Life Is Good: Terrific Two's

Monday, February 16, 2009

Terrific Two's

Eating with the Dogs

It's hard to believe Ryan is 2. Wow! 2-years-old! It's amazing. Especially considering his beginnings...the fear...the odds...the miracle...God's grace. I guess I can say that we've officially entered the "Terrific Two's". I'm so excited about this new adventure we are embarking on. With each age and stage it brings new joys, new excitements, and, yes, even new challenges.

One *Stage* (hopefully) we've entered in is one I'll be glad to exit. I hope it's not too tacky to say that. For some reason my perfect little sleeper is not sleeping well at all. For some reason he has been extra clingy and we've had some nights where the only way he is willing to sleep is if he's physically touching me. A couple of nights I've slept on the twin bed in his room. Thinking he would settle with me present in the room was only wishful thinking. He wanted to be touching me, so those couple of nights he slept with a hand or a foot or even his head on my hand or my tummy or my head. You get the point. Now I admit I love, love, love cuddly kids, and since Ryan is usually "mister independent" I've relished (to some degree) this new need for mommy.

The Good:
He has really been fun. He actually wants mommy to play with him. He sits on my lap *all-the-time* wanting to read books...not just one or two but 5, 6, or maybe more. That's been fun. He wants to be near me at all times and enjoys doing everything with me. When I'm laying on the couch watching a movie he wants to lay right beside me and watch the movie too...for a little while then he wants to play with my hair or my face or my ears or something. He fell asleep with his head on my lap today while I watched The Doctor's. I just stroked his little face and head the entire time. He's been giving luv-in's like crazy...coming out of nowhere to hug my leg or put his head on my lips for a kiss. Ohhh I love it. Maybe I'm not ready for this stage to end after all.

The Bad:
I'm tired. I'm trying not to stay in his room and I've even let him cry-it-out (please understand that for me that's synonymous to cursing...I hate it and have never been, never will be a cry-it-out mommy) for very brief periods of time, hoping he will calm down within 5 minutes or so. I respond to him almost immediately when he cries out (again...one of *my* things...I believe it builds trust. If I come when he calls during the day, he needs to trust that I will come at night, too.). Again...I'm tired. He's tired too. Waking up several times a night is tiring.

This too shall pass...and...I'll probably miss it when it's gone.

I'm so excited about all the things he is learning and will continue learning during these "Terrific Two's". Just the other day he learned how to lock the bathroom door. Unfortunately he was inside and we were outside. We knew it was coming. We knew it! He's just about to learn how to work the doorknobs too. There's such a big world for him to discover. It's just so exciting.

Ryan has his 2-year-old well child check tomorrow.

***********PRAYER REQUEST************
Please, please, please pray for my friend Rebecca. She has a son, named Ryan, who was in the NICU while my Ryan was in the NICU. Our Ryans are just a couple months apart in age. We've become fairly close friends. She is pregnant again and has been on complete bedrest for the past 4 weeks. She is due in July. She is only 25 weeks pregnant and things aren't looking favorable that she will be able to stay pregnant much longer. The doctor has already decided to give her the steroid shots to help develop the baby's lungs. That's usually something that is reserved for when the baby will likely be born soon, although not always. The good news: We know a God of miracles and He is able to do immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine. Please ask...beg...God to do what is necessary to keep her pregnant for a few more weeks. Plead with Our Lord and Creator to bless this family with a baby born healthy and strong...not one minute too soon, not one minute too late. Thank you.
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Brandy Danielle

Brandy is our firstborn, our precious angel baby girl. Her entry into this world wasn't without excitement. At 26 weeks I started preterm labor with contractions 5 minutes apart. With 10 weeks of strict bedrest, most of which were in the hospital, she made it to 36 weeks.
Brandy was diagnosed with "possible/probable" heart defect around 28-30 weeks gestation. After her birth she was whisked away to the NICU for monitoring and after a few days her defect was formally diagnosed and labeled...atrial septal defect and a cleft mitral valve.
Brandy, upon indications of failure to thrive and pulmonary hypertension, underwent her first of 2 open-heart surgeries at 4 months of age. A week after her surgery on the day of her anticipated discharge home Brandy coded for 13 minutes...a stoke.
From that point on Brandy's life was full of doctor's visits, endless crying, pain and suffering. She underwent another heart surgery, fundoplication and g-tube surgery, treatment for infantile spasms, and a mountain of tests and procedures. Her brain damage was extensive.
Upon counseling of our wonderful, most amazing heart surgeon, Dr. Christopher Knott-Craig, and many hours of prayer, we finally called in hospice and called off all of the extensive medical interventions and surgery needs that would prolong her suffering while possibly prolonging her life. Brandy, our precious baby girl...our angel...passed out of our arms and into the arms of her Saviour, Jesus at the tender age of 17 months.

Ryan Andrew

Ryan, our micro-preemie miracle, is a ball of life. After nearly a year of trying to conceive imagine our delight when we finally knew he was on the way. My pregnancy with Ryan was uneventful at first. It seemed perfect and with all of the precautions for preterm labor being taken and monitored we entered this pregnancy with cautious anticipation covered over by a whole love of naive excitement.
At 20 weeks we discovered our "Baby Peanut" was going to be a little boy. We began to make plans and began dreaming about the day we would meet our son.
Almost 2 weeks later everything changed in our lives. It wa a whirlwind of fear and emtions as I began to bleed, was sent for monitoring in L&D and eventually had an appointment with my OB only to find out that it was serious. I had incompetent cervix with hourglassing membranes. The doctor admitted me to the hospital immediately and an emergency cerclage was placed. The statistics were grim, but the hope was to keep our son inside for at least 10 more weeks. We only made it 10 more days.
Early in the evening of February 11, 2007 our son, Ryan, came into this world in emergency fashion at only 23 weeks 5 days gestation. He weighed 1 pound 8 ounces and was 12 ½ inches long. He was so tiny. All I could think of was “oh my goodness is he really that tiny? And is there any way he could actually make it?” I tried to hold on to hope, but in all honesty I had never met anyone with a baby born that early and that small that ever made it.
Ryan did make it! It was a long, hard road, but in the end he spent 90 days in the NICU. He was on a ventilator for 2 months. Finally on one fine glorious day in May we bundled up our 4 pound 4 ounce baby boy and went home...May 11, 2007.
Ryan is now a spunky, lively, strong-willed little boy. His laughter is contagious and his spirit is compelling. He is our miracle. There are no words strong enough to share our delight and joy that God has blessed us with this little boy.

Evan Alexander