I took the day off work today to spend with the "boys." Daddy, Jack & I went to Jack's swimming class this morning and it was fun. Jack is doing so well. He now will lie on his stomach and use his arms and legs in a swimming motion while you hold him in the water. He also stands on the side of the pool and will jump in to you if you hold his hand and catch him. He goes underwater...and can usually get himself back up. He LOVES the water slide...and goes underwater and struggles before I can get him back up every time he slides down...and he doesn't seem to mind at all. He wants to keep going back down again.
After swimming classes, we headed to the pediatrician for his 15 month appointment. Jack went crazy! Granted...he was overtired ..as he should have been napping at that time...but he literally was screaming and crying and yelling "Mama" the whole time we were in the examination room. He kept pointing to the door asking to leave....he was so upset. Dr. Littleton felt this was normal for his age. She also assured us that his not wanting us to touch his face, hair, ears, etc. was something that he would outgrow. (She said if he is still resisting that sort of contact at 18 months we would talk about it then.) She was impressed that he can recognize colors and recognize and say certain letters (A, E, D, O, U, I, S).
Jack weighed in at 27lbs 4oz (85% going down!) and was 33 1/2" tall (off the charts) with ahead circumference of 50 cm (97% going up) So we have a tall slim boy!
His hair is so pretty and curly. Everyone assumes he is a little girl as we have not had the heart to have his hair cut yet. He is starting to run (it is so cute to watch him try to run). He likes to dance and LOVES music. He sucks in his breath (Mommy does that) every time he sees something pretty (flowers, Easter eggs, candy, etc.) It is darling!
He is till nursing...and loves to nurse all night long. I am not sure how I am ever going to wean him. I love him more than anything.
He is taking a late nap right now (on our bed). When he wakes up we will have a snack and then head off to the mall to do some shopping for some summer baby cloths...and just to have fun! Happy 15 months sweet baby of mine!
Friday, April 30, 2004
Thursday, April 15, 2004
Darby Is Gone.
Sweet Darby died this morning. He died alone...on his bed in the kitchen. I wish we would have been with him. I pray he did not suffer. I cannot even begin to express the grief we are feeling. He has been with us for 8 years and our hearts are breaking. Darby is an angel now. I will never forget him...or the first day I saw him jumping up on that fence wagging his little tail at me and barking. Darby I love you.....
Things I don't want to forget about Darby:
*How he wiggled all over when he saw children.
*That his name was Alex when we rescued him...but we changed it to Darby because I always wanted to name a daughter Alexandra and call her Alex.
*How he used his paw to scrape at the door when he had to go out.
*How he barked nd barked and barked...all of the time...just for the fun of it.
*How he loved his dog chews.
*How he wouldn't eat much for days after his best friend Damien died.
*How he would bark as we got close to our new home when we went to visit it during its construction.
*How smart he was and how proud he was when he was competing in obedience at a dog show.
*His big beautiful brown eyes looking up at me.
*How he would let Jack take food right out of his mouth.
*The way that he would hump up his back when you scratched him near his tail.
*How he loved to sleep on the bed with us until he got too bad to go upstairs.
*How he LOVED to go "bye bye"...anywhere in the car...and how he would bark and squeal with excitement whenever we took him somewhere.
*How he would race around the park in Hilliard with his choppy little gait (before we knew he had wobblers) running after his best friend Damien.
*How he would start barking as soon as he heard the toaster click down or smelled my toast cooking. (I always shared my toast with him in the mornings after he became paralyzed.)
*How he LOVED his Dad.
*How much he hated the "white dog" and Alaskan Malamutes.
*How he screamed in pain during his first episode of wobblers.
*How he loved everyone...and was always happy no matter what people did to him or regardless of what life dealt him...he was always happy with life.
*How very much I loved him.
Oh....I don't know what we are going to do without him.
Things I don't want to forget about Darby:
*How he wiggled all over when he saw children.
*That his name was Alex when we rescued him...but we changed it to Darby because I always wanted to name a daughter Alexandra and call her Alex.
*How he used his paw to scrape at the door when he had to go out.
*How he barked nd barked and barked...all of the time...just for the fun of it.
*How he loved his dog chews.
*How he wouldn't eat much for days after his best friend Damien died.
*How he would bark as we got close to our new home when we went to visit it during its construction.
*How smart he was and how proud he was when he was competing in obedience at a dog show.
*His big beautiful brown eyes looking up at me.
*How he would let Jack take food right out of his mouth.
*The way that he would hump up his back when you scratched him near his tail.
*How he loved to sleep on the bed with us until he got too bad to go upstairs.
*How he LOVED to go "bye bye"...anywhere in the car...and how he would bark and squeal with excitement whenever we took him somewhere.
*How he would race around the park in Hilliard with his choppy little gait (before we knew he had wobblers) running after his best friend Damien.
*How he would start barking as soon as he heard the toaster click down or smelled my toast cooking. (I always shared my toast with him in the mornings after he became paralyzed.)
*How he LOVED his Dad.
*How much he hated the "white dog" and Alaskan Malamutes.
*How he screamed in pain during his first episode of wobblers.
*How he loved everyone...and was always happy no matter what people did to him or regardless of what life dealt him...he was always happy with life.
*How very much I loved him.
Oh....I don't know what we are going to do without him.
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
OPur Sweet Baby Dog Darby is Not Doing Well.
Our sweet Dalmatian Darby may be dying and it is breaking our hearts. Darby was rescued by me when Paul and I were first married when an idiot called my law firm to ask whether it was legal to shoot a dog in the city. I, of course, went and picked up the little 6 month old pup...and he has been with us for the last 8 years.
He is the sweetest little guy....just wiggles with love for everyone (especially children) and he has always had a lot of energy...and he does love to bark. However, he has also been cursed with horrible medical problems. He has had two knee surgeries, and had to have his crumpled broken tail removed soon after we adopted him. As if that weren't enough....the little guy was diagnosed with wobbler's disease (a slow narrowing of the spinal column which eventually pinches off the spinal cord causing paralysis and death) at just three years old.
For the last 5 years we have been fighting this disease. Darby has seen many doctors and we have consulted with specialists all over the country. He has been on prednisone for 5 years (to keep the cord swelling down) and had 6 hour major spinal cord surgery in Michigan about 3 years ago. The surgery has allowed him to have some years of good quality life. Last January 27, though....we took him in to the Ohio State University Vet Hospital to see the specialist there as he was getting weaker and wobblier...and after another myelogram...they told us what we didn't want to hear...that Darby's spinal cord was being pinched very severely and that there was nothing more we could do.
Since that time, we have loved him as he got weaker and weaker....until he was unable to walk at all last November. He has been a quadriplegic since that time...and Paul has been carrying him in and out of the house to do his business, feeding him, propping him up, moving him to the window, taking him outside for walks in a cart, etc. Throughout it all....Darby has remained so happy. He wags his little stub tail when we come him, he barks for treats and at people and dogs passing our windows. He eats like a mad-man....and has kisses to give anyone who will lean down to get them. Animals are amazing beings in that they sure make the best of whatever life gives them...Darby is true proof of that. I love him so much.
Anyway, we have been weaning him off the prednisone (as it was causing him to bloat up and to lose hair). Darby's doctor said to watch for pain...as the pred also prevents the pain from nerves being pinched. A few days ago, Darby started yelping softly when Paul picked him up to take him outside...and this morning he was breathing in a strange sort of gulping way. He wasn't in distress....but we knew something was really wrong.
I guess the fear is that the spinal cord is being traumatized to the point that it no longer is sending proper signals to his body to breath. We moved him around a bit after a call to a vet friend....and he was breathing better before I left for work. But Paul said he isn't drinking or eating...and was not responsive to people who came over to pet him while they were out walking in his cart today.
I don't know what to do. I love him so much....and my heart is breaking. This poor little dog is so young (he is only 8 years old!) and has been through so much. Please God....help us do what is right for Darby....please take care of him....we love him so
He is the sweetest little guy....just wiggles with love for everyone (especially children) and he has always had a lot of energy...and he does love to bark. However, he has also been cursed with horrible medical problems. He has had two knee surgeries, and had to have his crumpled broken tail removed soon after we adopted him. As if that weren't enough....the little guy was diagnosed with wobbler's disease (a slow narrowing of the spinal column which eventually pinches off the spinal cord causing paralysis and death) at just three years old.
For the last 5 years we have been fighting this disease. Darby has seen many doctors and we have consulted with specialists all over the country. He has been on prednisone for 5 years (to keep the cord swelling down) and had 6 hour major spinal cord surgery in Michigan about 3 years ago. The surgery has allowed him to have some years of good quality life. Last January 27, though....we took him in to the Ohio State University Vet Hospital to see the specialist there as he was getting weaker and wobblier...and after another myelogram...they told us what we didn't want to hear...that Darby's spinal cord was being pinched very severely and that there was nothing more we could do.
Since that time, we have loved him as he got weaker and weaker....until he was unable to walk at all last November. He has been a quadriplegic since that time...and Paul has been carrying him in and out of the house to do his business, feeding him, propping him up, moving him to the window, taking him outside for walks in a cart, etc. Throughout it all....Darby has remained so happy. He wags his little stub tail when we come him, he barks for treats and at people and dogs passing our windows. He eats like a mad-man....and has kisses to give anyone who will lean down to get them. Animals are amazing beings in that they sure make the best of whatever life gives them...Darby is true proof of that. I love him so much.
Anyway, we have been weaning him off the prednisone (as it was causing him to bloat up and to lose hair). Darby's doctor said to watch for pain...as the pred also prevents the pain from nerves being pinched. A few days ago, Darby started yelping softly when Paul picked him up to take him outside...and this morning he was breathing in a strange sort of gulping way. He wasn't in distress....but we knew something was really wrong.
I guess the fear is that the spinal cord is being traumatized to the point that it no longer is sending proper signals to his body to breath. We moved him around a bit after a call to a vet friend....and he was breathing better before I left for work. But Paul said he isn't drinking or eating...and was not responsive to people who came over to pet him while they were out walking in his cart today.
I don't know what to do. I love him so much....and my heart is breaking. This poor little dog is so young (he is only 8 years old!) and has been through so much. Please God....help us do what is right for Darby....please take care of him....we love him so
Wednesday, April 7, 2004
More Words....
Jack is starting to say more words and understand so much!
Yesterday when playing with his little Matchbox cars Nana got him he held up the blue one and said ooooh (for blue) and then picked up the green one and said eeeen (for green).
No matter where we are...he manages to find letters that he recognizes. (Like "O" or "A" or "E"....he mistakes several letters for "E"s...those are his favorite letters...but he can always find the "O"s) He sees letters on the television, on the bottles in the refrigerator, on an envelope, on the walls of buildings, on trucks, etc. He LOVES letters!
He also is saying "buh" whenever someone says "Bye".
Another thing he is doing is that when he nurses to sleep at night...he now wants to look at the Goodnight Moon book while he is nursing. He wants me to read it to him...but will hold it and look at it out of the corner of his eye while he nurses if I won't read it to him. He is very particular about this and goes crazy looking for the book and will not rest until he finds it. Last night, I was trying to get him to nurse without it...so I started reciting it by heart:
"In the great green room there was a telephone and a red balloon ...
and a picture of a cow jumping over the moon.....
and three little bears sitting on chairs...."
I stopped there because that is all that I remembered. The funny thing is, he stopped nursing and said "chee chee chee" which he says to indicate the "two little kittens" (becasue I say it in a little high pitched mouse-like voice when I read that part). I looked at the book...and that was the next line of the book! My baby!
I just LOVE my baby so much. I wish he could stay this cute and sweet forever!!!
Yesterday when playing with his little Matchbox cars Nana got him he held up the blue one and said ooooh (for blue) and then picked up the green one and said eeeen (for green).
No matter where we are...he manages to find letters that he recognizes. (Like "O" or "A" or "E"....he mistakes several letters for "E"s...those are his favorite letters...but he can always find the "O"s) He sees letters on the television, on the bottles in the refrigerator, on an envelope, on the walls of buildings, on trucks, etc. He LOVES letters!
He also is saying "buh" whenever someone says "Bye".
Another thing he is doing is that when he nurses to sleep at night...he now wants to look at the Goodnight Moon book while he is nursing. He wants me to read it to him...but will hold it and look at it out of the corner of his eye while he nurses if I won't read it to him. He is very particular about this and goes crazy looking for the book and will not rest until he finds it. Last night, I was trying to get him to nurse without it...so I started reciting it by heart:
"In the great green room there was a telephone and a red balloon ...
and a picture of a cow jumping over the moon.....
and three little bears sitting on chairs...."
I stopped there because that is all that I remembered. The funny thing is, he stopped nursing and said "chee chee chee" which he says to indicate the "two little kittens" (becasue I say it in a little high pitched mouse-like voice when I read that part). I looked at the book...and that was the next line of the book! My baby!
I just LOVE my baby so much. I wish he could stay this cute and sweet forever!!!
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