The Results are In

Hannah had her EEG this morning to rule out seizure activity once and for all. SHe had to be sleep deprived for the study so I had to wake her up at 4am and force her to stay awake until the EEG at 7am. This was not easy. FYI she normally sleeps until 7:30. 6 months ago when I was praying she would sleep through the night, I would have never guessed that I would be trying to keep her awake at 4 am just months later. Regardless, we made it through. Hannah was exhausted and so was I. I had to sing many songs, clap, shake her arms, dance around, do an obnoxious amount of animal noises, basically whatever it took to keep her awake. The most difficult part was definitely the car ride to the doctor's office because she was already so tired and the car always puts her to sleep. My clapping wasn't working so I had to keep rattling the car seat. We made it to our appointment at 6:30am and met the technician. No, she still couldn't sleep. First she had to lie on a table very still while the tech drew on her head with a pink highlighter and attached 26 individual electrodes. SIde note: when the Dr. measured Hannah's head he said "she has a good size head." He was so taken by it's size he proceeded to measure mine and Tim's heads to get to the bottom of who's genetic makeup it was. I lightheartedly share that my head is normal and TIm's is large and above the 90%. Like father, like daughter. Hannah was absolutely amazing the whole study. Despite being tired she didn't cry and lied perfectly on the table. The Doctor said a lot of kids have to be sedated because they pull the electrodes off, but not Hannah. She just held her lovie and looked straight at her mommy. THe tech said she was the easiest baby she has ever done an EEG on. And if 26 wires dangling from her head wasn't enough, then they wrapped her whole head and under her chin in a white cloth. Only her little eyes, nose and mouth could be seen. It was really sad, but she kinda looked cute. In fact the tech recommended a mummy for a Halloween costume. I know so many kids can't stand to even wear a hat and Hannah was a champ through it all. Finally the study began starting with a bright strobe light in an attempt to provoke a seizure. Finally, I was able to give Hannah a bottle and put her to sleep on the table. I have been so worried about her because I just couldn't bear it if anything else was wrong with Hannah. She is too sweet to have any more issues to deal with. Well, the call just came in from the neurologist and he said her brain waves look NORMAL! He said that unless they get worse (which he is not expecting) then they are benign motor movements that will eventually go away once the nervous system develops more fully. I am so happy and while I still don't like seeing her have the movements I feel like I can rest more easily knowing we did the scan.

Neurologist Appointment

About a month ago I wrote about Hannah having strange little spasm like episodes. She has continued to experience this everyday for the last month. I have shown the video footage to three pediatricians non of which could tell me what they were. So being the persistent and slightly crazy mother I am I decided I wasn't going to rest until someone actually helped her or told me what she is doing. Today we went to a pediatric neurologist and showed him the footage. I felt like I could trust him better since he specializes in seizure disorders. Tim and I both really liked him and felt good after meeting with him. He does not think they are seizures however he is going to rule them out tomorrow morning for good with an EEG. I am so glad we are having the EEG because I think it will put my mind at ease. Also he mentioned that since Hannah is being put under for her surgery it would be important to know if she has seizures. The test is at 6:30 in the morning and she has to be tired so we have to wake her up at 4am. It doesn't hurt Hannah they simply attach electrodes to her head and measure brain activity for one hour. I hope it all goes well. I will keep you posted on results but it sounds promising.

This picture is unrelated to an EEG, but really cute. Hannah loves her new "little Giraffe Bear Bath Towel"

Proud Momma

Hannah is growing so quickly and I finally understand why parents say "they grow up so fast." Part of me feels sad that she is getting big and the other part is proud of her accomplishments. Hannah is 6 1/2 months old and I am pleased to say that a few days ago she started rolling over! yeah, I knew she could do it. She is also sleeping without her snuggly wrap. Hannah can sit so well now that you can leave her on her blanket with toys and she won't fall over. This has been very helpful because she plays while we pack. Hannah can stand by herself while holding onto something like the couch, takes only two naps, is showing interest in crawling by kicking her legs while on her stomach, and has moved up to stage two foods. Stage two foods are thicker which is always difficult, but we keep plugging along. Hannah and I finally met a friend in our apartment complex. A little girl born in January named Josie who has a nice mommy who just moved from Tennesse. Figures we finally meet someone nice and now we are leaving, but we are sooooo excited to move! A week and a half left. P.S. Hannah was huge next to Josie. Her favorite activities lately include holding cups, listening to animal noises, playing peek a boo, looking in mirrors, and of course playing with/eating all of her toys.

Back in San Jose, But not for Long

After almost a month of travel, we are home safe in San Jose. However, it will only be called home for two more weeks. The packing begins...

Here are some long over due pictures of our vacation. THe first two weeks were spent in Bishop (See previous post). Then we stayed in Orange County, visited friends and family, went to the beach for the first time, met our new friend Cole Markos, and found a new apartment in Aliso Viejo. Hannah is currently sitting on her own, picking up and playing with everything, enjoys pulling hair, loves looking at dogs, and tries to drink from cups. SHe is a very happy baby.



Play date with friends Luke and Cole.



First time at the beach

Welcome to the World Cole!

We are so excited to announce the arrival of Hannah's friend and my best friend's son Cole Thomas Markos. He joined the world on July 6th at 6:49 and weighed 7 lbs. 13 oz. I am so happy for Madeline and Derek to experience the blessing and miracle of a precious baby. I love him already and can't wait for play dates. In other good news, we are moving home to OC!!! So proud to announce that Tim was hired in Saddleback Unified School District. There were 100's of paper applicants and two days worth of interviews and Tim was the best! We couldn't be happier and now must start packing.

Finally, here are some pictures of our current adventures. SOrry for the delay. Bishop doesn't have the best Internet service so I am sitting at Starbucks to ensure my loyal followers got an update.

YOSEMITE: you have to drive through yosemite to get to bishop so we decided to stop and go on a little hike. It was so beautiful and we couldn't believe how powerful the waterfalls were. People were wearing ponchos so I had to cover Hannah when we walked by.


BIshop: THis is where Hannah's Daddy grew up. IT is so beautiful and Hannah is a lucky little girl to have such a fun place to visit grandparents.


FIsrt Hike! Hannah loved pulling the leaves off of the trees.


Happy 4th of July. Swimming, fireworks, and homemade icecream. It is so wonderful that the tatum crew love to spend time together. 25 people in one house, two dogs and four babies does make for a crazy vaca but it is so much fun and i feel so blessed to be in the fam. And dont forget the first annual family talent show. Hannah's talent was sitting.



Hannah and Weston had matching flag swimsuits. She loves him so much.


THe Tatum females


First fishing trip at North Lake.