Every now and then we make a breakthrough that is not only a milestone for Owen, but a big leap forward in how easy it is to take care of him.  Today was one of those days. 

Up until now Owen has not been able to sit up in a grocery cart.  A simple thing, but it means that I have to push a stroller and a shopping cart at the same time.  This is just as much of a hassle as it sounds.  His sister Sammy would help when she came with me and would push the stroller, but many times I had to do it alone.  As Owen got heavier, the stroller was getting harder and harder to maneuver. 

Owen's recent progress in sitting up made me think that today was the day to try and see if he could sit up in a grocery cart while we did our shopping.  He did wonderfully!! He sat in the cart for an hour and 45 minutes in Walmart!  He was pretty tired by the time we were done, but I was so proud of him.  Below is a picture I took with my phone because I just had to document the occassion:

You can't see it, but he does have a bit of help. I have the "Take-Anywhere Strap" from Beyond Play around his middle.  The strap looks like this:

Once he had been sitting for a half an hour and I realized that this was really going to work, I splurged for one of those cart seat covers with all the toys.  The one I chose had lots of toys, and a pillow that went behind him so that he wouldn't hit his head on the cart when he leaned back for a rest. Below is a picture of Owen hanging out with his new setup - I went ahead and installed it while we were still in the store.  He loved the toys! 

Shopping was such a joy.  Not just because I didn't have to manage the stroller along with the cart, but now Owen is sitting right up near me and is facing me so that I can talk to him while we're shopping.  In the stroller he is way down and facing away from me and that seems a bit lonely. 

Happy Saturday!!

Today Owen went for his post-op exam and CT to make sure that the new shunt is behaving itself.  It's always more fun to go to these things when Owen is doing well and is happy.  Dr. Grant was very happy with the way things look in Owen's brain.  The tissue has expanded out nicely and is adjusting well to the lower pressure. 

Below are two copies of CT scans.  The first was done at the local hospital ER in January, and the second was done today at Duke. It's a little hard to compare them because they were done on two different CT scanners in two different orientations and slightly different slices, but you can see that at the top there are now two nice, narrow channels - instead of the wide open space in the first one.  In the lower left you can also see where the tissue has gotten thicker. 

So it was a good visit and the biggest worry was that Owen couldn't eat just in case he needed sedation for the CT (which he didn't and never has). He was a bit cranky about that, and he has decided that he does not like any doctors and will wail whenever someone in a white coat gets near him.  But it's still worth it to see the much improved scans and well healed incisions.

That's all for tonight, I just wanted to share the good news!

I have to admit that today's entry is more to test a couple of new features than anything else, but it is a good excuse to put up a couple of pictures and give a quick update on Owen.  The features that I have added are ones that you can't really see. The first was to put in a way to update the blog from my phone.  While we were in the hospital a few weeks ago, I realized that I couldn't update the blog because I didn't have my laptop with me. I rely on the blog to tell the family (and friends) when things are happening during surgery, etc. My brother was kind enough to add updates for me (thanks!) but it would be nice to be able to add quick things from my phone. 

The second feature that was obviously missing during our hospital stay was that of having the blog automatically send out an email to subscribers when I added a post.  My brother could add updates, but I had to call everyone to tell them to look for them because he didn't have the email list.  So if all goes well, an email will automatically be sent out to all of the subscribers when I hit the "Add Post" button. 

So, enough about the technical stuff - the real question everyone wants the answer to is: How is Owen doing?  The answer is that he is doing fabulously!  The new shunt is definitely agreeing with him.  We also called the GI doc to get some advice on cleaning out the intestinal tract because he keeps getting so backed up.  Well, 3 days of enemas and magnesium citrate - followed by several days of 3 tbl of Milk of Magnesia - followed by even more days of 2 tbl of Milk of Magnesia have really improved Owen's outlook on life!  It has also caused Pampers' stock to go up by $1.

So Owen has been nothing but smiles and laughs for the last two weeks.  It has been great, especially after several weeks of him being miserable.  He has now figured out that the walker doesn't only work in the room that he starts out in.  He's a Man About Town lately and gates have been put up at the stairwells.  He cruises from room to room with ease now.  He is also "talking" up a storm lately.  Lots of new sounds and non-stop babbling.  I have some video that I will try to put together in the next few days. 

And, of course, there must be pictures.  Below is Owen in the T-Shirt that I bought him for Earth Day last year.  I just love it!

That one was taken a few days ago.  Today I caught a few of Owen hanging out in the walker out in the kitchen.  We don't have the blanket attached to the poles for head support anymore, but we have found the poles useful to hang toys on.  The eyes looking down on him are on the hat that went to the spider Halloween costume.  The hat is too small for his big head, but he likes to look at anything with a face and he "talks" to it all the time.  You will also notice that I have added rubber bumpers to the sides of the walker.  The hard oak and the bolts were doing damage to the furniture.  I have also had to replace the wheels.  Owen spends almost all day in the walker now, and he wore out the first set!  I put some more heavy duty models on this time, hoping that they will last a bit longer.

I love my Slinky!

My Happy Boy is Back!