School Starts...

(Sorry this was supposed to be posted in early Sept)
The first day of 1st grade went VERY well. Kaitlyn was real excited when she got on the bus and even more when she returned home. She couldn't stop talking about her day. I like that they only have 1/2 day for the first day, so they ease into it. She will get her last nap for a while today (first day of school).



Sydney was VERY excited as well. She went to school with Mommy the first day. It was 1/2 the time also.








As for Makenzie... she is doing about the same. The fussiness is starting to subside FINALLY! Did I write that in my last blog? Anyway, we went to see the Developmental Clinic in Mid-Aug. It wasn't as comprehensive as in April. The doctor said she thinks she will stand with some assistance. That was about the only good news. She will continue to be fed via G-tube and we will be changing the food when she turns one. It will still be liquid, but prescription instead of formula. She will probably not walk or talk :( so we keep trying to hold a little hope she will find some enjoyment in life. She LOVES her little room that the school system has provided. It's like she's playing with a friend. I will try and post a picture. For those of you that have seen it, we have a new and taller one. It's working wonderfully. She still doesn't have total head control, which is very hard. I have tried to think of a way to put her in a sling to carry her around, but at 18.5 lbs and being a 'floppy baby', it's very hard to come up with a way we will both be happy. All the advice I have gotten on that subject, they have just suggested I put her in the stroller. I have sat her up in the stroller more often, so she's not always laying down. It's just hard to think of new ideas of the everyday routine.




I am starting a class!! Cake decorating! At least it will be time for myself and time for the kids with their dad, one on one. I have two birthdays to prepare for soon, so I thought this would be good.

Thanks for keeping us in your thoughts. Until next time...

Summer is flying by!

We were able to get away a few times in July/Aug. Some good times, some not. Went to Traverse City/Ludington in hotels and not too bad, other than the bad weather. We did well at the Great Wolf Lodge since it was more of a resort where there was everything we needed under one roof with Meijer nearby. When we went to Ludington, we lost some of our ammenities and encountered bad weather (just cold for the beach and we were really looking forward to some beach time).

Camping at Otsego Lake near Gaylord, was not the best. The weather SUCKED! Ken and I were split up alot during the trip taking turns in the camper alot with Makenzie. We are done camping for a very long time. Change in weather is not a good thing. Thanks to my Aunt Sharon for the space heater. We wouldn't have stayed without it.

Early July we saw the eye doctor about Makenzie. We saw the VERY specialized doctor this time and to our surprise, he said her vision was improving! Here are some pretty amazing numbers, but instead of 20/2400 and 20/2700, her vision is now 20/400 and 20/700. Kind of crazy, but getting better. The jerkiness (nystagniod) is decreasing, but both eyes still turn in on their own. He said this will get better with time (hopefully).

As for Kaitlyn and Sydney, they have having a good summer. Nice to relax and not live the busy life (at least not every day). Our neighbor has been watching the girls while I take Makenzie to therapy each week, which has been a HUGE help. Thanks, Christine! She has taken them to the library, played cards and even the Wii! Kaitlyn is nervous about going to first grade. Different teacher, different kids and ALL DAY, EVERY DAY. Lots of changes, but the same school (Walker Station). Sydney will be in preschool again this year at Zinser. She is NOT nervous (at least not yet), but she knows she has the same teacher. We go for orientation for both of them in two weeks. It will help to get them out of the house and learning on a regular basis again. We have Mommy school at home at least 2-3 times a week. We do workbooks, work on numbers, sing ABCs, etc to keep their minds working. I think we're going to work on money with Kaitlyn before school starts.

As far as Ken and I, we are hanging in. Living day to day. Keeping up with the housework isn't always easy, but the girls are starting to help out! We created a chore list and some are optional and some are mandatory everyday. They are doing quite well for the first few days. They are actually pretty excited about getting stickers and working toward a prize. We'll see how long it lasts. Sorry, tangent...

Ken is still with Herman Miller, working hard on a project. They approved his new project a few weeks ago, so he's pretty happy about it. The downfall is he might have to travel in the fall :( We'll see how much. I might be calling for help if he is overnight for more than two nights. We'll see how the daily routine goes.

Went to the beach with my sister, Kele, and my dad last week. Here's a pic... (Millenium Park, great place for kids!)





Leave me a comment on what you want to hear about or if I'm covering everything. Sometimes I lost my concentration throughout my posting. Just sometimes...

Two months of ups and downs...

We had SO many appointments with SO many specialists in March and April, it was just CRAZY! It was good the girls were in school then. It's a whole different story now that it's summertime...

Things are going well for Kaitlyn and Sydney. They love our little 3ft pool in the backyard and all the sun God is finally providing us with after such a LONG winter. Makenzie is pretty much maintaining where she has been for a while. She is still take a drop of baby food about every min. She did take about 1/2 oz of baby food at feeding therapy a few weeks ago. She did well in PT today with a sub Physical therapist. She really worked her on the exercise ball today, gave me a few ideas to do at home to get her muscles working and rolling over.

We did however have a visit to the Developmental Clinic attached to Spectrum Health in mid-April. The appt seemed to be going to well for the first 2 hours until they asked us if we had any questions. We asked if she would ever walk one day.... they're response was.. I don't think so. Would she ever talk... I don't think so. That was a VERY hard day. We kept our distance from alot of people for a while and that's why I haven't posted in a while. The news was just too hard to handle for a while. Ken and I are coming to acceptance with the facts and trying to keep the emotions on low. It's very hard to be on the emotional roller coaster for so long. We are just going to keep doing what we're doing everyday and wait until she's between 2-3 years old to see where she's at. They say we will have a better idea at that age.

Makenzie is 9 months old and still being fed by G-tube. She doesn't sit up on her own and is still having issues with head control. We're working on rolling over, sitting up and standing (on occasion). I work with her everyday with various therapies. My day is full with three kids, meals, workbooks and all the demands at ages 6, 3.5 and 9 months. Ken is being very supportive with everything and is a good sounding board when I need it. He is still holding strong at Herman Miller with every other Friday off.

We are planning a vacation here in a few weeks to Traverse city and Ludington. It will be nice to get away from the house for a while. I hope Makenzie does ok.

I will try to have pictures next time. Posting kind of late, but I promised by the end of June and I only have a few hours left.

Until next time...

Appointments Galore, week of March 30

Monday, March 30 - Eye Doctor (Peters)
We went to the eye doctor for Makenzie last Monday, March 30. Her sight is equivalent to a 1-2 month old, so good and bad there. She's improving, just at a very slow pace. She is seeing more than just red, and B&W. She was only seeing these two combinations for a while, but she's seeing most dark/primary colors now. She does recognize when people come into the room and turns her head in that direction (same with sounds). They predict she will have functional eye sight, which includes seeing objects. They are making a hypothesis at this point since she's so young, we will know more when she's between 2-3 years of age. We will continue to see the eye doctor every few months.

Tuesday, March 31 - Pediatrician
Makenzie is 16lb 1oz (50%), 26.5 in (75%) and 10% for head circumference. She is doing better, but growing at an ok rate for now. She got 3 out of 4 of her 6 mo shots and has slept alot and when awake been fussy since then. Hopefully it will wear off soon.
Kaitlyn was in the greatest mood when we went to the dr. She had her annual checkup, but no shots since she chose to have them at 4.5 yrs. She was laughing 90% of the time she was being examined. I think we will request this new pediatrician when we got back for the girls. Kaitlyn is average for height and 75% for her weight. She is growing a great rate for her age.
Sydney was at preschool when we went to the doctor. She's not due for another check up until she's 4 (Oct).

Wed, April 1 - Neurologist (VanDyke)
The neurologist was happy to see her eye sight improving. That was encouraging. He is expecting her arms to gain strength. Her arms right now are still acting as if she is a newborn. She doesn't bring them into her midline very often, but we work on it every day. We play games and sing songs, so we're hoping someday soon. I put her hand up to her mouth yesterday and she was excited to discover her fingers. We tried it a few times and she was chomping on her hand everytime. Maybe this will help in bringing her arms up to her face and to her midline. Her arms are still stiff, so I'm trying everything. The main thing coming out of this appt was his comment about her being disabled. We know that she will have multiple disabilities, we just won't know how severe until 2-3 years of age. As they say... only time will tell.

Thurs, April 2 - weekly physical (PT) and feeding therapist (OT)
PT - Beth commented on how Makenzie has done well the last two weeks. You can tell she's fussing because she's tired, not just to fuss. She tried baby push ups with her this time. Very interesting, but I think it will help with her head control, arm strength and keeping in mid-line. She practiced her rolling on a decline. Makenzie was very fussy, but she worked hard. Her eye sight is helping with her physical therapy.
OT - Sarah also commented on how Makenzie is doing well this time and last time. We tried a different flavor with her this week. She didn't seem here or there about it, but she did take the 'thickened cranberry juice' a few times. I have tried the same flavor everyday since last Thursday and she's doing good. Sarah said we can try formula too, so we'll try that sometime too.

Long update, but thought I'd fill you in. Let me know if you have any suggestions on what you have experienced in therapy or heard from someone that has. Sometimes simple suggestions make a world of difference.

Next Monday, April 13 - developmental specialist (Burdo-Hartman)

Have a great Easter everyone!

Kaitlyn turns 6!

Kaitlyn turned 6 on March 6! The pictures are from a party we had for her where we invited the kindergartners from the neighborhood along with their siblings. We had a blowup playground, pinata and cake! What a great time! (I need some advice on posting pictures...)

For those of you that have been following the blog...
We made the trip to SE MI for the funeral. It was quite a trip, but we made it with some help from the family. I couldn't have done it without help that's for sure. It was a tough trip both physically and emotionally, but much needed. Makenzie was blessed along with her cousin Becky (while we were there) from the pastor after the luncheon. Thank you, Aunt Barb.

News on Makenzie...
Makenzie had an EEG a few weeks ago and is NOT having seizures! One less thing to worry about. We also had a vision consultant come in last week and had alot of good things to say about Makenzie's eyes. She is doing MUCH better than last Dec when the eye doctor saw her. She is focusing better and tracking other colors than red. Red and contrast colors (ie black and white) are the first colors you see, so she's at least progressing. She is tracking side to side AND up and down. She was not doing this a few months ago. The vision consultant gave us alot of tips on how to work with her, so we will be trying all kinds of things with her. The things they come up with amazes me. I was just happy to get some good news about Makenzie. It felt so good to hear she could tell I was working with her, it reconfirmed I made the right choice about deciding to stay home with her full time.

Tastes are yummy!

Makenzie is learning to take a little something from the spoon! It's a drop at a time, but it's a step in the right direction. We had a good session yesterday sitting up in an upright position (which doesn't happen too often). Her vision is getting better everyday and tummy time is getting better too. These are all the successes in the last few weeks. She is becoming less irritable and more calm everyday, but it takes alot of therapy (hence the stay at home mommy career change). We are hoping everyday the next few doctors appointments are more positive, so we'll see.

Kaitlyn turns 6 tomorrow (Fri)! She's going to 6 on March 6! She's pretty excited!

We're going to try and take a trip down to SE Michigan tonight, just me and the 3 girls. My uncle passed away and the funeral is tomorrow. If Makenzie doesn't get better this afternoon, we won't be going, so we'll see. Wish me luck if we do venture out.

Thanks for checking in. I'll try to have a new pic next time. See you next week!

Cmas 2008

Here is a picture of the Greer Girls at Christmas this past year. It's the only picture I have with all three girls. Everyone keeps asking me for a picture, so this is it for now.

I am officially unemployed. Feels weird sometimes, but I am definitely needed at home with the demands of therapy and constant care Makenzie needs. I will also be having Sydney full time in about a week. She will be attending preschool through the school system this fall when Kaitlyn goes to first grade. I'll be glad when it's nice outside. The nice weather can't come soon enough.

Anyway, thanks to all of you that helped us in all kinds of ways. We have so many people to thank, where do I start? We have really gotten to know our church family and everyone's been a great support. Meals have been provided along with people's time and we really appreciate it! My family has been great coming up to pitch in too. Ken's mom was able to stay with us for a while right after Makenzie was born until it was time for her to go to Florida. Our neighbors have also helped us with babysitting and meals. We also appreciate everyone attributing to Makenzie's account (Greer Family Fund). It will definitely come in handy when she is able to attend special therapy sessions that aren't covered by insurance. Ken's work (Herman Miller) created the account when they did a benefit for Makenzie a month after she was born. My work (Wolverine) has also supported us through our rough time. We have friends far and wide that have sent meals, so THANK YOU EVERYONE!!

I am just starting to feel more like a normal person now. I only have a few times during the week where I need to rest instead of every 5 min everyday. I would not be where I am today without the support of my dear husband, family and church family. Thank you for helping us out, so I didn't put so much strain on myself.

Kaitlyn and Sydney have adjusted well since my surgery. They are doing well and look forward to staying home with Mommy. We are keeping up with Kaitlyn's homework and reading and Sydney is working on her workbooks. Makenzie has her exercises everyday too.

That's all for now! See you here next week!

Welcome to my first blog!

Our family has been blessed with three girls. As some of you know our newest addition, Makenzie, was born in late Sept with many complications. She suffered oxygen loss which has caused her to have severe and multiple impairments which impact her vision, sucking reflex, coordination of her limbs, and her future development. Since I will be unemployed tomorrow, I thought I'd start a communication link to all that care to check in... I will try to post an update once a week, but please forgive me if I don't. Thanks for all those that have been so supportive of our family, especially Grandma Theresa, Aunt Mar, Grandma Greer, Kele and all of our new Grace Lutheran friends.