Ebates! Ebates! Ebates!

Hey, you there! Have you ever heard of Ebates?

Well you should go check it out if you haven't, it's pretty awesome!

"Ebates.com is a great Web site that pays you cash back every time you shop online (up to 26% back!) Ebates works with 1,500 stores including Sephora, JCPenney, Kohl's, Home Depot, Overstock.com, Groupon, Barnes & Noble, and Walmart, so you are sure to find your favorites.

In addition to cash back, Ebates has thousands of great coupons, free shipping, and special offers from its stores, so you always get a great deal.

Membership at Ebates is free and there are no forms to fill in or points to redeem. You get paid cash back for shopping by check or Paypal. As an added bonus, we'll each get a $5 bonus from Ebates when you make your first purchase!"

I've used Ebates a few times, most recently when we bought our treadmill. I went to Ebates first, then chose Sears and voila a month or so later I got a check for $32.77 (6% cash back). If you do a lot of online shopping, this is a great way to get some extra cash. You planned on shopping online anyways, so why not go to Ebates first? They keep track of everything for you. It's free to join too.

So, go to Ebates. You won't be disappointed. :)

Check out their website here.

Catch ya later!

Read More 0 Comments | Posted By Robin

Another Day at Strong

On Thursday we made the trek to Strong for some follow-up appointments with Urology and the Kirch Center. It's not so much of a trek for me as I go to Henrietta every day for work, but for Jason and Jax it's a little more than they usually travel ;)

Jax did great on the car ride up there...he took a nap! I love it when that happens. LOL.

Our first appointment was in ultrasound to get a repeat renal ultrasound. Dr. Hulbert wanted to check on the kidney reflux, see how his kidneys were growing and check on his bladder. Jax loves to be nekkid so getting him down to his diaper was no issue at all. He had a great time getting the ultrasound. No fussing, no crying. Just laying there diaper-clad enjoying the attention from the tech. It was over with lickety-split and gave us two hours of wait time until we were supposed to be at Kirch.

We decided to go over to the Ronald McDonald House to visit and drop off some pop tabs. In case you didn't know, the Ronald McDonald House is collecting pop tabs. Check out more about this fundraising program here. I'm always willing to collect the tabs from anyone willing to donate, so let me know if you have any that you want to get rid of.

We really wanted to go over and make sure we introduced them all to Jax. It was because of them that we were able to be so close to him when he was born and during his shunt placement. It took us almost a year to get over there, but we finally did. It was nice to visit with them and as always they made us feel right at home. They are such great people and it is such a wonderful organization.

And I finally got Jason to get his picture taken with Ronald (hehe):

After visiting with the ladies at the Ronald McDonald House, we went back to the hospital grabbed some lunch (not bad for hospital food!) and headed to the Kirch Center.

While at Kirch we were scheduled to see the NP (Lorna), the Social Worker (Angela) and Dr. Hulbert. Unfortunately, Dr Hulbert had been called into emergency surgery but he did let Lorna know that he looked at the ultrasound and everything looked great! Woo hoo! Kidneys are growing fine and everything else looked good. We are going to continue with the preventive meds (Bactrim) for his reflux and follow up in another 6 months for a repeat ultrasound.

Lorna and Angela just wanted to check on how things were going and ask some developmental questions to access how Jax was doing. They were very pleased with how he is doing. He is still considered delayed (more on that from his PT and OT in a later post...eventually) but they are pleased with the amount of services that he is receiving now and don't think there is a need to increase or change it. Right now he is seen twice a week by his PT (Becca) and once a week by his OT (MacKenzie). Lorna and Angela both think he is the cutest little boy (obviously) and is doing really great.

After leaving Kirch we decided to go to the mall and window shop and search for the Easter Bunny. Daddy wanted to wander around Dick's and look at guns and such and that was really the only time Jax got a little cranky. But.....it was time to eat! :)

We found the Easter Bunny too:

A few more stores, a couple more stops, a visit and Grandma and Grandpa's and we were finally home. Long day, but a GREAT one! Way to go Jax. Keep up the good work!

Read More 0 Comments | Posted By Robin

AFOs are Here!

Jackson's AFOs came in this week. On Wednesday the orthotist stopped by my parent's house to drop them off and make sure they fit. He also give us a tutorial on how to use them properly.

Jax will be wearing these a few times a day for about an hour at a time. He can wear them with or without shoes. He's had them on a few times since Wednesday and doesn't seem to be bothered by them.

Here are some other pics from Wednesday:

This pair will last about six months unless he goes through a big growth spurt. Then it will be time for another pair. I wonder...stick with the flames or try something different?

Read More 0 Comments | Posted By Robin

Do You Hear What I Hear?

Last October before we went to the Kirch Center, one of our therapists told us to make sure we ask about Jackson's sight and hearing. She was a little concerned with his tracking and thought that maybe his eyes or his ears may be part of the problem. Personally, I had thought that both were fine but the docs at Kirch said better safe than sorry. So we began the process to get them both checked out.

We had his eyesight checked out in November (check out this post for more info). Getting the appointment for his hearing test proved to be a little more difficult. It was set up through Early Intervention and due to the timing, holidays and what not, our appointment wasn't until last week.

When we spoke to the developmental peds at Kirch, they suggested that Jackson get an ABR test due to his age. ABR stands for Auditory Brainstem Response. The test measures the hearing nerves response to different sounds. The Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh has a great description of the test on their website. The only thing about the test that made me a little nervous was that it is a sedated test. Sedation in general makes me nervous but even more so when they are going to do it to my child. But, I'd rather know for sure whether or not he had any hearing issues, so off to Rochester Jason, Jax and I went.

Jackson's appointment was at 9:30am and we were advised to make sure he didn't have anything to eat or drink after 7:30am and not to let him sleep in the car on the way there. Jackson almost always falls asleep in the car no matter where we were going, so for him to stay awake the entire time was going to be tough. Let me tell you, I had to pull out all the stops to keep him awake. Toys, books, singing, foolishness, bribery (not that he even knew what I was talking about)....I did it all. As soon as we pulled in the driveway at the Audiology office, he started to doze off. Good thing it was a bit breezy and a little chilly that day. He woke back up after we got him out of the car.

We were introduced to two doctors that were going to be part of the testing that day. They wanted to first try some behavioral testing to see if that would be enough for them to determine any hearing issues. This involved us going into a sound booth and having one of the doctors (in another room) call out Jackson's name through the sound system to see if he would look at the correct speaker that the sound was coming from. He wanted nothing to do with that. He started crying as soon as he heard "the voice". Being hungry and tired didn't really help, but I think it was more because "the voice" was LOUD!! I don't think they really checked the sound level before they started and her booming voice startled him. Heck, it even startled me. So, no behavioral testing...on to the ABR.

We were taken into another room and Jackson and I went into the sound booth, got comfortable in the chair and the nurse administered the sedative. It was called chloral hydrate and she gave it to him in an oral syringe. She warned us that most babies don't like the taste and also become irritable before falling asleep so Jackson might follow suit. But our awesome little guy swallowed all of the medicine and fell asleep peacefully.

They attached three electrodes to his head: one on his forehead and the other two behind each ear. The one that was supposed to be behind his right ear had to be moved because the fluid around his shunt was skewing the readings. So, it was placed on his earlobe. The electrodes were connected to a computer out in the other room. The nurse then took turns placing an earbud-type thing in his ears and the doctor played sounds at different loudness levels to see how the nerves responded. The test took about an hour and I was having trouble staying awake. It was nice and quiet and dark in the room...perfect conditions for a nap. Even Jason fell asleep out in the other room!

Based on the results of the test, the audiologist confirmed that at this time Jackson has no issues with hearing. Woo hoo!!!!! No follow-ups are scheduled at this time.

Side effects of the chloral hydrate included increased drowsiness and possible diarrhea among a couple of other things. He did sleep quite a bit more that day, which was totally understandable and the sedative actually helped a little with his constipation. As always, he was such a good little kiddo and handled the testing great. He even woke up before we left and batted the baby blues at the nurse and doctor and gave them a big ole smile.

After the appointment we went over to see Megan at Strong Perinatal Associates. We absolutely loved going there throughout our pregnancy and wanted to make sure that we kept in touch. The downside is that Jackson slept the whole time, but that gives a reason to go back and visit again!

We also went to Red Robin for lunch (Red Robin...yum!) and did a little shopping afterwards. Overall, a very positive day!

Read More 0 Comments | Posted By Robin

AFO Fitting

No, not UFO Sighting. AFO Fitting. AFO, you ask? Ankle-Foot Orthosis

Jax's physical therapist wants him to get some help with his dorsiflexion, provide support for his ankles and help compensate for his leg/ankle weaknesses. Right now, when Jax weight bears on his legs most of the brunt is felt by the ankle which isn't what is supposed to happen. This is due in part to his dorsiflexion issues. His feet are angled more so that his toes point towards his shins. He's been wearing shoes more often which has helped but the AFO will help so much more.

The DAFO FA is the type of brace that Jax will be using.

We got a prescription from Dr. Alling based on our PT's recommendations and have been working with Jax's EI coordinator to get him set up with the AFOs. Last week, an orthotist from Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics came to my parent's house and custom fit Jax for his AFOs.
It's actually a relatively simple process. They basically make a cast of each leg, cut them off and then use them to create the AFO. Actually creating the AFO might not be that easy but for what Jax had to do it was a piece of cake. Below are some pics of the process:

We were able to choose the foam color, strap color, and style of the AFOs. There were many cute choices but this was definitely the one we HAD to choose:

Flames!!!

Here's what the little molds look like:

Jax, as usual, did great throughout the entire process. He played with Daddy's beard, watched what the orthotist was doing and eventually fell asleep during the casting of the second leg.

After we woke up from his nap we went out to breakfast with our parents. Yum!

It will take about 3 weeks for the AFOs to be made. He won't have to wear them all of the time at this point. Mainly for when he is playing. I'll post pics of them once they arrive.

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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