Remember that sprained ankle I had last month? Well...it never got better. I went to an orthopedic surgeon today and he put it in a cast. I'll only have the cast for about 2 weeks then I'll start intensive physical therapy so I can get back to normal as soon as possible.
I'm looking to hire someone to baby-sit Grant while I'm in physical therapy starting in two weeks and then possibly for two mornings a week through the summer so I can take a class. I'm looking for someone who has LOTS of experience with infants, ideally a mom with grown kids who has done this before....Please let me know if you or anyone you know is interested. Thanks!
Monday, April 30, 2007
Sunday, April 29, 2007
A great day for Grant
Yesterday I went to my sister's graduation in Ann Arbor all day and Jim stayed home with Grant. I think I was secretly hoping that I would walk in the door and Jim would bow down and tell me he doesn't know how I do it. :)
This didn't happen. But, what did is even better. While I was gone Grant took a two hour nap (his longest ever) and a one hour nap. He played independently, ate solids and didn't cry once. Jim and I were thanking God and then thought, wow, let's try giving him a bottle awake and see if he'll eat it. I picked him up, fully awake, and he sucked down the bottle. We couldn't believe it. He was like Mr.Normal Baby! Jim and I continued to thank God all night and I was on cloud 9. What a great day.
But then, before bed, I tried to feed Grant another bottle while he was awake. No go. He wanted nothing to do with it until he fell asleep. At this point I started to get discouraged and angry at God. And I realized that when Grant has a good day, I feel loved and cared for by God, and when things don't go well I start doubting God's goodness. I have been wrestling with this since Grant was born. I have been trying to dig into the Bible ( and reading from the website www.peterkreeft.com) as to really come to understand God's character so that on good days and bad my faith in Him and His love can remain strong.
This didn't happen. But, what did is even better. While I was gone Grant took a two hour nap (his longest ever) and a one hour nap. He played independently, ate solids and didn't cry once. Jim and I were thanking God and then thought, wow, let's try giving him a bottle awake and see if he'll eat it. I picked him up, fully awake, and he sucked down the bottle. We couldn't believe it. He was like Mr.Normal Baby! Jim and I continued to thank God all night and I was on cloud 9. What a great day.
But then, before bed, I tried to feed Grant another bottle while he was awake. No go. He wanted nothing to do with it until he fell asleep. At this point I started to get discouraged and angry at God. And I realized that when Grant has a good day, I feel loved and cared for by God, and when things don't go well I start doubting God's goodness. I have been wrestling with this since Grant was born. I have been trying to dig into the Bible ( and reading from the website www.peterkreeft.com) as to really come to understand God's character so that on good days and bad my faith in Him and His love can remain strong.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Grant rolled over!
Yesterday was an exciting day. Grant rolled over for the first time. (Both my mom and mother-in-law swear they saw Grant do it a few weeks ago, but this is the first time he did it for me, so now it counts!) Reaching developmental milestones like this is huge for Grant, because they said he will probably be delayed for the first year. But, he is quickly catching up!
Grant is making huge improvements in eating solids. Thanks for your prayers!
We are starting to sleep-train Grant this week so that he learns to self soothe (and so we can get some sleep). The first night he cried for 45 minutes, but last night he only cried for 15! He wakes up once in the night to eat around 1am and then we have to wake him to give him his medication at 5am. We are excited at the prospect of getting more sleep.
We have an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon at Children's Hospital on May 14 to get Grant's leg/hip/shin checked out.
Grant is making huge improvements in eating solids. Thanks for your prayers!
We are starting to sleep-train Grant this week so that he learns to self soothe (and so we can get some sleep). The first night he cried for 45 minutes, but last night he only cried for 15! He wakes up once in the night to eat around 1am and then we have to wake him to give him his medication at 5am. We are excited at the prospect of getting more sleep.
We have an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon at Children's Hospital on May 14 to get Grant's leg/hip/shin checked out.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Visit to the pediatrician
Today Grant went to the pediatrician for his 4 month visit. It was exciting to hear that he is in the 90% percentile in height! (He hasn't really been "above average" in anything yet, so that was fun to hear.) The doctor also said he was extremely strong and appeared developmentally ahead. Yeah!!
She did say that he was one of the most active babies she's ever seen. :) No surprise there. He is in the 25% for weight, so at least he's holding steady at this point. He has eczema all over his body, which has been getting worse over the past month or so, so she finally gave us some topical medication to try for that.
The bummer part of the visit is that she confirmed what Jim and I had noticed in Grant's left leg when he jumps in his bouncer. Something is not quite right. She thinks that one leg is longer than the other. The side of his left foot his the ground instead of hitting straight on. So, she referred us to an orthopedic surgeon.
Please pray:
1. That Grant's leg/foot problem would be healed!
2. That Grant's eczema would go away.
3. That Grant would eat solids with ease.
Thank you!
She did say that he was one of the most active babies she's ever seen. :) No surprise there. He is in the 25% for weight, so at least he's holding steady at this point. He has eczema all over his body, which has been getting worse over the past month or so, so she finally gave us some topical medication to try for that.
The bummer part of the visit is that she confirmed what Jim and I had noticed in Grant's left leg when he jumps in his bouncer. Something is not quite right. She thinks that one leg is longer than the other. The side of his left foot his the ground instead of hitting straight on. So, she referred us to an orthopedic surgeon.
Please pray:
1. That Grant's leg/foot problem would be healed!
2. That Grant's eczema would go away.
3. That Grant would eat solids with ease.
Thank you!
Monday, April 23, 2007
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Sleep and solids
Grant is catching on to our new sleep plan....kind of. Last night he slept from 9-3am straight! But, then at 3am he thought his day was supposed to start and has been wide eyed ever since! Doesn't this kid need sleep?!
One amazing thing that happened is that at 3am Grant took his bottle awake! He has not done this in months. It was very exciting. Please pray that he is healed and will continue to eat while awake.
Another thing we'd love your prayers for is eating solids. Grant is happily opening his mouth when the food comes near him, which is a great sign, but doesn't have a great suck/swallow because most of the time that he's swallowing food he's asleep (and it's reflexive). Our OT keeps saying, "It's not too bad," but he needs to learn some tongue control. He actually prefers to hold the spoon and feed himself- which consists of sometimes making to his mouth and other times hitting himself in the nose. It's not the most efficient way of eating, but it makes for some great pictures. (To be posted soon.)
One amazing thing that happened is that at 3am Grant took his bottle awake! He has not done this in months. It was very exciting. Please pray that he is healed and will continue to eat while awake.
Another thing we'd love your prayers for is eating solids. Grant is happily opening his mouth when the food comes near him, which is a great sign, but doesn't have a great suck/swallow because most of the time that he's swallowing food he's asleep (and it's reflexive). Our OT keeps saying, "It's not too bad," but he needs to learn some tongue control. He actually prefers to hold the spoon and feed himself- which consists of sometimes making to his mouth and other times hitting himself in the nose. It's not the most efficient way of eating, but it makes for some great pictures. (To be posted soon.)
Friday, April 20, 2007
Snuggles and bathtubs
Grant is making improvements in the area of his sensory struggles. For the longest time he didn't like to be held. Now he loves to snuggle and be rocked to sleep! He also used to really not like water. We had been doing sponge baths only until recently because he'd freak out when we put him in his baby bathtub. But, in Florida I started taking baths with him. (The pool was too germy, but we were in Florida, so we had to go swimming every day. :) )He really likes it now, especially when I leave the water running so he can run his hands under the spout and feel the water pressure. He can amuse himself with that until we both turn into prunes. Yesterday Jim sweetly asked me, "Are you always going to take baths with Grant, or do you think he can start going in the tub without you?" I think he was picturing a 13 year old boy being forced to bathe with his mom. :)
Back to life in Michigan
Grant is starting to eat more food again and do better at home now that we are settling into our routine again. I guess he must not like transitions or something. :)
I talked to the doctor yesterday about switching the times for Grant's medication so that Jim and I can get more sleep. Right now he takes 1 out of his 6 meds at 2am and lately we've been having to work pretty hard at waking him up to get him to take it. And then we have to work pretty hard to get him back to sleep so that he can eat while he sleeps. (Okay, I need to be honest- Jim is the one who does this feeding, not me...) Needless to say, that takes quite a chunk out of the middle of the night. So, we got our doctor's permission to switch the schedule to give him that medication at 8pm, 4am and noon. Grant tends to wake up for the day at 4:30am, so we can probably give it to him then. He is pretty close to getting enough calories during the day to make this possible. It would surely change all of our lives! We tried it for the first time last night and he still was up from midnight to 2am and then again a few hours later, so we're off to a rough start. But, at least we have permission to head in the right direction. Our prayer now is that Grant would sleep from 8pm-4:30am straight. (And maybe even go back to bed after his 4/4:30am meds!) :)
I talked to the doctor yesterday about switching the times for Grant's medication so that Jim and I can get more sleep. Right now he takes 1 out of his 6 meds at 2am and lately we've been having to work pretty hard at waking him up to get him to take it. And then we have to work pretty hard to get him back to sleep so that he can eat while he sleeps. (Okay, I need to be honest- Jim is the one who does this feeding, not me...) Needless to say, that takes quite a chunk out of the middle of the night. So, we got our doctor's permission to switch the schedule to give him that medication at 8pm, 4am and noon. Grant tends to wake up for the day at 4:30am, so we can probably give it to him then. He is pretty close to getting enough calories during the day to make this possible. It would surely change all of our lives! We tried it for the first time last night and he still was up from midnight to 2am and then again a few hours later, so we're off to a rough start. But, at least we have permission to head in the right direction. Our prayer now is that Grant would sleep from 8pm-4:30am straight. (And maybe even go back to bed after his 4/4:30am meds!) :)
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
We're Home
We made it home from Florida and Jim just got home from his business trip in LA. Grant grew almost 2 inches while we were gone and gained over a pound. Florida was really good for him!
Since we've been back (only 2 days) Grant has been eating only half of what he ate in Florida. I'm not sure what all the variables are, but even in his sleep he is refusing the bottle again. We started solids (rice cereal and applesauce) last night under the guidance of our occupational therapist. She said he did okay, but has some work to do in terms of tongue control and swallowing that he didn't learn because of struggling with the bottle. Please pray that Grant would take his bottle again and would quickly take to solids.
We're missing grandma and grandpa Niedzinski already and counting the days until they come to visit in June!
Since we've been back (only 2 days) Grant has been eating only half of what he ate in Florida. I'm not sure what all the variables are, but even in his sleep he is refusing the bottle again. We started solids (rice cereal and applesauce) last night under the guidance of our occupational therapist. She said he did okay, but has some work to do in terms of tongue control and swallowing that he didn't learn because of struggling with the bottle. Please pray that Grant would take his bottle again and would quickly take to solids.
We're missing grandma and grandpa Niedzinski already and counting the days until they come to visit in June!
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Friday, April 13, 2007
Staying in Florida
We have arrived safely at G and G Niedzinski's. There are so many things so see and do here and Grant is being adored by his grandparents that don't get to see him as often. Tonight Jim and I went out on our longest date ever tonight (since Grant)- dinner and a movie! We're really enjoying our stay. Grant has been doing really well being able to get outdoors and being loved on by so many people. So, Grant and I are staying! Just a few extra days while Jim is in LA for business anyway. (He leaves in the morning.)
A few prayer requests:
1. That Grant would be calmer in the night and sleep for longer stretches. (He's eating more calories during the day now, which means less eating at night. But, lately he's been waking up hyper every couple of hours.)
2. That Grant would eat while awake.
3. That Grant would remain healthy and I would remain kind to all the people that try to touch him now that we're out and about. :)
4. That my flight would not be delayed and the trip back to Michigan alone with Grant would be extra smooth.
A few prayer requests:
1. That Grant would be calmer in the night and sleep for longer stretches. (He's eating more calories during the day now, which means less eating at night. But, lately he's been waking up hyper every couple of hours.)
2. That Grant would eat while awake.
3. That Grant would remain healthy and I would remain kind to all the people that try to touch him now that we're out and about. :)
4. That my flight would not be delayed and the trip back to Michigan alone with Grant would be extra smooth.
Monday, April 09, 2007
Grant loves Florida!
Our plane ride to Florida went relatively smoothly. Aside from hooking him up to the oxygen Grant did not seem to mind the flight. For a portion of the trip we put our tray table down (covered with a germ protector, of course)and put Grant on his back, so he could bat toys we held over his head. The three of us even managed to fall asleep for a bit all snuggled together.
You probably won't see a picture of Grant in his sunglasses on the blog because he hates them. :) The first day Jim brought him out to the beach with his bathing suit, sunglasses and hat, and Grant screamed and kicked the whole time. We quickly figured out that the beach is not his favorite place to be. But, he loves just about everything else in Florida. He loves to take stroller rides and look at everything around him. He is facinated by people and animals, especially dogs! They have live music playing much of the time and he loves to sit and stare at the guitar player. He is such a curious kid and I didn't realize how much only seeing our house and the hospital the last 4 months affected both of us!
Tomorrow we leave my parents' place and head to Jim's parents, four hours north.
You probably won't see a picture of Grant in his sunglasses on the blog because he hates them. :) The first day Jim brought him out to the beach with his bathing suit, sunglasses and hat, and Grant screamed and kicked the whole time. We quickly figured out that the beach is not his favorite place to be. But, he loves just about everything else in Florida. He loves to take stroller rides and look at everything around him. He is facinated by people and animals, especially dogs! They have live music playing much of the time and he loves to sit and stare at the guitar player. He is such a curious kid and I didn't realize how much only seeing our house and the hospital the last 4 months affected both of us!
Tomorrow we leave my parents' place and head to Jim's parents, four hours north.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
We're going to Florida!
The antibiotics have kicked in and I'm finally starting to feel better. Grant didn't catch the bug, so we're going to go to Florida for Easter. We'll get to be with both my family and Jim's family. What a treat! We'll have someone staying at our house to sign for Grant's medical supply pick up and deliveries. We'll probably have internet access in Florida so I'll try to post a picture of the little guy in his sunglasses.
Please pray for our airplane ride and that we'd all stay healthy. (Grant will be on oxygen for the air portion of our trip.) I'm so excited to get away (and have others helping with Grant around the clock. :) Thanks mom and dad Koss and Niedzinski!)
Please pray for our airplane ride and that we'd all stay healthy. (Grant will be on oxygen for the air portion of our trip.) I'm so excited to get away (and have others helping with Grant around the clock. :) Thanks mom and dad Koss and Niedzinski!)
Monday, April 02, 2007
It's strep! :(
I just got back from the doctor and I have strep throat. I have to stay away from Grant for the next 24 hours to ensure he doesn't get it. So, I am going to stay at someone else's house. Please pray for my mom and Jim as they care for Grant while I am gone.
We're pooped
Grant met his caloric goal for the second time ever yesterday! It felt great to know that he got all the nutrients that he needs to grow and gain weight. But, I have to say that feeding Grant around the clock like this for 16 weeks now is so wearing. Unfortunately, we can't sleep when Grant sleeps, because that is when we are feeding him. We really need him to turn the corner and eat when he's awake so that he can sleep at night and nap during the day.
We're both pretty darn exhausted and I woke up with a terrible sore throat. My mom is headed over so I can go to the doctor. Please pray for protection for Grant and Jim from sickness and for whatever I have to go away quickly. Thanks.
We're both pretty darn exhausted and I woke up with a terrible sore throat. My mom is headed over so I can go to the doctor. Please pray for protection for Grant and Jim from sickness and for whatever I have to go away quickly. Thanks.
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