Good Things Come: Rolling with the Punches

The past week has been extremely busy for our family! Hayes had his 9 month doctors appointment on Tuesday and she was extremely pleased with his progress! Drake & Kennedy had their 4 year check-up on Thursday. She was very pleased with Drake & how well he is doing! She has some concerns about Kennedy's size, which I knew was coming. She took bloodwork (which has all come back normal), sent us for a bone age x-Ray (which shows her bone age is delayed) and we have a referral to see an endocrinologist in Dallas. We are aware that she is smaller than other kids her age; however, looking back at my baby book provides some comfort. At my 4 year appointment, I was less than an inch taller than Kennedy & one pound more than she is now. I plan to weigh her & measure her in October (when she was supposed to be born) and then compare again.

On Saturday Brian and I attended an event in Dallas! We dropped Kennedy & Hayes off with Mimi & Poppy for a fun filled day! After our event, we headed to Children's Hospital to visit some of our friends who are there with their children. After a good but long day, we made it back home after bedtime. Our sweet Drake was already asleep & Brian and I transferred Kennedy & Hayes to bed. We showered & turned out our lights for bed at 11:30pm. Our night nurse came to get us at 11:50pm because Drake had woken up and wasn't acting right. We hopped out of bed to discover that he was having a constant circuit of seizures. I administered his emergency medications and we monitored and timed the effects of the medicine. The seizure intensity lessened, but did not stop. At that point, we called for an ambulance and gathered all of the things we needed for the hospital. In route to the hospital, the ENT told me he could administer Ativan through the IV they placed. I asked him to please do so, hoping the seizures would stop. Unfortunately, his seizures did not stop. The doctor in the ER ordered a Dilantin drip & called Dallas to consult with our Neurolgist. His seizure activity finally stopped & he was monitored over the next several hours. The dosage on his daily seizure medication was changed, and we were discharged a little after 6am. Brian's dad came over to our house to be there for Kennedy & Hayes while Brian drove to pick us up. Drake was extremely sore & began crying as soon as we picked him up to transfer him to his car seat. His tears absolutely broke my heart.

Drake slept most of Sunday, and thanks to Brian stepping in as Super Dad, I was able to rest, too! We didn't want to move Drake out of his bed because of his soreness, so we brought Kennedy & Hayes into his room for a "bed party." Drake wasn't his active self, but we could see the happiness on his face being with his siblings. Not only that, but his oxygen saturation goes up when Kennedy talks and sings to him! I cancelled his therapies for Monday to allow his body more time to rest. We resumed today & he did great, but was definitely tired. He even took a nap, which never happens! Seeing him smile & resume his active lifestyle makes our entire household happy!

Something VERY exciting has happened today...Kennedy pooped on the potty!!! She has been potty trained with urinating for over a year now, but pooping was something I feared would never happen. If she needed to poop, she would go into the bathroom, put on a pull-up and let us know when she was finished. This had just become a way of life that we were accustomed to around here. We knew at some point she would be ready, but we didn't know what else to try. Even our pediatrician said she didn't have any other suggestions for us because we had already tried everything she was going to tell us. Clearly we just needed a little more time and patience with Kennedy's timeline.

This past week as been a true roller coaster of ups & downs, but Brian and I have learned to roll with the punches and take things one day at a time.

Bed party for Drakey!!