Galveston and Blessings

Please enjoy their first matching brother outfits. :) hehe! Now every time I dress Beckett in that outfit, Brant has to run and find his so they can match. So precious!

A couple of weekends ago, we made the quick trip to Galveston. With the way our car was loaded down, you never would have known we were going on a one hour car drive to a weekend long trip. We packed up enough stuff to travel across the country for a couple weeks! That always tends to happen, and that is why I drive an SUV. :) Everytime we discuss downsizing, I think of my inability to pack lightly, and we stick with the big vehicles...Anyways, back to our weekend getaway.

The kids, especially Brant, really enjoyed the beach. He played in the "wav-es" and built sandcastles with his daddy. He is so blessed with such a sweet daddy who loves to spend so much precious play time with his son. He went fishing in the ocean. Kyle actually caught something! We also spent a lot of time swimming in the pool, which is one of Brant's favorite activities. Beckett saw the ocean and smiled, but was not all that interested as it was naptime. He is not really a great traveler. I think it is much like traveling with a brand new baby...not necessarily the driving part because he no longer sleeps most of the way...but the actual being out of your regular environment part. It is harder to be up all night when you are not home, for some reason. He really did seem to enjoy the swimming pool and watching his brother and cousin play. He is definitely getting ready to want in on the action. Even though it may be difficult sometimes, we are so thankful for the opportunity to travel, and the fun we had with our family while we were there. It was great to spend time with my sisters and parents. It is really quite rare that we are ever all together, and we always enjoy each other when it happens. I absolutely love having sisters. We really had a wonderful time, and only one of us (I won't mention names), got sunburned! So a very nice little trip full of wonderful memories.

On another note, we have been blessed in some wonderful ways this month. We can definitely see God's provision in our lives during this exhausting time. Thanks to our generous families, we have been able to hire someone to help me two nights a week. This allows me to get a full night's sleep. Before the night help, I had slept 5 hours straight (or more) less then 8 times in 8 months. Complete exhaustion. There is something to be said about consolidated sleep, and when you are not getting any, things get tough. So, our precious families have decided to help us so that I can get a 7 or 8 hour night a couple times a week. Thank you so much! We feel so blessed to have family that is willing to help us in this way. And another huge blessing: a group of girls from a Bible Study at a church that we had not yet even visited, offered to give of their time to help me during the day. I met one of the young ladies through a mutual friend. She, along with her Bible Study group of about 8 girls, decided they wanted to volunteer to help me throughout the week so that I could get errands done or take a nap or clean or do whatever I need to get done. They take turns calling and setting up a couple hours to come spend with the boys, so I can have some time each week. What a wonderful blessing! I am so thankful for the service these girls are providing for our family. It has been a huge help! This is such a wonderful praise and we are so thankful to God, our Provider. While Beckett has not been healed, we can still see God moving. We know that he is taking care of us, and that he is holding our family in His hands. His provision for us is amazing, and we are thankful to Him.

We've Come a Long Way

After his first X-ray at 2 weeks old...the beginning of the process in a search for answers.

Our 8 month photo shoot...Gotta LOVE that smile!






Look how much he has grown! After arriving home from a recent weight check!


We've come a long way!

Back when Beckett was turning six months old, I meant to do the typical "Happy Six Month Old" post. I fully intended to post some six month pictures, stats, and accomplishments. However, I never did--obviously. To be honest, six months was a little tough. We are so thankful for his first six months and for his precious smile, and take neither for granted, but it was a hard six months, including a couple of hospitalizations, a couple of feeding tubes, a minor surgical procedure, blood tests, x-rays, invasive procedures, and weekly or bi-weekly check ups at the pediatrician's office. And countless sleepless nights.

Honestly, at 6 months, it did not feel like we had made much progress. We were still feeding a baby all night long. We were still struggling to gain weight (well him, not me. Ha!) Our baby cried during the evenings and would only sleep in my arms. He seemed so uncomfortable, and still so new. We still did not have any solid diagnosis as to why he was so chronically constipated. We knew he was diagnosed with Failure to Thrive but did not know why he wasn't growing at a typical rate. And let me tell you, I don't think parents want to hear their children called a failure to -- anything. So constantly hearing a failure to THRIVE is hard and does hurt, as thriving is something that is supposed to come so naturally.

But now, here we are, 2 short months later, and ready to do a Happy 8 Month Old Post! We have come so far and learned so much about our little boy. He is doing so much better, and we are so proud of our little man!

To start with, he is hitting his developmental milestones within a normal range. He babbles and smiles at everybody! He is quite the little flirt. He is sitting up and rolling both directions. He is SLEEPING in his own bed all night (with the exception of waking up for feedings) most of the time. He takes naps in his bed, too! He grabs at toys and will reach for something if he really wants it. Everything seems to go straight to his mouth, which is wonderful, really. He also waves by flapping his arm up and down. Precious! We are so thankful that he is learning new things every day and so aware of the world around him. It is amazing.

As noted by his pediatrician at his last appointment, we have come along way where his health is concerned as well. We had a check up and discussed that he has made progress, and we know more about how to care for him. It was a very positive appointment, and a helpful reminder of how far we have come and how much we have learned. We now know the cause of several of his GI problems, and we are receiving treatment for them by one of the few motility specialists. We learned that he does have that abnormality of the nerves in his colon. The pathology was clear that the nerves are present, but not what they should be. This could be either an immaturity that will mature over time, or it could be the way he will always be. Only time will tell. Either way, we are thankful for knowledge because now we can help him. He is now able to stool nearly every day, and this helps him feel so much better! Also, we know that he has Delayed Gastric Emptying. We had the emptying scan done that actually measured how long it took for his 4 ounces of formula to go through his stomach. It was a very concrete answer to what we had assumed for a long time. His stomach is definitely slow to empty, so now he is on the appropriate drugs for that as well. His spit up has decreased substantially as now food is actually emptying into his small intestine at a more appropriate rate, thanks to the medicine. We have heard of adults who have DGE, and report that the medicines change their life. And they live successful, healthy lives. So now Beckett has these new and specific diagnoses that can be treated and maintained daily. We do have to put a bit more thought into his daily feeding than most parents of eight month olds, but it is all very manageable. Over the last two months, we have learned that while yes, he does have these difficult problems, they are very controllable at this point.

We are thankful for the progress that has been made over the last two months in both Beckett's health and his development. We still have some questions and test coming up in the future, but when you look back, we have really come so far already. I can't believe he is eight months old! Thanks for reading!

On the Road...

The funniest things always happen while we are in the car...

Cue Beckett fussing.

Brant begins to sing "Jesus Loves Me" in sweet attempt to calm his baby brother down.

Hmmm...what should I sing for him next?

Well, how about "Amazing Grace?"

Oh, okay. Amaaaaaazing Graaaace...--Uh-oh. I don't have that one anymore.

You don't have it any more?

No. I guess it got swallowed up.

Swallowed up?

Yeah. Swallowed up...by like, "ABCD" or "Away in the Manger" or some other "muscic." It's swallowed up and I just don't have it any more. But I do have "ABCD." How bout that?

And by some miracle, the singing works, and the fussing stops.

What a precious heart to want to calm his brother. I have been amazed in so many ways as I watch Brant care for his brother...a brother that demands a lot of attention and more of mommy's time and energy than anticipated. He has shown a great maturity in many of the matters where Beckett's health is concerned. He is a very preceptive little boy, and I think he knows when Beckett is having a hard day or things are hard. I think he understands that we work very hard to take special care of his brother. I am proud of him. He genuinely loves "his baby," and I am so thankful for that. It has been so neat to watch the relationship between the two boys, even at such an early age. Beckett loves to laugh at his brother and learn from his brother. They both laugh until they have to catch their breath. It is precious. I pray often that Brant continues to love and care about his brother--without carrying the burden of his health--, in a situation that would be so easy to resent his brother for having more needs than many babies. I pray that God will guard his heart from feelings of anxiety and resentment. We try our best to protect him from what he doesn't need to know or feel, but he is aware. We know God is taking care of him and always has. We know God is in control.

And so I pray for my sweet Brant.

Welcome Summer!

One of Brants all time favorite activities...swinging!

Becketts first experience in a swing! For about one second, he was unsure, but he quickly began to laugh with excitement!

A big day for Beckett as it was also his first experience to sit in a pool. He was amazed with the water and loved splashing his hand in it.

Brant has spent most of his week in this little blue pool. SO worth the thirty bucks we spent on it at Wal-Mart!

Beckett was amazed with watching his hand in the water. It is so neat to watch him discover new things. Oh, and by the way, did you notice we now have a SITTING BOY!? Yay!

So, as you can tell, summer is in full swing at our house! We have been busy enjoying about the only outdoor activity you can enjoy in the Texas heat...swimming! Brant is like a little fish, swimming all day long only breaking for food and nap. He is really enjoying his summer so far! I think he is now starting to understand the concept of summer and the magic that summertime brings for a child.

Last week was Brant's final week of the school year and they had a "special day" each day of the week. He usually doesn't go to school every day, but they are all invited to join in on the fun days so he was extra busy last week. I think his favorite special days were water day and bike day. On Friday, the kids brought their bikes and helmets to school to ride in the parking lot, and then had Happy Meals for lunch. What more could a kid ask for? I am very thankful that he enjoyed the rest of the school year and made a wonderful connection with his sweet teachers. His teachers took such good care of him and loved on him during what has been a big transition for him, and I am so appreciative of that. He misses them a lot and has already talked about them coming to his house to visit. I am not sure that they make house calls. :) But we'll see. He starts a little summer session in a couple weeks at the same school, but with different teachers, and I hope that he transitions well. He is a smart and active little boy, so I think he will really enjoy all the play time with buddies.

Since my last post about Beckett's returning ear infection, he has also started his third round of antibiotics for the problems in his colon. And so the cycle continues... However, as of Tuesday, c.diff was not detected in his stool. So, we have to do yet another stool sample to try to figure out what type of infection or problem he is having in his colon...because their definitely is a problem. We are praying that they can figure out what is causing the horrible problems he is having with his BMs, so that it can get better.

Also, after losing a couple of ounces last week with the ear infection, he is now back up and has showed a little progress. However, he is falling even further away from even his curve and plateuing slightly. Despite this, we have been given the okay to stretch the night feedings to every four hours. So I am now getting a little more sleep at night (as is Beckett), but not enough to brag about! ...That is coming soon. ( More on that later). We will be continuing with his same medicines, but had to double the dose on a few of them in hopes of getting better results with his growth. There are a couple of other medicines we can try to increase his ability to eat before we have to resort back to the feeding tube. He is a tiny little guy, but the doctor noted that he does have a roll on his thigh (yay!) and some fat under his chin.

In other news, this weekend is our six year anniversary! We have had a wonderful and big six years, and I am so thankful for all of it.