Mother and Child

Giving the Phenobarb is hard, but watching him rest is sweet.

(Sarah was never the same after that tragic neck accident.)

Charlie is so cozy, Mama falls asleep too.  But just for a second.

Porcupine

I went to Target to return something. Getting ready to leave - I packed both kids in the car and drove off without my stroller. I just left it sitting in the parking lot with my Target purchases. At my next destination I opened the back end of my car to realize that there was no stroller. Zoomed back to Target - thankfully someone had returned the stroller to the help desk. Round two. I packed the kids AND the stroller in the car. Driving down Northwest highway a moment later something flies off the roof of my car. I glance into my purse. It was my wallet. I had left my wallet sitting on the top of the car. So I stop the car and throw on the emergency lights, play chicken with on coming traffic to gather up my ID, credit cards, everything. Back at home I unpack the kids and the Target purchases. What's this in the bottom of my stroller? Oh... a rug mat from the clearance isle that I forgot to pay for. Let's add shop lifting to the list. I laugh at my self and tell Walker that Mama has had a long day. He says, "Its okay to be a porcupine". I say, "What?". Walker says "You're just porcupined, that's all." I say "What... a porcupine?" Walker speaks slowly as if I can't understand plain English, "Yes. You're a little porcupine."

Then I realize. He means "preoccupied".

Here's a shot of the boys this morning:

Canoodling

Charlie and Daddy catching some face time this afternoon. 

Thank You Friends

Tonight, we are awed, humbled and immeasurably grateful for our strong community of friends and loved ones.  You have all been following the progress Charlie the Wonder Boy and more than a few of you have shown up at our door with meals, gifts and play dates for Walker.  Your love and generosity has made Jack and I feel that no matter what happens with Charlie's diagnosis, our family is going to be okay.  And now, you, our village, have gone one step further and done this:

Dear Fans and Admirers of Charles (Charlie) Baird Greenman,

Many of you are already avid followers of Charlie's journey and share your support and love for the Greenman Family. As a friend, neighbor, and the lucky mother of a little girl (Mackey) who got to go to "play-care" with Walker and Sarah, I am so fortunate to bear witness to the love, courage, and strength of Charlie's parents and one-of-a-kind big brother. Like many of you, a question that often crosses my mind is "what can I do to help?"

Charlie is surrounded by family and medical professionals who have one goal--to help him heal. He is the only boy I know with an entourage extensive enough to make famous types jealous. And it probably goes without saying that even with a good insurance plan, this kind of specialized care is expensive. Ah, here is a way to help.  What better way to demonstrate that "It takes a village," and the village that exists across the country in support of Charlie is a powerful one. I invite you to visit Charlie's all-new, personal blog, http://charliesfund.blogspot.com, and make a donation to Help Charlie Heal. All donations (be they $10, 20, $50, or more) go into a savings fund designated for health care costs (deductibles, co-pays, out-of-network specialists, etc.) now, and in the future. I've listened to enough public radio pledge drives to believe that every bit counts and will go a long way.  And the best part…we, our village, will reap the benefit of witnessing little Charlie continue to thrive!  Click HERE to make a donation.

Thank you,

Anne Engelking Smith

Anne, how can we ever thank you?
All our love and gratitude,
Jack and Sarah

Urology and Underwear

Charlie Update:

When Charlie was in the NICU, his doctor ran a routine renal ultrasound because Charlie wasn't voiding.  This scan revealed that Charlie, among his many other health issues, has a duplicate collecting system in his left kidney.  Turns out this is pretty common.  About 10 percent of people have an extra urine tube that connects their kidney to their bladder.  This extra system is refluxing urine from Charlie's bladder into his kidney which puts him at high risk for urinary tract infections.  Charlie has been on a low grade antibiotic for the past seven weeks, which is causing distress in the lower regions.  Basically, he's constipated because of the meds.  Yesterday, we saw our urologist for a follow-up.  They did another ultrasound that showed some abnormal swelling at the mouth of these tubes which denotes that the reflux might be worse than we previously thought.  So, Charlie came home with a stronger dose of antibiotics and a promised return visit in three months for another renal ultrasound and a test called a Renal DMSA, which is a scope that will go up inside the tube looking for scar tissue and determine kidney functionality.  Our doctor will make a decision at that time about how we'll proceed.  If he "grows out of it", she'll leave him be.  If the swelling is still present and the kidneys show scar tissue from infection, she'll do surgery to eliminate the extra collecting system.  Our doctor said that with all of Charlie's other issues, he shouldn't have to expend extra energy dealing with infections.  The last thing that our Doc ordered is a spinal ultrasound.  She noticed that his spine has a disc that is out of alignment (I've noticed this too) and that his torso is very very long.  Charlie's bladder, kidneys and digestive tract are set lower in his body than other babies and she's concerned that he is a little out of proportion.  So, I'm going to find Charlie an infant chiropractor and we'll also have a spinal ultrasound sometime in the following two weeks.  So now, in addition to his regularly scheduled visits with our pediatrician, the fall line up looks like this:

October - spinal ultrasound, repeat sedated MRI, ECI physical and occupational therapy

November - repeat Echo Cardiogram, meet with Craniofacial surgeon, continue ECI

December - renal ultrasound, renal DMSA, continue ECI

Again, thank you for your continued support and good wishes.  Charlie is doing very well at home with his family and is now topping the scales at 12 pounds!  He looks great and is showing all sorts of wonderful connected signs of health, personality and chutzpah!

Charlie during his ultrasound.  Obviously the flash startled him!

And now, the gratuitous photo portion:

Walker is very proud to be wearing "big boy underwear".

   

Click the arrow to peek in on our afternoon:

Good Morning Charlie

Time for another installment of "The Many Faces of Charlie Baird"

Bowl-O-Rama

We spent a very noisy, but fun afternoon celebrating a friend's third birthday at the Bowl-O-Rama! For most of the kiddos, this was their first time bowling, so they set up some "helping" tools to get the ball down the lane. Walker had a strike his first time out! Charlie, however, was not impressed with all the loud crashing sounds and chose to sleep cocooned inside a blanket on Mama's chest. I don't blame him.

The next three photos were taken by Amy, another sweet mama at the party. She had a real camera - with changeable lenses and everything.

Walker was showing us how Michael Jackson dances.

This morning, before our bowl-a-thon, Walker did some painting. Here are his pieces - all of which he titled himself.

"Race Track"

"Snakes"

"The Red Potty"