Nicholas | My First Baby | A Life Update

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I’ve been talking about Olivia a lot lately, that makes sense, but maybe I’ll update everyone on my other kids one at a time. Nicholas was my first baby and probably will always be my baby no matter how tall or old he gets. That just the way things work right?

He is nine now! Seriously nine! I’m not sure where the time went and how he grew up so fast, it is exciting just as much as it is sad that I can’t cuddle him like I once did. As Olivia sleeps on my chest and fits perfectly in that space I am reminded how Nicholas was one that size, sleeping in the same spot. Now he is to my shoulders and sooner rather then later he will be taller than I am!

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Nicholas has had so many health issues throughout he short life, some I’ve talked about or just mentioned. He was born with a duplication of chromosome 15, something we didn’t know until he was almost 5. Prior to that knowledge we knew he was just sick, lots of fever’s, GI problems, attention and development problems.

My first baby

I took him to every Dr who would listen, put him in every program beyond school that may help and while to some extent it did we are still at times struggling. Some day’s its a lot, some day’s not so much. Either way he is and always is a joy, he is usually full of smiles and stories (even if you don’t always know what he is saying).

Now at age 9 we are on year 3 of an ileostomy bag, which has made his life so much more then it once was. Gone are the bi monthly hospital stays and Dr’s are just for follow up most of the time. He has also had a G tube now for 18 months, this helps us keep him hydrated so he doesn’t require IV fluids. See without a colon you don’t absorb enough water and it takes a lot of drinking to stay hydrated, kids don’t tend to drink enough to begin with so he was constantly becoming really sick.

He still had slow days, days I can tell he is just too over heated to function right and then days where his metabolism doesn’t work right with his medicine so he has more energy then he knows what do with.

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We are entering 3rd grade next week and I know school is going to be a struggle, he is getting older and is more aware of his differences and limitations and so are the other kids. We tell him all the time that its ok, he is unique! But that doesn’t stop him from feeling strange compared to his peers.

He is very delayed in school and struggles a lot, he cannot read yet regardless of the time we’ve spent with him or special programs/tutors he has been enrolled in. Although reading is not good he is finally starting to grasp basic math, which he loves. Picking him up from school and hearing about doing math is always exciting.

So here is to a new year, with my first born. The little boy who made me a mommy, filled my life with so much and made me who I am now.

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