A Very Special Case.

I was laying on the floor playing with Case. Kissing him, hugging him, tickling him. Just loving on him. I forgot about the last time he ate. How many calories he had so far. When he's going to eat again. The possibility of a G-tube. When OT and Pt are coming to the house. I wasn't thinking about Pittsburgh appoints or the next time he'll go to the peditrican. In that moment it was just me and him. Nothing else mattered. He is the sweetest boy. Help me Lord to forget more. To trust you completely. You will keep in perfect peace him who trusts in You. Isaiah 26:3

Since I started this blog well after Case was born I thought I'd make a post incase some of the readers aren't exactly sure what is really going on with this sweet boy. How preemie was he? Case was less than 4 weeks early according to my latest due date (they pushed his due date back a week or so because he was measuring small). How much did he weigh at birth? Case was born on December 21, 2010 at 2 pounds, 13 ounces. How long did he stay at the hospital after birth? 38 days. What exactly is wrong with him? I think he's perfect.:) Case was born with several congenital anomalies. *IUGR Intra Uterine Growth Restriction. This was possibly due to his umbilical cord and the placenta being abnormally small. *Failure to thrive. A scary way of saying he isn't growing as much as the doctors would like him to. *Severe Hypospadias which will be fixed with surgery. *Cryptorchidism which will also be fixed with surgery. *Update: This was fixed on 7-9-12 *One multi-...

So Case loves the Jason Marz song, I'm Yours. It's true. At a very young age it was the only thing that would keep him quiet in the car. As soon as he heard it the first time, he stopped screaming and listened. It was one of the many songs on a playlist I played for him in the hospital while I feed him. I don't know why he picked that song as his favorite but he did. Some days it plays over and over in my head. Like it's trying to tell me something. Like He's trying to tell me something. I don't know all the lines nor do I care to really... the lines that I hear over and over are: But I won't hesitate no more,   no more, it cannot wait   I'm Yours   ( me talking to God ) Well open up your mind and see like Me   open up your plans and damn you're free   look into your heart and you'll find love love love love ( God talking to me )  When I first found out I was pregnant with Case I had plans. Plans he would be a normal weight, with no...

I thought you all might enjoy some cute pictures of our sweetie.   Waiting for Meredith and Samantha's school buss.    This little man loves to snuggle!   I figure I'll bath him in the sink till he's 6. As long as he still fits.;)   Breakfast! Daddy's video game tired him out.:) Case is doing well. He goes to the pediatrician Thursday and has the occupational therapist is coming tomorrow (to work on his eating skills). He is such a great boy!!

I made a video of Case in his Halloween costume for a little contest. I have been enjoying the website thredup.com. It's a way for mom's to swap clothes their children no longer wear. Anyway, I thought you guys might like to see Case in his costume and the video with the most views by the end of today wins. Either way, win or lose, Case is ADORABLE!:)

I was out to breakfast with Dan and the kids this weekend and one of the servers (who absolutely loves Case) stopped to chat. As she was enjoying Case and high fiving him she asked about his size and it came up that we take him to Pittsburgh Children's hospital often for checkups. She said she goes with her daughter and grandchild who has Autism. The lady said that being at Children's is a great reminder of how good she really has it. Autism is not something her and her daughter had hoped their sweet child would have to deal with but to them it is manageable and could be a lot worse. She reminded me of a night towards the end of Case's stay at the hospital. I was in the cafeteria by myself (Dan and the kids were gone for the week so Dan could work and go to school) and I was feeling sorry for myself. I was tired. Done. I wanted to take my baby and worn c-sectioned body home. During my woe-is-me moment I saw a very ill girl, probably early teen years. She looked close to de...

There is something special about this boy. When we first brought him home from the hospital (at 5 weeks old) he weighed 4 pounds 1 ounce. I knew what it was like to take a new baby to the grocery store. The older ladies and very rarely a man or two would stop to admire our girls. Take that attention and multiply it by ten (or more), that's how much attention Case got when I first took him to Wal-Mart. I could barley get a carton of milk without  being complemented on how cute and little he was. Also, people are curious and very often asked me questions about his size. I figured that attention would die down once he wasn't a tiny baby any more. I was wrong. Just the other day I found myself in the front of Wal-Mart surrounded by several women admiring our special boy. I can't blame them. He's adorable. All 10 pounds 4 ounces (hopefully more by now:). Sitting up all by himself in a cart with a smile almost as big as his face. He has a charming personality and quite a few ...

Case had two appointment's at Pittsburgh Children's Hospital on September 28. One was with Gastroenterology and the other with Endocrinology. I learned early on in Case's pregnancy that worry does no good. Refrain from anger and do not fret; it only causes harm. Psalm 37:8 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Matthew 6:27 But I still do it some. I think less than I did back then and hopefully more than I will next year at this time. Turns out there was nothing to worry about.:) Case was refereed to both doctors because of slow weight gain. He gained around 4 ounces in two months (not good). His pediatrician set up the appointments at the end of August. From August 26-September 27th Case gained 18 ounces. Bringing him to a whopping 10 pounds 4 ounces. FABULOUS! It took a lot of me pushing, and shoving and walking him around singing with his bottle in his mouth. Oh, and tons of prayers and patience.:) He worked so hard for those 18 ounces and I was s...

I will lead the blind by a way they do not know. In paths they do not know I will guide them. I will make darkness into light before them and rugged places into plains. These are the thing I will do  and I will not leave them undone. Isaiah 42:16  I found out I was pregnant with Case in May of 2010. My husband and I had no idea what a journey we were on. In September 2010 at about 25 weeks of pregnancy we started a long string of second level sonograms usally resulting in more bad news. Case's diagnosis before birth was grim. "He has so many congenital anomalies there is a good chance he will have failure to thrive and die" - said by one of the Pittsburgh hospital's obgyns. We knew that God was in control and that everything was going to be "okay". We did not know if our son would live or die and if he did live we were uncertain of his health and overall wellbeing. What we did know is that he did, does and always will belong to God and he would (regardless...