Silly Selfies: Little Bro is Eighteen Months Old

Little bro is finally 18 months old. He is 20 pounds 2 oz (4%) and 32 inches long (33%). He continues to struggle with gaining weight even while calorie packing and g-tubing him several times a week.  To our surprise he still has to sit rear facing in his car seat.  As for feeding him lately, Sadly, he throws up a couple times a week from either burping, coughing, crying too much, feeling full, playing, laughing, or other unknown reasons. It's also frustrating that he refuses to eat sometimes. I think with all the throwing up he has developed another oral aversion. There are days when I just dread feeding him because of the daily battle of him either refusing to eat or drink or throws up. As you can imagine, his eating behaviors causes me a lot of grief. There are days when we both are in tears during meal time.  I've found that it calms us down when we listen to classical music or distract him with toys during meal time. Thankfully, he has a g-tube, which we have been relying on lately. I'm grateful for the support from is dietitian and feeding therapist. They are exploring all kinds of ways to help him such as having him tested him for celiac, which came back negative. Next, we are using some antibiotic medication to help him empty his stomach quicker. We will know in a few weeks if that medication will make a difference. As for other developmental milestones, he is delayed socially and not speaking yet.  Little brother has extreme separation anxiety from his family members and rarely will interact with anybody outside our intermediate family. I'm hopeful that when little bro attends nursery at church on a regular basis he will be able to develop some healthy social interactions.  Additionally, in January he will be doing a music playgroup at Kids on the Move. As far as communication goes, he started signing "more" and grunts while pointing at objects.  I am confident that he is understands us and is very intelligent. For example, he will retrieve an item when we ask him to get something for us and seems to understand us even though he cannot communicate to us. We will be following up with a genetics specialist in March to see if he can determine if Zach has any other syndromes. 

Mini Summer Vacation, Back to School, and 15 Month Checkup

Mini Summer Vacation

On August 13-17, 2014, We drove down to Mesa Arizona to attend a wedding/sealing for our nephew and spent some time with Grandpa and Sharon Free. We drove during the late afternoon and night to make it more comfortable on little brother.  Surprisingly, it was our first time experiencing Arizona during the summer heat. Every time we stepped outside it felt like an oven (dry and very hot).  At this point, we decided we could never survive in Arizona's summers. We love being outside and cannot imagine paying for the AC running non-stop. Thankfully, Grandpa Free had a summing pool to cool off. We went swimming a couple times while there. It was fun being among our Arizona family members celebrating the wedding of Danial and Rebekah. In fact, Rebekah's family did a fun family tradition! They threw Danial a tool party. We had dinner, guests brought tools wrapped in newspaper or paper bags, and had a great time getting to know Rebekah's family better. When the happy couple opened our gift, we got to ask them a question. It was a lot of fun and they got a lot of amazing tools!
First Day Back to School

Summer of 2014 came and went really fast this year. Usually I'm ready for the girls to go back to school due to the non-stop boredom complaints, but this year I was sad they had to go back to school. The first day of school was on August 18th for big sis and little sis started the next day. Big sis is now a sophomore in high school.  Wow, I can hardly believe it! Am I really that old? Didn't I just graduate from high school not too long ago? Also, 2014-2015 is little sister's last year of elementary school. It's crazy how fast kids grow up! Good luck to big sisters and I hope they have a successful school year! Go Vikings and Grizzlies, GRRRRRRRRR! 

Fifteen Month Old Check Up and Shots

Milestones: On August 22, 2014, little brother had his 15 months old check up. He weighs 19 lbs. 4 oz. and is 31.25 inches long. His head circumference was 18.9 inches.  He is slowly making some progress. To our surprise, he is growing in length, but continues to struggle to gain much weight. I'm happy he is at least on the charts! As for his developmental milestones, he isn't talking much or walking yet... I cannot believe he prefers to scoot on his bum all day long. In the past, he has taken a few steps, but for whatever reason, I think he is not confident enough to walk yet. His doctor warned me that he probably wouldn't walk on time... It's frustrating to see many other toddlers younger than him already walking.  Even though he scoots around, he is getting into everything and opening cupboard doors yet. He does occasionally take some kitchen food out from the "lazy Susan" and pull out all the dish towels and bibs out of the drawers. We finally had to install child proof latches under the sinks. Walking brings on more toddler challenges, but I want him to be normal just like any other toddler his age. I have to keep reminding myself that he had three surgeries and I shouldn't compare him to others because of what he has went through. In the meantime, he continues to have monthly early intervention appointments via Kids on the Move (physical therapy and speech). He had occupational therapy discontinued last month due to making most of his feeding goals and his weight seems stable (not losing but slowly gaining)! We are so proud of him! If for whatever reason, he has issues again his occupational therapist will come back as needed.

Finally Summer

Memorial Day

We were invited to go camping in Nevada, but because of little bro needing g-tube feeds during the night we decided to pass on the idea of roughing it without electricity!  So we had a very relaxing Memorial Day. First, we got up early and went to breakfast to Kneaders Bakery and Cafe since we have heard great things about their strawberry and cream french toast.  Oh boy, they were delicious!  I choose a healthier option (low sugar) on their menu the croissant egg, cheese, and ham sandwich, which was tasty as well. Afterwards, we took baby brother home for his morning nap while Daddy went fishing with his nephew in South Jordan.  Later that day, we went to Manila Pond. Little bro and big sister loved walking through the water while little sis went to a friend's house to hang out!

End of the School Year

During the last week of school, little sis had a field trip to the space center, dance festival, fun run, field day, and awards ceremony in her class, which she received the Best Day Dreamer Award and Most likely to be an Archaeologist.  As for big sister, she went to Lagoon Amusement park and got several awards such as Viking Citizen, Viking and Attendance, and Viking Scholar. In fact, big sis was on the honor roll all school year!  We are very proud of their accomplishments this past school year and hope they will continue to be successful! 

Welcome to Toddlerhood Little Bro!

As for our happy little toddler, he is making some amazing progress on milestones. He loves to pull up to stand, can stand without support for a few seconds, cruise all over the place, and scoots instead of crawling! Little bro is finally eating table foods instead of stage 2 purees and drinking cow's milk! When he gets together with our extended family, he loves playing with his second cousins!

Baby Brother is One!

 12 Incredible Months, 2014!

 Credits: Template is by The Coffee Shoppe Blog, I used the Delilah Kit by Shabby Princess and grumble for the font.
Twelve Facts about Baby Brother
1.  He gives us the best hugs and makes us smile every day!

2.  He has four sharp teeth, two adorable ears, a big head full of mischief, and a wicked chest to navel scar to show off later in life.

3.  He had three surgeries this past year three hernia repairs at three months old, a diaphragmatic hernia repair at six months old, and a g-tube placement at ten months old. We are so blessed that he was very brave and strong!

4.  He loves story time, taking a bath, music, being outdoors, clapping, and stroller rides.

5.  He can be very stubborn during physical therapy, but we cannot blame him!

6.  He can pull himself up to stand, but no signs of crawling or walking yet.

7.  His favorite toy is the $2.99 stacking cups from Ikea.

8.  He loves to rub his face on soft cuddly stuffed animals and blankets.

9.  He loves to bite his sister's knees and shoulders, ouch!

10.  He loves his puppy Jagger and shares his food with him.

11.  He is very curious, detailed oriented, and smart.

12.He is finally babbling and I cried when he said "mama" for the first time!

Happy Birthday, Brother!

We celebrated little brother's 1st birthday on May 22, 2014 at home with our little family since he doesn't like to be around big crowds. I was too lazy to bake a cake or cupcakes since most of our household was sick this past week. Unfortunately, I caught the nasty cold going around on his special day!  As you can see, he made a big mess with the blue frosting and didn't eat much! He got more a kick out of eating Cheerios with blue frosting! We bought him a few toys to help with gross motor skills (his first car to scoot on and an activity table to help him stand up). We also got him some First Builders Mega Blocks, bubbles, rubber duckies for bath time, books, and Mr. Potato Head. He was very happy and loved his new toys! What an incredible blessing to have him in our lives today! We love him so much!
Bath Time is the Best with Silly Daddy!

Milestones: On May 23, 2014, He went to his 12 month old check up. Little bro weighs 18.1 pounds (6%), 29 inches long (18%), and 18.9 (93%) inches for head circumference! Wow, he had a big head for sure and is very smart!  The doctors are not concerned with his large head because it has been measuring big all along. I'm happy that our boy is definitely growing and we are finally doing something right to get him on the weight gain path! Woohooo, Go baby brother! Keep up the great work! The doctor and I would like him to see him at 15%-20% on the weight chart at his 18 month old check up. As for gross motor skills, he loves pulling to stand, can get in and out of sitting position very well, and is very close to crawling. I bet he will be crawling any day now and then we will work on walking skills! He is making such an improvement since receiving the g-tube!  I bet the extra nightly feedings via g-tube are making a huge difference since he being properly nourished by Boost Essentials!  

Counting Down Until Lazy Summer Days!

Just a few more weeks left of school. The girls are looking forward to staying up and sleeping in late. We are hoping to keep them busy with swimming lessons and guitar lessons during the Summer.  Certainty they will hangout with their friends a lot.  Big sis and I want to start jogging together a couple times a week in the early hours before it gets hot. As a family, we would love to explore new fun outdoor places and take many trips to the parks.
Mechanical Baby Simulator Teen Living Assignment

Over a weekend for a teen living class, big sister brought home a mechanical baby doll. As you can see in the left bottom photo, she wasn't thrilled since she was rolling her eyes... She was graded on how well she handled her baby (burping, changing, feeding, rocking, head support, etc). No surprise she didn't get much sleep and was terrified to go in public with him because he was very fussy.  Not only did she put up with him crying a lot during the night, she also was woken up by her real baby brother too. After completing her assignment, she admitted to me that she prefers her real baby brother over the doll any day because the doll was very difficult (like the newborn stage, lol)!  I'm glad she got a reality check on what it's like to have a baby and hopefully she learned that parenthood is not easy at all!
End of the Year Concert 

Big Sister had her last choir concert on May 14, 2014, which was held at the high school on the football field.  While preforming on stage at the junior high on Tuesday May 13, 2014, Big sister fell down while doing an interactive dance and choir number on stage. She was very embarrassed and luckily didn't get hurt.
Playing at the neighborhood Park and Miller Park

We have been enjoying the warmer weather and taking trips to the parks! Baby brother loves being outdoors!  We love taking walks, playing sports (tossing a football and basketball), and checking out new parks. We live by two parks that are minutes away from our house. We look forward to finding other neat parks near the area that we haven't been before.
Miller Park (American Fork)

Yikes, He is Eleven Months Old

Milestones:  Life has not been easy adjusting to little brother's medical problems this past year, but I'm grateful we got through it. At this point, I am hopeful that he will be stable. He still has some catching up to do developmentally!  After his surgery, he finally started babbling more since he couldn't move around much.  He loves to clap and say "bababababa", "mmmmm", and "ma ma"! I was nearly in tears when I first heard him say "ma ma"! As for feeding, he can finally drink well through a straw and cup. I recently started him on some chopped bananas, mandarin oranges,  peas, and baby cookies since he is very sensitive to different textures.  He still eats a lot of stage 2 foods. He is very reluctant to try new foods and and hopefully get used to new textures without gagging and throwing up.  A few weeks ago, his GI doctor increased his calories and volume by adding Boost Essentials in his diet because he wasn't gaining enough weight. He didn't tolerate the new diet plan very well due to throwing up and feeling full all the time. We are still figuring out a great solution that will help him gain weight with no adverse effects. In the meantime, we may need to accept the fact that he will gain weight slowly instead of making him uncomfortable with excessive tube feedings and a lot of Boost Essentials. I think a gradual increase would make a difference. Thankfully he has so many people supporting him (dietitian, pediatrician, and OT feeding therapist).  As for gross motor skills, he can properly get in and out of sitting position and is starting to pull himself up to stand. He still isn't crawling or walking yet. In due time once he figures out how to crawl or walk, he will be very actively moving around thanks to his physical therapist and his childhood developmental specialist from Kids on the Move helping him achieve developmental goals! He is definitely as his shirt says my "First Place Champ"! I admire his strength!

March Madness

Not Another Hospital Stay!

On March 10, 2014, little bro went to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City for a ph probe test. It was an overnight test. We were both miserable staying at the hospital because they woke us up a lot and Little bro hated the probe down his throat. In fact, he pulled the tube out and they put "no no" socks over his hands. The best part of being there was a late night wagon ride and a trip to the playroom on the 3rd floor.  Little bro was very sad while there and when he finally got the tube out he was happy again. His test results came back normal, which means he doesn't need a nissen fundoplication procedure done while he gets a g tube surgically inserted.  I still wonder why he continues to cough, gag, and vomit while eating or drinking... He also continues to struggle to gain weight.  There has to be something going on to cause those symptoms if it's not GERD (acid reflux) unless his Zantac is helping him control the acid from coming up. 

Choir Concerts

Big Sister had her chamber choir concert on March 21, 2014 while little sis had a choir concert on March 27, 2014, which she sang many Disney songs.

Little bro is 10 months old!

 Milestones: He is slowly making progress but not gaining much weight. He is starting to drink from a straw but seems hyper sensitive to certain food textures such as macaroni, cottage cheese, cheese, thicker purees, etc.  I'm hearing a little more babbling sounds, but he is not improving much on gross motor skills yet (no signs of crawling, pulling up to stand, or walking). He is doing well developmentally in cognitive or social skills such as putting blocks in and out of a bucket, clapping, etc. We are working on waving bye bye. He seems timid or shy around strangers and always prefers Mommy over anybody else.

After School Programs

The girls signed up for after school programs. Big Sis volunteered to help out with the track team. She is a track manager who assists the coaches and attends the track meets. As for little sis, she has been enjoying her water coloring art class.

Our Superhero is Nine Months Old!

Our Cute Superhero!

Can you believe nine months ago little brother joined our family? Time is just ticking away quickly and before we know it he will be a year old!  He has kept us busy night and day!  Unfortunately, he continues to be uncomfortable with acid reflux even with taking 2 ml of Zantac.  For example, he gags, throws up occasionally, coughs a lot after eating or drinking, and is very upset if we miss or late on a dose of his medication. He still "dream feeds" during bottle feedings and probably won't break that habit. We are offering him more fluids from the cup and he is slowly learning to slurp it and suck through a straw... He sill wakes up a lot during the night because he is hungry due to only being able to consume little amounts of food or bottle feeds.  If he doesn't wake up hubby or I dream feed him 1-2 times during the night to get in extra calories...  Three doctors all agree that he needs a feeding tube soon. In a few weeks, we will know when to expect his 3rd surgery for gastric feeding tube placement and possible acid reflux repair. First, he is doing an overnight ph study at Primary Children's Hospital on March 10th to see how bad his reflux is after meals and bottle feedings. Once the doctor determines the results from the test then he will get his surgery scheduled. We admire little brother's smiles and strength though all his medical issues. 

Milestones:He is currently 15 lbs 7 oz (1%), 28 inches long (32%) and 45.5 cm (63%). He is slowly making progress with help from Kids on the Move: physical therapy, occupational therapy, and a child developmental specialist.  Due to little brother feeling uncomfortable being on his tummy, he may not show any signs of crawling soon, which is very discouraging for me. I want him to succeed in all his milestones like a normal baby, but I've got to accept the fact that he will be behind for a while and will catch up in his own time.  For instance, he is not pulling himself up to stand or safely getting on his back from a sitting position instead he arches and falls backs, which we all think it is because of his bad acid reflux... I'm trying to teach him to place his hands on the ground to a crawling position then he can safely roll on his back... He has mastered rolling around all over the place and is eating finger foods. As for playtime, we recently took him to the park. He loved going down the slides with his sisters and flying like a superhero in the playground's swing! We love little bro!

Little Man is Eight Months Old!

Wow, eight months has flew by so fast and my little boy is getting so long and lean! It has been a struggle these last several months because of little brother's health issues and at the same time he has been a great blessing in our lives!  Having a baby with so many health problems is very frightening for me especially since I suffer with anxiety. He has definitely taught me patience!  For the last several months, my baby has been on feeding and nap strikes, which is very stressful for a Mother who is trying her best.  There were many dark moments when I was at my wits end or thought I was being pushed to my limit. I said many prayers to get through the most difficult days when my little man refused to drink his bottle (the days he only consumed 10 oz of breast milk in 24 hours, ack).  I recall he had feeding issues since he was two weeks old after we discovered his first hernia because he refused to nurse and didn't drink much bottle. So I have been diligently pumping six times a day so that my baby can benefit from the breast milk.  It has been difficult and time consuming to exclusively pump breast milk! I have suffered with mastitis, clogged ducts, blisters, and cracked sore nipples from the breast pump.  I groan or drift to sleep during my 5:00 AM pumping sessions, so that I can "sleep feed" my little one before he wakes up. Certainly, he has been in a lot of pain during his short precious life, which explains his horrible feeding behaviors.  The doctors and I believe he has developed a conditioned bottle aversion because it hurt so much to drink most of his life. I have been working with a dietitian and feeding therapist to address his feeding issues. We will be following up with a pediatric gastric-intestinal specialist next week. In the mean time, I am happy if he consumes 24 oz of breast milk a day while sleeping! The biggest fear for me is when he starts decreasing the number of naps during the day. Currently he takes three naps a day... As for his gross motor skills, I was referred to Kids on the Move, which is an early intervention program for infants and toddlers with developmental delays. Little brother was recently evaluated by a child developmental therapist. She determined that he needs physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy. In the next few weeks, we will be very busy with those appointments, which will take place at home, thankfully. I love how Kids on the Move will come to me instead of me going to their clinic. Lastly, we met with a genetic specialist, which I will blog more later. Basically, my husband John, little sister, and little brother have Marks and Finlay Syndrome...
Six Months Old

Milestones: At six months old, little brother was failing to thrive. He was 13 lbs. 5 oz., 26. 1/4 inches long, and 44.5 cm for head circumference. The doctor encouraged me to calorie pack by fortifying my breast milk and introduce other table foods such as fruits and veggies. He hated drinking the fortified breast milk. In fact, he would flat out refuse the bottle if he tasted it!  So I just went back to regular breast milk and fortified his milk with his solids, which he didn't notice. Luckily, he likes the stage one veggies and fruits mixed in with cereal, which helps him receive some added nutrition in his diet.   As for his gross motor skills, he was sat up with assistance, banged toys together, and laughed when we threw a cup. Sadly, he stopped rolling over around 4.5 months, which I thought was due to wanting to do other things. After his second hernia surgery, a doctor in the hospital told me to have him checked out because a normal baby just won't stop rolling over especially after mastering the skill.  The doctors and I believe he was weak and uncomfortable from his diaphragmatic hernia, which I don't blame him. I cannot imagine how much pain he has been in for the last several months dealing with hernia pressure on his vital organs!
Seven Months Old
Milestones: He is slowly gaining weight and barely below 0 on the growth weight chart for his age. He was 14 lbs. and 7 oz. on December 26, 2013. He continues to eat fruits, veggies, and cereals. To our surprise, he is not a huge fan of pears and had a reaction to berries. His diet includes the following: custards, sweet potatoes, and avocados to help him gain weight.  The doctor prescribed him acid reflux medicine Zantac, which seems to help with the volume of feedings, however, he still continues to consume most of his liquids during a sleep state. He will sit up for a few minutes and then fall over due to weak core muscles.  At a post surgery check up appointment from our pediatrician Dr. Cox, we decided to get many other specialists involved such as a genetics, GI doctor, feeding therapist, Kids on the move, etc.
Eight Months Old

Milestones: On January 23, 2013, he was 14 lbs. 15 oz and 1% on the growth weight chart. He still struggles with his bottle feedings, however, he will drink a couple ounces while awake on his own. The doctor recommended that I fortify his milk again, which he is doing okay with it. I am crossing my fingers that he will continue to drink his milk with formula.  Every little bit that helps increase his calorie intake will make a huge difference!  Our happy little boy is rolling over again, yay!  Once he figured out it no longer hurts to roll over he is moving all over the place!  He still hates tummy time though, which we need to work on with physical therapy. Little brother isn't sitting up unsupported very well because he arches his back and falls over, which can be very scary or dangerous.  In due time, he will master sitting up. I started some simple sign language to help with his communication. As for fine motor skills, he is starting to grasp at small objects and clap his hands. Slowly, he is making some progress and definitely makes us smile every single day. We love our little man!

Falltastic Golden Memories

October is finally here and we recently raked our first pile of leaves! The weather is cool outdoors and a splash of fall colorful leaves are seen on the trees! Everyone in our the household is craving something that contains the pumpkin ingredient such as roasted pumpkin seeds, pumpkin shakes, pumpkin spice donuts, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, and pumpkin better than what cake!  On a cool fall night, we have sipped some warm hot chocolate or apple cider and ate a bowl full of homemade crock-pot stew! We love to take car rides up the canyon, frolic in the leaves, and watch golden sunsets. We absolutely love the autumn season!

Our little sunshine is five months old!

Milestones:  Little brother is now eating cereal twice a day (oatmeal for breakfast and rice cereal for dinner) in addition to breast milk from a bottle 5-6 times a day. He loves to play with his many baby toys, giggle at his silly Daddy, continues to strengthen his neck muscles while doing tummy time, can sit up on his own briefly then falls over, loves to listen to Mom and big sisters sing, and coo back at us when we talk to him. 

Honey Boy is Four Months Old!

Honey Boy is Four Months Old!
On September 24, 2013, little brother had his four month old check up and shots. He is now 11 lbs. 12 oz., 25 inches long, and his head circumference measured 42 cm round. The doctor is a little concerned about his current weight and believes due to his recent surgery his body slowed down on growth a bit. Hopefully by his six month check up, he will gain more weight by eating cereal and increasing breast milk. His doctor was pleased that he  has accomplished most of his major four month old milestones! 

Milestones: Our baby is growing and accomplishing great tasks! He can hold toys in his hand, rollover from back to belly, loves tummy time, can eat 4-6 oz of breast milk during a feeding, and is finally eating rice cereal. He has great neck support, and can see me across the room. He is a happier baby since his surgery and smiles a lot. He has slept seven hours straight a couple times! Yay, hopefully Mom can finally gets a good night's rest!

Milestones and Back to School

What a wonderful privilege to be a mother to three fantastic kids. I enjoy watching them grow up and learn new things. 

Little Brother at Eight Weeks Old

Milestones: He can almost lift his neck, smiles, sleeps five hours at night. At his two month doctor's appointment on July 30, 2013, He weighed 9lb. 15 oz. and was 22 1/4 inches long. He is slowly growing and is about 8% on the charts for his weight.
Little Brother at Twelve Weeks Old

Milestones: He is starting to roll all over the place and lifts his head up during tummy time. He is full of smiles for everyone especially for Mommy after he wakes up in the morning. He is starting to hold onto toys and focuses on our faces. He loves baths and music. He may look a lot like his Daddy, but he is a Mommy's boy!  He gets upset if Mommy is in the same room not paying attention to him. 

Back to School

We now have a Freshmen (9th grade) and 5th grader in our household! 
Big Sis-I cannot believe that she will be in high school next year. She is growing up to be an absolutely beautiful young woman. She is very helpful in cleaning the house, making dinner, and taking care of her little brother.
Little Sis- She is not so shy anymore. Her personality is blossoming! I recall last year she suffered with anxiety and so far no problems with it at all during her first week back to school. It could be due to having three of her best friends in the same class with her. Little sis loves being a big sister to her little brother. She enjoys reading and singing and to him.