Family Photos

Several months ago, the photographer who did our wedding photos was having a giveaway for a free photo session. We won and finally got around to scheduling the session a few weeks ago. Here are a couple of my favorites from the session.

Audiology appointment

I took Caleb to get his hearing checked this morning. We went back to the audiologist who has been seeing him since he was just a few weeks old. She did a couple tests and said that the hearing in his left ear seems to be in the normal range! The hearing in his right ear ranges from normal to mild hearing loss. We will return in one month and repeat the same tests. Hearing aids are still a possibility at some point, but both the audiologist and speech pathologist don't think he needs them right now.

Caleb will go to his one-month post-op appointment with his ORL (ENT) on Tuesday. I think the audiologists at that clinic will do some of the same testing that we did today. I'm curious to see what their thoughts are, since they seemed pretty certain last month that Caleb would need hearing aids.

Eight month recap

Weight: 14lb 14oz (at his ear tubes surgery a couple weeks ago)

Length: 24.8" (at his ear tubes surgery a couple weeks ago)

Clothing size: mostly 6 month and some 6-9 month

Diaper size: size 2 (Huggies & Pampers), size 3 (Luvs)

Eating: Caleb is still drinking 27kcal/oz formula, and he takes 700-730mL each day. He usually takes 100-140mL every 3 hours during the day. He eats fruit purees with rice or oat cereal most mornings, and he eats veggie purees in the evening. His new foods this month were apples, plums, bananas, watermelon, and butternut squash.

Sleeping: Caleb usually sleeps from 10:30pm until 7:00am.

Highlight of the month: I can't pick one! Our Branson trip with some great friends, Caleb's first time in a swimming pool, and his first trip to the zoo were all pretty special to me. We've had such a fun, busy month! I can hardly believe we're already 2/3 of the way through Caleb's first year!

 

 



Father's Day

Brad was out of town for a friend's wedding, so Caleb and I spent the weekend with my family in Wichita Falls. I took these photos on Saturday and sent them to Brad on Sunday morning.

We were sad that Brad had to spend his first Father's Day away from us, but we were all excited to reunite at the OKC airport Sunday evening.

Tubes

Surgery #2 for Caleb is behind us now. We checked in to outpatient surgery at OU Children's Hospital at 8:00 this morning, and Caleb was taken back to surgery at 10:30. The ENT put tubes into his ears, and then an audiologist conducted an ABR test to check his hearing.

We knew going into this that Caleb had fluid in his ears and that it might be the cause of his hearing impairment. We also knew that the hearing in his right ear hasn't been as good as the left. I honestly expected that Caleb's hearing would be great in his left ear after getting tubes, and I was hopeful that the hearing in his right ear would be fine, too. 

Two hours after Caleb was taken into surgery, the ENT and audiologist came to talk to us. The tubes went in well, and there was minimal fluid. Very good! The audiologist delivered the news I wasn't expecting, though. Even after the fluid cleared, Caleb has mild hearing loss in his left ear and mild (or possibly mild-moderate) hearing loss in his right ear. She encouraged us to have Caleb fitted for hearing aids soon. I plan to call Caleb's regular audiologist tomorrow to schedule another hearing test and to discuss Caleb's hearing aid options.

I know that mild hearing loss is not that big of a deal. He will get hearing aids. I will take Caleb to speech therapy. Brad and I will do everything possible to make sure he hears and speaks to the best of his ability. But... my heart is still broken this evening. I have prayed so many prayers for Caleb's hearing to be restored, and I just don't understand right now why those prayers weren't answered in the way I had hoped. Maybe it'll make sense somewhere down the road.

My precious boy waiting for his turn in the operating room today

Dream Night at the Zoo

Last Friday, we went to Dream Night at the Zoo. Dream Night is an invitation only event held at zoos across the country on the first Friday of June each year. It's for families of children who have disabilities, special needs or a chronic illness. The zoo closed to the public at 5:00pm, and the event was from 5:00 to 8:00. All the attractions that usually cost an additional fee were free, though Caleb is too young to care about feeding the giraffes or watching the sea lion show. Chick-fil-A provided chicken sandwiches, chips, cookies, and water for everyone. Brad, Caleb, and I had a great time with the Smith family. Dream Night is definitely an event we will look forward to for years to come.

 

 

 

It's crazy to think that only four months ago, these boys were both at Children's Medical Center in Dallas recovering from open heart surgeries.

Branson

We returned home Sunday from our annual Branson trip. We started this trip a couple years ago with three other couples. The first two years, the guys played a few rounds of golf while the girls shopped and swam at the neighborhood pool. Both years, we rented nice 4-bed, 3-bath houses in golf club communities.

Branson 2011

Branson 2012

This year, one of the couples couldn't make it but we invited two other couples to join us. And we also added four babies (11 months, 8 months, and two 7 months) to the group this year!
The guys played a couple rounds of golf, and the girls spent time at home with the babies. We all went to the pool one afternoon, and Caleb "swam" for the first time! We stayed in a wonderful 6-bed, 5-bath house near Table Rock Lake. I can't even imagine how big the house will have to be in a few years! 

Branson 2013