Sunday, October 7, 2012

We're Moving!


Joshua turned 7 months old this week! He weighs 13 lbs 6 oz now, and he is doing so well. He is a whole different baby since we changed his formula to Nutramigen prior to my last post, so happy and content, and he's sleeping much better, too. Personally, I don't get it. Nutramigen smells like dog food (disgusting!); he gobbles it down like it's candy, but he never did let us feed him my nice yummy breastmilk that I so painstakingly pumped and froze for him. After that rough patch in August, as long as he's eating something and growing like he is, I'm happy. I'm pleased to report my pumped milk is not going to waste because my friend Kimberly's babies (precious twins recently adopted from Ethiopia) love it!

Joshua had a couple of great doctor's appointments this week.  He saw the ophthalmologist for his 6 month follow up, and he passed his 3rd, and final, test to rule out ROP (retinopathy of prematurity).  No issues at all with his vision!  He also saw the cardiologist, and his echo looks great, too.  He just has a "normal variant" that they want to follow until he's one year old, but nothing concerning.  They can't figure out why he still needs oxygen since his heart issue (atrial septal defect) has pretty much resolved (just a tiny, inconsequential opening left), but they aren't concerned.  The cardiologist said we just need to move to a place lower in altitude, and we'll have nothing to worry about.  Speaking of that...

In a couple of weeks, we will be moving to the Gulf Coast of Mississippi.  James got orders to Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, MS.  We were disappointed at first because we really got attached to our home, church, friends, family, and neighbors here in Colorado, and we didn't have a say in what our new assignment would be. Quite honestly, we wouldn't have even put it on our preference worksheet if we had an option.  For about a day and a half, we experienced the five stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance) straight out of a textbook.  The first thing James said was, "We are NOT going to let Jeremiah play with any natives down there because I don't want him talking like a hillbilly!" We immediately realized how impossible that would be, so we cracked up at the thought, which was a major tension breaker.  Then, as I was in the "depression" phase the day after we got the news, James enlightened me with a new perspective during Jeremiah's bedtime story.  Jeremiah has been completely obsessed with the Biblical account of Jonah, and he wants me to tell him the story, which he calls "Jonah Cucumber" thanks to the VeggieTales, about 30 times every night before bed. The night after we heard the news of our assignment, I was in the middle of the part where God tells Jonah to "Go to Ninevah," and James walked in.  He said, "I think Keesler is our Ninevah.  God must want us there for some reason." The light bulb turned on, and I suddenly agreed, and acceptance hit. 

Since then, we have gotten excited about the move...well as excited as you could get leaving a place a wonderful as Monument, CO.  As written above, I now sell it as "The Gulf Coast" rather than "The Armpit Of The Country" (ha ha), so you can tell I've warmed up to the idea.  The people down there are really nice.  Beach life should be fun (although I suspect Jeremiah is expecting to see Jonah freshly regurgitated from the whale since that's his only frame of reference to the beach).  Home prices are super cheap, and this will be a great job for James.  He's excited to get back into orthopedics after spending the last 2+ years training and racing triathlons and marathons. Plus, the entire base closes down every other Friday. What's not to love about a 3 day weekend every other week?  Bottom line, I'm determined to be a good military wife and bloom where I'm planted.  After all we've gone through this past year, we try not to let the little things get to us.  As long as we're together as a family, who cares where we are!

A few people have asked me about Joshua's development.  Here's the scoop.  We just have to wait and see what kind of developmental delays he'll have, if any.  So far he's checking all the major ones off the list right on time.  On September 13th, when Joshua's adjusted age was 4 months and 1 week, we were pretty excited when he rolled front to back, right on schedule (in case you didn't see the video posted on Facebook, I included it at the end of this post).  He can ALMOST roll back to front now, too. A physical therapist comes out to our house for an hour of therapy with him once a week, and she seems to think he's coming along well.  The latest focus is on his hip flexors which are tight from laying sprawled out on a NICU bed for nearly 3 months when he should have been tightly packed in with his feet up by his head. 

Scroll down for the latest pictures. The first is a video. The boys love getting tickled to the "Itsy Bitsy Spider." By the time I got the camera out, it was the third time with Joshua, so he wasn't giggling as hard as he did at first. I got a kick out of Jeremiah at the end.


 Joshua looks up to his big brother, and Jeremiah just adores his little brother.
 
 First time sitting in the high chair like a big boy!
 
Here are some pictures taken since my last post. If you are my friend on Facebook, you probably saw some of them already, but I want to include them here as well for my own blog/keepsake. I got the best birthday present: our first family hike!  We walked up nearby Mt. Herman, last mentioned in a previous post Motherhood Mayhem.  It was such a fun day! 
 
All those days sitting in the NICU so many months ago, I dreamed of taking Joshua out and showing him God's wonderful creation firsthand.  He liked it so much, he fell asleep.  :)

 Enjoying a little picnic on the top of Mt Herman (overlooking Monument).
 
 I love these guys!  The bigger Jeremiah gets, the more fun it gets to hike with James (slows him down a tad, closer to my pace).
 
 
Joshua's rolling now!