Parker has discovered his voice….and he uses it most of the day! It is hilarious to listen to him make all sorts of noises and even more funny when he discovers he can make a new one and then does it over and over. Everytime we pull out the video camera though, he completely freezes up so I shot this one with my cell phone so sorry for the poor quality but sometimes you have to get what you can get with what you can get it with 
Parker has tried pretty much all the Stage 1 foods that Gerber has to offer. We started him on veggies and then introduced the fruits because I thought if he had the sweet fruits first, he might not eat the veggies but actually I think he prefers the veggies. After the first few weeks, his favorites are sweet potatoes, carrots and squash. His least favorite is definitely sweet peas. He is SUCH a good eater. He just shovels it in. I really mean it, he actually helps you feed him. He assists your hand in getting it in his mouth because you aren’t doing it fast enough! As of today, he is eating 1 container mid-morning or lunchtime and another around dinnertime. I think we are about to increase it to 3 a day because he is a machine. He is still getting 4-5 bottles a day, most of them 6 oz but we are now giving him a 8 oz bottle at night to help get him through the night. His typical night is still about 12 hours of sleep with maybe 1 or 2 wake ups where he just needs a few pats on the back and his paci to get back to sleep. We are so proud of him and how wonderful he is doing. What a blessing Parker is to us!
The day after we got home from the beach, I took Parker back to the ortho to get his cast off. Hopefully this will be his last cast he will ever have to wear! When Dr. Locke took it off, his foot looked beautiful! It was in the proper position and we knew the second surgery was successful! I am so thankful that Parker’s foot is now able to flex like God designed it to do and that it is turned the way it is supposed to so that as he grows he will be able to run, jump, hop…whatever he chooses to do on those beautiful feet.
We will continue to do a lot of stretching, strengthening (Johnny jump up mainly) and conditioning so that he will continue to make progress. The game plan is to wear the brace/ boots /dobbs bar another few months for 23 hours a day and then hopefully just wear it at nap and bedtime for a few years. I give God the glory first for what he has done so quickly in Parker’s foot. I know that He is Parker’s healer and I have trusted Him from the beginning to take care of Parker. Second, I have to give major props to the doctors we have seen and just how amazing this whole Ponseti method to treat club foot. I am so thankful to live in a country where this is available.
Thank you Lord for this beautiful child
and for his beautiful feet
I know I mentioned that Parker is eating Stage 1 baby foods and that he loves them. But I failed to mention that we had tried him on rice cereal first. We introduced it the day he turned 4 months old (June 27th) and tried it for several days before introducing the baby food but he hated it! I mean really did not want anything to do with it. Baby food it is Mr. Parker!
Yuck! Doesn’t look very good to me either Park….
After we finished up with court to finalize the adoption, we took off for our summer vacation to the beach. We spent the week of the 4th of July down at my parent’s house in Surfside and loved having a break from it all. We were all in desperate need of some rest and relaxation! Scott, Parker and I were able to enjoy the few days by ourselves of doing absolutely nothing. We napped a lot, played a lot and just enjoyed time together. Since temperatures were well over 100 with the heat index, we decided against actually taking Parker on the beach. With all the heat in addition to his little cast and the extra caution we have to take with the sun due to the loss of pigment from the eczema….we just decided some indoor play time would be easier and more enjoyable for everyone.
On Tuesday, my parents and siblings (minus Brad) joined us. Shannon also brought Mammy so you know Parker got lots of attention! Lots of cousin lovin’ going on!
While we were on vacation, we also started Parker on Stage 1 baby foods…..and he LOVES them! He is such a good eater!
Praise the Lord! On June 29th, 2012, Judge Chewning signed the order to make it official that Parker will forever be mine and Scott’s son. What a wonderful day!
Parker Porter Wilbert, this is the name you will forever have. I have tears in my eyes now as I type it. I look at the picture above and love the family I see. I could not imagine any other child being in my arms. This is the child that was chosen for me, chosen for Scott, before we could have even fathomed it. Thank you Judge Chewning for the precious words you spoke to us that day. We will forever remember this day and it means to world our family.
I know I have said it before, but I can’t finish this post without thanking my Lord for granting me the desires of my heart. He knew everything Scott and I would need, when we would need it and he knitted the perfect plan together for our lives. Thank you God for always loving us and taking care of us, your children. Thank you for entrusting this child to us for this time. Use us, use him and use our family for your glory.
It is hard to believe Parker is 4 months old!
We went for his well visit and he weighed 16 lbs, 5 oz (75th percentile) and was 25 3/4 inches long (75th percentile). Dr. Wheeler said he is looking great and is right on track for where he should be. Parker is talking up a storm with all sorts of babble and cooing! It is so amazing to watch how interactive he is becoming. He is now sleeping through the night, usually between 11 and 12 hours a night. He still wakes up occasionally between 5am and 6am but only needs a couple of pats on the back and his paci put in and he falls back asleep. We are trying to put him down by 9:30pm and he is waking between 9am and 9:30am. He has been sleeping in his crib in his room for almost a month now and does sleep with the ocean sound machine still. He is napping in the morning for 2-3 hours and again in the afternoon for another 2-3 hours. He is taking four or five 6 oz bottles a day. We are still using the Enfamil AR formula and he is loving it! The reflux is much better but he is still spitting up a good bit. He is still on 2 doses of Prevacid a day. After his 4 month visit, we started rice cereal. After a couple of days, we began to introduce Stage 1 foods. So far, he has tried sweet peas, sweet potatoes and green beans and has loved them all! Parker is enjoying car rides much better now that we have gotten him the portable DVD player. He actually seldoms cries in the car and most times, you don’t even hear him unless he is talking to the DVD player. He loves hanging out in his nap nanny and doesn’t mind his swing but only for short periods of time. Parker is wearing 3-6 month clothes in most brands but probably not for much longer because he seems to be getting too long for them. I have already started buying 6-9 months at The Children’s Place and I am sure the next round of Carter’s clothes I buy will be 9 months. Parker is such a happy baby and we continue to be so blessed by him, each and every day!
Is enough to make me want to scream some days! For four months, Parker’s clubfoot has been a part of our daily lives. Having an infant with a full leg cast is a challenge – sponge baths, being extra careful with diaper changes for a little boy, trying to keep the reflux off the cast, you get the picture. Last week I really wanted to scream though. Parker was not himself beginning Saturday night. All day Sunday I knew something was not quite right. Monday it continued and finally I called Scott at work to say it had to be something with his cast. Scott called the ortho and he said to come first thing Tuesday morning. We did and after they took his cast off, he saw that there was a problem with the pin in his foot. The “pin” is more like a really long nail with a marble on the end. The “marble” was now going up into his foot and causing a lot of discomfort and pain. Dr. Hydorn decided to remove the pin right then and there and I almost lost my tummy as I watched. Parker is such a little trooper though. They casted him again immediately and he settled right down and slept on the ride home. He has not been fussy since so I know that was the problem. It is hard enough with a baby who can’t tell you where it hurts and then to add this element just makes things extra interesting at times. This makes 2 times that we have run into unforeseen issues and I have just reached a point where I am over it. I am ready to be done with casts for Parker’s sake. I know we still have a long road of the braces, boot, bar and all that jazz but at least I can always see what is going on. Oh yeah….and we can bathe him again. Thank you Jesus for the little things that are so easily taken for granted!
On June 14th, we made our first trip to the dermatologist. We are seeing Dr. Welch and she has diagnosed Parker’s skin as a severe case of eczema. That stinks! She gave us some topicals to apply and she saw us again on June 28th. I guess she didn’t think the first medicines were working as good as they could because she ended up prescribing 4 others – 1 for his scalp, 2 for his skin and 1 for his diaper area. My eyes are now open to how EXPENSIVE these medicines are…my GOODNESS! We got 3 of the 4 but passed on the one for his diaper area because Dr. Wheeler had written us a prescription the day before at his 4 month visit for the eczema and yeast and I think that is helping and that medicine alone was over $250….not in my budget! We will go back July 11th and I am hoping that these medicines will help his little skin clear up 
Our beloved Gamecocks made it back to the CWS so we spent a lot of June cheering them on!
I realized today it has been almost a month since our last blog post….YIKES! Where does time go? It seems our last month has been filled with doctor’s appointments for Parker squeezed between me trying to work and cook and keep the house somewhat in decent shape which leaves little time for blogging. But we are actually on vacation right now so I have a little time to play some catch up! These were taken June 8th, about a week after Park’s surgery. As you can see, he is doing fine in his cast and loving time in his nap nanny. We are so blessed that he enjoys hanging out in this little contraption so much. He will sit in front of the TV (normally watching Baby Genius) and just talk to himself for almost an hour. What a blessing!
