Wow, SEVEN Months!!

Derrick, you are SEVEN months old today!

• You weigh 13 lbs 1 oz (zero percentile) and are 25 inches long (15th percentile). 
• You wear 3-6 month clothes, size 1 shoe, and a size 2 diaper.

• You usually sleep for about 13 hours each night, and have been for the past month and a half or so.  
• You have given up your binky and get mad if we try to give it to you.  The only way you'll take it is if you pick it up yourself, and then you only chew on it.
  
• You took your first ambulance ride. (Not that this is something we're excited about, but it needs to be written in your history...and it scared us to death!!)
• You will reach to get anything! 
• You still love the dogs.  They're the only ones who can make you happy all the time.

• You've been given the "ok" for table food, and you LOVE it!  You want anything we're eating.  You ate real peach cobbler tonight and loved it!
•  You eat baby food three times a day now.  All of a sudden you've figured out how to eat it without pushing it all back out of your mouth with your tongue.
• You LOVE music.  When we're in the car, sometimes you get mad if we turn the radio down.  When we turn it back up, you're happy.
  
• You LOVE to dance.  You dance almost any time you hear music.  

• You've learned to clap, and will do it sometimes when we ask you to, but usually only when you want to.  If we clap with you, you stop.  You don't want anyone stealing the spotlight. :) 
• You've started waving.  Your first wave was to a girl in the make-up store when we were in Charleston.  She was waving to you, and you just waved back.  All of those times we tried to get you to wave, and you choose some random girl.  Flirt! 
• You've really started to be interested in your limbs.

•  You are INSANELY active.  You move ANYTIME you are awake.  (And we wonder why you can't gain weight?!)  We are in T-R-O-U-B-L-E when you start crawling or walking.
• We think you'll be left-handed.  (Seriously, if you are, I think that's the only thing you'll actually get from me.)
• Your favorite toys are hangers, paper, and cell phones. (All of those expensive toys that take up a ton of room...you don't like them. :) )

• You say "ba, da, ma, na, and ga."
•  You especially like to yell "ba!"
• You're a mama's boy! (Shhh...but I love it! :) )
  

 The cute sign is now gone...it makes picture taking impossible.

It seems like you learn something new every day.  We LOVE watching you learn and figure things out.  You're SO funny!!  We literally sit around for hours and laugh at the things you do.  Just when we think it isn't possible that we could love you any more than we already do, we wake up, and we love you more!  It's just unreal.  You are a great little man!

We love you sweet cheeks!!

Wordless Wednesday

Torture

Yesterday we took Derrick to have his VCUG and kidney ultrasound (as a follow-up from the hospital incident).  It went well, but oh my gosh that VCUG was TORTURE to watch and listen to!!  

We started out with the kidney ultrasound.  That was great.  Derrick "helped" the tech maneuver the probe.  He didn't pull on it, just held onto it as she looked around.  He was just as happy as can be "helping" her check out his insides.  She said from what she could tell his kidneys looked fine. Yay!

Gulp.  

Then came the VCUG.  I was already nervous.  When he was cathetherized in the ER, it was a nightmare, so I was not looking forward to him being hurt again.  But I was also scared to death that they were going to find something else wrong with my baby's anatomy.  Terrified that he was going to have to go through yet another procedure or surgery or find something else to watch and wait for...

Really, just paranoid in general.  But when we walked in and I saw the BOARD he was going to be strapped to, oh my!  I knew then that this was NOT going to be good! Thankfully, the cathetherization went much better than last time, but I know D was still uncomfortable.  Especially when they strapped him down.

 

 

They injected fluid to watch the flow of his urinary tract and he had to be tilted on this board so they could get pictures from different angles.  I held his little head as they tilted him and he screamed.  (Picture rotisserie chicken.  Yep, that's exactly what it looked like.  And it wasn't funny at all.)  They said that everything appeared normal from what they could tell, but that a doctor would read the x-rays and they'd let us know in a day or so.

It's times like this that make me feel so guilty.  I know there's nothing I can do about it, but I feel so bad for the things Derrick (and lots of other kids) have to go through.  It seems like one thing after the other that he has to feel pain from.  If I could trade places with him I would do it in a second.  It's too bad he has to be the one poked and prodded all of the time.  Sometimes it's overwhelming to watch him so innocently playing and knowing that you're getting ready to hand him over to someone who will turn his little world upside down.  It's so hard not to tell the people to just stop and leave him alone.  But, I just cry with him and bite my lip, praying I don't say something I shouldn't.  

Today we went for D's six month check-up.  He's now 25 3/4 inches long and in the 20th percentile for length.  That's HUGE for him!  He only weighed 13 lbs 4 oz, which puts him at ZERO for weight, but who's counting...right?  

 

I wish.  

It looks like we're starting our every two week weight checks again.  Dr. Bonnett didn't say he was concerned, but by him asking us to come back, we're pretty sure he is.  He gave us the ok to give D whatever he would eat.  Food off our plates that we could smash up...whatever.  His caloric needs have to be met, especially with surgery looming.  

Dr. Bonnett was impressed with how well D is sitting up and that he's clapping and dancing.  He's very pleased with how he's doing overall, if we could just win this eating battle. 

Derrick thought this visit was much better than the one he had yesterday.  He like's Dr. Bonnett's "toys."  Maybe he's practicing for his medical career!?

The visit was all fun and games until it came time for the shots.  Then it got ugly.  He got three regular shots and his first round of the H1N1 vaccine.  Fun stuff.

Wow...this ended up being pretty long.  Sorry!! :)  

Oh, one more thing.  For those of you who have been wanting to leave a comment but have had some trouble...under our signature where it says"'posted by the Carter's at (a time) # comments," just click on "# comments."  That will show you comments other people have written so scroll down to the end of those.  Write your message in the box and choose "anonymous" from the "comment as" drop-down menu.  Just don't forget to sign your name!  Then click "post comment" and it will ask you to type in the secret word.  That's it!!  (I know, I know. Carepages is easier, but give this a chance and you'll see that it's not so bad.)

Thanks so much for all of your support.  We love you all!!!

Movin' my hips like yeah!

Make sure you have your volume turned up. This is HILARIOUS!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

We've had a busy week so far! Derrick has seen three doctors this week and it's only Wednesday! They were all planned (so no worries!) and hopefully that's it until D's 6 month checkup (late, yes, b/c of his heart cath) in a few weeks.

Monday we took D for his follow up from the UTI with Dr. Bonnett, his pediatrician. The first thing the nurse did when she took us to the room was go get the pulse ox. Yep, he's looking a little blue! His sats were in the high 70's, which is right about where they're supposed to be for now.

Dr. B said that looking at D's report from the hospital, that he did have a UTI. It was slight, but there was infection there. They ran a urine sample to make sure that D is free of infection now, and from the test in the office, he is. They have to send it off and will call us later in the week for an appointment to have a VCUG done. The VCUG is an x-ray where they will check for reflux in the kidneys and any abnormalities in D's urinary tract. They do this when boys get UTIs because it's so much more difficult for them to get them than it is for girls. They just want to make sure that everything is working properly and in the right place. We pray that this is normal and that there's not anything else wrong with D's anatomy. He really has more than enough in the wrong place for one person!

D being a good little patient!

Boredom overtook and the paper didn't survive!

Yesterday we went to Dr. Shuler, D's cardiologist. Dr. Shuler said that he felt confident that the UTI could have been the culprit for Derrick's sats plummeting. If his blood pressure decreased (which it likely did), then his sats would drop. When Derrick's blood pressure changes, his sats will change because of his shunt. After this shunt is gone, his blood pressure will not effect his sats this way. Of course his sats were in the mid 80s while we were there. Being at the cardiologist's office is the only guaranteed time his sats will be high. It's so strange how that happens.

Anyway, Dr. Shuler wants us back in a month and he'll do an echo and we'll just see what's going on with sats and everything. He told us that based on D's trends, we could expect surgery around the end of the year or the first of next year.

Today we went to the Pulmonologist to get Derrick's Synagis injection (to protect him against RSV). So we met ANOTHER doctor, but hopefully we'll only see him when we're there for D's shot. He'll go once monthly until February. Boy, thank goodness for insurance!! That's all I can say about that one!

That's about it for now. Hopefully that's all the medical news we'll have for a while and we can just hang out and have some fun.

Here's a cute video to show you how much Derrick LOVES the dogs! This is him playing with Andy. (He's the one who had heart worms a few months ago. Thankfully he's been cleared and his house arrest is over. We're so glad he's well.) Make sure your volume is up!






P.S. A few of you asked for the roasted pumpkin seed recipe. Sorry it took so long! I totally forgot about posting it, but if you still have pumpkin seeds, here it is:

You Need...
* 2 egg whites
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 cups fresh pumpkin seeds

Preheat oven to 375˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together egg whites, sugar, cayenne, cinnamon and salt. Add the pumpkin seeds and toss to coat.

Spread seeds in a single layer across the parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes. Stir them up a bit and pop them back into the oven until golden in color, about 5 minutes more. (Rachael Ray)

Let me know if you try it and what you think!!

Cutie Patootie, Pumpkin Bootie!

We had these cute trick-or-treaters come over tonight. (Zac, Sheaffer, and Ivy)

When D found out he wasn't going trick-or-treating, he was pretty upset.

But when he found out his cousins brought the treats to him, it was all good. :)

Derrick got dressed up in his costume,

but as you can see, he was less than thrilled.

 But this sweet pea finally got over it and decided to have some fun.  Seriously, how cute is he?!

Justin even dressed up for work today.  (Really, this was his way of getting out of wearing a tie...but I think he claimed to be a groom?  I don't really know.)

We've had fun all month dressing D up in his Halloween attire.
He's been waiting for this day all month long...

 

 

 

 

 

And this, my friends, is Cutie Patootie Pumpkin Bootie!

Hope you had a great Halloween!!

Boogity Boogity!

That's "Hello" in pumpkin, in case you didn't know. (According to some cartoon Derrick was watching, at least!)

Derrick carved his first pumpkin this week. Ok, well Justin carved D's first pumpkin this week.   We had a lot of fun with it, and D enjoyed watching. 

Pumpkin guts. 

We offered to let him play in them, but shockingly, he wasn't interested.

 

His face totally says, "I'm not touching that junk!" LOL!!

 Justin worked away and created D's first pumpkin.

Tada....

 

This picture didn't turn out so hot without the flash,

but it looks really good in the dark all lit up.

 

The proud little man!

We started a new tradition this year and roasted our pumpkin seeds. 

We started with these...

 

And ended up with these.  We made ours sweet, and they were oh, so delish! 

 

So good in fact, that Justin ate them straight off the pan.

 

I'll post a Halloween fashion show for you tomorrow.  Happy Halloween everyone! :)