His last surgery was on April 10th for another shunt revision. They moved the shunt from the front of his head to the back. With hopes that this would help the cyst that had formed previously to not come back. It's been a month, and so far things are great! The cyst has not come back, and the shunt is perfoming as it should. We like the shunt better in the back than the front, because it doesn't show up as much.
Tanner still wears his hip brace and foot braces @ night. The feet braces he has to wear for 12 hours in a 24 hour period, and the hip brace 8-10 hours. So we opt to have him wear them as he sleeps at night. His feet haven't responded as well to the braces as they hoped that they would, so it looks like they are leaning towards doing another surgery on his feet in July.
As a result of no braces during the day, his activity has increased, and he is starting to get stronger! He rolled over for the first time this past week, and can now hold his head up by himself. He is also getting good at sitting up assisted. He is getting stronger and stronger each day, and is doing so well! He loves tummy time and is a very playful happy baby! He loves to babble nonstop and is such a giggler!
This past week we also started feeding him baby food. He doesn't really like rice cereal that much, but he loves applesauce! The look on his face after the first bite was hilarious! But now he giggles inbetween every bite cause he is so excited! It's so cute!
Tanner's doctor appointments have slimmed out considerably. He passed his last urodynamics test, and we don't have to go back for 6 months. His shunt seems to be working, go back for a CT scan in 2 months. We don't see his orthopedic doctor until end of June for his feet or hips. So he really just has a couple of developmental appointments and physical therapy which are ongoing. So all in all, things are looking up!
I still get down sometimes that I don't have a "perfect child". But who really has the "perfect child" ? I know that Tanner is who he is for a reason, and its getting easier to be happy with just that. But it's still hard not to get teary eyed when I see other little ones walking and moving their little toes. Tanner has never moved his toes. It's amazing how much we take for granted. Okay, I'm done with my soapbox now.
We went and had professional photos taken on 4-18 as part of a program call The Littlest Heros project. I learned about it at a spina bifida support group that I joined online. If you would like to know more about it, visit their site at www.littlestherosproject.org. Our experience was a good one, fun, and free! Can't beat that! :)
We have received 2 sample pictures which I attached, and am anxiously awaiting a free CD from the photographer with 15-20 more photos on it! I will share once that is received.
We are trying to finish getting ready to move so we can move into our new house this coming Saturday! Moving sure is a lot harder with a baby! It makes it hard to find time to pack boxes! Tanner is a so much fun, but also time consuming! :) Things are coming along slowly but surely. We did get a small setback, as there was an attempt to break into our new house. There was no entry, but we've had to replace 2 broken windows and the back door which got pretty messed up. We in no way believe that this reflects the kind of neighborhood we are moving into. We believe it to be one of the freakish things that just happen.
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