We all have our little quirks, some are very subtle and others are quite intrusive. For me (Larry), I can't stand spiders. Natalie always jumps into bed for fear that something is going to bite her toes. And for Jack, it's the Wheel of Fortune. Seriously. The kid can't stand it. Maybe it's Pat Sajak's always perfectly coiffed hair, or the fact that Vana White looks the same as she did in 1985 (although they seem to be using a wider camera angle these days), or maybe its that big giant wheel...who knows. What we do know is that Jack doesn't mind Alex Trebek, or the "Thinking Man's Game show," but as soon as Wheel of Fortune starts, or if "Wheel" is in progress when we turn the TV on it triggers Jack into full panic mode. Tears, his whole body goes rigid, and his little face turns bright red amidst pleas for us to put "Choo Choo" on instead. In true avoidance behavior style, as soon as the trigger is removed, the panic ceases, the skies part, and all is well again.
I mention this because tonight Nat and I were cleaning up after dinner, Jack went and turned on the TV, and guess what was on..."Wheel." OH NO!!! All the sudden we turned to see what the had happened, dumbfounded at the problem, until we heard the distinctive clacking of the wheel and the pleas for Choo choo. This has happened several times in the last few months. Cracks us up each time. Of course my mind says.."Okay Jack, time for some wheel of fortune exposure therapy." BRING ON THE WHEEL!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Final Von Willebrand Post (we hope)
Yesterday we had our final appointment at the hematologist (besides a yearly check-up the doctor wants us to do). The doctor informed us that Larry and my labs were normal and that means that Jackson had a genetic mutation that caused his vWB. The doctor said that this accounts for about 1/3 to 1/2 of all newly diagnosed vWB patients. We were very happy to hear this not just for us but also for Addie. The doctor said that we would not even test her unless she showed symptoms. We also found out at this appointment that Jackson responded beautifully to the DDAVP test. His vWB factor, which was less than 10% of normal at the start, went up 10 fold which was amazing since they only wanted it to increase 4 fold. So now we know that this medication works for him in case of an accident or surgical procedure. The doctor said that this medication will keep his levels stay up for 24-48 hours but if we needed to keep his levels up longer for any reason there are other options such as blood products and even an oral medication that will keep his factor 8 up. These will help him keep the clots that he has made from breaking down until he heals fully. In the end the doctor said that we are to treat him normally and just contact them in the case of an accident, surgery or tooth extraction. Otherwise we will check in with them in a year! We are so happy that this is the "end" of this adventure for us and that Jackson is a happy, healthy little boy. On to the next adventure...
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Big Boy Bed
So I get home from work the other day and Natalie tells me to get the camera and look at the video she took. I was all ready to be amazed, but I figured it would be Jack's genius or humor that would amaze me. Nope. I was amazed to see my little buddy throw his leg over his crib rail and proceed to make his way over the top that has to be at least 4 feet high. "Huh," I thought, "where did that come from?"
Here's the video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWd3ORFH_YA
We also had planned to take Jack to "try out" a gymnastics class that evening (good timing I guess). We got there a little early and Jack was ready for action, he wanted to do all the things the big kids were doing. So after about 15 minutes of manual baby restraint, it was time for him to warm up. This didn't go so well, he was more interested in swinging from the bars than stretching. After that things got going a little better as the kids would rotate around and do different things like hang and swing on the bars, walk on a small balance beam, crab walk, etc. A few minutes later the kids got to go into a larger play area and do similar things, but this had more options. He especially liked to swing on the rings and crawl through the "lion's den." He did good with this part too, and I think he learned alot about waiting his turn. Then it was time for the giant trampoline. Jack LOVED IT. All the kids would sit at one end and one by one jump down to the coach, then crawl through a little hole in the wall where they could slide and then climb back up and out to the starting area. Jack was the first to go, and boy can he jump. As soon as he got back to the start he wanted to go again (and actually did), so we used this as a chance to learn about following rules, and he really seemed to get it. the next time he reached the start he looked at me, I asked him to wait, so he sat down in his spot and waited until his name was called. He continued to do this until they changed the activity again. Finally it was time for the marshmellow pit--a large enclosed area filled with big foam blocks. The kids jumped in one at a time, and despte being the only 2 year old (most were 3+) he dove right in, made his way across (with a little help from a mom that was in with them) and then climbed up a ladder to an even higher jumping in area. He was ready go jump, a solid 6 foot drop, but luckily the coach was there, and lowered him on her feet and scooted him off, probably only 4 feet at that point. Class was over after that, and we were headed home. After all that activity Jack was ready for bed.
But, before bed could happen we decided to take the side rail off of his bed and put on the toddler bed kit to turn it into a "big boy bed." This was quite the process to add one piece of wood, but after his little climb over, it needed to happen. When it was time for bed, Jack seemed a little confused about the change, but went right to sleep. We covered the floor beneath him with pillows and waited to see if he would stay in bed or not. He did, until about midnight when we awoke to him on the floor crying. I went in and got him back into bed and he went back to sleep right away. Again at three he was out, this time Nat heard him and put him back in bed where he slept until the morning. Tonight is night 2, and Nat put some blankets under the open side of the bed to elevate it and keep him from rolling out. Hopefully it continues to go well.
Here's the video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWd3ORFH_YA
We also had planned to take Jack to "try out" a gymnastics class that evening (good timing I guess). We got there a little early and Jack was ready for action, he wanted to do all the things the big kids were doing. So after about 15 minutes of manual baby restraint, it was time for him to warm up. This didn't go so well, he was more interested in swinging from the bars than stretching. After that things got going a little better as the kids would rotate around and do different things like hang and swing on the bars, walk on a small balance beam, crab walk, etc. A few minutes later the kids got to go into a larger play area and do similar things, but this had more options. He especially liked to swing on the rings and crawl through the "lion's den." He did good with this part too, and I think he learned alot about waiting his turn. Then it was time for the giant trampoline. Jack LOVED IT. All the kids would sit at one end and one by one jump down to the coach, then crawl through a little hole in the wall where they could slide and then climb back up and out to the starting area. Jack was the first to go, and boy can he jump. As soon as he got back to the start he wanted to go again (and actually did), so we used this as a chance to learn about following rules, and he really seemed to get it. the next time he reached the start he looked at me, I asked him to wait, so he sat down in his spot and waited until his name was called. He continued to do this until they changed the activity again. Finally it was time for the marshmellow pit--a large enclosed area filled with big foam blocks. The kids jumped in one at a time, and despte being the only 2 year old (most were 3+) he dove right in, made his way across (with a little help from a mom that was in with them) and then climbed up a ladder to an even higher jumping in area. He was ready go jump, a solid 6 foot drop, but luckily the coach was there, and lowered him on her feet and scooted him off, probably only 4 feet at that point. Class was over after that, and we were headed home. After all that activity Jack was ready for bed.
But, before bed could happen we decided to take the side rail off of his bed and put on the toddler bed kit to turn it into a "big boy bed." This was quite the process to add one piece of wood, but after his little climb over, it needed to happen. When it was time for bed, Jack seemed a little confused about the change, but went right to sleep. We covered the floor beneath him with pillows and waited to see if he would stay in bed or not. He did, until about midnight when we awoke to him on the floor crying. I went in and got him back into bed and he went back to sleep right away. Again at three he was out, this time Nat heard him and put him back in bed where he slept until the morning. Tonight is night 2, and Nat put some blankets under the open side of the bed to elevate it and keep him from rolling out. Hopefully it continues to go well.
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