15 Month Check Up!

***This is a repost from Caden's Caring Pages which were written while we were waiting for, and after Caden's Cranial Vault Reconstructive surgery***

This past Friday Caden had his 15 month check up. He weighs 20.4 lbs and is 32 inches tall. Still a tiny little monkey, but oh how we love him! The doctor asked a series of questions just to make sure that he is on track. They asked if he could say 3 words other than 'mama' and 'dada'....ummm yes, he has 19 words. He also will say, 'I la you da' after Cayce tells him that he loves him. So sweet. When the doctor actually heard Caden say the sentence his jaw dropped. He asked how long he had been saying that and I told him about a week before he turned one. Apparently children do not put together sentences this early, and with his increased vocabulary the doctor said that we definitely have a smart cookie on our hands! He also asked about Caden's diet, does he eat enough, what is he eating, ect. I told the doctor that he eats everything that is slower than he is, just kidding. But he does eat everything that we eat. I was concerned about how much he eats BECAUSE one evening he ate : 4 slices of pizza (adult slices, crust included), a fruit cup, a yogurt cup, and 3 handfuls of cheerios with 5 oz of milk. Another evening he ate an ENTIRE 7 layered burrito from Taco Bell, a fruit cup, a yogurt cup, and two handfuls of goldfish and 5 oz of milk. He eats a lot, and yet he is only 20.4 lbs. Where does he put the food?! The doctor said that he has a fast metabolism and as long as the meal is nutritionally rounded, go for it. So if he is already eating this much, I am assuming I need not just a college fund set up but a daily meal fund as well for when he gets to be a teen. Oh boy.

I recently purchased some large drawing paper and jumbo crayons for Caden. The boy is in heaven! He loves to draw...I am just happy that something is keeping him occupied for longer than 5 minutes lol! So far he hasn't decided to taste the crayons, but he has stuck a few in his nose. I guess because they fit so perfectly, so why not? *sigh* At least they are non toxic, but they are made in China...soooo....yeah. I also bought some sidewalk chalk, I am hoping to test those out this weekend!

It has been a few weeks, but when the weather was beautiful I stripped Caden down in his diaper and let him have at it with the water hose in the back yard. Two hours...and he still didn't want to come in. I found another winner with Caden!

He has been growing by leaps and bounds since his surgery. His hair is growing over his incision so you can't see it nearly as much as before. I was able to give a small educational talk to Caden's physicians regarding craniosynostosis. I think they are all more aware of it now and are definitely checking every child now even more so. They were so apologetic about missing Caden's diagnosis (It was my persistence that got my a referral to TCH that led to his surgery). I told them that it was no ones fault. I believe everything happens for a reason. This allowed me to speak to all the physicians and it has brought about a greater awareness for other children. So if all of this happened so that Caden's story could perhaps save another child, then it is all worth it. God works in mysterious ways. I just know that Caden is healthy, happy and growing like a weed. I am beyond happy in love with my family. My life is blessed.

Speaking of blessed...I now have a new job. I no longer work at MD Anderson, but I am now a school nurse at Sanchez Elementary. It was a difficult decision for me to change jobs because I loved my job so very much. I loved my coworkers and I loved, loved, loved my patients. However, MDA was making changes and the 13hr shifts were becoming more taxing on my health. I also wasn't satisfied with the amount of time I was giving to my family. This new position allows me to be home every evening and I can cook and have dinner on the table! I drive home now while the sun is still shining, it is amazing! It is a little difficult going to work 5 days a week instead of just 3, but the hours are shorter and I know that it will be better for my health and my family. It has just been two weeks and I already have seen the difference in my family, for the better. God is good :)

Good to Go!

***This is a repost from Caden's Caring Pages which were written while we were waiting for, and after Caden's Cranial Vault Reconstructive surgery***


Yesterday Caden had his post-op appointment with Dr. Bollo and Dr. Buchanan at TCH. The before and after pictures of Caden are astounding. I had no idea how narrow Caden's head was until I saw the pictures. Both surgeons gave Caden the green light and said that he was good to go! The big test comes in a years time when we have to see them again. They will then check to make sure that he won't need additional surgeries and make sure that he is developing correctly. During the surgery the surgeons did their best to over-correct Caden's skull in order to hopefully prevent future surgeries. I pray that it works! This is definitely something I pray to never have to repeat!
Since the surgery Caden has been simply amazing! He talking so much more and his new words of choice are, "Oh wow!" It is quite funny and keeps me laughing. He is such an outgoing little guy. Flirts with the ladies, I can tell you that we are going to have our hands full with him!
I am so thankful for everyone that reached out and helped us during this time. I honestly don't think I could have made it without all of your thoughts and prayers. I am truly blessed to have friends like you. It amazed me how many people cared about us and it humbles me. I pray that one day I can return the favor of you love and care if the time ever arises. until that day I will continue chasing Caden around the house and enjoy watching him as he grows. He brings so much love into my life, he is my hero.

Caden is Sailing Through and Reaching Out!

***This is a repost from Caden's Caring Pages which were written while we were waiting for, and after Caden's Cranial Vault Reconstructive surgery***

I have been trying to get pictures of Caden nearly every day this past week so that you can see how well he is healing. The problem is, he is one fast little monkey and all of the photos end up blurry. This normally is frustrating, but it just shows me that he is feeling well enough to run like he used to. I count it as a blessing. He is doing so well! His sutures are starting to dissolve and he is starting to slowly feel his sutures and his head which is good because that shows me that it isn't hurting him as much anymore. He is completely off the loratab, the strong pain medicine, so we just use Motrin and Tylenol when he doesn't feel well. His random crying spells have appeared to be a little less everyday as well. God is so good! Now if we could get his eating habits back to what they were pre-surgery, then it would be perfect. There are times that he will eat his old normal food without any issues, but more often then not he spits out foods that he doesn't like. This is extremely frustrating because there is nothing really that I can do but be patient and just be encouraging. Makes me feel like a failure when your son refuses to eat his favorite foods. It's weird because one day he will eat just fine, the next day not at all- and it can be the exact same food, so there is no rhyme or reason to the craziness. I am hoping this is a phase...and I am praying it goes by fast. On a happier note, he is sleeping through the night again, THANK THE SWEET LORD, because that was ROUGH! When you are used to getting a full nights sleep and all of a sudden you have to get up 8x or more, it makes for one scary looking mommy, one that coffee can't even fix, in the morning.

Caden has his post-op appointment this upcoming Wednesday at Texas Children's Hospital. It will be with both the plastic surgeon and the neurosurgeon. I am expecting a fabulous report because Caden is doing so fabulously well.

I received an email from a dear nursing school friend, and her friend recently had a child that was born with saggital craniosynostosis and I was able to forward her all of my information and research. I ask all of you to please put this baby and their family in your prayers. As of now, I don't have much information regarding this family. I also have the opportunity to speak with my son's Pediatric clinic doctors and educate them regarding early detection of craniosynostosis. I am not sure when I will be doing that, but I know that I am honored. Knowing that my husband was affected by craniosynostosis and I am now a Cranio Mom, I will be doing everything that I can to promote education regarding this condition. This is something that has been placed heavy on my heart, and if one child can be spared because of early detection then I know I did well. As we reached out to some Cranio families for support and education, they also sent us care packages for when we were in the hospital. I would like to assist in that as well. So, I am asking you, the next time you have an extra dollar or two, go down the dollar isle at Wal-Mart or Target and pick up kleenex, shampoo or deodorant. There are other things as well that you can do instead of purchasing items, one thing is making a prayer chain. If you look at my pictures you can see what the prayer chain looked like. It is made of ribbon, and each chain has an encouraging phrase or Bible verse on it. The prayer chain is about 10 links long. I will be sending out these goodies to Cranio Care Bears once a month so that they can have assistance when sending out the packages to all the families that are facing surgery. If you are interested in assisting me with helping families that are facing one of the most difficult time in their lives and want to help ease their pain a little bit, please message me. I will give you my address if you want to mail me goodies for me to send them, or I will even drive to your home or meet halfway to pick them up. Please know that anything that you do will make a big difference in the lives of families. Knowing that there were people out there that I had never met, who cared enough about me to pray for me and send me a package...meant so much to me. I want to pass that feeling on. I want them to know that they are not alone, that there are many people out there that are behind them lifting them up in prayer, like you did for Caden and my family. I could not have made it through this without you all. I love everyone one of you and appreciate you more than you will ever realize. I want to pass the love that you have shown me on to other hurting families. I want to be a witness to them, let them know that in this terrifying time God is in control. He always was, and always will be- Caden is proof of that.