{test results}

   

okay, first off SORRY for not posting this sooner! i'm horrible to leave everyone hanging for so long.

we still don't have all of the final results back from a few of isaac's mri's - we have a few follow up appointments a few weeks out, still for those, but we at least got really brief updates on those & we've talked with a few doctors already, too. so here is what we have:

{sorry its long & kind of technical. i'll try to keep everything readable...}

-isaac had a BAER hearing test done - basically so we would know if his hearing loss was more to do with bone structure or if there was actually something wrong with his eardrums. so it came down to us knowing there was something wrong, but not knowing if it was 'fixable' & we are very glad to know now that with a hearing aid or possible surgery down the road his should be able to hear fine :)

we still haven't talked to this doctor, so i don't know timeframes or anything, but just that news alone makes us very glad.

so next step there is to talk with our doctor & we'll probably be adding to our list of therapists someone that can help us with this, too.

-we also talked to the specialist that monitors his hydrocephalous {fluid in his brain} & spine & got the results back from those mri's. & his shunt {the device that drains the fluid from his brain} is still working great & its working so things are looking better, there. they showed us an mri of his brain from before they put the shunt in & one of what it looks like now & it is so much better! the ventricle that is supposed to be alined in the center of your brain was originally moved over way way on the right side making the left side of his brain about 5x larger than the right, & it has moved back over to the left side a good bit, so again, we're happy there, too.

-i suppose the most concerning news was about his spine - & even that could definitely have been worse. there were a few vertebrae around his neck area that were partly fused, which would just limit neck rotation a tiny bit, & then a possibility of a tethered spine forming at some time down the road, but again, fixable with surgery. i'm grateful, at least that so many things are.

-they also checked out his eyes & said his optic nerves were still small, but otherwise were totally fine - when he was first born they even told us that he could possibly be blind. we would just have to wait & see, but he is SO alert & attentive & is awesome at tracking things up & down & every which way. another miracle.

i've been working on a blurb book for this past year & have been going thru all of the early pictures of isaac. he looked so tiny & frail. i can hardly believe he is the same smiling baby, now. he is the sweetest little person. i never would have believed he could make our hearts so much bigger.

thank you to everyone that as prayed & thought of us this past week! we're so grateful.

love you all!

{a big day for baby}

i will keep this pretty short, because we are actually going to bed soon. i know. craaaaazy right? its only 9! but tomorrow we are getting up before its even bright & early so we can be at the hospital for a series of tests for isaac. 4 mri's & a pretty extensive hearing test - about seven hours at the hospital, i'm thinking?

we haven't been totally sure that he can hear this whole time. i may have mentioned that really briefly before. its just with everything else going on, hearing seemed to be more of a minor thing, if you can believe it. i'm pretty positive he can at least feel vibrations if we're taking to him & he's really close to us & most recently he's responded a tiny bit to high pitched noises - his ear canals are super tiny, so hopefully thats all there is to it & its something a surgery or hearing aids can fix & its not in his inner ear, but tomorrow we should know a lot more.

we're also doing mri's on his brain, ears, eyes & spine. all of which, depending on the news we get will result in follow up surgeries. so tomorrow could be a really eventful day for us. i'm praying for the best but also trying to prepare my heart for some bad news.

i'm starting to feel a bit anxious about it. but i keep reminding myself that at the end of tomorrow nothing will have changed with him except that we will know & will hopefully be able to take care of him better.

if you think of us say a prayer. good news would be a sweet little miracle for the day!

{new sponsor: purusha people}

 i am making it apart of my 24 before 24 {remember from last year?} list that i need to get back in shape & take care of myself better now that isaac is getting a bit more settled.

you know how i know it needs to happen?

well…i just had a baby six months ago {ahhh! SIX!!! where has the time gone already?!} that is reason enough.
but we took isaac to the park a few weeks ago & i tried going across the monkey bars...

seriously. i heard my limbs squeak. & then scream.
it was the hardest thing i've done in AGES.
& then daniel laughed at me the whole way home as i moaned & groaned about my arms.

before i got pregnant, i was doing yoga a good bit - & it was also warmer out & daylight lasted longer, so daniel & i would go for long walks.

yoga helped me SO much with a lot of back problems i have & made me feel stronger & more energized. i loved it.

but i got out of the habit. & once we came home with isaac, i just stayed out of the habit.

then i got this lovely package in the mail from purusha people & all of my motivation suddenly reappeared.

they are the comfiest of yoga pants {&top}
i am hooked. & they are totally hand dyed & screen printed & sewn. which is also amazing!

they've also been nice to just lounge around the house in, too - you know, because i don't brave the crowds a lot these days. & this way at least i'm in matching clothes when daniel comes home.
that is reason enough to be joyful :)

so apart from the motivation brought on by fun yoga gear -i've also found a nice 10 minute yoga workout on netflix that is fabulous, because sometimes thats all i have before isaac wakes up again. & if i have longer i'll do another one. its a set of five 10 minute workouts. mommies everywhere should know about these. they have been so great! even if its just for short bursts at a time…

so here is to becoming strong again & being motivated. just in time for spring :)

{favorite apps!}

i am one of the few people left on earth without an iphone, but i'm okay with that.
especially since daniel got me an ipod touch for my birthday last year.
my ipod does just about everything i would use a phone for & i can still play around with all the apps. win/win - for now ;)

there are a few apps that i LOVE that you may know about, but maybe not, so i thought i would share just a couple of them:

paper karma: has cleaned out our mailbox. our actual mailbox.

i love this app so much i could write a song about it almost. we haven't received any credit card offers in WEEKS when we were getting 2+ a day. nice on your paper shredder & nice on the trees :)
all you do is take a picture on your iphone of the junk mail, catalogue, whatever & they do the rest. i don't know how it works, but it does…

daily water: proof that i don't drink NEAR enough water. but has actually helped. i am so task driven i will drink a glass just so i can check it off. thats how much i love lists.

there is a free version & a paid one that sends you reminders to drink water. i don't have that one yet, but i think i will soon.

sleep cycle: wakes me up sometime in a 30 minute period when you're supposedly in a lighter sleep. i think it actually works. worth the dollar if i don't need espresso first thing every am.

what are some of your favourite apps? do share!

{kony2012}

this has gone viral everywhere the past day or two, so hopefully you've already seen it, but if you haven't - it takes a few minutes to watch. its thirty minutes. its worth every second.

daniel & i watched it yesterday evening & there is so much i could say about this - but i really think i should just let the video speak for itself.

it's good for us to be made aware of things that are going on outside of ourselves & our families & our city & this is just one way you can.

second, sign the pledge here.
& repost this video.

& pray for these children.

{fighting the end of winter colds}

we have a pitiful little home right now.

daniel had a cold sneak up on him this weekend.
& i am warding off the same aforementioned cold.

isaac was whisked away this morning to my parents house to hopefully avoid the sniffles we have going around. & is just beginning to get his first few chompers in, too. which means a little extra fussing. poor buddy.

so anytime someone starts feeling sick around  here, we have our little routines that we start: either a combination or some of these:

acvtea 

rosehip tea. or rosehip + hybiscus.

{rosehips have massive amounts of vitamin C in them. you can actually find (with rosehips) often added to bottles of vitamin c. every time i start feeling icky this is what i go to first. you can find both in the bulk herb sections at health food stores.}

echinacea. one before bed with a cup of tea to help keep the scratchy throat at bay thru the night. one in the morning with a grapefruit and honey.

lots of chickeny soups & broth

dr. thompson's coldwar - i actually just found this buried deep in our cupboard this past weekend & it seems to have cured me right up with the addition of cups of tea & grapefruit. i think we'll be buying more to have on hand for next time around.

do you have any tried and true cold remedies? i'm all ears!

{catching some early spring rays + new sponsor: frosted willow}

it has been a really mild winter, here. i'm thinking we may not even get a snow before its all said & done.

but lately, it has been feeling like spring, already. & isaac & i have been enjoying lots of walks. just us two & with friends & with daniel.

after being indoors so much of the winter, i've been taking isaac outside with me for any little thing i can think of. pruning trees, gardening, opening mail…anything. i hope it stays this way for awhile, still...

also:

we have a new blog sponsor: Frosted Willow. they make a lot of initial charms & bangle bracelets & things. & they're some of the most reasonable ones i've seen, too! i was looking a lot around christmas time & these were my favorites,

i got a sweet little bracelet with an 'i' on it for my boy.

& a little heart on the back.

i feel like a legit mommy now.

i'll wear it when he's older & tell him that i think of him even when he's not there.

its the next best thing to getting his name actually tattooed on me somewhere ;)

she's offering a 10% discount in her shop if you use the code DAISY at checkout, so hurry on over!