he loves his spoon. We practice with it and give it to him to play with and suck on during dinner every night. He loves it. We will be skipping cereal all together, and I think his first "meal" will be sweet potato..mmm!

Preston and I have had a really busy last week and a half and have another week of trekking all over town..unfortunately. I have been having to finally follow up on all the issues I had while pregnant, i.e., the kidney hydronephrosis and stones, my gall bladder issues, and thyroid stuff. So I've been going in for follow-up visits with my docs, getting sonograms and bloodwork and getting test results...and, unfortunately, preparing for procedures and more appointments in the future. eeww. This is so much more difficult to do with a little one in tow. But, just in case we have  more babies in our future, I have to make sure all is taken care of and my body is good to go...and by the end of the year if possible, as our lovely insurance-- RIDICULOUS-- deductible starts over on Jan 1. So I'm working on getting it all taken care of now.

The results so far:

The kidney hydronephrosis has taken care of itself----blessing!, but I have grown two massive kidney stones--one in each kidney--that are impassable due to their size. Sooo....they are recommending a lithotripsy procedure to break them up. Yay..not. So I think that's in my future. I'm also completing a urine metabolic profile to determine what in my diet may be contributing to growing them so quickly so I can cut it out!  Excited about these results. Update: I have completed the at-home 48 hour urine collection metabolic profile and have mailed it off to the lab for analysis. I won't get results for another 2-3 weeks, when I meet again with my Urologist. It sure was fun having to pee into a huge jug..for every single pee...even if I left the house ( needless to say, I held it. Like I'm toting around a pee cup. I think not.).

My gall bladder has no sludge or stones in it, but it does have a polyp  inside of it. But, at this time the doc is not recommending that it come out. But he did say for me to prepare to have more gall bladder issues if I ever get pregnant again. Awesome. Update: The results from the sonogram indicate that there is no sludge or stones in my gall bladder at this time. The doc said this is not like a polyp one may have in their colon, in 95% of cases it is a cholesterol deposit. Mine measures .5 cm, and until they are 1 or 2 cm, they do not recommended removing them. But he would like for me to have it rechecked in 1 year just to see if it's growing. If so, then he would recommend that my gall bladder come out. But until then, I'm stuck with this cranky gall bladder.

I went in to my endocrinologist about my thyroid and discussed what has been going on with my milk supply and symptoms. She said that thyroid function can directly impact milk production..which I already knew. So now that I've been back on my medication, she is rechecking my levels to make sure I'm taking an optimal dose. Update: My thyroid results are back in perfect range. Hence, me feeling soooo much better!

I think I have also mentioned that I have been having a real tough time with Preston refusing my left breast for the last six weeks. It was a very abrupt change. I have been working with lactation consultants this entire time but to no avail. So they recommended that I follow up with my OB about the issue to have her rule out any ' disease process' of the breast that may be going on. Lovely. I was told that sometimes if there is something like a mass or tumor ( GASP!), growing in the breast, even though it is not large enough to be felt yet, the baby can detect the change and will reject the breast. Soo...I went in to see my OB this week also and although she did not feel anything abnormal in my breasts, she is sending me to have a sonogram on my left breast to see if there is anything abnormal going on inside. I guess I might as well get it all done now. Whew! Update: The breast sono is complete and all looks perfectly normal..." from what they can tell" according to the Radiologist. Her exact words, " since your breastfeeding your breasts are a nightmare right now for trying to get good images of the breast. In order to get a true look at the breast you would need to be done breastfeeding." Makes sense. A lactating breast is just really 'dense and engorged'. So unless something crazy comes up in the future, I say this is an answered prayer! Praise God nothing was found!

Needless to say this has been a busy week! And next week Preston goes in for a consult on his head shape to find out exactly how asymmetrical his head really is. They will take lots of measurements with digital imagery. Per our pediatrician, " his head is not symmetrical, but I have no idea if it will get better on it's own. But given that it has shown no change with positional therapy, it may not.  So if your insurance covers it, I say do it." I'm still not sold on the whole helmet thing, but our insurance will only cover a helmet if his head measurements show that his head shape is off by more than 10 mm. So we're at least going in to have his head measured to at least see where he stands. I'll bring back more updates as I have them.

Update: Preston's head measure 7.4 mm off or asymmetrical and is 4 standard deviations from the normal curve midline. They took a laser scan of his head to get some 3D images and it showed that the back of his head is not growing out, instead, his head is growing up--taller. This is called towering. This was likely caused by womb position and had nothing to do with us laying him on his back too much. This makes sense, as he laid with his head in my pelvis for the last 4 months of pregnancy.   Hmm..this puts us in a not so good place as now we have the data and head scan that confirm that his head is not growing out in the back but up instead. Since he has one flat side on the back of his head it is also causing his hears to sit in different places on either side of his head. His left ear sits in front of the midline of his head and the right ear sits a little behind the midline. Our insurance will only cover a 10mm level of asymmetry, which is an extreme case, but what Preston has going on with his head is def noticeable. And since we have a son, I def don't want him to have issues later on with baseball or football helmets not fitting, or having glasses that don't sit on his face correctly because of the difference in his ears, or just any reason to be self conscious. I know kids can be mean!  However, since his measurement is only 7.4, insurance will not pay for his helmet. So...this puts us in a tricky spot. The grand total: $ 2500. Awesomeness. Lower than the first place we went to, but still a lot of money. The down side to waiting 6+ months to see if there is any improvement is that the older the child is, the longer they have to wear the helmet. If we fitted him for one today, his likely treatment length would be about 8 weeks. We have not decided what we will do yet. We're going to continue to pray about it and let the Lord help direct our decision, comfort level, and finances. I have no doubt he will. So until we have a good peace about a decision, we're just going to hang tight.

Preston has been sick for the last two weeks. He has been a snotty, coughing mess. I think we're just now starting to see some improvement. He tested negative for RSV, and doc wanted to put him on antibiotics and steroids. But we gave him a few more days without the antibiotics and steroids to see if he would improve on his own, and he has. I don't love steroids.  Poor sweet baby. It's so difficult to see your baby miserable. All else is well and things are moving along!

Oh How a Mamma Never Forgets

Something random came up today that reminded me of this song. This is the song that I sang to our first baby, the one we lost, right after i found out the pregnancy wouldn't  make it. It took a long time for the pregnancy to become ' no longer', and I sang this song to our baby every day and I cried and cried utterly heart broken. This song was my pledge to our sweet baby. And I soon realized God was also singing this song to me. I love our God. I know God is taking great care of our baby and we will one day meet, and I know it will be a magical, overwhelming moment. Can't wait!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqrR8AgTo_A


...And then God handed down a sweet ray of sunshine shortly after..

A Couple of Firsts

Mr. Preston...and Mom and Dad...experienced a big first this weekend. We were finally ready...( kinda) to leave Preston in the church nursery. It was more like we knew it was time. We don't want him to be antisocial or not be able to leave our side when he's a little older, so we know we need to start now.

Our church doesn't have any vaccine requirements for kids in the nursery, so I was waiting a little bit until he had a few vaccines on board to make sure he had some good protection since a lot of kids in our area have parents who prefer not to vaccinate their kids. And, it took us so long to leave him because I just wasn't quite ready yet. :(

But we agreed last weekend that THIS weekend would be THE weekend. It was hard, I'll admit. I even got emotional and teared up after leaving him with a super nice fellow Keystoner who I know showered him with love. But he's my baby! I'm madly in love with him and I've spent every waking moment, and even every not-so waking moment thinking or caring for him for the last ...well, I was going to say five months, but the truth is it's really been far longer than that. He is like this brilliant prize that I cherish and fiercely safeguard so it's super hard to leave him..even though I dream of getting a break some days. :)

Anyhoo, he did great and we did great. I made it through church and thoroughly enjoyed the service. Although Preston was never out of my mind. I just knew he was screaming and having a horrible time....but he wasn't, or at least when we walked up he wasn't. Thank goodness!!

We love, love our baby, who by the way, is getting sick, I think. He started coughing today, isn't sleeping as well, and has a runny nose. :(  I went to a breastfeeding mother's support group get together a few days ago and there was lots of mamma's and babies...maybe he picked up something...uhg! The change in sleep also has something to do with the fact he is now rolling over constantly in his sleep and scooting all over the place, which wakes him up and he won't go back to sleep. He gets himself in the oddest positions. He sleeps on his belly, and is rolling to his back, which he doesn't like for a sleeping position. For some reason, even though he can easily roll himself back over to his belly, he doesn't. Instead, he lays there and cries and cries and won't go back to sleep. This happens every couple of hours or so through the night. Gotta love all  the developmental milestones of an infant! :)

Another first--now that Preston can sit up with assistance, he will be using his high chair. We all had our first dinner together at the table as a family, which we will continue to do every night from here on out. It was such a great experience! I can't believe we have a high chair pulled up to our dining room table. It seems so surreal to me. :) I love it.

These are for you, Granny Sherri! Thank you! He loved it!

Look at this lovely baby checking out the toy that sits on the tray for the babe to play with before they are old enough to be eating from the tray.

He loved it!

Please pray for healing over Mr. Preston and for continued prayers over his eating. He is still not gaining weight..although he is not losing weight..but it's not because there is not enough milk for him. My milk supply is fully back and all is well now that I'm back on my thyroid medications.  He just doesn't seem to have an appetite. He isn't crying in hunger between feedings, and is still a happy baby, but just doesn't want to eat. Seems odd there is no interest in eating! But his doc says they are not worried until he starts losing weight. I'm having to pump extra to remove the milk I'm producing since he's not eating it..so our deep freeze is super full! I sure hope this is a phase. :)