The Best Daddy Ever!!

Father's Day (a week late)

I've been so bad at updating!! Hope everyone had a great Father's Day last week! Last Thursday evening I did a last minute photo shoot with the kids as part of Ned's father's day gift...it was pretty crazy! I had a specific idea of how it all would go in my head but it didn't quite work out the way I'd planned. Mary, my sister (the photographer) was a very good sport to put up with all of us. Three kids 3 and under + 3 pairs of rain boots + flooded creek + loads of mud = DISASTER!! I think we were out for 2 hours and this is what we got.

Quick Update

Charlotte had another appointment for her DOC Band this afternoon and it went really well. They were really impressed when they noticed improvement already! It's pretty cool actually, the way it works is the helmet holds the side of her head that grew out too much because of the way she laid on one side in the NICU while she was so small. While the band holds the side that sticks out too far, the other side of her head can fill in. Her head had grown so much in a week that they had to shave the inside of the band down quite a bit to give her more room to grow and they want to see her back in a week instead of the usual two weeks. Hope you all are having a great week so far!

Becca

Thumb Sucker

The rest of the gang!

Don't worry, the boys are getting just as much attention or more now that Lottie is home as they were before she was born. I think they must have made it their mission to do whatever they can to get a reaction out of us...scary.:) James has figured out how to climb out of his crib...I knew this day would come! He and Nathaniel sleep together and the other night after we had tucked them in Nathaniel did his usual scurry downstairs thinking of a good excuse to get out of bed (it almost always ends up being because he, "wants to give Mommy kisses!" How can I resist this? That's just what he's thinking:)) but this time James came down behind him! Ned and I looked at each other and knew this was the beginning of a very long night! The next 30 minutes were spent sitting outside their door waiting for him to climb out of his crib and getting after him for it. Nathaniel was the informer...as soon as James got out of that crib Nathaniel was shooting out the door yelling, "James got outta bed again!" I guess it was maybe the third or fourth time James tried to climb out that I heard Nathaniel whispering something, I couldn't quite hear him but I had the feeling he was telling James to get out of bed (it would make sense because this was making his night pretty interesting...full of purpose) I stepped in just in time to stop James from getting out of bed and told Nathaniel to encourage his brother to do the right thing. He assured me he didn't tell him to get out of bed so I left the room and took my place outside the door. This time I listened very carefully, just as I had suspected, Nathaniel whispered, "James, get out of bed." I opened the door right away and stated the new rule: If James climbs out of bed from now on, BOTH of you get in trouble! This ended the problem for the night.

Everyone asks how I'm doing having Charlotte home and I always say that she's the easiest of the three! I wouldn't have it any other way though, they keep life interesting and fun! They LOVE Lottie, I often come into our family room and find Nathaniel laying down beside her showing her a toy of his and how it works. She loves them too! Her face completely lights up when ever either of them give her kisses or talk to her. She loves when I let Nathaniel hold her...you wouldn't think so because it never looks too comfy but they both are in heaven.:)

Ned left yesterday morning for Texas on business and we all miss him already! No one reads stories at night as good as daddy does! We are so spoiled to have him working so close to home! We get to see him most afternoons for lunch, and he gets home from work most nights no later than 5:30. Praying for a good trip and a safe plane ride home Wednesday!

Happy Monday!

Update on DOC Band

I took Lottie and the boys to Cranial Tech Friday afternoon so they could take a look at the place above her ear that had rubbed raw from the band and the rash on her forehead. They were not concerned at all by the rash and told me it looked like a heat rash which makes sense because I can imagine it would get pretty hot wearing a helmet in the summer! They did shave the inside of the band where it rubbed her above her ear but I've been giving her breaks from wearing it still because it still looks pretty irritated. She's been a trooper through it all and even giggled for me this morning while I was trying to feed her. She's such a happy baby...we are so blessed! Thank you for your prayers!

Back to Cranial Technologies

This morning when I took Charlotte's DOC Band off to give her a bath I noticed she had a rash on her forehead and a place above her ear that looked like it had been rubbed raw. When it didn't go away within a few hours I called the Dr. at Cranial Technologies, she wanted me to bring her in so she could take a look at it. I don't think it's anything serious at all, just a little setback. Poor baby...I don't think it feels too good.:( I'm headed in with the kiddos in about an hour will update later this evening. Thanks for praying!

Charlotte Laughing!

What a sweet sound!

Doc Band

Charlotte had her Dynamic Orthotic Cranioplasty (DOC) Band put on this morning! She's adjusting to it pretty well...she did great at the Cranial Tech office but I can tell it bothers her a little to sleep on (hopefully she'll get used to this soon). The band is designed to correct Plagiocephaly (abnormal head shape). Since Lottie was on one side of her head for so long in the NICU it pushed the right side of her face forward a little. We'll have a better idea for how long she will have to wear the band next week when she has it adjusted but right now they're saying 3-4 months 23 hours a day (taking it off for bath time only). We'll update more later but I wanted to post a couple pictures.

Charlotte's Journey in the NICU

Here's a video we wanted to share with everyone who prayed so faithfully for little Lottie while she was in the NICU and still continue to pray! We have witnessed the power of prayer in our little girl! Thank you all for your love and support!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfRc2JOT8V0


Charlotte's Journey
Source: www.youtube.com