It's been a long week

     For starters Ami has had a cough for 3 weeks. It isn't all the time, and it's dry with no other symptoms. Dr. Moore told us not to really worry about it unless it gets worse. Well Tuesday he got worse. First he started acting like he was going to throw everything up, then he stopped eating, then the fever came. So we took him to urgent care. Which I hate doing because any time a new doctor sees him we have to explain his disease, and every thing under the sun that we are doing to treat it. So we take him in and get "the lecture." The interstitial lung disease lecture... Why do you think he has this disease, who diagnosed it, who is treating him for it, blah blah blah. I wanted so much to yell at this doctor when he asked who told you he has interstitial lung disease, how about a specialist, a lung biopsy, several chest xrays, CT scans and a PFT you ass. But I didn't and just explained every thing to him. Ami got a chest xray again to rule out pneumonia. The doctor said this xray looked better than the past 3 he's had so that was exciting to hear. He gave us an antibiotic just in case he had some kind of infection in his airways but he did not have pneumonia. Well that night the vomiting began. It continued the next day and today also.
     Today was his 15 month check up with Dr. Moore. He has lost weight since the last time  he went in. She thought his lungs sounded better than they ever have. She referred us to a nutritionist because she believes he maybe missing something from his diet. She also told us to give him back his bottle for the Pediasure, since he won't drink it out of anything else. She told us if he doesn't gain more weight then we will have to put in a feeding tube. She also referred us to an ENT to talk about getting his tongue clipped. We will be going back in 2 weeks for a weigh in and to up date her since we will have seen Dr. Carlile, that's his pulmonologist.
     December is going to be a very busy month for us. He still goes to speech weekly, physical therapy monthly, synagis shots monthly, he sees the pulmonologist, the ENT, a nutritionist, he has a WIC appointment, and weigh ins again. Plus Christmas, provided everyone is well.
     The holidays are here, and they are just as stressful on us as we expected. We all vividly remember last year, and are praying we don't have a repeat this year. I am excited for Christmas though. Ami will kind of know what's going on and be a little excited about it all. It was nice to be able to go to Thanksgiving. I was glad that everyone was well, except for Trent ;(
     I can't believe how big Ami is getting. He walks every where. He says new words everyday. He actually plays with toys instead of cause and effect situations. He challenges himself. He is remembering situations and events.He is growing up way too fast. Time sure does fly when you're having fun.

Loosing my baby and meeting my toddler

   It's been a while. Ami is changing and growing so much everyday. He is talking more. He has 7 teeth, and is biting now. He also has started walking! He'll take about 4-5 steps and sit down. He still isn't wanting to stand up on his own without support yet, but his therapist was confident we'd see it soon. The therapist is very pleased with where he is. She is a little concerned with the growing left side dominance that he is doing. She is also a little concerned because, he kinda drags his right leg and his right foot turns outward slightly. She felt that it is an issue that should work it's self out. Now that he is walking I'm sure she's going to be very happy. We also have had the swallow study done. It was interesting. He wouldn't drink from a sippy cup, or out of a straw because he was so upset. From what they did get from the bottle is he has texture issues. He doesn't seem to like to let things touch the back of his tongue. We has back to speech therapy, but his normal therapist couldn't be there. We worked on exercises to strengthen his muscles. We don't know the results from the swallow study, or if we will have to go back for another study to drink from the cup and straw. We still go to physical therapy monthly, and speech every week.
   The hospital finally called us about the Synagis treatments. I was under the impression that we would have to go to the hospital to get them, but there is a nurse that comes to you. He will get a shot every month. The medicine gets Fed-Exed to us, and we have to keep it in the fridge. The not so great part about the medicine is that it's $1500 a treatment. We have met our out of pocket for this year, but starting in January we will have to meet our out of pocket again. We will see in January how much this is going to cost us after insurance and see if it's something we can afford.
   It's getting pretty hard to say good bye to my little baby. I think for me walking was the last "baby" thing that Ami needed to accomplish and it's here. He is turning into a toddler, and really showing his personality. He doesn't want to be held. He doesn't want anyone to take him away from what he's doing. He is throwing fits, and tells you "done" when he doesn't want you to love on him anymore. He wants to walk every where. Words should be flowing from his mouth any day. He wants to know what everything is, and how it works. He is wanting to play with other kids, and play as hard as they do. I would really like to get him around children more.
   We are getting excited for the up coming holiday season. Halloween was fun, but he fell asleep before we could get to all our stops. Thanksgiving is in a few weeks, and we are praying for good health so we can participate this year. We are wanting to make his life as "normal" as possible.
   Josh tells me that I'm being irrational when I freak out about germs and illness. I don't know what I'm going to do when he starts kindergarten. I want to say thank you to you all for being so considerate about illness. Everyone has been great about telling us when someone is sick or staying away if they aren't feeling well. So far he's been healthy, and his breathing treatments are controlling his respiration rate.
   Every week on Thursdays I post on Facebook about Thankful Thursday. I ask for people to tell me and others what they are thankful for. This last Thursday I posted that I was thankful for my son (like always) but, I am also thankful for his disease. My son has saved me and my marriage. His disease never let's me forget how truly lucky I am. It makes me make the most of everyday and every moment. I will never take my child for granted. My son makes me want to take on the world, and make it a better place for everyone. He is my hero. 
   Good bye baby Ami, hello my big boy. Ma loves you.

Update

This has been the best birthday week ever. I think I"m going to like my 26th better than my 25th. I've gotten to spend the whole week with my favorite little man. We haven't done much but we've been together.
Ami took his first header off the porch. He had a pretty good sized goose egg and he has several scratches next to his left eye. (He barely missed scratching his eye.) It barely bled and he is okay now. It was the first of many fights with concrete, and sadly he will loose all of them.
He is getting closer to walking everyday. His last physical therapy appointment went well. He is still on target as long as he is walking by 15 months. We have gotten him shoes to wear to help with walking and he is doing very well with them. He pulls up without any problems and cruises around on everything. He can walk while holding on with one hand, and can stand on his own for about 15 seconds. I don't think he will have any problem walking by 15 months.
He started speech/swallow therapy. He has had 2 visits now. He had one last week and another one today. We didn't get the best news. He is showing signs of distress when he is eating. She wants us to go back to baby food or really soft foods. Things that melt away quickly. No cups that aren't sippy cups. He has very little muscle strength in his tongue or back of his mouth. He is tongue tied, so we have to get that fixed. He is also going to have a swallow study done in the next few weeks. We can't start any kind of treatment until she gets her diagnosis and insurance approves it. It maybe a while before we see the speech therapist again.
He is still just as smart as ever. He knows all kinds of sign language now which is really helping us help him. He is doing well health wise. Hopefully at the end of the month we will start the Synagis treatments. He has 6 teeth, four on top and two on bottom. He says ten words/sounds. He is getting so tall. He is now in 18 month footed sleepers, 12 month onesies and pants, with a 3-6 month waist, and a size 4 shoe. We had a huge blessing a week or so ago. We were given 2 trash bags full of 12-18 month clothes. 
He is a very loved little boy and I am one very lucky momma.

My public service announcement

As we all know cold and flu season is upon us. We are hoping for a much healthier season with fewer hospital visits this year. Ami will be receiving monthly shots starting in October called Synagis. These are to help protect him from RSV. Since not only is it cold and flu season but the holiday season we ask for everyone to help us keep Ami healthy this year. Please if you are sick in any way do not come and visit. Even if you believe it is only allergies. Also if you or anyone in your family is or has been sick within 7 days prior to a family gathering please let us know. For Ami a cold is major. He feels bad, struggles to breathe, eats less, and has to take a lot of medications. The flu or pneumonia can put him in the hospital again. We are also asking those who see him on a regular basis to get a flu shot. With the shot the virus is dead and you have no chances of getting the flu from the shot. If you get the flu mist the virus is still live but weakened so you do have a chance that way. If you believe you have gotten the flu in the past from the shot it is because you had already been exposed to the virus prior to getting the shot. Also the shot doesn't protect from all types of the flu just the most common. The flu has a 7-14 day incubation period before symptoms arise.
So there it is. My little PSA. Please help us keep Amadeus healthy and out of the hospital this year. Please pass this on so everyone can be informed.
Thank you.

Happy Birthday!

Wow what a whirl wind the past two days have been. Amadeus turned one yesterday! We had a wonderful day. We took him to have his picture taken in the morning with Erica. She is the lady who did our wedding pictures and I am very excited to see how they turn out. Then in the afternoon we went to the doctor. Ami now weighs 18lbs 1oz and is 30.5in. Dr. Moore was happy to see him again. She was happy with his weight and length. She was glad to see how long he was. She said he may not be gaining weight but he is growing in length and that is a good thing. We talked about several different things. She would like to start him in October with monthly shots to boost his immune system. Hopefully we can stay out of the hospital this cold and flu season. She wants us to take him off of the formula and replace it with the Pediasure. She also referred us to a speech/swallow therapist to help him with his choking on food. We also discussed going to a different pulmonologist. Possibly the one in Cincinnati. They have a more specialized program there just for chILD. Maybe then we can finally get some answers. Today was his birthday party.with the family. We had an amazing turn out. Ami made bank! He got all kinds of neat new toys. He got puzzles, books, clothes, Little Peoples, shape sorters, trucks, blocks, ride on toys, and bath tub toys. He also got a savings account. Which I am super excited about. His party was a splash party/bbq. We had hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, salad, chips, popsicles, and of course cake and ice cream.  His cake was an Elmo cake. He didn't eat any of it but he sure did destroy it. It was a really fun day but I sure am glad that birthdays only happen once a year. This momma is tired.
Ami is doing really well. He still is on his oxygen 24/7 (usually). He is still on target with his physical therapy and now goes only once a month. He is pulling up and cruising. He can now sit down from a standing position. He has 5 teeth and working on the 6th one. He says hi, no, dog, dad, mom, nana, uh-oh, ouch, and (just today) choo-choo. I swear any day he is going to say a full sentence. When he babbles you can tell that  there is something to what he just said. It's not just random sounds.He tries to sing. It sounds more like yelling that changes pitch. It's pretty funny. He is now no longer getting night feedings; so, when he does cry in the night we just let him cry and he goes back to sleep very quickly.  He is getting better at using his sippy cup and feeding himself. He can now drink through a straw. He likes to point at things and he wants you to tell him what they are and then tries to say it. He also points to things so you can take him to them so he can touch them. We are going to have to stop that or he'll never walk.
Josh and I are doing well also. I think we are both relieved that it seems we are out of the very long and dark tunnel. I am working again. I am doing some part time nannying for a family in Ozark. There are 3 kids, 9, 7, and 2 yrs. They are a very nice family and the kids are wonderful. I do miss seeing Ami though. Once the 2 yr old starts in daycare at the end of the month I will have more time to spend with Ami.
This past year has been the fastest and most eventful year of my life. I have learned a lot of things. I was just getting used to the fact that I had a baby and now I have to get used to the fact that I have a toddler. We are excited to see what the next year has in store for us. We just pray it is much less eventful.  I just want to thank our family for all of the help and support we have gotten. We couldn't have done it with out you guys. We are proud to say we have successfully kept a child alive for a year with minimal damage.

Happy Birthday Amadeus. Mommy and Daddy love you very much!

Almost a Toddler

In less than a month my little baby won't be a baby anymore. He is becoming a big boy very quickly. He now has 4 teeth. This 4th tooth is treating him horribly. It has made him the grumpiest out of all of them. He has had diarrhea for weeks now, and he doesn't sleep very much at night. Last night he was up every hour and a half. He has a 6 word vocabulary and can bark and meow. He can say mama, dada, uh-oh, ouch, no, and nana. When we went to St. Louis he had gained a pound and an ounce, and 1/4th of an inch in a month and a half. Dr. Rivera was very pleased with this gain. He is gaining like a newborn. If he keeps up at this rate he might be a normal sized baby soon. He does a crawl/scoot now. I think that is the best we are going to get. He can pull up on things and stand there holding on. He pushes himself up onto this hands and feet and makes a triangle out of himself and the floor. So I think he is trying to stand. The physical therapist said that he is back on track, still a little behind but catching up quick.
We went to St. Louis on the 7th and had a pulmonary functions test. His results were great. He is breathing better then he should for his age. The only thing that was low was that his lungs aren't as stretchy as they should be. It wasn't very low. They want him between a 1 and a 2 and he was .78. But being a baby his lungs are as stretchy as they will ever be. His test wasn't conclusive with the disease they are thinking he might have. We are still waiting to see  the results from the biopsy. The biopsy was sent to a different facility to be looked at. They are looking at it as a favor for our doctor so she was unsure as to when the results should be in. We go back to St. Louis Sept. 2nd for a CT scan and another check up. I'm not sure why we are going back to St. Louis for that since that all can be done here and sent to her. I plan on talking with Dr. Moore about it at his one year check up. I'm not very happy with St. Louis Children's and hopefully we can have her send our case to another facility either Cincinnati, Colorado, or Texas to have it looked over.
We are getting ready for the big day! We are taking him to have his pictures taken the morning of his birthday with Erica, the lady that took our wedding pictures. The next day is his party at Danny and Gina's. I'm so excited for it. I've already ordered the cake, there is going to be lots of water fun, and a little mini petting zoo! I'm just so excited.
I started to try to break him of the bottle last week. It did not go so well. I talked to some of the other moms on the support group and they all waited until their kids were 18 months or older. Just because of these kids needing so much calories. He is drinking the Pediasure now so that's good. I'm not going to push the bottle thing until he gets on more solid foods and takes the sippy cup better. He still chokes so easily on solids it's hard to get him to eat them plus one day he will loves something and the next he won't touch it.
One thing is for sure he is definitely my son. He does things when he wants to do them and how he wants to do them. He is a challenge. The physical therapist said she has never seen a baby so stubborn. I just smile and say yeah that's Amadeus. We still love him though.

Busy

Wow it's been a busy two weeks. It's going to be a busy next two weeks also. The garage sale took a lot of time to put together but it was amazing. It was the biggest garage sale I have ever seen. We had everything priced to sell and people were buying things in the box loads. We still have so much stuff. Danny and Gina didn't even get around to putting the things in that they were wanting to sell. I found a few more things that I had forgotten about. So we are having the sale again on the 16th of July. It won't be as big or as time consuming but hopefully just as successful. Saturday was a very hot and long day.
Ami stayed with my mom that morning. It was a nice not to have to worry about him. Actually my parents got to spend the whole weekend with him. I think they really enjoyed that. My dad works so much he hardly ever gets to see Ami.
This is going to be a busy next couple of weeks also. Tomorrow and Thursday I am baby sitting a little girl all day. Friday is the 4ht of July celebration they have every year in Republic. The next week Ami has another physical therapy appointment, then we head to St. Louis for more testing. We'll see Dr. Rivera again and we had better get some test results. I applied for SSI and disability for Ami last week. The case worker thought we'd get a decision quickly on him. I doubt we get approved and we'll have talk to an attorney. We'll see.
We have taken Ami swimming at the Elks twice now, and he has a little pool at home he plays in. He loves the water! He's my little fish. He is even getting a nice little tan. My mom got him a pool to keep at her house and he has been in it once now. We have looked into a life jacket so we can take him to the river.
Ami over all is doing really well. A couple weeks ago I was getting pretty worried about him. He wouldn't eat. At all. No matter what it was or what I did. I thought it was teeth but I began to second guess myself. Turns out mommy instinct was right. He has cut his third tooth, top left. I am sure the other one is right behind it. He is eating great again. He is also in a much better mood. He is "crawling." I'll have to get it on video and post it on here to show how he does it. It's not on all fours but it's close. He has figured out where his books are and he goes to them and pulls them all on the floor. He says uh-oh, mama, and dada. He plays peek-a-boo and waves. He is also trying to throw things.
We are getting ready for the big day that is coming up soon. The birthday. Josh and I are so excited. The invitations are just about done and ready to mail. We have the cake picked out, pictures booked, and activities planned. I can't believe he is almost a year old. Time has completely gotten a way from me.

A Diagnosis?

It's been two weeks since Ami's lung biopsy at St. Louis Children's. We still don't have a diagnosis. We are still waiting for two tests to come back. One is a surfactant test and the other is a genetic test for NEHI (.Neuroendocrine Hyperplasia in Infancy). If you had to choose one of these horrible lung diseases this would be the one to pick. In most cases the child out grows their need for oxygen. There is not a specific age when the children out grow the need but usually by school age.There is no medications that can be taken to help and no cure. In most cases all that is needed is oxygen with the occasional breathing treatment or dose of steroids when sick. It's been a battle the past week trying to get a hold of the doctors in St. Louis to find out what is going on. Dr. Moore has been fantastic trying to help us. She called from home last night when she finally got the email from Dr. Rivera in St. Louis. We will be going back to St. Louis on the 7th of July for a pulmonary functions test (PFT). We are planning on making a weekend out of it. Denise said we could stay at her house, we have those tickets to the ball game, and maybe the zoo. I'm hoping this will be his last hospital visit for a while. We figured it out the other day. He has spent basically a month of his little 9 month life in a hospital. Ami is now going to Physical Therapy. His first visit was yesterday. The therapist said he is about a month maybe two behind. She didn't think it would take very long for him to get caught up. She gave me some good exercises to do with him. They will help him figure out how to crawl, get into a sitting position from his knees, how to get to his knees from a sitting position, and how to roll over. We go every other week. While doing her exercises she quickly discovered how active he is. She asked me if he moved like this all of the time. My answer "yep, until he passes out." She also made the comment "you're very stubborn, aren't you." I just giggled. She figured him out pretty quick. She said that he is one of those kids who are going to what they want when they want and no matter what you do you can't change that. He gets that from his daddy. Haha. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. It may be dim but it's there and we are running towards it.

Ami update

I'm sure everyone has heard by now but Ami did very well with his lung biopsy. They took a thumb nail sized piece out of his lower right lung. He has about an inch incision, and it looks like it is healing well. The smears and tests that they ran on the biopsy and the lavage so far hasn't grown anything. We will get final results around June 5th or 6th. The pulmonologist, Dr. Rivera, didn't think that it was a severe form of ILD since nothing was growing and it didn't look like a specific type. She said that it looked like a lot of inflammation so she put him on a 10 day round of oral steroid called prednisolone. At first the steroid made him shaky but he seems to be handling it well. His incision doesn't seem to bother him either. He was only on pain meds the day of the surgery and half of the following day. We got some advice on ways to increase his calories so hopefully he can gain some weight. He is eating a lot more then he did before the surgery. We have to go back to St. Louis the beginning of July for a lung function test. He will have to be  put under just to ease the stress of the procedure. Ami did get approved for Medicaid so that will help greatly from here on out with medical expenses. Children's Hospital in St. Louis was a wonderful place. All of the nurses and doctors were great. The facility was nice, very child orientated. People were very helpful and nice. My only complaint is there you most likely will have a roommate, unless you are under quarantine, and discharge took a lot longer then it needed to. I hope this will be our last hospital stay for a while, and all of the testing is over.  

Biopsy

Ami had his lung biopsy this morning at 7:30. He was done and in recovery by 9:30. They took a thumb nail sized piece out of his right lung. He recovered well and was able to breathe on his own. He does not have a chest tub as of now. He seems to be in moderate pain. Morphine was not so good to him but the Oxycontin seems to be working well. It keeps him in a state of rest/sleep pretty well. We hope to have some preliminary results from the biopsy in the morning. The rest of the results will take a little longer, a week or two. Once again we are in a waiting game. The surgeon said that that his lung did not seem to have scare tissue on it but it did look diseased. There was no fluids, mucus, or puss in his lungs when they did the lavage. We will have another chest x-ray in the morning to make sure his lung still looks good. The floor doctor mentioned possibly going home tomorrow but we don't know what the pulmonologist has in mind. All of the staff has been great. We were in a room with a 7 year old. That was bad, he was loud, the nurses came in often to check on him, we were on the small side of the room. He got to go home this afternoon so as of right now we have the whole room to ourselves. We have been moved to the bigger side of the room so we both can stay in the room. There is less storage space but more room for everyone to stand around, plus now we don't have to wait in line to use the bathroom. The way it works here is if there is a potty trained child you can not use the bathroom. You have to go to the "parent lounge" where there are 3 bathrooms, full bathrooms, and wait for one to open. Everyone is tired and ready to go home. We wish we were here for fun things, like the zoo, magic house, and of course baseball. We are all doing well.

Mother's Day

Yesterday was a wonderful day! Like everyday here lately I got to spend it with my most favorite little man. We didn't do anything special just a nice day at home. We did have a bath time photo shoot and the pictures were great like always. I would have to say being a mommy is way better then I thought it was going to be. My mom always said kids break your heart. She was right, but she forgot to mention that it is worth every minute of it. One toothy, slobbery smile can make everything wonderful. I have been lucky enough to be able to stay home with him for the past few weeks. I am going tomorrow to see if we can get some help from Uncle Sam and maybe, hopefully, it can stay that way.
I can't believe he is going to be one in just 3 months. I think he is teething again. Very slobbery, and cranky. Other then that he is doing great. We still haven't heard anything back on his test results, we see his pulmonologist next Tuesday and his pediatrician next Friday. He is gaining weight, he now weighs 15lbs 4oz. He still isn't crawling but he is interested in moving. He has also started separation anxiety. It's about as fun as teething. He is super smart and picks up on things quickly. He learned to clap the first time we showed him how.

I will update more after we get tests in and we go to the doctors. Enjoy the wonderful weather!

Please pray

It's 1:40 Easter morning and once again I am at the hospital with Ami. Josh said something earlier today that really made me think; Ami has been sick for half of his life. He doesn't know what it's like to breathe like we do. He doesn't know what it's like to not have to take some sort of medicine everyday. He doesn't know what it's like to not go to the doctor at least once a month.
Someone told me that being married is the hardest thing I will ever do. I don't know about that. It's pretty hard watching people stick your son with needles. It's pretty hard watching your son be put into a restraining device so he can have his 5th chest x-ray. It's pretty hard watching your son literally pass out and go full body limp in your arms so he can have a CT scan. Most of all it's pretty hard being told that well your son doesn't have this terminal disease but he might have this one, lets run some test. I'm to the point that I don't want to know what they are testing him for, so that way I can't google it. The worst part is that he takes it so well. All the nurses keep saying "Oh, he's doing so good!", or "most babies really fight us on this." He should fight; he shouldn't be used to all of this. He is such a good baby. He is happy, he likes to play by himself, he's funny, and sweet. He super smart, almost too smart.
The worst part there is nothing I can do about any of this. I can't make it better. I can't protect him from it.
Since Friday he has had two chest x-rays, at least 6 vials of blood drawn, a finger prick, sedation, and a CT scan. Most of the tests had to be sent out so we won't get results on them for a while. On Tuesday he will be having a scope put into his lungs. Later in the week we maybe heading to St. Louis for a lung biopsy.
I am ready for some answers. I am ready to go home. I am ready to have a healthy baby.
Please pray for him. He needs it so badly, because nothing else is working.

8 month pictures

Long Time No Blog

Good grief it's been 2 months since my last posting. It has been a very busy 2 months. We went back to the doctor for the okay to come to daycare and she was very worried about his slow weight gain and he had gotten pneumonia again. The day we went back to the doctor, he had pneumonia again, his blood oxygen level was at 85, and he hadn't gained hardly any weight. He got a breathing treatment there, a chest x-ray, 4 nose swabs to test for different things, and 3 vials of blood taken to test for different things. He got tested for Cystic Fibrosis, genetically. For that test we also had to go to the hospital the following Monday to have a sweet chloride test done. We also took him to a pediatric cardiologist to look at his heart.  We spent 4 hours at the doctors office that day. Also on that day we went to the health department and he got his 6 month shots and a flu shot. Thank god all of his tests came back normal. Then came the vomiting. He vomited every morning with his morning bottle for a week straight. So we went back to the doctor yet again. This time she had an upper GI test done. In case you were wondering yes not letting a 7 month old eat for several hours is horrible. The doctor also suggested not to give him anymore than 2 oz. of bottle in the morning to see if that would help with the vomiting. It has helped a lot. She wanted us to come back in a couple of weeks later for a weight check and "other things." We went back and yet again did not gain any weight. So came another set of tests. This time he got tested for allergies and to see if he has an immune deficiency. That was horrible. They stuck him 5 times and could not get the blood to come out. It would start to flow and then stop, every time. We were there for an hour. So they had us come back on the following Monday to try again. This time it went much better. One stick and it was done. Once again all the tests came back normal. So this is where we stand now. We have a daily sheet that we fill out on him everyday. How many diapers he has and what are they. How many bottles he has and how much he drinks. How much food he eats. He has at least 2 breathing treatments everyday, some days he could have up to 5 if he is coughing or grunting when he breaths. And the new formula... Nutramigen. The most expensive formula you can get. Oh and we have to make it stronger then normal so it has more calories in it then a normally made bottle would.  He has also be referred to a pulmonologist.
On the brighter side he can sit up on his own. He is so ready to move around, once he figures out how. He has 2 teeth on the bottom, and I think more are trying to come in. He started to show a tendency to be left hand dominate. So we started holding his left hand down so he would use his right one more, and now he uses them pretty much equally. He is on all baby foods and loves all of it. He doesn't really care for bananas but he'll eat them. He loves to drink water out of a glass. His little teeth make a little clinking sound when he drinks. It's super cute. He is starting to eat puffs, crackers, and mum mums, which are rice rusks that are easy for him to hold and chew on. I got my first open mouth kiss the other day. Last weekend he spent the night and all day Sunday with my parents will we went to Hot Springs. On Monday when I picked him up from Nana's he was still so happy to see me, that he grabbed my face and open mouth kissed my chin. It was the best kiss I ever had. He is growing up so much. He loves books and knows how to turn the pages. He loves Elmo and his Rainbow Rob book. He likes to go outside and see everything, and he still wants to touch everything. By far I would say his all time favorite thing to do is play in water. He knows what a sink is no matter where you are. He pushes you out of the way so he can see the sink. He's gonna be a little fish. He is super long and very skinny. He can wear 6-9 month onesies because they fit him long ways but the shorts we bought him at Walmart are 0-3 month and they fit great. He is still in a size 1 diaper, but in a size 3 shoe. No pants fit him because if they are long enough you could fit another one of him in them to fill them out around the waist. He is super sweet and loves to give hugs. He hasn't so much started with the separation anxiety stage but strangers will sometimes scare him.
We are going today to have his pictures made. I hope he will be in a good mood and not freak out. We are also going to try to go and have his picture taken with the Easter Bunny on Monday. I have a feeling that is not going to work out so well since when he sees my dad with his hat and glasses on he freaks out.
Like I said it's been a very busy 2 months. Hopefully health will find us this spring and summer. Oh I am also beginning to plot his first birthday! It's gonna be so much fun!

Happy Half Birthday

I'm having a really hard time believing that 6 very short months ago Ami was born. It has flown by so fast. He has grown up and changed so much. Looking back on his pictures he doesn't even look like the same baby. He now weighs a little over 13 lbs and is as tall as some of the one year olds at my work. He looks more and more like a toddler everyday. Just in the past week he has started to stand up and hold himself up for more than 15 seconds. He is trying to sit up but he leans to get a toy and falls over. He loves his exersaucer because he can jump and bounce in it. He loves to touch everything. Especially the cat. He talks and squeals really loud. He starts off squealing in a low tone and gradually gets higher until it's so high that no sound comes out. He definitely is babbling. He makes all kinds of different consonant and vowel sounds. He likes for you to repeat back the sounds he's making or to repeat back the sounds you make. It's almost like you can see him learning. Josh says it looks like he is a sponge and soaking it all in. To me It's like you can see the wheels turning. He figures things out pretty quickly and remembers things. He knows that at Nana and Papa's there is this thing that puts out this white stuff in the air and he looks for it. He can't figure out why he can't touch the white stuff though. (It's the humidifier) He stares at the clouds and trees when he's in the car. Super fun, he is starting to get separation anxiety. He doesn't get upset when we leave, but when we come back. He doesn't like for us to leave the room without taking him with us. One day Josh left for work and didn't hold him before he left. Ami cried for 10 minutes, you could tell it broke his little heart. Daddy isn't allowed to do that anymore. Over all though he is still a very happy baby. He's had a bit of a cold lately, and I think his teeth have been bothering his so he's been a little on the cranky side. Mostly though he's only crying when he's tired, hungry, or bored. We have taken him to a restaurant three times now and he has done great every time. I think he is starting to understand what eating is. He hasn't been eating his solid food very well lately because of his cold but it's getting better. He has now eaten all of the baby food veggies that they typically sell and is on to meats. Today he tried beef with beef gravy. It smelled like canned dog food and grossed me out but he seemed to like it. I feel bad giving him something that looks and smells so bad, but I know there is no way that I could make the meats like they do. I'm on the search for YoBaby yogurt but no store in the area seems to carry it any more. I guess if I can't find it regular yogurt will do. After the meat we will move on to fruits. So far the only food he doesn't like is the rice cereal. He really likes the barley so Josh says he's gonna be a beer drinker. Just a few more weeks and he will go back to the doctor and hopefully get the ok to come back to daycare. I'm really excited. I hired a new girl last week. She and I worked together at the in home daycare, and she is wonderful. She is very responsible and I know that I can trust her to be left at the center "in charge" so I can leave early and be able to spend time with my family. It just stinks that she can only work 3 days a weeks. Oh well it's better then what I am doing right now. I feel like I have missed out on so much. And in another very short 6 months my baby isn't going to be a baby any more. Time flies when you're having fun.    

Baby Food

Mr. Man has officially tried all the baby food veggies I made. Next is meat products. He likes all of the veggies and eats them really well. When he eats he goes mmmm after he takes a bite. It's pretty funny. He's still doing well health wise. He goes back to the doc on March 4th for his 6 month check up. I can't believe he's going to be 6 months old in a week. He's getting so big. Still skinny but long. He is in 6 month onesies but 3 month pants. Granted the pants come up almost to his knees because they are so short but they fit around the waist. He wears a lot of one piece outfits. He's a super good baby. Most of the time he will play by himself and keep himself entertained. He likes people and going places because there is so much for him to see. He went through a spurt of not wanting to sleep all night but last night he went to bed at 7:30 and woke up at 5. He's going to stay the night with Grandma and Grandpa tonight. Tomorrow we are going to a family birthday party. It's finally getting warmer outside and hopefully this snow will melt. I am ready to go for walks and play in the sunshine.

Big Boy

We took Ami Saturday for his first trip to a restaurant and his first outing since he got sick. We went and ate at Perkin's for breakfast and to the HBA Home Show. He did so good. He slept most of the time at breakfast and he looked at every thing at the home show. He still only weighs 12 lbs but you can tell he is starting to fill out. He eats a lot more bottle now. He always finishes 4 oz some times he'll take all the way up to 6. He has eaten all cereals, avocado, and peas. Tomorrow he is starting on green beans. He sleeps through the night for the most part. He is getting a lot more stomach muscles and control. He tries to sit up when you have him in your lap or his bouncy seat. He now eats in his highchair and does really well in it. He likes to pat the tray. He is also at the stage where he wants to touch every thing. He touches your face when you feed him, he loves to touch the faucet and running water. When he sees his bottle or just a nipple on the counter he reaches for it and tries to put it in his mouth. He's gonna be 6 months old in about half a month. I can't believe his is this old and big already. I'm getting pretty excited that next month he gets to come back to daycare and I can see him when ever I want. We got to spend the last 2 days together because the center was closed because of the snow. It was really nice to be able to play with him and work on things with him. I wish I could stay home with him all the time. He is getting such a little personality on him. He's gonna be very stubborn and I think he's gonna have his daddy's sense of humor. He is very rotten and likes things his way or he throws a fit. Sound familiar? Looks like that's what he got from me. We are going to have our hands full in the next few months. Good thing though he still likes to cuddle.

5 months old

Happy 5 months to the most handsome little boy I know. I can't believe it's been 5 months already. I think we've done pretty good as parents for the first 5 months, we've almost killed him only once. Josh pointed out to me a couple of weeks ago that he didn't think parenthood was as hard as he thought it was going to be. I would have to agree with him. I am fully aware that it will get much more difficult as he gets older, but even the sleepless nights weren't as bad as I thought they were going to be. The one thing that I learned from being a mom, well I guess realized, is how much my mom loves me. I know she loves, I've heard her say she would love me no matter what I did. But you just don't understand that until you have a child of your own. Your world revolves around your children. You eat, sleep, and breathe them. It still hard for me to comprehend that I have a son. I still don't fully understand how that happened, or who thought it would be a good idea.
Ami is growing like a weed. He is 12 lbs, and 26 in. His hair is starting to thin, and he has a bald spot on the back. He is in 3-6month clothes, except for pants. He is starting to cut teeth. You can't see any but he chews all the time on anything he can get a hold of. For the most part when he is sleepy all you have to do is lay him in his bed and he will fall asleep on his own. He is sleeping much better now. Last night he slept 8 hrs straight. He is much more alert. He instantly turns his head towards a new sound. He recognizes my voice and his name. He thinks fire is the coolest thing. He just stares at it. He now cries when he sees us and we have been gone for a while. It's pretty cute and it tugs on my mommy heart strings. He is very content to hang out on the floor and play by himself. He has a lot more control over his hand and arm movements. He is still very talkative and alert. His health is good, so far. He is eating oatmeal cereal now and it's going over pretty well. He is just getting bigger and changing everyday.
Josh and I are doing pretty good. We just got over some nasty sinus stuff. Josh's birthday is at the end of this month, he's gonna be the big 2-5. Life is busy.

Sneeze, Smile, Giggle

It's been a while

 Hanging out on the floor

 Cereal

 I think I am full now

 Our very own elf on the shelf.

SANTA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !

 I know him!










Let's see... We had our first family Christmas. We even got a tiny tree! Ami was wide awake and ready to go at 6:30 Christmas morning. He is already excited for presents. He got toys from Grandma Kelli and Grandpa Wayne. He got clothes from Nana and Papa. He gave everyone pictures of his cute little face for Christmas. He dressed up like an elf on Christmas Eve and Santa on Christmas day. It snowed on Christmas day. Not much but it was snow. He is now eating rice cereal every morning. When we first started it made his belly hurt and he would cry and cry. His system is handling it better now. He still is not a big fan of it. New Years Eve was pretty uneventful. The only reason I was awake at midnight was because I was feeding Ami. I guess the thing to do in Republic is to set off fire works. Ami went back to the doctor and weighed 11 lbs 15 oz and was 25in long. He is in the 50th percentile in height and 5th percentile in weight. The doctor isn't concerned with his weight because he is gaining weight just fine. He just isn't a fat baby. He is now broke of the swing. We can now for the most part just lay him in his bed when he gets sleepy and he will fall asleep on his own. He is waking up less often and taking longer naps during the day now. I think the hospital and sickness stressed him out. I know how much it stressed me out and things are so much more overwhelming for a child. Nana has been super wonderful and has quit her job to help us with Ami, since he is quarantined until March. She is going to take care of him. I think Ami will enjoy all of his one on one attention. He's gonna be even more rotten when he has to go back to daycare and share the attention. He is becoming very demanding and a strong willed child. He wants things a certain way and when he wants them.  He is smiling all the time and laughing more often. He will now look at you and start laughing. I can't tell if he thinks we are funny or if he is remembering how fun we are. He is noticeably more aware of who Josh and I are. He plays by himself either in his bouncy seat, exersaucer, or on the floor. He likes to be tossed up in the air and to fly around like Super Man. He can roll from his back to his belly. He gets one arm stuck underneath him but still plays. He smacks his lips like he's giving kisses and makes the Mmmmm sound. Yep Mama is going to be his first word. They really do grow up fast.