4 Month Check Up

Alan is teaching me how to do this whole blog thing - so let's see how this goes. . . .

This is a picture of cordless Carter. Every couple of weeks we have to change all the tubes and he is "cordless" for a few brief moments. He looks totally different without tubes - we can't wait until he is like this all the time!!!! He doesn't seem to like being cordless - I bet it feels weird - he has always had cords!

Carter had his 4 month well baby check up on Friday and all is well. He weighed in at 14 pounds 2 ounces which puts him in the 22nd percentile. He is currently 23 1/2 inches long - which is only the 2nd percentile - ok so he is definitely short!!

He didn't get any immunizations because he has heart surgery scheduled in 3 weeks. They said that the heart lung bypass machine actually filters the blood so well that the immunizations he would have received would be filtered right out of his blood and then we would have had to do them again. So we will do his 4 month shots at 6 months and his 6 month shots at 9 months and then we should be caught back up.

Carter has recently found his hands - wow what a nifty toy! All was well and we were excited for him to see his hands until he started pulling his tubes out. He now is constantly pulling out his nasal canula and today he even managed to pull out his NG tube - no small feet considering how much tape is on his cheek. We may have to resort to the newborn mittens to get him to stop. During the day its OK because we can watch him and put his canula back in when he pulls it out. However, at night it is not so much fun. After his canula has been out for a period of time, his oxygen drops, his pulse oximeter starts to beep and someone has to get up and go put it back in. Makes sleeping very difficult!!

Up until this time, I haven't said much about this whole journey - but I want to let people know how incredible this whole experience has been. It was a very difficult pregnancy with a very shocking surprise at the end. We had no idea that Carter would have Down Syndrome. I thought that when I finally had the baby I could get back to normal - but that was not to be. Life may never be normal for us again - actually it will be normal but it will be a new normal.

We know beyond any shadow of a doubt that Carter was meant for our family. He is a little piece of heaven right here in our home. He is a miracle baby and we are excited to be his parents. I have always thought children with Down Syndrome were the cutest kids and often wondered in the back of my mind if I would ever have a child with Down Syndrome. I think that I was being prepared for this experience. As Alan and I look back on things that have happened - it is very clear that many things we were going through were preparing us for this very special experience. This is an incredible journey that we have embarked on - we have no idea what lies in store for us - but we know that we are not alone. We have been strengthened and sustained by a loving Heavenly Father who has heard our prayers and the prayers of many family members and friends. Carter is a fighter and he is strong and he is just the cutest kid ever!

Please keep him in your prayers as we approach August 27 - we are going to need as many prayers as we can get!

Thanks so much for your support!
Kristi and Alan