Physical Therapy

Today we met with Kelly, the PT. She was great. Z was cranky as he had been up since 4:45am and this was 10:15. Yikes! I know he liked her, he was just tired. Kelly taught me so much in such a short amount of time...I was very impressed!

I learned that the way Z (and Jonathan) sit is called a W position and it isn't an ideal position. They are kind of on their knees but sitting on their butt so like feet behind them. We always comment on how we could never sit like that. Well it is really hard on the hips so we have to make sure Z learns to not sit like that...and Jonathan.

She gave us some exercises and tips on how to help him strengthen those muscles. He was all attitude and frustration. I went to carry him off for his nap and as we passed through the kitchen he said "Mama" and pointed to the refrigerator. So I had to feed him a bit before nap. Lately Mama has been his word when he doesn't know how to say something. He will also say "Neenee" which means drink but he will use it for other stuff. He just wants so badly to communicate with us. He can answer yes or no and does sign language for "more". I am now a true believer in teaching babies to sign. I think this would help us communicate. I am going to work on it a bit more with Z. The pointing and guessing is just not fun.

His molars have broken the skin and he is a happier boy. He still has his habit of waking up at 10 or 11pm and crying until he is in bed w/us. Well I am going to try and let him cry it out (CIO) because I need sleep. Tuesday night it last 2 hours and then he woke up again at 1:30 am. Last night I had no energy. Bad I know but really, I need sleep.

I must say, it was an uneventful week and I am so thankful for that.

And the Z man returns!

Thank goodness! I took Zachary to see Dr. Kate last week and he only lost 3oz. Oops my bad. Well she said she was happy to see him and would have done the same thing. He was cranky and demonstrated that by headbutting the wall when I told him he doesn't hit Mommy. Dr. Kate got a chuckle out of that!

She said his throat was healing nicely but still had a bit of healing to do. I was to keep giving him tylenol and could add motrin to it as well. As long as he kept drinking and eating she was confident he'd be fine. And since then he has had quite a little appetite and a bit more attitude. He is weighing in at around 20lbs so he is doing just fine.

He starts physical therapy on Thursday and he has been crawling a bit more on all 4's. So at least we know he can do it. He is trying to say more words and do more things and I am just very glad that he is feeling better.

We found a preschool for Jonathan that is full time. He will start the first week in July. He is very excited because they have computers in the rooms and he loved the playground. I am nervous about sending him to a new place but I know he will do fine. I just hate doing new things and hope he doesn't feel the same way as I do.

Anyway, that's about all that's happening in the Foster house. We are just chugging along and everyone is doing well.

Wow, what a ride!

I think (knock on wood) that Z is finally starting to feel better. On top of his surgery and all the pain from that, he has 2 molars coming in (bottom 1 year molars). The last 2 weeks have been hell. I am not sugar coating this and don't care to. My boy has been in severe pain, cried non stop for hours and has been truly miserable and hard to be around. We had to tell ourselves...he hurts, he needs us and he can't help it. But I can honestly say that I can see how someone snaps and abuses a child. No I don't approve of it or think that is an excuse but I can see how it happens. Thankfully we were able to see this and step away from him...even if it meant he sat alone in cried. This was a true test for our family. I thought all he went through at 5 weeks was hard on use but this has been horrible.

We think Z has lost 2 to 3 lbs. According to my scale he is down from 21lbs 6 oz to 19lbs 8 oz. The ENT nurse told me repeatedly (yes I called a few times) that this is normal and expected. But she doesn't know my boy and his history. When your child is not even on the growth charts and loses more weight it doesn't feel normal. So today I caved in and called Dr. Kate. She called back and asked me to bring him in tomorrow. People have told me how skinny he looks and we all think he looks longer but really, he looks very unhealthy.

And as the old saying goes...when you do finally call the doc, the child gets better. Today I pick him up from Stephanie's and he says, "Hi". She told me he was really good and he ate! He then asked for a graham cracker and ate 2 on the way home. He ate cheese, taco meat, bread and shared a banana with Harley. He didn't cry much at all. We played and had fun. He played alone and then we read a book and he went to bed! Wow! But we'll see what Dr. Kate says tomorrow anyway. I have a feeling we will be getting him on vitamins.

The good news is that last night I put the boys to bed around 730 or 8. At 930pm Z got up and i brought him to my bed. He went back to sleep. Woke up at 11pm and screamed and cried and was chewing on his fingers. I gave him orajel and tylenol and after 20 min of fighting he went to sleep. He slept until 615am! Wow this is what sleep is like huh? AND...DRUM ROLL PLEASE...HE DIDN'T SNORE!!!! Yep, he didn't snore! I had to check and see if he was breathing. Let's hope all good things are to come. Now we just need to fatten him up a bit!