Praise God...we have good news!

Today I saw the neurologist and we have wonderful news. The doctor did some nerve testing and she expects me to have a full recovery! She found that both legs still have some damage to the nerves, the right has more damage than the left. This explains why I am weaker on my right side. Many of my muscles on my right side are still not receiving the impulse from my nerve when shocked. The doctor said she is impressed with the recovery I have made so far and said it will be just a matter of time. Yeah!!! Thank God for the healing I have received and for giving me patience to get through this battle.

Claire continues to grow more every day and is turning into a little ball! We had a bit of a rough night last night and I think it was because Claire was excited to celebrate Nanny's birthday today! She is also excited to go up to Minnesota on Monday so that might be keeping her awake at night too. Either that or she is getting her days and nights mixed up. We hope it is just her looking forward to her first vacation!

5 weeks today

Today I tested myself again. I was able to take a shower standing up the entire time! This doesn't sound like a big accomplishment, but it sure is nice to be able to get rid of the step ladder we were using as my shower chair. I was also able to go up and down the steps like a "normal" person and didn't have to lead each step with the same foot. It still took a bit of time and lots of concentration for me to go up and down this way, but I did it.It helps that I am very determined and a little stubborn (must have gotten those traits from my mother!). Yesterday I saw the neurologist and she was very impressed with the amount of progress I have made so far. I plan to go back to see her on Thursday for some nerve testing. This will allow her to determine the degree of damage still present and to find out if there is any permanent damage. We will get the results right away and we are praying for good news. After my appointment, we stopped up at my work to say hi to everyone. It was so good to see my co-workers and watch them love on Claire! I miss y'all tons!

Claire continues to do wonderfully. She is a bit spoiled though and has figured out very quickly when someone isn't holding her. I guess that is my fault for carrying her a lot. I also have to blame Nanny and Papa somewhat since they didn't ever put her down when they were here! She does sleep well at night though. I am able to put her in the pack-n-play when she is still awake and she has been putting herself to sleep. I am very lucky that I am able to get 1-3 hours of sleep at a time overnight.

We are counting down the days until we get to visit family and friends in MN. Only 6 more days to go. I looked at the weather forecast and it looks like I might as well leave my tank tops at home! At least we will be able to be outside without sweating, even if it means I will have to wear jeans and a sweatshirt! Maybe not the best swimming weather, but perfect for some bonfires, if I can stay awake until it gets dark outside!

Mommy's first rough day

Yesterday was our first rough day. Claire was very fussy all day long and would sleep for only 5-15 minutes at a time. When she would wake up, she would instantly start crying loudly. The only way she would be comforted was to be held up on my shoulder. It was hard to do anything yesterday and when Jeff came home he got his turn at comforting her. We did her tubby at 6:30pm and after feeding at 7pm, Claire and I went to bed! We were both pretty exhausted. Thankfully today is much better so far and she is much more content. I am praying we aren't dealing with the start of colic...time will tell. I think she is just missing her nanny and papa! I know I sure miss them but we have only 9 more days before we get to be up in MN and spending precious time with our amazing family and friends there. We cannot wait.

We tried out the Baby Bjorn the other day and it worked wonderfully. It allowed me to have my hands free without having a crying baby. Claire seems to like it and even fell asleep in it after a few minutes. I think it was the best thing I have bought for her so far!

I've fallen and I CAN get up!

Well, today I have noticed even more progress! I lowered to the floor and was able to get to standing position without having to crawl to the couch and use my arms to pull me up. I could get my left foot on the floor and then was able to push off the ground with my hands and bring my right foot forward and stand up! I am pretty excited about this. I have noticed I continue to get more steady on my feet, although I still need to concentrate a lot when walking. The progress I have made in the past 4 weeks is incredible and I am very hopeful that soon my feeling will come back into my legs and I will be able to take Claire for a walk outside. Today Jeff let me walk to the mailbox at the front of our complex to get the mail. He had me bring my cell phone in case I fell and needed him to come help me. Thankfully, I didn't need to call him! It took me a while to get there and back, but it was a big accomplishment for me to do this and it was wonderful to have a bit of time outside. Jeff has been amazing since my parents left. He pitches in all the time to help make my day easier, and in return I relieve him of diaper duty overnight so he can sleep. It works out well so far.

Claire is starting to develop a personality. She is wonderful and is so much fun. She likes to follow our faces and objects and loves to be held up on our shoulder. She definitely lets us know when we are not holding her correctly! Yesterday we visited Claire's friends Ava and Marley and today we tried out the Bumbo seat...hope you enjoy the pictures!

Getting too big!

Just wanted to share a few pictures we took yesterday. Claire is getting so big so fast and is getting to have cheeks just like her daddy! Hope you enjoy:)

On our own

Today we said goodbye to Nanny and Papa. They are heading back to MN with our puppy Presley. Since they are able to take our dog with them and bring her back in November, we are now able to fly to MN and have more time up there with family and friends.

Words cannot express how grateful Jeff and I are that my mom and dad were here to help us through the initial 3 weeks of Claire's life. It is hard enough bringing home a newborn baby, but with my condition, I have no clue what we would have done without them. They are the most amazing and best parents anyone could ask for and I thank God for them every single day. Their unselfish love and patience with the 100+ degree temps was appreciated more than they know. I am sure my dad is very happy to get out of the high temperatures and back to MN where I hear it is only in the 70's! He will be so happy to have something to do for a change too! When you read this mom and dad, please know just how thankful we are to have such amazing parents in our lives. We owe my strength and Jeff's sanity to you both! We cannot wait to get up to MN in a few weeks to spend more time with you...on your terms this time!

Claire is still doing wonderful. As you can see on the pictures, she is growing like a weed and getting even more chubby! She is filling out nicely. It was pretty sad the other day when I had to bring out the 3-6 month clothes to wash because many of her 0-3 month things are getting to be too small! I think we will have a tall girl on our hands.

I am continuing to get better every day. Yesterday I noticed that the tingling sensation in my left leg is now only on the inner calf area, no longer the whole lower extremity! I am pretty excited about that. It is nice to notice an increase in sensation. My right knee continues to feel very tight and I am unable to bend it much without losing control and falling. Last evening we did a test to see if I was able to get up if I were to fall when I am alone. I am able to crawl on my hands and knees to get to the couch and then starting with my left leg, I am able to push on the couch and drag my right leg up to standing position. I think we all feel better knowing that should I fall down, I am able to get back up again. When I am alone, I will not carry Claire except when I am in my wheelchair. I am not willing to take the chance with her. Also, my parents got me hooked up with a "holster". We have a cloth belt around my waist with a small purse on it (thanks Christina!) to keep my cell phone in. That way I have it on me at all times. Great idea!

We hope you enjoy the pictures. We will try to bring up some warmer weather to MN when we come in August!

Claire's Movie

3 weeks gone by already

I can't believe Claire is 3 weeks old today. The time has gone by so fast and she is growing so quickly. She continues to be a wonderful baby and is sleeping for almost 3 hours at a time overnight before waking to be fed. I am enjoying the longer periods of sleep! During the day, she tends to be awake alot which works well for me. Grandpa Larry has given Claire the nickname "Peaches" (something from the movie Ice Age which I will now need to watch). Between Grandpa Larry and Grandma Rachel, Claire hardly gets put down. The minute they walk in the door in the morning, they are both wanting to hold her and spoil her. It might make things a bit tough for me when I am alone with her, but it is so fun to watch them interact with her.

As for me, I am coming along nicely. My legs continue to have the pins and needles sensation but they are more steady with each day. I don't feel as uneasy walking around and have been able to leave my wheelchair in the bedroom for the most part. Dad has been able to get me out of the apartment the past few days which has been wonderful. Just to get some sunshine on my face has helped me stay in good spirits. Overall, I feel I have been handling my situation well. There are times when I get frustrated with my limitations and begin to worry about possible permanent nerve damage. I meet with my OB/GYN on next Wednesday and the neurologist the following Monday for nerve testing. After these two appointments, I will know more about my condition. I want to thank everyone for the continued support and prayers. Without such amazing people in my life, I would not be doing nearly as well as I am. I especially want to thank my parents for all of their dedication to helping me get better. They have gone above and beyond by extending their stay to make sure Jeff, Claire and I are safe before leaving us alone. God is so good to us!

Two Weeks Notice

Two weeks into this unbelievable journey I have come to realize a few important things. First off, my wife is an amazing human being. She has been such a trooper through all the difficulties. Aside from a few difficult moments, Sheila has remained positive and done everything she can for Claire. I have never heard her complain about constantly getting up to feed the bottomless pit or to change another diaper. Even when I wake up and ask her if I can help knowing full well that she will say "no" and then turn back over and fall asleep; she doesn't get frustrated with me. Absolutely amazing.

The second thing that I have realized is that I have almost completely forgotten what life was like before Claire. After nearly 33 years, two weeks is but a blink of the eye but it has been two of the best weeks of my life. People can constantly tell you all the cliches about what it is like to be a parent but every one of them falls short of reality. All it takes is one look into Claire's eyes and all the worries of life have disappeared.

I wanted to share my two favorite pictures of Claire with you. In the first one she has a great expression on her face. I can almost hear her saying, "What in the world are you guys doing?". The second one is what I envisioned my relationship with Claire would be. It is great to see it in real life rather than just in my mind's eye.

Our first rough night

Yesterday Claire turned 2 weeks old already. We had her first pediatrician appointment and she hated it! Her weight is up from 8 lbs 6 oz at birth to 9 lbs 7 oz at 2 weeks. I guess all her eating is paying off and she is getting what she needs! She is 21 inches long now and I am finding some of her clothes no longer fit already. She is measuring height and weight in the 90th percentile on the charts. We have a feeling she will be a big girl!

As you can see in the picture of Claire, the stress of the pediatrician's visit exhausted her. I thought she would sleep good last night as well, but I was wrong. From 9pm to 2:30am she slept a whole 30 minutes. Then she finally fell asleep until 4:45am and was ready to eat again. Needless to say, Mommy didn't get much sleep last night and will be taking at least one nap today. To my surprise, Claire is awake now and has been most of the morning. Maybe we will get lucky and she will sleep lots tonight! At least when she was awake she was content and not crying the entire time:)

I have therapy again today and my goals are to not fall and to not break any more outlet plates! Good thing my mom and dad will be here in case I do fall because the little lady who does my therapy won't be able to get me up!

We hope this finds everyone well. We are very excited to go up to MN in August to see everyone up there and show off our baby girl. It will be nice to get out of the apartment and out of the 100 degree temps for a bit!

HUGE progress!

Yesterday was a big day for me. I took multiple walks around the apartment without my wheelchair! I continue to have the tingling in my left lower leg and my right knee which is the same as it has been for the past few days. I do continue to feel stronger on my feet though and am trying to wait patiently for my feeling to come completely back. My parents had Jeff and I go out to eat last evening while they watched Claire. I was able to go down the stairs on my feet, not my butt! I had to lean on Jeff lots on the way down but we made it all the way on my feet. It sure felt good to get out of the apartment for a bit and to be able to get down without getting my pants dirty. It was hard to leave Claire but I knew she was in good hands with Nanny and Papa. It was good for Jeff and I to have a short time together, even though all we talked about was how awesome our little girl is:)

Claire is getting so big already. There are lots of clothes I have that don't even fit her anymore. She has outgrown newborn diapers already and I can even tell the size 1 diapers are not as big on her as they were a few days ago. Tomorrow we have her first pediatrician appointment and I am curious to see how much she weighs.

Today we had some visitors. Amanda and Eric Perez brought over their 6 month old twin girls. It was fun to see them and we were able to get some good pictures of the three girls. We hope that they grow up being good friends.

Taking steps!

Today Claire is 11 days old already...I am not sure where the time went. I feel she is growing and changing every day. It will be interesting to see what she weighs at her 2 week check up on Tuesday. She is still a very good baby. Sleeping well through the nights except for feedings. Last night we got to deal with the first "tummy ache".

I am starting to get a bit braver and am trying to test myself a bit when family is here. I have used the restroom now multiple times without having to use the stool. My left leg continues to feel numb from the knee to the ankle, but the knee area is less numb than before. My right leg is only numb around the knee area and feels like there is a cement block super-glued to my knee. My parents get a bit nervous to watch me walk without the chair, but I keep telling them I need to see what I can do. Each day we continue to see progress which is very encouraging.

I want to thank everyone from work for the wonderful food provided. It is nice to have a variety and if I keep eating the way I have been this past week, I will be back up to my term pregnancy weight in no time! I also want to thank everyone for all of their prayers, phone calls, emails, and texts. It helps to know there are so many people out there thinking about us and keeping us in mind. We hope you continue to enjoy the pictures of our beautiful little girl! Soon, I will be walking and will be bringing her up to work for y'all to love on!

Getting stronger every day

Another day and we are getting stronger and stronger. I am now able to extend my right leg about 10 inches which is a big improvement from even yesterday. I have been working on my exercises to keep the strength in my quad muscles so when I am able to walk again, I will be strong enough.

Claire had another wonderful night. I thank God she is such a good baby. She hardly ever cries..only when her diaper is wet or she is hungry. I try to catch her when she first wakes up so she doesn't have a melt down waiting for me to feed her and that seems to work pretty well. Today we got to spend the day with Nanny while Daddy and Papa went to NASA space center. It was good to know that Papa was able to get out for the day and not have to sit in the apartment. I know it is killing him to be limited with what he can do here, but he is a trooper and helping out lots. Nanny and Papa make an almost daily run to Walmart to break up the day when I lay down for a nap with Claire. We have a pretty good routine going here.

We took some fun pictures of Claire today so I hope you all enjoy them. I will continue to keep posting updates on my condition and continue to brag about our beautiful little girl!

Physical therapy gone bad

Well, today we had our first bout of physical therapy. All was going well until my therapist, all four feet seven inches of her decided to have me try some squats while hanging onto the counter. With the very first one, my knees buckled and I smashed into the wall breaking the outlet cover. I now have a bruise on my knee. Good thing Jeff was here or I would have fallen onto the therapist and I have no clue how she would have gotten me up off the ground! Guess it will be a bit before she hs me try that move again! I have a feeling I might be sore tomorrow. I have been able to stand for short periods of time at the counter and am working on walking behind the wheelchair each day with the help of Jeff and my dad. I feel I am getting stronger but the progress is slow. I do get frustrated sometimes but overall, I am in good spirits. I want to thank my parents and all of the wonderful friends and family that have made this process tolerable. I appreciate all of the phone calls and texts. There are just so many awesome people in my life...thank you so much for your support through all of this.

Claire is getting bigger every day and changing so much already. It is hard to believe she has been in our lives for just over a week already but it is also hard to remember our lives without her. She is an amazing baby. She sleeps good at night and rarely cries. She does love to eat which I love too...it is a great bonding experience.

Today Jeff talked me into going out to a movie while my parents watched Claire. It was hard to leave her for those two hours but it was good for me to get out of the apartment and see sunshine for a bit. I was really missing her by about half way through the movie, but managed to make it to the end before asking Jeff if I could call my parents to check on her. Well, Claire is calling. I will continue to keep everyone updated on our progress. Hope you enjoy the pictures