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.

Well, we thought Connor was going to leave yesterday or today, but that is not the case. While all of his GI issues seem to have resolved themselves we are now back to his arm (the reason he was originally brought here). They did another ultrasound Monday morning and saw that Connor has a small blood clot in the upper part of his arm. The good thing is that the clot is not restricting his blood flow at a level that causes much concern.  When he was first admitted here they didn't find the clot, but are very certain it was there and that the tech doing the ultrasound simply missed it. A positive from this is that when they did do the initial ultrasound they tested his blood flow rate and the rate yesterday was better than on the first ultrasound. That fact lends validation to the idea that it is getting better. 

The severity of the clot seems to be fairly low to moderate, but he will have to be given a shot in his thigh twice a day for 6 weeks. Dr. Arnold does not seem to think that he has any sort of clotting disorder and that the clot was likely formed by whatever event happened inside Amy that may compromised his arm. 

Last night Connor got his first shot by the nurse and this morning Amy administered the shot. She did very well, but was nervous to stick her little man with a needle.  Amy and I both will have to be proficient in doing this before we leave as we will administer the shots from home.  They are waiting for some results to learn if they are giving him the correct dosage. Every kid is different in how much they require. 

The other issue is his the lack of movement in his left arm.  The great thing is that it has done nothing but gotten better since we have been here. The doctors seem think he could have a mild case of Erb's Palsy. If that is the case it will be something that usually resolves itself over time. However, the neurology team just came by and assessed him. They have ordered an MRI to be done on Connor just to make certain they can rule out any other type of neurological problems that may have been caused when he was compromised in utero.  They are pretty confident that the tests will come back negative, but they just want to be sure there is/was not another blood clot in his brain. Our doctor who has been very upfront and honest seems very positive that nothing severe is going on, but we won't know until after the MRI. 

A couple of things need to happen before we can leave. 1. We need to get the results from the MRI. 2. The doctors need to dial in the correct amount of blood thinner they will put him on. 3. Amy and I need to become proficient in administering his shot. 

Amy has been such a strong woman and I am so lucky to have her. Today she is struggling and has been sad as all she wants is to take her baby home with us and for him to be okay. Please continue to pray for our little man, that we continue to draw strength from Christ, and that the doctors are able to continue to treat any issues that arise. Please keep praying for Connor's buddy and neighbor Mercer and his family. 

Thanks again for sending prayers, positive energy, and thoughts our way. We can feel the spirit of The Lord working and can feel all of you in our hearts. 

Love,

Anthony, Amy, and Connor.

Sent from my iPad

It's Anthony here, we wanted to give everyone an update. Connor had a good weekend. He began breast feeding (sorry if that is tmi) and this was kind of our last "test" with respect to ruling out any other GI issues. He has been processing his food very well, so the docs feel really positive that we have no more concerns with his GI issues.

Sometime this morning the neurologist will come and examine his arm and they have ordered another ultrasound. While his arm has made progress everyday it is still not 100% and they want to make sure they can rule out everything possible before sending the us home home.

We have been very blessed to have the Ronald McDonald house here on the NICU floor. Since Connor is in the NICU and we are not patients here we can't sleep in his room. The RMH makes it possible for us to be right down the hall.  This is amazing because if we didn't have it we would be staying in a hotel a few blocks away and it would make Amy and Connor's breast feeding sessions a lot more difficult. RMH will now be a charity that we donate too and if you're looking for somewhere to throw some cash we can attest that they do amazing things and make it very convenient for families going through hard times.

Amy is doing so great and is such a strong woman. Her doctor released her from the hospital a little early, so she could be with Connor and I. Amy was in lots of pain and could barley walk but she put her pain and discomfort aside to be with us. She is getting better everyday though.  She is an amazing woman and I couldn't be any luckier.

We hope to go home today or tomorrow. Please pray that that happens.  Thanks to everyone for Your prayers, positive vibes, phone calls, and everything else. This would have been a lot more difficult with out you all.  A special thanks to Amy's parents, my mother and grandmother for being with us through this time. We love you all.

One more thing, we have made friends with the parents of another patient in Connor's NICU.  Their little guy's name is Mercer and he doesn't have very long to live. His parents are followers of Christ and trust in God's plan for them and their little guy. While it kills me to even write about this right now it is such a testament to how strong people can be with the power of The Lord watching over them.  Please pray for baby Mercer and his amazing family.