We had a wonderful 1st Christmas with Connor!  My parents had a full house for the week as Patrick, his dog and the three of us and our dog all moved into 304 Garden Grove for the week.  Sarah, Clint and their 2 boys also spent the night on Christmas Eve so we could all be together!  Mom was in Grammy heaven (i think!).  It was so fun watching Brooks discover all the fun toys Santa brought and we had a extra Christmas surprise... IT SNOWED!!!  This is very rare occurrence in north Texas and to have a white Christmas was special!

 pops reading the night before christmas

 look connor!  its snowing!

 go 'noles!

 cousins

 santa brought a pirate ship!

Our little man isn't so little anymore!

     Last week at his 2 month appointment he weighed 15 pounds (97+%) and was 22 1/2 inches long (40%)!   The doctor was pleased with his growth and said "he looks absolutely perfect".  I am hoping his weight gain slows a little bit so I can enjoy a "little" baby a while longer.

     His left arm is doing great and is just as active and strong as his right.  Connor is able to hold his head up pretty well on his own and loves stretching out and kicking his arms and legs around!

We went to Oklahoma City for Thanksgiving and were away from home for 10 days.  Connor got to meet a lot of our friends and family and was really well behaved.  Thanks to Anthony's mom "Cici" we were able to go out a couple times without the baby!

     Connor is such a good baby. We have been able to take him most anywhere and he rarely cries in public.  We have been able to go out to dinner, shopping and even went to a Christmas concert put on by the Houston Symphony.  He is starting to sleep through the night and sleeps from 6 to 8 1/2 hours straight!  This makes for a very happy and rested Mommy!

     Sarah, Clint and Brooks welcomed little Bennett Payson into the world in November and we are all able to be at the hospital to meet him!  Connor is excited to have a cousin his age with whom he will cause lots of trouble!

     I am going back to work part-time in the new year and am already dreading leaving my little guy but I am also looking forward to seeing patients again :) We found a great home daycare that Connor will attend 3 days a week.

 

Our precious Connor is 6 weeks old and the most darling baby.  He is truly a gift from God and we couldn't be more thankful for him.  I think back on my pregnancy and how he literally GREW inside me for those 9 long months.  I obviously knew that at the time but seeing the end product is just amazing.  Every little pain and discomfort was absolutely worth it and part of a miracle.  He is perfect and I often pinch myself just to make sure this is all real.

Connor is growing so fast.  He weighs around 12 1/2 pounds and is quite chunky!  His belly is big and already has arm and leg rolls!  You would never believe he was in the NICU for the first 10 days of his life or that we wasn't allowed to eat for the first 5 days.  His left arm is almost 100%.  He moves it all around but it is just a little weaker than the right but gets stronger all the time.  During tummy time, Connor is starting to hold his head up and rotates it side to side.

We went to Dallas last weekend and Connor slept the whole 3 hour drive!  My mom threw a little sip and see for our friends there to meet him.  He slept the entire time and the rest of the day.  Poor little guy was worn out!  He still eats about every 3 hours during the day but is starting to stretch out night feedings and giving me 4-6 hours of straight sleep!

I am feeling great and am fully recovered from the c-section.  I started running again this week and am slowing getting back in shape.  My goal is to run a half marathon in the spring.  Anthony is in full force Ironman training.  He wakes up early to train and fits in workouts during his lunch break so that he gets to spend time with Connor and me in the evenings.  In the morning, Anthony gets Connor from his crib and loves on him before his morning feeding and hardly puts him down in the evenings.  It is so sweet to see them together!

We are heading to Dallas this Friday to meet our new nephew/cousin.  Sarah's c-section is at noon and we are so excited to meet the 3rd little boy cousin!  After that we are heading to Oklahoma City for the week of Thanksgiving. We are happy that all our friends and family are going to meet Connor.

Thanks again for all the prayers, messages and texts!  Hope everyone is enjoying the cooler weather.  I am taking advantage of my little baby heater named Connor and spend much of the day snuggling with him :)

Connor had his one month appointment yesterday and he gained 3 pounds in two weeks!  He is 11 pounds 4 ounces.  I guess all those hours we spend nursing are paying off!  He is in the 94th percentile for weight and 50th for height.  Anthony is disappointed with his height and his hopes for Connor to be an Olympic swimmer.

Connor is moving his left hand and wrist!!  It's an answer to all our prayers!  I knew it would just take time for the nerves to heal but seeing that cute little hand open up for the first time brought tears to my eyes!  It is still not as strong as the right we are hopeful that it will be soon.  While the doctor was examining Connor yesterday he commented on how strong his legs are and of course Anthony's response was "he's going to be a great cyclist".  God help this child if he doesn't love all things triathlon!

The blood clot is GONE!!!  We went for another ultrasound 2 weeks ago and the blood clot in his brachial plexus was no where to be found.  The doctors thought this would take up to 6 weeks and we would have to continue to give him the blood thinner shots twice a day until it was gone.  Thankfully we don't have to give those shots anymore it just broke my heart every time the tiny needle poked his leg.  Thank you all so much for the prayers they have truly been answered!

Here are a few pictures from the past couple weeks!

Here are some pictures of Connor's nursery.  There are a couple more things I need to hang but who knows if/ when that will happen.  I am glad that I got the bulk of it done before Connor made his early appearance =)

Last Thursday we got the go ahead to GO HOME!  YAHOO!!!!  The only test/ procedure still on the doctors list was figuring out the right amount of Lovenox (blood thinner) to be giving Connor each time.  Every person metabolizes the medication differently and it is important to always give the right dose so we would have to drive back to the hospital in downtown Houston on Friday morning for another blood test but I didn't care... after 9 long days we were finally going home!!!  I carried Connor in the front door and introduced him to our dog Maddie who kept her distance and just sniffed him.  Any time he cries she walks over to me and looks in his direction as if I can't hear the cries also.  It really is sweet.

Connor is just a doll.  He rarely fusses and if he does he is easily soothed.  He loves noise and being in motion (riding in the car, sitting in his swing or just being rocked).  He actually sleeps a lot better if there is some sort of noise and nothing is too loud not even Maddie barking at the door bell.

My mom flew down here last Saturday and had been so much help!  She drove us to doctors appointments until I got released to drive, has been cooking lots of yummy food and just being the best Grammy to Connor.  We have also made daily trips to the grocery store, Target, the mall and even to meet Anthony for lunch.

Anthony went back to work on Monday but calls often to check on our little man and can't get enough of him once he gets home.  Connor definitely knows Anthony's voice because he always perks up when he gets home.   Daddy and son really bonded during those first few days in the NICU before I was discharged from the hospital.  It is so sweet to see them together.

Thank you so much for all the prayers and good thoughts we truly felt the love and are so blessed to have all of you in our lives!

Cheering on his two favorite college teams on Saturday

ready to start riding bikes with daddy

father son bonding :)

The neuro team ordered MRI's of his brain, neck and brachial plexus to check for any neurological problems which they said could take up to 4 hours and he has to be very still while in the loud MRI machine.  If he was moving too much they would have to put him under mild sedation which I really didn't want to happen.  One of the care flight nurses was with him the entire time and was stocked with breast milk and sugar "soothies" to help him be calm.  This flight nurse happens to part of a group that Anthony swims with and he known her and her husband for the past couple months so we felt very comfortable with her taking our little man to the tests.  He did great and did not need any sedation!!!

 Just a few hours later the doctors came to tell me the good news that his brain and neck looked totally normal and there are no signs of any clots or bleeding!  They did say there was some inflammation around some nerves in the brachial plexus causing mild nerve damage which correlates with the theory that he got his arm stuck or something while in utero which caused the blood clot and mild nerve damage.  They think this happened in the couple days before he was born when I noticed the decreased movement.  I am so thankful that my doctor wanted to go ahead with the c section and not induce me or just monitor the movement for another day or two.  The neurologist told me that she is quite confident that he will regain full use of his arm over the next few months!  Good thing his momma is a physical therapist!  I'm going to have to revisit my pediatric class notes :) They actually might send us to a a pediatric PT to get going with exercises.

We are just waiting for the two hematology tests tomorrow and if they turn out good we can go home!!!!  Finally!  Connor is 1 week old today and we are so ready to take him home to meet Madddie and start our life together out of the hospital!  Thank you so much for all the prayers and good thoughts they defiantly worked!

Sweet baby Mercer, Connor's neighbor in the NICU, passed away last night surrounded by family and friends.  They know he is no longer suffering and is in a much better place but it was just heart breaking to see what they were going through.  Sometimes I think we all need a reality check when things start going not our way and remember that it can always be much much worse.  As sad as I have been and as many complications as we have had Anthony and I have realized that Connor is by far the healthiest baby we have seen here and are so thankful for him.