Pass or Fail? X-rays and Easter

Tony took his Real Estate test a couple weekends ago and I forgot to mention in the last post that he PASSED!! We were so excited we went and celebrated at Tucanos. It was delicious as always. Now we are just waiting for his license to come in the mail and he can start learning some tricks and trades from one of his friends who owns a brokerage. Tony is pretty excited about this new experience and looks forward to selling or listing some homes, so if you know of anyone wanting to buy or sell send them his way!

Maximus weighs in tomorrow at the Dr. I don't have an appointment, I'm just going in to weigh him. I'm hoping he will be over 11 lbs. Also we got the x-ray results back from the Dr about his head and everything looks fine right now. Suture lines are not fusing together! Yay! But his head is pretty flat in the back. Dr just said we will watch it to make sure it doesn't get flatter and if it gets worse or takes a funny shape we can fix it with one of those awesome helmets kids where now days not just for riding bikes or skateboarding. Or if it gets really bad, which I don't think it will we can see a craniologist for it. 

Maximus is also 4 months old as of Sunday! I can't believe how fast its going. I used to sit and think about when he would be 3 months or 6 months and how forever it seemed away when I was pregnant. Now it's here and I'm loving every minute of him! He reached a couple of milestones I've been working with him on. I finally got him to take a nap Monday IN HIS CRIB, ON HIS TUMMY for 3 HOURS! I was shocked he lasted that long. I was so happy. I've been trying it everyday for a while and he finally gave in. Everyday I keep trying. He mostly only lasts an hour, but at least he's still doing it. Also I've been showing him his toes and using his hands to touch them and play with them trying to get him to do it on his own. One of the OT's from Kids On The Move showed me this. Yesterday, I had him laying on the couch next to me trying to get him to take a little nap while I read a few chapters but he decided playing was more important and I looked over at him and he was playing with his feet!! I was so excited! I pulled my phone out and captured it! So here is the video: (Don't mind my baby babbling voice)

He has also discovered more vocal sounds and goos and screams a lot. I need to get him on video doing this too, but haven't yet. I'll try to get a good one of him in the next couple of days and post it in the next post. For now here are some more pictures. 

Playing Starcraft with dad

Playing outside! He loved it!

In their matching church outfits! We actually went to Sacrament meeting on Sunday! It was nice. 

Sleeping with one of his favorite stuffed animals (which is actually my stuffed animal), Skip. 

I found this teething toy at Target yesterday and he loves it. He loves chewing on things so I thought it would be perfect for him and it is. 

We also had Easter at my moms house this past Sunday! It was so nice! Good food, company and had an Easter egg hunt for the kids and candy bar hunt for the adults. 

Grandpa with Hulk and Maximus 

All the grandkids on my side, I couldn't decide on 1 picture because they were all so funny trying to get a good one wasn't going to happen! But they are all so cute! 

Thanks Grandma Rose! We had a blast!

I have my own agenda Mom!

I took Maximus last Thursday (the 12th) into the pediatrician's office just to get a weight check on him. He hadn't been weighed for 2 weeks, so I was hoping to see a big number. Well to my dismay he was only 10 lbs 4 oz. He only gained 2 oz in two weeks! I was so sad! I couldn't believe it because the only thing that had changed was giving him more in his bottles. My Dr was not in due to spring break and being on vacation. So they wanted me to see the other Dr. I opted not to because of many reasons. Not because I didn't trust his judgement or anything, but because my Dr just knows more about our situation and still doesn't know it all so the last thing I wanted was for another Dr to have to read through Maximus's chart, then ask me what's been going on and pay $25 bucks for him to tell me to just keep doing what I'm doing and he will have my Dr call me when he gets back! So I just told the nurses I would call my Dr when he returned on the following Tuesday. So Tuesday, I called and they just had me make an appointment for Thursday, which was yesterday. We went in at 8am. I was so nervous and scared that he had only gained an ounce or two so I was expecting the worst. But to my surprise, my awesome little man gained 7.5 oz!! So he now weights 10 lbs 11.5 oz! Still small I know, but he gained and that in itself is a miracle. I was so happy. The Dr was happy too but still concerned about him not weighing enough. So he told me to come back next Thursday (the 27th) and we will weigh him again and see where he is at. Also he was going to check with the nutritionist at the hospital and see what else we can do to maybe get Maximus to gain some more weight. So I'm interested to see how this next appointment will go. Man, I thought for sure we were Dr free for a while! Oh well, I guess I should learn by now not to have expectations right? 

Also Tony noticed a couple weeks ago that Maximus has a ridge in his suture lines on his forehead. They told us to watch for these because sometimes they can fuse together, or overlap. Overlapping is ok, and fixable by a helmet or repositioning him while he sleeps. 

But if his skull is fusing together that means surgery to fix it. It's basically like brain surgery. So our Dr ordered some x-rays to see whats going on. Maybe its nothing? Thats what I'm hoping to hear. If something is wrong I hope its just the overlapping and we can fix it quick and not have to put him through another surgery and us to have to worry about something going wrong. Here are some pictures of him getting the X-rays. It was funny because they told me I would need to stand behind the glass and they would let Tony help hold him down because its not fun for mom's to hold their babies down during the procedure, apparently they all scream. I told them I'd be ok, we'd been through enough and I doubted he would get too upset but they kind of insisted I just go behind the glass, and I was fine with that because Tony was going to be with them, but at the same time I was thinking you guys have no idea what we've been through nor do you realize your dealing with a tough little dude! Needless to say, Maximus pretty much thought it was the coolest thing. He didn't cry at all, and he was just having fun kicking the table and staring at all the cool lights in the room! The technician was shocked she told me she was surprised he was doing so well and that she had never seen a baby stay that still and be that content! I wanted to say "Told ya so!", but I kept my cool and just laughed. 

Maximus has also decided to have his own agenda (hence the title of this post). Basically the last week, he sleeps when HE wants to sleep and usually only 20 min every few hours during the day and at night he wakes up crying a lot! So I'm exhausted just a little. Last night he actually slept really well for the first time he didn't wake up crying at all, just woke up to eat. Also he eats when and how much HE wants to eat. So I'm still struggling with that a little but he is eating good so I'm not worried he's not getting enough. He also wants all the attention all the time! I just figure with all this at least its normal right?! I know all babies go through these phases. 

Here are some cute pictures of the last few days or so

in the waiting room at the hospital

Sleeping with Daddy

All tuckered out from yard work 

Sleeping again

Easter

We had a very good Easter! Maximus got an Easter basket from the Easter Bunny and we had a great Sunday at Tony's parents house full of good good, candy and an Easter egg hunt! Maximus was happy for the most part even though the pictures will tell other wise. He is a stinker sometimes. Here are some pictures of Easter.

Eating an Easter egg from his basket

"I'm done taking pictures mom!"

His Easter Basket

In his new Easter outfit for church! Doesn't he look so handsome?

All the cousins on Tony's side

We look forward to this Sunday for an Easter celebration at Grandma Rose's. Also for Easter weekend we went to the Sand Dunes! Yes, we took Maximus and YES he did ride for 5 min with me on my moms four wheeler. I only went just around camp and to the base of Sand mountain. Here are a few pics of that. 

I also took Maximus in for a weight check up last Thursday and he was only 10lbs 4oz. So he only gained 2.5oz in two weeks. NOT GOOD. I've just decided that my baby is going to be small. I call the Dr in the morning to talk to him about it since he was gone on vacation during Spring Break. Also a few days ago we noticed a small bomb on his head that started oozing some stuff out of it. We're not sure if its because of his condition or what it could be. I gave it a few days and it cleared so we didn't take him into the dermatologist but I will ask him next time I go in what it could be. This is what it looked like...

Well, thats all for now! I had some video's but couldn't get them to work. I'll have to work with them later and see if I can get them up. 

Oxygen Update

We went to the cardiologist today to see about getting the oxygen off. We got good and bad news!

Bad news: We have to keep the oxygen on him
Good news: But only at night time! So during the day he doesn't have to wear it.

So I am happy about that and hopefully in 2 months we will get rid of it for good! Dr said that his pulmonary hypertension is only slightly elevated from normal. So thats good, we know its healing just slowly!

This is him helping the Dr with his ECHO test! He loves cords! I don't know why!

He is doing really good with his exercises and therapy. I am working with him multiple times a day on things. Today he also got a brace for his thumb. He likes to tuck it between his pointer finger and middle finger on his left hand so one of our therapists brought him a brace to help fix it. He only has to wear it a couple hours a day. So not too bad!

Also practicing to feed himself! He actually does pretty good! AND the other morning I had fed him at about 12am, put him back to bed. He got up at 6:30am to eat so I fixed a normal 2 oz bottle and after he was finished he got mad! So I thought well, if he is still hungry I'll go fix him another 2 oz bottle and whatever he doesn't finish I'll use for the next bottle. I was thinking he would only eat maybe a half an ounce more, oh no he ate the whole 2 oz! I was shocked! 4 oz! It was awesome. And he didn't even throw it up which is what I was afraid of. 

Also a couple of new videos

The other night I got out of my 5 min shower, and this is how I found him! 

And this is a video of him clicking his tongue 

PS

I look forward to showing you pictures of my handsome little man in his new Easter outfit I bought him! Have to wait until after Easter though! 

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

Also Tony passed his practice Real Estate test, so now on to study for the real thing! Hopefully by next week he will be able to take it and pass it! Wish him luck.