Tid-Bits, The Good and the Bad

I can't believe it's almost the middle of December! Where does the time go? December has been a very busy month for the LaGorga's as we anxiously await Gabe's first Christmas.

So how have we been keeping busy? Well, lets see!

Last week we had to take Gabe to the pediatricians to evaluate his rash. The minor eczema-like rash turned into what looked like 3rd degree burns covering his trunk, back, arms and legs... as well as his sweet little face (where the rash always had been). Besides learning that Gabe definitely has eczema, I learned something else: to rely on my instincts. Everyone (doctors included) kept telling us that it was just regular old dry baby skin.... and I went along with it because, well doctors know best even if my stomach felt a little uneasy. But no more - if Matt and I think somethings up, somethings up!

And getting his eczema in control was fairly simple - a switch to soy formula and a little 1/2% cortisone cream mixed with aquaphor - and VOILA! Soft, smooth baby skin!

By the way, does anyone know how to get aquaphor out of cloth diapers? A few of the ones he wore initially became slathered in aquaphor and it's resulted in them becoming quite a bit less absorb ant!

Speaking of cloth diapers... our favorite cloth diapers, Kissaluvs Contours, are now too small for Gabe! They advertise that they'll fit up to a 9 month old, and while I don't think Gabe is quite as big as a 9 month old... he's definitely not the size of the average almost 4 month old! And it works for me because I love juicy babies! So we ordered some new diapers and I've been busy washing them over and over and over again to get them at their most absorbent.

Gabe in just his diaper and socks

Gabe's bedroom is also ready... if I were just ready for him to move into his bedroom. I know it's only 4 feet across the hall, but c'mon... it's 4 feet across the hall! We have all the monitors and I know he'll love sleeping in his crib, I just love having him right next to me. And its super convenient to have him in his cradle right next to our bed. I don't even have to step a foot on the cold wood floor to get him out of bed!

And another piece of information... do you want a new computer? A few lovely ladies whose blogs I follow are giving them away on their blog. Alls you have to do is, leave a comment and you're entered into their contest. Click here, here or here. And if you win... well you better be super sweet to me since I told you about the contest. And if I win, well that would just be super cool.

Along with getting ready for the holidays (like how I switch subjects) I've been watching my good friend Sarah's 2 girls. And, if Gabe's enthusiasm means anything at all, it means he'd love himself some siblings. Gabe spends his days fascinated by London and Waverly; watching them run, climb and play all day. He even gives me disgusted looks some days when it's just the two of us. Looks that seem to say "are you kidding me? it's just the two of us today?" I can't believe him sometimes, like I'm not as fun as a 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 year old. Pu-lease! Because I am A LOT of fun.

This past month (well the end of November) Matt, Gabe and I had the opportunity to meet some dear friends we met through the Internet. I suppose some people would say if you haven't met in real life then you're not really friends... so to all those people, we're really friends now! The Marruffo family was visiting some family that lived in Ohio and ventured over to meet! They're as terrific in person as they are on the Internet... and their children, Alec and Cece.... LOVE 'EM! It was so wonderful to meet people that you love and pray for, and that love and pray for you.

Becky, Alec, Gabe and Cece (and my nephew Caleb in the background)

And now the good:

Monday Gabe went to the eye doctor. I dreaded going to see Dr. R and not because we don't like him. He's fabulous! Always remembers our Gaby-baby, is encouraging and gives advice... and the biggest bonus: wants to avoid surgery for Gabe's eye almost as much as we do! And on too the semi-good news! After hearing it from just about everybody, the doctor confirmed that Gabe's eye is better! Just a little bit, but enough to avoid going back for 2 months and... if it opens just a little bit more, we will be able to totally avoid stitching Gabe's eye lid up! And along with his eyelid raising, his vision is still developing on target :) All those prayers are working!

Now, I don't want to get too far ahead of myself. Gabe's eye isn't still working exactly as its supposed too. It doesn't look in or up (or was it down?) as much as its supposed too and surgery may be totally inevitable but we will take each step forward with praise, thanksgiving and a lot of joy! The only down-side is that we had to increase his patch time on his left eye to 1 1/2 hours each day. And with his super developed fine motor skills, that means we usually use 4 or 5 patches a day. But, I am super impressed by his almost super-powered, stealth-like finger moves. I swear (not really) I can blink and off goes the patch - Gabe's a tricky one, that's for sure! I think he has the mischievous side like his daddy....

And now the bad.... Thursday we went to see his neurologist. This appointment was also downtown like his eye appointment, however, this appointment was at 4:00 pm. And that meant, when it was time to leave we were in the thick of rush hour traffic - UGH! Take a hungry mama and an almost 4 month old who was just poked, prodded and only wanted to be cuddled by his mama combined with the usual horrible rush hour traffic exponentially increaded by the additional traffic for the Browns vs Steelers game and what do you get.... a LONG ride home.

And while I was concerned about the traffic and driving downtown by myself I wasn't too concerned with the actual appoinment. And that may be where I went wrong in the first place... I wasn't prepared. After an examination by Dr. F and his associate, the results were in. Gabe has a tone problem on his left side. He's way too stiff; his hand is fisted and his reflexes too strong. The assumption is that this is caused by the schyzencephaly (he's missing part of his brain on right side). He also has a tone problem on the right side of his neck. It has a fancy name but I am way too comfortable to get off the couch and see what its called. This is most likely caused by the agensis of his corpus collasaum. The doctor was more (or most) concerned with his eye. While he noticed lateral movement that the eye doctor didn't, his concern arises that this eye problem isn't related to either the schyzencephaly or the agensis of his c.c.

So the doctor ordered some physical therapy for Gabriel's tone problems and doesn't want to wait until Gabe is 6 months old for his MRI. To say this makes us nervous is an understatement. I know it's just an MRI but its an MRI for my baby and he'll have to be sedated for it. And sedation in itself can be a problem. But after lots of careful thought and prayers, Gabe's MRI is scheduled for January 6.

Other than Gabe's doctors appointments and all of the fun stuff, we've had some other worries too. My best friend Natalie's mom Dianne (who happens to be my mom's best friend and who's son Wyatt happens to be one of Gabe's best buddies - well they will be once they understand that it's impossible not to be:) fell in the bathtub the day before Thanksgiving. Dianne was found unconscious by her husband and no one is totally sure how long she was under water. After being unconscious for a few days and being put into a medically-induced coma to help her body heal; she finally woke up and is now on the road to recovery. However, the road to recovery seems steep and I (along with all of my family and friends) would covet your prayers that she has a full and total recovery and is able to grow old watching her youngest grandson and Gabe grow big and strong.

Gabe and Dianne

To top off those worries, Wednesday my Mom was admitted into the hospital. While they've figured out what caused the internal bleeding and stopped it the doctors are unable to figure out what caused her left arm and leg to go numb. Our family is thinking she had another stroke because of her history for strokes, but the doctors aren't sure. And we're just happy she's feeling better. Hopefully she'll be home soon.

My Mom with the 3 youngest of her 5 grandsons

Life has definitely been keeping us busy and while we've had our ups and downs this past month we can not believe how remarkably blessed we are and could not be more grateful this Christmas season.

Love & Blessings, Meredith

And of course I couldn't post without a few pictures of the King of Cute himself :)