Blood draw trama

At Ben's 12 month appointment they drew some blood to check his thyroid levels. This is pretty much a standard test for kiddos with Ds. After the results came back, we were told his levels were just barley high, so they were not going to treat him, but we should see an Endocrinologist.
The appointment was scheduled back in March and we could not get in until yesterday.
We went to the office, did the normal checks and when the Dr. came in he asked why we were there. I thought the question a bit odd, but after further discussion, I was told that they did not have a copy of the labs, and asked if I remembered what the numbers were. Yeah right! So we chatted a bit more and the decision was made to draw blood and do the labs over.

The Dr left and to come back a couple minutes later stating that he did find the lab results and wondered again why I was referred to him. Apparently the number had been 6.9 at 6 months and it went down to 6.18 at a year. (Anything over 6 is considered high for this particular test). I was shocked to hear this since my Dr's office had called me after the 6 month tests and told me everything was normal. Obviously not.
I was told to wait and they would tell me where to go to get the blood draw. I was worried that we would have to go somewhere else entirely to get the draw, but soon a lady came and led me to a room on the other side of the office to do the draw. She got every thing ready and called in for backup to help hold Ben. I told her that I was a hard draw but she seemed pretty confidant.

Unfortunately she poked around on his left side until the vein blew. Then on the right side she just dug around so long, that he ended up crying so hard that he could not really breath. I asked if I could pick him up once just to calm him down but was told they were almost done. Nice. So she announced that they were done because he was just too upset and that I would have to come back or go somewhere else to get his blood drawn. Extra Nice. I asked if they could do a finger poke like they had done before, but was told they needed too much blood ant it would take to long.

We are going to a new pediatrician this week anyway for his 15 month appointment. Hopefully his arm will be healed enough to have them draw his blood.

This was a totally traumatic experience for both of us. I don't think I have ever seen my happy baby cry that hard. He was still having "after shocks" in the car after we left. I felt so bad for him. By the time we got to therapy he was OK, but he was pretty clingy for the rest of the night. Hopefully the next time will be better.

The Scrunchie Face

Ben has the cutest little face he makes when he is getting tired and whiny late at night, or when something is going on that he does not like, that we have named the scrunchie face. He was making it the other night so I decided to get the camera out to capture it. As soon as he saw the camera the little stinker started to smile. So I took a picture of that too. However the smiles did not last long and I got all the steps that lead up to the scrunchie face. Here is how it develops.

My Boys

My baby is finally starting to crawl on his knees. Yeah! Last night I sat him on the floor, he trasitioned to his knees, then crawled on his knees to a toy, and sat down to play with it. Randy and I were so excited. Ben was excited too and gave himself a big clap. He is still army crawling a little bit, but not as much as before. Maybe I should not be so excited, becasue this means that he will be able to go faster, and will be getting into more things. Here is a picture of Ben at the park enjoying the swing.












While it is true that kids grow up too fast, my Noah is trying to speed it up even more. Noah is going to be 7 in a few short weeks. The crazy thing is, that the silly boy has convinced himself that he is going to be 8. I keep telling him that he was born in 2002 and therefore can only be 7, but he argues with me that he was really born in 2001. He is big for his age and towers over many in his class, even though he is one of the youngest. He is also very athletic and has been playing sports with his older brother since he could walk. I don't know what to do with the boy. Here is a picutre of him at the astronaut museum and a video of him batting.




John is enjoying baseball this summer too. He is also busy taking care of Bailey, doing some summer school work, and working on 4'H projects. Below is a video of him batting.

Sadness

This weekend our community was hit with more tragedy. A 15 year old, his father, and step-Mom were all killed in a car accident. His 10 year old little sister is in the hospital with very serious injuries, while his 19 month old step-sister survived in a car seat. This is the 4th teenage death from a car accident in less than a year for our small community. Please pray for the all the families involved.

Baby Idol Results

This morning they announced the results of the Baby Idol competition. Unfortunately, Ben did not win. But we really had fun this week campaigning for him. Thanks to everyone who voted.

We have a busy day of painting ahead of us. My goal is to get at least 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom painted this weekend. If we can get more than that done, it would be a bonus.

Ben is a Baby Idol Finalist

A few weeks ago I heard about a Baby Idol contest on the radio where they were looking for pictures of cute babies. I thought to my self - "Hey.. I have a cute baby, maybe I should enter one of his picutres."
So I found one of my favorites and emailed it away. And then forgot completely about it.

Yesterday on the way home from John's game, I happened to be listing to the very same raido station, and they mentioned the Baby Idol contest. When I submitted the photo, they sent a confirmation email, but I had not heard anyhing else, so I figured he did not get picked. As soon as I got home, I got on line and was shocked to learn that Ben had indeed been chosen as one of the 12 Baby Idol finalists. The voting had already begun and will continue until Thurday May 21st at 5:00. Only one vote per person, per day is allowed.

To link to the B107.3 website click here

It is awesome that Ben was chosen. I don't think they have any idea that they have a baby with Down Syndrome in the top 12. In some pictures it is more obvious than in others, but not so much in the one I sent in. Of course we think he was cute in all the pictures. He has a smile that just melts your heart, and he gives it away so freely.

Ben has the best outlook on life. He is happy to be where ever he is (so long as Mom is pretty close) Here is an example. Last week when we were on vacation, it started to rain. At the time we were headed to the putt-putt golf course, and the bigger boys were really bummed. We popped the back hatch on the van, and sat under it, to wait it out. Ben was in his stroller and while he was out of the rain for the most part, he could stick his arm out and "catch" the rain. The bigger boys were whinning and complaining, but Ben was laughing and giggling and just having the best time. It was just such a great example of making the best of the situation and enjoying the gifts you have been given.
Ben is that gift for us.