Updated 11-12-07
Happy Birthday!!!! Anthony was born one week late on 11/3/2007 at 1:39pm PST. He weighed 7 pounds 9.8 ounces and was 19.5 inches long. It was a tough 29 hour delivery. It was a good thing we decided to induce as Anthony was born with the cord rapped around his leg. If he was any bigger labor would have been harmful. During the delivery the doctor didn't like how things were going by the numbers (due to the wrapped cord) and made the call to use the forcepts. But that didn't work because Anthony was not positioned properly. The doctor then switched to the vacuum and used that to move the baby a bit, but not anywhere needed for delivery. He then made the call for a c-section. Angela refused and told everyone that this baby is going to be born naturally. The doctor agreed to let her try some more. Well....the vacuum must have had a positive effect as the doctor saw that things had gone back to normal for the baby. Angela was tired, but showed incredible strength as she delivered Baby Anthony. After delivery Anthony needed to be wisked away to a washing station as he had pooped in the uterus and the doctors feared he would take in those poisons on his first breath. That problem was easily avoided and Mommy and Daddy got to hold the Little One just minutes after birth.
Since his birthday Anthony has been doing fine. He took to breast feeding in his first 4 hours and has been a big eater ever since. He also seems to ba able to take from a bottle, but we're going to keep breast feeding him for a bit longer. The vacuum used during birth produced a whopper of a bruise on his head that is still healing. The swelling has gone down, but the scab has yet to fully heal. The doc said he'll be fine in a couple of weeks.
Anthony watched his first Monday Night Football game just two days after his delivery where he got to watch the Steelers trounce the Ravens. Daddy was happy and Anthony got into it too with his official Terrible Towel bib.
Anthony is a very active and alert baby who loves to look at trees and plants. He responds well to singing and is a very calm baby once fed and changed.
Some bad news and good news came our way last week when we found out that Anthony was diagnosed with Congenital Heart Desease. Specificaly he has ASD & VSD (Atrial Septum Defect & Ventricle Septum Defect). This means he has a hole between the upper chambers of his heart and a second hole between the two lower chambers. There is no sure source of this desease as it can not yet be linked to genetics or environment, but both do play a part. The fix for this can come in two forms: 1) Anthony could heal on his own, something we are hoping for OR 2) he will need open heart surgery. At this time, surgery appears mandatory for Anthony's specifiic condition. BUT....The prognosis is very good for our Little One. The UCSF Pediatric Heart Center was wonderful in telling us all the facts, which boils down to this: Anthony has a 99% chance of surviving and being a healthy boy-man-oldfart. The 1% negatives include everything that could go wrong in procedure and recovery. We are confident that Anthony will be ok, but we are still on edge. We have been put in contact with other parents whose children have had this operation and feel more sure he will be ok. Anthony will be undergoing his surgery in the next five months and will require about six weeks to fully recover. As long as the surgery goes well, then our biggest concern will be how this effects his overall development. We have a number of doctors visits in the coming weeks and will keep you all posted.
Overall Anthony is doing very well and is a model baby. As a proud parent I'd have to say that he is the cutest baby in the world. Even objectively I'd have to say that he is one hell of a cute kid. Here are some photos HERE and HERE
Updated 11-17-07
Anthony is doing fine and growing as expected. He is 8 pounds 5 ounces now and gaining weight normally. He has grown a full inch and is as feisty as a little boy can be. We met with all the heart doctors this week and have a better understanding of all of his issues and what will happen in the coming months. His heart condition will most likely yield open heart surgery, but there is a slim chance he can heal on his own. The doctors want to exhaust that possibility before scheduling any surgery. Anthony will be monitored weekly for progress. We will know more about when his surgery will be after the holiday season. It is safe to assume that he will be in surgery sometime around March (that is if he doesn't heal on his own). Overall, Anthony is doing fine. He is bright, alert and (seemingly) starting to develop a sense of humor. The only immediate concern we have for Little Anthony is his diaper rash. Poor kid.
Updated 11-20-07
Anthony had his weekly pediatric apointment today. And all is well. Of particular note is an emerging personality, of sorts. At the doctor's office Anthony was being examined rectaly. Not something we all would like. Well, in Anthony's case it was a bit more of a protest as he proceeded to have his largest poop of the day in spray form right there on the examing table. The doctor escaped injury, but alas Angela did not. And this is my concern: So far he has pissed, shit, spit, and sneezed on everything including public venues; He is only in his third week of life... What in God's name is this kid going to become? Check out the new pictures as of today.
Updated 11-29-07
Anthony had another pediatric appointment this week. He is now 9 pounds and doing just fine and is starting his standard vaccinations. He's become a poop machine extraordinaire. We won’t bore you with the gory details of his sometimes projectile pooping. Anthony has his RSV shots next week followed by a check up visit to the cardiologist. We’ll keep you posted on any updates. We had a nice time on Thanksgiving when Grandpa and Mara showed up for some turkey and baby burping. Given how tired Daddy and Mommy were: it was a quiet sleepy Turkey Day. Anthony enjoyed Monday Night Football this week as the Steelers provided a lack luster performance. He’ll have another opportunity to sport some cool threads during this Sunday’s game too. Check out the pictures up to today.
Updated 12-06-07
Anthony has been doing very well these past few days. He is a very strong eater....and subsequently a strong pooper. His iron drops caused some constipation at first, but things are flowing good now. Anthony spends his days hanging with his Mommy eating and having fun in between naps. He spends his nights hangin with Daddy, but not as long as Daddy would like. Tomorrow, 12/6, is Anthony's regular cardiologist appointment. We'll make sure to post the results. In the meantime we've added a few more Photos to the gallery.
Updated 12-08-07
Anthony is doing fine. His cardiologist visit this week went well, except for Anthony peeing on the exam table. (That's my boy.) The doc said that he is very happy with Anthony's progress. He will still need surgery, but the date for that surgery may get pushed out. This is good, because there's no immediate need and they can wait until he is closer to optimum normal development. Such a bummer to have a slow start in life, but it is still a strong start. Other than that he is doing well. He's beginning to smile (not from gas) at what we say and do.....such a joy to see his personality begin to express itself. He weighs 9 pounds 8 ounces now and is 21 inches long....and growing. Daddy picked up Anthony's first Christmas tree. It's a 5 foot full real tree. We plan on decorating it tonight, while Anthony is awake. We'll see how it goes. Keep checking the photos section for more pics-n-stuff and a Video
Updated 12-14-07
Anthony's 6 week birthday was today. Grandpa came over to celebrate. It was also Mommy's first long time away from baby as she worked in the morning for a few hours, and then rushed home early to hold and kiss the Little One. Anthony is now 10 pounds 2 ounces and is 21+ inches tall. This little Italian peanut has no problem eating everything you give him. He's up to 5 ounces per feeding now....and gettin' pudgy. He's also begining to smile and interact. Today we discovered that he likes the song "Sugar, Sugar" by the Archies. Mommy is doing well. The lack of regular sleep takes its toll, but she is doing well. Daddy is about the same. Anthony's Christmas gifts are starting to arrive and have been put under the tree. Tomorrow Daddy and Mommy do tag team xmas shopping. We'd rather not take him to the mall before he's had his RSV shots. Speaking of RSV shots: insurance companies are papre trail nightmares.....'nuff said. Here's some photos here and here.
Updated 12-20-07
So sorry for not posting more updates. Things got a little hectic and busy. Anthony is doing just fine. He's 11 pounds now and growing well. He's started to engaged in prolonged eye contact and has exhibited what appears to be a laugh (although gas is still the preferred smile-getter). He's also started vocalizing, which surprises me. I didn't think babies vocalized so soon. It's a jumble of sounds and looks right now that will come together soon. ITS CHRISTMAS!!! Grandpa-A is coming over to open presents with Anthony in the early afternoon. Glamma, Grandpa-B, TT (Aunt Erika) and others will be on the video phone. It'll be a virtual-x-mas!! Check back soon as we should have another update at the end of Christmas day.
Updated 12-25-07
Santa Came!!!! Anthony was so excited to see all his presents. He dug right in and was mesmerized by crinkling paper and colorful displays of toys, clothes and things. He enjoyed his play mirror right away and then moved on to the HotWheels set and Hess trucks with motorcycles! (ahem....both his Grandfathers went a bit into the older age brackets when buying Anthony's toys.) Grandma and Grandpa B were on the video phone watching all the fun from NY. Angela is sick. Really sick. She woke up sick and wound up sicker as the day progressed. She felt bad as she had to stay away from the baby for most of the day. Anthony missed his Mommy today. But she's feeling better as of 11pm-ish. Daddy's a little worried about getting sick too. All in all we gave Anthony a really good first Christmas. He was very attentive and was truly mesmerized by the toys we showed him. Grandpa A took some video. It'll take some time to get it loaded on the site. Stay tuned. Check out the photos here ...and Merry Christmas!
Updated 12-25-07
2007.....wow....what a year: new job, new house, 2 new cars, .....and a baby. One would think we like stress for stress sake, but we sear, the only thing planned was the baby. And what a kid he is. He's over 12 pounds now and has outgrown a bunch of outfits. We plan on saving two outfits per growth range (parents are as parents do). He just finished a growth spurt in the last few days that had Daddy and Mommy a little worried as he fussed through it all. His feeding is a bit off rhythm, but coming back to normal. He's taken to a fairly strong schedule during the night only waking twice before *his* day begins. We'll see if that holds. Mommy was recently very sick on Christmas Day, Daddy had some minor symptoms, while Baby was just fine. Anthony has another normal appointment with his pediatrician on 1/3. We'll update you all again in a few days. Meanwhile... photos.
Updated 01-06-08
Well, Anthony had 4 scheduled vaccine shots on January 3rd. Needless to say he was really uncomfortable and ran a slight fever until late the next day. He slept quite a bit but is slowly getting back to our tentative routine. He is growing (he weighed in at 12 pounds 2 ounces). The pediatrician was very happy with his weight gain and growth progress. Mommy and daddy need to continue working with him on his physical therapy for the wry neck, which is coming along fine. Anthony has a cardiology appointment on January 17th. We will know more at that time about his baby heart. Right now the doctors are monitoring him but are not proceeding further until he starts to show signs of heart irregularities. Continued prayers and well wishes are always welcome and encouraged. Anthony is a joy and has blessed our lives and every day we are amazed at his sweetness. He is smiling and laughing more and more. He is very verbal. He cries whenever he is bothered and coos-&-hoos whenever he is happy and engaged. All in all, his interaction skills are growing normally and warming our hearts. Here's some more photos here and here
Updated 01-18-08
Anthony had his follow-up cardiologist visit today. The doctor said that for his condition, he looks, and is doing, great. Anthony is now 12 pounds 11 ounces and is 23 inches long. According to the doctor he's a size "healthy chubby", which is excellent for his overall health as well as survival. Anthony has started to show symptoms of his condition with some sweating and irregular breathing. We've been instructed to begin his medications. We are adamant that Anthony be given the bare minimum amount of drugs. The doctors understand and have assured us of the drug regimen, the small amounts and what to expect. Anthony underwent another echocardiogram that confirmed for the doctors what we were seeing via his symptoms. In short: Anthony's upper hole in his heart is on its way to healing on its own; his lower hole will require surgery; and the inner heart growth has shown no change. The doctor will take care of all three while in there. The tentative surgery date will be set tomorrow, and the next two office visits will further solidify things. We were told that his surgery will take place in the March/April timeframe and be about six weeks max for recovery. The doctors are confident, so we are confident. In the meantime, Anthony laughed at everything ....the doctors, the equipment, the lights, his mom, his thumb, his dad ....everything. But that meant that Mommy and Daddy got a very over stimulated baby in the evening. Anthony is becoming a very loving and talkative child. He coos, woos and hoos a lot, and if you have eye contact and respond with the same sounds he goes ape-shit with smiles and laughs. Check out the photos
Updated 01-18-08
Anthony is now 13.2 pounds. We have crude scales here, but that's a really good guess. He's been doing great for his condition. His heart disease symptoms are increasing, but the medication is helping him to get enough oxygen and to keep his system clean. His condition does cause him some discomfort, but only in so much as making bad situations worse. As in: if he gets the hiccups and gets upset he could start to sweat as he cries. As we are told this is very normal for his condition and Anthony is doing very well. The fact that he continues to feed well and grow is a good indication that he will end up just fine. We also have been told that his operation is tentatively scheduled for mid March. Angela will start her job soon after that, while I take some time off to care for Anthony. Tentatively speaking, with prayers, and some great doctors ...alls well that ends well by May. His appointment with the cardiologist is next week and should help clarify if that is how things could turn out. ....In the meantime....Anthony is showing some great development as he's started reaching out for things and can understand functions. He likes grabbing his Klacky-bird and knows to press the button on the toy key to make a sound. Recently, Anthony's cousins in Syracuse, NY sent him a gift that goes back to Daddy's past. Anthony is now the proud owner of an original BigWheel!! Yes...you can guess it....Daddy's gunna trick it out for Anthony just like he wanted to when he was a kid: cell phone, wireless connectivity, ipod radio, GPS... Check back when Anthony is 3 yrs old for the unveiling. Anthony has had lots of visitors lately. Last weekend the Guys came over for some gaming and pizza. Anthony was very happy to be in the crowd and especially enjoyed hanging out in Jung's lap (James hasn't sent me the photos yet). Grandma Judith and her boyfriend Bruce stayed the weekend a couple weeks ago. It's a shame that we don't have more pictures from their visit. Grandpa also came over to shoot some video too. And there's about 20 people and kids about to surround him this coming weekend when we host our annual Superbowl party. We've already set it up to shut off Anthony's wing of the house for when he needs to take a nap during the party. During the weekdays Angela and the baby have been taking walks with one of the neighbors down the street. She's also a mommy and has two kids. This is very friendly and close neighborhood. We're glad to have found a nice place to start Anthony off right in life. All the neighbors have expressed their support for Anthony. ....As always, check out the photos here and here.
Updated 02-06-08
Anthony had his pediatrician's visit on February 5th. He weighed in at 13 pounds 8 ounces and is 23.5 inches long. His pediatrician was impressed with his progress and gave him rave reviews! We have a follow-up cardiologist appointment on Thursday and will let you know the status of that. Right now Anthony has to take lasix drops twice a day as well as an iron supplement. He may get put on a blood thinner over the next six weeks if his condition worsens. We are a bit scared of that as it would be adult style blood thinners. We'd rather him have an earlier surgery if possible. Currently, his surgery is tentatively scheduled for March 19th, and will be confirmed at his next cardiologist visit. All in all Anthony is doing quite well and is making developmental strides every week. This week he had some sustained laughter with daddy and has been smiling at everyone he meets. He's also starting to grab and hold onto his toys, which is a huge milestone! In addition, he's become a big time [baby talk] talker and has opinions in every conversation. Anthony turned three months old on February 3rd, Super bowl Sunday. He had a great time at the Super bowl party we threw and was the star of the house! He was really happy about the NY Giants winning this year but got a little upset at all the racket towards the end of the game (he wasn't sure why everyone was making noise maybe he thought that maybe everyone might need to be fed or that maybe everyone had a dirty diaper at the same time). Check out the adorable Superbowl pictures.
Updated 02-06-08
Anthony's symptoms have increased a bit. His breathing has become more labored in the evening and he's sweating a bit more. The doctors gave us the green light to increase his medication to three times a day. In total he is still receiving only two-thirds of a full dose. The doctors keep reassuring us that Anthony is doing remarkably well for his condition compared to other kids with the same ailment. All things are proceeding apace for his operation in March. Joe has started the process of getting the month of April off from work as part of his paternity-leave. It's more of a waiting game at this point with the paperwork to fill in the gaps. Meanwhile...on the fun side of things...Anthony has taken to the raspberry quite well. Depending on his mood it could be his only form of communication. He's also been grabbing at his toys and using his hands all the time. Here's just one attempt away from grabbing mommy's dinner plate. Anthony has been jabbering and laughing a bunch, although not so much for the camera. Here's a little bit of a giggle. He truly is a happy baby. Check out some more photos and videos here and here.
Updated 03-04-08
Ok.....so....it's been a while since an update. That's because we've been busy as all get-out over here. Mommy has been floating between three different part time jobs (tying up loose ends-n-such), and Daddy has been winding down his 3 year long project at work. It was very fortunate that Anthony's health issues and increased needs are falling right into this time period when both our work schedules are easing up. Daddy feels like he's crawling across the finish line (complete with a blood pressure work up), while Mommy is being dragged across by Anthony. But the short story is: all manner of life and duties are now pointing towards Anthony. Daddy has secured a six week leave from work under the California Family Medical Leave Act and will be with Anthony all through his recovery postponing expensive day care until mid May. (Any "politicos" out there who hate social programs can bite-me. I'm proud to use a state service supported by my taxes.) Daddy's work is being extra helpful allowing me to telecommute when needed and keeping the fires burning for me while I'm out. Mommy will be starting up work on 4/1. ......... Anthony himself has been doing relatively well. His symptoms were increasing somewhat (heavier breathing, more sweating, etc) The doctor placed him on high blood pressure medication (Captapril) 3 times per day starting last week, which has really eased his symptoms, but we will need to increase the dosage this week. He is still on his Lacix 3 times a day and taking iron drops about mid day. Even with all of that he is either gaining on ounce or two per week or maintaining a steady weight, which is very very good from the doctor's point of view. Anthony weighs about 14.5 pounds and is holding steady. Anthony's operation is still scheduled for 3/19 with pre-op on 3/18. He will be in the hospital for about 5 days, and then home for the rest of his recovery. We are told that by May 1 he should be back to his old self and better, and be ready for the day care rut to kick in. ......... Anthony will have a steady stream of visitors in the coming weeks: Grandma P will be here right after his surgery to help out around the house and Cousin Roseanne will be out here around tax time. Grandma and Grandpa B should be arriving on May 1, which could delay day care another two weeks, and save a bunch more moola. (We've decided to go with one-on-one day care for his first year due to his health, but will switch to a group system when we feel safe.) Aunt Erika is due to arrive sometime later in the summer. More visitors are always welcomed, just contact us way ahead of time to make sure things line up right. ............. Developmentally Anthony is doing very well. He's grabbing and manipulating his toys, jabbering almost non stop when he gets going and loves to be played with. Last night we found a ticklish spot on his belly that got him into a full blown belly laugh that kinda winded him. He's a very smiley baby and loves to cuddle. Cousin Kristen sent Anthony some of her books. He especially likes the Pooh Bear sing along book and laughs at some of the songs when song off-key by Daddy. His absolute favorite toy is his yellow bird (seen in some of the videos). Oh....and for the record....Anthony gives the raspberry almost each time Hillary Clinton is on the TV. I think we should heed his warning. Sorry, but we haven't taken too many photos lately and those that we did take aren't as flattering to Mommy and Daddy as a public web site would need. :) ...but here's a fee new ones with more on the way. Stay tuned....
Updated 03-12-08
We usually save all the good news and fun stuff for the end of each update, and this one is no different. Anthony's upcoming surgery is really weighing heavily on our minds. Even though he has an excellent prognosis, and doctors that come highly recommended, we still feel a large sense of unnerving uncertainty. The insurance paperwork and bureaucracies don't help none, either. Let's face it: Anthony could have some serious complications either during or after his surgery. Those are thoughts we try to avoid, but they have to be acknowledged. We are most certainly, though, siding with the odds on this one. Anthony has an excellent chance for doing very well. ....and speaking of doing well.... Anthony is doing great at all things baby-like. He's started playing with his feet and can even get them in his mouth (years ahead of when he'll be doing that as an adult). He's also started eating solids (relatively speaking). Our pediatrician told us to try some steamed/pureed veggies for him to eat a couple times a day. Anthony is certainly a professional eater. It took him only two feeding sessions for him to get the hang of it. Now, four more sessions later, he gets excited and opens his mouth for each spoonful. He didn't like squash as much as he liked the carrots. We'll be trying more veggies in the coming weeks. Anthony has also grown quite a bit. He's now more than double his birth weight at 15 pounds 9 ounces, and is just over 25.5 inches tall. He's outgrown all of his newborn and 3-6 clothes and is working his way through the closet. We've already retired some of his clothes to the "Anthony Hall of Fame". Here's some more photos.
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