Baby Austin

It's about time for an Austin post! We are so blessed by him. He is full of happiness, chubbiness and seriousness. He is either super smiley and happy, hungry or he'll just sit there and soak everything in with a smug look on his face. He's hilarious. He loves to put his fingers in his mouth constantly. He devours them. It's really funny. He's already rolled over a few times which isn't good since I'm usually just leaving him on the couch while I go fix lunch or do something for Braylen.

It has taken him a few months to feel more comfortable and content. We really had a rough start with him. We decided with my doctor to schedule an induction on his due date. I have had a few friends that were induced so I just didn't think there were ever any complications with them. I'm not sure why I trust everything without researching it, but I do. I'm trying to not blame myself or keep looking back to the past but I do think a lot of Austin's current issues may have to do with him being induced. I tend to blame myself for not letting him come on his own but I know there is nothing I can do about that now. When I was induced we learned that he was face up which resulted in pushing for 2 hours and led to my doctor using the forceps. Which led to his face being completely bruised and had a swollen lip. The bruising led to Jaundice- the red blood cells that are part of the bruises are broken down and produce bilirubin as a byproduct. Which led to 3 days in the ICU under the lights. From there he started sleeping and looking only to the right side, never to the left. I started to notice this around 6 or 7 weeks. He was diagnosed with torticollis and plagiocephally. Ever heard of those things before? Me neither. Torticollis is a muscle condition in the neck- "twisted neck." He is going to physical therapy to help strengthen his neck muscles. Plagiocephally is basically called "flat head syndrome." He has this because of the torticollis and sleeping on the right side of his head so much. He has torticollis from either his position in the womb or because of a difficult delivery (ie: forceps). To repair the shape of his head, he will more than likely need to wear a helmet for a few months. And now my heart is breaking. They have to wear the helmet for 23 hours a day from 2-6 months. I know that in the long run it will be worth it. We have an appt in a few weeks to determine if he needs it or not. Shew. That is a lot of info.

I love Austin so very much. We all do. We are thankful that God has given him to our family. I am thankful that his current issues are "fixable" and are not something that we will need to be concerned about in the future. God has really allowed alot of things to happen over these few months. We continue to try and trust that he is still in control and knows what is best for our family. I am telling these things as a way to keep account of our life but also as way to inform other parents. If I had known about the difficulties of an induction I may have taken a different. Not everyone has these issues either! You just never know I guess. But now you know about torticollis and plagiocephally. :) And if you see a little babe in a helmet it is more than likely a way to repair their sweet little heads.

Here are some photos of Austin when he was born. It's amazing how quickly his bruises and swollen lip disappeared.

And now! These were a few weeks ago so he's even chubbier now!