Heart of Beckett

UPDATE (12/23/2013)

Well this update is long overdue. There are so many things to say I don’t know where to begin. Let’s just start with Beckett is doing so well! We could not be happier, and we are so grateful God has brought us to this new phase in our journey.

Beckett and I survived our 15, well actually 16 due to a missed flight, days without daddy. I won’t say it wasn’t tiring, but it was truly enjoyable to spend so much quality time with my son. Beckett and I played and played, went Christmas shopping with my mom and sister, party planned for his birthday bash, and worked on learning new skills. Beckett just went along without complaint everywhere we drug him. It all just seemed so normal and I loved every minute of it. It is so remarkable to me how we have gone from an extremely abnormal life to a seemingly normal one in a matter of a few short months. While Beckett and I were able to share each day just the two of us, we are so glad to have daddy home so we can all be together for Christmas. And as much as Jonny enjoyed England, he was glad to get home to us as well. I must say I had a lot of help while Jonny was gone. After eight months in the hospital it is clear we have made some lifelong friends, and there are so many people that truly love Beckett. I had to continue working while Jonny was gone which meant there were five days I needed someone to watch Beckett. I guess being in the hospital for so long was a blessing in disguise because I had a number of people I would trust to watch my son. As you can imagine, I can’t just take him to the babysitter, and I wasn’t just leaving for a few hours. I had five shifts to cover, and that means over 14 hours away from Beckett each shift. Try finding people to watch a baby with medical needs for that long. Well, it wasn’t too hard. Thanks to friends from Riley and St. Vincent NICU’s, as well as my mom, I didn’t have to miss any work. Scott, Kelley, and Mom, thank you so much for all your help! Thanks also to those who were more than willing, but weren’t able to make it due to work or weather. Jamie, Kendall and Chrissy that means you!

Beckett continues to make progress with his occupational therapy. While Jonny was gone Beckett began sitting up on his own for very short periods of time. We have been working on increasing his endurance and his confidence and Beckett can now sit for as long as he wants. He does wobble and tip over every now and then, but we just help him back up and he is happy as a clam. In fact, he would rather be sitting than lying down. Now he still doesn’t like tummy time, so he isn’t strong enough to get into sitting on his own, but he only needs a little help. Now that he is actually sitting, we are working on being on all fours. He definitely hates this one. He cries almost immediately, but it has been that way with all the other skills before, so it will only be a matter of time before he can do that too. My goal was to have him sitting by Christmas so I could sit him in front of the tree for a picture. Mission accomplished! Our next goal is crawling, and while there are so many nice things about an immobile baby, I am looking forward to seeing him move across the floor.

Beckett also had another surprise when daddy came home. Beckett cut another tooth! I actually didn’t even know he was getting one until it was already through. Beckett is such a good little baby; he’s happy all the time and hardly anything seems to bother him. Now he has three teeth, and I am sure the other upper tooth will be here soon.

Beckett also had two different speech evaluations this month. One was for home therapy and the other was as an outpatient at Riley. We are slowly trying to introduce puree foods, so he is trying baby food. Finally! We are truly beginning to work on eating. It mostly consists of putting food on the tray and letting him play in it. Occasionally he sticks a finger in his mouth and gets a taste, but not all that often. We also try feeding from a spoon as long as he tolerates it. He didn’t do too badly with mashed potatoes. They weren’t joking when they said this was going to be a long process, but at least we now have a plan and ways to work on it.

This week we will be celebrating Beckett’s first Christmas as well as his first birthday. This has truly been a horrifying yet beautiful year and I can’t think of any better way to see it end. We have endured some very long dark days, weeks, even months, but we have also been blessed with excitement, love, and more true miracles than we can count. We have grown as people and as a family. This week we celebrate a life that demonstrates the perfect picture of God’s faithfulness and power. It was not so long ago we not only couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, but there were days we weren’t sure the light even existed. Now, it’s hard to believe it has already been a year. We can celebrate a year of life. Through all the trials, the fears, the doubts, the worries, Beckett has always had life. Saturday we celebrate a very eventful year. Beckett’s life is a gift and his birthday is an extremely significant milestone. Thank you for being a part of this year with us. We would not have this year any other way. We pray you each have a very Merry Christmas. And Happy Birthday Beckett!!