The Adoption Seed: Seven Weeks Together

Good gravy, it's been a busy week! There is a lot to report, so get your reading glasses on...

Morning routine. I think we've got it figured out...including me getting a shower while Isaac is awake. It involves pulling him in the highchair into the bathroom and me singing The Itsy-bitsy Spider for 10-12 minutes, but everyone ends up clean & happy! (Thankfully, through the week we've upgraded to the ipod and the Frank Sinatra Pandora channel, which Isaac LOVES...and I think that is funny!)

First Packer Game. Not sure I want to talk about this one...thankfully, Isaac was already asleep by the time "the incident" happened so he will forever be spared that ugly piece of our history. On a brighter note...look how stinking cute he is with his jersey & cheesehead!

Ready for his first Packer game.

Sorry kiddo.
When China gets a professional football team, we'll talk about options.

Eye exam. We got the A-OK from the pediatric opthamologist this week. Isaac does not have 20/20 vision but he is not crossing his eyes to accommodate like many kids with Ds do, so no glasses for us right now. (Hallelujah!) We'll check back in quarterly for a while just to keep ahead of the game in case he does need some super cute specs in the future.

Hearing test. Isaac isn't especially fond of anyone messing with his ears so this test was a little more complicated. The pediatric audiologist was giving me the initial report of probable hearing loss while Isaac was on the floor dancing to his musical panda so I'm not too worried. :) Some degree of hearing loss is common in Ds so we'll get a more accurate test in a few months and then get tested twice a year for quite a while.

Developmental report. We met with Isaac's early intervention case manager, speech therapist, and occupational therapist for a couple hours this week to review last week's evaluation. They were uber-impressed with Isaac's domination of the learning curve and couldn't stress enough how quickly he is picking up new skills. He officially only has minor delays in his speech and motor skills, but we are going to take full advantage of the resources available to us in the coming months. I'm excited to see how much he learns & grows!

Heart evaluation. We confirmed this week that Isaac does indeed have a little hole in his heart, called a Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA). Of all the holes in the heart that a child can be born with, this is actually the 'best' one to have and the easiest to fix, so I am happy about that (I've put some information below). There are two other holes that are more common in Ds that are more complicated to repair (open heart surgery is needed) but Isaac doesn't show any signs of those, which is AWESOME. We'll have an appointment with a pediatric cardiac surgeon soon to develop a treatment plan, which will most likely include patching the hole by going through a vein instead of major surgery. Isaac was super through the two hour appointment, although he wasn't fond of the ultrasound gel in his armpit!

Baby's first EKG. One for the baby book.

Getting his echocardiogram.
He was fascinated by the colors on the screen

Preparing for daycare. That's right...the day has come. Starting tomorrow I return to work part time (16hours per week) and Isaac will start at the Knowledge Kollege. I love my profession and am blessed to have a job that is flexible, close to home, & provides for us as a family...but I have dreaded this day. I just don't want to be away from my sweet boy! To prepare, we did a dry run to daycare; getting up and going just like we will this next week. We spent an hour together in Isaac's classroom with some of his future friends. He was cautious and didn't stray far from me for quite a while, but warmed up to his teachers...and their snacks (Let's be honest. This boy's heart is in his stomach!). When he found the big mirror and the soft blocks he was a happy boy. Please pray for both he & I as we go through this major transition. He'll do well there, I know that...but I'm still praying for Jesus to return on sometime before 7:30 tomorrow morning!