... This is something I struggle with every day. Every night when I go to bed, I think about the events of the day. Sadly, I find myself getting extremely frustrated lately rather than taking in these precious moments. Reece had no signs of teeth for almost 15 months. It wasn't until we left Boston the end of May that we finally started to see puffy gums. But a month later, he has nine teeth. Top two, bottom two, two top molars, two bottom molars, and I just saw one more front tooth coming in on the top. And it is making Reece miserable. Which is making me miserable. And at the end of the day when I'm beyond exhausted, I'm so frustrated with myself looking back on my behavior from the day. His fussiness has proven my patience tolerance to be a bit too small. Please tell me I'm not the only one that feels this way with a teething baby. All I want to do is comfort him, but all he wants to do it cry, and it's breaking my heart.
On top of it all, instead of being thankful for the day and celebrating new milestones Reece is meeting every day, I'm more focused on August 25. Our next trip to Boston. It's still two months away, but much like the last time, it will be here before we know it. The fear and worry has already begun to set in.
And when I say milestones, I mean MILESTONES!
Because of all the tubes and medicines Reece has had to endure, he's experiencing a huge aversion to food and will not only refuse a spoon with food, he's refusing to feed himself. His therapists with Help Me Grow recommended messy play eating, meaning put anything messy (spaghetti sauce, whipped cream, pudding, applesauce, etc.) on his high chair tray and let him play in it. Eventually he will accidentally get his hand in his mouth and get a taste.
We first tried vanilla pudding. He wasn't a huge fan.
On top of it all, instead of being thankful for the day and celebrating new milestones Reece is meeting every day, I'm more focused on August 25. Our next trip to Boston. It's still two months away, but much like the last time, it will be here before we know it. The fear and worry has already begun to set in.
And when I say milestones, I mean MILESTONES!
Because of all the tubes and medicines Reece has had to endure, he's experiencing a huge aversion to food and will not only refuse a spoon with food, he's refusing to feed himself. His therapists with Help Me Grow recommended messy play eating, meaning put anything messy (spaghetti sauce, whipped cream, pudding, applesauce, etc.) on his high chair tray and let him play in it. Eventually he will accidentally get his hand in his mouth and get a taste.
We first tried vanilla pudding. He wasn't a huge fan.
We then tried chocolate pudding ... and we made progress! At least he is smiling!
Then I tried whipped cream. He liked it a lot better so I started adding things to it. Things like peanut butter, yogurt, and Hershey's Strawberry syrup. And then, I thought I'd get a bit crazy and try a Gerber Graduate Fruit Strip. Much to my surprise he brought it straight to his mouth! While he doesn't chew it yet or want a lot of anything, he's bringing it to his mouth and getting interested in food. Although it sure makes a mess! He usually goes straight to the pool to rinse off!
Speaking of the pool, Reece sure has become quite the water baby. He loves it!
Reece is now pushing up on all fours and is extremely close to crawling. Eating, crawling, and cutting nine teeth? Now he's just showing off!
A high school friend of mine is a photographer and so graciously offered to host a fundraiser photo shoot day with all proceeds going to Reece's growing medical bills. Sara Cox Photography, you rock and we are so grateful for you! Please like her page on Facebook here. Another high school friend of mine who is quite crafty also wanted to help with the photo shoot. Sara Macke put together handmade signs for the photos, again with all proceeds to be used for Reece's bills. Thank you, Sara! Her Etsy page can be found here. Here are just a few of my favorites from our shoot.
It's been a really busy month! In addition to Reece progressing developmentally, we bought a house and Matt got a job! Reece also saw his cardiologist and while the improvement hasn't been huge, his ECHOs do appear to show lower right ventricle pressure. Thank you to everyone for your continued support. Whether its kind words, donations, gifts, or prayers, we appreciate you all. More than you will ever know. Please continue to pray for healing as our next trip to Boston is quickly approaching.