Now weighing in at 15lbs!

Now weighing in at 15lbs.... Andy's 4 month checkup went well yesterday.

Here are his lates stats:
Weight - 15 lbs - 50th percentile (seriously... I thought he would be way higher - he weighs a ton!)
Height - 23" - 60th percentile (let's hope he's taking after Tom's genes here)
Head - 43 - 75th percentile (still on the same curve as his 2 month which is a good thing)

The doctor was pleased by Andy's leg movement, and she was shocked to see that he can roll in both directions (which is apparently early for his age). We now begin to add prune juice to his daily diet in hopes of keeping constipation at a minimum (that just sounds disgusting but after one dose of 5 day consitpation already - I'll do anything to help that little guy). The doctor is hoping that he will outgrow his spitting up in the next few months (for now we change burp cloths and bibs after nearly every feeding) since he isn't losing any weight.

The bummer of the appointment was discovering that once again Andy is following Robby's lead and has double ear infections! This is his second ear infection since he was born. Amoxicillin - here we come!

I also had her check Robby's ears as well since all three of us were there w/ stuffy noses and coughing. While he currently does not have an ear infection, one may be coming. For now, we battle the endless nights of hacking and coughing as I attempt to keep both boys upright (not that easy w/ Robby's restless body syndrome of tossing and turning).

I'm hoping that the New Year will bring us positive health updates for Andy, more sleep, and less ear infections!

Starting New Traditions

Making Christmas traditions is a bit harder than following them... this I discovered as we decided to try and make our own traditions this year instead of playing the insane game of running from one party to the next. Between work, doctor appointments, and attempting to lesson the ever growing laundry pile, we haven't had a ton of time to enjoy the holiday season. Now that Robby is nearly three (and has a memory of an adult - scratch that - a better memory than me), I'm trying to take time out of our crazy schedule to start our own traditions.

Making Christmas cookies was definitely a treat! I'm not quite sure which part he liked best... his precision cutting skills using the cookie cutter, smashing handfulls of sprinkles onto the frosting, or trying to shove an entire cookie into his mouth at once. You be the judge :)

Andy has taken a more laid back approach to Christmas this year; he figures next year will be his turn to find trouble.

We opted to not put up the 7 foot tree this year after watching Robby's love and obsession with "decorating" the smaller tree. The small white stepladder remains a fixture in our living room, as he works away, and the tree has never looked so .... lovely. (Can you believe that Tom seriously put this in the back ground of our family Christmas picture without fixing it? Oh well, it has character... I guess - see I'm working on letting things go.)

Yes, we have many things to be thankful this year. We have been blessed by two wonderful boys that bring smiles to our faces each and every day. Our family and friends have been so supportive. We both have jobs (and more importantly health insurance). So, as I attempt to make new traditions this year, I figure as long as we're together life couldn't be any better!

Merry Christmas to you from the Mathews!

Raving Results from the Doctors

The doctors' results are in... both boys are doing wonderfully!
This week brought on my first full week of teaching (well - almost - I had to take off Thursday for Andy's doctor appointments). Both boys are adapting well to the early to bed and early to rise schedule. One thing is for sure - days truly fly by and so do the nights. Robby has started to wake at 5 am to spend time w/ me curled up in his blankies under the heat lamp in the bathroom while I get ready for work. While I wish he would keep sleeping, it is really cute and comforting to hear him suck on his passy and cuddle in the heat. We are two of a kind - we both love to be comfy, cozy :)

Here's the doctor info:
Robby's ENT said his ears look great & tonsils aren't that big, so he doesn't have to go back until spring! Let's hope this is an ear-infection-free winter! No word yet if his restless leg syndrome is better - poor little guy. He moves around so much during the night; he's constantly hitting one wall or another as he rolls.

Andy's first trip to the urologist went well. The doctor is new to the office, but he seems very knowledgeable & happy to answer any of our questions. Andy's kidneys look awesome - this is something we have to keep an eye on. Children w/ SB tend to develop bladder infection quite often & reflux can occur where the urine backs up into the kidneys. He has to have ultrasounds done of his kidneys every 3 months to ensure everything is okay. As long as bladder infections don't start occurring, this should be an easy appointment for us. There will be no way of knowing if he will be able to control his bladder / bowels until he is potty training age, so for now we can only assume the best!

Andy's PT (physical therapy) appointment at Mary Free Bed was an ordeal to say the least. They rescheduled twice and when I showed up at the scheduled time, the PT never showed up to do his evaluation. Staying calm was a bit difficult for me, but you all would have been proud as I calmly demanded that he still be evaluated since I took the day off of work w/ no pay to have the evaluation done. An hour & a half later, we got wonderful news. Andy is doing wonderfully. He's kicking his legs, maintaining good head control, beginning to roll over, and showing little need for intense therapy at this time. He will continue his weekly PT with Early On, but we do not have to go back to Mary Free Bed until March!

It truly is a time to be thankful at our house! We have wonderful boys that continue to amaze us daily. Robby has become an extreme Christmas tree decorator. We decided to let him decorate our mini tree this year. He's been working on it (literally) for two weeks now. Each day he asks for the step ladder, climbs it, proceeds to use his tools to drill, saw, and "fix" the tree. It now has bolts, nuts, pieces of play wood, tractors, and construction equipment all over it. However, if this free entertainment keeps up, I might just leave the tree up all year! This has been the best way to capture his attention I have found yet!

This week brings on another head ultrasound and neuro. appointment. We're praying for the best (shunt free), and we'll keep you posted!

Returning to the Work World

It's back to the real world - work world that is! The last couple of weeks have been filled with appointments and preperation for returning to work. While it is hard to leave the little guys to go to work each day, I have met another 125 or so soon to be brilliant 7th graders that need a little "Dawn love" in their lives ...aka. structure & laughter not to mention writing and grammar instruction! Work (and more importantly insurance) is a necessity for us; Andy's doctor bills keep coming in and we have far surpassed the $70,000 mark at this point - mind you he is now 3 months old! It's crazy to think of what we would do w/out insurance.

Thank God for awesome family that will help watch the boys while Tom and I are at work. We love you!

Robby is off to a ENT (ear, nose, and throat) appointment today. We'll see what they say about his tonsils and annoids; although between him & Tom I think I'm about to be drowned out by snoring at night. Not a good thing!

Andy's had another renal ultrasound & VCUG (kindey ultrasound & bladdar test) done last week. Apparently he was the first person to use DeVos' new machine for the VCUG test, so they took a bit longer than usual to do while the person learned how to use the equipment. He continued to flirt the entire time though; I was more tired than him after 5 hours of sitting in the hospital. Quick results show that his kidneys look good & his bladdar is nice and smooth. It also showed that he didn't empty his bladdar the entire way which could be a one-time thing or that he doesn't have much sensation to know that his bladdar wasn't completely empty. We'll find out more next week when we meet his urologist.

I've also decided that as hard as I try to maintain order & control the medical world is out to upset the apple cart each time. With going back to work, I now have to arrange for Andy's PT each week and arrange time off for all his doctor's appointments. School has been great about saying just go, but that also means sub. plans, leaving early, and no pay! Once I get everything all set for an appointment, the offices will call and cancel and reschedule at wierd times w/out even asking if that time slot will work. I just want to scream, "Are you serious? Do you realize that your faulty planning is no going to cost my family an entire day's worth of pay?" But they don't care. You simply go when they say b/c that is what Andy needs, and you know that you will do whatever it takes to help him. Talk about frustrating!

So, it's Thanksgiving break, and I'm truly thankful that our entire family is together to celebrate. We are blessed beyond our wildest dreams. That is what matters in the long run!

Rooooaaaarrrrrr & Meow!

Happy Halloween! Who knew a cat & dinosaur could be friends? Both boys had a fun-filled weekend at the Halloween mass at church & trick or treating w/ family. Robby's been busy "fixing" things and "harvesting" crops! I think we have seen every tractor, combine, and grain bin throughout all of Alpine & Marne. Here he's harvesting our squash collection! He definitely makes dad proud (my other farmer).

I hope we're on the road to recovery w/ Andy's ear infection - poor guy! His latest head ultrasound came back "great" as the neurosurgeon said (this after 1 1/2 hour wait - it is kind of satisfying that they know me enough in that office that when I walk in, they appologize for the wait before I even sit down. I actually asked his secretary if they overbook too often or does he just not know how to read a clock. While I explained it was "fine" again this time, I start back to work in two weeks & it will no longer be "fine" once I am taking time off to see him for less than 5 minutes). We'll see what happens in December.

Here's Andy making his mom proud. He has such good head control; he can now sit in the Bumbo seat for short periods of time. He likes to grab the rings on the tray. Tom swore we would throw this seat out after Robby flipped off a chair in it (go figure, my child that can't sit still for 30 seconds), but I'm glad we kept it! Andy loves sitting up! Andy's PT is going really well. He continues to kick both legs and rocks from side to side. Hopefully our lucky streak continues through Nov. Andy has another renal ultrasound and VCUG test (bladder & kidneys) done before Thanksgiving. While most kids w/ SB are unable to control their bladder & bowels, Andy might just prove them wrong - he has so far!

Hopefully NOT a Sequel!

I knew I was about to jinx it when I said Andy slept through the night. It came and went so quickly it might as well have been a blink, but it really wasn't his fault though. All three boys, including Tom, were sick this past week. This left me to take care of each of them - not exactly a highpoint! Anyway, we broke the swing back in after Robby's endless nights of trying to get him to sleep by placing Andy in it. After a week of congestion, green-snotty nose, and throwing his bottle back up right after drinking it - the answer was clear - Andy has his 1st ear infection:( I so hope we are not re-living history here. Robby had ear-infections terribly for a year before they finally put tubes in. I don't want Andy to have either (the infections nor the tubes). Amoxicillin once again holds a sacred spot in our refridgerator. Hopefully he feels better soon!

A Sleep-full Night

Last night marked the first night that Andy slept through the entire night!!! Some of you might not understand how great this is, but Robby has only slept through the entire night about 10 times since he was born, so we were estatic when it happened! Let's hope it continues on.

Fall has brought many activities for our family. Here is a picture of Robby and his buddy, Nolan, becoming "Future Farmers" on our hayride.
Tom and I took Robby and Andy on their first train ride - The Coopersville / Marne Pumpkin Train. Both boys had a great time.

Fall also brings beautiful leaves - a whole lot of them! Trees are great for shade and beauty, but Robby likes them best when they produce a huge pile for him to jump in.

This week also marked the start of the dreaded "shots". I'm happy to report that Andy felt his first vaccine shots at his 2 month check-up. It's a little odd to think that one should be happy he feels pain, but we are! Robby, also had his share of tears w/ his flu shot. Oh the joy of walking out of the doctor's office w/ crying children; at least Robby's watermellon sucker helped!

Images of Robby's & Andy's Brotherly Love:

* Robby decided to wash Andy's bottles in the sink. When I discovered that he had crawled on top of the counter & added soap to a near overflowing sink of water, I could only laugh at the sight of every bottle surrounded in foam.

* Jealous of Andy's need for attention at feeding time, Robby has tried to learn the art of spitting. Thank goodness he can't figure it out yet, so the end result is he kisses Andy unhappily.

* Convinced that every person needs a set of tools, Robby laid out a set on Andy's swing for him to play with.