Have a Holly Jolly Christmas!

We hope all of our friends and family have a very Merry Christmas!! May you find peace and joy in 2012!

EEG and Ear Tube Surgery

We took River to Dell Children's Hospital 2 weeks ago to have an EEG done to find out if he is having absence seizures. ""Electroencephalography (EEG) is the recording of electrical activity along the scalp. EEG measures voltage fluctuations resulting from ionic current flows within the neurons of the brain," according to wikipedia. Prior to the procedure, they told us that River would need to lay still for 1.5 hours while hooked to the electrodes that monitor his brain activity. For those that know River, know that he is extremely active and it is difficult to get him to lay still for 5 minutes much less an hour and a half! We were a bit concerned going in, but knew we would just find a way to make it work and hope for the best. I must say that I was very impressed with the way River handled the procedure. The first part was the most difficult. Daddy sat on the bed with him and helped the nurse hold him still while she applied about 30 electrodes with a gel to his scalp and forehead. It took about 45 minutes just to get him all connected so they could monitor him. It turns out that they only had to monitor his brain activity for 30 minutes, whew!! The 1.5 hours we were quoted on the phone included the time it took just to get all the electrodes connected. That made us feel much better. River actually fell asleep once he was all hooked up which made the 30 minutes fly by. We felt bad having to wake him up when it was all over. He was so strong and such a trooper, as always! We got the results of the EEG a couple of days later and everything came back normal! It was wonderful news. Grandma said it was reason to celebrate and throw a party!

 This past week River had surgery to place tubes in his ears. We admitted him the night before because he needed to fast for at least 6 hours before surgery and that is not possible for River. River usually can only make it 30 minutes - 1 hour of fasting before his blood sugar drops below 70. At midnight they started a dextrose IV to keep his blood sugar stable while the turned off his g-tube feeds. His blood sugar stayed stable during and after the switch to IV fluids!! I was worried that River would have trouble sleeping in the hospital but he slept like a log, even through several blood draws to test his blood sugar. Mom and Dad on the other hand, slept on the couch in the room and didn't get much sleep. His surgery was at 7am in the morning and he didn't even cry when the nurses took him away to give him the anesthesia. He is so independent and completely fine without mommy and daddy :( The surgery lasted about 20 minutes and he did great! We got discharged from the hospital later that morning. We had to get discharged from his original room since he was admitted as an inpatient. He has adjusted to the tubes wonderfully and his sinus congestion that he's had for the past couple of weeks is finally clearing up.

We took River up to the mall to see Santa and ride the Choo Choo train. He had so much fun riding the train and rode it all by himself. He even clapped when the ride was over, it was adorable! I posted a little video of the end so you can see the end of his train ride and applause. 

Upcoming Surgery and Fun at Cabela's

River enjoyed watching daddy play the shooting game

 Grandma and my little cowboy

 Yee Haw!!

Last weekend, when grandma and grandpa were down for their bi-monthly visit, we took River to Cabela's. Cabela's is one of his favorite places to go. He loves to see the fish and all of the taxidermy animals that fill every inch of the store. Grandma found a really cute cowboy hat, doesn't he look cute???

This post is way overdue and a lot has happened since my last post. We had quite a scare with River about a month ago when he had trouble walking. It was very scary! Every time he tried to walk his legs were very shaky and he would take a couple of steps and fall down. He especially had trouble bending down to pick things up. We took him to the pediatrician and they immediately started drawing tons of blood and running tests to see if he could have an infection in his bones or joints. They referred us to a infectious disease specialist the next day to see if she could help. By the time of the appointment he was getting around much better and his troubles walking and bending down seemed to subside. The infectious disease doctor said that all of his blood work came back normal and didn't show signs of inflammation or infection. She wanted us to follow up with the pediatrician if he started having trouble walking again but by the 3rd day, he was back to normal and running all over the place. The doctors still aren't sure what caused him not to be able to walk. It could have been something as simple as a strained muscle or growing pains. He keeps us on our toes, that is for sure and it had mommy very worried!!

River is doing good this week other than having a cold and ear infection. This was his fourth ear infection in 6 months and the pediatrician decided it was time to visit the ENT and see about getting tubes. We went and saw the ENT and she recommended getting tubes in his ears. So he is scheduled for surgery on Wednesday, December 14th. We have to admit him the night before and get him hooked up to a dextrose IV because he can't fast. The IV will help keep his blood sugar stable before, during, and after the surgery. Usually with healthy kids, this surgery takes about 30 minutes but with River it is a bit of an ordeal. I am worried that he will need a PICC line because of the amount of dextrose he needs may be too much for his veins to handle. River had a PICC line when he was in the NICU which is a central line run directly to his heart through an artery. It is a lot more difficult to put in than an IV and we run a higher risk of infection. Please pray that the IV will be enough and he will not need the PICC!!! I will try to post an update after surgery and let everyone know how he is doing. He is such a little trooper and I am sure he will do just fine.

Silent Sunday- Putting up the Christmas Tree

Silent Sunday

 

Thank you cousin Landon, for the fun farmhouse! It is my new favorite toy ;) <3 River

Trick or Treat

River had his first experience with "trick or treating" this year. We took him to the neighborhood that I work in, Garlic Creek. One of my girlfriends, Meredith also lives there and we set up in her driveway to hand out candy. We took River around to some houses to trick or treat. Even though he can't say "trick or treat" or eat candy yet, it was all about the experience! Let me tell you, the homeowners go all out on Halloween! We saw house that were covered from end to end with Halloween decor including a haunted graveyard and orange stringed lights choreographed to Halloween music. One house served hot dogs and frito pie, had a flat screen tv set up showing a football game, and rented a bouncy house for the kids. River could not get enough of the bouncy house either. We reluctantly let him join the "older kids" as he attempted to stand up and jump...key word is "attempted"! He was bounced around like a little rag doll but still had a blast. He threw the biggest temper tantrum ever when it was time to get in the car and head home. All in all, it was a success! Here are some pictures of our future little golfer:

 

Silent Sunday

 River is wearing a "Prayers for Ryan" bracelet. Ryan also has Hyperinsulinism and has been through so much. Please continue to pray for him and his family and read about his story:

Ryan McGowan's Caring Bridge Site

Austin Childrens Museum

River is feeling much better this week! He has so much energy, it is amazing. We have not been able to get him back to his usual feeding schedule though. He can only last about 30 minutes in between feeds or his blood sugar drops fast ;( He also continues to try new foods and puts pretty much everything in his mouth (markers, dog food, foam). We really have to watch him closely now.

On Thursday, we met up with my good friend Autumn and her precious son Dean for a play date at the Austin Children's museum. 

Afterwards we got some Yogurt and yummy toppings. We all had a great time! They had a dinosaur exhibit and lots of cool play areas for the kids. 

Here are some pictures of baby Dean, he is 10 months old: 

River and Dean had a lot of fun playing with the slide:

My girlfriends and I did some pumpkin carving/cupcake decorating this week. I carved an owl for River:

Thanks Pinterest for the adorable owl cupcake idea:

So much Happening!

This is going to be a long post because so much has been happening over the past couple of weeks

First of all, River came down with a terrible stomach bug and he was just miserable. It lasted for about 8 days and boy were those 8 days, the loooooongest days ever! He was having diarrhea almost every hour and vomiting 4 times a day. No one got much sleep in the Ross house either. We were up either changing diapers or cleaning up vomit. His blood sugar was running low leading up to the illness and during so we  had to put him on a continuous feed just to keep his blood sugar levels stable.  River also got a terrible diaper rash and it got to the point where we had to dip him in a warm bath instead of using wipes to clean his little bum. He got around 8 baths a day. Did I mention we were all exhausted? Daddy, mommy, and grandma Becky all came down with the stomach bug too. Daddy got it Friday night, mommy got it Saturday night, and Grandma got it Sunday night. It was only a 24 hour bug for us but it was just terrible. We are all feeling much better now and thankful it passed quickly. River's illness ended in a trip to the ER after mommy noticed bright red blood in his diaper. After a blood draw and stool sample collections, we got the results of the labs and everything came back normal. They said the blood was from his intestines being so irritated after 8 days of diarrhea. I hope River never has to be admitted into the hospital because he couldn't sit still for a second in that ER room. He was literally bouncing off the walls, getting into everything, and making friends with all the doctors and nurses. You can't hold this boy down, even when he is sick! As of yesterday, River is feeling much better his poop is finally back to normal and everyone at the Ross house is getting some rest. We are just so thankful to get back to "normal". Well, our normal at least!

We also have some VERY EXCITING news to share! River is finally eating and interested in food. It is like a light just switched on his his little head! This started happening on Friday morning. I went to Sonic and got some french toast sticks and he was fussing and reaching out to grab one from me. So I gave him one and he carried it around all morning just sucking on it. Then at dinner on Friday night, he climbed up onto the table and Chili's and dipped a french fry into my ranch dressing. He sucked the ranch off of the fry and then started dipping his fingers in and licking it off! It was amazing to see. Eating seems like something we all want and love to do, but it never has been that way for River. Seeing him have the desire to eat and go back for more makes me want to jump up and down for joy!  Since then, he has eaten peanut butter and jelly and oatmeal!! I can't wait to start experimenting with more foods and see what else he will try! This is a HUGE milestone for him.

Here are some pictures of River enjoying his oatmeal this morning:

We also went down to the Pumpkin Patch in downtown Buda this morning. It was not easy getting a picture of River with the pumpkins because all he wanted to do was run around and explore everything but the pumpkins!

 

I added something new to River's playroom so we can display his artwork: 

Love,

Amber, River, and Daddy E

Silent Sunday