Happy Holidays!

Hi everyone, 
     Not too much in the way of major developments for our little man.  He weighed in at 11 lbs., 14 oz at his last doctor's visit a couple of weeks ago so I expect he's passed the 12 lb. mark by now.  His next big appointment is with the pulmonologist next week, at which time we expect him to be officially taken off the oxygen and monitoring requirements.  We haven't hooked Austin up to the oxygen for about a month and he's done just fine.  We do hook him up to the sat monitor when he's sleeping at night but it hasn't alarmed at all.  Needless to say we are ready to ditch the last of the cords and the big oxygen tank in the living room.
    Jamie went back to work last week so Austin and I had our first official guys weekend.  As most of you know, Jamie works night shift 7 days on, 6 off.  During her days on she's pretty much working and sleeping so Austin and I got plenty of quality time.  Everything went very well and we even managed an event-free trip up to Seattle to celebrate my Grandpa's 92nd birthday.  Austin's been starting to sleep through the night fairly well....he's gone from 9:00 PM to 6:00-6:30 AM twice in the past few days. 

Here's a few recent pictures:

Austin's first Thanksgiving













Dad and Austin at Thanksgiving

Austin has taken a liking to college basketball...specifically the Huskies.  He just kept swing his head around to watch the game. 

The Yurina's after watching the Dawgs win the Apple Cup. 

We wish all of you a Happy Holiday season. 

The Yurina's

Say cheese!

As you can see, our little man is starting to express himself a bit.  He likes to have conversations with Mom and the little stuffed lion in his bouncy chair.  We also had another first the other night....Austin rolled over from his front to back for the first time.  Jamie and I both missed the actual event, but I did manage to capture him in the finish position.  Please disregard the snotty nose....it was alot of work, OK?

  

We had a special occasion at our house a couple of weeks ago.  Austin was fortunate to meet a new friend and fellow Pierre Robin Syndrome baby.  Our friends Lisa and Doug daughter Sadie was born a few weeks before Austin and was also diagnosed with PRS and a cleft palate.  Since the incident rate for PRS is between 1 in 8500 to 1 in 30,000, this was a very rare occurrence.   

They really did like each other, trust me. 



In other news, well, there really hasn't been too much.  We've been keeping Austin off the oxygen and his monitors during the day and he's been doing great without it.  He still gets hooked up while sleeping but hasn't had any major issues to speak of during the night either.  We're really hoping to be rid of the oxygen tank and monitors after his next visit to the pulminologist in a few weeks. 

Cross your fingers!

Cheers,

Ryan

Wireless baby?

Well, that's what we were hoping for anyways.  Austin had an appointment with the pulmonologist today and we were hoping he'd be able to come off the oxygen and lose the apnea monitor.  Unfortunately that's not going to be the case.  Based on the results of the sleep study he did a couple of weeks back, the Doctor felt it best that he stay on the oxygen at least while sleeping.  Turns out Austin has a moderate case of sleep apnea.  We will be getting a sat monitor to replace the apnea monitor.  This will allow us to tailor his oxygen more closely to his needs.  His next appointment with the pulmonologist won't be for 2 months, so he gets to stay hard-wired for at least that much longer.  Bummer.

In other news, his weight is up to 10 lbs, 2 oz and he continues to eat well.  His sleeping and feeding has been a little erratic during the nights so Mom and Dad have been busy shall we say.  It appears we have a 'night shift' baby on our hands.  Austin has also started to lift his head and throw out a few meaningful smiles.  He's also graduated from newborn clothes up to 0-3 months. 

Here's a few recent pictures:

During a nap this evening

Spending some quality time with Great Grandpa

4/5 of the Yurina family







$1,609,585.35

That my friends is the total of all medical charges for Austin to date.  Staggering isn't it?

I apologize to all of you that are following the blog about the lack of activity lately.  I've lost a little traction since heading back to work a few weeks ago.   Austin weighed in at 9 lbs, 3 oz last week and continues to be on a nice path growth-wise.  He's been doing his best to keep Mom awake at all hours of the night recently and she's been kind enough to let me get my beauty sleep through it all.  I feel kind of guilty but I do have to get up and go to work.  Have I mentioned recently that I have a great wife?  The little guy just likes to snack and fuss during the night for some reason and we're doing our best to 'troubleshoot'.  I guess that's all part of the fun of parenthood.

I'll be back soon with updated pictures of our million-dollar baby. 

Cheers,
RY

Happy 'should've been' birthday!

Believe it or not, today is Austin's actual due date.  And tomorrow he will be 11 weeks old.  Crazy.

Austin weighed in at an even 8 lbs at the doctor yesterday and measured 20 3/4 inches in length.  He's right smack in the middle of the growth curve and continues to do very well.  We visited the pulmonologist yesterday to check on his lungs and breathing.  They removed his nasal canula for almost an hour and Austin's oxygen saturation level stayed pretty level the entire time.  He did de-sat for a brief period when the doctor was examining him but his levels came back up very quickly.  We were hoping the doctor might give the OK to remove him from the oxygen but no such luck.  Austin is going to stay on for a while longer at least when he sleeps and eats (which is about 98% of his day). 

Today we visited the maxilofacial doctor for an initial exam.  As expected, Austin will have his cleft palate repaired at about one year of age or whenever he reaches 20 lbs.  Otherwise it was a pretty uneventful visit.  Tomorrow we are back to the occupational therapist to check the progress on his hands.  He's been wearing his hand splints for a few hours a day and his range of motion seems to be improving. 

Last weekend, Austin made his first non-medical related trip out into public.  We took him over to our friends the Collins' house and everything went great.  He got to spend some time with his 'cousins' Sydney and Rylie and despite all the excitement managed to get a long nap in. 

Until next time....

Farts and burps

I never thought I'd be so excited about another person's flatulence and burping, but I sure am when it comes to our little man.  If it weren't for some periodic issues with gas we have a pretty mellow kid on our hands.  Austin is doing great at home and we haven't had much in the way of issues, developments, or changes to speak of since my last post.  As of Monday, he is up to a whopping 7 lbs, 9 oz and continues to make good progress with his feeds (duh). 

We've made a couple of journeys out into public since he's been home and managed fairly well.  It's a bit of challenge toting around a portable oxygen tank and the apnea monitor, but the two of us managed pretty well.  Austin met his pediatrician Dr. Oltman for his first checkup and to get a couple of shots.  We had a second road trip to visit the occupational therapist to have Austin fitted for hand splints.  He wears them a few hours a day to help straighten his fingers.  Beyond those excursions we've been holed up at home enjoying time with him before I go back to work. 

Here's a few recent pictures:

Dude, just feed me.

Grandma Jan, I just pooped myself.  Fix it.

Hanging out with Sydney, who is our friends' Ryan and Melissa's daughter.  So cute....she made sure to use hand sanitizer before she held him. 

Adjusting to life at home

To all of you parents out there....you are amazing.  I thought I had a pretty good idea of what raising a newborn might be like but now I'm starting to really understand.  We've only had Austin home for a couple of days now and it's been challenging.  Adjusting our way of life is going to take some time but we are making the best of it.

Austin is doing pretty well and is getting acclimated to home.  He's been taking a little less volume with his feeds and thus is not sleeping as long between them.  In the ICN he was taking between 2 and 2 1/2 ounces every 4 hours and has taken between 1 1/2 and 2 ounces every 3 hours since he's been home.  You can do the math on that if you'd like but the answer is less sleep for Mom and Dad.  Austin had his first appointment with his pediatrician today and everything checked out fine.  He weighed in at 6 lbs, 15 oz and measured 19 1/2 inches long so he's still growing like the weeds in our backyard.  This is the first of many doctor visits unfortunately.  We've got appointments lined up already with occupational therapy (for his hand splints), pulmonologist (for his lung function), dietitian (feeding), geneticist (follow up on his genetic condition), maxillofacial (for his cleft palate), ENT doctor (for his airway), opthomologist (follow up check on his eyes), and the urologist (for his cordee).  So lots to come for our little fighter.

Enough writing, you just want pictures anyways.  :)

Here's our lovely new oxygen tank which sits downstairs.  Austin is hooked up to a 50 foot tube so we can move him upstairs to his nursery.  He's also hooked up to an apnea monitor when he's not with us.  It gets a bit tricky navigating all of the chords, but we're pretty used to it at this point. 

Little man catching a nap in his bassinet (thanks Aunt Shelly!)

Anyone need any milk?  I know, ridiculous right? 

Austin's room.  Still a work in progress, but cozy nonetheless. 

Most importantly, I got the 'Boys Room' setup in time for the opening NFL weekend.  Yes, I have a problem.