Hemangioma Update

Thank you for all of the prayers and support. We had a very good visit with Dr. Metry of Texas Children’s hospital this morning. Although Harper’s hemangioma is growing rapidly, the placement and shape of it is actually doing great. Until it moves down onto the eyelid, it will not cause any damage to her vision. We have a follow-up appointment with the pediatric ophthalmologist in a couple of weeks just to be sure all is on track but we’re not expecting anything negative to come about. Dr. Metry said that Harper’s Hem. has very little surface area (which is the red part) which will leave very little scarring later on once it does go away. She said it is deep but that it is not growing into the bone and should flatten out nicely. The tricky part is knowing how long it will take to flatten out. Most Hem. grow for about 5 to 6 months then gradually flatten out by the time they are 2 or 3. If it hasn’t gotten better by this age then they will surgically remove it. Our options are pretty cut and dry right now; let it flatten out on its own or give meds twice a day (propranolol) to speed it along. While the medication is not FDA approved to treat hem. they use this on patients every day and have seen significant results. For now, Grant and I are going to see what it is going to do on its own to try and bypass introducing any medication to her. For those of you wondering, the Dr. also confirmed that it does not hurt or cause any harm to her in any way, even if she bumps it. She said it could split open and you would treat it as if it were any other wound. So, now we are scheduled for an appointment on May 26th to re-measure the growth and will give you another update then.

Great news for us! God is Good!

5 Months!

Our sweet pea is 5 months old! She is growing up so fast and changing daily. I have no idea as to how much she weighs these days but I know she's getting heavier when I'm toting that car seat around plus she has moved up a size in diapers to the 2-3s. My right arm is going to be huge by the time she's a year old :) Who says new moms need to pump iron? Harper is still in "snack mode" as I like to call it. She eats every three hours and if we're lucky she'll eat 4 1/2 ounces. Dr. Lange would like for her to make it to 6 or 7 so she will sleep more through the night but hey, I'm not force feeding her nor do I want to develop bad eating habits. For now, mama is perfectly fine taking an hour twice a night to feed our little pumpkin.



Harper laughs and babbles away every day. Makes Grant and I smile every time and she has developed such a sweet little personality. She is in love with her feet and her cute little toes and sometimes they make it into her mouth. Pawpaw says she better enjoy that now because when she gets older, no can do buckaroo. Some of my favorite time with Harper is in the morning right after she wakes up and her bath time. Every morning Harper wakes up goo and gaaing away. We sit in her rocking chair and rock for about 20 minutes to make sure she's good and awake before I plop her on the changing table. She is so cuddly in the mornings and every day my heart pours out for her. We've introduced rice cereal into her diet and that can be quite hilarious too. The other day she decided she was over the cereal but I kept trying to offer it so she clinched up both fists and make this face with a squeal to say, "no more"! Can we say Attitude?!







Crawling and sitting up have been the latest on her agenda. She can get anywhere going backwards and pretty darn quick. She will get up on her hands and knees but I don't think her legs are strong enough to do the rocking back and forth. She is doing a pretty good job at sitting up as far as support goes but she is very wobbly.

Learning to hold her own bottle



Harper brings such a joy to our life and we thank God every day for our little miracle baby!

Easter

We had a wonderful Easter with the family this year. Harper didn't have a clue as to what was going on but next year should be a lot of fun! The Easter bunny brought Harper some new play clothes since she is quickly growing out of her wardrobe. Allie and I took the kids to the mall to get their picture taken with Mr. Easter Bunny. Walker was SO not impressed and Harper didn't have a care in the world. 15 years from now, they will look back at the picture and just laugh. Mom's side of the family had a picnic out at Meyer park so we all met for lunch and had an egg hunt. It was a beautiful day; we couldn't have asked for better weather. Here are some pics of the bunny and park.

Walker and Harper at the park



Uncle Stephen



Aunt Meesh



Harper loves to put everything in her mouth now



Cousins!



Walker trying to share Harper's favorite toy, Sophie



Uncle Stephen and Ashley



Good Ole Easter Bunny



My love!