The Three Little Sankey's!

It has been nearly a year and a half since I have last posted! Life has surely changed.






Greg and I are doing wonderful! We re-listed our house last year, and it sold in 3 days! We moved into a cozy little ranch, and have settled in nicely. It is perfect for our family, and living in a ranch makes caring for Truitt SO much easier!






Truitt has been wonderful! H turned five a few months ago and is now 48 lbs! Thank heavens for a ranch :) He started at a new school this year, and we are so happy with everything about it. The staff is wonderful, his teachers are incredible and the therapists go above and beyond to keep us updated and in the loop with his progress and goals. He is becoming more and more interactive, and we continue to see small improvements in his fine motor skills. Our new home is all hard floors, so he enjoys rolling around in his fancy gait trainer! His seizures were well controlled for nearly 8 months straight, but we just started seeing some again a few months ago. His Neurologist just increased his meds, and we are already seeing a decrease in them. Hoping and praying soon they will once again be controlled.






Beckett is now three and a half years old, and started pre-school last fall. He loves it so much, and we have watched him grow into such a responsible little boy. He has become such a great listener, and is such a funny little guy. He makes us laugh all day long! He continues to love helping with Truitt, including helping us give him milk and water through his g-tube. He is a great big brother to Hattie, and loves having someone to play with! He is a very sweet boy, and melts my heart. I always knew I loved having babies and toddlers in the house, but as he is getting older I love the changes that are forming in my relationship with him. He is such a big helper, and is so full of personality. He is also fully independent, which is SO nice!






And finally, our sweet and sassy little Miss Hattie. I still can't believe we have a girl. She is now an active 18 month old, that succeeds in keeping up with her big brother! It is so fun having a little girl in our home, and I finally got to decorate a very girly room for her in our new house (pictures to come soon). She is a tiny little thing with a big personailty, and keeps us very busy! She absolutely adores Truitt, and loves climbing into his chair to give him hugs are kisses. I always said he needed a sister! She is so nurturing to him already, I can only wait to see what their relationship is like in the future. Hattie adds so much to our family that I never knew was missing. Having a daughter is everything I ever dreamed of, and it keeps getting better :)




Well that's all for now, but I hope to update again soon! I tried to upload pictures, but couldn't get it to work. But for those of you on instagram, I'm lsankey131 and post lots of pictures there!


Thanks for checking in!

Welcoming Our Little Lady

It is still hard to believe I am sitting here, no longer pregnant, with a baby in my arms. Five weeks have passed since the big debut, and I still haven't felt it sink it in. This beautiful baby in my arms, is wearing pink...

It's a girl!

I don't know how it happened, or how I carried her within me for nine months and had NO IDEA it was even possibly a girl. I knew it was a boy, I just knew it. I loved his name, loved him, even felt like I bonded with a little boy. I thought of my "three little boys" and even ideas for a Christmas card with "him" in it. Although, somewhere down deep in my heart, I really truly longed for a girl. So much so, that I would see families with two boys and a girl and my heart would ache. It seemed like a dream that would never come true. I love my two boys with all of my being, but there is just something about little girls. Something even better about a little girl with two big brothers. I thought that would be so perfect, but maybe next time, maybe number four would be our girl. Because I was certain that baby I was carrying five weeks ago, was another perfect baby boy. And I was happy with the thought of three handsome little boys. I prayed for the baby's health, never it's gender. Either way, we were to be blessed.

On August 21, 2012 we made our way bright and early to Riverside's Labor and Delivery. I wasn't nervous at all this time around, I was so confident that I would have an easy, pain free delivery. I think the suspense of not knowing the baby's gender took my mind off of the labor and delivery part. All I could think about was finding out who the baby inside was, and Greg and I couldn't wait to meet him or her! We were so excited!

 

I was barely 1 cm dilated upon arrival. They started my pitocin at 8:45 am and and broke my water at the same time. An hour later I had progressed to 3 cm and my OB said,"I'll see you around 2 or 3 pm for delivery!" I was so excited, it was my third baby and I hoped it would be quick, and hearing that was music to my ears! Then two hours later, they had to turn off the pitocin because my uterus was having spasms. More or less meaning it would contract in between contractions, which isn't good for the baby. So that stalled me about an hour.

Around noon she checked me again and I was still 3 cm, and feeling all of the contractions. All hopes of a quick labor were gone. It was then that I decided to get the epidural, I didn't want to feel the pain. The epidural was placed around 1 o'clock and worked wonderfully for about two and a half hours. Unfortunately, when she checked me again at 3 o'clock I was STILL at 3 cm, and the epidural had worn off on my whole right side. I was in so much pain, and was failing to progess. Turns out, the baby was a little crooked and her head was not putting the pressure on my cervix therefore it wasn't dilating. A short time later, the epidural wore off completely. I was feeling everything. At this point, the joke was on me. My pain free, quick and easy third delivery had turned VERY painful and very long.

They gave me a loading dose of the epidural, similar to what the give c-section patients. Within minutes, my blood pressure crashed. It was 66/39 and I was feeling really dizzy, light-headed, and sick to my stomache. My OB and nurse said I was white as a ghost and my lips had even lost their color. For that hour I had about 6 people hovering over me, watching my blood pressure cuff tighten and studying the numbers that displayed on the screen. It was kind of eery. I could feel the concern, but somehow didn't care one bit. I was finally comfortable, feeling no pain.

My blood pressure finally came back up and all was good. Until that epidural dose wore off about an hour later. They pulled it and placed a new one, and still nothing. I was out of luck. I found myself in an all too familiar situation. I would again be delivering a baby with no pain relief. And not by choice. I was mad, and wanted to give up. And it was right about then my nurse said, "So how big was the baby measuring at the ultrasound when you found it was a boy?" Greg and I looked at each other, realizing she just blew the surprise, and I snapped," We DON'T know that it's a boy!!!"

From that moment on I was even more irritated and mad. Here I was going through a horribly painful delivery and she just told us it's a boy, ruining the surprise. Even though I was certain it was a boy, to hear it out loud, and to know that the 1% glimmer of hope for a girl was gone, really got me. I had no drive in me anymore. I wanted it over with.

That was about 5 o'clock and I suffered in that bed, unable to get out, wrathing in pain and begging for relief. Until finally at 6:15 my nurse told me that I would be having that baby before she left for the night. I was only 8-9 cm and her shift ended at 7pm. I told her it wasn't possible, and she said," Oh yes it is, lets start pushing!"

After telling her I couldn't push yet, that she was crazy, that I was way too tired to push, and to please let me take a nap first, she somehow talked me into it and I began pushing around 6:50pm. Minutes later, my OB came walking in, got all gowned up and prepared for delivery. At 7:21 pm, our little one made her grand enterance. The first words I heard when my OB pulled her out was, "Oh my!"

 

I had a tiny feeling at that point that it maybe was a girl. She knows I have two boys, and how much I would have loved a girl, and her saying "oh my" in the tone she said it in gave my goosebumps. Then Greg shouted,"Honey, it's a GIRL!!!!!" And I lost it. I cried like a baby. I lifted her leg to double check, and it indeed was a girl! She had girl parts, and I saw them with my own eyes. I really gave birth to a girl. I couldn't believe it!

 

So many emotions came over me in those first seconds we spent with her. It just felt different, holding a little girl. She seemed sweeter, more delicate than the boys. She looked just like her brothers, and once again I found myself falling madly in love all over again. But this time, with a little girl.

A little girl named Hattie.

 

Hattie Annabelle Sankey weighed in at 7 pounds 6 ounces and was 20 inches long. She is healthy and perfect in every way. Ten tiny fingers, and ten tiny toes. The sweetest heart lips and soft brown hair covering her round little head. Her hands are dainty, and her little feet are topped with long slender toes. She's very feminine. Graceful and soft. She is the sweetest thing, and has her daddy wrapped around her finger. There is something about seeing the man I love holding his baby girl. I fell in love with him all over again. Just seeing her in his arms makes me melt.

 

 

 

The day was filled with love. With family and friends surrounding us, we shared our new baby with those who love her. It was bliss. We are smitten with this new life we have been given. We are blessed times three.

 Welcome to our family, Hattie. We've been waiting for you!

Going Private

Thanks everyone for reaching out and letting me know how much you have enjoyed following our family and watching it grow :) Each e-mail I get is so exciting, I love reading about how you found our blog, or how you know about Truitt.

I forget how many people that we have never met care about our family, and most of all Truitt. I want all of you to continue to be a part of his journey, and that of our entire family. Please keep the e-mails coming, and don't be shy! If you know of this blog and have been reading regularly, please e-mail me! I don't want to leave anyone out.

Again, my e-mail is lgraham131(at)gmail(dot)com, and if you haven't e-mailed, hurry up! I will be switching the blog to private end of this week so I can post about our new baby!!!

It's a GIRL!!!

We welcomed our sweet little girl into our family at the end of August. She is perfect, healthy and a GIRL!!! I still can't believe it! We are thrilled and so in love!

 

The boys are doing great. Beckett is taking on the big brother role just as we thought he would, with much love and no jealousy. He loves his baby sister. Truitt thinks it is so funny when she cries and laughs at her little squeaks and coos. Having three kids is so much fun, she completes our family. At least for now :)

In other news, I have decided to make my blog private. I have not been posting as much because all of the sudden I do not like strangers all over the world having open access to our family. That being said, each and every one of you who do know us, and have been following our journey because you love our family, I invite you to continue to do so. All you have to do is e-mail me your full name and e-mail address, and if you don't know us personally just tell me how you know about our family, so I can add you to the "reading list." My e-mail is lgraham131(at)gmail(dot)com.

Once I get the blog set to private, I will do a full post about our new girl with her name and pictures, of course! She is so cute, I can't wait for ALL of you to see her!!!

Much love,

Lauren

Bye Bye Phenobarab!

I am so proud to announce that Truitt had his very LAST dose of Phenobarbital last night!!! Wooohoooooooo!!! We have been waiting years for this day to come. It feels just as great to lose that med as I always imagined it would. One less medication.

Truitt has been on Phenobarbital since he was 18 hours old and had his first seizures. It is a great med for babies, but studies show it is more harmful than beneficial to give to older kids. Long-term side-effects including drowsiness, behavior problems, and it has been known to lower a child's IQ if it isn't weaned within the first few years of childhood. Last year we began weaning from the 6 ml he started at and made it down to 3 ml when he started having seizures again. We were forced to halt the wean until his seizures were controlled for at least a month or two. When he finally reached that milestone in the Spring, it was on again with the wean.

This time around we were forwarned that the last few ml's are the hardest to get rid of. We prepared ourselves for the worst, seizures and extreme irritability. Specifically the last .5 ml. We dropped his dose by .25 ml weekly. To our surprise, week after week, he did fantastic. He made it down to .75 ml before we ever saw one seizure and he had no irritability, until then. But the very day we went down to .75 ml he began having very tiny 5 second seizures and showed some irritability. He would cry for no reason, and nothing could calm him down. He would only cry like that every couple of days, but when he did it was so hard for me. When I can't do anything in this world to calm down my very distraught little boy, it is heart breaking and more than anything very frustrating. I hate to think of how he must have been feeling during those moments of crying. He has been on this med his whole life, so his little body had to go through crazy withdraw, especially since this med in particular has alcohol in it.

I'm anxious to see how the next few days go when he doesn't get a dose at all. Even though his last dose was just a measely .25 ml, which is hardly a drop, the body still responds to it being gone. Hopefully he will only get better from here, and these teeny tiny seizures will disappear on their own with having to increase one of his other meds.

Truitt is currently on Keppra and Topamax for his seizures. I would LOVE to get rid of Topamax too. In time, hopefully. A momma can dream :)

8 weeks 'til baby!

This pregnancy has gone by so fast, and I still can't believe we will have a baby in less than 8 weeks!

My pregnancy has been going really well, I feel good until about 5 pm when my body starts to shut down for the day. All of the lifting and caring for Truitt isn't easy, but my OB continues to remind me that as long as I'm careful, the lifting will not harm me or the baby. Beckett has been such a great helper, a good listener and is such an independent little boy. I hope that continues when we bring a new baby home! When Greg gets home everyday it is a huge relief. It's my time to sit on the couch and relax while he cares for the boys. After they are in bed, he pampers me with back and foot rubs. Thank heavens for a wonderful husband :)

I had an ultrasound two weeks ago to check the baby's size and fluid levels. I am high risk due to Truitt's extreme low fluid and heart condition, so I get several extra ultrasounds with all of my pregnancies. It is a nice little treat to get a peak at our little peanut, but I still worry. This ultrasound went great, the fluid levels are on the higher end which is good in my case, and the baby was 3 lbs. 5 oz. in the 60th percentile. As long as this baby isn't over 8.5 lbs. at birth, we should be able to avoid a c-section. That is if the little one decides to stay head down! As of now, it still feels like it flips several times a day.

For the first time in all three of my pregnancies, I failed my one hour glucose test and was terrified about having gestational diabetes. I had to then do the three hour fasting test the following week. I was dreading it, but since my sister works in the hospital where I had it done I got to spend the morning with her killing time between my three blood drawls. It wasn't bad at all, I was just REALLY hungry. Since it was done on a Friday, I had to wait all weekend for the results.

Early Monday morning I got the news that I passed and did NOT have gestational diabetes!!! I am so happy, a big weight was lifted off of my shoulders! So now I can go on and enjoy this pregnancy and hopefully get everything ready in time for baby's arrival!

Mmm...ice cream!!!

Mic-Key Button

A few weeks ago Truitt got his G-Tube replaced by the wonderful, and even more convenient Mic-Key Button. The Mic-Key is his permanent tube that he will have from here on out. It serves the same purpose as the G-Tube, without the long tube hanging out of it. The Mic-Key is a small button just above his belly button that we hook a tube up to when we give him his feeds.

Since Truitt's G-Tube was surgically placed, we only had to wait 6 weeks to get the Mic-Key put in. Truitt had other plans, and decided to pull the G-Tube out 5 weeks post surgery (while our friends were over for dinner!), so a 9 hour trip to the ER later, he got the Mic-Key! That's not the way I wanted it to be done, but oh well we were thrilled to have it either way.

Greg and I still can't grasp how stress-free our lives feel. Almost daily, I tell Greg how much I love the tube. To see Truitt so happy and content while getting his liquids is the best feeling in the whole world. Drinking a bottle was so much work for him, and even more work for us. To now be able to give him 100% of his liquids and medications without a worry in the world is purely marvelous! He still eats all of his solid foods orally and continues to do really well with them. But on days when he is too tired to eat after school, the tube is a wonderful alternative for a meal replacement too!

These are recent pictures of his Mic-Key button. The little scar is where they entered his abdomen to pull his stomach into place. The scar is a result of a much safer way to place the tube by a surgeon, rather than having the tube blindly placed by a GI doctor which is a riskier procedure.