Charley's Head

When Charley was about three weeks old I started to notice that she was only sleeping with her head turned to the right.  A couple of my friends have had thier kid wear a DOC band to help re-shape their head so I was trying to be proactive and watch for it.  I started doing neck stretches with her and repositioned her while she was sleeping so she would lie on the other side and get the pressure off of her right side.  After the stretching and repositioning, her flat spot got better. 

Then she started sleeping longer stretches and she kept her head perfectly straight.  Now she has a flat head in the back.  She must have a super soft skull!  The skull is still very maleable during this time so I am trying to do exactly what needs to be done during this window.

After thinking about it daily, I finally just called the pediatrician so another doctor in the practice could take a look.  The doctor who saw her at 2 months agreed that the back of her head was flat but she just said to try to get as much tummy time in as possible and to see what happened.

Dr. Kovar agreed with me that we should let the specialists look at it.  So, we are starting with the physical therapy evaluation.  They will see if there is anything that needs to be done to help strengthen her neck muscles.  After that appointment, I will have her evaluated by a company called Cranial Technologies.  They make the DOC (Dynamic Orthotic Cranioplasty) bands that can correct her head shape.

I took these pictures of the brochure with my phone so that's why they're all crooked.

These two pictures are good examples of her head shape.  Charley's head is similar to the bottom circle in the picture on the left.  It's flat across the back.  From the side, it looks similar to the top picture on the right.  I'm so impressed by the before and after shots when the kids wear the bands.

 

If the Cranial Technologies evaluation shows that she needs a band, she will be fitted and hopefully in it as soon as possible after she's 4 months old.  The sooner she gets it on, the less time she'll need to wear it. They have to wear them 23 hours a day and she could be in it for as little as 5 weeks or as long as 6 or more months.  The good news is that they don't seem to bother the babies.  The band only weighs 6oz and the doctor said that their bodies quickly adjust to regulating their body temperature so they don't get too hot. 

 

Her physical therapy evaluation is scheduled for Monday and then after that I can make her Cranial Tech eval appointment.  I see lots of appointments in my future.  That should be a lot of fun with a two-year-old in tow.  Thank God for Parent's Day Out.  Hopefully I can get lots of Thursday appointments!

Blackberry Farm

Last weekend we tried a new little place by us called Blackberry Farm.  It's a living history museum with several activities that we knew Jackson would love.  We were right!  He loved it.  We went to church Sunday morning and we talked about riding a horse later in the day.  After church and lunch, we went home so he could nap and as we were pulling in to the neighborhood he said, "Ride a horse?"  He remembered and was confused about why we were going home.  Once he woke up, we were off!

We tried to ride the ponies first and Jackson seemed really excited about it.  He wasn't though.  As soon as Bryan put him on the horse, he freaked!  No pony ride for JJ.  Our next stop was the carousel an he loved it!

I love those boys! 

 

They gave us these bracelets to wear in the park.  For some reason, JJ held his hand in this fist the whole time.  He was so funny walking around like this for over an hour.



 

A train went through the park and JJ was so excited to ride.  We have hit the age of the train fascinations.

 

Charley enjoyed the breezes.

 There was a little play house with puzzles and small play animals. 

 We also rode on a wagon pulled by a big tractor.  The grounds were beautiful and we had a great day together!

Apple Picking

Fall is here and we have begun our fun festivities!  Our first outing was to Kuipers Apple Farm.  We went last year but JJ really understood what we were doing this time and he had a blast.  The weather was perfect, there were no lines, and after a short tantrum, Jackson was fairly easy and enjoyable. 

 

After we paid or apple picking fee, they gave us two tickets and JJ wanted to hold them.  After 8 seconds later, he had to give the tickets to the guy by the hayride to get to the trees for apple picking.  He DID NOT want to give away the tickets and he cried the whole ride. :(  Poor us and everyone else on our trailor.

Once he got out into the orchard, he loved it!

 His love for eating  whole apples came at the perfect time!

 Charley enjoyed her snuggle time with Mommy in the Ergo carrier.

 Mizzou played Georgia that night so of course we were all sporting our Tiger spirit!

 For some reason JJ didn't want to put the apples in the bag.  It took a few minutes and lots of encouragement to get him to do it.

 In the background of our shadowy family picture you can see all the apples.  I was surprised at how many there were.  Many of the apple orchards aren't allowing people to pick their own this year because there aren't a lot of them.  The very warm, early spring caused the trees to bloom but then it got cold again.  They said they had teams of people out with boilers at night trying to heat the orchard so their crop wasn't ruined.  Wow!

 1/2 peck of apples later, we were on our way back to the front.  And to the donuts!

 This is the best part by far!

 Here was Jackson's lineup.  Whole apple, cinnamon sugar cider donut, and a half eaten apple he carried for about an hour.

It was such a great trip!  I made an apple dump cake the next day and will be making crock pot applesauce soon.  Jackson will be thrilled!  And so will Claire :)

First Day of Parents' Day Out

 

I guess I should hurry and post about Jackson's first day of school before he has his second day tommorrow.  It was a huge success!  He was so excited to go to "sa-kool" with his friend Macy.  As soon as he woke up he kept saying, "School?  Macy?  Take Mommy?"  He was pretty rotton as we got ready to go.  I wanted him to have scrambled eggs with cheese for breakfast so it would stick with him but he just wanted a cereal bar.  Luckily, he forgot, and when both were on his plate he ate it all.  Mommy wins!  We stopped for a couple pictures before we left but he was too excited to stand still.

 

 Macy was there when we got there and the two of them walked right in like they owned the place.  He went in to his room, put his backpack and lunch in his cubby and got started on his playdough.  No tears when I left but he's fairly used to that from his mornings at church.

 I dropped him off at 9 and then Macy's mom, Jen, and I headed out to breakfast.  I was able to run a couple errands before it was time to go get him again.  I got there a little early and saw them playing outside.  I'm sure I looked like a total creeper taking pictures from my car, but whatever!  Jackson is the only one to the left of the teacher.  They were running up and down the hill. 

I didn't realize I included the play dough picture twice until now.  Ooops!  JJ's first lunch was cheese and chicken quesadilla triangles, stawberries, green beans, a fruit pouch, and a juice box.  Out of all that, he only ate the strawberries.  I think he was just too overwhelmed to eat.  Day 2 is tomorrow and he's been asking about it all week!

Comparisons

 

I pulled together some picture of both kids around the same ages.  There are definitely similarities.  JJ had a much narrower jaw line that Charley has.  She's is...fluffier.  For sure!

Caroline Jane ~Two Months

Caroline, at two months you:

• weigh 12 pounds and 14 oz.  That's the 76th percentile.
• are 23 3/4 inches long.  That's the 92nd percentile.
• have a big head like your brother.  It's in the 96th percentile.
• are much more aware of what's going on around you.  You smile at people who talk to you.
• are "talking" more and more.  Your coos are so sweet.
• like to sit in your bouncer and smile at the lion.
• are sleeping in your crib.  You sleep is all over the place.  There have been 5 nights that you slept for 7 hours in one stretch.  All the other nights you sleep in 3 hour stretches.
• are a pretty content baby.  You usually only cry if you are hungry, wet, or tired.
• don't move around much on your back or your belly.  You are content right where you are and don't even try to move.
• nap pretty well.  You nap in your crib or your swing.
• fit perfectly in 3 month clothes.  It won't be long until you're in 6 months.
• are so loved by Mommy, Daddy, and Jackson.

I found this pink chair at Meijer and knew I had to have it for Charley's monthly pictures. The problem was that I had already taken her picture in another chair for her one month picture and I hated the thought of one picture being different.  Bryan was up for the challenge of using Photoshop to get her into this chair.  It was HARD!  It's not perfect by any means but in the grand scheme of things, it think it passes just fine.  I already have big plans for her 1 year photos with this chair.  So fun!

Cosley Zoo

There is a great little zoo fairly close to us that makes for a fun, low-key morning.  Brookfield Zoo is always a good time but it's a lot of work to take both kids by myself and it leaves us all exhausted.  Cosley Zoo is a perfect alternative.  We went last week with our friends Macy, Matthew, Marcus, and Jacob.  Macy and Jackson have been friends since they were weeks old and Marcus and Jacob are nwe friends and are the same age as Macy's little brother Matthew.  They are nine months old.  The kids had a fun time seeing all the farm animals they see in their books.

 

Jackson and Macy feeding the ducks

Charley spent her time enjoying the breezes.

Goats and sheep are always JJ's favorite.



Charley always ends up holding things for us.  Here she is holding her paci, JJ's goldfish, a burp cloth, and my wallet.

Trying to get closer to the llamas.

We can't wait to get back soon!