Update on Isaac

First things first, I finally uploaded new pictures for everyone to see.

Last week Isaac had been extremely fussy. He wasn't sleeping during the day and he wasn't eating very well either. Instead of sucking, he was doing more gnawing. Whenever we laid him down, he would wake up immediately screaming. On top of that, he was drooling a lot. Mom and I thought that he might be teething. I know it's early but it's not entirely impossible. Finally, on Thursday I went to the store to buy baby orajel only to find out that you can't give that to them until they're 4 months old, so I called the nurse help line. She told me that it sounded like an ear infection and that laying him down and sucking caused pain, so we set up an appointment for Friday morning. That night I let him sleep in his car seat and sat him up to nurse and he seemed to respond well to both. But when we got to the doctor on Friday he didn't have an ear infection, he wasn't teething and his testicles were very swollen and blue. The doctor told us at his 1 month check-up that he might have a hydroceil - basically just water around his testicles but to keep an eye out for any issues. Well, that was obviously an issue, so we were sent to the emergency room to have an ultrasound just to make sure he didn't have a hernia. As I was leaving, I kept saying "but what about the fact that he won't sleep." The doctor said that we would address that issue later but we had to get him checked out right away. The short of it, he doesn't have a hernia but they wanted us to see a urologist to have him look at it to see if we needed to do surgery to reverse the hydroceil. So, we made an appointment for Thursday the 9th.

Over the weekend, however, Isaac still wouldn't sleep well, he was constantly drooling, fussy all the time, eating more frequently and gurgling on something most of his waking hours. He doesn't spit up much, but when he does it's volumous. I'd discussed the possibility of acid reflux with his doctor when he was about a week old but she assured me that he didn't spit up enough to be concerned. But I started doing research and spit up isn't necessarily a symptom of reflux, but Isaac had every other symptom listed. I scheduled an appointment Monday afternoon with a different doctor and she said that "it is very obvious that Isaac has acid reflux." She put him on zantac and told us to wait about 3 days to start seeing an effect and to keep him sleeping in his car seat in his crib.

So, Thursday with the urologist. Basically I don't know why we bothered to go to the office. He told us the same thing that the emergency room did- he has a communicating hydroceil ( that means water travels in and out from his tummy) and that we would just keep an eye on it. If it hasn't healed itself by 6 months, they'll do surgery. The procedure would be very similar in nature to a vasectomy. It would be out-patient and supposedly non-invasive, but hopefully it won't come to that. In the mean time we have to keep watch for a hernia. If he were to develop one of those, they'd go ahead with the surgery.

Well, that's what is going on with Isaac. His medicine for his reflux doesn't appear to be working entirely. He's less fussy but still won't sleep flat on his back. Please be in prayer that it is at least preventing him from being in pain. Oh, and enjoy the new pictures of our beautiful boy.

Hospital Blues

Friday I was at school when the phone rang. Isaac had a appointment with the doctor to talk about the fact that he hadn't been sleeping very well. The doctor wanted to have him get an ultrasound on his testicles to see if that was part of the problem. Virginia wanted me to be there so I left school early to head up to Wake Med. Waiting in the children's emergency room always stinks because not only was Isaac cranky, but the time takes forever. In the end, everything was basically normal. Isaac has some sort of hydro seal on the testicles. I'm not really sure what happens from there, but I'm sure I can have Virginia update you on that soon. Be in prayer that everything works out OK.

Big Weekend

So Joe and I had our first date since Isaac has been born on Friday. In fact, it was our first date in quite a while. Leading up to the day he was born we both stayed very busy and tired. Not to mention the fact that I was miserably large and had no clothes that fit comfortably. Isaac stayed here at the house with my mom while Joe and I went to Bahama Breeze in Raleigh. It's this great Caribbean food restaurant. I had jerk salmon with a mango, apple chutney, Caribbean rice and plantains and Joe had jerk chicken with cinnamon mashed sweet potatoes and plantains. We both really enjoyed our meal and the time we got to spend together. We were only gone for a total of two hours but it was still nice and I was excited to get home to see my sweet baby boy. I don't think he even realized we were gone.

Saturday we had some friends over for dinner. The plan had been for everyone to bring the meat of their choosing, we would supply sides and Joe would grill everything, but unfortunately it rained most of the day so we went with plan B and picked up barbecue. It wasn't raining heavy by the time everyone got here but oh well. We invited two couples from our church and a girl Joe works with and her husband, and one of the couples from church had friends up for the weekend so they came too. It was definitely a full house but we really enjoyed it.

Sunday we went to church and Isaac and I sat in while Joe taught Sunday school. He wanted my honest opinion about whether his lesson was boring. I thought it was actually really interesting. I learned a lot that I didn't know. After that we stopped by my Dad's house to see him, his girlfriend (Sheila) and my brother. We stayed there about an hour and a half before coming home. Then we just relaxed for the rest of the day.

Yesterday I had my 6 week postpartum check-up at the doctor. No one thought to get a picture of Isaac and the doctor who delivered him so I meant to get a picture of the two of them yesterday but left home without the camera like a genius. Oh well. We were supposed to go to home fellowship yesterday but Joe wasn't feeling well and I was having trouble finding...support...let's just say that Isaac threw up all over me twice yesterday and the washer and dryer weren't fast enough to get everything clean. If you don't know what I'm talking about, that's okay. Well, I'm off to get something to eat, feed my son, and do some light cleaning before Joe gets home tonight. It never ends.

4 Weeks Already?

I can't believe Isaac will be four weeks old tomorrow. The time has gone by so quickly. It's amazing. People tell you that a baby changes everything, but I had no idea. I seriously can't imagine my life without him or remember what I ever did that was so important before him. Last night his umbilical cord finally fell off, he slept in his room for the first time and slept for 5 1/2 hours. I posted pictures of him during his first night in his room. He's getting so big so quickly. It's amazing to me how much he has changed just since last week. I swear he gets cuter every day!

His favorite things to do are ride in his swing, play on his mat and sit up while you kiss his cheeks and talk to him. He hates his tummy time and I hate making him do it, but it's supposed to help strengthen their arm and leg muscles. Personally, I think the child is strong enough at this point. If you're not careful he'll kick himself right off your lap.

The cats are doing very well with him. They're starting to want to lay by him- when he's not crying of course. He's still too small for me to rest easy with them too near him but I'm sure they'll be good buddies when he's bigger. I'll try to post more but our days are so routine that its hard to find something particular to write about. Enjoy the new pictures!

It's about time

Since I haven't updating in quite some time, I figured maybe it was time for a quick one. Things are going well. Isaac is doing great. Sometimes he gets a little fussy, but it's usually just because he is in need of a diaper change or he is sleepy. Rare is the time when we can't figure out what is wrong with him. He's been a great baby so far.

We haven't been taking too many pictures lately, which is something that I need to change. I just forget sometimes because he is always around and he's not really "new" anymore. He is changing all the time though. Virginia posted a few pictures from week 3 in the photo album, so check those out.

Back to School

Having a new baby is like having an unplanned vacation. It couldn't have come at a more perfect time either. Because we went to the hospital on a Wednesday morning and had to stay through Friday, I did not have to go to school on those days. Couple that with Martin Luther King holiday on Monday and you've got yourself a nice little mini vacation there. When it's over, though, you are thrown back to reality and go back to school with no plans to execute at all. That was the case for me this week. Luckily it was an odd week. We had testing this week. In our county, we have a pacing guide for Math and Reading and the students are tested each nine weeks on the material that was supposed to be covered in that time. This meant that it was less teaching for me, but more transition for the students during the school day. That is not a good thing. As a result, I broke up two fights during my lunch period. I've had to break up a good number of fights this year, including an all out brawl at a dance two days before Christmas break. In that one, I had to physically wrestle a kid to the ground and stay on top of him performing various WWF leg locks to restrain him. Let's just say I woke up sore the next day. Aside from the fights this week, the rest of the school day went fairly smooth all around.

In other news, Isaac had to go to the doctor yesterday, because he had been throwing up when he was done eating and Virginia was worried about it. She took him to the doctor and they said he may have a little acid reflux, but that he wasn't sick. So, that's good news. It's been a good week and a half. It's hard to believe that it's gone that quickly. We are already in the week 2 pictures, which are posted in the photo album. One cool thing I noticed was that when you click on a picture, it gives you the option of printing photos and picking them up at the local Target. The only requirement is that you have to be a flickr member. It's free and it's actually a cool thing to have because you can upload your own pictures for people. It's super easy. I highly recommend it. If nothing else, just sign up so you can print pictures and comment on ours. The rates are pretty cheap though and there is no minimum order for pictures, which is pretty cool, if you ask me.

In Love With Two Men

Well, I fell in love twice this week. The first time I fell in love was when I held Isaac for the first time. I knew I loved him while he was still in my tummy, but I never imagined how consumed I would be immediately after he arrived. The second time I fell in love was with my husband all over again. He stood and stared at Isaac for what seemed like forever after he was born just making sure he was OK. As many of you know, bringing home a new baby is a very emotional time, especially for mothers. Joe has been my rock. I thank God for him every day and don't know how I could make it without him. When I've been out of my head with anxiety and worry, he's taken my face in his hands and let me know that we're in this together. I am so proud of him.

We're all so happy to have Isaac here, but I don't think anyone is more happy about it than he is. He is such a good baby. With the exception of the first two nights home, where he woke up literally every 30 minutes, he hardly ever cries. He will cry when we change his diaper if it's too cold or if he is really hungry and I'm being slow getting to him but that's about it. We're rotten. When he does get fussy we scramble around like crazy people because we're just not used to it. It's decided - we're not having any more. No other baby could possibly be as good as him.

Isaac had his first visit to the doctor on Monday. You can see pictures in the week 1 picture set in the photo album. It was a standard newborn visit. He now weighs 8 lbs. 6 oz. The doctor seemed pleased with his weight and color. He has his two week check-up next Wednesday where he will hopefully be back up to his birth weight.

Before I sign out here to go spend time with my two favorite men, I want to take a moment to thank everyone who prayed for us during my pregnancy. We had a beautiful, healthy baby and a safe delivery. Joe and I couldn't have asked for more. I would ask that everyone continue to pray for me and Joe; that we would make wise decisions for Isaac and be Godly examples to him as he grows. God Bless You All.