Julia has made some great strides and had an adventure or two this week. It seems like she has learned to do so much in the last couple of weeks that we need to take a moment and celebrate. One of the big ones is that she has found her smile and is using it more and more often. It began with a small lift in the corners of her mouth and would flash a quick smile at her mom. But in the last week or so, she’s been smiling a lot! I gotta tell you, eye contact and a grin from this kid and I’m glowing like the moon!
Another win is her head control and the muscle tone in her neck. It usually happens when she’s resting after a good feed. She gets her arms underneath and pushes off for a look around! She’s still working on her landing (sometimes her noggin comes down with a crash!), but she’s really starting to interact with her surroundings.
Julia also got a grand introduction to the staff at Kensington when she visited the office on Thursday. The toughest thing was having to be so vigilant on cootie patrol. I wanted to pass her around and let folks hold her and give her kisses, but we need to be so careful about her exposure to germs that we had to seriously limit her direct contact with people. There was no way we were going to keep Steve Andrews (Kensington’s Lead Pastor) away from her. We still have fond memories of him kicking down our hospital room door some sixteen hours after the delivery hollering, “Where’s my kid??”
Now the challenges that we would like your prayers on:
One part of the day that we least look forward to is the almost nightly meltdown she goes through at around 9pm. It begins with a little fussiness and escalates into a full-blown holler that is absolutely heartbreaking to witness and can last up to thirty minutes. Our theory is that she’s either working through colic or digested mucous, but it always happens around the same time of night. She’s tired afterwards, but otherwise none the worse for wear. Any experience or encouragement you can offer in the comments would be greatly appreciated.
In addition, Julia’s feeding is still an issue; and she gained only two ounces by her weekly weight check at the cardiologist. She’s still breathing very comfortably at this writing, and her spitting up pretty well under control; but it’s the first time I heard a subtle shift in Dr. Weinhouse’s optimistic tone. “She just needs the surgery.” It was stating the obvious, I know; but this may be the first time we got the clear reminder that the medications will only go so far.
Despite the challenges, we’re still watching her one month from the surgery, and we are still in awe of how she is growing. Thanks so much for your prayers. It seems the legion of angels I asked for are still doing their work!
9 Responses
Brighter than a string of Christmas lights…beautiful.
Looking forward to another visit over the Holidays. My children are going to be home soon, Whitney tonight and Nick on the 22nd. Hope you’re having a great start to the season.
Patricia
Hey Chris and Jocelyn, thank you for sharing your thoughts and pictures of Julia. I love reading them each time a new one pops up! Hang in there with the 9pm holler. One of ours had the same holler…same time….we decided it was colic….we did several things….took him for a ride in the car which calmed him, put tennis shoes in the dryer, laid him on a pillow and turned the dryer on….the bouncing helped with the stomach knots….we laid him on his tummy…..he also had the projectile reflux…..this of course was all almost 21 years ago. 🙂 He survived, he grew out of it, and life has been grand having him as part of ours. Enjoy her and know we love you and we are praying for the 3 of you always. Robin
Love her sweet smile! I hope to be on the receiving end sometime soon! Love you all and prayers in abundance.
Yes, that smile is precious – also our precious wee girl is growing – I can see the differnce since Thanksgiving. That head is getting higher also praise God for the developmental milestones.
All this progress and even better from her weigh-in this week! Yeah, for what it is worth, Andreas hit the same wall when he was about 3 months old right around 6 or 7 pm — truly the witching hour for our household. His made the pain and discomfort of his still immature digestive system quite palpable to anyone in earshot, as his cries seems to jag into actual shrieks for a few minutes of each episode. It became a real nail-biter for us every evening, yet never lasted as long as it felt, and he always wound down and was fine immediately afterward. We were assured it was hardest on us. He grew out of it after about three weeks, though it scarred his parents for life, apparently.
Hang in there.
Hey Chris and Jocelyn,
First off, I love when I get to catch up on this website. She is simply beautiful and I love seeing the pictures of her with you all. It is so obvious that she is such joy!! (yes, even the 9 pm crying times….which sarah (our first) had 17 years ago. she grew out of it…and there will be a time you hardly remember it. until then, sing through it, pray through it, and just realize it won’t be forever)
I want you, also, to know that as much as I love that picture of her and Steve, I am jealous. : )You know I love babies!! I really want to get my hands on that child! We would love to come by and see you and your sweet family. I will call and plan that – because now that you are showing her off, I have to have my own photo.
Love to you all! xo
She looks great! I love her smile! So happy to hear about the weight gain. Merry Christmas to the three of you. Love, The 4 of Us….
I love hearing all the updates on our girl. We’re praying for her, pulling for everyone, on our knees, in our hearts and singing the praises.