Oh CANADA!! August 29th, 2014

Owen is officially an international Traveler! We spent the last two weeks visiting family and friends in Canada. Owen was a great Traveler, loved people watching and riding in the big plane!!

 He got to play naked when we got there because it was so hot and humid, and his helmet makes him extra hot!

Then it got pretty chilly so he had to put on his sweater

Of course we had to let him try ketchup chips, and he liked them, well licking them at least

Put him in the long grass….wasn't too sure about it.

But he sure did love the beach and the sand!!!!

And he loved hanging out with Nana

And fit right in with the "boys" (and Lisa) at the reunion

He loved test driving the Porsche!!

He was happy to get a break from wearing his helmet and have lunch outside!!

Cousin Maxine was showing Owen how to throw the ball!!

Justing Chilling with Grandpa!

Someone was a little jealous of her daddy hanging out with his nephew!! 

 We had a great time showing Owen around Amy's old stomping grounds!! it won't be the last time!!

Owen has had him helmet for just over a month now and is doing well with it. the therapist said that she can see some improvement at each visit. So that is promising. We will have a following up with the surgeons in 2 months to see if they think the helmet is working quick enough.

We are doing a lot of therapy to get Owen on the move, he does not want to be on his belly at all, so getting him to crawl is very difficult and a lot of tears (from him only so far):)
We are also working with a nutritionist and Speech Therapist hoping to get him eating better.. I think that he is able to do it, he just doesn't want too. Oh the personality that is shining through. Got to love it!!!

Overdue Update July 30th, 2014

Owen has been home for over 7 months now and is doing pretty good. He is 16lbs and not gaining weight like he should be. We have seen a nutritionist and a speech therapist to help with his feedings twice a month. Since he seems to like solids better then his milk, the therapist is going to work on him tolerating different textures. We are trying any and every way to get calories into him.

Owen has been released from the cardiologist!! He did his echo and the doctor said everything looked good!!

We have had a busy month dealing with Owen's head. Earlier in the month we saw the ENT that specializes in head and facial surgeries. He diagnosed Owen with Brachiocephally (back of the head is flat), turricephally (Tall head) and Microcephally (Small head). The doctor was worried about his small head because that could mean that the brain could have stopped growing and therefore the skull has no reason to expand and then will fuse early. The doctors other concern was that the skull had simply just fused early. Owen was ordered to do a CT and MRI to rule both of these out and then to go see a neurosurgeon. We had to wait until the following week to do the scans and then another 3 days to see the neurosurgeon and get the results. Meanwhile we had a feeling that we would be planning for skull reconstruction surgery in the next month. We met with the neurosurgeon and got great news, Owens brain seemed to be growing at a normal rate, and the sutures in his head were all open still (not fused yet) which meant that he would not need the reconstruction surgery!! The neurosurgeon suggested that we try a reshaping helmet for 3 months and see how effective it is. If results are minimal then we can consider a surgery where he would place screws and a crank to pop Owen's skull out over time with a key that we would turn daily (ouch).  Praying that the helmet will work and we will not have to do any sort of surgery.

Immediately after the Neuro appointment we called Cranial Tech to set up an appointment for Owen's helmet and they had an opening the next day!! We packed up everything and woke up bright and early to make our first of many trips to Dallas. The appointment went great, and Owen cooperated for the most part after a long 5 hour drive. They took 3D images of his head in some super cool high tech room full of cameras and sent them off to make his custom helmet that will be ready to pick up in 10 days. So Tuesday morning we got on the plane for our second trip to Dallas, and Owens first plane ride and he did great. he got to try on his helmet and they made some cuts and tunnels (for his glasses) so it will fit perfectly and he didn't seem to mind. We heard sleeping would be the hardest adjustment for Owen, and I believe it. Owen fell asleep pretty quickly after a long day but woke up at 1am and was one unhappy camper. We took off his helmet to give him a breather and there was a large bump on his head that disappeared by the morning but i can only imagine how uncomfortable that was for him. We flew back to Lubbock this morning and hoping that tonight goes a little better.


Owen has been working hard on some new 'tricks'!! He is sitting up on his own really well now and has mastered the art of clapping!! We are working hard to get some leg strength and for his to start enjoying tummy time more.

Head home, Owen got his own seat on the plane

Doesn't know whats about to happen

All Smiles

Loves Dada time (brother photo bombing in Background)

Happy to be 10 months old!

Can I get cutter?

Bath time!

Helmets not too bad!

9 Months old - June 13th, 2014

I can't believe Owen is 9 months old already. He is weighing in at 14lbs 10oz. Still gaining slowly and refusing to eat at times. The doctor said that sometimes that just happens when they are around 9 or 10 months old and you can't really make them eat anymore. He is enjoying his solid foods pretty good, when he wants too. :)

The immunologist did blood work and said that his immune system reacted like it was supposed to react to the 6  month shots!!!

Cardiologist did an EKG and it looked good. Owen is going to do an echo in 10 days and if that looks good then he will be cleared from the cardiologist!!

ON the 24th we are going to a doctor about his head. It is really flat in the back and it is probably one of two things. 1. Craniosynostosis - which is where the skull fuses together early and brain doesn't have room to grow. This would involve surgery and then a helmet.
2. plagiocephaly - just from laying on his back too much and from when his neck was really stiff and favored one side. Repairing this would just mean a helmet.

The CMN telethon a couple weeks ago was a success. If you weren't able to see Owens story you can see it here: 

http://www.umchealthsystem.com/index.php/childrens-miracle-network/miracle-children

Owen was rolling over a couple weeks ago from belly to back but has since decided that's too much work. His nick name is "lazy bones"... He has learned that we will assist him with everything so there is no need for him to have to do much including rolling over, picking up toys (please place them directly in his hands), putting his paci in his mouth, holding his bottle, the list goes on. We are working on it, but he has us wrapped around his cute little fingers! He is started to sit up much better with just a boppy around him!!

Just so you don't think he's always happy:)

Have you seen my starfish?

On live tv at the CMN Telethon

Pool party!

Pretty cute!

CMN Telethon - May 28, 2014

Owen is scheduled to do a live interview for the telethon on Saturday May 31st between 2:30 and 3pm ok KCBD channel 11. They also have a previously recorded interview that they will play sometime during the weekend as well. 

Owen has been struggling eat lately, we are not sure why, he has only gained 5 oz in two weeks compared to his normal 15 oz that he usually gains. 

Thursday we go to the immunatologist for some blood work to check his immunity levels. 

Monday we go back to see his pediatrition for a check up. Hopefully he will have a solution as to why Owen is refusing to eat at times.

June 10th we head to the cardiologist to make sure everything is still good since leaving the NICU.

This boy is growin fast! 

Serious photoshoot, no smiling 

Hanging with his friends

Filling out this spread sheet

Feeding himself! Nom nom

Smiles

Helping mom in the kitchen 

Working on sitting!

8 months old - May 9, 2014

Owen is going to be 8 Months old tomorrow!! He is still gaining weight at a good rate, he really wants to catch up to his growth chart. He is 13lbs 7oz! He is almost on the growth chart for his adjusted age (4.5 months). We started solid foods over a week ago and he has really enjoyed it! It took his tummy a little time to get used to it but is handling it much better now. He has also learned to appreciate his glasses and we can tell that he can see a lot better.

Two weeks ago at his high risk appointment the doctor only had one concern, which was the back of his head is pretty flat. We are hoping keeping him upright as much as possibly can correct this, if not he will need to go see an ENT doctor about correcting it with a helmet.

We don't have many doctor appointments this month!! We are participating in the Children's Miracle network telethon on May 31st on KCBD. We interviews and photoshoots for that this week. 

Easter Boy

Owens First Easter basket

Studying on his leapfrog

Mmmm sweet potatoes

Getting better at Tummy Time

Cracking up!

Optometry - April, 17th, 2014

Hey, been awhile, sorry. Not much has been happening. Owen is growing, eating, sleeping and smiling... And crying.  :).  He is 11lbs 14oz. He has more then doubled his weight since he has been home. He has started to sleep through the night, still on oxygen at night. We go back to his pediatriction in 2 weeks and next week we go back to high risk doctor, who was the neonatologist that took care of him while he was in the hospital. 

This morning we went to see the pediatric opthamologist. He tested his eyes and also looked in them to see how they reacted with a light through different lenses. He determined that Owen is very near sighted (cannot see well far away), For this he will need glasses. He also said he had stigmatism's which means that his eyes are shaped like a football instead of a basketball. We knew after his eye surgery that he had lost some perifrial vision, now he is going to have more issues to deal with, but we will be able to mange it.

Please pray for his patience transitioning to glasses and for them to help him see better.

Super baby!

Super tired..

The fight for the pillow continues

Birthday boy!!

2 months...7 months.. 

Just sitting up!

Do these glasses make me look smart?

Growing Boy - April 1, 2014

I can't believe it is April already. We had another visit to the pediatrician yesterday and everything is going so well that we don't have an appointment for 4 weeks!! we will go in weekly for weight checks but that is it. The doctor wants to continue Owen with the rice cereal twice a day and oxygen at night. we don't have to use the monitors in the daytime unless he is sleeping. it is so nice to be able to pick him up and carry him to another room with out worrying about chords and monitors!  He is doing good with the cereal....when he wants to, sometimes he is just not that interested in it, that is his personality though.

we starting putting him in his Jumper and Bumbo. He will only sit in it for a couple of minutes, but is getting stronger and stronger each time.

This month we see the Pediatric Ophthalmologist and High Risk Doctor (NICU Doctor)