Birthday Presence

This week was a busy one in our house! Meghan and Addison were dedicated at church on Sunday which was a really special time for our family. Amidst the joy of the moment, our sweet Meghan treated our pastor to agiant noisy baby poop mid-prayer. Of this we are sure- there is nothing wrong with her bowels! It was a memorable moment to say the leastJ

We had a follow up with Meghan’s neurosurgeon yesterday. Since the swelling around Meghan’s shunt has been gone for a couple of weeks, she changed her shunt setting again, and slowed the flow of fluid a little bit. Hopefully enough scar tissue has formed around the hole that she will be able to tolerate this slower setting without it swelling up again. The goal is to slow it again next month, so that we don’t risk bleeding in her brain from pulling too much fluid off too quickly. Dr. R said that we will plan to get a follow up MRI of her brain when she is 5-6 months old to see how things are progressing. So,continue to pray that her brain is allowed to fill back in as all that fluid is removed (slowlyJ).

Today we saw the orthopedic surgeon again. PT was on hold for a week since we have noticed a popping noise in Meghan’s neck when we are holding her or doing her physical therapy. Since she has the vertebrae in her neck that only formed on one side, we were a little concerned that there was something more serious going on. Thankfully, he said that because the popping is so “dramatic”, if it were a bony problem she would probably be having severe neurologic symptoms to accompany the popping, which she isn’t, so he thinks it’s two muscles riding over each other that is creating the pop. Hopefully as we continue to stretch her neck, that will lessen. When we do an MRI, Meghan will have to be sedated, so we will wait and get both an MRI of her brain and cervical spine when she goes at 5-6 months. Until then, on with PT!

In addition to our trip to the neurosurgeon yesterday, we celebrated my birthday. There’s nothing like a milestone to remind you of where you are in your life, and where you have come from. Last year at this time, I had no idea that I would have another baby, a blog, and a different job in a year. So much about life can change in such a defined amount of time. The day started off a little rough- sleep deprived calamity commenced as soon as I hit the floor. Somebody’s peeing on things they shouldn’t be, diaper change, vases of fresh flowers are being knocked on the ground, another diaper change,breakfast dishes are everywhere, a FOX ate my new flip flops, I’m busyguilt-tripping myself that I didn’t get up earlier to work out, and agh! I have to get in the shower because we have to get downtown to see the neurosurgeon (more pee, another diaper change). I was starting to work myself into an it’s-my-birthday pity party when I just said Lord! Help! I was quickly reminded that the only reason I’m frustrated was because I had completely selfish expectations of how my morning would go. This life is no longer completely about me, and it’s not even all about my kids. It’s about Him. It’s about laying aside the part of me that wants to be first, and putting Him first. Suddenly, my perspective shifts,and I became intensely grateful for the chaos, because if I wasn’t blessed with my family, fresh flowers, a place in the country that is home to many forms of wildlife, and the gift of just going to visit the doctor instead of being inthe hospital on my birthday, I wouldn’t have any of those things to start my day off with. I may fail miserably at having a good attitude all the time, but that’s ok. I’ll ask for forgiveness, again, and He loves me enough to remind me,again, that “every good and perfect gift comes from the Lord”. So happy birthday to me…I have a couple of prettygreat gifts this year.