Wood's World

Wood's World

Sunday, May 30, 2010

We Have a Crawler...Again!!!

This showed up on my camera from the Cullinan's! So cute!
BFF's!

In my big boy PJs!


His head is to the right!!! YAY!



My helper :-)




And he's off...towards the tiger? War Eagle!





What were you so worried about, Mom?






What viral infection?







Up and so proud....








Going....









One of my closest friends from high school, Kristin, came over to cheer us up with food and wine!










We LOVE you Kristin!











You can see the only tooth he has :-) Cheese!












This is good, Mom!













He had his first Mum Mum and loved it :-)














Declan is crawling and back to himself!!! What a lllloooonnnggg 4 days!!! He started crawling early this evening and crawled all over the place and was even pulling up on his own! I'm hoping this was just a bad virus but don't you worry this mom is on it and will follow up with this. This is probably the most scared I have ever been in 29 years of my life. I am so happy our little guy is happy and able to move again. I cannot begin to tell you the sigh of relief I had when he started crawling. I yelled so loudly I thought he might never do it again:-) I want to thank anyone who is reading this blog. It means that you care enough about me and my family and said a little prayer for us. It is so nice to have the friends and family that we have. I am so thankful for all of you everyday and appreciate you more than you will ever know. I snapped some pictures of him back to himself. If you look at the pictures you are going to think I'm crazy...I swear it was bad. Again...thank you for thinking about us! I will keep everyone updated. We are still giving him Motrin but hopefully we can stop that tomorrow. I may have overreacted in many people's opinion, but I couldn't help too. I have seen a lot and have friends that have been through so much, but it is way different when it is your own child.

Friday, May 28, 2010

Scare

Declan woke up yesterday from his afternoon nap at my sister's very upset. This is unusual for our little boy. She could not console him. He seemed like he had a crick in his neck. She gave him some Tylenol and told me about it when I picked him up. I noticed his chin tucked towards his chest, but did not think much of it. He was happy on the ride home. When we got home I put him down to play and he became very frustrated. He was not turning his head, chin still tucked to his chest. I tried to get him to crawl, but he could not get down into the crawling position. Tried putting him on his stomach to crawl and he couldn't do it and had a hard time sitting up with his head lagging behind. He even fell over a couple of times. I put him on his back and he couldn't roll over. I immediately took off his kinesio tape wondering if that had anything to do with it, even if it had worked the week before. This was absolutely heartbreaking. What was wrong with my little boy? Was it from the physical therapy? Did he forget how to crawl? Was it hurting him physically to crawl?

Jason got home and Declan and I were sitting on the floor, of course with me in tears. Remember I work with children and have for many years that are developmentally delayed. This can be a good and bad thing when raising your own child. Yesterday...it was bad. I knew something was definitely wrong wrong. He was still happy yet frustrated and hurting it seemed.

I called the pediatrician's answering service. First I spoke to a nurse who said to bring him in to CHOA if I did not hear from a doctor within 30 minutes. Then a doctor called me back, from another practice (they had paged the wrong practice) and she said bring him in first thing in the morning, then a doctor from our practice called and said that give him Motrin and see how he was in the morning. Declan was already asleep at this point. I would put him on his stomach to fall asleep and he could not lay down on his own. He sat up for a good 15 minutes playing and I am assuming kind of fell over to sleep. Again...heartbreaking.

I dropped Declan off at my sister's house this morning and he was not himself. He was still acting the same way. I was at the mercy of time. I wanted to call the PT to get her advice and see if this was common and then call the doctor...both not open until 9:00. All of this going on while I am trying to get everything closed up for the school year and prepare for summer school. I was crying on and off all morning. If you know me...I am not a crier and it is very unlike me, but I was having a hard time keeping it together.

I talked to Declan's PT (Again...who I LOVE) and she said it was not common and that I needed to take him in (short version of the conversation). Talked to our pediatrician and he said to bring him in. When we got to the doctor I showed him EVERYTHING that I was concerned about. I even showed him how he could not crawl and Declan fell on his face while trying to do it. I also mentioned how the torticollis was not found by him and he needed to be very aggressive when checking him today...and he was.

He brought in another doctor and they both examined him and he wanted the doctor on call to see his baseline of where he was (she is also the on call doctor through the holiday weekend). They both seem to think that it is viral or muscle soreness, but seemed a little concerned. I cried again. I am supposed to continue to give him Motrin through the weekend, but if anything seems to get worse of course I need to bring him in. It is very nerve racking with the torticollis and the eye and everything is weak on one side. I could not help but to freak out a little bit. The doctors did make me feel at ease and I once again remember why I picked this practice. Declan seemed even better this evening. I did ask about the crawling...huge milestone to "forget" and he said he will need to see him next week if he isn't crawling or moving around.

Pretty much no one knew this was going on. My poor mom and best friend are out of town and will find out this on a blog. Sometimes it is just easier to write things.

By the way...apparently this is very common when children get a viral infections or something like strep. They just get sore. So...I am hopeful that our baby boy will be back to moving around and not frustrated anymore by the time the weekend is over. He better be...his Mom wants to spend every minute she has with him before I start ESY :-)

I have never felt so many emotions now that I am a Mom. Our boy relies on us 100% and to see him hurt and frustrated was very painful. He has been through a lot for a 9 month old. I have no idea how parents that have children with serious and chronic illnesses or disabilities do it. I definitely pray for them everyday. This is nothing compared to what so many families go through.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Magic Tape







Many of you have asked what the kinesio tape looks like, so I took some pictures today after therapy. He will keep it on for 4 days and then I get the pleasure of retaping him after my lesson from the PT today. We have really noticed that it is working and helping strengthen his muscles and prompting him to keep his straight. Believe me...I would rather have the tape then using my hand. Plus he is starting to push me away when I do it. He is still making progress weekly! He was much better during therapy today. I think he is getting used to the routine of going and "playing." He turned around and waved "bye-bye" to the PT today. I think that he melted her heart, but then again who's heart doesn't he melt?!

Progress...

May 2010
1st month of therapy...May 2010

April 2010


April 2010



When we really started to notice...end of March 2010




March 2010





February 2010






January 2010







December 2009








November 2009









Sunday, May 23, 2010

CATastrophe!

Poor little boy...
Scratched up :-(

Love my outfit :-) Thanks Maw Maw Deb!



Having a big time before the scratching....



Looks like Mr. Sims will need to be declawed...



Declan received his first injury from the cat today. He and Mr. Sims were playing together and Sims scratched his face. He has some lovely scratches on his cheek and the cat got his eyelid too. Declan cried for maybe a second. It is amazing how tough this kid is already. Me on the other hand...almost in tears. I felt awful! I was standing right there and even snapped a few pictures of them playing. Definitely did not get the mom of the year award today :-( Declan is fine, but it totally could of been prevented, so of course I feel a little guilty.

Home Sweet Home & New Playroom!
















Jason and I talked a lot this weekend and we both decided that we are not ready to move. We are going to stay here for at least another year. We are just not ready to head north yet and want to live in the city awhile longer. Our house is pretty small...maybe a little over 1000 square feet...but I love it. I feel safe here, I love the view of the skyline from the window and front porch. I love the backyard where we grill out and play with Declan and Dixon can roam around. I love being in the city, but having the trees all around us and I love that I do not have to do yard work. Point is...I love it here and we are not ready to buy right now, so why move north and pay the same amount of rent? We moved last year when I was 8 months pregnant. I just want to enjoy my summer without the stress of finding a new place and moving on top of teaching summer school...just to do it all over again in a year when we will be ready to buy a home.










I spent most of the weekend cleaning and reorganizing since we made the decision to stay. I want our friends to be able to come over with their kids and have room for everyone and a place to stay for people if needed. So...that is what I did. I cleaned the hell out of the place, made a playroom for Declan and his friends, and organized the loft for company to stay over and did some baby proofing. I am feeling much better about our cute little home. It is perfect for our little family for now :-)





Saturday, May 22, 2010

The Car Show

Playing like a good boy...and then....

I'm hungry, mom!



Who needs you? I can get my own bottle. He took all of that stuff out on his own to get it :-)


I'm hilarious and such a big boy :-)




We went to the Norcross car show today. We go every year to support one of Jason's best friends and his family who put the event on. Last year I was pregnant with Declan and we said it would be fun to bring him when we had him...so we did and it was fun. We ran into some old friends of mine from college and had a few adult beverages and reminisced. We had a great time with friends and Declan was perfect. He woke up at 10:30 that morning and was still up at 4:00. He missed his nap, but was absolutely cheerful and perfect. How did we get so lucky? This is one laid back child! It was so nice to introduce him to our friends. Here are some picture of him getting his own bottle. Yes...he went into my diaper bag and got his bottle and started feeding himself. It was precious :-)

Watch Out!

Sorry, mom! I was just trying to have some fun!
Look at this face?! He can dump water out any day of the week! So adorable!

What are you going to do about it, mom?



This is fun :-)


Notice the soaked pants....



This army crawling is out of control! I took Friday off to take Declan to the doctor and decided to do some deep cleaning in our house. Let me tell you...it is a little more difficult with my army crawler and dog. They both followed me to each room as I cleaned the house. It made it a lot harder to clean, but it was fun! Here are some pictures. Declan crawled to the dog's water bowl and dumped it all over the floor and laughed as he did it! I am sure if there was food in the bowl he would have eaten it too. Apparently it was one of my favorite things to do when I was little.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Worn out....

Jason and I took Declan to pediatric opthamologist at Scottish Rite this morning. We were told to take him there, because he was having difficulty tracking with his left eye and his vision needed to be checked. It is fascinating how they check a 9 month old's eyes. He did some tests dilated his eyes and then did some more. Declan did not even cry! His vision is FINE! YAY! He does however have Ptosis which is the drooping of the eyelid. The muscles in his left eye are weak which is causing the droop. This is very typical with children who have Torticollis. He said that often times the physical therapy helps with the vision too. Again, thank God we caught this early enough! He will see us again in 9 months to make sure his vision is still normal. As far as the Ptosis goes...he was not too worried, but if the eyelid droops more to affect his vision Declan will need surgery. The doctor did not seem too alarmed and said that would not be for many years and it was not a severe case and if needed it is an easy surgery. I am going to put this one on my mom! We used to call her "lizard lids," before she had surgery to correct her drooping lids :-) Only kidding, Mom! So whether it is the Torticollis or the genes that caused it who cares?! The important thing is that is ALL it is! We are so relieved. Declan is worn out after all of these appointments, but smiles and laughs through it all.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

PT Update

Declan had physical therapy yesterday and his PT, Kim, said that he was 10 times better this week! Wahoo!!! I have noticed it, but it is nice to hear it from a professional! She did tape him up. He has kinesio tape from his neck to his shoulder. He will need to keep it on until Friday and we need to continue the stretches. The tape does not seem to be bothering him one bit. He is such a sweet and good boy. How did we get so lucky?! My mom has kept him a lot this week and he is LOVING it, but misses the Cullinans of course. Jason and I are taking him to the eye doctor Friday morning, to see what they say. However, his eye seems to be getting stronger with the physical therapy. We shall see! Thanks for all of the prayers. I will update soon!

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Weekend in the A

BUSTED!!! Commando crawling all over the place and getting in to everything! Time to baby proof this house I guess!


Me, Declan and Davis (Notice how much better he is holding up his head!!!) YAY!



Best of friends! WAR EAGLE!



My boys having fun as usual :-)



He is too cool, what can I say?







He is cuddling now after his nigh time bottle. I am in heaven! He fell asleep in my arms the past two nights and I love it!




We went house hunting this weekend, but were unsuccessful:-( We will keep searching for the perfect home for us. Declan and I were both feeling not so great this weekend, but we made the most of it. We met my friend from college, Davis and her husband Daniel, for lunch on Saturday. I have not seen Davis since we graduated! We were both in the same major and bonded immediately and have kept in touch ever since. They live in Huntsville, but they were in town because her husband competed in a triathlon. We haven't seen each other in 8 years, but it felt like no time had passed. That is when you know it is an amazing friendship. I absolutely adore her and her husband who is just as genuine and nice as she is. Other than that we pretty much took it easy this weekend.
























I got a text message at about 6:30 this morning from my sister. Very, very sad news. Staci was taken to the ER by ambulance this morning to find out that she had miscarried. I cannot begin to tell you the sadness I feel for her and the family. Staci has had great pregnancies and this just came as a shock. I know that miscarriages happen for a reason and that the precious baby was not healthy enough, but it still sucks and is so sad. My sister is one of the strongest women I know and will make it through this with our support and the support of friends. The kids were very sad too and trying to make sense of it which is so hard for a child. Please keep the family in your prayers during this sad time. We love you, Staci!!!