Test and Tractors!

We took Jace for his EEG and MRI on the 26th. He did VERY well considering he couldn't eat anything before. They have to sedate him for the MRI so he needed to have an empty tummy. 

Since the sedation can skew EEGs we had to do it before the MRI. 

This was just a routine EEG (20 mins of monitoring) and not a 24 hour EEG. 

This meant no yucky glue that takes days to weeks to come out. 

He was a little upset but quickly relaxed and watched his movie. 

After the EEG we had to wait for the MRI.......Thank goodness for portable DVD players! 

Gotta watch the movie all the way from waiting to the MRI area

Waking up from the MRI was not fun at all.....but at least I have my mommy and daddy! 

This past weekend we went to the barn. 

Jace got to help Daddy do some work on the land.

Helping shovel dirt to level out some areas.....

...and doing some tractor work! 

I was so excited after watching Jace sweat this weekend......his curls are coming back! 

Oh how I missed those sweet curls! 

I am not sure if its the looming change of the new baby or Jace just hitting THAT age.....but its been rough! 

The tantrums have been kicked up a notch from almost non existent to non stop.

A lot of the behaviors have been towards me. He either wants nothing BUT mommy or he wants to hit me. It's calmed down some this week - or maybe we are getting better at avoiding or calming them. 

We went to see Dr. Tandon, Jace's neurosurgeon, to follow up on the MRI. 

Waiting for the doctor Jace was playing doctor and checking the files on the computer ;) 

We got to see the MRI pictures and its amazing to see how much of the brain was actually removed. 

I asked if we can treat Jace like a normal child rather than being cautious about his head and we can. 

What a relief it is to not have to treat him like he is fragile anymore. 

Dr. Tandon discharged us from his care. We don't have to see him ever again. 

This is bittersweet. Its not typical to have a surgeon with such incredible bedside manner! 

Dr. Tandon and Jace! 

June Bug had an appointment this week as well. 

I had my Strep B test done and then was checked to see if I had any progress happening. 

I was told that I am dilated about a fingertip. That is not much considering all the contractions I have had for months now. However, it is WAY more than I ever had with Jace! LOL 

This baby also has not dropped yet so I trying to sit on the exercise/yoga/birthing ball as often as possible to help get that baby locked and loaded! 

Next update I will post about the Zoo trip we had today and the Step Forward to Cure TSC Walk tomorrow! FUN but a BUSY weekend is ahead of us! 

Bye Bye Piggies!

Yep - its that time ......they are slowly disappearing! 

I went in for a check up today with my OB. June bug's heartbeat is still in the 140s (142 bpm).

I am still measuring ahead 1.5 to 2 weeks. Dr. Cole remembered that Jace measured ahead like that. He was 8 lbs. 3 oz. when he was born and I told her I was an 8 lb baby as well. I may bot be a big person but I seem to just make big babies :) 

I mentioned to her the cramping feeling I had last week and some this week. She said that it was ok as long as it was sporadic. If there is a rhythm or there are other "things" that go on then I need to go in. 

If not, I go back in 2 weeks for another check up. 

Jace's follow up EEG and MRI has been scheduled for April 26th. 

I am probably more excited about this than I should be! 

I am excited that this EEG will show no more seizures and we will get to wean him from his medications.

I am asking for our prayer posse to keep this in prayer. I want the results of these tests to come back SO great that only glory can be given to God! 

Today was Jace's 3 month eye check up. I was worried how well he would do with the eye drops and the exam since he is MUCH more aware of everything now. He did INCREDIBLE!!! 

I told the doctor that Jace's eyes water BAD sometimes when he watches TV. I mean it looks like has bawling sometimes! I was concerned and hoped it was not a vision problem and was allergies. 

He checked his focusing and it was fine.....then asked if Jace would allow him to use the slit lamp on him. 

I was not sure but I figured its worth a shot! 

This is the slit lamp:

Jace actually let him use this! I was so proud that he was a big boy and let him check his eyes with this. 

He could tell with this exam that his eye issue is indeed just allergies. He wrote a prescription for allergy eye drops and we were sent on our way. I decided to get back on the Zyrtec before using the eye drops. If its allergies it means that the random running nose and all need to be treated as well. Since the eye allergy is not bad and Jace's eyes are never red I wanted to do something to handle the full picture. 

Starting the Zyrtec again tonight made me realize that I think Jace is still traumatized from unusual syringes. 

I tried to use a CVS syringe and not the one from the specialty pharmacy for his typical meds and he freaked! I had to use the syringe we always use and even then he was NOT happy about taking anything but his regular medication. 

Jace saw some blocks in the store when we went grocery shopping last Friday. 

He was so excited about them that Daddy got them for him! :) 

Showing his blocks off :) 

This past Saturday we went to Justin's sister house for a crawfish boil. YUM! 

They had a vintage rocking/bouncing horse and Jace LOVED it! 

Jace asks almost everyday for "Baf" (Bath)......not just any bath but a bubble bath! 

We play with his foam letters in his bath all the time and he knows a few letters like M and O. 

But he surprised me and he said "ax" and sure enough he had the letter X! 

We hadn't even gone over that letter at all during the bath or even that day! 

I stuck the X on his belly and we took a picture :) 

This is his new serious cheese face! 

He takes his picture taking serious! LOL

No bubbles tonight but the ones that Jace was blowing LOL 

 

Toys in Timeout

Jace started to pretend a little bit here and there. 

He would give Woody some of his water on the way home from daycare.

Well last week he put Woody in the "time out" spot......I don't know WHAT Woody did but he must have deserved to be in time out. What is even funnier about this is Jace doesn't go to timeout often. 

We had to remind Jace to get Woody out of timeout :)  

I went to another consignment sale and got a few things for June Bug. 

Newborn booties! 

A few gender neutral sleepers

This WHOLE bag of homemade cloth diapers! 

There are about 20 or more in this bag and I only paid $20 for them! 

They are all girly BUT it was worth the chance in case this is a girl :) 

I figured if June Bug is a boy then he can wear Jace's "going home" outfit. 

I HAD to get a girl outfit. I found this and it was SO cute! 

Ruffles on the butt, sweet pink and has the cutest little flower on it. 

And I got this for under $5! 

Last Tuesday I had my check up with my OB. 

June Bug's heartbeat is 145 and my belly was measuring 2 weeks ahead again. 

So Dr. Cole is saying she thinks its a Boy....LOL 

I think I just make big babies........but it COULD be a boy! 

Also on Tuesday it was raining VERY hard and I think it caused some mice to get into my car. 

I noticed a few "droppings" so we got some glue traps and caught a mouse that night!! 

But the next day we found more "droppings"..........caught another mouse. 

Found yet another one last night!! We are still on the hunt for more.......hopefully there are no more.

Jace being silly - he had said "baby in there" but I didn't catch it on video. 

I did catch him saying "baby coming"

This past weekend I went to the barn with Patti and Lisa. We had a relaxing girls weekend. 

Played games, went shopping, laughed and just had fun. 

I can't thank Justin enough for taking Daddy Duty for the weekend and letting me get away to relax. 

I am blessed with a great husband who is an even better daddy! 

I missed my boys though. When I got home Jace wanted to nap on the couch with me. 

Usually he won't nap unless he is in his bed......so since he wanted to curl up on the couch I joined him :) 

Today makes 30 weeks! 

Only 10 more weeks - its going by WAY to fast! 

I am going to enjoy these last few weeks with just our family of 3 while I can. 

30 Month Check Up

Jace's 20 month check up was on Friday.

My friend Lisa was there with her little guy, Nathan for his 18 month check up.

Josh, her husband, was playing Angry Birds on his tablet and had the boys entranced.

He has lost a little weight since October but not too much to be a concern really.

There has been a lot going on since then - surgery and all.

He weighs 30 lbs. 6 oz. and is 35" tall. His head is still off the charts but that's genetic.  

The bad part of this appointment was that Jace's sinus infection was back. He had finished his antibiotics last Saturday and started with nose again on Tuesday. His doctor said to do antibiotics again but this time for 14 days rather than just 10. I hope this kicks it this time.

On the way home Jace was being silly in the car seat. When its nap time and we are in the care, we tell him to go night night and he will just hang his head all crazy. It looks so uncomfortable but hes just playing around. Lately he has been saying "night night" and doing this on his own.

This weekend we went to Lexington. I finally finished the valance for the barn and was able to hang it up!

There are some things I did wrong but being that it was one of my first projects I am pretty proud of it!

Jace got a hold of JB's predator call. He has played with it before but used his voice rather than blowing air.

He figured it out this time! He's turning out to be quite a little hunter following in his daddy's footsteps.

This week I am 22 weeks with June Bug!

I still have moments when I am dressed that I just feel like I look fat and not pregnant.

I guess it doesn't help that its not obvious enough that people at work were not quite sure if I was pregnant.

Anyways - here is this week's belly shot!

Bumps and Bubble Baths

Today was Jace's 2nd follow up appointment with is neurosurgeon. It was great timing too!

Yesterday evening Jace was in his footed PJs playing. Being brand new PJs you would think the gripper bottoms of the PJs would be pretty good. Not the case!

Jace was chasing after his new remote control car around the door frame from the living room and the entrance. He slipped and hit his head on the corner of the door frame. Not just his head but right on his incision! Talk about scary!! He popped right back up and seemed fine but once we saw the small goose egg coming up we knew we had to ice it.

These pictures don't show how scary it looked on that incision!

Thankfully he loves Mickey Mouse so much I was able to have him watch it on my phone while I put ice on his head - twice before going to bed. We gave him some ibuprofen to help with any pain he may have and pray like crazy that no big damage was done!

Today Justin took Jace to see Dr. Tandon. We thought for SURE after telling the doctor about his fall that we would have to get a helmet for him to wear to daycare. We were wrong!

One of the first things JB told the doctor was that he fell. He said he can tell and pointed to the bump Jace has on the front of his head. Justin said that's not where he hit his head and showed him the back spot.

The front spot he is talking about is that bald spot you can see in this pic:

The doctor asked Justin if that had gone down at all and really it hasn't much. He said we should keep any eye on it and not to touch it. It should go down but do not touch it or the hair may not grown back there.

I am thinking the main issue with that spot is more cosmetic than anything. We decided if we don't see any progress on it decreasing I will tell the doctor in about a month.

The good news is the bump on the head did no damage and he was not concerned at all! YAY!!

We don't have to come back to see him until 6 months post op. This summer is going to be BUSY!!

Dr. Von Allmen mentioned getting a MRI 6 months postop but Dr. Tandon said he doesn't think he needs him to have it done. Since Dr. Von Allmen will to monitor the TSC portion then we will have to get one done. He needs them annually at this point.

I am looking into going to the Scottish Rite Hospital in Dallas for Jace's scans.

It would save us SO much money! They accept children with TSC and its free.

Ok.....done with the boring stuff ;)

I had to record Jace saying Corn and Door......he has an accent and its hilarious!!

He was being really silly with the flash that my phone felt it needed to take the video :)

After this video I asked Jace if he wanted a Bubba or Sissy - he almost ALWAYS says Sissy!

The other day he even asked Justin "hey Dada, where sissy?" Seriously!

He surprises us with random sentences - its pretty crazy!

Maybe he has a sense of what this baby is....

Santa brought Jace some Buzz Bubble Bath. Tonight was his first bubble bath!

He LOVED it!

Trying to eat the bubbles....eeeewwwwwww

All SMILES!

BUBBLES? :)

That Heartbeat Melts My Heart!

I had a check up appointment for June Bug on Wednesday. We are going to see my usual OB right now.

I had been looking into using a birth center but JB (and even I have my doubts) is uncomfortable not birthing in a hospital. I found a practice that has OBs and midwives together that deliver at a hospital. Its in the med center and we are going to check them out next week.

So for now we are seeing the OB that delivered Jace. I like her a lot but the hospital is not the best for delivering the way I want to deliver - with little or no intervention. I want to have intermittent fetal monitoring and be able to move around. The chance that we don't like the midwives I will stay with our current OB and labor at home as much as I can - hopefully with a doula/montrice.

This appointment was pretty routine. We listened to June Bug's heart pounding away at 146 bpm.

I LOVE that sound! :) It melts my heart!

She felt on my tummy and we were out the door.

We go back - if we don't transfer to the midwives - in January.

After meeting the midwives I will post about that.....Hope we like them!

14 Week Belly

Ear We Go Again

After a Jace being very cranky lately, starting with a cough, the goopy nasty nose ramping back up and then a TERRIBLE night of sleep Tuesday night JB and I just knew it was his ears again! 

I called his ENT Wednesday morning and they worked us in that afternoon. We just completed antibiotics last Thursday so the fact that he was not really better less than a week ago is not a good sign.

The ENT checked his ears and both tubes have finally fallen out after almost 11 months. His right ear is severely infected and his left is retracted which means there is fluid and on the verge of being infected.

This makes 4 ear infections since January!

The doctor explained that fluid in the ears, infected or not, can affect his hearing, language, balance and his appetite. I have noticed Jace has moments he stumbles but I have thought it was just him being silly running and being rambunctious. Another clue I had that Jace's ears were acting up is when he eats he woudl grimace when he swallowed. Poor guys has really been too much of a trooper with this.

The ENT said it is time to look at getting another set of tubes placed and have his adenoids removed. JB and I thought there is not question we are going to get another set in.

We are praying that this helps his language development. It seems just as his seizures start to slow and his development really start to pick up he started with ear infections. I am really starting to think the ear infections are causing more of the language issues than anything.

We go next Wednesday for a pre-op appointment and then Thursday morning Jace will have his surgery.

Please keep Jace, the doctors and the nurses in your prayers.

Being a monkey as usual



Trying to get the Doctor's light



Mom - Lets get out of here!!!

One of the many cranky pants tantrums lately

Bouncing Boys

This past weekend we went to Lexington to work more on the barn and visit with family.

PEEK A BOO!!!

100 % PURE BOY!!

Let me see that camera......

Oh Hey thats me in that camera :)

Cheese!!

Mommy and me

While Daddy worked on the barn Jace played in the sand........with tools.......the ladders......anything he can get into he was into it! He is 100% PURE BOY!

I can climb the ladder just like Daddy

Taking a walk with Daddy

Filthy!!!

 Justin's brother and his family were in. Jace got to spend time with his cousin Lincoln. They were having a blast on Saturday dancing and copying each other.

Monkey see Monkey do!  

Jace and Lincoln dancing and bouncing around

The barn is *THIS* close to being finished!

I can not wait to stay there......it looks like we will get to this coming weekend!

Now to pick out the paint colors........this is the fun part!


Over the weekend Jace woke up Saturday night and vomited - and all I had to catch it from going EVERYWHERE were my hands. YUCK! This came out of nowhere and after today I know why. Apparently ear infections can make your tummy have troubles. Poor baby boy has had trouble with his ears. After having a hard time sleeping and being so cranky yesterday it clicked that he probably has an ear infection starting. This morning when he woke up with a crusty nose I knew that HAD to be the case. I took him into the ENT and we are back on antibiotics and ear drops. Praying they work this time. If we don't get it cleared up with this or another infection occurs shortly after this we have to look into getting tubes again (since they are probably blocked) and having his adenoids removed. We go back in 3 weeks to check his ears and see if his hearing has been affected. I am PRAYING that his hearing is ok and this hasn't done too much to keep him behind on his language.