A few updates

This morning we went to see Carson's eye doctor again and we weren't quite sure what to expect. Carson has been wearing is glasses for several months now and we haven't noticed huge changes or improvements with his vision. He doesn't seem able to see past 5 ft and his eyes still cross. The doctor concluded that the glasses were indeed helping, but not as much as he had hoped. Our new plan is now patching in addition to the glasses. For 2 hours a day we must place a patch over one of his eyes (alternating each eye daily) until we see his eye doctor again in Jan. Now I suddenly feel back to square one- constantly putting his glasses and eye patch on again and again as he constantly removes them again and again. There is a possibility of eye surgery in Carson's future if we don't see much improvement again.

Last Friday we went to the Spina Bifida Clinic and saw a few more of Carson's doctors. His neurologist determined that Carson's chronic vomiting was not neurological. Even better, Carson hasn't thrown up in 2 weeks so we're all feeling a little more at ease!

Carson's orthopedic doctor feels that he is doing great and is ready for a "stander," or a device designed to keep him upright while he wears his AFO's to help him learn standing. We have been practicing standing without the stander (we don't have this device yet) and he does great! So our doctor agreed that he can practice standing both ways.

Currently Carson is enrolled in a swim class at East Hills with his buddy, Greyson. He loves the water and is doing great in the class. It's refreshing to have just a normal non-medical routine in our week!

We're also excited to share that we're hearing a lot of "da-da's" and "ma-ma's" from our little guy! Somehow he only says "da-da" when he's excited, and "ma-ma" when he's whinny. Hmmm, we're going to have to work on that!

Support a cause, buy a hat!

My friends, Karl and Ashley Malefyt are raising money to adopt a little girl, Olive, born with Downs syndrome. They are currently selling hand made hats to help raise funds. Please take a look at their blog and send them some support! savingolive.blogspot.com

9 Months Old

Big things are happening in Carson's world; his first tooth finally made it's debut! There is nothing more adorable than a baby smile with a little tooth peeking out:) I'm considering all of us quite lucky because the whole teething ordeal so far has not seemed too painful (although the biting of curious fingers is another story- those baby teeth are sharp)!

On our previous post I wrote about the sudden vomiting Carson is undergoing. Out of the blue he started throwing up almost daily (sometimes twice a day). This has been a frustrating and scary time for us. He finally stopped throwing up last Tuesday and I thought maybe somehow it was over. Just when I was starting to relax about it he threw up again today. This Friday we'll be seeing Carson's neurosurgeon; hopefully he can give us some insight into this problem.

Last week we received Carson's new AFO's, or ankle braces designed to help with standing and walking. It's exciting to be moving towards this direction, but I have to admit that it was hard seeing them on his legs for the first time. Sometimes the reality of Spina Bifida just hits me in different ways. There are days where I feel in over my head and overwhelmed with the struggles of SB. Those days are hard, but more importantly, there are many more days that I see miracles happening right before my eyes. God is good!