Boo...

Wriston is handling his harness pretty well.  He slept his normal longer hours at night and still naps.  He did not cry or look uncomfortable in the harness.  I am pleased.

I took him out of the harness to change him the past two mornings.  Yesterday, he cried a little when I put the harness back on -- I think mainly because he was tired, but when he cried... I cried.  Then, tonight, after his bath, he cried after having it put on.  I mean CRIED.... with tears... rolling down the face.  BOO.  And because he cried... I almost cried (thankfully, I was able to hold back).

I joined a forum for parents of children with hip dysplasia.  I realized we are blessed.  While I hate W having to wear the harness, I am so thankful he is not in a cast.  Many of the parents dealt with their child's hip dysplasia not being discovered til their child was a few months older, which meant surgery and casts for several months.  Wriston is so resilient and I am so happy to see him still smile and laugh while wearing the harness.

Now, let's hope we make it through tomorrow OK as Wriston is due for his TWO MONTH shots tomorrow.

WOW... tomorrow I will have a TWO MONTH baby boy..!!!  (where does the time go?)

Love

I am totally in love... even more so with my amazing husband - I don't even know if amazing is good enough of a word to use when describing him.  He is such a calming force in my life.  Ya know the saying "opposites attract?"  Well, it could not be more true than for Stephen and I.  I consider myself a pretty social, outgoing, very vocal person who never meets a stranger.  I also wear my heart on my sleeve and am a little tooooo sensitive.  Stephen is the more introverted person who keeps his feelings inside.  While I freaked out at Wriston's ortho appointment, Stephen kept reassuring me that things would be OK and Wriston was only going to get better.  Sometimes a little reassurance is all I need.  

Wriston and his daddy

Other times, I find myself muting the TV upstairs to listen to the conversation between Stephen and Wriston... ya know, the private moments when Stephen doesn't think anyone is listening.  I must say - NOTHING is SWEETER than to hear a daddy talk to his son.  


People always say, after children, it's hard to imagine life without them.  So SO true.  Sure, the pre-W life included more sleep and more opportunities for us to jet out of town at a moment's notice (after assuring Ga had a babysitter).... along with more time for just Stephen and I, but the post-W life is so rewarding.  Looking into his beautiful blue eyes, seeing him smile or just hearing him coo/talk back to us makes my heart melt.  


I find myself asking how in the world I was blessed with such a cute, sweet and loving baby.  He.is.my.heart!

Eight Week Update

My sweet boy is now eight weeks old!  Wow!

We spent this morning at the Pediatric Orthopedist office.  Unfortunately, the doctor decided to place him in a harness.  He will be in the harness for at least six weeks at which time another ultrasound will be done to see the progress made.  In the meantime, we have a few more doctor visits to do any adjustments on the harness.  The harness is not as bad as I originally thought - he can still move his legs inward, up and down - but is restricted on the ability to move it outwards.  Unlike his mommy, he did not cry at the news or once the harness was placed on him.  In fact, he is napping now and no complains.  I can only pray he continues to do well.  We're allowed to put pants on him as well.  The doctor said we are lucky because we can take the harness of him for one hour a day.  In more severe cases, the harness cannot be removed at all, which limits babies to sponge baths.  The harness has a 95% success rate so please pray Wriston is within that percentile.

Fun Friday!

First, congrats to Wriston's "Auntie" Linds on passing the CPA exam!! We are so proud of you! All we needed was ANOTHER CPA in our lives :).

We are planning our family vacation now. Instead of heading to FL again this year, we decided to stay on the NC coast. We wanted to save money from the rising gas prices and keep us on the road for a shorter time because of W. It seems we found a house so we are making progress!

Wriston is really growing and learning. It is so fun to watch his developmental changes. Everyday brings something new. Yesterday, he did an Elvis lip and I laughed. He really has a fantastic personality. He seems to be a people person and easy going. He loves to talk ... Like his momma... And smiles a lot. I pulled out Stephen's baby book and his hospital picture is so so similar to W's features. But, then you can see differences between W and Stephen's 17 day pic. W is blessed with my chubby cheeks and toes.

I'll post comparison pics later.

7 Weeks Update

Happy 7 weeks to Wriston!  We're almost at the two month marker, which means 3 shots at the next Dr visit!  I don't know who will cry more -- Wriston or me?!

So, it seems I had his hip information all wrong.  While I thought the Dr doing the Ultrasound on his hip was qualified enough to make a diagnosis and recommendation, it appears that Dr was only supposed to read the results of the ultrasound.  Therefore, we're going to see Dr. Clark at OrthoCarolina on the 29th to hear his thoughts/opinions/recommendations.  We're hoping to hear fabulous news (let's wait and see) but if he needs some sort of therapy, I would rather do it now while he's little and unphased.  While we're not certain of all the options, one main treatment option shown online is the Pavlik Harness.  According to other blogs and Drs, the harness is not painful for the children or bothersome.  We will wait and see.

Wriston is really learning to return smiles and within the last week, learned to pout by sticking out the bottom lip!  He's a mess.  I'm just glad I am able to stay home a little while longer so I can watch him develop even more.

Hip Update!

First -- do I not have the CUTEST boy in the whole wide world?!!!

Stephen and I took Wriston to have his ultrasound on the hip this morning.  We were pleased with the results.  It seems Wriston's right hip IS out of place but just by a little bit.  The Ortho Dr believes that as Wriston grows, the ligaments will help place his hip back in joint.  Therefore, we're looking at doing another ultrasound in another few months to see if his hip is back in place.  GREAT NEWS for my now SIX WEEK baby boy!!

Yesterday, Wriston was acting differently.  He seemed to be extra fussy and crying a lot when he was not eating or napping.  Also, his eating decreased and naps were short.  I took him to see the pediatrician and it seems Wriston has acid reflux.  He was placed on Zantac and we were told it may be a week before we see results.  I am hoping this solves the issue as I do not like seeing my lil guy so upset.  

So, overall, great news on the hip and we're working on the reflux!!

Over the River and Through the Woods...

... to Gran and Pop's house we went!  This past Friday, I was able to convince Mom to ride with me to Greenwood as I wanted an additional person in the car in case Wriston was a little fussy on the 2.5 hr ride.  Luckily, he slept the whole way there and back.  We had a nice visit with Gran and Pop.  Wriston slept while Pop held him but was a little more vocal with Gran.  We look forward to going back soon.  He is very lucky to have such wonderful Great Grandparents.

I never knew my grandfathers as both died before I was born.  My mom's mom died when I was two and my dad's mom died years later from pancreatic cancer.  When I started dating Stephen back in 2000, his Granny Shepherd and Gran and Pop took me into their family;  it was nice to feel like I had grandparents again.  Granny ended up passing away from a tragic car accident while I was in law school.  Stephen and I miss Granny (as well as the others who passed) dearly and hope she is proud of us and can be another guardian angel to watch over our Wriston.

FYI:  Many ask where the name Wriston comes from --- Wriston was Granny's husband's middle name (so, he would be Wriston's great grandfather Shepherd).  It also happens to be the middle name of Wriston's great-great grandfather Shepherd as well.

Stephen and I are thankful Wriston has such an extended family.  He is loved by so many people and we are SO very grateful.  He is such a wonderful addition to an amazing family.

Five Weeks Late

So, it is my first post on my blog about being a mommy and considering Wriston is now a whole five weeks, 2 days old, my post is five weeks 2 days late.   Now I finally have some time to fill everyone in on my last five weeks.

I was due on January 29th, which was a Saturday.  A few weeks before my appointment, I was dilating so I figured he would not be late.  However, the 29th came and went along with the 30th and 31st.  Luckily, I had an appointment on Jan 31st to check progress and determine a date to be induced should Wriston not come on his own.  At that appointment, I saw a different Dr who suggested we do an ultrasound (this was after one of those wonderful girly exams) and then we realized Wriston was breeched.  I never cried so hard.  We decided not to try rotating him because (1) I heard it is painful -- I hate pain and (2) she said there was a 25% chance it would work.  I went home and laid in bed - at that point, I was a whole 4 cms and she said if I went into labor, we'd still do a c-section, but of course, I did not want to feel pain/contractions if it was unnecessary.  The Dr called me a few hours after I went home to tell me my c-section was scheduled for the very next day at 7:30 am.  I was told to be at the hospital at 5:30 am. 

The next morning, Stephen and I arrived at the hospital at 5:30 am and everything was timely.  By 7:30, I was rolled down to the operating room.  Wriston was born at 7:55 am.  He weighed 9 lbs, 2 oz!!  I was SHOCKED by his weight considering the Drs (at this point, I saw 5 of the 7 drs in the practice -- my Dr was on maternity leave causing me to rotate Drs) thought he would be 7 lbs, 11 oz or at least under 8 lbs.  Once they annouced his weight, I felt a little relief in not having to deliver him through the normal process!   We ended up staying in the hospital for 3 nights and we were NEVER so excited to go home. 

We are so lucky Wriston is healthy.  We are having an ultrasound done on March 15th because the hospital pediatrician and our pediatrician believe Wriston may have hip dysplasia.  Hip dysplasia can result from being breeched, but seems to be easily corrected at an early age.  We are hoping that if the ultrasound confirms this diagnosis, we will be able to move on correcting his hip quickly.  For more information on hip dysplasia, go here.  I'll keep everyone posted as we learn more.

On the lighter side of things, Wriston really has changed since he was born.  He now weighs a little over 10 lbs and seems to be an inch or so longer.  I am amazed every day by the little things - how he recognizes our voices and turns his head to look at us, how beautifully he smiles, how sweetly he coos, laughs and tries to talk and how much I love him.  He is the.most.wonderful.gift.  I am so thankful we were blessed to have him come into our lives.  I do love you Wriston Bailey.



Wriston and Mommy