The Not So Yearly Bugle: March 2013

I know it has been about a month since our last update. There's been a lot of happenings!

Hannah has been very busy hanging out with all of her family! Her Grandma Marlys and Grandpa Chet (Amber's mom and step-father) came to town to visit recently so that was a lot of fun. Last time Grandma and Hannah were together, Hannah was still just four pounds so she had changed a lot in the few months since their last visit, having gained seven pounds and now interacting. I think they enjoyed singing to her and having her chatter away and smile the whole time they were here. :)

Hannah was dedicated at Biltmore Baptist Church on March 17th and we made sure she was wearing green so she didn't get pinched. Pastor Bruce introduced us and our church family prayed that Hannah would come to know Christ at an early age and that we'd raise her up for His glory! I know we'll fall short at times, but she is a gift to us from Him which is why we named her Hannah, so it was very special to stand in front of all of the people who had prayed for us for months (and some who knew Paul and I personally and our longing for a child and had been praying for us for years) and recognize God's answer to prayer as a family. What a special time!

Hannah had her 4-month doctor's visit and everything looked good. She weighed in at 11 pounds on the nose at her March 15th visit. He did mention that we get a consultation for a possible helmet due to her flattened head on one side. This is something we've been aware of from the beginning as many NICU babies end up with a flat head. When Hannah was first born, she always favored sleeping with her head facing to the right. Despite our best efforts (and believe me, we have tried) to do positional changes with her and trying to put her to sleep facing her left and doing exercises to loosen her neck muscles on her left side, she has still always moved back to her right side when she sleeps. The good news is that she's made huge strides since January and now is very willing to voluntarily look to her left and sometimes even sleep facing her left. Unfortunately, the damage is already pretty severe. It's not so noticeable looking at her from the front, but when you look at her head from the top down, you can see how one of her ears is pushed significantly more forward than her other ear and her forehead is protruding more on her right side and her cheek is fuller on that side as well. The condition she has is plagiocephaly and her neck muscle condition is called torticollis. In the past two weeks, we have traveled to two different facilities to do a consultation and are praying about which facility and which type of helmet to go with. There are big pros and cons to both places, so it's been a bit of a struggle to try to make the best decision for her care. However, we are leaning more toward one than the other, so when we make a final decision, I will share it with everyone.

If you want to read more about her condition, click here.

This is a picture of what her head looks like so you can get a better idea of what's going on:

Like I mentioned, this condition is fairly common with NICU babies and has been more common, in general, since 1992 after the recommendation to have babies sleep on their backs (to prevent SIDS) began. In our case, it's possible that some of this started in utero as Hannah was head down right over my cervix from at least 19 weeks gestation until birth, so she may have been laying on that side before she even arrived. Regardless, getting a helmet is usually very effective, especially when it is started very early. I will update on what we'll be doing in regards to that once we have some more things finalized. Prayers for wisdom while we make decisions are greatly appreciated.

Hannah got to meet her Great Grandparents and Great Aunts and second and third cousins yesterday so that was a treat that we got to stop in and visit with them on our way back from Charlotte.

Here are some pictures of our sweet girl who is starting to look more and more like her daddy! I am pretty sure she has momma's eyes, though. :)

4 months old! March 9th.

18 weeks.

Dedication March 17th.

Dedication Day! March 17th.

Grandma Marlys, Mom, Grandma Penny and Hannah. March 17th.

Grandma Marlys and Grandpa Chet.

20 weeks!

I can't believe we'll have a 4-month old in just about a week.

Hannah is doing great but has been dealing with her first cold this week. Thankfully she hasn't had a fever, but she's had a few days of stuffy and snotty nose and while that has eased up a bit, she's still dealing with a lot of congestion. I've also been dealing with something similar...she started showing symptoms first so I'm going to assume she gave it to me and not the other way around. ;)

In the past couple of weeks, she has started holding on to her toys and really observing all of her surroundings. She likes her bouncer seat and likes looking at the little toys that dangle above her head; she gets really excited and kicks her legs which makes her bounce. It's adorable.

She still hates tummy time and she doesn't like being in the car seat when she's awake and she can't see us. She does recognize her name now and will turn her head from side to side to watch us when we move from one side of her to the other. We love watching her smile at us every day, which she continues to do.

We also got some good news from the cardiologist this week. We had an appointment with them a couple of weeks ago to check on the hole in her heart (which was discovered while she was in NICU). The EKG they did the day of came back good and we got the results of the echocardiogram this week which indicated that the hole in her heart has gone from "large" to "moderate". Our hope is that the hole will close on its own and she won't require surgery (which they would want to do between 3-5 years old). Fortunately, most ASDs (Atrial Septal Defects) do resolve on their own. We'll do another check in about 6 months and then maybe move to a yearly check up just to keep an eye on it.

Here's some more pictures since last time! Oh, and for those who missed the announcement on Facebook, Hannah's baby dedication is scheduled for Sunday, March 17th at Biltmore Baptist Church before the 9:15 am service. We'd love to see you there. :)