Hellobee

Man, 2014 has been intense! It started out pretty low but we’re doing pretty great these days. All four of us have grown and learned SO much!

Back in January, D was in the midst of his 2nd NICU stay, waiting to have the surgery to reconnect his intestines after his bout with NEC. K hadn’t yet started preschool and was mostly hanging out at home with my MIL while I visited D at the hospital and Mr T worked. Mr T and I became surgery waiting room pros, and thankfully all the rest of D’s operations and procedures went seamlessly. D was discharged in February, and we began a new life learning more about his short gut syndrome, cerebral palsy, caring for his broviac, early intervention OT, PT, clinic visits and IVIG infusions. That all sounds so clinical, but it was our reality! When D was home for the first time between NICU stays, he was too small and sleepy to be any fun for K. This year, they’ve grown into good buddies who love to be together and make each other laugh, but then also fight like cats and dogs over toys or other silly things.

Tiger boys in the beginning of the year

D also has made great strides personality-wise, and has turned into a happy and bossy little boy. This year he learned to sit up, crawl, and now cruise quite easily – feats that I feared he would never accomplish when we got his CP diagnosis. He’s gone from not being allowed anything by mouth to everything except for thin liquids – which is huge progress, and before we had no idea if he would ever get as far as he has! He’s also graduated off the broviac, PT, and regular neurologist checkups. Still no talking but quite a lot of vocalizing, which includes complaining and yelling – D’s actually been a yeller since he was tiny. The NICU nurses always laughed about it. K was an early talker and is a big motormouth now, so having a 15m old who can’t really communicate is a new challenge for us!

 
Tiger boys now

All that good progress aside, D’s health problems and the overall stress has been hard on both Mr T and I.  The lowest points were all in 2013 when D had his various emergencies, but I think that going through stuff like that changes you forever, and we’re working to get things back to where we were before. I do think a lot of our struggles are no different from any other family adjusting from 1 to 2 kids, or in stressful work situations. Mr. T is still working constantly, although he’s lately been able to spend some quality family time each day – which is awesome! Although my part-time schedule is the only feasible option for us right now, I waffle back and forth between wanting to return full time and wanting to quit to pursue something less stressful.  

Looking forward to 2015, I hope that things continue getting better for all four of us. Hopefully next December I’ll be writing about how much D is walking (and talking! and eating!) and how great he and K get along and play together. I hope we have more time, money, and energy to take the kids out on adventures. I want D walking so he can explore with us, instead of being cooped up in the stroller or in someone’s arms. I’d like him eating and drinking enough on his own (without the feeding tube during the day) so I can send him with K to preschool in the spring. I’d love for K to get over some of his intense shyness, but it remains to be seen if that will be a defining feature for him, or a trait he grows out of. Perhaps having D along for the ride will make K feel more secure and adventurous!

I hope that I keep growing in my journey to be a great mom to my boys, which is absolutely a work in progress. I also hope I can keep up with blogging, it’s been such a therapeutic outlet for me! I think that detailing out D’s journey in sometimes obsessive detail (thanks for putting up with me guys!) has helped me let the scarier parts go, and really come to appreciate how strong Mr T and I have been, all things considered.

How did your family do in 2014? What are your hopes for 2015?