September 12, 2011 - Tentative Surgery Dates

Gosh where did the summer go? It’s hard to believe I’m back to work, and fall is near. The Smith family had a busy summer moving ~ yes, we bought a house. Those of you who know us realized we were definitely outgrowing the townhome so it’s wonderful to have a big back yard to let the boys run and play. We moved about 5 minutes away to Crystal Lake, IL.

Although no news is good news we do have some updated information from out last cardiology appointment just last Friday. Caden’s heart function sounded great, he is doing well, and enjoying being back at daycare. He is “working” on potty-training which is definitely a work in progress, and his favorite word is “no”. Hmmm…does this sound familiar to anyone else who has toddlers? I feel his speech is getting better even though 3 weeks ago was his last speech therapy appointment for the year. Now that I’m back to work I can’t get to the office before they close. He is saying his ABC’s and numbers up to twenty (not great, and sometimes not in order, but he definitely enjoys trying).

Back to the appointment…..Dr. Frommelt his cardiologist has a tentative plan to see him in December for an Echocardiogram, in March for his heart catherization, and early June for his 3rd open heart surgery the Fontan. During the heart catherization when he is under they are also going to see what is going on with his paralyzed vocal cord to get a baseline and see if anything needs or can be done. All of these dates are tentative as Caden is going to dictate how/when he needs the surgeries maybe some sooner, but we pray to make it through this fall/winter and get us to the summer. Caden’s color still looks great (not grayish/dusky/blue), and his oxygen saturations are hanging around 78-82 which is normal for him.

After our cardiology appointment we had a second opinion for his eczema which has gotten pretty bad in the last month or so. The doctor prescribed a stronger anti-histamine at night to stop the itch cycle, and a stronger steroid cream to heal his red, tender skin. In the few days we have used the new Rx’s he seems to be better. Once it is healed we hope to go off the creams/anti-histamine altogether. He has battled this since he was little it just hasn’t been this bad. I’m hoping the winter will bring relief as Caden’s eczema seems to flare more in the summer/warmer weather.

From a big boy standpoint….Caden is enjoying having Griffin to play with. They really are great buddies. He looks for him in the mornings, he likes to help me take care of him (until I give the baby too much attention then Caden lets me know it’s “MY TURN “and wiggles his way into my arms/lap and takes over Griffin’s space). We are still working on the word “gentle” but I’m not sure he has grasped that concept yet. We still occasionally find Caden sitting on Griffin, trying to pick him up by his neck, and recently flipping over his car seat while Griffin is in it. I think Caden thinks it’s a little rollercoaster ride for him or something.

We continue to be blessed each day, and thankful for all of your continued prayers.

Love,
Melissa

June 18, 2011 - Father's Day

Going Fishing….
Feeding the horse in back of my parents house in Marion, IL

Griffin Smith with cousin Victoria Edwards
Grandpa Fred Monroe showing Caden how to fish...

Picking strawberries from my dad's massive garden
Grandma Rita Monroe loving on Griffin (5 months)

These are some recent pictures we took while visiting family in Marion, IL. My dad took the time to take us fishing (my style where he loads up the hook with worms, and then takes off the fish). More importantly, we got to show Caden what fishing was all about. Thanks to the Moore's for letting us use your pond!

Update on Caden: He had a cardiology appointment the beginning on June and Dr.Kovach said his heart sounded good, and we are still set for a tentative Fontan (3rd surgery) in about a year depending on how things go. Caden has lost some weight so we are back on two pediasure's a day to help him beef up a bit. Although he looks like a great size to us and probably everyone else it is important for him to gain more weight before his next surgery. Dietician Julie from CHW also met with us to go over things to try, do to help in this process. She also informed David and I after Caden's Fontan he will be on a strict low-fat diet for 6-8 weeks. Nothing over 3 grams of fat. Yikes….seeing we are doing everything to gain weight nuggets, ravioli, pizza, cheese, ice-cream…..this is going to be quite the change for him. Julie said another reason for his weight gain is because so many of these kiddos lose a lot of weight after the Fontan during those 2 months because they simply don't like lean chicken and fish and vegetables. We asked if we should start introducing those foods to him now but she said we could but again, it's all about weight gain so it's not in his best interest right now. Definitely not looking forward to the recovery of this surgery!!

All in all, Caden is doing well. He has battled a few summer sicknesses which once again almost landed him in the hospital but on both occasions he turned the corner last minute proving he dislikes the hospital as much as we do!

In addition to Caden's cardiology appointent he also had his Hypoplastic Clinic Appointment which compares how he is progressing compared to his peers.

Caden is 27 months
Pulse Ox - 76%

Weight = 25.8 pounds (15%)
Length = 33 1/4 length (10%)
Head = 19 inches (30%)

Bayley Test Score (age equivalent)

Cognitive (play skills) - 27 months
Fine motor - 27 months
Gross motor - 24 months
Receptive Lang (understanding) - 23 months
Expressive Lang (talking) - 21 months

We are pleased with his scores hoping with time the talking will still continue to improve. He still is going to speech once a week.

Happy Father's Day to all you dad's out there! Speaking of fish…to my dad….hope you are celebrating father's day catching lots of big tuna for your special day! Enjoy your trip and have safe travels back home.

Love,
Melissa

Graduating Class Memories... May 22, 2011

Our high school graduation was this Sunday and these last couple of weeks it has been exciting to see the students wrap up their final days at Grayslake North High School (I am back to work from my maternity leave). It's exciting to see these students graduate but even more memorable because this was the graduating class who were sophomores when we found out about Caden's diagnosis. It's remarkable to look at how far we have come, but at the same time not lose sight of a great graduating class that has really made a difference not only in my life, but in so many others. I still spot the bright blue shirts in the halls that some of these students help create to raise money for our family. I can't help but smile ear to ear knowing Caden is doing great and we are thankful for every day!

This picture was taken in 2009 while we were still in the hospital.

On an even happier note ~ School is done this Friday for us and then I get to spend a wonderful summer at home with the boys!

Love,
Melissa

March 28, 2011 - Pop Rocks

Happy 2nd Birthday Caden!
Caden (2 years) Griffin (12 weeks)
they must be brothers......that love to stick out their tongue!
Caden coming in for the attack.......it's either the face, head, or mouth.

So Caden turned two on 3/11/11! Although we celebrated with just a little family get-together it was once again a big day to celebrate how far he has come. We have finally started to see some improvements with his speech so after months of months of speech therapy I'm happy to see the key was Pop Rocks. You read right - Pop Rocks. So I'm no expert on language development, but who would have ever thought this fizz/pop candy would be the key to get our boy to start talking more. You might be puzzled just like I was the first day our therapist sprinkled it on a lollipop and twirled it around in his mouth. Imagine what I was thinking.....I'm paying for what? Well, call it a coincidence, call it time, but it works. This candy causes mouth awareness. Awareness as to where your tongue is at in your mouth. It makes your mouth alive as the therapist says. Once she gets Caden to understand where his tongue is he can move it more to complete sounds/words. Although it sounds funny, I'm sure there is a more scientific explanation of this and of course she know how to help him with his speech needs, its not all about this cheap candy, but interesting none-the-less. So, speech is getting better. Thanks Pop Rocks!

As for everything else. Caden is enjoying being a boy and he is ALL boy. He plows into things, over things, on things, and occasionally throws things. There is nothing dainty about this boy. I'm sure all of David's rough-housing has something to do with that. I have enrolled him in a Music and Art class at Gymboree while I'm still on maternity leave. It's a nice way for Caden to have some for himself as we still have some jealousy issues with Griffin being around. These classes are fun for him, and so far he seems to enjoy them.

Caden is weighing in at 25 pounds, in a size 4 diapers, and 2T clothes. We still struggle with mealtimes (me personally) with wanting to do the right thing (let him not eat if he doesn't like the food) versus making other food, or giving him the food I know he will eat. We still supplement with Pediasure in the morning and occasionally right before bed to get extra calories and nutrition.

While I'm still on maternity leave I'm going to enjoy the time with the boys and then my mom and mother-in-law are going to watch the boys alternating weeks until I finish school. A great big thanks to the two of them for helping out for these last few weeks until the school year ends. Although I'm excited to have some adult conversation and see the students, I am a bit nervous on how I'm going to do this with Griffin still not sleeping well. I finally got him on some prescription acid reflux meds so hopefully that will help with the sleeping situation a bit. Poor little man doesn't like to be flat at all so it has made sleeping and night time pretty difficult at times. From what the doctor has said, in a few weeks we should notice a difference in him being more comfortable. Thanks to the swing and the arm of the couch which have saved me most nights.

We continue to be blessed each day. Happy Spring ~ even though it still feels like winter.

Love,
Melissa

March 7, 2011 - No Surgery for now (YEAH!)

Nurse Julie, Nurse Shelly, and Speech Therapist Angie
Physical Therapist Jackie

We had our cardiology appointment on Friday 3/4 and got GREAT news. Although we didn't get great oxygen saturations there we had been getting slightly higher readings 78-82 here at home. Numbers we haven't seen in awhile. As much as we tried to prep him for when the doctors and nurses listen to his heart and take his oxygen readings he gets so worked up from crying we don't get good readings so they are basing the sats off the numbers we have gotten over the last few weeks at home. Since his heart sounded good, with no concerns with the tricuspid regurgitation at this point they feel confident to hold off on surgery (The Fontan - 3rd surgery) until next summer. YEAH! We knew surgery (heart cath or early Fontan) could be a possibility which would be determined from this appointment so we couldn't be more excited.

We took David's mom Sue up with us to Milwaukee so we could have an extra hand with Griffin. Thanks Sue. It was definitely needed. We got to visit and drop off some auction items to Chris for the Wings of Angels dinner on April 9 (www.thewingsofangels.org) as well and see so many nurses and therapists that Caden had during his two surgeries. We even got to see Dr. Nancy! Always hard to catch and great to see.

Since Caden is approaching his 2nd birthday this Friday I couldn't help but think about this great group here at Children's who have given us this opportunity to share this special day with our boy. You have no idea how important you are to us. You have been with us, cared for our son, and continue to show your support through the years. Thanks!

Blessed again,
Love - Melissa

February 19, 2011 - Brotherly love

19 weeks
15 weeks
11 weeks
10 weeks
7 weeks - 13.2 pounds
6 weeks old
4 weeks old

Big brother Caden is enjoying sitting on Griffin, putting his fingers in his eyes, and inserting objects into his ears. I think he is trying to tell Griffin he loves him - ha. Here are some new pics of Griffin.

Love,
Melissa

February 3, 2011 - Blizzard

Caden watching the frontloader move snow off the street
Bundled up to play.....

Fun in the fort - thanks to neighbor Jill!


It's crazy to thing since my last post over a month has gone by. Where time goes! Some of my days seem like such a blur trying to do just "normal" things on such little sleep can make for some challenging days. I'm hoping soon little Griffin will go for longer than some of these 2 hours stretches needing to be fed then things will start to get much easier (which is slowly starting to happen).

When Griffin was released from the hospital on day 4 he dropped below 10% body weight so it was recommended we supplement since my milk hadn't come in. When we did this, Griffin's "suck" changed and needless to say I couldn't continue breastfeeding because I was in so much pain. So, seeing I had such difficulties with my milk supply with Caden I was excited I at least could produce enough milk for Griffin by pumping. Although I'm disappointed I couldn't make it longer than a week, I'm happy I can at least still produce milk for him even if it means even less sleep for me. David and I are thrilled to just be doing normal baby things, with no hospital, filling syringes for medicines, and the constant worry everyday that occurred with Caden. We are thrilled we have the opportunity to have a "normal" baby experience and everything that comes with it.

Speaking of hospitals......how is Caden? Caden is doing good. His oxygen saturations are still on the low side 76-78% . We have a cardiology appointment in early March and at this appointment a decision will be made regarding more surgery or not. In the meantime, Caden is still going to speech therapy once a week. I feel like we haven't made much progress but I guess I'm the one that needs to be patient. The therapist is currently working on Caden and his tongue placement. By using a sucker she tries to get Caden to move his tongue to both sides of his mouth which he currently isn't doing. She said this could be contributing to some of his speech delays. It is possible that his vocal cord paralysis and being right side fed for the first several months of his life might have contributed to this. Either way, we are making very slow progress and with time hopefully more words will come. Right now his only words are momma, dada, baby, Elmo, eat, go, bye-bye, and a few others.

Caden is hovering around 25 pounds where he has been for the last 4 months. The new things he enjoys doing is running, dancing, and imitating his Dad. He does this by holding David's cell phone walking around blabbering something that makes no sense and sometimes even puts David's earpiece in his ear just like dad does. It's so cute!

Hopefully all of you in the Chicagoland area enjoyed the snowfall and managed to dig yourself out. I'll close this post with some pictures of the Blizzard of 2011 and the 18+ inches of snow.

Love -
Melissa

January 5, 2011 - Caden kisses his little brother

December 28, 2010 - Introducing Griffin Marshall Smith 9lbs - 21.5 inches long

Caden still a little unsure of his new little brother........



<
Dad and son.......
Proud Grandparents - Fred and Rita Monroe and Sue and Cliff Smith.
BIG BOY GRIFFIN
Our first look at Griffin. Look what my husband did with his hat....?!?!? I'm a swollen as the stay-puff marshmello man
My first look at Griffin in the operating room. Born at 10:23 am; 12/28/10.






Caden is officially a big brother to Griffin Marshall Smith. He weighed in at 9 lbs. 21.5 inches long. I was determined I would have baby before my due date but Griffin decided to wait till my due date when I had a planned c-section. I was in the hospital for 4 days recovering while family watched Caden. We are doing good, just trying to adjust to Griffin's sleep schedule (or maybe I should say lack thereof). Here are some pics taken while in the hospital.

"

December 19, 2010 - Cardiology recap

Caden's attempt to help us untangle the lights.......

As the holidays are approaching and things tend to get more busy with the upcoming arrival of BS #2 I figured I better finish what was discussed at Caden's last Cardiology appointment last week. As we expected from taking Caden's oxygen saturations at home there would be some sort of intervention in the near future for him and indeed it looks like doctors are going to have us continue to monitor his sats (which are now approximately 74-76) a decline from his normal 82. Surprisingly, with his lower sats his color still looks good (not dusky, or blue), and he seems energetic. What we don't know unfortunately (due to lack or studies) is what happens if these kids oxygen sats stay too low, too long. We are heading back in early March for another check-up and at this time doctors are discussing a potential heart catherization. This will allow doctors to see if the lower numbers are because he has been on/off sick, if collaterals are forming, or he simply is "outgrowing" his 2nd heart surgery (the Glenn) and will need #3 surgery (the Fontan) sooner than later. We also discussed when he is under during this procedure we will have ENT scope his vocal cords to see what they see now that he is a little older and bigger and if there is
anything we can do to help alleviate the wheezy breathing and issues that occasionally arise from his paralyzed vocal cord.

Although the thought of another surgery is scary, David and I have had time to absorb this is going to happen and it's now just a matter of when it's going to happen. The good news is I'll still be out on maternity leave (if they choose to do this in March or early April) so I can be with him as he recovers in the hospital and at home and not have to worry about work.

Speaking of maternity leave......for those of you who are wondering. I am starting to dilate, but obviously that doesn't mean a lot....I am so very, very, very, very ready to have this baby. For all you mom's out there. I am officially not sleeping, swelling, so uncomfortable not even 6 pillows can help alleviate the discomfort. So, as David keeps telling me I can't go into labor now (seeing I would be in the hospital during Christmas). I am ready! Otherwise, doctors will not let me go beyond the 28th (my actual due due.....with a planned C-section on my due date). I work up until the 23rd so I'm just praying to get through these last few days even though my classes are determined my water will break while I'm teaching and they think that would be "cool". They have told me they would get the wheelchair, wheel me downstairs, and have even offered to drive me to the hospital. I'm not sure what is more humermous in that statement.........but it's a good way to end this post.

We are celebrating Christmas today with the Smith side of the family (in the event I wouldn't make it to Christmas) so we are looking forward to a great holiday with family today.

Happy Holidays -
Love - Melissa

December 6, 2010 - Hypoplastic Clinic and RMH

Smith Family at the Ronald McDonald House 12-2010
Picture of Caden and I hanging on the wall at RMH with other families who have stayed here
Marilyn (the house director) and David in front of the beautiful Christmas Tree inside the living room of RMH


We took two trips up to Milwaukee this week for a Hypoplastic Clinic Appointment (Monday 12/6/10) and Yesterday (Friday 12/10) a Cardiology Appointment. Our every 6 month appointment with the Hypoplastic Team of doctor's and specialists went very well. In comparrison to our last visit. It would be nice to know exactly what is helping him the most but I'm sure it is a combination of his age, being around other kids in daycare, speech therapy, and of course David and I working with him. The therapists were very impressed with his overall scores.

Caden is almost 21 months.....

Bayley Test Scores (age equivalent) he scored.....

Cognitive (play) 23 months
Fine Motor 22 months
Gross Motor 19 months
Receptive Lang
(understanding) 18 months
Expressive Lang
(Talking) 19 months


Although he is still very limited on talking, we continue to work on sign language which Caden is helping cut down on his frusteration. He signs more, milk, water, book, sleep, cheese, and I've seen the occasional apple, and his version of yogurt which I'm trying to teach him but it's rather sloppy.


The only disappointing news we received (that we sorta were prepared for) was his low oxygen sats. We had a seperate cardiology appointment on Friday in which we will post on that later.

I would rather dwell on the good news for now....

After our appointment David and I went over to the Ronald MdDonald Home to drop off more pop tabs and some items we purchased for the house that was on their "wish list". I know most of you who know us understand what a special place this is to us, but I'm not sure I'll be able to explain how gratifying it was to leave that cart full of items. It was better than buying or receiving any other gift! We also got to see Marilyn (the house director) who also has a special place in our hearts.

On our way out we got to see the picture that was graciously taken by Jim Bovin, a volunteer photographer for the RMH. They had framed it and it was hanging on the wall with many other families that have considered RMH a home away from home. It is picture of Caden and I (he was about 3 months old) and we were getting discharged from CHW for the first time. It was so great (Jim) was able to come to the hospital to capture a moment David and I will never forget.

Love to you -
Melissa

Thanksgiving 2010

Good day all you Caden Marshall fans. Just wanted to post a quick update to let you know how we all are doing. Sitting here I reflect back on the post I put up for last thanksgiving. As it relates to that post we are still grateful and thankful for everything mentioned last year. This year we have even more to be thankful for.

Most of you know that Melissa and I are expecting BS2 (Baby Smith #2) just after Christmas. While Melissa is very uncomfortable right now, and cant imaging going another 4 weeks, we understand how blessed we are to be graced with another child. We are thankful that we have the opportunity to bring another life into this world. We are also very, very thankful that BS2 will be heart healthy as we had all the scans/ultrasounds to confirm this great news.

Melissa and I have so much to be thankful for including our family, friends, doctors, nurses, as well as our current situation where we have the ability to eat and sleep under a warm roof. While we have wants, we currently need for nothing and are very thankful God has planned this life for us. Of all the things we are thankful for we have one that we would prioritize at the top of the list. We are thankful for Caden Marshall and the fact that we get to celebrate another thanksgiving with him.

Caden is an absolute joy and continues to learn and grow. He is so much fun to be around as he is constantly exploring, learning, and getting into mischief. Caden loves testing boundaries and climbing and rough housing. While his saturation levels are lower than we would like to see it does not seem to affect him. He is all boy and a pretty normal kid from all that we see. He is also a loving little boy. He likes to give kisses and hugs and loves to cuddle with mom as she reads him books. I wish you could all see the way Caden kisses Melissa’s belly knowing the baby is inside.. The highlight of my day is when I wake him up at night to give him his medications. I pick up this beautiful sleeping boy to give him his meds, feed him a bottle then I put him on my shoulder and we sit down in the rocker. While I rock him I pray with him and he could not be more content in my arms. I swear that if the chair were more comfortable we could both sleep there all night long. I am so thankful for these moments with him.

Melissa and I are thankful for all your prayers and support and while we can not reply to everyone all the time, please know that your support means the world to us. We are looking forward to the Christmas season and Caden becoming a big brother. He is going to be a great big brother as he is so helpful now and I can see him kicking it up a notch when his baby _____ comes along. We will probably just have to remind him that his dad is the jungle gym and not the baby.

We have a cardiology appointment with Caden on the 10th of December. If we can ask for another prayer that Caden’s saturations don’t get any worse and that they will not have to do any intervention that would be fantastic. Thank you.

“It’s not having what you want, it’s wanting what you have” –Sheryl Crow.

Happy thanksgiving everyone.

David, Melissa, Caden, and BS2

Oct 31, 2010 - Happy Halloween!

Caden the Chilean miner....

Happy Halloween to all of you! Hope you had a great weekend.

Wonderful Weekend

Hey there Caden fans. It is Wednesday night on a great fall day and I am writing to tell you about the wonderful weekend we had and give you a quick Caden update. If you live in the Chicago land area you know that we were blessed with fantastic weather over the last week.

Saturday Melissa, Caden and I headed up to Milwaukee to participate in Al’s Run/Walk for Children's Hospital of Wisconsin I use the term “participated” very loosely as we did not actually do the walk/run portion. We registered, received our bib numbers, and got to the starting line yet just did not cross it. As you know Melissa is currently cooking BS2 and she has been uncomfortable lately so we took a pass on the walk portion as just used the day to run into friends and socialize. We were on the fence about going at all but we were both glad we did. The weather was perfect and we got to bring Caden this year to meet/catch up with everyone. Some of this year felt just like the last.

Last year I remember showing up to the race and being overcome with the wonderful feeling of actually doing something that makes a difference and to give back to the place that gave Melissa and I so much. Having the opportunity to walk in solidarity with the thousands of people all out to support CHW was amazing. This year was not much different but it also brought on new emotions. You see when you stand at the start line you see all these people that have aligned into teams that raise money and walk in the name of children, family and friends that have been treated at CHW it can be overwhelming. There are signs all over indicating where their teams muster points are. There are lots of hugs, smiles, tears, and laughing. Some of the teams have these wonderfully personalized shirts made to honor those that have been treated. Team Carsyn (Wings of Angles), Team Braden (Heart of Gold Charities, and Team Neveah (Playroom of Hope) are some of the signs that we are familiar with as their children shared the same HLHS CHD Caden has. Each of these teams had as many as 40+ people walking with them. Awesome, just awesome. Teams walk for the work that CHW does,and will do, as well as the attention they give not only children but the families that sit there and look over them. Some teams walk in support of children that have been successfully treated and other teams walk in the memory of a child (like each of the named teams above) God has chosen to take each of these afore mentioned children home early. Neveah and Braden made it home and God took them as toddlers where Carsyns parents had to leave CHW without ever being able to take their beautiful daughter home. These families have lost more than most can imagine yet they rally their crew around to support CHW. I believe they understand that CHW gave their children the best chance at life. And even though their story is tragic they raise money and walk to ensure sick children to come have that same, if not a better, chance. I admire each and every one of these families and pray that they can find a bit of peace in each of their days going forward. These are the types of great people that walk for CHW. They walk along side other families that may have similar stories, triumphant stories or no personal experience with CHW at all. Being surrounded by all these great people made for an emotional day. A day of sorrow and one that is filled with hope and the understanding that we all were there to make a difference and potentially make the lives of others better through our support of CHW.

Getting in the car I had kind of a weak moment. I remember asking Melissa on the ride over to the summerfest grounds: Why us? Are we lucky? Are we more blessed? Why did He take the other children? We had a good cry and just decided it was Gods plan. There is no other explanation. As I type this Caden is pulling diapers from his basket and placing them on the keyboard of my laptop. I stopped and I hugged him tight struggling to understand God’s plan for the other children and praying for a different plan for Caden. I know that we are blessed to have Caden every single day and that we can not take the next for granted. We live trying to balance hope and fear and a good day is when hope out ways the fear. When Caden has a cold or his sats are low fear may win the day. When we dance with him and watch him explore hope is the winner. I am happy to report that hope wins most days.

Just to wrap up Saturday, Melissa, Caden and I went out to lunch with our friends Julie and Poul and headed home. As always a wonderful time. We were all exhausted by the time we got home.

Sunday was another beautiful day. Caden and I worked outside in the back of the house washing down the siding, sweeping the patio, disconnecting the hose and such. Caden was not much help but he did have fun walking up the small incline in the grass and then running down it. It was funny because one out of every 5 times or so he fell down from his momentum and he and I both thought it was funny. After his nap we got up and headed to the local farm for a fall festival. We had a good time watching Caden climb around and explore and I got to have what is likely my last ear of roasted corn (yum). After leaving the farm we ran into my friend Kevin driving home. Kevin was going to pick up his family to check out the new recreation area that just opened up in Crystal Lake. We decided to join him as we did not want the nice day nor the weekend to end. It was great to see Kevin, Kim and their kids Kaylie and Kaiden. You can see a pic of their family with Caden above. A great end to a great day

This weekend was so good because of the weather but mostly because Caden Marshall was healthy all weekend. The previous weekends he had fighting pink eye, ear infections or some of the other joyful things he picks up at daycare. Caden is anxiously awaiting BS2 and is beginning to realize that Melissa is not hiding something under her shirt. We are looking forward to Halloween and are deciding on what to dress Caden as. I have some ideas but all my ideas make Melissa’s eyes roll. What did she get herself into.

That’s all for now. I hope you enjoyed the pictures above. I know my favorite pirate Allee will ;)

Xoxo

David

September 11, 2010 - 18 months old

Caden loves the slide......

Grandma and Grandpa Monroe with Caden at a local festival

1st Merry-go-round ride


Grandma and Grandpa Monroe

Caden is doing good. Still fighting a cold that seems to last forever, but all in all, he is good. A few weeks ago he got really sick and his oxygen sats dropped and stayed consistently in the low 70’s. After going to our pediatrician and them following up with Children’s Hospital they decided to put him on nebulizer steroids to help him breath (for his lungs) as well as a steroid (prednisolone –sp?) for his throat to open the airway. Breathing is really hard for him when he is sick especially because of the damaged vocal cord so this medication helps to reduce some of the inflammation thus making his little body not work so hard. It seems to help, and thankfully kept us from making another trip to CHW.

Caden has slowly adjusted to Daycare (after about 4 weeks). Goddard School has a great program, they keep the kids on a great routine, and have lots of fun and creative things for them to do. Usually when I pick him up after work it is their free time to play outside. I must say I was pretty sad and upset when I would peek out the window of his classroom to see him outside, by himself, not playing with any of the other kids and sitting or walking along the fence by himself. My heart just broke! I can finally say he has now “adjusted” and is now playing, giggling, and interacting with the others. Ahhhhh…….a sigh of relief. I have also noticed in the last few days when I drop him off he no longer cries. He walks right over to the other kids and toys and starts playing……oh what a difference a few weeks can make. The only thing I wish he did better now is EAT. I really thought he would learn to eat other foods by watching the other kids, but it’s just not the case so far. Almost everyday I look at his report sheet to read that he ate nothing for lunch, maybe the milk or the fruit but that is it. I get frustrated, but then I remember a lot of these HLHS kids are still on G-tubes and do have feeing issues so perhaps instead of being frustrated I should be thankful at least he does eat something.

We also are still taking him to speech therapy once a week. I really haven’t noticed too much of a difference he only says about 3 words Mamma, dada, and baby consistently. He is however signing a little (about 3 signs – more, cheese, and milk). Hopefully he will pick up more of our signs so it makes him less frustrated when he is trying to communicate. Thanks Tricia for giving me some sign language materials to use with him. We really appreciate it!

As for the rest of us, we are doing good. After fighting some sickness ourselves (David and I ) and myself having to go the ER and be admitted overnight for some shortness of breath, cramping, fever and pain that radiated down my right arm, we are doing fine. Baby seems to be doing great, growing, and now (beside a few weeks ago) my pregnancy has been uneventful (which is good).

My parents made the trip up over Labor Day Weekend to spend time with us and it was so great to hang out, go shopping, go to a local festival, and get some things done around the house. Thanks mom and dad for everything!

Love to you -
Melissa