Pardon Me While I Get Sappy for a Minute

So, as I come back downstairs after putting Jax to bed I see Jason snoozing on the couch and Duke snuggled up beside him and can't help but think "I have a great life. I love all of my boys and am so lucky to have a wonderful husband, an adorable baby boy and the most loyal pup ever". Mind you this was briefly replaced with a "Why am I the only person awake!?!" thought, but it reverted back to sappy thoughts quickly.

I took this one last night. Both Jax and Duke were Daddy's boys.

Jason and I have been together for 10 years and married for 4. But, I've had a crush on him since 7th grade (that was 18 years ago!). Way to date myself I know. And I'm sure we've known each other since way before then in some weird cosmic way. Case in point, we were born 11 days apart. If I remember correctly, he had to stay in the hospital an extra couple of days. So, while we probably weren't in the hospital at the exact same time, I'd like to think that this was a sign that we were meant to be.

We didn't start going out until after high school (a whole other story in itself, lol). I think we both often wonder if we'd still be together if we had actually dated throughout high school. I honestly don't know the answer. But I like to think that "everything happens for a reason" and I'm so happy that we are together now.

He is a hardworking, take-no-crap-from-anyone type of guy and I love that about him. I'll let you in on a little secret though....he may come across as a hard-as-nuts tough guy, but really he's a giant teddy bear (at least to Jax, Duke and I). And as he reads this, he'll probably shoot me a look of "really? you wrote that!" but whatever. It's the truth. I know this it totally cliche, but he's my best friend. Sorry Marianne, Monica and Krysten, but he knows more secrets than you do :) We have similar interests, ideals, etc. and I think we are the perfect pair. He's the yin to my yang, the salt to my pepper, the....well, you get the picture.

I would also like to point out that he read my blog last night and complained that I haven't mentioned him at all, which I dispute. I'm pretty sure he's on here somewhere at least in pictures if nothing else ;) But that isn't why today's post is about him. I really did walk downstairs and have these thoughts. So, I thought I would share.

We just celebrated our 4th anniversary last week (September 30th). Interesting fact: This is also Jason's parents anniversary and Jason's grandparents anniversary. I so happy to be apart of a family tradition like that. Three generations all got married on September 30th. I just think that's cool. I would also like to point out that the awesome wife that I am agreed to leave the church on our wedding day in a Peterbuilt and dance to Elvis. You see people, it's all about compromise! :)

I love you Jason and I look forward to many, many more years together! Now get off my back about not talking about you :P

Read More 0 Comments | Posted By Robin

May The Force Be With You

Now, I'm not usually one to actually like commercials although I don't get as irritated as my Dad does when they come on (freakin' commercials). However, every time I see that Star Wars themed Volkswagen commercial, it cracks me up. Great job Volkswagen for showing me that commercials aren't just out there to interrupt my regularly scheduled program.

Take a look at the video: The Force - Volkswagen Commerical.

In no way does this mean that the next vehicle I get is going to be a Volkswagen (sorry!). There is a strict GM alliance here at the Smith household. Even our toy cars have to be Chevy (or one of the other many GM makes). I've personally always wanted a 1960's Ford Mustang but was pretty much told "over my dead body". LOL. Seeing as how both Jason and his Dad are GM guys and they are my mechanics, I will stick to whatever makes them happy. :) Now, if I could only get them to back down on the 6 cylinder requirement. I need to get a more fuel-efficient vehicle and I really like the Malibu or Cruze, but alas both are 4 cylinder vehicles. But that is a topic for another time.

I would also like to point out that there are commercials out there that drive me insane. And it's not so much that the commercials or the products themselves are annoying, it's more that the products are not available in the area. Case in point.....Dave and Busters and Sonic commercials. Why must you torture me with commercials for good times and good food for places that are nowhere near my house? That's just cruel! I mean, I could understand if they were for places that were located in Rochester. I could deal with that. It's not like I don't travel to Rochester every day anyways. ;)

What are some of your favorite commercials? What ones do you find completely annoying? Seeing that Volkswagen commercial tonight got me thinking about this, but so far I can't think of any other ones at the moment that I actually like. And it's probably not because there aren't any out there, it's probably because it's almost midnight and I'm ready for bed.

G'nite :)

I've failed...

at this whole blogging thing. The idea behind it was to keep everyone updated on Jax and the rest of us here at La Casa Smith. I mean, really...7 posts in the past 4.5 months!?! Utterly despicable. I know I post on Facebook quite frequently, but I started this to include those that weren't on Facebook.

Anywho, I apologize. I can do better. I will do better. How shall I remedy this? By annoying the crap out of you every day for the rest of October! That's right people, expect a post from me every day during the month of October. I can't promise that they will all be witty and funny. I can't promise that they will all be about Jax. I can't promise that some of these won't be recaps for things I've wanted to talk about the past few months but never got around to. I can't promise that some of them will just be pictures. Because, let's face it...I'm a busy girl ;)

My reward for completing this self-induced challenge....I will buy myself a photo scanner. I've always wanted one but could never justify it. I have no reason to need one. I just want one. Not that doing this really justifies it, but I like the way I think.

So if I have a reward, I must have a punishment for the off-chance that I blow off a day or two with this blog thing. And my punishment...I will have to make the turkey for Thanksgiving this year. I know what you're thinking, "That's your punishment? Doesn't seem like much of a punishment." But seriously, for those that know me...it would be punishment.

The idea of sticking my hand up a turkey's butt (and who knows what else) makes me throw up a little in my mouth. Disgusting. I can change a dirty diaper, pick a little kiddo's boogers, deal with dog and baby slobber, but to stick my hand up a turkey's butt....so gross. We've had Thanksgiving at my house for the past two years and I've gotten away with not making the turkey. How does that happen you ask? The first time we had it here, my Mother-in-Law came down and did it and then the other turkey was deep-fried and done by Jason and my parents. The second time? My Mom did it at her house and brought it over to mine to finish it. I know...totally lame. Just stick your hand up there and get it done. Eww...I threw up again a little bit.

So as you can see, my punishment choice is perfect especially in light of the upcoming holiday season. :) I just hope my Mom is up for making the turkey at her house again this year, because this is one challenge I am not going to fail!

TTFN

See you tomorrow ;)

Read More 0 Comments | Posted By Robin

The Long and Shunt of It

In case you missed it, September was National Hydrocephalus Awareness Month. I thought that in honor of this, I would finally post about Jackson and his hydrocephalus.

Aw, heck, who am I kidding!?! I'm a total slacker lately when it comes to blogging and I'm just finally getting around to finishing this post. But my logic above sounded great, didn't it? ;)

When we found out that Jax was diagnosed with Spina Bifida we also found out that he had Hydrocephalus. This isn't uncommon. Most babies that are diagnosed with Spina Bifida are also diagnosed with Hydrocephalus. Taken from a Spina Bifida Kids post: In those with Spina Bifida, the brain is usually positioned further down into the upper spinal column than it should be. This change in position is part of a condition called the Chiari malformation. The brain tissue displaced into the upper spinal canal blocks the normal flow of cerebrospinal fluid [CSF]. This leads to a build-up of fluid within the ventricles of the brain, a condition called hydrocephalus.

We were told that it was highly likely that Jax would need a shunt in order to help drain the excess fluid from his brain. The doctors at Strong Perinatal Associates monitored his ventricle size throughout the pregnancy and once he was born Dr. Silberstein continued to monitor him. Any drastic increases in head size, among other symptoms, would indicate that it was time for shunt placement. Jax was born on May 25th, was released from the hospital following his lesion closure surgery on June 1st and was home with us until June 23rd before we had to go back to Strong for his shunt placement surgery.

We had been visiting Dr. Silberstein every couple of weeks to measure his head and at first it wasn't increasing that rapidly. The hope was to wait as long as possible to allow for Jackson's head to grow and develop normally without interfering with a surgery. However, on the Tuesday before his surgery while at his latest check-up the doc noticed his head had grew drastically. We had also noticed that he was a little sleepier than normal, a little fussier than normal, his fontanelle seemed fuller and he had started looking down a lot more (a symptom know as sundowning). We couldn't wait any longer....it was time for surgery.

In the early morning of June 23rd, we (and quite a few family members) traveled back up to Strong for Jackson's surgery. We had been preparing for this surgery since he was diagnosed, but it didn't make it any easier. Watching him being wheeled away again into surgery was heart-breaking. Luckily, the comedic stylings of Jason and Denise were a nice distraction. The procedure took about an hour and half and when it was over Dr. Silberstein came out to give us an update. The first thing he handed us was a baggie with Jackson's hair - his first haircut!! I'm glad they saved it for us. He said that everything went great...what a relief. Jax spent some time in recovery and then went up to the PICU. It was amazing how much better he seemed even in the early hours after surgery. He was so much more alert and the sundowning has been drastically reduced.

So, here's a little diagram of what the shunt looks like:

http://www.ksl.com/emedia/slc/1020/102003/10200370.jpg

The shunt is not programmable. It has a pressure valve behind his ear that releases the CSF through the tubing down into his lower abdomen (tubing is under the skin). It is then reabsorbed into his body or passes out through his kidneys. There is extra tubing in his abdomen to accomodate for his growth but more than likely he will have future surgeries to extend the tubing, change the valve or correct a shunt failure.

He stayed in the PICU for a night and was then transferred out to one of the children's wings where he stayed for two nights. He was released on Sunday, June 26th. He's been doing fantastic since being home. He's had a couple of follow-up appointments with Dr. Silberstein who is very pleased with everything he's been seeing. His head growth has slowed and is now following a more normal growth rate, his fontanelle is much softer than it was before, the sundowning has completely disappeared and he's a happy, happy baby. He will continue to get regular follow-ups with Dr. Silberstein and is also being followed by the Kirch Center at Strong. We go next week for our first appointment.

This is a before pic. You can see how big his forehead looks:

Shortly after surgery:

And some other pics from the hospital:

Jax has two scars on his head:

And one on his belly:

And one last picture of his first day home post surgery:

Read More 0 Comments | Posted By Robin

And here's what happened last week.....

...just in case you were wondering :)

Jackson had his regularly scheduled OT appointment on Monday. His therapist (Carrie) is continuing to work with him on his tracking and grasping among other things. Lots of play time is encouraged (oh darn!).

His two-month check-up was on Thursday. He's weighing in at 13 lbs. 12.5 oz. (80th percentile) and is 24 inches long (75% percentile). Dr. Alling nicely put that this would be expected because "his parents aren't exactly.....well, um.....small". Thanks Dr. Alling for not calling out the obvious need to diet/exercise...appreciate it! LOL

His head circumference is at 44.5 cm which is still off the charts but we expected this. His head size was well off the charts before his shunt surgery, hence the need for the surgery. Not to mention the fact that he comes from a family of big heads (just ask Jason and Denise - they've even weighed their heads to see whose head is the biggest!). We see his neurosurgeon (Dr. Silberstein) tomorrow for a check-up and hopefully he still likes what he's been seeing.

Jackson is such a tough, little guy. He had to get his vaccinations at this appointment and he didn't cry at all. This could be contributed to his Spina Bifida and reduced sensation in his legs, but I just like to think he's a tough guy! No major issues with the vaccinations - no fever, just a little fussiness. Which a little fussiness was okay with me...it just meant more snuggle time!

He's been having a great time with Grandma and Grandpa King during the day. I know they take great care of him and spend lots of time playing and snuggling. And I think we are all adjusting very well to me going back to work. We're getting a nice routine in place - he is a total water baby, he loves his bath time! Daddy will read him some books at night while Mommy feeds him his last bottle. He's been sleeping in his crib ever since we came home from the hospital the second time (end of June) and usually sleeps around 7 hours straight. Yes, we know...we are very lucky! Occasionally he will have a bad night, but overall he's a good sleeper like his Daddy.

On Friday, Jax met his Physical Therapist (Tammy). I wasn't able to make the appointment, but from what I hear she gave him quite the work out. Her goal is to have him supporting his own head by 3 months of age, which is not that far away. So, that means more tummy time for Jax, which he doesn't seem to mind. That might have something to do with having to spend the first few days of his live on his tummy. She's also working in stretching his neck and stretching/strengthening his leg muscles.

This past weekend was a pretty busy weekend with two birthday parties and visiting relatives that were up from Virginia. And, it doesn't look like it's going to get any less busy in the next few weeks....birthday parties, family get-togethers, etc. But, that's what summer is all about, right?

Oh yeah, and Jason and I are turning 30 in a few weeks!!!! Let the party planning begin!

Until next time.........
(p.s. I haven't forgotten that I owe you a post about the shunt surgery.....I'll have it done soon!)

Read More 0 Comments | Posted By Robin

Another Smith Family Blog

I started this blog as a way to keep family and friends, near and far, up-to-speed on what was going on with Jackson. Jackson was born with Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus. When he was born, he had to have surgery to close the lesion on his back and then had a follow-up a month later for his shunt placement. My goal was to make sure everyone got an updateon how things were going and what better way to mass-update then the good ole interweb ;) And since everyone isn't on FB (WHAT!?!), I figured that a blog would be the next best thing.

Since then, the blog has morphed into a plethora of stuff ranging from date nights, favorite recipes (okay, haven't posted any recipes yet, but they are in the works), our dog, our house, my awesome hubby, projects from Pinterest that I actually complete, SB awareness and what's going on in Jackson's world. I'll be honest, it's 73% about Jackson and raising a child with SB, at least according to my last calculation. Oh, and pictures. Lots of pictures.

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