A half a year old!

Wow!  Jacob is 6 months old!  We can hardly believe how fast the time has gone by.  Six months feels like a major milestone as a family, but we have several other big moments ahead (read on). 

At Jacob's 6 month check up he weighed in at 17 pounds 8 ounces and about 28 inches.  Still tall for his age and average for weight.  He continues in physical therapy and is getting stronger all the time.  Jacob's world seems to be getting bigger too as he's learning to play, grab toys, and look around at everything.  He also has his first cold now, which is making him a bit crankier than usual.  He is sleeping through the night more often though, which is a bonus for mom and dad too.

The big news for this update:  we found out yesterday that Jacob will need more surgery.  In the process of getting him fit for a helmet to reshape his head, he ended up getting a skull X-ray and a CT scan of his head.  These showed that he has "craniosynostosis" which means that some of the skull bones have fused prematurely.  Untreated, this would result in a less than optimal space for his brain to grow, leading to increased risk for developmental delays.  Since he's already delayed a bit, the surgery is even more necessary. 

This surgery will likely take place over the next 1-2 months.  Today, we met with a pediatric plastic surgeon who will also be part of the surgery.  Fortunately, he suggested we do one surgery at at time.  It's called a "barrel stave" procedure, which I thought my dad would appreciate as a winemaker.  But the added challenge is his shunt, which will need to be removed and replaced during the surgery.  We know this is the right thing for Jacob, but it's a big surgery!  He'll be in the ICU for at least 1 day and then in the hospital for several more days. 

We ask for your continued prayers for Jacob and for us.  We are still trying to sell our house and are excited that our offer was accepted on another house here in Tacoma.  In the perfect storm, the house would sell and Jacob would have his surgery all at the same time.  God does have a Master Plan for us and is with us.  One day at a time!

As we are getting ready for surgery, we'll post more updates for sure!  Love to all of you.