On the mend

I'm starting to feel better and been having fun taking pictures of Grant while hanging around the house. Today I decided to give him a bath outside. The pictures say it all...

Fun Grant Picts

Still sick

Today my brother asked me, "Shannon, why haven't you updated the blog? You can't just leave people hanging like that." I told him that nothing is new because I'm still sick so I'm hanging around my house in latex gloves and a surgical mask. But, he convinced me to post this so that everyone would know that Grant is fine. Neither Grant nor Jim has caught my bug and we're still waiting to hear from U of M on the date of his next echo. That's all.

I'm sick!

It seems that in the midst of the stress of the last couple of days my immune system has taken a hit. I've got some sort of upper respitory infection and feel quite terrible. My parents have Grant for the afternoon until Jim can get home from work. Please pray:

1. That Grant does not catch this virus! If it gets in his lungs he could easily wind up in the hospital.
2. That I recover quickly.
3. That Jim remains healthy and strong as he cares for Grant and me.

A visit to U of M

Last night Grant seemed to be "panting" (like a dog) and kind of gasping for air. So, today I took him to Ann Arbor to see his cardiologist. He wasn't too concerned about the panting- he thinks it is a behavioral thing Grant learned to do when he's excited or upset- but he is concerned about how hard Grant is breathing overall. He continues to retract (suck in so hard that you can see his ribs), which should have gone away 6 weeks after surgery. So, it is either his lungs or a problem with the veins from surgery restricting. He doesn't think it is an emergency, but he wants us to come back for a sedated echo in the next couple weeks to check on these two issues. Please pray that by the time we go back Grant is no longer retracting!

Grant at the doctor's office

Update on Grant's leg

Good News! We just got back from Children's Hospital, where Grant had an ultrasound of his hip and an examination of his foot and shin. The conclusion was that it is something he'll grow out of. They said he might be pigeon toed when he first starts walking, but if he's not better in a year to bring him back. So, less doctor to go back and see. Yipee!

Grant once again played the "rip up the paper" game at the office and grandma was there to witness the fun. Stay tuned for some pictures of the excitement.

Grant enjoying his truck book

Grant eats again!

Thanks so much for praying for Grant to eat. Soon after I posted the prayer request he started to eat asleep again. He still refused solids, but then started eating them again today. Still no awake bottle yet today.

We went to the GI doctor for a check up today and Grant was entertainment for the whole office. While we were waiting for the doctor he was aggressively tearing up the paper cover on the doctor's table and then laughing whenever it would rip. Big, belly laughs. One doctor saw him, and she told another doctor and then the nurses all piled in the room and everyone was cracking up at Grant. When he was done shredding the paper he wanted to stand up (supported under the arms by me) and jump. And jump and jump and jump. The more people laughed, the more he jumped. They said they have never seen such a happy (and active!) baby. They said he must really tire himself out and sleep a lot. Ha! He's a unique kid. Never tires.

After all the jumping Grant turned toward me and puked all over my pants. The doctor said, "I guess he still has acid reflux," and increased his medication dose. He was also concerned about the growing eczema on Grant's body. (It covers about 80% of him now.) So, he's sending us to an allergist to see if he's allergic to milk. We have that appointment on May 31. But, the good news is that Grant is now in the 45% in weight!!! He's finally gaining at a good pace. The doctor said Grant made his day.

Battle of the bottle...again

We could really use your prayers in regards to Grant's eating again. Starting yesteday he decided he didn't want to eat while sleeping anymore. Everytime we tried to slip the bottle in he woke up and started screaming. So, we thought, okay, maybe we'll move to all awake feedings. But, he's still not eating enough awake (only about 15% of his daily calories) to keep him out of the hospital. So, right now, he's really short on food and we're puzzled as to what to do. Please pray that Grant would start eating again- awake or asleep!

Grant's bottle update

I think we've had a breakthrough! Grant is now taking about half a bottle awake every morning. It seems that Grant prefers to do this only when Jim is in the room and talking to him. So, in the morning we follow Jim around the house as he gets ready for work and Grant watches him and sucks the bottle. When Jim leaves for work, Grant stops sucking. Weird! But, we're making progress. I think the oral aversion is going away now that he is eating solids. Please pray that he continues to improve on the bottle. We're also trying out the sippy cup this week!

Grant and Mom's cast

Ankle in cast

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!

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.

Grant and Grandpa Niedzinski

Grant's first playdate

Grant and his favorite toy

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.

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!

First day of solids