And so it begins...

Tomorrow I will be returning to work after 3 incredibly short months of being home with Shannon and I's first son, Adam. I am not incredibly happy about it but will not allow myself much time to think about how else it could be. It must be done and it will be good for him, as much as I will miss the little daytime smiles. I fear that one day I will walk in to pick him up from daycare and he will just be sitting up, or walking, or talking in full sentences and I will have missed it all. I dislike thinking that I will get to see him for an hour or so in the morning, a couple of hours at night and then on the weekends and holidays. And the worst part is, we actually have to pay someone to be with him when that's what I want the most. Talk about irony.

That is not to say that the last 3 months have been the best 3 months of my life, either. The only thing keeping me afloat is that we do have Adam around. The whole part of 2010 was filled with doctor's visits to make sure his heart and kidneys were forming correctly (they were), he was growing properly (oh, he was), or that I had enough amniotic fluid to sustain the pregancy to full term (I did). But after 3 or 4 visits to a specialist because my OB-GYN's basic job was to "suspect" something was wrong and send me to someone who might be able to prove it, we met my insurance deductible by March. Adam was born on Cinco de Mayo via an emergency c-section (the one thing I was completely freaked out about), completely healthy, and completely grown at 8 lbs 11 oz. I was 5 days past my due date. I got to bring him home from the hospital on Mother's Day, and the day before Shannon's 32nd birthday. Talk about a great Mother's Day and Birthday present.


Shortly after his birth we discovered that drinking milk can cause breastfeeding babies to have severe acid reflux/gas. In fact most foods do - tomatoes, cheese, refried beans - talk about a pizza and nacho lovers ultimate test. I cut all dairy out of my diet as well as most food staples, so that eventually all I really could eat without affecting his stomach was turkey sandwiches on wheat bread. We took him to Inwood Chiropractic and they did a little adjustment on him. It was basically just a tiny little massage, not pulling or yanking, and he loved it. We saw results immediately within an hour or so after I brought him home. I truly believe it saved us a lot of heartache and now we are slowly working in the dairy products back into his diet.

Here are some of my favorite professional photos of Adam done by Brenna Lynn Photography. He was 12 days old when these pictures were taken.

  Adam's Development

When Adam was two weeks old, he rolled over at the pediatrician's office (yes, 3 1/2 months ahead of schedule!). However, our pediatrician (whom we love) also discovered that his hips seemed a little "loose", meaning that they tended to slide in and out of the socket. She recommended that we go to get an ultrasound done on his hips, which we did, and they immediately recommended us to a pediatric orthopedic surgeon/specialist. We were told that Adam had Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip, which is most common in firstborns (yes), females (no) and babies who were breech (no). When he was 3 weeks old he was fitted for a Pavlik harness, which had to be worn 24-7, even during bathtime, for 3 months, and then during naptime and at bedtime for another month after that. In the picture to the left he is about 2 months old and wearing the harness on the outside of his onesie.

After the total 4 months is up, he will get x-rays done on his hips to see if the treatment worked and that his hips developed correctly with both legs in the socket. If not, they will need to give him anesthesia and do a procedure to pop the hips into place. Needless to say, we are desperately hoping that the Pavlik harness works. As difficult as it has been to see him in it day after day, any procedures that must be done if this does not work will be much more painful and difficult for him. They say that he should have no developmental setbacks and that physically if all goes well he will not have any disabilities. We have 2 weeks left of full time harness use, and I am counting down the days!

Luckily, the harness has not hindered his movement or growth. In the rare times that I do remove the harness he can still roll over . . . he has an incredibly strong core and has been able to hold his head up since birth, basically. At his 2 month appointment with the pediatrician, he took his vaccinations like a champ. He calmed down immediately after the shots (with help from the pacifier), and was smiling at me by the time we were in the elevator. We also were surprised to find that he weighed 13 lbs, 7.5 ounces and was 24.5 inches long -- so at two months old he was in the 90th percentile for both height and weight . . . a strong, tall, healthy boy. I swear he is literally growing inches overnight.

Adam 2 months and Erin 30 years

Erin's 30th Birthday

Shannon and Erin

On July 5 this year I turned 30 years old on the same day that Adam was exactly 2 months old. For my birthday my parents baby-sat while we went to Luna de Noche for dinner and then bowling and laser tag afterwards with Robin, Sarah, Jon and Kristina, Lisa and Mike and Kirsten and Bryan.

The Group

Shannon's Truck


Shortly after Adam was born, Shannon bought a new truck to replace his falling-apart Blazer (which blew carbon monoxide into the car, had a barely-functioning air conditioner, and an incessant door buzzer that tells you when the car is on but the door isn't shut all the way beeped at you no matter how tightly shut the door was). Technically it isn't "new", but new to us. Not long after that purchase, he walked out the door one morning to go to work and found his truck on cinderblocks in the driveway, all 4 tires and wheels gone.

The Carrollton police came to the house, filed a report, and Shannon worked with Classic Chevrolet to get everything straightened out. Apparently we were victims of a crime spree in the neighborhood - several other people in Carrollton had the exact thing happen to them.  Insurance took care of it and he actually ended up with something even better than what he started out with - but talk about a nuisance. Now we are still triple checking the locks every night and arguing about who "gets" to park in the garage. The picture above is of the truck before the vandalism. The picture to the left is after the vandalism and "upgrades". It is a 2007 GMC Sierra.

Other Scary Things

On June 26 I received news that an ex-boyfriend (who I had remained good friends with) passed away. Tom O'Regan and I met in Cork, Ireland, where he and his family are from, while I was studying abroad my last semester of graduate school. Tom was living in Singapore, working for his dad's company and working on his music when he suddenly passed away in his sleep from cardiac failure. All blood work came back clear and there was no good reason that they could see. Even videos of him out the night before showed him happy and full of life. He was going to be 30 in September. I have always been terrified that at any moment I could lose family member or close friend suddenly, and Tom's death reminded me how quickly someone can be taken away. I miss him and our bi-weekly emails. The picture to the right is in Mallorca in 2006 - the last trip we took together.

A few weeks after Tom's passing, I got a phone call from my sister telling me that my mom had taken my dad to the emergency room and that they thought he was either having a heart attack or stroke. They ruled both out, and while in the hospital he slowly lost gross motor skills, starting from his legs and moving up toward his face. They ran test after test and finally discovered after days of testing that he had some form of Guillain-Barre Syndrome. GBS is incredibly rare, effecting only 1 or 2 in 100,000 people. He is still in the hospital undergoing serious physical, occupational and speech therapy daily. My mind is constantly on him and how strong he must be to face this. I know he will overcome it soon and be good as new, it's just a long, hard battle.

Summer

Bathtime at 12 weeks old

Adam 10 weeks old

Over the last weeks I have been taking Adam up to the hospital to flash cute little smiles at my parents, who have yet to acquire names as grandparents. We are waiting to see what Adam decides to call them, I think. We have had mini family barbecues, gone swimming at the pool, and are attempting to redecorate the guest bathroom at the last minute before I go back to work. Below are several pictures from Adam's first day in the pool last weekend at Mike and Lisa's house. He liked the water and was EXHAUSTED afterward.

Shannon and Adam at the Pool

Erin and Adam at the Pool

What's next??

Exhausted!

It has been a tough, emotionally draining summer, but one that has been completely worth it because I got to spend all my time with little Adam and enjoy learning to be a parent with Shannon.As the summer begins to come to an end I start this blog so that as the weeks and days go by I remember to cherish every moment that I have with my family.