Liam's First Trip to Louisiana!

The idea of traveling any significant length of time with a small baby doesn't appeal to me. That's why it took us so long to travel to Louisiana with Liam. But at five months old, we figured it was time. We finally figured out a weekend in October that worked for everyone involved and started our drive east at 6:00 a.m. Friday, October 14th. We had planned on leaving at 5:00 a.m. but a certain cat prevented that from happening.

Liam slept for about the first hour and half of the trip. Then we stopped at a truck stop and I changed his diaper and put day clothes on him (he had been wearing his cozy pj's). That was a first for me (the 'in a truck stop' part). A lady working there asked me how long he would have to wear his halo. We had stopped just on the other side of Canton (from Dallas) and I took over the driving while Will sat in the back with Liam. Will fed him and played with him, and at some point they both fell asleep back there. I didn't stop again until we hit Haughton, LA, so about three hours straight driving. Then we switched places and I sat in the back with Liam. He started complaining around the time we were driving through Arcadia, so we were super close to Ruston by then!

We went to the Louisiana Tech campus and met up with Will's parents there. We ate lunch in Tolliver, and Liam got to hang out with his grandparents, who hadn't seen him since he was a tiny baby. We walked around campus some and went to the bookstore, which is so different than it used to be! We got Liam some LA Tech cozy pj's and a cap for when he has a nicely-shaped head. I enjoyed being on campus. I miss it, even though it's not the same as it used to be. That's fine. I wish I got to go there more often. It's hard to believe I've been out of college almost 9 years. Flew right by.

After we left campus, we went to visit our friends, the Kilpatricks. They have three adorable children, with the youngest being exactly two months younger than Liam. Therefore we hadn't met Nash yet! We hung out with Jenn while Britton picked up Siri from school, and got to hang out with everyone when they got back. Siri was very nice to Liam and she entertained us with dancing to Indian (from India) music!

Then we headed to my grandparents' house in Homer to spend time with them and my parents. Liam got lots of loving there! We had fun hanging out there. On our way out to my parents' house, where we stayed the night, we drove by the Homer High football game. It must have been late in the game because there wasn't many people there, and the no band thing was strange, especially when they scored a touchdown.

Liam was completely worn out at the end of the day. He slept in his pack n play. He had never slept in the bottom part, just the bassinet part when he was itty bitty. Thankfully, he didn't seem to have any problems sleeping in it. The next morning, we hung out with my parents some more. Then we went to visit my great-grandmother, so Liam's great-great-grandmother. She and my great aunt really enjoyed seeing him. He was in a good mood most of the time we were there, then he got fussy, and then he went to sleep.

Then we were off to Shreveport, with a brief stop in Minden for lunch. We visited our friends Rebekah and Eric and their son, Luke. Unfortunately, Liam was pretty fussy. With all the driving and meeting new people and being held, he was just done with it all by that point. I honestly felt really guilty for putting him through all that, because I could tell it was rough on him. It was really good to see the Willis family, regardless, though. Our final stop was the Caraway house. We stayed the night with our friends Kelli and Jeremy and their two kids, Jacob and Evie. Kelli's parents were there and got to meet Liam too. The kids, especially Jacob, were super interested in Liam, and Jacob just wanted to touch him all the time. Thankfully, Liam stopped being fussy for a little while and we played some. After all the kids were put to bed (Liam once again had no problem going to sleep), we stayed up way too late watching parts of The Sing-Off, a Rush documentary, and ending the night with a Whitesnake concert. It was fun, though. We only do that kind of stuff with Kelli and Jeremy!

The next morning, we headed back to Texas. We stopped for like an hour at a truck stop in Kilgore to eat lunch and get out of the car some. I think that may have been our only stop. I sat in the back with Liam from Kilgore all the way home. He was pretty fussy for that trip. Like I said, he was just worn out and ready to be home. I think we all were. We started the trip tired, were tired throughout the whole thing, and got home tired.  I really enjoyed seeing everyone, though, and I'm glad a lot of people got to meet Liam for the first time. The worst part was that a few hours after we got home, Will got a stomach virus, which had us at the emergency room in the middle of the night. The trip just flowed into what was the hardest week we've had, with both of us being sick. I'm so glad that is over.

What I learned from this trip: Don't try to pack in too much. Our trips to Louisiana are pretty much always short because it's a nightmare for Will to be away from work. We try to do as much as we can in a very short amount of time. We just can't do that anymore with Liam. It was rough on him and us. I also learned that you have to take way too much stuff when traveling with a baby. Our car was packed. I told my mom not to get Liam anything large for Christmas, because we will literally have no way of getting it back to Texas in our car. Of course, I packed stuff we ended up not needed, but I didn't know we wouldn't need it when I packed it. I learned that Liam really is a decent little traveler. He did extremely well the first half of the trip, but then he got tired and fussy.

The next time we travel with him will be at Christmas. Liam will be seven months old then. We will not be seeing as many people, and hopefully we can stay an extra day. I think that will make it easier on all of us.

Picture Time!

Riding with Sophie

In front of the Lady of the Mist fountain

The Quad at Tech

Finally, some decoration on his band!

The Kilpatrick Family

Liam and his great-grandfather

Liam and his great-great-grandmother

Liam meeting Buddy the cat with Kelli and Jeremy's daughter, Evie.

Liam at Five Months

I've been meaning to write this post for about a week and a half now, but last week was so rough, and I'm just now getting time. So...here we go!

Liam turned five months old on Friday, October 14th, which was the day we traveled to Louisiana with Liam for the first time. I'm planning on writing a post about the trip, so no details here.

Since he only has a check up on even-numbered months, I don't have any stats for him. However, I estimate that he's about 18 pounds and around 28 inches long. He's wearing 6-9 month size clothes, and already outgrowing some labeled 6 months. But baby clothes sizes are labeled so erratically, that really doesn't mean anything. He is most definitely a big boy, but he's not fat (except for his cheeks and chunky thighs).

What he's up to these days:
Squealing...and lots of it, much to our dismay. I know he's just testing his lungs and finding his voice, but it's so loud. It especially bothers Will, who, for someone who loves rock music, doesn't like loud noises. The squealing can be cute, but too much is too much!

Rolling over from his back to his tummy...every single time we lay him on his back. He actually has been doing this for a good long while. It certainly showcases his strength, but he usually (although not always) just complains once he turns himself over. He finally turned himself over from his tummy to his back on Saturday, October 1st   (so at 4.5 months old), but he hasn't made a habit of it yet. It's only happened a few times since then. If it's like when he started rolling from back to tummy, he'll do it a few random times, not do it for many weeks, and then start doing it all. the. time. So right now, we're in the "not do it for many weeks" phase on that. Liam has also started rolling on his tummy while he's sleeping at night. Unfortunately that usually means I get awoken by a scream in the middle of the night and have to turn him back over...and then he promptly does it again. Silly, silly boy.

Lots of giggles, lots of grins...he's a happy boy! He smiles all the time, and we love it! I think he has the sweetest face ever. He's getting better about smiling for the camera. I've caught a few smiles lately. His new thing is to smile at the camera when I hold it up, but by the time I take the picture, the smile is gone. Oh well, we'll get there. The giggles are coming much more easily these days. He's ticklish, so he giggles when we tickle under his chin, his armpits, and his ribs. He also giggles if I kiss his cheeks several times in a row and make loud smoochy sounds. He giggles when Will bounces him up and down on the couch. He giggles when I pretend like I'm going to drop him (but I'm not even close to doing so)...little daredevil. Giggles are the best!

Adjusting to life with the DOC Band...and a stinky head! Since I usually do separate posts about that, I won't say much here. He's now had it almost two weeks, though, and we're starting to see some improvement. His head hasn't grown any, though, so we won't see any big changes until he has a growth spurt.

Trying to sit up on his own...and not absolutely failing at it! He's not doing it yet, but he's getting close. He has sat up on his own for several seconds on a few occasions, and he's pretty good at tripoding (not sure if that's a word). I think he'll have it down in a few more weeks. I'm so proud of him!

Eating something other than formula...expanding his taste buds. He's been eating rice cereal for awhile, and does well with that. Tonight, we finally gave him "adult baby" food for the first time. Even though his pediatrician told me I could start him on solids back at four months, I haven't been in a huge rush to do so. Most of the parenting books I've skimmed (never read a whole one) say to not give them anything besides breastmilk or formula until 6 months anyway. What's the hurry? Anyway, we gave him carrots tonight...videotaped the first few bites like good parents. He seemed ok with it; certainly not love at first taste, but a decent start. We'll continue with carrots this week, and try something different next week...squash or sweet potatoes, perhaps.

Reaching out for things he wants...and getting frustrated if he can't get it. He likes to grab the toys on the bar of his bouncy seat and pull on them. Lately he has gotten so frustrated a few times when he can't pull them off. That's new. He's also now reaching out for toys he wants, or things like our faces. He loves to touch our faces, especially Will's. He also reaches out for his bottle now, grabs it, and puts it in his mouth. He hasn't quite figured out how to hold it up to get liquid out, though. I have no idea how other babies are, but I think Liam has really good hand/eye coordination for a five month old. At least I'm impressed by him...but maybe I'm just easily impressed (or a proud mommy!).

He wasn't really into having his picture taken.

Turned himself over of course.

First bite of carrots

Cute face!

After dinner entertainment

Liam and His Band...One Week-ish Down

Liam has had his band now for over a week. Unfortunately, he has not been able to wear it as much as he should the past week. Here's why: For the first couple of days, we were supposed to give him a one hour break from the band every 3-4 hours. We did that the remainder of last Thursday after he got it, and then Friday, which was when we traveled to Louisiana. If he had any red spots, we needed to let them go away before putting the band back on. He was still getting redness on Saturday, so I ended up giving him breaks then as well, even though he was supposed to be wearing it 23 hours a day at that point. The fact that we were not at home and were visiting lots of people made me take it off more often.

Once we got home on Sunday, I was determined to keep him in it as much as possible. I think at that point he had slept in it Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Thankfully, it doesn't seem to bother him to sleep in it. Anyway...Sunday night, he was sleeping in it, and then at 1:00 a.m. we all had to go to the emergency room because Will was dehydrated. Liam stayed asleep at the ER until about 3:00 a.m. and then he woke up and was fussy. Since Will was asleep getting his fluids, I had to do my best to keep Liam quiet and entertained in our room in the ER. So the first thing I did was take off his band. He had some redness, so I knew I wouldn't be putting it back on him for awhile. He also managed to scratch his forehead and draw blood, so I didn't want to put it on an open wound.

I don't really remember much of Monday, but I know he slept in it that night. On Tuesday morning, when I took it off to inspect his head, he had a large, bright red spot on the edge of his forehead and going down the side of his face some. Tuesday morning, we met up with some friends, and I had the band off the whole time because he still had some redness. Tuesday afternoon, I took him and the band to Cranial Tech for an adjustment since he was having so many redness issues. They shaved some off in the trouble spots, and said the redness on his forehead was a heat rash and that it needed to be completely gone before I put it back on. It had gone down a lot by then, so they said to wait until Wednesday morning to put it back on.

Wednesday, I got sick and spent as much time as I could in bed, but I think Will kept it on him a good bit. I think he wore it a good bit on Thursday as well. Friday morning, he had some redness on the back of his head, so after it went away, I put the band back on. I checked on it a few hours later, and the redness had come back and was actually worse than before. I knew it was heat rash and that the band needed to stay off until it went away. So he did not sleep in it last night. I guess in the eight nights he's had it, he hasn't slept in it 2 and half nights. Today the redness is gone, but I'm checking it a lot to make sure.

He has another adjustment on Tuesday. Hopefully the heat rash will not continue to be an issue. It does make the skin on his forehead and head very dry, and I can't put lotion on it. It definitely has a stinky feet odor as well, because it makes his head sweat like crazy. All in all, it doesn't seem to bother him, though. I don't really see any progress yet, though. I feel like he's going to have to wear it the maximum amount of time if he keeps having to take all these breaks because of redness and heat rash.

Liam and His Band...Getting the Band

After today, Liam's head will never be the same again. We had his appointment this morning to get his DOC Band. It went really well. The therapist put it on his head, and then gave me instructions on how to clean it, adjust it, and put it on correctly. After the band had been on his head for 15 minutes or so, she took it off to look for red spots where the band was rubbing his head too much. She then took the band and shaved off some of it in various places for the right fit.

Liam seemed to pay no mind to it at all. It didn't even phase him. The band is very light. It's made of foam with a hard shell on the outside. It fastens with Velcro on the side. Nothing fancy. Pretty low tech. It puts very minimal pressure on his head, and has gaps for his head to grow. It basically is there to direct the growth of his head. When we got home, he was a little fussy, but I don't really think it had to do with the band. He was tired and fighting sleep. Nothing new there. He finally zonked and is taking a nap, which is why I'm able to post now.

Now I just need to figure out how to decorate it. I'm capable of painting it a solid color, but I have no artistic drawing ability. Maybe someone wants to help? (hint, hint). I've also thought about getting a vinyl decal for it, but I'm not sure what I would get. Perhaps he needs the Beatles walking across the back of his head? Something like this, but smaller of course:

We are planning on leaving at 5:00 a.m. to head to Ruston, Louisiana. I'm looking forward to the trip and I hope Liam does well with the long car ride and with wearing his band. We're taking him to the Louisiana Tech campus first. I truly do love that place and miss it. Then we'll spend the rest of the weekend hanging out with family and friends. Most of them haven't met Liam yet!

Pictures of Liam with his band:

The front

The side...he kept trying to turn around to look at me.

The back

From the top. Notice there's a gap on th back left side of his head. That's where we need his head to grow!

Cereal...It's What's on My Face

Here are a few pictures of Liam trying (organic, brown) rice cereal for the first time. This was last Sunday, October 2nd. We could've started him on it earlier, but he had that cough and congestion crud for a week. I didn't want to give it to him while he had that going on, so we waited. He did pretty well for his first time. He was so confused by the spoon in his mouth, and made funny faces because of it. I don't really think he liked the taste. I made it really runny the first few times he had it, but now I make it a little thicker, and he seems to like it better that way. At least not as much of it falls out of his mouth. He's growing up so fast!

I don't think I like this stuff.

The delay and flash usually makes him close his eyes when I take pictures.

Favorite part: getting to play with the spoon when he was finished.

Liam and HIs Band: 3D Scan Time

Yesterday, I took Liam to Cranial Technologies to have the 3D scan done of his head. They will use the image to make a model of his head and also his DOC band. This is much better than the way they used to do it, which was with plaster. Imagine having to hold your child still while people make a plaster cast of his head. Not fun. Anyway, this way is much easier, faster, and less traumatic.

I am THE WORST at asking to take pictures when I think it might be even slightly awkward to do so. Therefore, I don't have any pictures of this process. But, I'm posting a link to a video on the Cranial Tech website that shows how it's done. I should have at least taken a picture of him with the stocking over his face.

The DSi Scan

Did you watch it? Hopefully so. That's pretty much how it went, and Liam, of course, did awesome. He did look down at the last second a few times, though, but it only took about 5 minutes to get a set of pictures they could use. It takes a bunch of pictures at once and creates a 3D image. After they processed the pictures, we went back in the room and looked at the 3D image of his head. The technician then said it would take 5-8 weeks of wearing the band to correct the flatness, depending on how fast he grows. The band essentially directs growth of his head instead of putting pressure on it to try and remold it.

In the waiting room, I talked to two other mothers who were there getting their childs' band adjusted. I asked them how their children adapted to it and if it seemed to bother them. Both of them said it didn't bother them at all after the first few minutes. I was glad to hear that! Liam will be getting his band next Thursday, October 13th. That's the day before we take him on his first trip to Louisiana, and I'm hoping the band doesn't make him ornery for the trip.

While we were in the room by ourselves waiting to have his pictures taken, I did take a few pics of him in his skivvies.

Looking at the dog dressed as a clown that was painted on the wall. I would be confused too.

That camera. Again.

Some tummy time while we wait.

Baby Mug Shots

This week has been the first one I've had to deal with a less than perfectly healthy baby. A week ago, Liam got a slight cough, and had that for a few days. Then Monday he started sounding snotty when he breathed. Saline drops and the humidifier have been our best friends since then. He's not any worse, but it hasn't gone away yet, either. Thankfully he hasn't had a fever at all and is acting and eating normally, except when his nose gets too snotty for him to breathe well while drinking. Will and I have also been somewhat sickly this week as well, Will much more so than me. It's like my body knows it can't be sick and pitiful right now. Plus, I haven't been sick at all since last November, so I kind of forgot what to do to take care of myself when a cold comes up. I've kept him home all week (except for the event described below), which means we missed Mom's Connection and International Friends.

Monday, I took Liam to his evaluation to get a DOC band (wrongly referred to by myself as a "helmet). They took photos of his head from every angle and determined that he has moderate to severe plagiocephaly (flat head), and that he will need a band to correct it. They don't treat mild cases of it. Anyway, I was told it was mostly caused by his position in utero. He turned head down and engaged early on, and that caused the flattening on the back of his head. Once out in the world, his head continued growing that way instead of rounding out. He got the flattening on the left back side of his head because he favored turning his head to the left while sleeping the first couple of months. I never knew I needed to make sure we switched the way he faced each night, otherwise I would have done that. Since he was 2 months old, and the flatness was brought to our attention, we made sure he slept with his head facing right, and that did help to not make the flattening worse than it is. He does have some slight asymmetry on his face and one ear is slightly lower than the other, but you have to really be looking for those things to see them. The therapist said he should only have to wear the band for 6-8 weeks since we're starting very young and his isn't THAT bad. It is covered out of network by my insurance. However, my out of network deductible is the same as the total amount for the band, so we still have to pay for the whole thing, and it is not cheap. We're talking thousands of dollars here. Money we don't have. But we can pay it off in monthly payments, so I'm hoping we find the money each month somehow. Hopefully he can be fitted for the band in the next week or so. It takes up to two weeks for the band to come back. Thankfully, they just do a 3D scan of his head to get the right fit instead of a plaster mold like they used to have to do. If he gets it in the next few weeks, I'm hoping it will be off for good by Christmas!

These are a couple of the pictures they took of him. They're poor quality because I just scanned in the paper they were printed on.

Don't they look like baby mug shots!? So you can obviously see his flat head on the side shot, but he looks pretty normal from the front. Cute face! He was mesmerized by the toy the photographer was waving in front of him. He did so well at his evaluation and was smiling and even giggling for all the ladies. Talk about a flirt. When the therapist was talking to me and not looking at him, Liam kept making noises to get her attention.

And that's been our week.