Progress in His time

Lately Landon's had a season of progress!!  I'm so incredibly thankful, proud, bursting at the seams excited for him!  I'm so much more grateful for the steps he's making because of the past he's carried - the days in the NICU, the depressing prognosis, previous seasons in his life.  Tonight despite the absolute thrilling video I shared with so many that pray and encourage us, I reflected on the seasons of Landon's five years and what I've learned these five years.  Before I get into that - here's the video!  I stopped by school today to meet with his teacher and saw the little man wheelin' around the classroom!  

Forward, backward, one arm, both arms, wheeled himself in a circle and even straight towards me!  

Here's a few other videos of the progress he's making! 

 

He's supposed to be sleeping...but he's so vocal!  I remember wondering if he'd ever make a noise!

Landon playing piano along (and singing a little!) to Twinkle Twinkle in music therapy a few weeks ago!  He's intentionally hitting the keys when the therapist waits for him!  He's been making noise in pitch too!  

Can't you see how stinkin' exciting this is?!  The prognosis for a 23 week preemie is not very good; we knew it and heard it from the professionals many times.  But were comforted just as many times that God gave us these kids for a reason.  It's our job to care for them, love them, nurture them, teach them, encourage them - I didn't know all that entailed at the time, but we had signed up for the job.  

As Brennan, Brooke & Landon, especially, have gotten older, I've been able to see the seasons of their lives.  Not the developmental milestones, but Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 seasons...There's a time for everything.  Each season prepares us for the next; what we learn from God, our relationship with Him, how to navigate the circumstances that we experienced, etc.  

From that perspective, I can say, I'm thankful for the NICU season with Landon.  He was frail, we were young and didn't have much medical knowledge.  I was weak (in many ways and had to learn to depend on Him).  We had so much support from those that loved us (practical help, prayer, encouragement), learned so much medically, how to care for frail babies while surrounded by experts!  Of course there were experiences in that season, I'd rather erase or not have gone through - and I'm glad that chapter is closed!

Next, the trial run at home, his first 2 years.  He was still frail, we were still young but armed with the knowledge, confidence, tools and continued support.  He spent a lot of time still in the hospital, the other kids and rest of our family adapted, learned how to accept and ask for help when we needed it.  We tried to fit in developmental activities, therapy, etc between clinic appointments and hospital stays as best we could.  We practiced our advocacy, negotiating and flexibility skills working with professionals for Landon's best interest.  I grew as a parent, Christian and person.  I think we were still focused on survival, trusting our instincts and getting to know Landon.

The next season was a bit of a relaxing lull for him, he was pretty apathetic - was content with any activity and didn't show much drive or motivation.  We continued to figure him out; what he liked, didn't like, how he communicated, how our family operated (then added another kid to our mix!). Landon made slow developmental gains but that was alright for us, since his body was recovery so much medically!  Hospital visits were so much fewer but we were still operating on super speed so the lull was a bit hard to adjust to at first.  There seemed to be so much pressure to get therapies taught by age 3, so I needed to accept as a mom, that we did our best and he was happy.  It definitely took God's understanding to appreciate Landon's own timeline; accept that he'd continue to develop, just at his pace. There were points of progress that encouraged us along the way at seemingly just the times I needed them to not get discouraged.

Now, enter new season...age 5 and the three video's posted above!  Now we're in a season of change and development for Landon and I am ABSOLUTELY thrilled!  I do need to pinch myself, because it's hard to forget history and remember the previous seasons, especially the first 2.  Now his motivation is in overdrive and we're needing to incorporate that into our routine.  He's known to actually throw a bit of a temper tantrum if he wants something different!  Problem is, it's hard to know what that "something different" is, without trial & error or paying close attention.  I don't want to ride this season too long, or be too skeptical of the season.  Landon is doing fantastic, and I see this season as such a blessing!  Blessing to me and certainly a blessing from God!  

If you're reading this as a special needs parent, or parent in the NICU, I hope this is encouraging to you.  There's such a sense of new beginning once your child leaves the NICU, begins life at home, with or without medical professionals at home, entering school, etc.  It's been so helpful to have perspective and see times as seasons, not only where Landon started, but how he's progressed and how I've progressed throughout each season.  Thanks for sharing in Landon's excitement!  

Boys speech progress!!

Here's a couple videos that made me cry!  The boys are doing so well!  Last week we got the approval from Speech Therapy to start feeding him at home!  In the past when we've tried he's had a lot of oral aversion and wouldn't let us touch his mouth.  We've done a lot of work with therapy and the vibrating toothbrush at home and now he always has his hands in his mouth, making noises and swallowing without gagging!  He welcomes the food!

Brennan has really been working on talking and the last few weeks he's really taking off!  He can count up to 5, repeat his colors and now pretty much repeat anything you say!  Tonight Brooke was listening to Hallelujah and I asked Brennan if he could sing too...here's Brennan "singing"!  Sorry, my voice is really loud but listen towards the end, he claps for himself and says "I singing!"  He didn't repeat but came up with a sentence on his own!  Oh man, I'm so proud of him!!!

Thank you so much for all your continued prayers and support for the kids, they really are miracles!  Definitely not the typical 23 weekers!   

Landon's hitting milestones!

Since the hospital stays, this last week Landon has made some serious milestone progress!!  We're thrilled!  Usually hospital stays put him farther behind and he progresses slower but this has been quite the exception!  He's been in a great mood most of the day which is a big change for him too.  They did increase his Keppra (seizure med) dose so that may play into it.  He's been playing on the ground, in his wheelchair, practicing in the highchair, tolerating his hearing aids and AFO's with no problem! He used to only do one of these things for maybe 20 minutes at a time.  Well, without further adieu....  

Easter Sunday Landon sat up by himself for the first time!!  It lasted about 20-30 seconds but ever since, he's been wanting to sit up more and more and he's getting better at it!  He used to cry and get really mad whenever we tried working with him but now he's doing great!  I guess we just needed to wait until he was ready! 

His next big milestone happened today!  He's actually HOLDING onto the vibrating toothbrush, TRANSFERRING it to the other hand and bringing it to his mouth!!!!  He hadn't done any of those skills before which is HUGE!  This puts him on a range of 7-9 months developmentally - progress!  So many times, I get discouraged because he'll be at a standstill for awhile but it seems like when I give it up and stop worrying, he makes strides!  This boy is so resilient and determined!  Always surprising us!

We're praising God for everything Landon does!  He's come so far - especially since they told us he'd probably be a vegetable :)  Nothing is impossible with God!  I know He's got something special planned for Landon!

Hallelujah, We're Home!!

Haven't blogged in awhile because we've been pretty much living in the hospital for the last 6 weeks!  You think I'm kidding?  I know a lot of you follow me on facebook, but here's a quick recap...

Feb 14-Feb 20
Landon had the Human Metapneumonia Virus and during his coughing spells would throw up.  He aspirated one time actually on our way to the pediatrician's office and also had 3 seizures back to back (totaling over 45min) at the office.  We ended up transporting him by ambulance from the pediatrician's office to UM and he was treated for aspiration pneumonia and complex febrile seizures.  Here's the blog post from the last time he had that virus.  It's incredible to think even though it put him in the hospital, he's so much stronger now!

Feb 22-Feb 27
Brennan had scheduled Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy and ended up needing o2 that first night and wouldn't eat.  He needed oxygen for most of the stay and came home on an NG tube for tube feeding.

Feb 28
Brennan made a trip to the ER to have his NG tube bridled (tied to the bone in the back of his nose).  I thought it was going to be a quick trip but ended up being there with Hailey & Landon until 12:30am!

March 5-6
Hailey fell on the 5th and hit her her head smack on the parking lot and got a huge goose-egg!  She fell asleep on the way home from school and had a headache so I took her in to the ER.  They didn't do anything for her and sent her home but Tuesday school called and she was complaining of a headache, dizzyness and couldn't walk straight so we were back for a CT scan.  Thankfully it showed nothing, but she had a headache for a few days and got 2 black eyes!

March 7-10
Landon had a 25 min febrile seizure and had a lot of trouble breathing in the evening so Nich called the ambulance to bring him in since Hailey & I weren't home and he couldn't leave the other kids.  He stopped at the local hospital to be stabilized then survival flighted to UM and admitted to the PICU.  Ended up running lots of tests but nothing came back positive other than the aspiration pneumonia from 3 weeks ago.  They increased his anti-seizure medication dose and gave us a rescue anti-seizure med to use at home to stop the seizure from becoming so intense.

March 12-16
Brooklyn needed o2 when I brought her home from daycare and was working hard to breathe so I took her to our local hospital and she received o2 and breathing treatments before being transferred to UM (the local hospital doctors feared she may need ICU care).  She caught RSV.  She just needed up to 3 liters o2 and ended up coming home on a little bit.  She has a mild case of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD) and colds hit her harder (harder than Brennan but not as bad as Landon).  

March 20-31
Landon was acting sick at home but we were doing ok managing his o2, breathing treatments and suction but the 20th he was really lethargic so I took him to the pediatrician's office.  He wasn't working harder to breathe so the pediatrician just thought he was still hanging on from the pneumonia.  He ordered a chest xray and by the time I got him home from that he was needing a lot more o2 (more than our concentrator could go to so I had him on tanks) so called a friend to watch the other 3 so I could take him in.  We were going to be admitted but there was no beds so hung out in the ER until about 8am he started working really hard and needed more o2.  He deteriorated really quickly and had 3 teams of doctors in his little ER room.  They needed to admit him to the ICU team but since they didn't have any beds either, we moved to the RECUS bay to have a little more room.  Tried Bi-Pap to help decrease his work of breathing but that only irritated him more and wore him out so he was barely breathing and they needed to intubate.  Thankfully a bed opened and he was in ICU for 10 days, 9 on a ventilator then moved to general care.  He had RSV, another pneumonia and Pseudomonas. 

Crazy!!  Here's Brooke singing what we all were feeling!!  This video is so perfect!  Brooke is addicted to Praise Baby and her favorite song is Your Love is Amazing (aka Hallelujah song!) :)  We were all just overwhelmed with joy and so happy to be home!  Nich and I make a good tag team - I'm the hospital parent and he takes care of the other kids at home.  We've been in the house together 10 out of the last 47 days.

Our family, church family, hospital family and online family have really helped support us and help make it through these last few weeks.  God is our rock and won't give us more than we can handle.  When I felt like a breaking point - and had them with all three kids! - He provided just the right support and peace.  I hope we'll be home for awhile now!!

Landon Smiling!

 Landon has a lot of sensory issues with his mouth (oral aversion) so we've been working with him to desensitize him and hopefully get him on the track to eating.  The other night he was all about the electric toothbrush!  It's taken awhile to get to this far and I love that he enjoys it now!!

Our little cheerleader!

Hailey started cheerleading at the YMCA last week and had her first game this morning!  She is THRILLED!!  Our super babysitter Jess is the coach and she first mentioned it to us...she's been such a blessing taking Hailey to and from practice each week!  Hailey gets some much needed big girl time!  She's got some practicing to do, but you can see her excitement on her face!  :)

 

She's on the far left side of the video :)

Jammin' Babies!

We have so serious dancing talent in our house! Everytime the music starts, they can't help themselves! And they have pretty good moves!



It's incredible how far they've come! I just couldn't get the image of them so small just 2 years ago out of my mind when they were dancing! Now they're moving all around, understanding and expressing themselves!

Brennan's talking!

This week Brennan said "mama" and dada" for the first time!!! Sorry for the delay in posting - first time using YouTube!

Catching up!

WOW do I have some updating to do!?!  I uploaded my pictures from my camera and had them back to the middle of September!  

 

Brennan said his first word!  This isn't the first time, but a clear video of them playing together and Brennan saying "Go!"  He's definitely behind talking, but making progress.  His words aren't as articulated as Brooke, but he's starting to repeat the syllables.  It's a start!  

Just some pictures, having fun! 

Photo session, the morning of their 2nd birthday!  Thanks to www.designedforbabies.com for these "Triple Threat" onesies!

 Happy 2nd Birthday miracles!! 

Pumpkin picking!

First toothbrush!  Hailey was a terrific teacher!  Brooke loves it, but the boys are way more apprehensive.  They're getting there!  I just bought a vibrating toothbrush for the boys hoping it will help with Landon's oral aversion and Brennan's need for lots of sensory input.  They're getting much better!

 I know, much more to update and I promise to be more faithful!!  Landon's got a few big appointments coming up with Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation later this week (we're hoping to get a bath chair, feeding chair and wheelchair/adapted stroller) and next Thursday DeVos Children's Intensive Feeding Program assessment.  It's like feeding bootcamp for 5-8 weeks and we'll find out at the end of the assessment whether he's a candidate or not!  I'll keep you updated!! (PROMISE!) 

Brooke's home and first steps!!

Brooke came home Sunday afternoon, for a total of 6 days in the hospital. WOW what bonding time we had! The breathing treatments she was getting in the hospital woke her up at night even though it was through a nebulizer so nothing touched her face and she'd be WIDE awake for hours. 2 nights in a row she was up from 12:30am-5am and 1:30am-6am. I was at one point PLEADING with her to sleep but she was so wild and awake! She's still needing a little extra help with oxygen, so on .25-.5 liters at night and napping (when we can keep it on her!) and breathing treatments every 4-6 hours. She is not the the kid to have extra equipment with, but we manage and comfort her later. :) The drive home with her was so incredible - she was so giddy when we left the hospital and got in the car! She kept looking at me and laughing, keeping a sly smile on her face the whole drive - like she knew she was outta there! Hailey was waiting at the door for us and gave Brooke a big hug and kiss the minute we were inside! I'm so glad they love each other so much!!

Super exciting news....Brooke took her first few steps Sunday afternoon! Straight from the hospital, little nap, then walking!! I know we're in for it but I've been so ready for them to be toddlers! I feel like they've been babies forever and am really excited for her independence! Check out the video below - she's taking 2-3 steps!!!

Landon can see!!!

As I'm writing this tears are flowing! Check out this video of Landon SEEING the toy and playing with it! After his bath he was just laying on my lap and I put a toy in front of him and he GRABBED IT! He didn't have his glasses or his hearing aids in so it's clear proof that he can SEE! He was/is diagnosed with probable cortical blindness which means he's blind from his brain (his eyes work fine)...the vision pathways were damaged but the brain (and GOD!) are amazing and they must've re-written themselves! Last March the hospital did a test with electrodes on his head and measured his brain's response to light. They flashed a bunch of different lights, patterns of light flashes and at different spots in his vision path and he completely failed - his brain showed no response, thus the diagnosis of cortical blindness. Before he's always stumped us, not knowing if he heard us and responded or if he saw something and responded, but tell me this boy can't see!! PRAISE GOD!!

18 months!

Wow! Time is sure flying! I can't believe the babies are 18 months old! They're getting so much more fun and definitely their own personalities! Instead of photo's this month, here's video's! They're so active, I love to catch it on video!



Brennan Nicholas Birth weight 1lb 4oz, 18 months weight 17lbs 10oz

Brennan is doing great! He's had the rest of his surgeries and hopefully they'll be the last! Since his eye surgery he's been able to sit STILL (not wobbly), standing STILL and playing with toys! Hence the video! Make sure to have your sound on so you can hear Hailey's commentary! :) Before he was always licking them and kinda flicking them with his fingers, but he can focus on things now! It's so cool to see! Brennan's in the running now for walk first too! He's fearless! He doesn't quite have the one foot in the other concept but he's totally fine letting go of our hands - and falling on the floor sometimes! :) He generally just gets right back up again! Brennan's also our little garbage disposal! He's eating so good by spoon and about 8oz at a time from bottle. Brennan and Brooklyn are now drinking Pediasure instead of Neosure formula! We're mixing it half and half with milk, otherwise it's a pretty potent drink. It's definitely doing the trick and he's gaining weight! He's also keeping his glasses on much better which will help his eyes to heal right. We're working with him on crawling (not army crawling, but on his hands and knees) and going from sitting to crawling and back up again. He's going to PT & OT twice a week and Early On is coming in once a week. That heavy dose of therapy is really working! He's such a silly, happy boy and really doing great!



Landon James Birth weight 1lb 7oz 18 month weight 21lbs 3oz

Landon, Landon, Landon! Landon's still recovering from his pneumonia a bit, but he's getting more and more active! He's also getting kind of a diva personality too! He throws a mean fit, but the trouble is he really needs to breathe during his fits! He's learned to hold his breath and play games with his breathing. He's not retracting or having trouble, just sometimes holds his breath and laughs once you tickle him. Crazy kid! Really exciting news for Landon is from his neurosurgery follow up appointment - they did an MRI to check on his hydrocephalus and it's VERY well under control! Before there was probably 2 inches of empty space around this ventricles and now there's maybe 1/4 inch! His brain has filled in the rest of his skull which means his brain is growing and new connections/skills are happening! Landon has been hitting milestones like putting things in his mouth, playing with his toes, holding things with both hands and he even said mama! My heart just overflowed! The sky really is the limit with this kid! Just as Nich and I kinda get used to the idea of having a severely impaired child, he does something new! He's so much more fun to play with (not feed, but we're working on that!) and actually interacts with us! Landon's going to PT & Speech Therapy twice a week and sees Early On at home once a week. Full schedules, but so worth it!!

Brooklyn Danielle Birth weight 1lb 3.5oz 18 month weight 17lbs 13oz

Brooklyn is still quite the diva and we're working on curbing that stubborn independence towards talking and helping us understand what she wants/needs. We're working on sign language, pointing and of course talking. Once she has your undivided attention, she is an angel, but the minute she has to share or isn't getting what she wants, better watch out! It's like breaking a wild mustang! Developmentally she's pretty much on track! Even though she and Brennan are doing a lot of the same things, her skills are a little more refined. She's got a pretty good spoon feeding technique - very proper! :) We're working with her and Brennan to lose the bottle but they don't get the concept of a sippy cup. Brennan's getting better, but Brooke preers a real glass. She takes sips out of our cups very well! She's also standing by herself (leaning on something most of the time, but at least she's confident!) and motoring all over the house either pushing this toy or holding our fingers. This video was the first time she pushed the toy without needing one of us to hold on to her! She's babbling and saying some words, but we're working on comprehension. She can say dada, mama, baba, but I'm not entirely convinced she knows what they mean. She goes to OT & Speech Therapy twice a week and sees Early On at home once a week. She's doing really well with gross motor, but needs a little help with the finer things.

We continue to thank God everyday for these miracles! And you all for all your prayers that have got them to this point and carrying us all as our lives get busy and complicated! When we were in the hospital for both Brennan & Landon, it was really cool to see the reactions of staff (nurses, residents, anesthesiologists) that didn't know their histories when we told them they were 23 week surviving quadruplets! These babies really are doing well!

16 month development

As promised and almost on time! :) I also FINALLY sewed Hailey's American dress up dress! Feeling a bit motivated!

So here we go...bear with me this is a way over due update but so exciting!! We are having serious fun with the kids!

This is how we get things done! :) Brooke is such a ham and a bully - she was playing with everyone else's toys, yet giving this sweet little smile.

Yep, they play like this! He's not even phased by it and she'll crawl all the way across the room just to lay on him.

Brennan Nicholas 16 lbs 15 oz (birth weight 1 lb 4 oz)

Brennan's eyes are starting to settle down and not racing as much! This is giving him better balance and he's actually sitting by himself! He's such a scrawny boy that we're pretty much feeding him nonstop to keep up with how active he is! We found baby food jars that are 180 calories each - talk about packing on the pounds! :) He's growing well, just skinny! I know he doesn't have them on in this picture, but we're working with him for 5-10 minutes at a time a couple times a day to keep his glasses on. He was doing really well, but then got curious and pulls them off to lick them when we're not looking. That's how he's figuring things out...licking everything in sight! Kinda weird, but makes sense with his visual impairments. Brennan's also starting to craw/scoot! I really think he has it in him to be up to speed as Brooke but he's a really laid back baby. He's rolling over with no problem and now pulling toward things with his arms - doesn't quite have his legs coordinated to motor all over but he can get where he wants to!

Landon posing with his bottle! He looks thrilled right :)

Landon James 21 lbs 11 oz (birth weight 1 lb 7 oz)


This little turkey is doing great! I know I've said this before, but he's just on his own schedule! He's working with Physical Therapy (PT) and Speech Therapy to work on the skills he needs a little help mastering - sitting, crawling and eating. His therapists really believe in him and I know that makes so much difference! It makes us feel really great having them work with him too! He's doing a lot of small (but key) developments that some people may miss, but we're checking them off in our minds. Like the picture above in the exersaucer...he's standing flat foot! He used to always stand on his tip toes and this shows he's getting more control of his legs and knows that they do something :) He's sitting with much less support and when he rolls over his legs get right up in the crawling position but he doesn't have strong enough leg muscles to get his big belly anywhere! His muscle strength is something else we're working on. Even though he's almost 22 lbs, he's like a rock because he hardly sustains himself! He's getting better but used to be like sack of potatoes!




Brooklyn Danielle 16 lbs 3 oz (birth weight 1 lb 3.5 oz)

Brooklyn is doing great!! She's such a ham! We're getting through the days of her being our "drama llama" for all of you who know the "Llama llama red pajama" books! :) For the longest time her face used to be a permanent frown, one that I'd never seen before but it's so easy to get her to smile and play! A couple weeks ago she had one on one time with Meme whil Nich and I got away to Boston and she has been a different kid since! Thanks Meme!! :) So, what's Brooke doing...crawling on her hands & knees (knees are a big deal and have took a long time to learn!), taking steps with a push toy and holding onto our fingers, becoming more social, clapping, switching toys from hand to hand and eating us out of house and home! This girl is the biggest snack food junky we know! Since Nich and I rarely take care of them together, one day between the 2 of us she ate an entire package of puffs! She's playing us already! :)



Video's!!! Brooklyn taking her first steps and her playing so sweetly with Landon! I can't stress how much FUN it's getting now that they're able to play more, be more active (I know we'd better watch out!) and are more social! We thank God every day for them and how great they're doing developmentally! They are such blessings!!

1 Year Adjusted Birthday!

Can you believe it!? The babies due date if they lasted full term would've been January 17 so today we celebrated their 1 year adjusted birthday! I'm hoping to post a developmental update in the next few days - I've got some great video's of them! Around 2-3 years old preemies usually catch up and they don't need to go by their adjusted age. Since they were born so early, they give them 4 months handicap. :) In September they couldn't have cake and I really missed getting the cake/frosting all over so we had that tonight! Enjoy!


I made a healthy baby cake of flour, baking soda, applesauce & milk because they haven't really ate much people food. Frosting was made of cream cheese, applesauce and vanilla. It was disgusting, but they ate it and Hailey actually loved it!

Brennan digging in!


Landon got in on the fun even though he couldn't eat any cake!

Brooke wasn't shy and had frosting everywhere!

And to finish it off, a video of our night!

Landon's firsts!

Just home from the hospital and he hits the ground running! Today Landon got his first hair cut - his first REAL one, the neurosurgeons saved his hair when he they shaved his head for the shunt :). I started the haircut because I do Hailey's, but quickly realized I have no idea how to cut boys hair! Nich finished his new do and he looks quite handsome!

Before

After

Landon also got his first tooth today! We've been waiting for his bottom since his gum is pretty much transparent there, but he shocked us and has a top middle one! Couldn't get a decent picture that didn't look weird :)



Next first - he laughed!! He's getting his voice back! It's faint and probably 1/2 way though this video, but so cute!

He's making so much progress and we're so proud of him! He is on his own schedule and we just remember that when we get discouraged. He seems to just get by day to day, then all of a sudden has a development explosion! And to think, he was supposed to be a blind, deaf vegetable! He just melts my heart! God is sooooo good!

Moving to Moderate Care!

Look at this miracle boy! He's moving to moderate care (step between ICU & general) sometime today if the moderate care discharges stay on course and a bed is free! I think he just wanted a tour of the hospital :) He's feeling so much better! Last night when the doctor came in to check on him, he stood back in amazement, smiled and shook his head. He said given Landon's Chronic Lung, BPD and history and how he looked Thursday morning, this should've been so much worse. He said Landon's recovering so well and so quickly! God's got his hand on our son and it's incredible to have front row seats to see these miracles! Take a look how Landon's feeling now!!



He moved to the regular nasal cannula today and to 1 liter (at home he's on .5). Breathing treatments every 4 hours and continuous Gtube feeds and tolerating everything well!

Landon's Swallowing!!

So since the summer Landon has totally regressed eating and isn't taking anything by bottle without gagging and throwing up. We've been concerned because we know he can do it (he did for 3 months), but everything we've tried hasn't worked...switching formula, spreading out his feeds so he'd be hungry, thickening with rice cereal rather than Simply Thick. I tried to feed him a bottle about 2 weeks ago, but he aspirated and that kinda scared me away from feeding him again. We were waiting for a swallow study (done today!) to know what he can handle. Well, results say he has gotten a bit better, but not enough to switch him to regular consistency. But the BEST thing of the whole day...we learned he CAN swallow! To get him to swallow during the test, they squirted milk in his cheek. He did great! They gave us the syringe to take home to feed him and at his 9pm feed he swallowed 40cc (just over an ounce) of milk!!!! Here's a thrilling video of him swallowing! Probably not thrilling to most to watch a baby swallow for 30 seconds, but for this baby - thrilling doesn't even begin to describe how excited we were! Praise GOD for progress!!

Videos of playing at home

I have been a really bad blogger. Haven't been in the mood and have been so busy to settle down to write about it. I have a lot to catch up on! I know you'll enjoy these videos in the meantime! :)



I just LOVE our family! Spent some lazy time at home this morning just playing! Hailey and Daddy showed Brennan and Brooklyn how to play patty cake!




After patty cake we all got in a line to play choo-choo! We just had such much fun today!

Landon loves bananas!

Here's a video of Landon eating bananas! That's actually all he'll eat now and still generally not very well. But tonight he LOVED them! I just kind of painted the bananas on his tongue and you could tell by his face when it hit his tastebuds!

Splish Splash Landon's taking a bath!

He is doing so well moving around and just loves his bath! Our pediatrician isn't concerned about CP with Landon, just developmental delays....you might want to read that again! :) He has 3 brain issues that each hve a high risk of CP on their own! He's equally moving both arms and legs. There isn't anything He can't do! God, thank you for the reminder that you're in control all the time. Nich and I were talking yesterday about having a different feeling with Landon. In the NICU we were so positive, so hopeful because all the babies were just busting the "typical 23 weeker" box and now we're seeing the realization of the delays and problems our kids might face long term. It's really hard to face and accept, but then Landon smiles and melts your heart. Whatever our rough road has in store, we're so grateful for life!