Back to pt we go..

I've been concerned about Jackson gross motor skills for a while.It took him a while to learn how to sit up. I just figured it from was the torticollis and helmet.  I was really concerned that Jackson would not put any weight on his legs. At one of Jackson's appointments I asked his pediatrician about it and she recommended to have his physical therapist check him out and decide if he has the strength or he is just choosing to be lazy. I spoke to the pediatrician way back in November. Since Jackson had been evaluated for torticollis our insurance did not allow him to have another evaluation for 2012. So we had to wait till January. Great huh? Don't you love insurance?

Yesterday, Jackson was finally evaluated . Great news is that he will put some pressure on his legs, but not for long. She concluded that he has low muscle tone in his arms. He is about to be 9 months old and his arms/truck is on about a 6 month age level. So, we are going to start physical therapy  to strengthen his arm muscles. Since his arm muscles are weak he is no where close to crawling. Remember he weighs 22 pounds, so he has a lot of strengthening to do to hold up his body. I hope Jackson is ready to start working out.

This is not the what I wanted to hear, but I kind of knew it already. So, being proactive and starting physical therapy early he should respond well and he will be well on his way to crawling soon.

Morning pictures

Yesterday morning Jackson and I were playing. I haven't taken spur of the moment pictures in a while so I grabbed my camera and started clicking away.

Bella is really not mean. She looks like it in these pictures, but she wouldn't hurt a flee!
Can you believe Jackson is wearing 24 month pj's! AHHH

Happy Birthday!!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

We are so lucky to call you our daddy!

 

We have so much fun with you!

 

We know you love us so much!

 

You are the best daddy ever!!!

 

Love,

Maddie and Jackon

and Mommy too    

Maddie Visit

I've been having a hard time lately. I miss my girl and it's getting close to her angelversary. This time of year is so hard for us.

Jackson is keeping us smiling. He's the light in our lives. Yesterday we were playing in this room and we found this..

a baby ladybug!

When I saw it I had tears in my eyes and I ran (with Jackson in my arms) to show James. 

I LOVE when we get signs from Maddie. I wish I could get one every day. She knew we needed this, and we did.

Love you Maddiegirl keep sending up Maddiebugs!

SIDS

I feel like this needs to be reposted....

All information is from The American Sudden Infant Death Institute 

What is SIDS?
SIDS is the sudden death of an infant under one year of age which remains unexplained after a thorough case investigation, including performance of a complete autopsy, examination of the death scene, and review of the clinical history. (Willinger et al, 1991).

In a typical situation parents check on their supposedly sleeping infant to find him or her dead. This is the worst tragedy parents can face, a tragedy which leaves them with a sadness and a feeling of vulnerability that lasts throughout their lives. Since medicine can not tell them why their baby died, they blame themselves and often other innocent people. Their lives and those around them are changed forever. 

What Can Be Done?

Unfortunately, we cannot expect to prevent all SIDS deaths now. To do so requires a much greater understanding of SIDS, which will be achieved only with a commitment from those who value babies and with a considerably expanded research effort. However, there are things that can be done to reduce the risk of SIDS.

Parents-To-Be

1. Get medical care early in pregnancy, preferably within the first three months, followed by regular checkups at the doctor's office or health clinic. Make every effort to assure good nutrition. These measures can reduce the risk of premature birth, a major risk factor for SIDS.

2. Do not smoke, use cocaine, or use heroin. Tobacco, cocaine, or heroin use during pregnancy increases the infant's risk for SIDS.

3. Don’t get pregnant during the teenage years. If you are a teen and already have one infant, take extreme caution not to become pregnant again. The SIDS rate decreases for babies born to older mothers. It is highest for babies born to teenage mothers. The more babies a teen mother has, the greater at risk they are.

4. Wait at least one year between the birth of a child and the next pregnancy.The shorter the interval between pregnancies, the higher the SIDS rate.

Parents
1. Place infants to sleep on their backs, even though they may sleep more soundly on their stomachs. Infants who sleep on their stomachs and sides have a much higher rate of SIDS than infants who sleep on their backs.
2. Place infants to sleep in a baby bed with a firm mattress. There should be nothing in the bed but the baby - no covers, no pillows, no bumper pads, no positioning devices and no toys. Soft mattresses and heavy covering are associated with the risk for SIDS.
3. Keep your baby’s crib in the parents’ room until the infant is at least 6 months of age. Studies clearly show that infants are safest when their beds are close to their mothers.
4. Do not place your baby to sleep in an adult bed. Typical adult beds are not safe for babies. Do not fall asleep with your baby on a couch or in a chair.
5. Do not over-clothe the infant while she sleeps. Just use enough clothes to keep the baby warm without having to use cover. Keep the room at a temperature that is comfortable for you. Overheating an infant may increase the risk for SIDS.
6. Avoid exposing the infant to tobacco smoke. Don't have your infant in the same house or car with someone who is smoking. The greater the exposure to tobacco smoke, the greater the risk of SIDS.
7. Breast-feed babies whenever possible. Breast milk decreases the occurrence of respiratory and gastrointestinal infections. Studies show that breast-fed babies have a lower SIDS rate than formula-fed babies do.
8. Avoid exposing the infant to people with respiratory infections. Avoid crowds. Carefully clean anything that comes in contact with the baby. Have people wash their hands before holding or playing with your baby. SIDS often occurs in association with relatively minor respiratory (mild cold) and gastrointestinal infections (vomiting and diarrhea).
9. Offer your baby a pacifier. Some studies have shown a lower rate of SIDS among babies who use pacifiers.
10. If your baby has periods of not breathing, going limp or turning blue, tell your pediatrician at once.
11. If your baby stops breathing or gags excessively after spitting up, discuss this with your pediatrician immediately.
12. Thoroughly discuss each of the above points with all caregivers. If you take your baby to daycare or leave him with a sitter, provide a copy of this list to them. Make sure they follow all recommendations.

But my baby doesn't like sleeping on his back. Can't I let him sleep on his tummy? response by Betty McEntire, PhD, Executive Director, American SIDS Institute

Answer:

It's hard to know for sure what babies like since they can't tell us. However, babies do tend to cry more when placed on their backs. In fact, for many "hard to soothe" infants, placing them on their stomachs does seem to calm them and help them fall to sleep. Also, babies wake less when on their stomachs and it takes more stimulation to wake them than when they are on their backs. Another thing we know is that tummy-sleeping infants retain more heat than when on their backs.

But should parents give in and place their little ones on their tummies? They should certainly not! Infants are more likely to have apnea (pauses in breathing) when on their stomachs. They are also more likely to re-breathe the air they have just exhaled, which can raise their levels of carbon dioxide. The increased retention of body heat can also be dangerous for some infants. But more convincing than any other fact is that belly-sleep has up to 12.9 times the risk of death as back-sleep.

Remember BACK IS BEST!!

Good bye helmet.. well kinda.

Monday, I took Jackson back to the neurologist. It was such a quick trip, no pictures were taken.

They scanned Jackson's head and guess what? The transformation is miraculous! 

The red line is his head scan from November 13^th before we started the helmet. The blue line is from January 14^th. Jackson was only in his band for 2 months.

Can you believe how much improvement he made?

God is good, Jackson is out of his band. Well, kinda… The neurologist suggested he wears it at night due to him sleeping on his back. He tried to convince me that is was safe to put Jackson to sleep on his tummy. He says that SIDS is now reduced when I know for a fact it is not. He actually argued with me telling me I HAD to put him to sleep on his tummy or his head could reshape. I told him for a fact I will NEVER put a baby to sleep on their belly.....ever.   

I can't believe how fast Jackson's head reshaped. It's amazing!

So, one more month of wearing his band at night and we are done. No. More. Helmet! Yay!!! 

Baby proofing

Let's talk baby proofing..

I'm lost.
Where do I start?
What do really I need?
What is the best products to buy?

Jackson is starting to get mobile and we need to baby proof like..yesterday! 

My cutie this morning

That mom

Well, I am officially "that mom". You know who I'm talking about.

Last night I went and got my hair highlighted. James watched Jackson and gave him a run for his  money. He cried the whole time  I was gone.

Jackson had a 100.4 fever last night and he woke up every hour. He also has a runny nose and he is pulling his ears.
 
He has to be sick, right?

After a very long night. This morning I called the pediatrician and the receptionist knows my voice..Yep that mom.

We have been to the pediatrician probably 30 times and Jackson is only 8 months old.. Yep that mom

After waiting over an hour to be seen, the doctor checked Jackson out. Ears were clear and he looked good. She thinks it's just teeth.

I am glad I brought him in. I didn't want him to be in pain. I just wish little man could talk and tell me what is wrong.

I honestly don't care if I'm "that mom". I am doing the best I can as a mom. I may seem a little crazy to someone looking in, but everything scares me. After losing Maddie I can't help but think something could just as easily happen to Jackson. I try really hard to not let that happen, but sometimes I can't help it. Our Maddie was taken from us with no warning. A happy , healthy, perfect baby...gone. So, I am going to keep being "that mom", at least until he goes to college or gets married.

8 months

Jackson,
    You are 8 months old. 8 months just sounds so OLD! I woke up this morning thinking there is no way you are really 8 months old. It's crazy how fast time flies.

You are so precious, my love. Mommy and Daddy have met a lot of their goals with you this month. You are no loner wearing your apnea monitor AND you are in your nursery. That is BIG for us, baby.

You are really starting to want to move, but you haven't figured it out yet. You still hate to be on your tummy. I put you on it every day and it always ends with a BIG fit. One day you will learn how to crawl. I guess it will be later. I am not ready for you to crawl anyways!

You are doing so good with sitting up. You can sit up on your own for a long time, but if you are tired you will just fall backwards. You silly boy! You are getting used to your helmet. You think it is there just to protect your little head. When you are in your jumper you will bang your head back on purpose. You do it over and over again and again. Silly little boy. I have to really watch you when you are in it. When you start to do that I take you out.

You:
- are around 21 pounds
- are in size 4 diapers
-wear 12 month onesies even tho a few 18 month onesies do fit.
-wear 18 month pj's
-are really starting to not want your bottle. You eat three meals of baby food a day. Fruit for breakfast, a veggie for lunch and cereal for dinner. You still drink bottles in between your baby food but you really don't like to. You drink usually 4-5oz.
-are still wearing your helmet but we go back to the neurologist next week!
-sat in a high chair for the first time!!!
-love to be held. Of course mommy holds you..a lot! You also like to play on the floor. You are silly you push all of your toys away from you then you want them back. It's a never ending process.
-You don't really like your jumper.
-You love your daddy, but you are a mamma's boy!
-are in your big boy room now, and only waking up once or twice a night! WooHOO!! This is awesome for you!
-are not on a schedule. I have tried a million times to get you on a schedule but you aren't having it still!
-You are not a napper! You will nap for about 9 minutes here and there, but that's it!
-Since you do not nap you are usually done by 7 and in bed by 7:30.
-are such a good baby. You love to go places and just hang out!


I love you more and more everyday. I am so lucky to have you as my son.
XOXO,
Mommy


8 month pictures in his big boy room!!

 What?! You want muscles like me?

 You are always eating your hands!

 My cutie pants!

 ..always eating something!