Omg my baby can see!!!!

My baby can see! My baby can see! I can't stop singing these words today. Fred and I went to see the neurologist today and she told me that shes sure he can see light and probably figures and shapes in contrast to the light out of his right eye! (His left eye is still pretty bad) Im so happy, I have been noticing him staring at the bright light in our room and even staring at me but I wasnt going to say anything because I wasnt sure since I am his mom and of course want to believe he can see and hope for the best. He may not be able to see faces or anything but this is such great news because now we will be working with an eye therapist and since he does have this slight vision they may be able to do something, surgery or glasses I suppose, to enhance his vision.

Also,
The birth- 3 people came out a few weeks ago, they are who will be sending out the eye therapist but they didnt approve him for an occupational or physical therapist because he is doing well in them areas. Although that is good news I wasnt happy with that news because I feel Fred does need the extra help and I dont want to see him slip behind so the neurologist is referring me to the physical therapist through the hospital.

Ohmy, I didnt realize how long its been since I last blogged, alot more has also happened. We were back in the hospital a few weeks ago and put in a shunt, the fluid in his head eventually did start to swell his head, we werent sure if it was going to because when he was born it didnt look like it. That has been rough because just when I was starting to get a feel for his sleep/eat/awake schedules that has thrown us for a loop. It is still up and down. Now when doctors ask me hows hes doing its hard to answer because he has been so irregular with everything going on.

Well he is doing very well today and thats all that matters, &now baby Fred is telling me hes hungry so bye bye (:

Proud Mommy!

(:
I'm so proud of my little Fred. I've never been a parent before so this might be a normal thing that everylike mother goes through but I feel like have a child with "special needs" makes you appreciated all the small things.

Lately I've been noticing that Fred is learning to follow your voice with his eyes. He may not be seeing you but he's starting to realize where your at. Also, I've been pumping and bottle feeding him breast milk but when I started to only get 1oz per pumping I got freaked out and called a lady from my local le Leche. The reason I've been bottle feeding this way is because at first Fred had a problem sucking and waiting for the milk. He would just get impatient and start freaking out, but when the lady recommended getting him to latch to bring in my milk I tried it and IT WORKED! He got a full feeding and then I pumped and got 5ounces! I'm so proud of us! We're a good team!

Well that's all I have to talk about now.
xoxo

Fred LeClaire <3

On June 18th at 11:14pm my beautiful son was born! I was induced that afternoon, I wanted a natural delivery but the pitocin made my contractions horrible! I felt like they were never ending and I was dilating very slowly. I decided to get an epidural, then I was so relaxed that 2 hours later I was dilated to 8!

As for baby Fred, 2 days after delivery I got the news that Hydrocephalus was pretty much the wrong diagnosis. His new diagnosis is Septo-optic Dysplasia Plus. My little Fred is blind!

Septo-optic Dysplasia basically means: His brain is missing the middle part where it separates the two halves and also the signals cannot be sent from his eyes to his brain and they are saying plus because he has some other underdevelopment or mis-development I could say. His brain where there should be certain formation or patterning is "disorganized" ,messed up. So we don't know how connections and signals will be sent or how he will develop.

His diagnosis seems grim and I've been struggling everyday but everyday I wake up with a new attitude and feeling like; Okay, a new day and a new start! Let's do this. All that matters right now is that he is eating, although a little bit on the rocks, sleeping and pooping and thats all a baby needs to be doing. We will deal with anything else as it comes.

Pictures below;
Fred after birth
Fred 1 day old after his head rounded off, lol.
& the other two are him in his isolet chillin. He was really jaundice and sleepy so I hope his feeding gets better when that passes.

15 more hours!

It's now 3 days passed my due date and tomorrow morning at 7am I'm getting induced. How many people get to count down the hours til their labor starts? And how many want to!? I'm so excited though, I am literally pacing through my apartment, just waiting. I've packed my official bags, cleaned the whole house. I am getting a little nervous for the actual labor and induction. My grandma warned me not to ask the doctors to induce me cause it causes horrible labor apparently but when I went to my last appointment, on Friday (my due date) they already were talking about it. I didn't even ask, but I didn't refuse either. (;
(The date on this post is wrong cause i never finished it and posted it as is days later)

Happy Birthday to me!

This weekend was my 20th birthday when around 7o'clock during my family supper some extreme back pain started. I was hopeful that this was back labor! I would have loved to share my birthday with my son. I noticed the pain coming more regularly around midnight the actual morning of my birthday so off to the hospital we went. I wasn't dilated at all but I was measuring some contractions and I felt extremely nauseous. Then I threw up and the pain went away. The nurses said it must be indigestion and sent me home to take a few tums and Tylenol. That night I got a little bit of sleep after another puking spell and the next morning decided to go fishing to make myself feel better. HORRIBLE IDEA! I layed in the dirty grass all afternoon and was in horrible pain. When we finally got home the pain was intensifying so I called the hospital again and spoke with a doctor. They told me to come in. Turns out I had a horrible UTI! They kept me overnight and pumped me full of antibiotics and pain meds. I feel alot better now but still have a small ache in my back. So much for Junior coming on my birthday );
Oh and we decided to name him Fred Jr. Not sure if we are going to use daddy's middle name as well.
After all this I have been so tired I forgot to even ask my doctor anything I was going to ask them yesterday at my apppintment.

Meet my Prince... or King (:

Hey everyone, my name is Direasa. I am 36weeks and 5days pregnant with my first child. A son who at 20weeks was diagnosed with Hydrocephalus.

A little history on how my pregnancy has been going; we had an MRI done and it didnt show any "block" that would cause the buildup of fluid which then points to some type of genetic problem. I then had an amnio done and that came back fine, they could have done more invasive testing on the genes but I chose not to. The fluid and the hydrocephalus itself is mild and im still expected to have a vaginal delivery. The plan for now is to just wait and see how he is and if there will be another diagnosis when he is born.

As for now I am preparing for delivery and the nicu. I'm worried I'm packing too much but I want him to be at home there so I packed a teddy that plays womb noises, pictures, a glass angel to watch over him, and the homemade quilt made by my grandmother for him. Along with other things like breast milk storage bags, a going home outfit, etc. Tomorrow when I go to the doctor I will ask them what I can and cannot bring and what will be supplied for me.

As for names,
Dads name is Fred so I'm thinking either Amir (wich means Prince) Fred or King Fred. Let me know what you guys think.

My new 3d ultrasounds are linked as well, he looks just like daddy. Same chubby cheeks, nose, and attitude. LOL!