It's Been A Month?!

Rick and Tucker, relaxing

Wow, I can't believe that a month has past since for one thing, since I have last posted, and for another thing, since "a baby boy" was born.  By the way, he did get a name, it is Tucker Clinton Wilkison.  I posted it for those that follow on facebook, but I am very sorry I forgot to update it on the blog.  We did pick it about a hour before we left the hospital, and it has been a bit of a whirlwind since.  We picked Tucker because it just seemed to fit him, and Clinton was my Dad's middle name, and it also seemed to fit with Tucker (Tucker seemed to like the names too). 

We do seem to have finally fit into a routine with everything that we do, although the first week, I had my doubts we were ever going to be on time for anything again.  It took about a week and a half, but we did finally make it to some appointments on time.  I never felt the need to take any time off of Jacob's therapy appointments for any reason (I did not want to cheat him), but Rick did stay home for the first week to help get us to them all. Since then, we have done pretty well settling in to the schedule.

Jacob checking on Tucker

Tucker is doing great, and everyone else is doing very well with him.  Joshua has said (about 15 times a day in the first week) how cute he is, and Jacob even has been very gentle to him (most of the time).  He eats well, and sleeps well (I have even gotten a couple of 7 hour stretches the last few nights), and seems to be very good natured (although sometimes I think I see a worried look on his face when he looks at the rest of us). 

We have had a few events over the last few weekends, like a 40th Birthday party for my sister and I to name one.  Since Tucker was born a few days before our birthday, we did not have time to celebrate on the big day, so Rick threw us a party a couple of weeks later.  We had lots of fun, and needless to say, there weren't even any black balloons around.  His theme was "40 is the new 20" and he prepared all of the food and we had lots of great people around us for the event (sorry for those that had to miss it though, you missed some good food, fun, and drink).

We are now preparing for our next trip to Seattle.  Next week Jacob has some follow up appointments including an MRI, a meeting with his Neurosurgeon, the Epileptologist, and the Rehab Doctor at Seattle Children's Hospital.  It will probably be a quick trip with a day to drive up, the day of appointments, and a day to drive back, but hopefully it will be a good one.  I know that I am a bit exited to see the team of people we spent so much time with, show them all of Jacob's progress and see what they have to say.

Jacob continues to progress well, and he is starting to say more and more words every week.  He still walks with a bit of a gait and still does not use his right hand fully, but is using it more and more all of the time.  We continue to get physical therapy 2 times a week, occupational therapy 2 times a week, speech therapy 3-4 times a week and he does tumble time once a week.  We still keep pretty busy, but it is now a routine thing and we are used to it.

Josh is starting kindergarten in a couple of weeks and is excited.  We have found a way for him to be able to continue one more year at Eagle Montessori and he will be able to stay with the friends and continue learning lots with the same teachers as last year.  He really enjoyed his preschool there and we were very impressed with how much he was able to learn, so we are glad he can continue at least one more year.

I do promise to post after we get back from our Seattle trip with any news and I will try to keep up a bit better with the blog and photos.  Especially now that we have our routine down and we are sleeping a bit better (knock on wood, of course).

Josh thinking about a new hobby

Jacob becoming "interested" in the potty, although we will have to work on technique

A Baby Boy Finally Comes

I know that I said I would post before we gave birth, but as usual, time got away from me.  We still keep ourselves busy with Jacob's appointments, and Josh is out of school now for summer, so that is easier but we are not as busy as we were (maybe until now).  Jacob is progressing very well, and does something new all of the time that gives me continued hope and encouragement for his recovery.

Yesterday we welcomed our third baby boy (will post again when we have a name for him).  On July 14, 2011 at 6:27 pm, came this little cutie pie at exactly 8 pounds. He is healthy and we are all doing well.

 The morning started out pretty early (about 4:40 am) with the contractions coming on pretty good.  I had been waking up for the last 5 days though with pretty good contractions at around the same time, only to have them die off about an hour or two later.  Yesterday, though, they didn't die down, so I decided to wake Rick up (I let him sleep til 7am) when they got to about 5 minutes apart.  We made the plans for the boys, and got ready to go to the hospital, and sure enough as we were getting ready to go I threw up, so I knew we were doing the right thing.  As we were on the way to the hospital though, the contractions started to slow down a bit.  I was getting a bit worried, because I was sent home the day Joshua was coming, only to be back at the hospital a couple hours later in lots of pain and then getting checked in close to giving birth. This time though, since we moved to Meridian and were giving birth at St. Luke's downtown, Boise, I did not want the same scenario.  We got checked in and we were monitored first and we still had some good contractions, but they did start to slow down, (and I was still at a 2-3 which I had been at for the last 4 weeks), but my cervix was soft, so they sent me walking.  We walked for an hour, even climbing the stairs from the 1st floor to the 9 th and back down to the 2nd, before going back to triage to get checked.

When we got back in the contractions had picked up again, but I was still at a 3, so we sat on a ball for a while and she checked me again.  The nurse checked me again and I had still made very little progress, so they checked me out to send me home and told me if they got stronger and every 3 minutes consistently and lasted at least a minute long, to come back.  As I was getting dressed, I had about 4 big contractions in a matter of 10 minutes, and I was worried to go all of the way home, so we went to the cafeteria for lunch.  Sure enough as we sat at lunch, the contractions went on every three minutes, got stronger and lasted over a minute each time, so we headed back to triage.  They had to check me back into the hospital, and put me on the monitor again and checked me.  This time I was at a 3 1/2, so she called my doctor and she decided to come and check me.  When she got there, I was at a 4 and I had the contraction that brought the tears, so she decided, it was time.  She broke my water for me and we were not on our way back home (thank goodness!). I am so glad we did not make our way home before lunch.  From there we went to our delivery room, and I kept asking when the anesthesiologist would be there, because I was really ready for the epidural by then.  The contractions had become very painful and I was getting tired of the pain.  He finally came and I was happy again.  Of course the contractions slowed down, but they have ways of making them start again. Any way, we progressed pretty quick from there and by 6 pm, we were ready to go (which is good because my doctor had a place to be around 6:30).  Needless to say everything went pretty smooth from there (my doc was a few minutes late though, but I was so glad she stayed to deliver our beautiful baby boy). 

Getting Closer

Well, again I have not been good about updating our blog lately, but I guess that is not surprising anymore.  We have been busy with therapies and Jacob is still doing very well with them all.   He has become more steady and has shown more signs of using his right hand on occasion.  He is even imitating more and more words and will on occasion just blurt out a word very clearly with great meaning, but we can never get him to repeat it (he is very stubborn).  He has done so well with his physical therapy that home health had to turn us over to St. Lukes Elks Rehab (where we have been going for his Speech and Occupational therapies), which basically means his PT does not get done at our house anymore.  So we just have to make the additional trip to St. Lukes Meridian now, but it has seemed to open up our Monday, for the moment anyway.  It also means that we only have one PT appointment a week right now, because that is all they have available and I would rather see him in two, but oh well, we will see how it goes. 
We have done a few things the last few weekends (none of which involve getting a room ready for a baby), like making a trip to Ogden, Utah for Rick's nephew's graduation from high school.  We had a good time seeing Rick's family, even for the short time that it was and watching both his nephew Dayton and his half nephew Jason both walk through the line for their graduation.  We were also able to go to the zoo in Salt Lake and hang out with his Mom, his sister Tiffany and her two youngest kids McKinley and Landon for a half day, before making our way back to Boise.

This last weekend we took a trip out "to the desert" and Josh took some time practicing riding his motorcycle.  It was pretty much drizzling rain the whole time , so Jacob and I hung out in the truck and watched (and maybe you can tell by the look on his face in the above photo just how much he enjoyed it).  After that we went driving to look for some ground squirrels (although they were smart enough not to be out in the rain) and we hoped that it would be a good opportunity for a certain boy to take a nap, although it did not work.  Jacob refused to nap, but Josh promptly fell asleep.  Instead Jacob decided to yell and scream the entire time we drove (and Josh still slept).  We did finally get to ground squirrel habitat and we kept our eyes peeled while Rick kept asking Josh if he had seen a ground squirrel yet, when suddenly Jacob said "ground squirrel".  Rick and I looked at each other in astonishment and Josh then said "He said squirrel!"  So we all three heard it, but of course like anything else he has said lately, it seems to be a one time thing.  I guess though, that is how it all starts.
Rick and I are doing good while quickly getting closer to the baby's due date, and I do have it in my plans to get a room ready soon.  I have started little things, but seem to get too tired to finish anything too big as of yet.  I still have terrible heart burn and it seems that no medicine, or amount of water, or laying off of any kinds of food, helps.  I can get heart burn at eating the blandest of foods, or at not eating at all, it really does not matter.  I think the only thing that will help is to just have this baby.
Sleep seems to be intermittent lately too.  Either I can't seem to get comfortable, or I am too hot, or I have to get up to go to the bathroom, or I just plain can't go back to sleep.   I know I am unlikely to get any more sleep when the baby comes, but at least I have to think I will be more comfortable sleeping.
All in all we finally seem to have summer here and we are enjoying the weather (even though it makes me feel really hot).  Josh has been quick to set up his water park at any opportunity he can get and so far Jacob has not tried it out, but Josh has made sure he gets wet anyway. 
Well, I promise to post again before the baby comes (as if I have any control over that), and for sure will let everyone know as soon as he is here.  Just under 3 weeks to go now. Our love to all, and enjoy the nice weather!

Time Flies

I know I said that I would try to post more often, I really meant too, but I don't know where the time went.
We are all doing very well right now, although I will admit I am in the full throngs of discomfort with being at week number 32 in this pregnancy. I will also admit (although I hate too) that I still have not gotten a room ready for the baby, but I think I at least have a plan. Now I just need the chance/time (or just motivation and to not bee so tired) to follow through with it. It is amazing how time flies when you are preoccupied with something, or in this case someone. Soon though I will have to try to focus some attention on this new little guy who could try to make his appearance in the next two months.
Jacob's therapies are going very well. He is doing especially well in his physical therapy where he met all of the goals she had made for him for two months in only 3 weeks! Because of that we were able to cut back to only a couple times a week on pt and of course set new goals. He loves to be up and moving around. He hardly falls or loses his balance any more and he is even starting to show some use in his right hand a bit. He still likes to babble a lot, but is starting to imitate words more and more and is getting better at using some sign language. All in all, he is doing great! He shows all signs of being the very same boy he was before surgery, with the difference of being less irritable and all in all more laid back and happy (and still no seizures!). I am in awe of him all of the time, and I am sure I will continue to be the rest of our lives.
Joshua does well with playing with him most of the time, although I think he has his moments from time to time where he would rather have Jacob not wanting to play with him as much. With Josh being the big brother and Jacob adoring him, Jacob wants to do whatever Josh is doing (but with his own style), and that does not always sit well with Josh. Oh well though, that is brothers for you. It is only going to get more interesting when we add one more to the mix.
I did promise some video though, and I have a couple short ones I will post so you can see how well he is walking in comparison to when we left Seattle. We hope all is well with everyone, and are continuously grateful to have such good friends and family supporting us through everything (and we promise the Thank You Cards will be will be in the mail shortly)!

First Week Home, Sweet Home

Hanging at the park by our house

Their first (impromptu) visit to the Capital building

We have managed to settle in well back home, and fall into our routine (somewhat) seamlessly.  We have taken on our therapy schedule fairly well, and have managed to make it to most of the appointments on time.  It didn't even feel too terribly daunting (until I realized I had to add in my prenatal appointments that are already at every two weeks now and some other miscellaneous doctor appointments).  We will be busy, but I think we can manage everything, at least until the baby comes in July. 

Brothers relaxing

Wrestle/hug session, long overdue

Jacob is definitely happy to be home, as am I, and has made improvements even faster than he did in Seattle.  When we had the last therapy session in Seattle on Friday the 15th, Jacob could not stand up by himself from a sitting position, even using a table to pull himself up.  Monday at home, after his Therapist, Sky left, what did he do?  I turned around to see him standing all by himself.  Since then, he has been standing up (without using anything to help him up) and walking all over the house (by himself) for long periods without falling too much.  He has even been learning how to fall without hurting himself.  He has also learned how to sit himself down (most of the time) from a standing position.  All of this and in just one week at home!  I do realize that some of this seems like easy things to do, but considering how much he has had to re-learn, and how little use he has had of his right side, I am very proud of him!

Josh in front of "his" new Van

Another big event of the week was that we had to make a decision on our car situation.  I have always liked my Durango very much and it has been a very good vehicle for us, until right before this Seattle trip, when we had to take it into the dealer for a thumping sound in the front end.  After a couple of days at the dealer they said they had found the problem and replaced the front wheel hub bearing assembly (and an unrelated water pump) to the tune of around $900.  On the way out to Seattle, the thumping was back.  They had not fixed the problem, and probably needlessly replaced something that was not even a problem to begin with.  So as soon as I got home it went back to them, only this time, they had it for two days and could not find any problem with it (maybe it is haunted).   We decided we should probably take the plunge and look into getting a minivan (my first instinct of course was Ewe!).  Needless to say, we did some homework on the Internet, found what we wanted to look at, and Saturday went out to look.  As it turns out, our top rated van was a Honda Odyssey (used) with low miles and a good price and after finding out the dealer (who was one of those rare bottom line price no haggle dealers) was willing to give us exactly what we wanted for the Durango, we took the plunge.  Josh was so Happy with the van!  He even had to check the garage Sunday morning to make sure it was still there, and then asked if he could eat breakfast in it.  I am going to miss the Durango, but I have to admit, the Odyssey sure makes getting boys in and out of much easier and will be much better when the baby comes.  

Jacob (not so interested in) hunting for Easter eggs

To end the weekend, we colored eggs (a bit late I know), and then went over to my sister Erin's house for dinner with family and friends, where we also had a Easter egg hunt.  The boys enjoyed it, although Jacob was a lot less interested in collecting any eggs than Joshua was, and we pretty much had to just pick some up for him and put them in his bucket.  He had fun being outside though and hanging out with everyone.   

This next week I will try to get some updated video of his new feats, and try to post more often, so I am not writing a novel for every post. Now I am off to bed so I can be ready to start the new week and to try for making it to every appointment on time.

Made it Home

I have been slacking the last few days about posting for our trip home, I guess because I have just been enjoying just being back.  I thought I should update though and let you know we did make it back home successfully! 
We spent the afternoon after therapy packing up and saying goodbye to all of the people at the hospital (Jacob had made a lot of friends) and then went to finish up in the Ronald McDonald house before heading over to have one last dinner with Liz and Gary.  Jacob enjoyed having something different than hospital food and he and I then made our way to get to bed.  He slept very well, in a bed with me (although I had a few kicks in the belly in the night, first from Jacob, and then his baby brother kicking him back).
We left Saturday morning a bit later than I was hoping (partly because there is always some last thing you have to get done before a long trip ex. get gas, etc., that always takes longer than you want it too), but got on the road home just after 10 am Seattle time.   It did not take Jacob too long to settle in to road trip mode (see photo below) and we had a pretty quiet first leg of the trip.

We stopped for lunch in Yakima at I think possibly the slowest Wendy's in the world and because Jacob needed a diaper change (he was stinking up the car).  It took quite a long time to get our food, and an even longer time for Jacob to eat his and they did not even have a changing table.  After we got done, we had to leave in search of someplace to change a diaper.  We finally found a McDonald's with a place to change him and by that time he needed a change of clothes too.  We got him all taken care of and we were finally back on the road.

Later in the afternoon, we made it to the Tri Cities and stopped off for a quick visit with my Uncle Roger, Aunt Carol, and dear friend Margaret Mace.  It was good to see them all, but we had to get back on the road, because we were very anxious to get home. 

The rest of the trip got a bit wet.  By the time we got to Pendleton, it had started to rain.  We got some chicken to eat in the car in Pendleton, because I did not want to take a chance of holding up our trip with more slow "fast" food service and we were back on the road in no time.  It pretty much rained the rest of the way to Meridian.  Jacob did pretty well, until the last 100 miles, when he decided he had enough of the car and just started to complain.  After about 20 minutes of so, I was finally able to convince him to go to sleep and we were able to make it the rest of the way home with a more quite ride.  We pulled in to the house at around 10:30 pm, and found Josh and Rick waiting up for us (which was nice because Rick helped unload most of the Durango).  Jacob woke up and Rick brought him inside and he took one look around and then had a big look of Oh, I remember this place. We got everyone ready for bed and tucked in and we all slept very well.

One More Day



Saba, Jacob, and Happy (Jacob admiring the Polaroid Happy took of him)

Well it is now official, we only have one more day to be in the hospital.  Tomorrow, Friday April 15, we will be checking out of Seattle Children's Hospital and ending our nearly 6 week stay here in Seattle.  I have a feeling it will be a day filled with lots of photos (like the one you see above of 2 of our favorite nurses on the rehab unit) and probably even some hugs.  We are so glad to be going home, but have been very happy with all of the care Jacob has received here.  I feel much more confident in our ventures home now than I ever realized I would a few weeks ago.  I know whenever we come back to Seattle now, we are going to have to stop by and see all of the people that helped Jacob get to where he is now.   I also look forward to all of the new relationships we will make with his therapists in Boise though.

We still have one full day of therapy to go, but then as soon as it is done, we are signing the release papers and going back to the Ronald McDonald house to pack up.  We plan on getting everything ready and the car packed Friday night, so we can be ready to take off first thing Saturday morning for the 8-9 hour drive back home. Hopefully the weather will be a bit better when we leave, because watching the news they have been getting snow on the pass since last night.  It has been unseasonable cold here the last few days, and I would like it better if Seattle would shape up and show us a more appropriate goodbye with the sun and a little more warmth, but this is Seattle after all. 

I will end this post, so I can try to get a little bit of sleep for my last night here at the hospital and will be sure to get lost of photos tomorrow to end our time here.