5 months...and 6 months!

Since I completely missed Hudson's 5 month blog post I'm just going to skip ahead, he'll be 6 months next week anyway. It really is amazing how fast he's growing up and into his own little personality every day. He's now mastered sitting up on his own and prefers that to laying on his stomach or back at this point. He's trying REALLY hard to figure out how to get his knees underneath him to crawl. I guess it's time to get some baby gates up sooner than later! I gave him rice cereal for the first time about 2 weeks ago, he absolutely hated it. I tried it with milk, with water, warm, room temperature, with bananas, he was having no part of it. I decided one day to give him just a plain mashed up banana with some milk and he was much happier with that. Now I give him a fruit of some sort every evening and he has loved everything so far, even sweet potatoes. I feel like we aren't going to have much of a problem with him being a good eater :)

He's still going to sleep every night by 7:30 and wakes up between 7-7:30. If we're really lucky we get an 8 every once and a while! I've tried pushing him to stay awake later at night but he turns into a little gremlin if I push him too far so I don't even try anymore.

I continue to wish I could know what he's thinking. He seems like a really happy little man but he could always just be laughing at how incredibly goofy his mom and dad are! Missi has really caught his attention in the last month or so and he loves to watch her. I don't think the feelings are quite mutual yet. She does love him but not so much the chunks of hair he keeps pulling out of her. Poor girl!

We took him on his first road trip this past weekend to see my grandparents. I was a little nervous for the car ride and how he would sleep at night but he did so good! He slept the whole way there and back in the car and just like he would have at home at night. It was a much needed little retreat to visit with them. They used to live just a few minutes away from us when we were younger but moved to KY 10 years ago. There's many times I wish they still lived right down the street but it does make our little visits more special! Hudson was quite smitten with both of them, he definitely wasn't lacking for attention over the last 48 hours :)

 

 

I don't know of anyone that has been able to get him to sit this still for so long!

 

 

 

 

 

Let me end by just saying thank you. After my last blog post (2 months ago) I had so many of you reach out to us about Hudson's hearing situation. It's nice to have so many family and friends that care about us and our little family. Right now things are still really up in the air. We have several upcoming appointments that will hopefully help to clear our foggy minds. But, for now, thank you for your kind words of encouragement!
  

 

 

Lately...

I'm sure you've all been on the edge of your seat waiting for my next blog post. Ha! I'm not going to back track over the last 2 months and fill you in on each and every detail we'll just jump to today!

Hudson is 4 months old (on the 24th..oops) !! I feel like with each month I've thought 'this is definitely my favorite stage' but then the next month comes up and Hudson starts doing something new and it quickly takes the place of the last favorite stage. We went to the pediatrician yesterday where Hudson weighed in at 15.8 lbs and was 24.75 inches long. He's growing wider than he is long ;) He's still only breastfed but I may start him on rice cereal before his 6  month appointment. I haven't quite decided on that one yet. He goes down for the night still between 7:30 or 8 and usually wakes up anywhere between 7-8AM. Such a blessing to have such a good sleeper!

I started back to work on Jan 6th which has been a challenge in itself. While I was pregnant there was never a doubt in my mind that I would go back to work and Hudson would go to daycare a few days a week. I don't think he was even a month old before Cliff and I started discussing me staying home with him full time. I know I have said this before but I just feel like being a mama IS my job. So, after lots of conversations we decided that me staying home would be the best thing for our family. I'm sure you're wondering now why I started this paragraph by saying 'I started back to work..' Well, I promised my boss I would be coming back to work while I was still pregnant and unfortunately there was no one to take my spot. So I'm back right now for 2 months to train someone to take over for me. It's been 4 of the hardest weeks so far. I'm not trying to be a big complainer but I absolutely hate leaving my baby. I thought it would have gotten easier by now but it really hasn't. There are some days I have to leave for work before he wakes up and I don't make it home until 5. It's rough. I keep extra mascara and concealer in my purse these days. But, I know that this too shall pass and we are so incredibly blessed to have our family so close to us. Cliff's mom has been watching him most every day and my mom has been taking off every Thursday to watch him. We could not ask for better a better Gram or Cici! He's also made a few trips to work with me. Thank goodness for a workplace that allows that....not that it is allowed I just tend to be a rule breaker. Ha!

 

Now for the part I've been debating on writing about but figure I might as well share. When Hudson was born they did a hearing screening in the hospital just a few hours after he was born (this is now mandatory in TN and in most states) he failed it and the nurse told us that was totally normal and she would redo it before we were discharged. She did it again the next day and he passed the right side and failed the left. The pediatrician then told us that again was normal and it was probably just fluid in his ears left over from birth. I took Hudson back to the hospital when he was 2 weeks for another screening thinking that by now the fluid would all be out of his ears. This time he failed both ears. The audiologist this time made it seem slightly more serious, but was thinking it could be because he was a little sniffly. She referred us to Vanderbilt for a full newborn ABR hearing screening. Keep in mind at this point he was 2 weeks old and not 'responding' to anything. The first available appointment at Vanderbilt was in November so we had about 2 months of a waiting period. We were slightly worried at first but over the course of the next 2 months we noticed he was responding to everything. We were going out of our way to check his responses and sure enough he was totally fine! When I talked to him he scanned the room trying to find where I was. When Missi barked he jumped, when Cliff laughed he smiled, etc. So I cancelled the screening. There was no reason to go in our heads. We had Hudson's 2 month appointment 2 days after the screening was supposed to have taken place and I casually mentioned cancelling the appointment because his hearing was fine. Our doctor very nicely recommended we reschedule the appointment as a precaution but not to be in a hurry about because I was probably right. (He didn't say that but I read his mind) So we finally went to the appointment on January 13th. They had told us he needed to come hungry and tired. Umm ok you try making a baby obey by a set guideline like that. But thankfully when we got there it was time to feed him and he fell asleep like a champion and slept for the whole 2 hour test. Unfortunately Cliff and I naively thought that since he's been responding to us this test was going to be a big fat waste of our time and weren't prepared to hear that he does in fact have hearing loss in both ears. So the audiologist went over the results with us and frankly I was half listening as both Cliff and my stomach had been rumbling for an hour and I was looking forward to eating. I figured she was about to tell us he would have to go to speech therapy blah blah I got it. My mind focused back in when she said he would have to wear hearing aids for the rest of his life because of the amount of hearing loss. She must have noticed I turned a shade of gray because then she just kept talking..and talking..and talking. I finally couldn't hold my tears in any more and sort of unraveled for a few minutes. We left the appointment with referrals to a pediatric ENT and to set up a time for hearing aid selections, still in somewhat of a daze.

A week later we met with the ENT we were referred to. After having time to mull it over and talk with our family about it Cliff and I both were optimistic in thinking that the audiologist was just trying to 'sell us on hearing aids'. After a thorough talk with the ENT we learned that Hudson has nerve damage. There are 2 bones in your ear plus the ear drum. So, when your doctor looks in your ear they can tell if those are damaged which can be fixed surgically. However, the point of this ABR hearing test was to check for nerve damage. He told us there's really no actual way to know why this happened or if it will continue to effect the rest of our children on down the road. What we do know is that in the next few months we'll have to take Hudson to have a CT scan to make sure that his cochlea is attached correctly. If it's not, the likelihood of him being able to play contact sports or any kind of 'rough housing' is slim as this could further damage his hearing if not make him fully deaf. Right now we're kind of in limbo. We've been referred to a geneticist at Vanderbilt (this is part of them being a teaching hospital) to see if the damage was because of a gene from Cliff or I and what likelihood will be of our next child being born with hearing loss or deaf will be. I could really give or take that appointment because our next child could be born profoundly deaf and it wouldn't change anything for me.
After talking with our pediatrician about all of this he recommended we have Hudson in the hearing aids by the time he's 6 months as that's when he's going to really start developing his speech. So, that's what we're going to do.
I want to end this by saying when I said I hesitated on writing this post it's not because I'm embarrassed or upset that Hudson has to wear hearing aids. After much reflection I've come to the conclusion that I'm so much more upset about this FOR him. (And becuase no one cares to read a post by a debbie downer!) It hasn't been that long since I was in middle, or high school. Kids can be mean. People can be mean. As much as we preach not to judge one another and be kind to each other it seems that the judgement and hate will never stop. And, I hate thinking about my baby having to deal with that from the get go. But, in the grand scheme of things this is really so minimal and could be so much worse. We left Vanderbilt after the audiology appointment with our initial diagnoses with mascara running down my face and as I got in my car to drive away I stopped and looked around me. A woman was struggling to get in her car with her baby and daughter who had a feeding tube in and had lost all of her hair I'm only assuming due to chemo. A man leaving with his son who was wheelchair bound. I looked in my review mirror trying to make myself look decent again only to see Hudson smiling at himself in his mirror. I wanted to smack myself. We're so blessed beyond belief to have a happy healthy baby. He could care less that he has to wear hearing aids. At this point all we can do as parents is take advantage of modern medicine and do what we can to make his hearing as good as ours. He is truly such a happy little man it's hard to be upset about anything with him around!

 

Kathryn as Mom

This is my first time "blogging", but I have wanted to blog about Kathryn and the incredible mother she is to our son.  Very few people get to see this, but more should.  She is not only a natural mother, but she is extremely patient, positive, and loving to this little boy.  From the minute we found out she was pregnant she has made this motherly transformation that has been incredible to witness.  Not that she needed to improve anything, but before she was my best friend, my life partner, my wife, a great sister, daughter and friend.  Now she is a MOM!  There were times where we sat and wondered how we would handle or react to certain things.  We even discussed what we were supposed to do when we got home from the hospital, where I replied "all we have to do is keep him alive".  We wondered how we would deal with certain situations, and what it would be like to truly be sleep deprived.  Since that little man was born and she held him for the first time, there have been no questions for her.  She has totally become Mom and as we all know.....Mom's don't get sick, they know everything, and they can ALWAYS make you feel better.  That's the truth, because she is the ONE person that can always calm him down and make him feel better.

I have shared our birthing story with many of you, and some haven't heard it.  I will spare Kathryn and not post it on the internet, but if you really want to hear it, give me a call because it was the most heroic, bravest things I have ever witnessed.  That woman pushed for 1.5 hours before she started to give up, but that is when it happened.  She morphed into this warrior and powered through it.  The amount of respect that I now have for her, and all other mothers is insurmountable.  Then sitting there watching her (and scrambling to take pictures because the ONE job I had, I screwed up) hold him for the first time made me so happy.  I never knew that a tiny 8 lb. human could make you feel that way.  Hudson will read this post one day and will already know how incredible his mom is, but just in case he doesn't he will now!  The sacrifices and pain (along with 1,000 other side effects, symptoms, and after birth care) that go along with having a child is something I didn't appreciate until now. 

Now that we are watching him grow up it fascinates me how much of a part of his life she truly is.  She is with him 24/7 and has made him the happiest baby that I have ever met.  Every time Hudson sees her, he immediately locks onto her and starts smiling.  He knows who she is and he already feels unconditional love from her.  Sure he laughs and smiles at me, but it is different with her.  She is his momma and she is ALWAYS there for him.

Below are some pictures I have taken with/without her knowing.  Growing up, it was drilled into my head that it wasn't important what I was doing when everyone was looking, but what I was doing when no one was looking.  Seeing her in action when she thinks no one is looking is truly amazing.

Disclaimer!

So I am officially the absolute worst 'Thank You' card writer there ever was. Cliff's office  is moving buildings today so he's at home today and I've planned for today to be the day I got caught up on thank you cards. As I've just sat down to write them I am embarrassed at how many I have to write. For those of you that have been thinking 'gosh, Kathryn is so rude' I feel ya and agree! So, if you get a thank you card in the next week or so I'll go ahead and apologize for being 3-6 months behind. (Yeah, it's that bad!) 

This face can be somewhat distracting! (Still unacceptable though!)

2 months..a week late!

The 24th was actually the 2 month marker for Hudson..oops! We took him to his 2 month dr's visit last Tuesday. He weighs 12 lbs and is 24 1/4 inches long. The doctor said he was really pleased with his growth and that he's a happy healthy boy! 

It's amazing how much he has changed just in the last month. He's so alert and really seems to know who Cliff and I are. He smiles all the time and tries hard to get giggles out every now and then! We keep being afraid we'll jinx ourselves but he really is such a good baby. I'm a pretty laid back person, some (Cliff) might say a little too laid back in some ways! But because of that super strict schedules just don't work out for us. I wanted him to be in a routine but not a strict schedule he has to abide by. So far it seems to be working for all of us. He's sleeping 12-13 hours every night. He usually wakes up between 7AM-8, eats, goes back to sleep for about 30 minutes and then stays awake for about 2 hours. I've started putting him down for a 2-3 hour nap in the early afternoon (instead of holding him). He's done really well with that, most of the time I have to wake him up after 3 hrs. I guess he's like me and loves to nap! Most days he's awake the rest of the afternoon until about 5 then he sleeps for an hour, eats and goes to sleep for the night around 730-8pm. I have been nursing him again around 930 but I'm probably going to cut that out soon and see how he does. 

He's still doing amazingly well with a bottle. I usually give him one every other day sometimes more just depending on what we're doing.  I've found when I'm out and about it's almost harder to rely on a bottle and easier just to park in the back of the parking lot and feed him!

We made it through his first Thanksgiving(s) pretty well! Wednesday night we went to Cliff's parents house for round 1. We had my mom, sister & Robert over to our house on Thursday for our first 'pot luck Thanksgiving' which turned out well! We had Friday off and last night went to my dad's for the last of the eating fest. My grandparents were in town so Hudson got to meet them too! 

Missi turned 3 since I last blogged! One would think that by 3 she would have calmed down significantly. Think again! We tell everyone that comes over 'I promise she'll calm down...eventually!' Our walks have helped a little bit with her want to bolt out the door every time it opens but every once and a while she still feels the need to run around the neighborhood. She always comes back. But, she just marches to the beat of her own drum and goes where ever she feels like. We haven't met every one who has moved in on our street, but she sure has! We will be much better human parents than dog parents..we've definitely failed at that! 

I'll try to keep better updated through the holidays. We've got a lot going on this next month so I'll try to do better! Hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving! 

2 month picture. He stayed face up this time! 

Thanksgiving at Gram and Poppa's house 

Thanksgiving at our house. Passed out on Cici

He fell asleep on Mimi without even making a peep 

4 generations

Sweet baby didn't even make it a block before passing out on the way home last night. He's definitely pooped today! 

Now Cliff and I are about to start decorating for Christmas! :)

Photo Dump

So I am horrible at this blogging thing. There's just not enough time in the day for me to sit down and focus on it. Sorry! So for now ill do a big photo dump and spare you all the details of our super exciting life. Ha!







I take HJT and Missi on a walk at least a few times a week. Something they're both happy doing!





Cliff and I on date night at the Justin Timberlake concert!


I bought this silly little hat and paw set at Target real quick one day when it was cold out & it continues to make us all laugh when he has it on!


Happy Thanksgiving !!





My 2 favorite boys :)


Turkey coma on Cici (cliff and I renamed her grandma name)


I promise I'll do another real update soon. We took HJT for his 2 month check up last week and the doctor said he's one healthy little man!

Location:Delaware Dr,Brentwood,United States

Newborn Photoshoot

When Hudson was a week old we had a photographer come and take newborn pictures of him. A lot of our friends had used her for their pictures and gave us raving reviews on her. Well, I can't say enough good things about her. She was so incredibly prepared and patient with us and with Hudson. This was the first time I had actually gotten dressed into something other than my pajamas or tried to do anything scheduled with Hudson so I was an anxious wreck. But the shoot went amazingly well because of her! I'm not going to put all the pictures on here but I will share a few :) 

http://www.kmosleyphotography.com/ is where you can find our photographer who I highly recommend!