Finger Surgery

Ok so surgery details and updates!

My little lucky fin had his first hand surgery on Thursday (10/23/14) on his left hand.

This is what it looked like going into surgery. This way you can visualize it as I try to explain all that they worked on. 

As you can see the pointer finger and the pinkie finger both still had bands around the tops. People often question what I mean when I say he still had bands, so here it is. The bands are still technically active due to the fact that as he grows, the bands to not and would eventually amputate the tips of his fingers. At least this is my understanding. So because of this, the bands needed to be cut and released so this would not happen. The doctor went in and did what is called a "Z-stitch" which means exactly what it sounds like, they stitch up his finger in the pattern of a Z. 

Next. The middle finger and ring finger were fused together as you can see above. The doctor split the two and did a Z-stitch on the middle finger as well and tried to make it "less bulbly" as the doc put it as well as removing the little bundle of skin. 

We went in bright and early at 6 am that morning and waiting until 8:50 for him to be taken back for surgery. He was starving and exhausted to say the least but he made it through. The nurse was awesome and came out a few times to give us updates on how he was doing. Each time was a positive report! 

We waited what seemed to be forever and around 10:40 the doctor came out and told us the good news, that he was done and was able to accomplish everything he had wanted! We could see our little man in just a little bit but had to wait for them to cast his hand. 

When we got back there he was not happy :( It's so hard seeing your baby. Your one year old baby hooked up to all sorts of machines, screaming because he's hungry but his throat had a breathing tube down it during surgery so it's all scratchy and dry. It's rough to see. And then when you get to hold him, to finally hold that precious child and he calms down while he eats but still isn't happy... That sucks. They ended up having to give him some more Valium because he wouldn't calm down. Needless to say he slept after that while we tried to get his stats stabilized. That took about 2 hours before we could leave the recovery room and go back down to our room that we were in that morning. Little man seemed to just sleep all day but when he was awake he was happy! It was precious :) Our good friend Joe decided to stop by with some coffee which was great! We spent the rest of the afternoon debating whether or not to stay over night to monitor his stats or not (it was his breathing.) After a lot of deliberation we decided it was safe to go home! We ended up leaving around 4:45 to finally go home! Jude did relatively well his first night with a cast, woke up a few times but went back to sleep. And ever since surgery he has been so cuddly and just wants to be held! So cute and this mommy loves it! 

Since being home we have had some big adjustments. Things people don't warn you about and you don't think about. You think of all the normal things such as pain levels, not being able to use that hand, hitting things with his cast, etc. But what you don't think about is how will he crawl on the tile? Will he hold a bottle? How about holding his food pouches without them falling? Also, the pain meds mess with my baby! I hate giving it to him but how can I not when he just had surgery and is in pain. I'm just gonna say it: having a baby in a cast, sucks. So there it is, although I am SO grateful that he pulled through and he is a strong little boy and will do just fine, as a mom I hate seeing it. I hate knowing that he is only cuddling because he is in pain and doesn't feel well. Things that I can't necessarily control. 

Anyway, I'm done and now onto some pictures from the big day! 

This picture was taken after the extra dose of Valium to help him calm down in the recovery room.

Wagon ride to keep the little man entertained while we wait to go home!

Cuddling with mommy :)

And his cool new camo cast and eating a popsicle to help his throat! 

He will have his cast until November 13 at least and then we will figure out the next surgery for his right hand. 

Have A Blessed Day! 

So much going on!

I hate not having a computer charger! Can't write enough and then I feel like all my posts are so long! So I will do a quick update here and then have another post for surgery :)


As most of you know, Jude turned 1 on the 19th! I was proud of myself and kept it together quite nicely. We had a sports themed birthday party for him and all friends and family were there to celebrate. It was quite nice :) Below are some pictures of his big day! We got a jersey made for him to wear on his birthday and it turned out really well!

We had his birthday at our clubhouse and they put this on the welcome sign! Loved driving up to see this :)

A very uneventful cake smash lol. He seemed to have no interest in the cupcake at all! Oh well, I'll be happy if he isn't a fan of sugary things! 

Showing off his new boots that he got! 

His special jersey :)

We had a blast at his birthday and are so grateful for everyone that was able to come and celebrate with us! Thank you and we can't wait for more birthdays to come! 

Have a Blessed Day

Almost ONE, here we come!

Holy cow time does fly by! I can't believe my little man will be one in a week! ONE! How is this possible? It seems like just last week we were off and running to the hospital because I was in labor. It seems like just yesterday I was holding him for the first time, hearing him cry and needing to be loved and cuddled. Now my little man is off and running! He started walking a few weeks ago and doesn't ever seem to have time to stop moving. As I read back over that it seems about though he is walking consistently but he's not, just a fast crawler and a soon to be runner ;) 

He is progressing like every child around his age too. He can pick things up with no problems, he can walk like I said and nothing stops him. I'm so proud to see him accomplish so much at such a young age! I knew to never put limits on him, simply saying that he wouldn't be able to do something but in the back of my mind I did think that it would take some extra time. I honestly thought that he would be a late walker considering he is missing all toes on one of his feet. He proved me wrong to say the least! I also thought that grabbing toys or something small like a Cheerio would take some extra time as well, yet he has been doing that for months now! I can't wait to see what else he proves me wrong with ;)

Surgery update:

I think I had said in the past that he would hopefully have his hand surgeries when he turned one and we are still hoping for that! We had an appointment at Shriners for the surgeon to take a look and see when it would be possible to start the surgeries and they said they are hoping to get us in on October 23! I had been praying it would be after his first birthday so he wouldn't have a cast and I think that's what will happen! We are still waiting to get the confirmation call but I think that will come this week as well as a pre-op appointment and then surgery will be a week from Thursday! 

Now... I'm going to try and explain what they will do to his hands so hopefully you can follow along :)

They will start with his left hand. See the picture below so you can understand easier what they will do. 

First, there are bands around his pointer and pinkie finger. They will go in and release the bands, this way when he grows, they bands wont grow. Meaning. As he grows and gets older, if the bands are not released they could eventually amputate his finger from the band up. So they will go in and cut the band and create a "Z" stitch which basically looks like Charlie Browns sweater or, a Z :) Next they will go and separate the ring finger and middle finger. There is more than enough skin for them to accomplish this with no problem. After that they will release the band that is wrapped around his middle finger and try to make it less of a bulb. There's a term for it that I can't remember, but his middle finger will always have the bulb as it is part of ABS. But, they will try and make it less so it is easier for him to function. That will all happen within on surgery and then he will be in a full cast called a club cast. This means that the cast will completely cover his hand and fingers and go all the way up to his shoulder. He will be in the cast for roughly 4 weeks while everything heals up. 

Next one

Now to me, I always thought this hand would only need one surgery and if anything his left hand would need more than one but I was wrong. Goes to show how much I actually know! Ha. So his right hand will need to separate surgeries unfortunately. The reason being is that they can only operate on one side of the finger each time so if the hand needs fixing on both sides of the finger it must be separate surgeries. So this one they will separate the pinkie and ring finger, hoping to keep the pinkie tip but there are no guarantees that they can do that depending on how the tip gets the blood flow. He will then be in the same type of cast, they club cast for roughly 4 weeks as well and then go back in, once it is 100% healed for the next step which is just making a cut between his ring finger and middle finger. It is more webbed than we thought and so they will make it less webbed so he can use his fingers better. He will be in the same cast for the same amount of time. 

To say we have a long road ahead is an understatement but we are ready. Having his first surgery on his foot back in the summer really helped prepare me for what is to come. These surgeries will be around 2-2.5 hours so it is much longer than his foot but I think we are ready. Personally, I am ready because I want to see how he grows and functions when his fingers are separated and he can use them better. I'm nervous and excited all at the same time. I know he will be amazing and pull through like a champ :)  

Now for some cute pictures over the past few weeks :) 

We took a shopping trip with some friends down to Ikea. Well we had to get quite a few big items and we had 2 kids, 1 stroller and this flat cart. Jude is a little older and so we put him on the cart like this and wheeled him around Ikea. He loved it! 

We went on a bike ride and I happened to grab his rain coat incase it started to rain... Needless to say it did and we got wet. At least I got a cute picture out of it! 

This is one of my favorite pictures. This is our friend Justin sitting with Jude showing him how to throw a basketball and roll a soccer ball. It was captured perfectly! 

Have A Blessed Day :)

One of those days

Today (and the last few days) have been one of those days. You know, the ones that make you mad and jealous and sad all at the same time. I see so many baby pictures and hear stories of other babies and I'm mad my little one is missing fingers and toes. I realize these new parents don't know any better, I'm sure I would do the same but man... It kills me seeing all their pictures of "cute baby toes" or "look at those perfect little baby feet" or the picture where all fingers are wrapped around mom or dads finger. We will never get that with Jude.

*** Disclosure *** 

I love my little man with every fiber of my body and he is perfect and will accomplish anything he sets his mind to!

With that said. As a mom of a child who is missing fingers and toes you can only imagine how hard it is to see brand new, precious newborns, with all ten fingers and ten toes. I sometimes can't help but to be mad and ask why. Why us? Why Jude?

Sometimes I just get so frustrated that I want to punch a hole in the wall or scream. He is growing up so fast and accomplishing so much already but I realized, I wont have to hear him crying and running to me because he slammed fingers in the door. I wont be able to comfort him when he is crying because he can't wear flip flops. We wont have those moments. I realize to most parents those are dreaded moments that they try to keep their kids from but me, I'm going to miss those things. I know it may sound crazy to all of you but until you go through it, until you have a child who is missing fingers and toes (or more) I'm sorry but you wont understand.

I also wonder what he will think if we get pregnant again and our second baby is born with all ten fingers and ten toes. Will Jude be jealous or mad that he doesn't have them? Will the sibling ever tease Jude for his lucky fins? I hope that we raise all of our kids to never tease anyone like that but you know how siblings can be towards each other!

It makes me sad to think about the potential of how kids will treat him when he gets to school. I often wonder how kids will react to him and his precious fingers and toes. I dread the days that he comes home from school, holding back tears because the kids in his class were mean to him. I sometimes think about how I will handle it when he does go to school... Will I talk to the teachers and principle extensively about ABS and how to handle it? Will I maybe talk to his whole class about how he is a little different but that it doesn't mean he can't do all that the other kids can do?

I know that he is only 10 months old and we have a long way to go but as a mommy, you think about your children and what the future holds for your kids quite often.


Anyway, on the bright side Jude now blows kisses and cut his first tooth!! (FINALLY!) He is taking it like a champ and is adorable with his first little snaggle tooth :) He is also trying to stand on his own now which makes me scared cause that could mean walking soon and this mommy isn't ready for that! He is already on the go so much that I'm not sure I'm ready for him to be walking yet! He crawls super fast and gets into lots of trouble at home ;) I love him so much and know he will do great things!


Here are a few pictures taken by a good friend of mine! She and her husband are photographers/videographers. We took the boys out one day and she got some great shots! Check out more of their work here!

http://www.highlightstudios.net/ 

Jude and his buddy Jax

Never leaves without that bunny!

Have A Blessed Day!

Quick Update

Jude gives high fives! Or are they a high 2 1/2's? Ha either way, he is high five-ing (most of the time) waves hello and goodbye and claps!

He just turned 10 months and I feel like as soon as that day came, he has changed more drastically than in the last 9 months combined. He crawls every where and FAST! I chase him all around the house as he crawls and pulls up on anything and everything. There are times where I go in the kitchen for a few seconds (in eye shot of the living room) and next thing I know he is down by my feet crawling around... HOW DO THEY DO THAT?? He is a fast little sucker.

Not only that but his personality is growing so much and you can see how he is blossoming. It's super precious :) 

I wish I had more time to write but life is crazy right now so I must move on! Thanks for stopping by though!

Have a Blessed Day :) 

Stay Positive!

This post is dedicated to all the positive things about ABS. I know as a mommy who has a son affected by this it can be hard to stay positive. Well I am in a bible study now all about being a positive mom and I thought it would be good to list all the good things about ABS.

Here goes!

- Only a few fingernails to trim

- Only a few toenails to trim

- Can't flick anyone off (  ;)  )

- No need to buy flip flops

- Get to know so many other families with children with ABS

- Be taught awesome lessons from my son

- Anything I think he can't do and does, is incredible

- He can beat all odds

- He will be a hard worker

- He will be determined

- Some shoes and socks fit for a longer time

I know that there are a million other things and I will add to it as I think of them but for now, this is my little list. Growing daily. But I have this list written down so that I (and any others) can look at this and know there are some good things about ABS! I know many of us parents can dwell on all the negative (trust me, that's all I could think about while I made this list) but you have to stop thinking about the "bad" and start realizing that all of those things, your children will prove you wrong in and do anything they set their minds to. Feel free to comment with any other positive ideas as well! 

Have A Blessed Day!

Shoes in Holland

Since it's summer everyone is wearing flip flops or going barefoot. Well... when you have a son who is missing toes on one foot you start to realize how important or not important shoes are. If you ask my husband he will tell you that I absolutely love baby shoes! When I was pregnant that's all I wanted to buy, shoes. I guess its the girl in me ;) Anyway, its hard seeing all these cute little babies and toddlers in flip flops knowing that my son will never be able to wear normal flip flops. But! The fun and positive part of it all is that I then get to go look for other types of sandals that his adorable little feet will fit in and lets me honest, he looks cute in anything!

An update on my little guppy is that he is now crawling everywhere and pulling up on anything and everything! I am chasing him around all day everyday and when it comes to naps! Forget it! Unless he falls asleep while he is being fed and rocked there is no way that he will lay down and nap. He gets up and plays all the time, nap time is a joke now... Hoping that's just a phase!

I have a fun story for you guys since it seems to have been a while since the last post. All about being positive!

So since Jude is up and crawling everywhere we put him on the floor while we get ready so he can crawl and play rather than be strapped into a toy. Well the other day we were in his room and he has a floor fan and when we change him it gets moved off the changing table onto the floor. If you don't remember to put it back up, little man will get into it for sure! So we caught him crawling towards the fan and told him no, that he doesn't have any fingers to spare if they got caught in the fan! He also did this with the door while he was playing with it the other night. Now he's never gotten hurt and the positive (I always try to see the positive, even when my natural instinct is to be negative) is that if a door slams in his fingers, it probably wont matter because they are shorter! (and cuter ;) ) He is going to be lucky whenever he has a sibling come along who tries to close his fingers in the door, he can giggle and laugh at them because it wont happen as often if at all :)


Something else that has been on my mind is a story that I read in my bible study this past week. It was about a mom who had a child with a disability and was asked to describe what it was like to raise a child like that. Now, I don't know about any of you but I have never been asked that, maybe it happens when they are older but it has never happened so far. Anyway, she goes on to say that it is like a vacation. You have this plan that you are going to Italy, a fun, fast paced environment, you've had friends go there and it's all the craze, so you decide to go. You get on the plan and endure the long flight there only to find out you're in Holland! Yes. Holland, not Italy like you planned. You now have to vacation in an unexpected, unplanned place but you make the best of it and enjoy your time there.

Now, I read this and cried because it was the perfect explanation on what it is like! I went through my pregnancy with a few friends and their children were all born with fingers and toes and no problems and yet here I was in Holland with a newborn missing fingers and toes and I was devastated. I now can't even imagine my life in "Italy" with everyone. It's like a breath of fresh air and I am so grateful for my son and his lucky little fins. They are truly amazing and it's even more amazing to see him use his hands and feet for anything and everything. Not only that but he is keeping up with all the other kids and is having no issues what-so-ever. I am beyond blessed to have him as my child and consider it great joy to go through life with him. He has taught me so much already that I can't even think about what the future brings!

Here is a link to the story if anyone wants to read it :)

http://www.our-kids.org/archives/Holland.html

Have a Blessed Day!  

9 Months

Wow I didn't realize how long it had been since the last post! Guess I've been a little bit busier than I thought :) Let see... We have fully moved into the new place, everything is hung up and decorated and put away! Not even a month later and we are all set and ready to play! Little man has been crawling like a pro lately and keeping me very busy. He started army crawling before his surgery but perfected the practice soon after and has only gotten faster. He now tries to really crawl but only gets one or two before realizing sliding on his belly is faster. Funny thing though, little man hates our tile floors. What's funny though?! He like other peoples tile floors! I don't understand! He will crawl on pretty much any other tile and as soon as he is home and gets off the blanket or toy mat, he is not a happy camper; little booger is picky ha.

He has also been eating like a big boy and eating us out of house and home already. Dude, you are 9 months, slow your roll or we are gonna be livin on the streets! ;) just kidding but he really is chowing down on quite a bit of food lately. I'm assuming it's his lovely growth spurt of 9 months since Saturday he will be 9 months old!! I can't believe that my baby. My one and only little boy, will be 9 months old. It seems like just last week I was pregnant and craving tacos all the time. It seems like yesterday I was rushing to the hospital in labor waiting to meet him! Like it was a few hours ago holding him for the very first time. Loving on him and realizing that I had just become a mommy, but no, that was 9 months ago! Now we are planning first birthdays and more surgeries. Oh how times flies! In just 3 short months we will watch our silly boy smash into his very first birthday cake and smear it all over. I am quite excited for that moment, to capture it forever with a picture, to frame it and show his girlfriends down the road. Man... 9 months.

Here are a few pictures we have captured over the last few weeks :) Enjoy!

Happy 8 months little man! 

His aunt captured these lovely faces of his! Never a dull moment :) 

This was dinner time! 

He was helping mommy unpack after moving

First pool day at the new house! 

Have a Blessed Day!

1 down 3 to go!

Yesterday was the day. It was the day of our little guppys first surgery!

Short back story: we are moving and so all last week, leading up to surgery I was very preoccupied with packing. This made my life easier when it came to surgery because I didn't have time to think about what was about to happen to my little man. I didn't have time to think about all of the what ifs or possibilities. The only time I thought about the surgery was when someone would ask how I was doing, or when I would ask my husband how he was doing with it all. With that said, Monday morning came very quick. 

Before I knew it, it was Sunday night and I was packing all I needed and setting my alarm for the following morning. 4:45 am is when I would get up and start prepping everything for his surgery. The next few hours went by way to quickly for me! We packed some food for my husband and I and all of Jude's comfort items and left to make it to the hospital by 6:00 am. We got there and they prepped him and got all vitals and everything they needed, all while he cried because he was so hungry. I feel horrible that we couldn't feed him! Around 8 (his scheduled surgery time) they took us down to the pre op room and we talked with the doctors and nurses about what was about to happen. While down there Jude got extremely fussy because she was so tired and hungry so I put him in the bed and he feel fast asleep. The doctors came back in to take him back into the operating room. Aaron and I got to give him a hug and a kiss and they wheeled him on back. 

The next hour went by quickly and they soon came out to tell us all went well and he was in recovery! 

For those that don't know, he had his toenail removed from his right foot. This foot was affected by ABS and curves his toes so this was the only nail and it was growing sideways into his other toes. They decided to remove it so it wouldn't cause any infections or problems later on down the road. 

So they pulled us back into recovery where little man was screaming because he was so hungry! He hadn't eaten anything since 1:30 the night before and it was now 9:20! I got to feed him and cuddle with him for the next hour or so and then we went back to the original hospital room we were in in the beginning. We were there just to wait to be discharged! That process took about another hour or so. The nurse practitioner and other nurses kept coming in to tell us about the healing process and what to do and not to do. They were all so sweet and Jude was very happy now that he was fed! 

We were able to go home quite quickly where Jude took a nice long nap. When he woke up he was back to his normal happy self! He is a trooper; only had a few doses of Tylenol and had been off it all day today! He is crawling around and acting like nothing ever happened! We are super happy that it all went well and couldn't thank you all enough for the support you have given us! We know this wasn't the end and he will have more surgeries to come but I'm just happy that 1 is down and we only have 2 more to go! 

Few cute pictures for you guys from his surgery day! 

Right before they took him back for surgery

In his adorable hospital gown! 

Post surgery playing with his toys!

Have a Blessed Day! 

ABS vs Symbrachydactyly

NOTE** Not sure what's up with the white background... tried everything to fix it but it's not working. Hope you enjoy the blog anyway! 

This was a very interesting article that I read through The Lucky Fin Project. They posted this on their facebook group and I knew I had to share! It goes into the difference between ABS and Symbrachydactyly and why it is so commonly confused with one another. It was written by a Dr though limbdifferences.org. Awesome new site that I am going to play around on! I'll let ya know how I like it ;) 

Anyway!

A lot of times Symbrachydactyly is confused with ABS but the main difference that I saw was that Symbrachydactyly doesn't even let the fingers form. Whereas ABS, they are formed and then in the 3rd trimester are affected by the bands. Symbrachydactyly is often mis diagnosed with ABS when it's actually a totally different thing! Also, ABS can affect any part of the body and Symbrachydactyly primarily only affects the hands! Super interesting to read and I encourage you to look it over! It's not very long which is nice so it won't take much of your time :) The link is below! 

https://www.facebook.com/notes/lucky-fin-project/symbrachydactyly-vs-abs-what-is-the-difference/637487209601487

I also encourage any parents who read this to go to the Connect page on limbdifferences.org. There are so many different posts, articles and other parents with stories, encouragement or advice. I've been reading them for over an hour now and I can't stop! It's nice to see I'm not alone. (I know I'm not but sometimes you forget!)

Also, this is a cool page that shows the different names for hand/finger losses. Maybe you were given an iffy diagnosis; this can help you out! It's written by the same Dr who wrote the short article above!

http://www.netorthodoc.org/2LochnerCongenital%20Hand6UpForPrint.pdf

Of course I couldn't post without a cute little story ;)

So I was at my in laws the other day and Jude was playing with all his aunts and uncles (7 of them!). My mother in law was showing me how to recover some chairs that we bought for our new house. Anyway, they were in the living room and kept saying "give me a high five, give me a high five", and then you could hear them kind of stop talking and one of my sisters in law came in and said "what do we call it? He doesn't have five fingers! What about a high 2 1/2 and a high 3 1/2?" We all got a giggle out of it and my brother in law (who is 7) said, "lets just pound it!) Made me smile that they work with him on his little lucky fins :)

 Have A Blessed Day :) 

Two Stories in Two Days

So I have the pleasure of telling you all two wonderful stories about my son that happened within 2 days of each other. Here it goes!

Day 1:

My lovely husband and I are moving (as you may know) and so we decided to have a garage sale. Try and make a few extra bucks and sell a lot that we didn't need. Well, if you have ever done a garage sale you know how tiring they are! I told Aaron that I didn't want to make dinner because I was so tired and so we decided to go out and eat. We just went to a nice place right down the road from home and our course had the little squirt with us and as always he catches everyones attention. Well the waitress loved him from the beginning and he had eyes for her too! He would stare at her anytime she got close to us; it was quite funny. Now, her husband was 2 booths behind us and since our little man kept starting she told her hubby to look at this cute baby. He came over to see him and started talking with us about being parents and his story and kids and all that good stuff. About 7 minutes or so into the conversation Jude started reaching for this guys face and cross necklace and at that point he noticed Jude's hands and asked. Aaron and I looked at each other to see who would explain Jude's story and I got picked. I was able to tell this man all about ABS and about Jude. He stood there and talked with us for another 7 minutes or so and kept telling us that his hands and feet didn't matter. That Jude was a beautiful baby with a wonderful spirit and could make anyone smile and that's what mattered. After this man walked away I looked ay my husband, almost in tears over our son. The fact that we get to share his story so much and will get to the rest of his life. I absolutely love it and loving being able to tell people about ABS and hearing their responses. They're always so different but all end with 'he is a beautiful boy and his smile is contagious' or at least something along those lines!

Now for day 2:

We were now on our second day of the garage sale and exhausted to say the least. I hate haggling with people and getting up early... Why I do garage sales, I will never know! Anyway, Aaron had left to go play football with some on his friends so it was just me and the little squirt working the garage sale. I had him sitting next to me in a travel bassinet and some toys. Again people would comment on how cute and well behaved he was being. Well there was this one family who came up looking for electronics; they had a little girl about 7 or 8 years old... maybe a little younger (I'm horrible at guessing ages!) She gravitated toward Jude and he was just staring at her the whole time. She was playing with him and touching his hands and feet and immediately noticed his hands were different. The little girl came right out and asked what was wrong with his hands. Of course the parents were trying to hush her and apologizing for the lack of manners and I told them it was perfectly ok! Kids are kids and she wasn't asking to be rude or anything, she was genuinely curious as to why Jude's hands and feet didn't look the same. So I gave them my typical shpeal about ABS and both parents chimed in and were very curious. I bet we stood there and talked about ABS for 15 minutes! It was awesome and the little girl said that it didn't matter because he was the cutest baby she had ever seen. She proceed to ask if she could stay and play with him all day! Ha! Gotta love little kids :)


Needless to say we had an eventful weekend and Jude was able to share his story a little more. I hope that whoever read's this, you are able to see his journey and my journey as his mother. Maybe that can help you along with whatever it may be you are going though!

Have a Blessed Day!

Whirlwind!

The last week or so have been so crazy and busy! One of my best friends got married so that took up all of our time; naturally. May I just say that other than my own wedding, this was the most beautiful, Christ centered weddings I have ever been to! Not only that but the bride and groom were glowing with love! Look at how gorgeous they were!

Congratulations Matt and Mackenzie! I wish you both a lifetime of happiness! You both are amazing and I love you to the moon and back! 

Now, on to my lucky little fin :)

We are now coming up on his first surgery and to be honest... I'm freaking out! Pretty sure that's normal though considering he is the light of my life and he has to get surgery. I didn't even have surgery until I was in college and my husband has never had surgery. A lot of people go through their whole lives without being put under and yet my baby, my little 7 month old ball of energy, has to have surgery. Now, I try to count my blessings of my little man on a daily basis but there are days where I question. Why? Why him and why so young? 

As a mom, when you are pregnant, there are a million questions that go through your head and a million different thoughts. You start to wonder and think of all the things that could go "wrong." 

**Quotes because I think that nothing can go wrong, it's exactly how it is supposed to happen**

You think "maybe my child will have a disability, or a mental issue. Maybe they will come out with a club foot or cleft pallet. Maybe they will grow up and had ADD or something like that." Your mind wonders through so many different questions and ideas because you honestly have no clue. Yes, there is testing but I have heard so many mixed reviews that, why bother? Sometimes you take the test for down syndrome and it comes back positive so they do another test, all the while you are stressing about your first results to then see it come back negative. Anyway, with those thoughts, you also think, there is no way that my baby will have anything like that. He or she will come out perfect! In my opinion, all babies are perfect :) 

So as I was having all these thoughts I was looking around me and also thought that there is no way. What are the odds that my child would have something like this? Sure enough, he does and we have a long journey ahead of us. But! We are prepared as we will ever get and now prepping for surgery in June. My little guppy is strong and I know will have no problems! He is a champ and this is the first of many! Mommy loves you little man! 

Just a few pictures to update you all :)

Loves bath time and chewing towels

Bridal party imitating the groomsmen

Sitting up on his own

Bride on the left ! 

Have a Blessed Day! 

Count Your Blessings!

I am a part of a group on Facebook that is for breastfeeding mommies as well as mommy advice. There are over 26,000 members so there are A LOT of posts on there daily! Posts range from all over which is nice and makes for a fun day if I have time to look the posts over. Very entertaining!

Anyway, tonight I say a post with a picture of baby feet and I wondered what the post could be about so I clicked the picture. Well the mom was asking if her sons toes looked alright. That the second toe seemed to be shorter than the other toes. My first reaction was "Are you kidding me??!" To be honest I was a little upset that this mom had the nerve to post a picture about her son's almost perfect toes because one looked shorter than the others. I almost made a comment that was very rude and luckily I thought before I posted and decided it was a bad idea. I scrolled on and tried to forget about this mom's picture and question.

My night goes on and my son and I do our whole bedtime routine of a bath, food and then bed. Not once does this post cross my mind because I have forgotten all about it and moved on. Well I get on my computer after he is asleep and I am scrolling and there it is again!

** Let me just say, most of the time, I never see the same post twice from this group page because there are so many and that mixed with my friends; they tend to disappear. **

But! The picture was there and it had quite a few comments on it so of course I had to look. In my mind there was going to be a comment about how silly this mother was being and she needs to calm down. (Just being honest!) And there were no comments like that at all! Every mom said something about her son or daughters toes and there were quite a few pictures. At this point I got a little upset. Again, how could she worry about something so silly when my son doesn't even have toes! Maybe it was jealousy, maybe not, either way it upset me.

After thinking about how I could politely say that she is being crazy I commented on her post. I stated that she should count her blessings that her son has all of his toes and I posted a picture of my son missing his toes. Nothing has come of it and I don't expect it too with how people react in person but it just seemed silly.

Once I made the post I couldn't help but laugh at how silly this mom was! Needless to say I hope that my son having ABS made another mommy think and count her blessings that her child has all his toes.

With that said. I absolutely love my sons little toes and I went back into his room after all of this to just stare at his most perfect fingers and to give him a little kiss on his perfect little toes.

I have always heard "God only gives special children to special parents" and I hope that I can make that true. Maybe by calming down and making a light hearted post, my little guppy has changed another life. I know he sure has changed mine and I am forever grateful for that!

Just wanted to share a fun photo of my little guppy helping me with the laundry!

Have a Blessed Day! 

House Hunting!

Ugh. Over the last 5 years I have moved 11 times and now... we have to move again! Making this, number 12. I hate moving! It would be so much better if this move was going to be our final move and we would be done but nope! Not an option now so I just have to suck it up and move on! Needless to say, I have a fun story that comes out of this that has to do with my little guppy, Jude.

Today he and I had a full day of errands, lunch dates and other meetings which I dragged him all over town for. One of our stops was to look at some nice apartments that could potentially be our next home.

Side note: I have only been looking for the last 24 hours but when I get into something like this, I don't stop until my goal is complete so by this point, I'm exhausted.

We pull up to the complex and we are greeting by a very nice lady which my immediate thought was that she was just trying to sell an apartment to me which is why she was so nice. As we move into her office she boldly states that notices his fingers are different. I was a little taken-aback by this because most people dodge around or wait for me to bring up his perfect little hands and toes. She on the other hand dove right in! I of course tell her in a sweet voice that he was born with ABS and I explain all about what it is but how we are fortunate with how it affected him. Meaning, it didn't take his arm or leg or hurt him even worse.

After I tell her about this she continues on to ask questions and wonder about surgeries and how he will do growing up. I just want to say, I was almost in tears with how we were talking. She was so very sweet and encouraging through the whole situation. Most people ask and after I explain they want to move on, almost as if they are uncomfortable with the situation. This lady? Nope! Pressed on hardcore. Enough that I was able to tell her how we specifically prayed for his fingers and toes and were upset at God on why he didn't grant that. Come to find out that she is a believer too and that leads on to a whole other conversation!

All I have to say is that as much as I hate looking for a new house/apartment, this made it just a little bit better. Almost makes me want to live there so that I can talk to her all the time!

I just wanted to share this story because even in the crappy situations in life, believer or not, there's always some good either in the situation itself or right around the corner. The odds of us moving to this apartment are slim but it's still nice to know that there are people out there who actually care and are sweet when it comes to lucky fins.


Oh! I finally added his 5 month photo with dad :) Working on uploading his 6 month one before he turns 7 months! Life is crazy!

Just wanted to add an extra photo and show him off :)

Have a Blessed Day!

Embrace the Shake

Before you continue on reading please watch this video. It's 10 minutes long but if you don't watch it then the rest of this post will make no sense to you. I promise it's worth your time! Even if you don't read the blog, the video is awesome.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrZTho_o_is&feature=youtu.be

So a few weeks ago in the small group my husband and I are a part of, our leader showed us this video. The whole time I couldn't help but think about my little man and all that he is about to go through in life. I have been asked or heard people say that he is going to have a hard time with this or with that. That he probably wont be able to do this every day activity or whatever it may be. Well ya know what... You're wrong! My son will be able to do anything, want to know why, because we will teach him to "Embrace the Shake." 

After our small group leader showed the video he asked what our limitations were and what are some  ways we could get past them to do what we wanted to do. I spoke up and said that it wasn't limitations for me but for my son. That people say he's going to have a hard time in life and sometimes I can't help but to think that and then I change my mind and think he will be able to do anything. But I think that while he is growing up and learning, he may have some limitations that he will have to overcome. We then discussed how the way that my husband and I raise our child will help with what is a "limitation" for Jude and what isn't. Our attitudes will help him overcome these so called limitations and help him push past whatever it is he thinks he can't do. 

We then continued talking with others in the group about their limitations and how they can move past; but since this video, I can't stop thinking about how me and my husband will need to teach our child to "embrace the shake" and what are ways that we can do that without pushing our child into anything. Phil Hansen says in the video "We have to be limited before we can be limitless." By far my favorite quote from the video and so powerful. To think that before we can even think about pushing past our limitations, we have to have limits! We cannot be limitless until we have limits that we break through. So awesome. Man.... Give me all the limitations in the world so I can beat them and become limitless! 

Another quote from him was that we need to "look at limitations as a source for creativity." I will tell Jude this quote as he grows up because there will be times where he will need to embrace this and try a different way to accomplish his task. I'm sure that there will be times when he won't be able to do something that the others kids are doing; unless he thinks creatively which is where his limitations come into play. I know that my boy will be healthy and strong as he continues to grow and mature and with that I know that he will be able to do anything he sets his mind to. 

This video opened my eyes and gave me a whole new perspective on ABS and how to deal with it with my son. It also gave me a fresh look at when people stare or ask me what happened to him. I know as a mom I'm sure I will reach my limit of being asked this as he grows up but if I can push past that and answer with love and with knowledge, then I am breaking through my limitations and embracing our life and wonderful son. 

Hopefully this video can get you to think on maybe what you're limitations are and how you can push past them. Whether it's physical, emotional or something else, I hope that you can push past your limits and become limitless. 

On a different note I would like to add that we had his 6 month check up (yes, I said 6 months!) and he is healthy and happy as can be! He is a little porker weighing in at 13.6 pounds and is 24 inches long!! Will post a picture soon :) 

Have a Blessed day! 

Bring on the tears!

So everyday is a journey when it comes to being the mom of an adorable little baby! We always get stopped in stores or restaurants by people telling us how adorable our little baby is and how big his eyes are. I say this not to brag about my son (although, I do think he is the cutest baby in the whole world!), you notice where peoples eyes go when they see Jude. They start with his face and say something about his eyes and then they move on down and you can see them look at his hands and feet. At that point their eyes go right back up to his face to continue talking. Once you notice that you can see their eyes glance at his hands while talking to you. I can't help but wonder what people think when they see his precious little fingers. As the mom I never know if I should say something or not, like should I bring it up and make them feel awkward, like I caught them looking? Or do I just let it go unless they say something? Most of the time I just let it go, not that I don't want to spread the word about ABS but that I just don't have time to explain every detail to a complete stranger that I will probably never see again.

I feel like that sounds bad! I don't mean it in a mean way, I'm just busy! 

Anyway, there is this video that I saw online the other day that brought me to tears. It was an amazing video! It was posted by a mom whose son is missing his hand and it's all about her questions and how they were answered. Over the span of 10 years she documents certain milestones and now that the boy is 10, she created a video of 10 questions she had and how her precious child answered them for her! Here is the link, I HIGHLY recommend watching this, especially if you're a mom but even if you're not, it will give you a glimpse into some of the questions we go through as parents. 

http://vimeo.com/90303728

Now on to my lucky fin! He is going to be 6 months this month and I am just in shock! Where has the time gone?? I keep telling him that he is not allowed to grow up but he doesn't seem to be listening to me very well... :) He is using his hands like there's not a problem in the world for him. He will grab toys, food, clothes, anything he can find to put in his mouth (teething!). It's surprising but at the same time, not, at how well he is doing. I guess I have been told not to get my hopes up, that he will eventually do everything like a normal kid but it may take longer and yet he is proving all those people wrong!

He also started to roll at times but his biggest thing is crawling!....on his back. Weird. I know. But try and picture this; he is on his back and he pushes up almost into a backbend but on his head and then scoots like a little worm! It is the funniest thing to watch but also ridiculous because he is getting quick! My husband was watching his one day while I was out and while he was in the kitchen making food he looked into the living room to check on Jude and he was gone! Jude had scooted all the way around our living room to behind the couch. Like I said, fast little booger!

Along with the crawling we have started giving him some solid foods... Cutest thing ever! His facial expressions are some of the best when he is eating food. His first food was a banana which he loved and then we later gave him an avocado and his face was priceless. I wish we could have gotten it on camera, darn! Anyway, here is a clip of his first banana! Enjoy (:

Have a Blessed Day!