Team Travis

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Pictures and Updates

There really is not much to report. Travis is doing so good with no real issues. He is still eating really well and we are starting to get into some routines. I think we got the medicines down pretty good and he does a really good job of taking them. Nicole and I share the nighttime routine and that is going relatively smooth. It is going to be really hard for me to go back to work and leave Nicole and Travis for the entire day. It has been really nice to have this winter break to get accustomed to having a son. I am going to miss my little bugger.

Take care and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Carol and Mark Kuhn (Our Pastor who married us) taking care of Travis/

The DiCarlo Family 2009

A Travis Sandwich Kiss.

Travis showing off how strong he is getting. Check out those Neck muscles.

Check out Travis' Mohawk.

What's Up World!!!

Check out this cute outfit, especially the bear feet.

MORE PICTURES

Travis Album 12/27-30/2009

http://cid-d843a26bcc8dd2a4.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Travis%201227302009

Travis Album 12/31/2009

http://cid-d843a26bcc8dd2a4.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Travis%2012312009

Monday, December 28, 2009

Looking Good

We ventured out today to drop off some food to some friends at the Ronald McDonald house and brought Travis to another cardiology check up. The nurse weighed him and he is up MORE (he's gained 5.6 oz since Friday). Now he weighs 8lbs 14.6oz. I told Roger I want to have a "ten-pound party" when he hits that milestone. Weight gain is great for him right now because he needs to get bigger and stronger before his next surgery. Travis' oxygen saturation levels and pulses are also looking really good. Dr. Levy said he can hear the sano shunt working well with the stethoscope. We were really pleased with Travis' appointment. The Dr. didn't even really say he needed to see him prior to his heart cath (see below) but we said we'd like to see him again just to check up. So, we go back to him on the 8th.

Travis' next scary hurdle is a procedure called a Heart Catheterization which is scheduled for January 13th. They will take a catheter and thread it through passageways of the heart looking for thinning or narrowing. If need be, they may need to place a balloon to open up any partially blocked paths. The findings in this procedure will tell the doctors about when he will need his second surgery (between 4-6 months of age) and if any of his medications need adjustment. We will be in the hospital just one night. We are not looking forward to this but we understand it is an important evaluative tool for the doctors to gauge the effectiveness of the shunt put in during his Norwood operation.

We also have an appointment with the High Risk Infant Doctor on Jan 12th. She will be the one to assess Travis and his developmental progress. If need be she can order occupational or physical therapy treatments to help him along with his milestones. Sometimes heart babies are slower to hit milestones due to everything they go through. Although Travis seems great to us we really have no idea as he is our first child. So, we are thankful they will start tracking him and his development early on.

That's it for now....Happy New Year!

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Chargers game on Christmas

Travis is truly spoiled. All he knows is that the Chargers win every week that he has been alive. The Chargers win streak started the weekend of his birth. Now the chargers are on a 10 game winning streak. Can't wait until next week. GO CHARGERS...

Travis was ready to go for win number 10.

Travis was only concerned a little bit during the game.

TOUCHDOWN SAN DIEGO!!!!

Travis was super happy after the Chargers whooped up on the Titans.

Travis' First Christmas

Auntie Tina, Nicole and Travis on Christmas Eve

Daddy and Travis on Christmas Eve

Nana Sue and Travis sharing a Christmas Moment.

Nana Sue, Nicole and Travis on Christmas Eve.

Mommy and Travis' First Christmas together

Travis got to meet his Great Grandma Jane.

Christmas at Grandpa DiCarlo's House (Nicole took picture)

Travis checking out Grandpa Roger.

MORE PICTURES

Picture Album - 12/24/2009

http://cid-d843a26bcc8dd2a4.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Travis%2012242009

Picture Album - 12/25/2009

http://cid-d843a26bcc8dd2a4.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Travis%2012252009?ct=photos

Happy Birthday Travis and Jesus!

Travis Gary is now 2 months old! Happy Birthday little Bug!

HOMELIFE: It's been hard to get enough time for a proper update these days with little Bug being home and trying to get everything done around the house after being gone so long. We are slowly getting the hang of having our little boy home. For the most part...he is pretty easy. He generally sleeps well and calms down quickly when he gets fussy. He usually is just fussy when he is hungry or wants his pacifier. He's addicted to his orange pacifiers! We have a bassinet next to our bed in the room and he sleeps there (as he will until he is probably 18 :). We have not yet gotten into a "routine" yet but when we were sent home from the hospital we were on a 3 hour feeding schedule that we have been sticking with until recently. Because Travis is so small we have to feed him a lot. We can not let him sleep through the night...even if he wanted to. The hard part about getting into an official routine is that we are uncomfortable leaving him alone AND we have to hook him up to the machine...so, when we put him to bed we have to go upstairs too. So, we generally let him sleep downstairs with us until around midnight then we go up to sleep. The monitor has proved to be a comfort and a pain in the ass all at the same time. If you don't get it in the exact right spot on his hand it will randomly start beeping in the middle of the night. It will read his heartrate or SAT level incorrectly and show it really low and then bounce back up to the normal rate. As you can imagine, being woken up by this is unnerving to say the least. We plan to talk to the doctor on Monday about the accuracy of it because it seems really off. We finally have his medications down pat. We got a ton of syringes at the pharmacy and a plastic box with drawers. Now, once a week I will draw up the doses of meds in advance and put the in the box. Having the meds pre dosed out makes the days a lot easier! We also found a vitamin that is not as horrendous as the last one. Travis likes it much better. He still HATES the prilosec but it is working so we are sticking with it!

APPOINTMENTS: We went to see Travis' cardiologist in our first outpatient appointment on the 18th. He checked Travis out and wieghed him. Things looked good and Travis had gained 3oz since he was discharged on the 14th! We also had an appointment with his regular pediatrician for his two month checkup on Christmas Eve. We were hoping that this pediatrician would be knowledgeable and up to date on Travis' condition. We had not yet met him because all of his care was immediately transferred to Children's hospital the day of his birth. Now that he is out of the hospital, day to day care goes back to Kaiser. The pediatrician was up-to-date and he seemed great. The best news was Travis has gained another 3 oz making his weight 8lbs 9oz. Although he is gaining at a good rate for him he is still only in the 2nd percentile for his weight. Our little man! However, because the weight gain is going well the pediatrician said we can go 4 hours at night between feedings. His length is now 21 inches. Travis also got his 2 month series of shots at our visit...which probably was not a good idea as he was MISERABLE and fussy Christmas Eve night and all day on Christmas :( We have another appointment with the cardiologist on Monday.

CHRISTMAS: We really did things simple this Christmas as we had neither the money nor the time to properly shop for the family. Also, because Travis can't be around a lot of people we toned down our celebrations as well. Christmas Eve was spent with Nana Sue, Auntie Tina and Auntie Deb at our house. We made a lasagna and exchanged a few little gifts. Travis of course was spoiled silly and is set with toys for awhile. Unfortunately, Mr. Grumpy Pants (Travis) slept through the gift giving because he was so miserable from the shots earlier in the day we had to give him Tylenol. Good thing we had family to help calm him and snuggle him all evening. After the family went home Roger and I tried to go to bed but Travis was super fussy all night and was up every hour and a half. Poor little guy! Poor us! Christmas day was spent with the DiCarlo family. We had a nice lunch and visited with Travis Great Grandma. Travis got some nice gifts from that side of the family too. He was not as fussy as the day before but he still was not himself. We decided to head to Vista to watch the Charger game with Nana but realized we were out of one of the meds so instead Roger had to take a trip to the pharmacy in Riverside. Travis and I cuddled and relaxed on the couch. Thankfully, Travis slept better last night too!

We got an update from one of the other families we met at the RMH and they were told they could go back to Hawaii on Christmas eve only to be told that they couldn't a few days later because their baby needs to get a Gtube put in first to help him eat. Please add baby Jaziah to your prayers. They have been through so much!! So, although we were super sleep deprived for our holiday, we had to remember we have SO much to be thankful for. Our little baby is safe at home and thriving! Happy holidays to you all and we pray your new year will be a fabulous one!