Is there a doctor in the house?

A lot of medical things going on in the family right now!

Jonathan has had a cold since Monday, and it has been getting worse as the week progresses.  Last night, he only slept for 1-2 hours at a time and stayed awake for almost 2 hours at a time.  All the while, Jeff was in bed with a sinus infection, so I am a tired girl today!  I took Jonathan to the Dr. this morning and we are doing Albuterol breathing treatments until this passes.  He hasn't had a high fever and he is happy when he is awake, so we are thankful for that!  Jeff is also on steroids and antibiotic so hopefully he will be feeling better soon, too.  It's hard on Mommy when both my boys are sick!

Also, Jeff and I went to the Maternal-Fetal specialist yesterday to see what the plan is for this pregnancy.  Just for background:  I had multiple complications with the last pregnancy that may or may not have caused Jonathan to be born early:

1. I have a septated uterus (you can Google that), but we didn't know about it at the time.
2. When Jonathan was born, we discovered E. Coli bacteria had taken up residence in the placenta, anmiotic fluid, and Jonathan's blood stream.  I had no symptoms of this infection, and the body's defense against infection during pregnancy is to get the baby out (otherwise I could've taken antibiotics).
3. I had/have a weak cervix (the part of the body that keeps the baby in), so when Jonathan got too heavy, out he came.  Also, a weak cervix would make it easier for bacteria to travel up to the baby and infect it.

With all that said, it seems like the most likely situation for me is that I have an incompetent cervix.  This is good news because this can be helped with a simple surgery called a cerclage.  It's outpatient surgery that takes only a few hours and a spinal epidural.  The doctor said if this is the reason why Jonathan came early (and they can't be 100% sure that it is), then I have a 90+% chance of carrying the baby full term.  We are so excited about this, I cannot imagine carrying a baby that far!  We are still waiting to hear the exact date of surgery, but it will for sure be two weeks from now.  After that, the doctors will check the stitch every two weeks or so and make sure it is holding up.

After the surgery, I will have to be off my feet for a week or so.  Luckily, my awesome mom is flying in from Texas to help around the house and we are so excited to see her!  She hasn't seen Jonathan since last Thanksgiving so I know she is so excited, too.  He has come so far since then!

Granny and Jonathan, Thanksgiving 2010

Please keep Jeff in your prayers as he waits for relief from the intense pressure in his head, and pray that Jonathan would start to get better soon as well.  Also, please keep me and Baby in prayer as we prepare for surgery and whatever life for our family will look like after that.

Also, any comments or emails about people you know who have had successful cerclages would be much appreciated and encouraging!

Love,

    The Skippers

Summer Fun!

I know it's been a while since this blog was updated (about 5 months...) but we have been very busy!

In the past 5 months, Jonathan has become potty trained, is taking cooking lessons and plans to start college in the Fall.


Not really, but it seems that way!  He has come SO far.  In January, he was just starting to become interested in the world around him, and every now and then we would get a smile or giggle.  Now, he is constantly babbling and laughing and smiles at the slightest encouragement.

Also, he has started physical therapy because he is "behind".  That means, even though he is 11 months old, he isn't doing what most 11 month old babies do (according to the physical therapist's special test).  Also, since he had grade 3 brain bleeds on both sides of his brain, that puts him at a higher risk of developmental impairments, so PT can help with that, too.  Not to mention, his physical therapist, Michelle, is really good with him and we have seen so much progress.  He is finally pushing himself up on his arms! 

He has also stopped taking all his medications (thank you, Lord!) and is doing well.  He still sees all of his doctors, but they are mostly just monitoring him.  His brain bleeds are not a concern for us at this point; he goes to see the kidney doctor this summer to see if his kidney reflux is gone (it seems to be); his retina doctor has released him from his care (and that was KIND OF sad because we had been seeing him so much!); and we have a sleep study next Tuesday night to see if we can finally get off this oxygen (he is still on oxygen at night).  Oh yeah, we are also off the apnea monitor which is awesome because when it would go off our hearts would stop (they were always false alarms, though).

Jonathan is eating really well, too.  He isn't eating table food yet, but he loves baby food.  My mom just bought me a Baby Bullet to make our own baby food.  I've made bananas and brown rice so far and he loved it! 

Speaking of my mom, she just left from a 10 day visit.  We all went to Anna Maria Island for 3 of those days:  me, Jeff, Jonathan, my mom, Jeff's parents, Jeff's sister and her fiance.  We rented a house and it was HEAVEN!  We decided we need to stay a week next year instead of just 3 days.   Here are some pics from the trip.

Jonathan in his beach tent.

Awesome AMI sunset, with the moon rise in the upper left corner.

Baby J was upset when the wave hit him, but he got over it.