On Wednesday, Anthony had his procedure to change his G-tube to what they call a "button." He did great, and didn't need the ventilator while under sedation. The "button" is more like a cork or plug, and not what we expected, but that just means we're more motivated than ever to help him get to the point of taking all his feedings and meds by mouth. The doctor recommends not removing the button until we haven't used it for 2 months, so our goal is to get it removed by early September. It's Sunday and we haven't needed to use the button for any feedings or medications at all yet. Anthony's pediatrician visit went well this week also and he doesn't have to go back for another month!
This week we also went to visit Anthony's daycare providers. He'll be starting there 3 days a week starting on July 8th (gulp!). It's going to be hard to leave him, but we feel really good about the place we've chosen, and I'm ready to go back to work.
We all enjoyed a great weekend of family time. The weather's been just perfect in Portland! We all (even Arnold) spent some time just enjoying the yard. This is something we dreamed about doing when Anthony was in the hospital. It's hard to describe what a happy thing it was for us to just all be together on a beautiful day- I'm sure you all know what we mean. Here's a video:
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
Some Pictures
Here are some pictures to brighten up a Monday morning.
He knows how to have a good time!
Arnold helps Anthony work on his gross motor development:
Anthony's author photo for his autobiography book jacket:
He knows how to have a good time!
Arnold helps Anthony work on his gross motor development:
Saturday, June 20, 2009
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!
Happy Father's Day to the best Daddy any little boy could ever have! I love you!Friday, June 19, 2009
NICU Graduates
Anthony had a playdate with his friend Elise this week. We met Ellie and her parents in the NICU. She was born about 2 weeks after Anthony, at just 26 weeks. And now look at her- chubby cheeks and all! Ellie came home from the hospital the day before Anthony- we are convinced they were waiting for each other to go home.
We are so proud of our little fighters!
We are so proud of our little fighters!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Friends
Sam and Eliza came to visit Anthony over the weekend, along with their parents. As you can see, Sam is a real pro at baby holding, thanks to lots of experience with his sister!
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Hanging Out at Home
Anthony's been home for 3 weeks now! He'd like to show you some pictures of life at home...
Most days I get to go for a walk in my stroller with Mommy and Daddy.
My Daddy's a funny guy...
My Daddy's a funny guy...
Sometimes I just like to sit around the house naked- you know how it is!!!
I also like to spend a lot of time on Daddy's lap.
Friday, June 12, 2009
"Who's been sleeping in my bed...?"
You just never know what new sight being a parent will suddenly reveal to you.This is what we discovered in Anthony's bassinet when we ducked into our bedroom one evening this week...
Don't worry, Arnold. You're still our baby, too!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Climate control and Grandma
We now have central air and a new furnace. We're enjoying our new climate-controlled house, but of course as soon as the AC was installed it got cool and cloudy again!
Today is a big day. We are all taking Arnold to the vet. It should be quite a scene- wish us luck!
We have some new pictures, but haven't had a chance to post them yet- soon! In the meantime, here is an overdue video of Anthony with Grandma Jeanne from last week:
Today is a big day. We are all taking Arnold to the vet. It should be quite a scene- wish us luck!
We have some new pictures, but haven't had a chance to post them yet- soon! In the meantime, here is an overdue video of Anthony with Grandma Jeanne from last week:
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Another clean bill of health!
Anthony had another pediatrician appointment today, and he's continuing to do really well. Oxygen saturation was again at 98%, lungs sound great, and he's growing like a weed (12 pounds 8 oz today- up 11 ounces from last week). The doctor said we can eliminate Anthony's 2 am feeding starting Thursday. We are going to want to set the alarm to check on him in the middle of the night anyway! Yesterday we went to the gastroenterologist for a followup about the feeding tube. We have an appointment set up for June 24th to get the tube changed to a "button"- this is easier to manage, and it's routine to do this when a g-tube will be in for a while. We'll do this if it's needed, but we're REALLY hoping Anthony won't be needing the g-tube by then and we can just be done with it.
We'll be having some construction workers around the house this week- we're getting central AC and a new furnace installed! We've wanted to do this for a long time, and this week's heat gave us the motivation to finally get the wheels in motion. The air quality in the house will be much better, which is good news for Anthony's lungs. One of the things they'll be doing is cleaning out the heating vents with a giant vacuum cleaner. We hope Arnold will recover from this experience without too much PTSD. Note to anyone who wants to visit this summer- the upstairs bedroom will be much more comfortable now!
After our doctor visit yesterday we took Anthony with us to the nursery to buy some plants (Garden Fever on Fremont for you PDX-ers). It was the first store he's ever been in! It was so great to do something so "normal" with him! Already we are feeling so much more comfortable than we were just a week ago.
This whole blogging thing is new to us- we have to figure out how to get the pictures where we want them on the page. We'll figure it out eventually.
That's all the news for now- Anthony loves you all (and so do we)!!!
We'll be having some construction workers around the house this week- we're getting central AC and a new furnace installed! We've wanted to do this for a long time, and this week's heat gave us the motivation to finally get the wheels in motion. The air quality in the house will be much better, which is good news for Anthony's lungs. One of the things they'll be doing is cleaning out the heating vents with a giant vacuum cleaner. We hope Arnold will recover from this experience without too much PTSD. Note to anyone who wants to visit this summer- the upstairs bedroom will be much more comfortable now!
After our doctor visit yesterday we took Anthony with us to the nursery to buy some plants (Garden Fever on Fremont for you PDX-ers). It was the first store he's ever been in! It was so great to do something so "normal" with him! Already we are feeling so much more comfortable than we were just a week ago.
This whole blogging thing is new to us- we have to figure out how to get the pictures where we want them on the page. We'll figure it out eventually.
That's all the news for now- Anthony loves you all (and so do we)!!!
Monday, June 1, 2009
The joy of home...
Incredibly, Anthony's been home with us now for over a week! It's been the happiest time imaginable! He is just such a wonderful little person and it's quite a reminder of how much amazing communication can happen with no speech! We can only imagine how full our hands will be when Anthony can talk! He's already getting more phone calls than we are!
He's doing really well! The hardest thing is keeping up with the feeding schedule. Babies are supposed to eat every three hours, so that makes things pretty interesting! Prepping bottles in advance is a big help, but it is truly amazing how fast those three hours go! Before you know it you're heating up a bottle again! Anthony has kind of a hard time taking his full feed sometimes, as it kind of wears him out. You may remember Anthony has a G-tube which we can use if we have to for the nutrition he's too tired to finish. Nobody likes having that tube, so we are trying to help Anthony in every way we can so that the tube can be removed sooner rather than later -- but it will probably be with us for a couple of months.
Anthony's already had his first regular pediatrician appointment and he passed with flying colors! Good blood oxygen and good weight -- and maximum cuteness! How amazing rather than grimly heading to visit him in the intensive care unit, to instead be fastening his carseat down and going to the doctor's all of us together!
The heat here in P-town has been very warm this week, which has also been a challenge. None of us are used to it! But we are actually hearing some distant rumbles of thunder right now in the distance, so we may clear the air with a nice little storm later. Here's hoping! We took some time out to put some new plants in the greenspace in front of our house this afternoon and it would be great to have them get watered in! Susan helped Paul with ideas for where the plants should go, "Don't you mean, two of them over here...?" with Anthony strapped into Susan's new baby sling, likewise helping out in the garden.
We're feeling so grateful to have this time off from work to just be with Anthony and get to know all his little behaviors. Any excuse to go down the block in the stroller, we'll take. Giving him a bath, changing his diapers -- just sitting together and smiling at each other -- there's just nothing better and there seems to be no mood or happening that Anthony can't somehow manage to make better just by his being there! His eyes just stare up at us all innocent and loving and when he smiles...it's the best thing in the world.
Sometimes, we'll find ourselves thinking of the NICU and hoping that the babies and parents there now can all share in a similar happy outcome that we have been blessed enough to enjoy. Having been through those long months and all the uncertainty and anxiety will probably take us a while to fully get past -- or even fully realize how it messed with us. Without question, it was the hardest thing we've ever been through. It's also so incredibly worth it that words can't possibly do it justice. Our little boy is home with his parents. We're his parents!!! And while we get a little goofy and uncertain sometimes about what to do, we wouldn't change one hair on his little head (not that there are that many yet!) -- and there's nowhere else we'd rather be. We've
never felt luckier or happier in our lives. Being Anthony's parents is a wonderful thing!
He's doing really well! The hardest thing is keeping up with the feeding schedule. Babies are supposed to eat every three hours, so that makes things pretty interesting! Prepping bottles in advance is a big help, but it is truly amazing how fast those three hours go! Before you know it you're heating up a bottle again! Anthony has kind of a hard time taking his full feed sometimes, as it kind of wears him out. You may remember Anthony has a G-tube which we can use if we have to for the nutrition he's too tired to finish. Nobody likes having that tube, so we are trying to help Anthony in every way we can so that the tube can be removed sooner rather than later -- but it will probably be with us for a couple of months.
Anthony's already had his first regular pediatrician appointment and he passed with flying colors! Good blood oxygen and good weight -- and maximum cuteness! How amazing rather than grimly heading to visit him in the intensive care unit, to instead be fastening his carseat down and going to the doctor's all of us together!
The heat here in P-town has been very warm this week, which has also been a challenge. None of us are used to it! But we are actually hearing some distant rumbles of thunder right now in the distance, so we may clear the air with a nice little storm later. Here's hoping! We took some time out to put some new plants in the greenspace in front of our house this afternoon and it would be great to have them get watered in! Susan helped Paul with ideas for where the plants should go, "Don't you mean, two of them over here...?" with Anthony strapped into Susan's new baby sling, likewise helping out in the garden.
We're feeling so grateful to have this time off from work to just be with Anthony and get to know all his little behaviors. Any excuse to go down the block in the stroller, we'll take. Giving him a bath, changing his diapers -- just sitting together and smiling at each other -- there's just nothing better and there seems to be no mood or happening that Anthony can't somehow manage to make better just by his being there! His eyes just stare up at us all innocent and loving and when he smiles...it's the best thing in the world.
Sometimes, we'll find ourselves thinking of the NICU and hoping that the babies and parents there now can all share in a similar happy outcome that we have been blessed enough to enjoy. Having been through those long months and all the uncertainty and anxiety will probably take us a while to fully get past -- or even fully realize how it messed with us. Without question, it was the hardest thing we've ever been through. It's also so incredibly worth it that words can't possibly do it justice. Our little boy is home with his parents. We're his parents!!! And while we get a little goofy and uncertain sometimes about what to do, we wouldn't change one hair on his little head (not that there are that many yet!) -- and there's nowhere else we'd rather be. We've
never felt luckier or happier in our lives. Being Anthony's parents is a wonderful thing!
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