6 lbs. 3 oz. of Pure Cuteness

On June 17, Cari went in to be induced. Little Harrison had failed every stress test just enough to have to have the test again. Poor Cari spent a night in the hospital while Dr. Macy was out of town and worried the whole time. She was only about 34 weeks along and the on call doctor was debating whether or not little Harry would be better off outside his mama. But, as soon as Dr. Macy got back in town, she decided to let him cook a little longer and they set the date for June 17 which was 37 weeks. There was a better chance that he would not have to go to the NICU if they could push delivery off until then.

For Cari and Travis, their day started out very similar to my day almost 16 years ago when Josh was born. Call the hospital at 6am, call again at 7am.... continue calling every hour until they finally say to come in. They hooked her up to the pit and eventually broke her water. I had taken the day off work with the hopes of being there when Harrison was born. I finally decided to head up to LDS Hospital around 9pm. She still wasn't dilated much passed 2 or 3cm.  I hung out with them for a few hours but around midnight decided to head home. I had work the next day and not much was happening. After I left, mom and dad and Cari and Travis fell asleep. I went home and layed in bed with my phone on my chest waiting to hear. It was only an hour later and Harrison was born. Cari had an easy delivery and all went well.. except that I wasn't there. :)

I was awake most of the night as texts kept coming. I got the sweetest text from his daddy at 2:22a.m.:

"6 lbs. 3 oz. of pure cuteness. He is healthy and strong with no concerns. It is obvious to everyone that he does in fact have downs. And for that we love him even more! Born 1:33a.m."

Many pictures kept coming and lots of updates for the next several days. I couldn't get enough. As tired as I was, I went to work the next morning and then on my lunch went to the hospital to see my new nephew. The picture isn't great as it was taken with my phone by the new mom (who still didn't have her contacts in). I was super bummed because my one hour lunch was not long enough and little Harry was trying to eat the whole time. Nurses were constantly taking turns trying to help. I finally stole him for 30 seconds to give him kisses but then had to go back to work. 

The next day, I did the same thing. I went to the hospital on my lunch. This time my parents were there with Erin and Emma (so so so grateful that my parents took the girls with them - they were so in love with this little guy long before he was born and I knew with my work schedule I wasn't going to be able to take them to the hospital). While my timing was good this time as far as seeing my kids, it still was a little hectic with Harrison. The nurses were taking him for tests and to put him under the lights and for more tests. They would bring him in only to take him away again. I understood - his health is far more important than me getting a turn to hold him. But I felt for my sister. She was frustrated. And tired. Their stay at the hospital turned in to several days - almost a week - before Harry finally was able to go home. His oxygen levels are still not where they want them and he has yet to pass his hearing tests. But, today early intervention people came for a house visit and Harrison is developmentally on schedule (and at a 2 mo. level for some things).

Already he has changed so much - as babies do in their first month. I took pictures of him on his 4 week birthday so I will definitely have to post some of those. He is a beautiful baby (a ginger, btw) and so very loved. My sister waited a long time for him. He most definitely is an angel straight from Heaven. I'm excited to watch this sweet boy grow up!

I don't know why I don't have a pic of him with his mama at the hospital. But I did take one of her holding him the last time I went to visit so I will post that next time. You can see in the picture with his daddy how much he is loved. What a sweet pea. Love him so much.

I feel pretty

Since we are on the 1-4pm schedule this year for church, we have all the time in the morning to get ready. Last Sunday, as we were about to leave, Emma did one last spritz of hairspray and then said "I feel pretty today, we should take pictures!" I actually thought she was kidding about pictures, but I was happy that she did actually feel pretty.  Not many teenage girls say that. Emma is just as hard on herself as the next thirteen year old girl. So when she says she feels pretty, we jump on that and do pictures! She stayed in her dress all day waiting (and hoping) I really would take some pics of her.

 I'm glad I took her up on the idea. She is beautiful. Purple hair and all. I worry lately because she is ridiculously boy crazy and her motivation in getting ready every day is that she may run into a cute boy. She suddenly, after years of hating it, wants to go to soccer practice with Josh every night. Could it be a whole slew of cute boys are all going to be there? It's great that Josh and Emma are somewhat forced to like each other now that they like each others friends. 

 Erin heard what we were going to do so she through her skirt back on and asked if she could tag along. Isn't she a cutie? Both girls were so fun! No drama or whining or fighting. Just a fun photo shoot.

 It started to get dark toward the end so some of the pics are a little dark, but we made it work. We took all these pics in about 20 minutes. Maybe always having a camera in their faces has made them very cooperative. :) Whatever it is, it's great that they actually ask me for pictures. Now to get the dad on board. And Josh. Josh has been promising since last January.

3 v 3

 Alex, Oliver, Leo, Chas, Spencer, Josh

 

These goof balls played in a 3v3 tourney on July 5. It was so stinking hot! They are troopers for playing back to back to back .. all day in 100+ degree weather. Josh was pretty excited to finally play! He is still working back into it after the last year. I had to work so I hurried to Farmington right when I got off and caught the last game of the day. These "Fuzzies" took 3rd place and got those awesome medals to show for it! Pretty funny. They always have a good time together. I love that Josh has these guys and I love that he is back to being on the field with them - finally!

Today is our Independance Day!

Erin, Hanah, Livvy and Collin

 I have no idea why but this year I just wasn't feelin' the whole 4th of July thing. It might be because Girl's Camp was right at the end of June - who knows? I didn't get any decor out and we didn't go to the Magna Parade. It was like 400 degrees outside so we just couldn't do it. So by the time evening rolled around, I decided to take the girls over to the Fireworks in Magna. I'm so glad we did - Erin needed some cousin time that day!

 The kids decided it was a good idea to do gymnastics while holding sparklers.

 It was fun! I'm glad we ended up going because it was more fun than sitting home with Josh and Jer.

Christmas Bells are Ringing

 Such a fun Christmas morning! It always is. Who am I kidding?? Josh is only a little over a week post knee surgery so he was stuck on the couch all morning. But when it was time to go to the J's for breakfast, he was a good sport about it.

 EO got some purdy cute Soda shoes. She is a shoe freak! My kind of kid. Oh wait - she is my kid.

 Emma went from hating make up to being obsessed with it .. like .. overnight! She she was thrilled with her oodles of eye shadow.

 Josh is always easy to please - Santa brings everything from WorldSoccerShop.com. I love the shirt!

 Oh look at that smile! It's a Nook! Her very own tablet! (yay more electronics :/ ) Oh.. and one for Emma, too! Now we will never see them!

 All Josh wanted this year were good headphones. These were a win. All the good headphones have noise cancelling (which makes the sound better I guess). I get that for those that fly a lot - noise cancelling is good. But Josh says he needs "Emma cancelling" headphones. Oooh. . . I long for the day those two actually get along.

 Of course, we went to the J's for breakfast. I think Josh loves that as much as he loves opening gifts.

 It's almost impossible to get a picture of all these hooligans. And, heaven forbid they all look at the camera. Too funny.

 Can these girls get any cuter? Man I love this picture. Cambree came over with Grandma and Grandpa B to see Erin. EO was excited to show Bree what Santa brought.

 Emma got some waaay cute clothes this year! She was purdy excited about that ManU hoodie.

So she's dressed like a teenager, but she's  spazzy like a 9 year old. I love it! She's so stinking cute! It was a fantastic Christmas! This pic of Erin was right before we went to bed so that tells you how awesome it was - she's still smiling after getting up early and running all day long!

Femoral Acetabular Impingement Repair

 It's been a while, I know. I've been wanting to get caught up on my blog for several months now (okay, like eight) but life has gotten ahold of me and taken me for a ride! So I think I will start with the present and hopefully I will be able to work backwards until I am caught up.

About a year and a half ago, Josh hurt his hip in a soccer tournament (go here to see the post). And, here it is 20 months later and he is recovering from surgery. It's been a very long road for him. He has had physical therapy off and on since December 2011 and has constantly been taking time off from soccer to let it heal.

For the last year or more, he has described the pain as a "pinching" or  "catching" feeling. And on several occasions, he felt a "pop." There were times when he would be on the soccer field in the middle of a game and it would "lock up" on him and he would have to come out of the game.

We have seen doctors at Primary Children's, Granger Medical, Mountain Orthopaedics, Exodus Health Care and more that I can't even remember. He has had x-rays, a CT scan, an MRI and more x-rays. We were told everything from "there's nothing wrong" to "his labrum is torn" and "rest" or "more physical therapy." But, he was frustrated. Nothing was working. Nothing was making it feel any better and he was still missing out on a lot of his favorite things - especially soccer. He hasn't been able to participate in P.E. since he has been in Jr. High. He's been on crutches numerous times.

I could go on, but you get the point. It's been frustrating.

Finally, we found a doctor that knew exactly what to look for and how to fix it. Jer took Josh to see Dr. Aoki at PCMC about 3 weeks ago. They took more x-rays and immediately Dr. Aoki could see that surgery was necessary - and right away. They scheduled a hip repair outpatient surgery that day for August 12.

Dr. Aoki explained to us that Joshua has what is called Femoral Acetabular Impingement (FAI).  "Basically, the ball (femoral head) and socket (acetabulum) rub abnormally creating damage to the hip joint.  The damage can occur to the articular cartilage (smooth white surface of the ball or socket) or the labral cartilage (soft tissue bumper of the socket). FAI is associated with cartilage damage, labral tears, early hip arthritis, hyperlaxity, sports hernias, and low back pain. FAI is common in high level athletes, but also occurs in active individuals." (hipfai.com) 

Finally! An answer! While Jer and I have not been the least bit excited about our fourteen year old son having surgery on his hip, we are thrilled to know what is going on! And so is he. 

Monday was August 12 - surgery day. We arrived at PCMC at 8:30a.m. By the time Josh was checked in and the doctors were ready, it was just before noon when he went back for surgery. It is typically a two hour procedure. Josh was in for almost three hours. Dr. Aoki was very pleased with how well the surgery went. The FAI was a bit more prominent than what the x-rays showed so there was more bone that needed to be shaved down than the doctor had predicted. But, the tears in the labrum were not as extreme so they did not need to be sutchered. Josh will likely have arthritis in his hips when he is older and there is a possibility that the FAI will present itself in the future (in his left hip). But, his right hip is finally fixed. 

We were able to go back to recovery with Josh just before 3:00p.m. He was in good spirits and said his pain level was at a 6. Unfortunately, even though we had warned the doctor that Lortab isn't our drug of choice (I don't do well on Lortab), they started with that to prevent extreme pain as the nerve block wore off. Not long after they gave him the Lortab, he broke out in hives and his pain level went to an 11 (unbearable). His heart rate went way up. His blood pressure was high. He was shaking and had a tight grip on the hospital bed. I've never seen my Joshy in so much misery. It was not fun. When the nurse came in to see what was going on, she suggested giving him benedryl to help with the rash and Fentanyl to help with pain. Then, she gave him a second Lortab. For several hours, Josh would fall asleep and within 4-5 minutes wake up to sharp excruciating pains in his hip. Even with all the narcotics in his system, his pain level was at a 9 or 10.

Around 8:00p.m., Dr. Aoki suggested they give him Percocet and Valium and avoid giving him more Lortab. This combination did the trick. He finally relaxed. And, by 9:00 he was ready to go home. We were all exhausted. I didn't realize how tiring it would be to spend the day at the hospital. I'm sure my emotions were a big contributor. 

 We got Josh home and comfortable on the couch around 9:30p.m. and Jer left to grab the prescriptions before the pharmacy closed and to pick up the girls who had been with my parents all day. Within a few minutes of getting Josh home, Ron Whicker rang the doorbell. Rachel made a pie for Josh and Ron was delivering - it was still warm. Even though Josh was loopy from the drugs and exhausted from the day, he was thrilled with the pie and anxious to eat it.

Each day since the surgery has been very different. He spent day 3 not being able to keep anything down (including pain killers). On day 4, Jer took him to the USA Soccer Tournament in West Jordan to watch his old team play. It was a lot of work for Josh, but there's no better therapy for him. He loves being on the soccer field. He was tired when they got home and he slept the rest of the day. Day 5 was mostly uneventful. He slept a lot. On Friday he was able to take the bandage off the incisions. That felt good. And today is day 6. Jer took him out to the soccer tournament again this morning. Even though it's painful to sit, he was happy to see some of his teammates and feel "normal" for a bit. He has been in quite a bit of pain today as we are cutting back on his meds a little. And, the itch deep inside his hip is about to drive him crazy. But, he took a shower tonight and that was a good start to feeling human again. There are still steri strips on the incisions so he still has to be careful about getting those wet until they come off, but even a 5 minute shower is better than the sponge bath he's had the last few days.

 This little machine is full of ice and pumps freezing cold water into a pad that he can put on his hip. This has been the best form of relief for him. He can't leave it on for long because it can be too cold on his skin, but it is his favorite way to take his mind off the pain.

This picture is a lineup of his medications. It's pretty crazy what they can give a teenager. He is tall - 5'10" and 150 lbs. but, narcotics and valium? He will be on the naproxin for several weeks to prevent any bone from trying to grow back and to keep the inflammation down, but hopefully he will be done with the rest soon. He starts physical therapy in a week and will have a follow up appointment with Dr. Aoki at 4 weeks. He will be on crutches for about 4 weeks, but should be back to running at 3 months. His full recovery will take about 6 months. While that seems like forever to a kid, it's nothing compared to a lifetime of being able to play soccer every day without pain.

That was a rather lengthy first post after my 8 month strike (laziness), but I wanted to get it all down while we are still in the midst of this crazy adventure.

I will definitely have to do some updates on the girls and all the other awesome things that have taken place in the last several months, but for now, that will have to do.