Leaps and Bounds

Our sweet little boy continues to amaze us. I posted some pictures from a few weeks ago, where he is sitting in a Bumbo seat. He used to slump over to the right all the time because he wasn't strong enough to hold himself up. But now he does! He'll actually sit up in his seat and play with a toy. After a few minutes he starts to get tired and lean to one side, but he's made so much progress.

He also appears to be tolerating tummy time much better. The other day I helped him roll over, then laid on my tummy next to him. He just looked over at me and smiled before he got to work. His favorite thing to do on his tummy is draw his knees up underneath him, and then try to pick up his head. Gravity is not on his side in that position, but recently he was able to pick up his head that way. If we pull his legs out and get his hips flat on the ground, he can lift his head and keep it up for quite a while now. It's a little disheartening that he'll have surgery in a few weeks and not be able to be on his tummy for a while after that, so we'll probably lose some of this progress. But it's such an encouraging sign that he's made it this far. He'll get back here again.

His absolute favorite thing lately is to "be big." What do I mean by this? He loves to be upright! I pick him up to cradle him in my arms, and immediately he's doing a crunch, trying to sit up. He now likes to be held up at our shoulders, but he still prefers for us to sit him up in our arms so he can see us and the world. We've started propping up his Boppy pillow so he can sit almost upright in it. You should see the smiles we get when we put him there and tell him he's a big boy! He's obviously proud of himself and happy to be part of the upright world.

His weight gain has also taken a sudden leap. When I weighed him earlier this week he was closing in on 13 pounds already! He's developed little fat rolls on his thighs. He is now firmly in the 3-6 month clothing range, just in time for him to turn 6 months next week. On Thursday I was home with him for the day, and I took the opportunity to organize his clothes. It was so fun to get out all of the new outfits he'll soon fit into, but it was sad to pack away the ones he's grown out of. He'll never be my tiny newborn again. And that makes me doubly sad because I feel like I missed it when it was happening. I know I'm still grieving that loss, and maybe I always will. I hope his continued good health will help me heal.

His health does continue to seem good. He had some increased stuffiness for a while, but that seems to have dissipated. His 6 month checkup is this week, so we'll see what the pediatrician has to say. This is the doctor's office that consistently measures him big. It'll be interesting to see what they come up with this time.

Owen still isn't eating well from the bottle. He pretty consistently will take at least some, but only if he's truly hungry. If only we all could eat only when we're hungry! Maybe he has the right idea! We're starting in with rice cereal again, and Mark actually had a little bit of success today. We'll probably just have to offer it consistently so Owen will know it's a part of the routine. He doesn't seem to be averse to the food, but he does seem to be scared of the spoon. We plan to let him play with it and hopefully he'll get used to the way it feels in his mouth. We don't know how long he'll need the G-tube, but I plan to really start pushing the feeding issue after he's recovered from his next surgery. I imagine he'll have it at least through the winter, so that we can continue feeding him even if he gets sick or starts teething and won't eat. It's so important for him to get those calories.

And sadly, October 21st is rapidly approaching. I'm excited for him to get through this next stage, because it's one more step down and he should be stronger afterward. However, we are also terrified. It was difficult to hand him over for the first surgery, but we didn't know what it was like not to have him in the hospital yet, and we were still exhausted from him being born five days before. It was actually harder to hand him over for the recent catheterization, even though that was a far less serious procedure. He is now such a part of our everyday lives. Not having him here at the house is going to seem so wrong, whereas the first time around we didn't know yet what it was like to have a baby at home. We knew it wasn't normal that he was still in the hospital, but it was OUR normal.

Please pray for peace for us in the coming weeks as we prepare for Owen's next surgery. I can't speak for Mark, but I can feel myself becoming more tense as the time approaches. I have two doctor appointments this week; one of them is my first trimester screening appointment. Hopefully I will be able to post again soon with good news!

Rolling over!

It's official - Owen rolls over now! His daycare provider had been telling us that he did it a couple of times last week, but he hadn't done it around us yet - until yesterday, that is. I had put him down to play on the floor, and I was resting on the couch. I heard him start fussing a little, but it was the kind of fussing he does when he's trying to get to sleep, so I didn't think anything of it. Mark walked in and asked me if I had put him on his tummy. I shot up and sure enough, he was completely on his belly! He wasn't even that upset about it!

Speaking of trying to get to sleep, our great sleeper suddenly isn't sleeping so great anymore. I think it's just that he's getting older, but now he totally fights sleep. On Friday he napped for 2 half-hour sessions in the afternoon (around noon and 2,) and that was it till about 10:30 that night! He still sleeps through the night fairly well, but he's taking much fewer and shorter naps during the day. I didn't realize how difficult it'll be to keep up with him when he's mobile and awake for long periods of time. And that'll be with a brand-new baby at home too!

Baby Bean

Yes, it's true! Baby Frossard #2 is officially on the way. Mark and I talked about having another baby, and I think I got pregnant the next day. Literally. It was a surprise but not a shock. We are thrilled! And nervous.

I will be having first trimester screening done to look for markers of genetic abnormalities. This will be on October 1st, so we would really appreciate prayers that day. We love Owen and wouldn't change his personality for anything, but we would really love to have a healthy baby this time.

Owen did some new things for us this weekend. Mark rolled him onto his tummy, and he rolled himself back over on his back. He also lay on his tummy and picked his head and chest up a couple of times. We hadn't seen him do these things before, and it was really fun. Owen seemed pretty proud of himself for awhile, but then he got fed up with being messed-with and let us know it!

Here are a couple of pictures of Owen at daycare. We couldn't ask for a better experience, and it has done so much to ease my mind about someone else caring for him. God has blessed us and continues to take care of us all! So check out these pictures... Does Owen have a little girlfriend?? Are they playing footsie??!

Surprise...

Coming April 19th, 2009!

More Pictures!

Here are some more pictures from Owen's baptism. My friend Julie came from Cincinnati for the occasion, and she took these for us. I can't believe how precious and BIG he looks! I want to point out the shoes Owen is wearing. They have little crosses on them, and some lace trim around the top. That trim came from my wedding dress; my mom attached it to the shoes. It was so special to have that little touch for his special day! I'm also including a picture from the day he was born so you can see how much he's grown!

We have officially moved into our new house. It's perfect for us and we love it! We had lots of help and we're very grateful, especially with Owen's cath last week, and moving right after that.

Speaking of his cath, everything looks perfect! The things done during his first surgery are holding up beautifully, and his pulmonary pressures are normal. This is SUCH a blessing! It means that, barring some emergency in the meantime, surgery will go on as planned October 21st. Although I think it was pretty obvious to us even before the cath that things were going well for him. He barely looks blue at all, for one thing. The other is that he can cry and scream like a champ. We had been told to expect him to have a low energy reserve, and that he would tire out quickly when upset. Well, that hasn't been the case in our experience! He can carry on for a good half hour before he calms down and drifts off (this only happens in the car where we can't hold him.) That seems pretty normal to me!

He's still not gaining weight much at all. I need to weigh him to be sure, but I think he still doesn't weigh 12 lbs, and he's 5 months old today. My goal is to get him as close to 20 lbs as possible by his 1st birthday. That's a normal weight for a 1-year-old.

We're all settling into our new house and still have lots of unpacking to do. It's going to be a time of adjustment (still!) but we're very happy and grateful for Owen's relative good health!