Another trip to Florida

Why not try again, right? We mean, at this point, what do we have to lose? Nathan screamed the whole time during his first trip; could he really do it all over again?  We know what you're thinking: you guys are crazy!  Well, we are. But, you can't win if you don't play! And, we can't just stay home all the time.

So, we went back to Florida in March 2012. The trip was nice because we were expecting visitors throughout our time there. My (Amy) Mom flew down with us and spent the first 5 days with us. The flight down was great. Nathan slept well (our definition of well at this point is a few hours straight at night), with the exception of getting up early (before 5 am). While my Mom was with us, we laid low and hung out by the pool.

Grandma and Nathan (6 months old)

Benjamin golfing!

Nathan attempted the water again with better results. He wasn't a huge fan, yet, but better than last time! Benjamin LOVES going to Florida! He loves the pool there, he loves running around without a jacket on (we typically go when it's cold up north), and enjoys having no plans. I dropped my Mom off at the airport with Nathan in tow. The ride down to Fort Lauderdale was good, but I would've never expected the ride home to be so horrible. I actually had to stop twice! I got off an exit and pulled into a parking lot. I got in the backseat and tried to feed him to no avail. Simply screaming bloody murder. His diaper was dry and he obviously wasn't hungry. I decided to get back on the highway and try again. I had another hour to go. I made it only a few exits before I couldn't take the screaming anymore. I even started to cry. I pulled into another parking lot and tried again. He ate for a few minutes and then began screaming again. I decided to put him in the stroller and walk around for a few minutes, thinking maybe that movement with soothe him. Nope! So, I had no choice but to get back in the car, listen to the screaming, and be strong for the next hour. I cried the whole way home with him.

The rest of the trip was actually pretty good! Stephen's parents and cousins made the trip down for a few days. It was nice to spend time with them and the kids all together. Memories in the making!

Nate playing with his Sitto.

Nate and Grandpa sleeping!

A new family picture in Florida. No one is crying!!

Once we arrived back home, things did not get any better for the rest of March. Nathan caught a cold and did not sleep well that entire week. His first 2 teeth came in within 4 days of each other. I guess that could be the explanation for all the crying, but who knows at this point! Sleeping at night for Nathan went out the window. He was sleeping only short spurts and keeping us up all night. We can only hope that it's the cold and the teeth that are keeping him from sleeping.

A great start to 2012!

We brought 2012 in with a bang! Despite still being inconsistent with his sleeping in the beginning of January, Nathan got back on a normal schedule toward the end of the month. Now that he was 4 months old, he was "oohing and ahhing" all over the place. He even started to roll over in the middle of the month. He loved playing with his feet and "watching" Alvin and the Chipmunks.

Ben and Nate rocking their Patriots gear!

Happy Nate the Great!

Nate and his boy, Alvin!

 February continued to bring us more great times and memories for our family of 4. Nathan was still "sleeping through the night" and taking somewhat scheduled naps. He started eating solid foods and loving all the new tastes. He laughed and screeched while watching his big brother, Benjamin. He LOVED Benjamin. He still does. They are so incredibly lucky to have each other.

Ben is the best big brother!

Nate before mealtime!

 It's amazing to look back at these few months and take in all the memories with a smile. We can't imagine not taking the time to jot down notes or take as many pictures as we have. When you're in the thick of it, some days seem to never end. But, looking back, the days have flown by. And we know, life gets busy and we are ALL tired, but we are so glad that even during our hardest days and even harder nights, we stopped what we were doing, picked up a pencil and wrote; even if we thought there was "nothing" to write about.

Our first holiday season as a family of four

 At this point, we are going to try to continue to write every 2 days as we catch everyone up on our story. Thank you for reading, deciding to follow us on our journey, and sharing our story. We are hoping to help any other families in our situation.

We typically spend Thanksgiving with our family in Connecticut. After traveling with the boys to Florida and our experience with Nate away from home, we were nervous to say the least. But, as usual, he kept us on our toes and actually did well!

Nate and Ben on Thanksgiving

As December rolled around, Nathan's little personality was beginning to arrive. He began to recognize his name right before he turned 3 months old. And, he had, and still does have, the best facial expressions around. We went to visit with Santa with the boys and he had everyone cracking up.  

 For the first 2 weeks of that month, he cried. He cried a lot. He didn't have his 4 month appointment with the pediatrician until January so we continued to do our best with consoling him and doing everything possible to make him comfortable. He was not a fan of being put down and all he wanted was us to hold him and walk around. While at a Mom's playgroup that was run by a nurse at our local hospital, craniosacral therapy ( https://www.craniosacraltherapy.org/Whatis.htm ) was brought up. A therapist in our area came in to talk about it so we decided to give it a try with Nate. We figured, at this point, we have nothing to lose. If he would calm him down for even five minutes, we would take that as a win. His first appointment was on December 12. We were anxious knowing that all he did was cry with us and gave the therapist the heads up that this was the case. The three of us went to the appointment together and it was a calming environment. The therapist was very grandfatherly and spoke in a soothing voice. He held Nathan up on the table and gently placed his fingers over several different parts of his head and stomach. He was even able to stop him from hiccuping. Stephen and I were impressed with that alone, but also how calm Nate was with him. Once the appointment was over, we drove home. Not only did, Nate fall asleep quickly in the car on the way home, we were able to transfer him from the car seat to the couch without waking him up. This was the longest he was calm and not crying in 3 1/2 months!! We were beside ourselves. We basically just stared at him the entire time making sure he was still breathing. We couldn't believe it! We decided to make another appointment in two weeks; that second appointment yielded similar results. The therapist was thinking that Nate was "full of tension" and it may take several visits to work that out of his system. The first few visits were every two weeks and then we moved to every six weeks for maintenance. We were hopeful yet again that we were on the right path.

A "vacation" we'd never forget!

Since 2009, we've gone to Florida every March and November. In November 2011, we decided to continue the tradition, despite now having a 22 month old and a 2 month old. Nathan had started sleeping through the night the Thursday before we left. At that time, "sleeping through the night" for us meant 9-10 pm to 6-7 am. That term has evolved over the last 3 years. As you continue to read the blog, you'll learn what we mean!

To say the trip was rough would be an understatement. Nathan was fabulous on the trip down, leading us to believe that we would have a great trip. Boy, were we wrong! We spent most of our days trying to console Nate. We, at times, cried right along with him. We walked (sometimes that worked), we swayed, we sat (not good), we laid down (not a chance), and we took car rides (bad move!). It was frustrating and sad. We felt more helpless than ever. He was still eating consistently and it was staying down. He was doing everything else normal too. What else could be wrong??

Although we were having such a tough time with Nate, we still had Benjamin to entertain and ensure that he had a great time too. Tough, right? What do we do? Does one of us always stay back with Nate? Do we forgo the "family" vacation to make sure Benjamin has fun too? Well, we did a little of everything and even took some chances! What's life without a little chaos, right?

We spent time at the pool. Nathan DID NOT like the water and Benjamin had a blast! We went to the Palm Beach Zoo (that wasn't so bad for Nate) and even tried Sea World. Nathan slept and/or breastfed most of the time. All in all, our day trips were a success. As bonus, we even got to take professional photographs while Nate was calm. Thank God for caring and patient photographers!!

Nathan and Benjamin hanging out before heading to the pool

Benjamin and Daddy looking at the animals at the zoo

Benjamin and Daddy checking out the sea lions

Well, at least the adults are still smiling on our last day!

http://www.artigraphsphotography.com/#

 

Flashback to October 2011...

Beginning this blog has been such a good experience for us. Not only have readers responded well to it; it gives us a chance to look back and reflect on how far we've come in 3 short (and sometimes long!) years. It's easy to forget the good times, especially when many of the days were so difficult. In looking back to October of 2011, we experienced a lot. When Nathan was 3 weeks old, we traveled to Connecticut to celebrate the Plainville High School's Sports Hall of Fame dinner. I (Amy) was inducted in my first year of eligibility. I was nervous for many reasons, but mostly because I was only 3 weeks out of a C-Section and had a 3 week old to nurse every few hours.  Interesting, to say the least.  We do remember that Nathan was so well-behaved and that people commented that they didn't even know a newborn was in the room! Oh, how things have changed!

We were also able to enjoy pumpkin and apple picking with Benjamin; when Nathan was sleeping, of course! With some help from family members, we also celebrated the wedding of Uncle Tom and Auntie Cortney. Benjamin was in the wedding and Nathan hung out on the sidelines. Very cute to say the least!

All in all, one of our family's best months.

The beginning...

We became parents for the first time in December 2009. Benjamin was born after a 17 hour labor, 2 hours of pushing, and a C-Section. He was the perfect baby. He had no issues breastfeeding, slept through the night at 3 weeks old, hit every milestone, and made every transition through his first year like a champ. We were SPOILED! We knew we wanted to have more children sooner than later, so Nathan was born 3 months before Benjamin turned 2. He arrived after a mostly uneventful pregnancy; I suffered from severe headaches for the first 16 weeks of the pregnancy. He also arrived via C-Section.
                                                              BENJAMIN

                                                        NATHAN

Soon after he was born, we knew he was going to be a different baby than Ben. We knew that all children are different, but we were naive to think that they would possess any of the same qualities. Parents can dream, right? For the first 2 weeks of his life, he was the normal newborn: breastfed every 3 hours and slept most of the day. After that, he was a different little boy. He continued to be a good eater, but struggled to remain calm. In the middle of it, we always thought, "Ehh...he's just gassy, something didn't agree with him, etc." Looking back on it, could he have already had the brain tumor? Could the hydrocephalus had already started?

He cried throughout the day consistently, for countless hours a day. He, at times, was difficult to soothe. If one of us held him, he was fine. If we put him down, he would arch his back and scream louder than any baby we had ever heard. We felt helpless; and honestly, Nate just seemed uncomfortable in his own body. Over time and at each appointment with the pediatrician, we made it known that he cried often and did not sleep well. Our pediatrician was, and still is, incredible. He listened to every concern, made suggestions, and offered different ways to help us get through the day. Sometimes they worked, sometimes they didn't.

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/hydrocephalus/detail_hydrocephalus.htm#260213125