I Tried...

I've been trying a lot this week to catch James smiling. Here are some of the funny faces and a few small smiles I was able to capture in my efforts.

I do Not want to smile Mommy. I want to suck my awesome thumb.

That was close. Mommy almost caught my smile on film.

I can also touch my fists together now. Take a picture of this Mommy.

I like to smile and then cover it up when Mommy snaps the picture.

You can't out smart me by sneaking up behind me.

I suppose I will give you a mini-smile to show Grandma & Grandpa.

And an open mouthed mini-smile.

Mommy is too slow again. Ha!



That tricky elephant was supposed to cover-up my smile :)

Foiled Again, Batman!

James did not have surgery today. Short story...the surgeon would really like him to be a little bigger before surgery (given his growth curve, he thought he would be the right weight by now). So surgery has been postponed and we will look into rescheduling later, at least a month down the road.

Long story... We reported to the hospital at 8 am and went through the registration and admittance process. The surgeon was in another surgery and came to see us when he got done, around 11. He looked over James' information and decided that he has two options for surgery. One is called a gastric pull-up, where he physically pulls part of the stomach up through the diaphragm and uses it for the esophagus. Sometimes in smaller babies, because the stomach is bigger than the esophagus would have been, this can crowd the lungs and cause breathing problems (that could lead to chronic breathing problems). The second option is a reverse gastronomy (I think that's what it was called). This is when he would take part of the stomach and make a tube out of it. This is what he would prefer to do, but there are two things that can get in the way: A) the stomach might not be big enough or B) his current g-tube could be in a place that prohibits this option. The surgeon was more worried about B. The surgeon felt that James was big enough for the second option (the preferred method), but he wouldn't be able to tell which option he would pick until he got inside. He was afraid of going in and then needing to do the less preferred method. He doesn't think James is big enough for that method yet and he was fearful of hindering his development, especially since he is making such good progress right now. Basically, there was the possibility if he went ahead with it today that James would still not get fixed and have went through the surgery process for nothing.

So James is home and home we will stay. The good news is that he won't be in the hospital when Aunt Denise comes to visit next weekend! James can keep on working on his smiling and putting his hands together and rolling...he is getting better at all three. I finally got a picture of his smile on my phone and if I can figure out how to post it from my phone, I will do that soon. Thank you for all the prayers. We will keep you posted, as always!

5 Months

James is officially 5 months old as of yesterday. He was up to 14 pounds 12 ounces at his last weigh-in 5 days ago. He is 24 inches long. This in the 24th percentile, which is great for a baby born at 4 pounds and in the negative percentiles. The doctors are very pleased with him. His development is slightly behind for a 5 month old, but ahead of the game for a 3 1/2 month old, which is his adjusted age (since he was 6 1/2 weeks early). James is getting good at holding his head up, but he still likes to throw it back occasionally. He likes to roll from his back to his sides and back. He is still not a fan of tummy time; the button seems to make it uncomfortable for him. He's a trooper though and pushes through tummy time each day. James can smile, but he's a tough audience. Dave and I have each seen him smile about 3 times. He's never smiled for the same thing twice though and he definitely won't allow it to be captured on camera. All 'n all, James is doing great. James is still getting over the cold from last week, but he is doing much better (as are the rest of us). A couple of pictures below of James enjoying his new Bumbo seat and kick n' play piano.

Scheduled!

James' corrective surgery is finally scheduled! The date is set for January 22nd. We just take him in that morning and then he'll have surgery first thing. He'll be in the hospital for 7 - 14 days, depending on how well he takes to the bottle and recovers.

We're all fighting colds here. I think someone must have put it in a present :) Dave came down with it over the weekend, James yesterday morning, and me last night. Our colds our comprised of sore throats and congestion. James decided that his cold means that he doesn't really sleep, so we were up most of the night together. I thought I was going to pass out so Dave was nice enough to take over around 4 am so I could get a few hours sleep. Sleep or no sleep, the cold caught me too. Now we're a bundle of fun. James doesn't really cough so he works really hard at working the mucus out of his esophagus...yummy. The surgeon listened to him today and said that the congestion is minor and he already seems to be getting better. Pray for a quick recovery and that he stays healthy so that we can stick to surgery on the 22nd!

Holiday Photos

James was so excited about Jesus' Birthday!

Aren't we cute in our matching hoodies?!

Our attempt with a timer on the camera...not too bad.

Always a cute pair!


Oliver and James among the presents.
Olivia and Uncle Dave...and their nostrils.

Annie and Uncle Dave... and their tongues.

Awww.

Bennett and James playing.

Still cute even though I forgot to rotate it before posting :)

Happy New Year!

I am sorry for the two week hiatus from the blog, but I wanted to spend all of my time with family while they were in town. The guests started coming on Christmas Day when Dave's parents made the drive from St Louis to spend Christmas weekend with us. They brought lots of goodies from St Louis and we sent some back for the rest of the Iverson clan. The Iverson express is cheaper then the USPS. We had a good time putting together James' toy chest (along with toys to fill it up with) and a "New Moon" puzzle. It was a gift so I'm less of a dork since I didn't buy it myself. The puzzle was crazy hard. The four of us worked on it for 3 days straight to get it done. When we were down to the last two pieces and they didn't fit in the the last two spots, we knew we were in trouble! Don't worry, I figured it out :)

Dick and Sharon left Monday morning and then Julie showed up with a van full Monday afternoon. There was just enough time in between for me to get sheets, towels, and blankets washed for the new wave of guests. Julie and Abby came with Bennett, Cole, Annie & Olivia. The kids had a great time getting their Uncle Dave fix. They occupied most of his time with hide and seek and craft time in the basement. They all loved baby James. Olivia and Bennett, especially, have a knack with babies. It was great to spend time with everyone. Dave wished the husbands had come along, but he made due with the kids.

The van load headed home New Years Eve morning so that they could spend New Years Eve with their respective daddies. Mom and Dad arrived on New Years Day. I got a lot of shopping in while they were here (they brought Christmas money). I bought a comforter for our bed at Kohls, a Bumbo seat for James at Babies R Us, a Maya ring sling, and a small storage bench for shoes by the door. I'm officially out of money for the month of January, which is okay because we have enough left overs and treats to eat on until next month anyway.

Mom and Dad are heading home tomorrow and then it's back to life as usual for the Iverson's in Pittsburgh. We are going to see the surgeon on Wednesday and should schedule surgery on this day too. Hopefully it will be soon and James will be fixed up and home by the time his Aunt Denise comes to visit at the end of January.

Thank you to all who made the trip out here. It was great to see who we could! After James is all better and the weather is a little friendlier, we will try to hit the road and come see you!!!!