I am so thankful...

One year ago today was one of the worst days of my life. I had put Garytt down for a nap and then went jogging on my treadmill and even had time to do a few chores. I remember being so grateful that he was taking such a long nap. After a while, I felt like he had been in there too long and that I should check on him.

What I saw next will probably haunt me forever. My precious baby boy, who was just two months and two days old, was in his crib not breathing and was turning blue. I reacted without thinking and put him on the floor so I could administer infant CPR (I had no idea when I took the class I would actually need it.) Fortunately, Garytt actually took a few short, shallow breaths on his own without me having to perform CPR. I called 911 and the paramedics checked him out and cleared him to stay with me rather than go to the ER.

Without going into great detail, we ended up at Children's Mercy Hospital for observation due to an ALTE (acute life threatening event) by the request of his pediatrician. We were released with a diagnosis of GERD (gastro-esophageal reflux disease) 24 hours later. Essentially, the doctors said he had refluxed and choked because he was too young to have a cough reflex. But with some meds, it was a managable diagnosis.



In the hospital bed hooked up to the monitors


The family after we had the news that it was GERD...mom and dad are tired but relieved to be going home soon.


Garytt is all ready to head to the car.


Saying good-bye to Children's Mercy.

The point of this post isn't to dredge up the past, although the image will forever be with me, but to just say that I am so thankful to have had this whole year to spend with my son! That day and that moment made me realize that I can never take for granted each day I get to spend with him...and everyone else in my life. Life is a gift, and a precious one.

I'm not usually one to write sappy notes or posts. But I just feel that on this anniversary of Garytt's "episode" (which is what I call it), it is important for me to say just how thankful I am.

I am thankful for the sleepless nights, the months of inconsolable crying, the unimaginable amount of spit-up and all the trying times to come. That is not to say that those were not difficult times and I know more will come along, but I am thankful to have those difficult times because I cannot imagine my life without Garytt. And the difficult times make the happy moments that much sweeter.

I believe this episode redefined my life in a lot of ways. It has made me a better mother. And it made us reprioritize things in our life. I don't know exactly how things would have been different without this experience, but I do know that becoming a stay-at-home mom and leaving a career that I loved and was very good at was a decision that became clear because of this episode.

As a side note, Garytt has mostly grown out of his GERD now. He has been off meds for around 6 months. I can tell he still struggles with reflux if he eats too much at one time but it doesn't seem to hurt him now.

Here are a few pictures of Garytt at 2 months and 14 months. What a difference a year makes!

Sleeping peacefully at home in his elevated bed.


What a cutie!


Now Garytt is on the go!

In closing, I just want to encourage you to tell your kids, family, and friends that you love them as often as you can. I also want to encourage anyone who has kids or babysits to take an infant/child CPR class. I am so thankful that I had the knowledge base to take control in a situation that was unimaginable. Finally, I just want to say to each person that is reading this blog that I am thankful for you in my life.

Mother's Day 2011

The local zoo in Oshkosh opened on Mother's Day weekend. I happen to love zoos and was very excited to go to Menominee Park Zoo! Justin, on the other hand, has never really been a big fan of going to a zoo...but guess what...it's Mother's Day, so I get to pick. :) (He didn't actually say he didn't want to go to the zoo but I know it wouldn't have been his first choice of actvities.)

As the name suggests, it is located in Menominee park, which is right on Lake Winnebago and appears to be a year round hot spot in Oshkosh. (In the winter we saw ice fishing and hockey on the lake...so you won't see me out there in the winter.) In the summer, people are boating, fishing, enjoying the zoo and the playgrounds. So, off we went to the zoo.

Garytt seemed to like watching the animals either from my arms or with the animals behind glass, like the birds.





However, when I put him down so that he could look through the fence and pet the animals, he was timid. Then the black sheep came over to him and he was terrified. Here is the scary black sheep in action.



After seeing all the animals, we stopped to take a few pictures by the pond inside the zoo. It was a pretty backdrop but Garytt really was more interested in looking everywhere but the camera.





After the zoo, we walked over to the playground for a little while. This was Garytt's first experience on swings. He seemed to really enjoy them. Although, his laugh was somewhat like when you are on a roller coaster and you laugh because you can't stop it but there is a little part of you that is terrified...but in a good way...hahaha.






By the way, check out all the teeth Garytt has!


After swinging, we let him toddle around the jungle gym area.



If you look closely, you will see the girl in the background clearly does not realize she is on camera...in fact, she thinks no one is looking. We didn't notice this until we were looking at the pictures later.

It was a wonderful Mother's Day and the weather was beautiful!

Easter 2011

Ok, so I know it's been about a month since Easter but I'm a bit behind in our blog posts.

Garytt's Grandma and Grandpa came up for Easter weekend from Kansas. It was great to have them here for the celebration. The Easter bunny surprised Garytt and his parents with a few toys. Garytt now has a zebra that he can ride. Once Garytt got the hang of it, he really seemed to enjoy it!



The Easter bunny also left a traditional Easter basket with cheese cracker-filled eggs and a few books. Garytt figured out the eggs had crackers in them pretty quickly!








Garytt also received an outdoor climbing wall/slide. He is still working figuring out how to climb up the wall but he definitely loves the slide part!



Of course, one of the highlights of Easter was Garytt going to his first Easter egg hunt, which was held at a local park, and meeeting the Easter bunny. Garytt really wasn't too sure about the Easter bunny and despite both Grandpa and mom (Grandma and dad were busy taking pictures) trying to convince Garytt that it was ok, he was scared of the Easter bunny. Maybe we will have better luck next year.





We hope this Easter season has brought many blessing to your families!