Wednesday, May 28, 2014

This Mother's Day

After a perfect Mother's day, I was sitting holding Gavin in the evening - feeling overwhelmed with gratitude for the blessing sitting in my lap. For his smiles. For his sparkling eyes that twinkle when he is excited - and also show when he is pondering doing something he shouldn't be. For his laugh that is raspy from his crazy anatomy. For his patience when doctors poke and prod him. For his personality that captivates an entire room - happened again Monday in the waiting room at Amplatz. For him - just being HIM.



The fact that God entrusted him to me still blows my mind! Sitting there with the TV in the background, husband by my side was the perfect ending to a blessed weekend.

I can't forget my other half - Jason. He spoiled me this Mother's Day. Not with fancy jewels, or expensive flowers - he gave me something more valuable than any bought gift. He gives me CONFIDENCE. This Mother's Day especially. He loves when I am unloveable. Offers patience with I am hitting every button on his internal remote. Leads our family to a life with Christ. His belief in me is making me a better mama!

My mind continued to wander as I sat there - other mama's came to mind.

One who has become a very dear friend over the past few months. She has a son with many medical unknowns - but God knows the ins and outs of his little body. A strong mama, and she is an inspiration to me!

Two mamas that I have never met, but think of constantly. The each have little girls. One with Trisomy 22, one with major heart defects. Both strong little girls with very strong mamas - both in the hospital fighting for their lives. 

One who met and said goodbye to her son within a 2 day span. A mama I again haven't met, but her son's life has forever impacted mine.

My sister who carries my sweet niece or nephew in her belly. A mama who inspite of back pain, round ligament pain, and the ever growing tummy - is a joy to be around. She is already a mama, and I can't wait to meet that sweet little nugget!

I can't forget my own mama - a woman of grace and is as selfless as they come. I have never seen another with so much love for her children. She has cared for all of us kids for 40+ years, and wants nothing more than to see us all doing well. She feeds us first, is my right hand when she is here caring for Gavin, and drives hundreds of miles to just spend time with us. She has never spoken unkindly to me, and only has nice things to say about others. She will brush these things off, but I see them - and I cherish them. She is my mama and I can only pray that I can be a mama like her someday. 




Mother's Day (to me) isn't about being "waited" on. No - it's more than that! SO much more than that. I pray that I am never a mama who demands a "wait on me day". Some days I am sure I will feel like I deserve it. When it comes down to it - God has blessed me with being a mama, and I will strive to cherish it.

I pray I do nothing less.

Love you baby boy!

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Life according to the iPhone

Turns out having a nice big cup of coffee at 9:00 has more of an effect on me than it used to. Wide.a.wake.

What a great time to bring you all up to date on our lives!?

As you know, Gavin had a pH probe test done. Over a 24 hour period he had 73 "episodes" (hiccups/gagging/coughing/vomiting) and 50% of those episodes were high in the esophagus. Gavin's GI doctor also said that his stomach is VERY acidic - poor kid didn't stand a chance with his genetic make-up!!! The plan for now is to control the acid with Prevacid, and help lessen the reflux by not feeding him after 6:30 at night. Our hope is to prevent any aspiration that could have been causing his pneumonias.

We also had been treating Gavin for allergies to soy and dairy. After a "scratch" test, we found out that the blood test gave us a false positive - which means NO allergies! Such great news!

So for now, we pray that he stays healthy and will re-evaluate in 6 weeks. We also will be having an EKG done to rule out a heart murmur that he had when he was in the NICU. It hasn't ever been an issue, but his pediatrician thought it would be a good idea to get it checked out one last time, since he had such a hard winter.

Life has been busy - I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Patiently waiting for the Dr. - why not play with mama's mascara?

Typical guy

First wagon ride in the hospital! No quarantine this time!
The therapy dogs made a visit to our room. He LOVES dogs!

He sleeps like this - every night!

Cousins - impossible to get a good picture of both!

Allergy test - NEGATIVE!!!!
Pillows from Preston sent Gavin four pillows for any future hospital stays!
Such a sweet organization!

My first date with Gavin - how cute is he!?

Our good friends were our dates to the MN Ballet
Thanks to HopeKids for the great tickets!

Chipotle after the ballet - best buds!

Who me? Handsome? Why yes - I am!