For Obvious Reasons

Brendan is anti-sprawl.

A GREAT Surprise!

This weekend, while my family was in town they surprised us with an alphabet quilt for Brendan! They had surprised us with one for Julia when she was born and they're both beautiful! This one was stitched by all in this photo...my parents, my brother, sister-in-law and neices. My cousin, Kalia, stitched a square as well. It was a wonderful surprise and we are grateful for the time that they spent not only stitching squares but choosing fabric, a pattern and putting it all together. It's quite an endeavor. Unfortunately my mom has her eyes closed in this photo but I didn't want to wait to post the photo. What you can't see at the bottom are the rest of the alphabet squares and two squares that have Brendan's full name, birthdate, weight, etc. The other square lists who stitched. It's awesome. THANKS!!!!

Lunchtime with Julia

His Chunkyness

LOL! Also, quite a lingering bald spot, huh? :-)

Thanksgiving...

...was fun! We got to spend time with my parents, my brother, Scott, sister-in-law, Lia, and neices, Maia (10) & Chelsea (7). Julia had a great time with her cousins. They had a great time playing together and having slumber parties each night. Also, here's Brendan, the wide body, from the back. A few new pictures...

Quick Stats

Last Tuesday Brendan had a 10 week check up appointment. Since we'd been to see the doctor so much in the beginning we decided that unless he needed to be seen sooner we'd skip the usual 2 month appointment and go at 10 weeks.

So, Brendan, aka "Chunk-a-Chunk" is measuring at 23 1/4 inches and 16 pounds putting him at 50th percentile for height and 97th percentile for weight. This was charted at the age of 10 weeks, so it's an accurate assessment. As you can guess from this, he's a pretty square kid with lots of rolls. Everywhere. :-)

You can get an idea of what a chunk he is from this photo, taken last week.

Happy Thanksgiving!

More Photos

Now that Brendan is having more good times while awake I'm trying to take more photos. Here are a few, taken yesterday and this morning.

Also, yesterday our realtor and friend who also lives at the Lake invited us to enjoy the great weather on his boat. We'd only been out on our canoe, which is fun, but still a bit of work. So, it was nice to venture out on a "party barge" where we could sit with friends, eat and drink, and enjoy the scenery. It was Julia's first boat ride and she thoroughly enjoyed it. Brendan slept through the entire cruise which was great!

A Few New Photos

For anyone who knows how I drive it will be no surprise to you that when we are in the car and stopped Julia yells "Go! Move!" I can't imagine where she got that. ;-) So why was I surprised when I took this photo that she's got her hand on the horn?

We are still having our ups and downs with Brendan's comfort level but overall things are better than they were in the beginning. He still has extended periods each day of just plain discomfort but it's also more apparent when he's happy and peaceful. He's *very* smiley when he is feeling good which is really comforting to us. I've been pretty bad about taking photos lately but figured that I'd post a few recent ones.

The photo of the kiddos on the hammock is Julia (on the right) with her two buddies, Owen and Riley. O & R are a week younger than J and they've all been buddies since they were about 4-5 weeks old. We took a photo of them in the hammock at the same place last Halloween and they were all screaming. Surprisingly it's one of my favorites. :-)

Will update this weekend with some more photos of both kids.

Halloween!

It was only appropriate that Julia was a bear for Halloween as she doesn't go anywhere without her beloved "Big Bear!" Literally.

So, thanks to our good friend, Kirstin, who found this wonderful costume for Julia after last Halloween, I didn't have to do any thinking or shopping for this years costume...it just all came together.

Andy took her to her cousin's house so that they could trick or treat together. We wanted her to learn from a pro. Colin is four and a half and a grisled veteran at this, so he was just the guy for the job.. Thanks guys!!

Things are Improving!

We went to see the pediatric gastroenterologist last Thursday and got some answers. The good news is that Brendan's condition is nothing serious...which is what we suspected. Unfortunately it's something he'll need to grow out of. The gastroenterologist thinks that he'll really begin to feel better once he starts to eat solid foods, which should be at about 6 months because of his reflux. So we'll just have to try to keep him comfortable until then.

The doctor said that it's a good sign that he's gaining weight really well. He's up to 13 lbs, 10 ounces, and is just a chunk! He's all head and body. He stays awake more and is very smiley, which is reassuring in that he must be more comfortable.

Julia looooves her little brother and is still obsessed with his "baby feet!" She always has to see them. If he's wearing socks I have to take his socks of so that she can see them, exclaim "baby feet!" and laugh. It's so cute! She loves to hold, hug and kiss him. Ever since we were in the hospital for the meningitis there have been no jealousy issues at all. I think that that's the only thing about his being so sick...it became an event to go to see us at the hospital. Ever since that experience she's just loved him and has been incredibly patient when I need to take care of him.

Things are becoming a little easier. Instead of eating every 2 hours we are up to every 3, for the most part. When he sleeps now he *really* sleeps, instead of sleeping while grunting, groaning and waking to cry constantly throughout the night.

This Halloween Julia will be a bear, which is quite appropriate considering that she goes nowhere without "Big Bear." I'll post photos of Julia as Bear tomorrow. In the meantime here are a few of Julia and Brendan and Andy and Brendan watching the Michigan game.

Ups and Downs

It's been a while since I've posted, obviously. Things continue to challenge us around here. Brendan is still having a tough time while awake and during sleep. Some days and nights are better than others. There's no pattern to it, so we're stumped.

I'm looking forward to seeing the pediatric gastroenterologist a week from today, and hope that he'll have some answers for us. I'm ready to have a baby who's comfortable and content. I continue to have viruses/colds and other complications that come and go and I'm ready to feel good again and be able to be social.

Julia is doing great! Andy has stayed healthy as well so at least half of us are functioning well.

I'll post more photos when I have time. I hope soon.

Doing a Little Better

Thankfully Julia is doing better. She's back to normal and is happy girl again! I took the opportunity while J napped today to shoot some photos of the little guy. No change yet from the formula but it's still early. We should see a change, if there is going to be one, by Monday. He's got what the pediatrician called a "moderate" case of acne. It's a result of his hormones doing battle with mine. The acne will improve on and off for the next 3-4 months and then go away. Hope everyone is doing well!

Sick Sick Sick

Hello to those of you who haven't given up on us. I had hoped to post more but we've been sick and still are. Julia has had a high grade fever and has just felt terribly since Monday night. Brendan's acid reflux is still an issue that continues to make him uncomfortable off and on, day and night. I finally was able to get a whole night's sleep last night as Andy and my mom took over with treating Julia and feeding Brendan through the night. Having not slept an entire night since I was about 6-7 months pregnant I was way overdue and at the end of my rope. No wonder my throat also was perpetually sore and my ears hurt.

Anyway, thanks sooooo much to Andy and my mom for making me feel human again. As for Julia and Brendan, we're hoping that Julia will beat this virus by the weekend. We'll see. Brendan is on Zantac & Prevacid without much improvement so we're trying formula this weekend that's specially formulated for babies with allergies. If he responds well to it we'll see what the next step is. If there's no difference our pediatrician will try to move up the appointment for him with the gastroenterologist, which is currently for scheduled for the end of the month.

We're hoping that everyone begins to feel better soon and that Andy continues to stay healthy. It's time to get better, have some fun and be social but for now that's on hold. We hope everyone's doing well!! :-)

Photos

Attack of the Acid Reflux

Hello! I had hoped that I'd get to post a new entry sooner than this but we've had a busy time trying to make Brendan comfortable. The poor little guy has acid reflux and has just been suffering when he's awake. Julia had it as a baby as well but Brendan seems to have it worse. He just cries (screams) and squirms when he's awake and is just miserable.

After a week on the Zantac we were supposed to see results, but didn't. We saw the doctor again yesterday and she decided to switch him to Prevacid. I hope I'm not too optimistic but I think we're already seeing results. He seems to be more comfortable and goes back to sleep easier after meals which just wasn't happening before. Of course this means I'm off dairy which is not fun but if it makes things better for him I'll stick with it.

Hopefully once he's comfortable I/we will be able to get some sleep. He's been sleeping well during the day but a few nights ago was allowing me a half hour of sleep at a time. Needless to say I was ready to get in the car and drive away the next morning. Not to be too dramatic :-), but I could only take lack of sleep like that for so long. Last night was better though.

Other highlights in Brendan's life include "real" baths which he seems to like and watching his big sister do anything and everything. Julia loves to talk to "baby..." hold him, show him the food she's eating, show us his nose, mouth, etc.

Here are a few recent photos of Julia and Brendan.

Julia with her beloved "Big Bear". "Hawaii Julia", Julia holding Brendan, and Brendan chililn on his super soft and snuggly blanket. Hope everyone's doing well!

We're Home!

Hello! It's so great to be home again! Dare I ever complain about "normal" again? I don't think so. Brendan is doing much better. He's been fever-free and is eating well again. He's also having more alert periods during the day. He was discharged on the condition that we see his pediatrician tomorrow morning, which we will do.

Two of the things to watch for with this type of meningitis are a partial loss of hearing and heart problems. Usually the heart problems appear within 3-5 days of the first fever, so at this point the doctors at the hospital feel like he should be in the clear. Still, they want us to see our pediatrician in the morning. They also had a hearing specialist do the more involved EKG hearing test this morning. We won't see the results for about 7-10 days. Usually this problem appears in those with bacterial meningitis, so we're not too worried, but the doctors initially ordered the test because some of his lab results were not clearly indicating which kind of meningitis he had. It wasn't until the 48 hour spinal tap culture came back showing that it was specifically the enterovirus rather than a bacterial meningitis. Anyway, it's great to be home!

Thanks SO much to everyone who emailed, called, offered to help out, etc. We are extremely lucky to have you all in our lives. Looking forward to getting out with the little guy to see everyone, once he's had some time to continue with his recovery and get some of those immunizations. Hope everyone's doing well!!

Brendan Update

I only have time for a quick update.

We found out Sunday morning that Brendan has meningitis. We learned today that it is a relatively mild viral version and that there should be no long term effects. He is still running a little fever but is eating well. He will be able to come home when he beats his fever (for "24 to 48 hours").

Mom, dad and Julia are hanging in there. Mom is staying with Brendan so she can continue to nurse and that has been hard because she is also sick (sinus infection) and is getting very little sleep. Except for one exception, the nurses and doctors have been GREAT.

Thanks to everyone for all of the kind wishes and offers of help. We are truly lucky to have so many great friends, family and co-workers.

Just some side notes that would be more newsworthy (to the doting parents anyway) in less dramatic times, Brendan took his first bottle and pacifier today. Julia never cared for the pacifier and it was very tough for us to get her to take the bottle.

Brendan in the Hospital

In our last post we mentioned how Brendan slept most of the time while at the park. Although not entirely out of character for the chill little man, it was probably because he was getting sick. He woke up Saturday morning around 330AM with a very high fever. We cooled him down and put him back to bed but when he awoke again at 530AM he was burning up again. Mom took him to his doctor and they ended up in the ER and now admitted into the hospital.

All the tests haven't been completed but the early tests show he has at least a virus. The doctors don't think that what they have found so far is anything to be worried about long term and are aggressively treating it but as of ~1030 tonight, the fever hasn't subsided. The plan is to get the fever under control and keep Brendan in for observation for 48hours. Hopefully Brendan and his ailments are on board with this plan. Mom is staying with him and Dad and Julia are keeping busy and visiting when we can.

We are keeping our fingers crossed and our hopes up. Brendan is a tough guy and will fight this off. We will keep you posted as we can. Thanks.

The Park!

Today we headed to the park for Julia to run around and Brendan to get some fresh air. He was thoroughly unimpressed as sleeping seems to be more important these days. Julia had a great time teaching me how to drive in a more safe and courteous manner. This from the child who yells "Go!" when we start to slow down. I can't figure out where she learned that.

Big Sister with Brendan

Julia really likes Brendan, thank goodness! She delights in holding him, temporarily, and thinks that his little hands and feet are funny. This morning she was holding him and he was just staring up at her. She laughed and then said "take him." Really, she does like him!