We are ok

we really are. i mean it.

if it sounds like i am trying to talk myself into believing that, you might be right. but i today, i think we are ok.

it's Wednesday and i should be at work, but Wyatt has a fever and so couldn't stay at daycare today. i had to go pick him up and for some reason that really scared me. there are so many things about him that scare me. he coughs, i'm scared, he vomits, i'm terrified! he won't nap he won't eat, i'm crabby and afraid. what if he never naps? what if he is always this fussy???

well, we will finally be going to back to the medicine that initially helped him, but that wasn't covered by insurance. now it is. now that we tried 3 others that had nasty side effects. poor baby.

seriously though, we are ok. we've been to a few doctor appointments and an evaluation at the Children's institute this week. it was pretty cool and i think it will help us out a lot.

i'll quit talking now and let you see what you came for:

a visit with GREAT grandparents:

a visit with Anna IN PITTSBURGH!!!:

an attempted family photo:

an attack on Aunt Goo/Sue:

And So It Begins....

Tuesdays. I hate Tuesdays. Everything bad that has ever happened to me or someone I care about happened on a Tuesday. I will give it to you, there are some nice things about it. I stay home with Wyatt on Tuesdays and I teach yoga on Tuesdays. And let's not forget, the Mentalist is on Tuesdays. But seriously, that's about it. Case in point: my mom died on a Tuesday. A week later Wyatt was hospitalized, on a Tuesday. And this past Tuesday proved to be right up there with those terrible Tuesdays. In fact, I'm not even going to respect the day by capitalizing it and will now refer to it by the diminutive abbreviation: tues.

I received a call from Wyatt's neurologist in the early afternoon. She was calling to confirm results from Dr. Dobyns in Chicago. It seems that Wyatt's MRI's from last September indicate that he does in fact have PCH Type 2. Pontocerebellar Hypoplasia. (I'll let you look it up, but let me preface the Google with: it's rare, and not so good) It's hard to describe how I felt right at that moment, and how I feel now. But I do know that it will be an ongoing process. Ben says he feels like we are constantly taking one step forward and two steps back. We have a great day, a great hour, and feel optimistic, like we can really see our lives turning out ok. And then a day like tues. knocks you back, kicks the wind out of you and then stomps on your heart so hard you feel like you may never recover. And it didn't even end there.

Wyatt had a terrible night tues. night. He cried and fussed for close to 6 hours and we decided that a trip to the ER was probably in his best interest. Well, note to self, a trip to the ER with Wyatt will almost always be met with confused residents, stinging comments from tired nurses and general perplexity that will add hours on to an otherwise routine trip. As if a trip to the ER is ever routine. He continued to fuss and cry with a 102 fever for another 5 hours and after an enema, 4 x-rays, bloodwork, a spinal tap and 11 hours in that hellish place, they concluded it was a stomach virus and constipation and sent us home with a Rx for Miralax. I was happy that the little love slept all day and even most of the night. He is hoarse from all the crying, generally worn out and a little dehydrated, but other than that, seems to be ok.

So it just felt like we went from thinking that we might just be ok on Monday to the world crashing in on tues. Wednesday and Thursday have been better. But since we can't skip tues. for the rest of the year, I'm sure we will have more and more challenges down the road. Wyatt has been a joy over these past 6 months and I'm certain he will continue to light our lives. He is such a beautiful little soul and I love him so very much. And Ben is the most patient and doting father and little boy could ever have. This is probably why it hurts so much...

I guess I wanted to say, that I'm not writing this to get a bunch of messages of support, or even as a way to meet other families, although those are nice results too. I'm mainly writing to tell you that if you ever want to get me something, DO NOT get me days of the week underwear. I'll just toss them out in fear of accidentally wearing the tues. pair on Friday and ruining THAT day too.

A Week of Firsts!

it's been a good week here in the Northrop house. Wyatt is now 6 months old! he has been such a joy. most of the time...Wyatt has been quite busy. let's start with Sunday:

it was Wyatt's first rock concert! we went to WYEP's Alternative Souper Bowl on Sunday afternoon. both Ben and I were a bit nervous, but excited to see Brewer's Row, as we haven't been to a show since before I was pregnant! we were so happy to find out that Wyatt loves the band as much as we do! he was so entranced by the lights and the sounds...then he started to sing along! it was great to see him kicking is feet and bouncing around. i wish we would have thought to bring a camera! check out the Brewer's Row website and see how it's impossible to sit still when they are playing! later, Wyatt made it abundantly clear that he is NOT a sports fan. he cried through the ENTIRE Super Bowl!!

second, Wyatt has been loving his fruits and veggies. case in point:

the applesauce is a big hit. he absolutely loves to eat solid foods and i'm a bit fearful that he is starting to hate his bottle....thought still a little guy, Wyatt is growing steadily and we are happy to feed him as much as he can handle!

and finally, Wyatt and I went to our first Mommy and Me yoga class and Schoolhouse. it was an interesting experience, fun fun never the less. Wyatt wasn't too happy at first, but then the quiet room of little babes became louder and louder and it seemed the noise put Wyatt to sleep. the louder the room, the sounder the slept. he didn't up until we got home! i think we'll try it again soon...