Reveille is doing well

Reveille is down for a nap right now and I thought I would just give everyone a general update. The last few weeks have been significant in her development. During her weekly physical therapy, she has started to hold herself up on her hands and knees. It is daunting to think that before too very long she will be cruising around our home. It will also be an undertaking to baby proof everything. She is also seeing an occupational therapist twice a month and will start seeing a speech therapist soon. Each individual is great and it is encouraging to have so many people aiding Reveille as she recognizes the world around her more and interacts with it on a larger scale.We have also begun solid foods. To be honest, she hasn’t taken to them that quickly and is still trying to grasp the whole spoon thing. We have not seemed to find any flavors she really enjoys either, but we just raided Target and got about every fruit & vegetable combo we could. Hopefully over the next few days we’ll find a few things that dazzle her little palette. Finally, we are asked pretty consistently about how her relationship with our dogs is. They continue to sniff her and giver her licks every once and a while, but that is all the interest they have. Reveille on the other hand has taken to them a bit more. She enjoys the feeling of furry things and has taken an interest in grabbing Mesquite, our dog with the longest coat. He tolerates it like a champ. Although, after so long he will leave when he has had enough. That is it for now. Halloween is fast approaching and we still have to choose a costume for her. No matter what she ends up being I am sure some fun pictures will come out of it and I look forward to posting them for everyone to see.

Baby Bjorn and other Baby Carriers

*update*  This is an old review of the Baby Bjorn baby carrier I did when we first got it. Since it has been written I have grown to really like this carrier. The positive aspects of it remain true and as Reveille grew and switched to facing forward she seemed to enjoy it even more. We are now to the point that she is pushing the maximum size for this particular carrier but it has worked well for us.

On a side note I didn’t plan on publishing this but my wife got a hold of it and thought it was funny and decided to share it. It is from a while ago so please excuse the outdated information on Reveille. She is out of her cast and can control her head just fine now.

We acquired a Baby Bjorn baby carrier this weekend and I think the jury is still out as to how great it is or isn’t. While Heather was pregnant I had these romantic notions of carrying our child with us everywhere in a sling style carrier. I would be able to say with superiority about how great it is to “wear” your baby and not have to rely on those cumbersome stroller contraptions. Luckily, life has humbled me and taught me a thing or 2 to the contrary. Reveille was never tightly bundled as a newborn and has never appeared to enjoy that sensation which is what the slings seem to do. It is also difficult to impossible to cross your child’s legs when one of them is in a full leg cast. This is the position the instructions told us to put her in when loading her into the sling. Reveille was a great sport with the slings and never seemed to be in pain but she always had a “why are you doing this to me?” look on her face while in there. Hence that adventure was short lived. On a side note, I think the slings look funny on men. To me they have this lovely primitive simplicity to them, but its hard to get a vision of my male ancestors slinging their children to themselves and going off to hunt or battle. Maybe I am just being sexist. Now onto the Bjorn. First, for a child with a cast this is much easier to get her into and she appears much more comfortable. The harness is comfortable for the wearer and much easier on my back than carrying her in my arms. She seems to fit securely and there is little to no feeling that she would ever fall out or have any mishaps of that nature. On the down side, I am a big fan of simple design and there are a few more buttons and latches than I would like. Reveille does not have much head control at this point and so she tends to end up head butting my chest more than I would like. There is a nice guard that catches her head when she tips her head away from the wearer but it does tend to roll around a bit. By nature of the position the child sits in I would not use it if Reveille was sporting a dress or skirt that day either. Finally, I like the look of the carrier. It has a clean profile and even thought the head guard is there for little dumplings like Reveille you can still see her face from the sides. Only time will tell as to if it will get daily use but as of right now I like the product.

Summer Come and Almost Gone

Summer Shopping

This has been a great summer for us. Despite the economy being in the toilet and our household facing some difficult times, it has been a wonderful few months. Reveille loves to go out and about. She appreciates fine dining as long as she is fed promptly upon her request. She also enjoys seeing new people and hearing about how adorable she is. More than once this summer we have received complimentary items or services because she batted her eyelashes at some unsuspecting person. She appears to be a fan of the outdoors and proved to be quite the camper. Although in all instances Reveille prefers air conditioning to any sort of heat. We have enjoyed multiple trips to the Brookfield Zoo. She has not yet disclosed what her favorite animal is. However, there is one Grandma that is hoping she shares a love for giraffes. We also got to spend an afternoon at the Shedd Aquarium. The sea horses & sea dragons there were the big winners. Reveille had a look of shear wonder as these little creatures, glowing under a black light, would go gliding by. In general she is always enthralled by fish in aquariums. Most of the time, they seem to move at just the right pace for her and their bright colors make them easy targets to spot. She also has enjoyed her time acting like a fish too. Swimming in Grandma & Grandpa’s pool was a favorite activity and it gave her an opportunity to show off her skills in the pool at the church picnic. We stimulated her scientific mind by taking a trip to the Museum of Science and Industry. There she had her 1st introduction to the magical world of Harry Potter. Her mother and I were far more excited about that than she was, yet she had a great time getting to know her Unkie Dew & Auntie Krista. There were multiple doctor’s visits peppered into her summer, but aside from the typical shots nothing too traumatic occurred. All in all it was a fabulous summer. Mom is back to school now and her Grandma Lis and I will be taking care of her during the week. I am sure Reveille is going to be happy with the temperature cooling off as summer moves to fall. Even though her mother does not share in her affinity to cooler temperatures. We are looking forward to sharing our future adventures and holiday fun with you, and hopefully being able to see many of you along the way!

Reveille’s first swimming experience

Reveille had her first swimming experience a week ago. Grandma and Grandpa Lis have a pool and a very pretty backyard with a lot of flowers. Plus the pool is usually really warm. Well this day it was a bit cool but not bad at all. Reveille worn a cute diaper cover that was lime green. We have to get the swimming diapers that fit her cause the normal ones just turn into a big mound of jelly. She was carried in by her dad and with each bit of water that touched her she wiggled a bit. Once in the pool and hugged by dad she was good. She was very interested in the reflection on the water and liked to watch dad go under the water. We would hold her so she was more on her belly and she loved it. She would kick her legs and jon and I would pass her back and forth. She lied to grab my face and mush it with her hands. We have since taken her another time swimming and she is now started to splash the water with her hands and kick a lot more. I think the next times we will have her wear one of her new bathing suits. I think she’s going to be our little bathing beauty.

Back to work for mom

I have to say it was very hard for me to go back to work after being off for those seven weeks after having Reveille. I was so used to seeing her all day that being apart was very loney. I have a tendency to get depressed getting up at 5:00am in the dark and driving an hour to work. All the while fighting to stay awake made this transition even harder. I was also returning to a new schedule for my classes which added to my worries. I am also still breastfeeding so the idea of managing pumping with my new schedule was harder still. It does help to know that my Mom is watching Reveille while I’m at work and also that jon is home if he is needed. When I returned the first week everyone was very caring and supportive. The students greeted me warmly and some even cheered. They all had questions about Reveilles current condition. Working with such great people helped ease my concerns. Now I’m just looking forward to the entire summer with her, the puppies and of course Jon.

Foot Surgery

Reveille has undergone and all but recovered from her surgery on Wednesday. The procedure went well and as always the staff at Children’s Memorial Hospital could not have been more helpful. Reveille has taken this latest medical adventure as just another day and is getting along fine. Personally, I am glad to have this latest procedure behind us and not have another one ahead of us anytime soon. It is heart breaking and tiring to consistently have to see her in pain. It is necessary and the professionals working with her are some of the best in the world, but its difficult all the same. I am constantly amazed by Reveille though, and love her happy little self. She takes everything in stride and is getting very good at bouncing her latest cast. Who knows she may have a future in athletics.

Reveille has been baptised

Heather & I were very happy to have Reveille baptized last Sunday. Our Christian faith is an important part of our family and we want Reveille to be able to experience the joy that comes from a relationship with Jesus. Her baptism ceremony was a great 1st step on that journey. The ceremony was performed by Minister Paul Vroom during Missio Dei’s sunday morning worship and we had an open house afterwards at her Grandparent’s home to continue the celebration. Another important part of our family is looking for excuses to throw a party. It was a wonderful day spent with friends and family celebrating her little life and anticipating what Christ will do in it. A few pictures of the day can be seen here. The dress she wore during the baptism was the same dress her mother was baptised in. The dress she had on later came to her from relatives in Texas. We were very happy to hear that Reveille’s baptism was also celebrated that fine state at Magnolia United Methodist Church.

If you would like to know more about what we believe about Infant Baptism we were introduced to this book through the process at our church. I am including this as it seems like it can be a bit of a hot topic amongst church folk.

Aunt Jody!

Reveille’s aunt Jody, Dad’s sister, has finally been able to come out and spend some quality time with her. We are very happy to have her come and stay with us, celebrate her baptism, and experience our various medical adventures. Reveille has enjoyed the visit and all the attention that has gone with it, but she has requested that maybe next time she should go visit Jody in sunny southern California.

Our 1st Easter

Reveille got to celebrate Jesus waking from the grave for the first time. Unfortunately  we were unable to celebrate with our church family and we all missed them. However, we were able to have a wonderful day with our biological one. We had a great morning brunch and in the afternoon Reveille got to meet some of her extended family for the first time. Her adorable dress was provided for her by her Grandma Lis. It pays to have a Personal Shopper looking out for you!

Pictures of the Brunch Here

Medical Updates

Some progress has been made in miss Reveille’s life. A few weeks ago she went in for a Cystometrogram. This test is standard for all Spina Bifida patients and the results we received were positive overall.

Her clubbed foot is improving well and hopefully she only has 3 more casts including the one she has on now. She will be going in for a minor surgery on May 6th to allow her heel to drop correctly. After which she should only need one more cast & some bracing after the final cast. It is great to have the end of this step in Reveille’s development in sight. Please pray that the surgery is successful and her recovery is swift.