Little man, big smiles

Hello everyone!  

Lucas is 3 months old!!!!

On the 26th of August, our little baby man turned 3 months old!  I can't believe it is flying by so fast this time!  He is such a good baby and is ALWAYS smiling.  ECI came for Lily on 8/22 and he was 16 lbs 2 oz and 26" long.  That is up 4 lbs and 2 3/4" since Jennifer's last visit when he was 6 weeks old!  He is growing like a weed. 

Things we have learned recently about Lucas. 
He loves his swing...loves loves loves. 
He is a thumb sucker! Actually, it is more like a pointer finger sucker.  He absolutely hates pacifiers.  
He is a squirmy child!  He learned that he can bear weight on his legs and likes to jump everytime his feet are flat against something. 
He also discovered his toes and thinks they are just the coolest thing EVER! 
He is hitting at his toys and really focusing on things. 
He had his first giggle on August 31st. 
He rolled over twice a week ago!  He hasn't done it since, but he definitely has done it! 
He is just the sweetest little boy!  We are absolutely smitten with him! 

Miss Lily is doing great!  

She is talking and singing a WHOLE bunch these days!  We are learning that she knows parts of "Tangled" and "Princess and the Frog" word for word.  Needless to say, it's been a long, hot summer and we've been watching a lot of movies!  I have been working with her a lot too though.  We are working on her shapes, colors, and letters right now.  

At her ECI visit on 8/22, she was 31 lbs 10 oz and 36" tall!  She has come so far and it's really cool that now when Jennifer comes, Lily opens her bag, tries to take the scale out, lays out the length chart and runs around the house with her tape measure.  The last time she was here, Lily sat on her lap and drew the whole time we were talking!  Jennifer has been seeing her since she was 2 weeks old and it's really cool to see how Lily has evolved around her. 

We also learned recently that John and Christine are expecting identical twins!  Christine is 8 weeks along.  I am so incredibly excited!  If you can't be the parents to twins, next best is an aunt!  Congrats John and Christine! 

Hope everyone is well.  Next week, we travel to Louisiana for the weekend to get Lucas christened.  While we are there, we have to get Christmas shopping done!  We need to get it done early so we can get the big things and store them in LA. 

Take care! 

2 months and a hairy dimple??

Hello all!

Last week our little baby man turned 2 months old!  At his well baby visit, he was 14 lbs 5 oz and 25 1/4" long.  He is a big boy just like his sister!  It just astounds me how fast he is growing.  Last month, he looked like a skinny old man and now he is just a cute little chunky monkey.  He is such a good and sweet baby. 

Around 6 months old, we have to get an MRI done on him.  He has the symptoms of what they call a tethered cord.  It is essentially a sacral dimple that is very hairy.  I have a picture of it, but I am debating posting it.  Lots of people have this dimple, but APPARENTLY the hair makes it suspicious.  Here is more info about a tethered cord.  I have talked to a lot of people recently who have the dimple and the doctors don't think twice about it.  All I know is he said he wanted to get an ultrasound done but then said, "no, I think we need to get the MRI".  Apparently, the ultrasound isn't as reliable.  They like to wait until at least 6 months to do an MRI because they have to sedate them...that being said, Lily had an MRI done at 3 days old, then again, she was all hopped up on phenobarbital. I am taking this along with the heart murmur one day at a time.  I can't worry about it until they tell me there is something to worry about.  Again, we are very lucky to have this sweet baby in our lives.  I'm not wasting one second of his babyhood fretting over something that MIGHT be.  

Miss Lily

Sheesh, were do I start with this little hot mess??!!  She is getting to be such a big girl and we are so very proud of her.  Right now, she is learning her shapes, colors and a few letters.  As far as her shapes she knows triangle, circle, heart, star, oval, and square.  With her colors, she knows, red, green, blue, pink, and purple.  Such a little sponge these days...a sponge that repeats EVERYTHING but a sponge nonetheless.  At her last ECI visit, she was 31 lbs and 35" tall. She is doing much better with her "baby bubba" these days.  She loves him so much and is such a big helper. 

Having the two of them has it's pros and cons.  I feel like our day FLIES by and our routine is more set in stone then it has ever been.  I love that.  A massive con is that we are entering the "terrible twos" and getting out and about is nearly impossible to do in a time frame where she doesn't have a meltdown and he doesn't have to eat.  We don't go very far without daddy there to help, but we do stay busy. 

Cardiologist update

I've kinda been dreading writing this, but I wanted to let everyone know what the cardiologist said when we brought Lucas last week.  What I thought was just a "run of the mill" heart murmur turns out to be something a little bit more of an issue. 

Where do I start?  Well, as I said before, when Lucas was in the NICU, they found a heart murmur.  An ASD.  Usually, ASDs have a very good chance of closing up with time, but Lucas has an ASD with an aneurysm.  An aneurysm is a flap over the hole.  The doctor told us that, the ASDs with an aneurysm do not usually close up.  Apparently, the hole is quite large (approx 8 mm) and the amount of blood going to the other side of his heart could enlarge it and cause problems over time.  The problem will have to be corrected between the ages of 2 and 4.

How can they fix it?  Well, there are two ways.  One is a catheter through the leg into the heart where a clam shell thingy is placed over the hole and closes it up.  This stops the blood from entering the other side of the heart.  For the size of the one Lucas has, there may not be enough tissue for this clam shell to clip on to.  If they do that surgery and the clam shell becomes dislodged, the outcome would be, in his words, catastrophic.  Therefore, this surgery is not an option.  Our last option is open heart surgery. 

The difference between the surgery happening at 2 as compared to at 4 is reliant on if the symptoms of the ASD are effecting him.  Weakness, extreme sleepiness, shortness of breath, poor weight gain....  Since his heart is working harder than a normal heart, it causes him to burn more calories and the most common problem they see is poor weight gain.  If Lucas doesn't have any of these symptoms come 4 years old and the hole has not closed up, they will still have to do the surgery.

This is a really hard thing for me to stomach.  I can't believe he is going to have to go through this.  I know it can be 10 times worse.  It really can be and I thank God everyday for my two healthy babies.  I am grateful it isn't worse, but that doesn't make it any easier.   Open heart surgery is such a scary thought. 

Until then, we are going to continue to pray.  Pray that he continues to grow healthy and strong and pray that the tiny "large" hole closes up.  Pray for all the families going through this right now with their little ones and the families and children with the bigger obstacles.  We also can't forget how fortunate we are and we must thank God everyday for the blessings he has sent to us.

Lucas Update again....

Hi everyone!  I am sorry it has taken me awhile to update, but we finally got to take our little man home on June 2nd and it has been quite chaotic around here!  Lily is adjusting to having a little brother and I am adjusting to having 2 kids.  We are both working very hard on it, but each day gets a little better!!!

Like I said, Lucas is home and is doing great!  The TTN just ran it's course and cleared up!  One day, we went in there and he was at such peace.  It was amazing.  He was a normal color (not bright red) and he wasn't working nearly as hard breathing.  He was still breathing fast, but that was slowly getting better as well.  They did a sleep apnea test before he left the hospital and it came back negative (thank goodness).  If it would have come back positive, he would have come home on oxygen and a monitor.  He still has a few issues while eating.  He coughs a lot, but it is getting better as well.  We have an appointment with the cardiologist on Friday.  I think that will go well.  Again, this murmur isn't something that would give us problems right now, but it is something that we need to keep an eye on.

Lucas made it back to his birth weight on Friday.  He was 9 lbs 2 ounces at the doctor's office.  I had to bring him to the doctor last Monday and he had yet to make it back to his birth weight.  Jennifer (ECI) came on Friday though, and did his stats.  According to her scale, he was 9.4 lbs and 22 1/4" long.  If you recall, his birth length was 20".  There is no way that he grew 2 1/4" in two weeks so we are thinking that the measurement they took in the delivery room was inaccurate.  I'm not surprised though.  They were concentrating on getting him breathing!

His sister on the other hand is still growing like a weed!  She was 31 lbs and 34 3/4".  She is going to be so tall! She is working very hard at adjusting to mommy's attention being divided.  She is doing all the things that the child life specialist at the NICU told us she might do while adjusting to having the new baby in the house... Not sleeping well, tantrums, anger.  She's working hard.  She loves her brother so much, but the entire process has been very confusing for her. 

Mommy's having a baby!  She's going to be in the hospital and come home with your baby brother. 

Oh wait, mommy is in the hospital but there's no baby and mommy comes home, but there is still no baby.   

Then one day he just shows up.  
Cue the confusion


Poor thing.  I really feel for her. 

Here is a picture of a tender moment between my two babies!

Thank you all so much for all your prayers and well wishes.  We have again been blessed with another little angel who gave us a run for our money at the get go, but is doing well.  We are very VERY blessed!

Lucas Update

Hello everyone!  Thank you so much for the thoughts and prayers everyone has sent for Lucas.  He is still in the NICU level 3, but he is doing much better than he was a few days ago.  Today, we were there while one of the nurses was assessing him and he opened his eyes to look around.  The nurse removed the hood for a little while so we could get some good pictures of him. 

Here is what we know: 
The ultrasound on his heart did indeed show a heart murmur.  It is considered an ASD (Atrial Septal Defect) which is essentially a murmur between the two upper chambers.  It could be worse and be a VSD which would have to be treated quite soon, but an ASD is less severe and there is nothing they could or would do about it right now.  Nevertheless, it is not what is causing his breathing problems. 

They took X-rays and the x-rays looked cloudy....like pnemonia.  They started him on antibiotics to treat an it in case the cultures they took grew something.  They were very doubtful it would because Lucas went from the operating room directly to the NICU, but they were being proactive.  They stopped the antibiotics after 72 hours because the cultures didn't grow anything. 
That means, it is not pnemonia. 

The x-rays also showed immature lungs which they think is Hyline Membrane Disease.  This is typically associated with preemies, but somehow, my little man has it.  It is nothing serious and it has to run it's course.  Typically, in 3 days it corrects itself, but if the baby is a preemie, it can be deadly.

What they think he has is TTN (Transient Tachypnea).  It is essentially a respiratory problem that has to run it's course.  Sometimes, it clears up in a matter of hours and sometimes, it takes days or weeks.  

Lucas is doing very well today.  The other day, he got up to 88% oxygen and they had to move him to NICU level 3 and we were very scared.  I am now home from the hospital and I had to leave him there, but I know he is in good hands.  I still have not gotten to hold him although I have gotten to change 2 diapers and those 2 diapers have been precious interaction.  He is almost on room air (21% oxygen) and if he can get to that and slow down his breathing (it's still very fast), he will get to remove the hood.  Today he started his first feeding of 10 mL formula via a feeding tube.  He does not like the feeding tube, but I honestly don't blame him.  Lily's was in her nose, but his is in his mouth and it is very awkward.  He has to work up to 8-2 oz bottles a day before we can take him home.

Keep sending the prayers to our little man.  He is getting stronger by the day and we pray that he continues to improve so we can bring our sweet little one home! 

Lucas Oliver Casey

Lucas Oliver Casey

May 26, 2011 

9:11 AM

8 lbs 11.9 oz

20" long 

He's here!  He's finally here!  

Our sweet little guy was born via c-section on Thursday, May 26 at 9:11 AM! 

 Lucas was scheduled to be delivered by c-section at 39 weeks because he was looking to be on the bigger side like his sister was.  The doctor didn't want to take a chance and have me go into labor too late into pregnancy with a larger child due to possibilities of a uterine rupture. 

 Lucas came out screaming his head off before his entire body was out of me.  When they took him to the side, they noticed that his O2 levels were low so they decided to put him under a hood to make sure he got enough oxygen.  Because of this, he would have to go to the NICU to be monitored for at least 6 hours.  Well, he's been there for like a day and a half.  His oxygen levels keep fluctuating and he isn't being very consistent.  They say his lungs look a little immature, but he is 39 weeks so they should be fine.  It is very common amongst white males to have respiratory problems at birth ESPECIALLY if he didn't go through the birth canal.  My doctor has been telling us this for awhile so hopefully it is just something that will fix itself soon.  They also hear a heart murmur.  They did an ultrasound this afternoon on his heart, but we will not get the results until later this evening or tomorrow morning.

 He looks just like his daddy!  Furry and all!

We love our sweet little man.  I am so sad that I haven't gotten to hold him, feed him or anything.  He hasn't even had his first bath yet! I just want to give him tons of loves and cuddles, but I must be patient and let him get better.  Please keep our beautiful little man in your prayers.  We want him to come home with us on Sunday, but that is completely in God's hands! 

Happy April!

Hello everyone!  Here is a small recap of April!  :)

What a busy month it has been!  I swear, it feels like we have been celebrating Easter since March!  Lots of Easter Egg hunts!  At least one every week!  Here are some of our pictures from this beautiful Easter!  

Lily and Brandon letting our butterflies go.  We grew them from itty bitty baby caterpillars and it was so much fun to watch them grow into beautiful butterflies.  Lily loved it and asked to see them every morning after breakfast. 

 Lots of pool fun!  We swam outside almost every weekend this month!  Lily also started swimming lessons the second week of April.  She is a water baby and definitely doesn't fear the water! 

Oh nursery!!!  

 

This thing is taking forever!  How nice it was when we had time on the weekends to work on fun things like this!  It now is almost complete, but this is what I looked at for most of April!

 Easter Egg-stravaganza in our neighborhood!  It is a mad house!  Over 1500 eggs gone in less than 1 minute and that was just the 0-3 age group!!!!!

Planting our plants.  Lily and I have a bunch of flowers growing, a pumpkin and a few watermelons. 

 Treehouse Tots Easter party. It was hosted in our neighborhood and was so much fun.  Lily and a bunch of the little ones didn't quite understand the confetti eggs, but they definitely had fun nonetheless! 

 Dying Easter Eggs on Good Friday.  In the above picture, Lily is "counting" the eggs.  She points to each one and makes the sounds like she is counting, but of course she's not.  She is just copying how we count. 

 Lots of playing going on around here.  Lily is finally discovering how to play by herself!  In these pictures, she is talking and giggling to the dog she is holding.  It's so cute!

 Kicking the ball.  She overshot it on this one, but she can run after her smaller ball and kick it pretty well! 

 

Easter morning! 

 Going out to hunt eggs in the backyard! 

 She found the cozy coupe the Easter bunny left her and forgot all about hunting eggs! 

 Beautiful morning! 

 8 1/2 months along and really trying to enjoy every minute of alone time I am getting with Lily!  It's hard with this big old belly, but I am going to miss these only child days! 

So much going on and I am trying to document everything with this awesome camera!  Here is the link to our picasa albums!  

Casey Family photo albums!