We have a 2 month old!

WOW!! I am about to utter the words I am sure every mother says from time to time..."Where has the time gone?"

Two month picture with Pooh...He apparently celebrated too much during the day

Snuggling up with Hurumph at 2 months

2 months (and one day) ago we were anxiously waiting to meet Mason and take in all he had to offer. And today at 2 months his personality is starting to shine through. About a week ago...he started doing this reactively to our coos and silly faces...

These pictures were actually taken today because the little stinker knows when the camera is on...His smile is actually much bigger but he wouldn't give it up with the camera pointed at him!

He pretty much has a stubborn streak in him already, but I am not sure who is gets that from...must be his daddy because mommy is NEVER stubborn. :)hehehe When he is being fed via the bottle and you take that bottle of gold away to burp him and he thinks he is not ready to burp...he has developed a distinct cry for that...We find it kinda comical actually...but we won't tell him that when he grows up. If he doesn't get that liquid gold fast enough he will let you know it as well. This has posed a slight problem with needing to give him enzymes before feeding. Sometimes it can be a real fight to get him to swallow the applesauce/enzymes 1st.

A rare moment of non crying/fussing while waiting to get his enzymes

Speaking of the Enzymes, he is doing fairly well with them. Of course he always makes liars of us when others are around to witness...he takes them soooo good and quick then. The monster diaper rash that he had as a result of the enzymes is looking SOOOO much better today. I made it my mission on Monday to leave it open to air as much a possible. I even took the blow drier (on low heat) to that cute little bum a couple of times. Now that must have been a sight to see walking past the front window!

I took him in for a weight check this morning. We will be doing those every week until we go back to the CF clinic in November. I felt a little strange, because I must call when i arrive and the nurse meets me at a separate entrance and head right into an exam room. Kinda felt like a little celebrity for a millisecond. It was nice to get that treatment but by no means do i wish we need to get it during the cold/flu season. So the big news is that he gained 9 ounces in a week. He is now up to 10lbs 12ounces!!! I think all the extra bottles of breast milk that we add some formula to (for extra calories) is helping!

I most likely will be jinxing myself here, but it has started to fall into a routine for eating at least. He is currently eating 6 times a day and usually will let us sleep 2 stretches of 4-5 hours. Most times he is hungry between 2am and 4am. So that has been a nice thing to get used to. The sleeping during the day part is still all over the board... some days he wants to sleep and others he wants to stay up quite a bit.

He has been fitting into some of his smaller 0-3 months clothes a few weeks now, but still has a few newborn outfits that fit him. Love the sizing difference between brands! Here he is showing off last season's Oshkosh B-Gosh Fall line...

We were going to have some mid week visitors but because of the High Wind conditions we had to entertain ourselves during the day. Grandma Pam and Great Grandma Grace were going to come visit on Tuesday, then is got pushed back to Wednesday, and then pushed again to Saturday. So, we are getting ready for a pretty busy weekend. Friday night we are getting together with most of the Dinner Club to warm the new house of Steighner, Saturday we are going to be entertained by the Altoona folk, and on Halloween we are getting together with the Dinner Club again, but this time at a Pumpkin Farm/Petting Zoo and then trick or treating with the Molle's! So We should have a lot to post about on Monday!

Here is the new band that Derek is wearing. You may have noticed that while we were pregnant (and even before) he was wearing a yellow "Strength" band. He wore it the hole time as a good luck for a healthy pregnancy. So now he has a new one to wear to help bring awareness to Cystic Fibrosis and to honor Mason's fight.

got popcorn?

Derek was kind enough to show me how to get these videos up here...so plan on seeing more in the future! Now sit back and enjoy the show!

The Results are in...well mostly

Well Hello There!

So, this is post that I have thought long and hard about. It is a post that I had wished I never had to write about, but as life goes you gotta roll with the punches. As many of you know, at just 3 weeks of age (on 9.20/21.10), Mason was diagnosis with a genetic disease called Cystic Fibrosis. It is an inherited, life long, chronic disease that affects his ability to digest and absorb food and eventually his ability to breathe. In order to have CF you need two mutated genes to be passed on. So far we only know one of the mutations and are still waiting (for over a month now) to find out the second gene. In the simplified of terms, the gene mutation messes up the salt flow in and out of his cells, which results in the mucus lining to become thicker than normal. This thicker then normal mucus plugs up the duct coming from the Pancreas. This doesn't allow the enzymes important for digestion to be released and he therefore does not absorb enough nutrients. This thick mucus also plugs up his respiratory system. This mucus is a great host for bacteria to get stuck in and cause him to be much more prone to infections. Even just the common cold can hospitalize him if it isn't caught soon enough. Click HERE for more info on Cystic Fibrosis.

So, after we found out this news, we were directed to the Cystic Fibrosis clinic here at Children's Hospital in Wauwatosa. We are so thankful to be living so close to such a highly rated clinic in this field. We have gone to 3 appointments already, each lasting about 3 hours because we meet with about 4-5 different professionals while we are there. There is so much information exchanged during this time that truthfully the 3 hours goes pretty quickly, but I leave exhausted. Mason has a medical team that will now follow him for the rest of his life. We will be going to appointments once a month until he is 1 year old then every 3 months after that.

This is the Cystic Fibrosis clinic we have been going to at Children's for the past month.

So what does this all mean for our little man? His stool test which basically shows how blocked his pancreas is already came back at 66 and normal is over 200. We are told that his number will never get better it can only get worse. So this means the enzymes are not totally being released into his system. This means he needs to take enzymes every time he eats. We are also now to start giving him at least one bottle of breast milk a day and add formula to it so that he gets increased calories. At his last appointment on Monday, he had gained 11 onces in two weeks, which is good, but they want to see a higher number. The more weight he packs on the better it will be for him. He currently takes a special vitamin mix that is created only for CF patients. Finally we are starting him on Prevacid (and antacid) to help with his acid reflux. As he gets older he will be on a high fat/calorie/salt diet.

Here is a one month supply (for now) of the enzyme capsules (we open them to get the sprinkles) he must take now and for the rest of his life.

These are the opened enzymes that he must take every single time he eats. We have to use baby applesauce as a vehicle to get him to take them. I would have never thought I would be giving my baby boy "food" at 6 weeks old. He currently takes 1 1/2 capsules (we open them to get the sprinkles) with every feeding. After he takes them he needs to finish eating in 45 min or we have to give him more enzymes and then proceed.

As for the respiratory issues...well we thankfully have not had any issues with this yet and hope not to for a very long time. The doctor stated that in the spring they will teach us some therapies that we will have to do on daily basis ti loosen up the mucus in his lungs to hopefully keep him healthy and free of infection. These will involved "clapping" up to 12 areas on his upper body.

We have been told to be very careful this cold and flu season, not only because he is a baby, but also due to his CF. There is to be a lot of hand washing and disinfecting from here on out. We are to limit his exposure to anyone with cold/flu symptoms. Smoke is a very big thing to stay away from, so much so that we are not to burn candles in the house except every now and then. We are told that he will live a relatively normal life. Go to school and play sports (exercise is actually encouraging because it builds lung strength and loosens the mucus). Although his life expectancy is not as long as ours, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is working on treatments toward a cure every single day. So, it is a great thing that we know now so that we have a head start, so to speak, on keeping him healthy for the future. So, Mason has a diagnosis of CF, but this does not define who he is or what he can grow up to be. CF is just a part of him, part of his daily routine. He has the chance to be who and what he wants to be and we plan on encouraging whatever he wants to do (within reason of course :) ) So on to pictures of our little man, because he is what lights up our life!

Now for the fun stuff...LOTS and LOTS of pictures...

Hanging out with mom during the day

Loving on dad

He is an equal opportunity lover

This is Mason's political platform on how he feels about joining the workforce in about 16 years!

Mason posing with a super duper nice gift basket from Kim...as you can see his is thrilled!

I finally opened up the Moby Wrap

...and Mason love's it...falls asleep almost instantly...therefore mama loves it too!

Grandma Kathy was so excited to feed Mason for the 1st time that she had to go out and buy a bottle...only because mom forgot to pack one! oops!

Mason was sooo out at this point, he was laying higher and then all of a sudden he just scooted himself down into this position...thought it was kinda funny!

don't worry I moved his hand so he could breathe a little better!

Grandpa Dave feeding Mason for the 1st time!

This what happens when Derek gets a hold of the camera after 3 coca cola's!

Packer Sunday!

(with Sara's very first Packer shirt!)

I guess the game got too boring to watch...

I took Mason to see Dr. Shallue for his two month checkup on Wed Oct 20th! I can't believe he is almost two months already! Before I know it, I will be saying I can't believe my baby is 18 and off to college!...okay back on topic...It was interesting to see how much of a difference two days and a different scale/location can make on his stats. He weighed in at 10lbs 3oz (placing him in the 23%), his length is 22.75 inches (placing him in the 54%), and his head circumference was 39.6cm (placing him in the 53%).

Overall, Dr. Shallue said he looked good with no real worries. I think that has partly to do with the fact we are going to the Cystic Fibrosis Clinic frequently. She did however, confirm his pink eye has returned and we will just continue with the eye drops from before. His head is in "perfect shape" and motor skills good. We will be doing weekly weight checks until we go back to the CF clinic on Nov 15th. We also discussed using a separate entrance when we do come in since it is cold and flu season. Dr. Offices are filled with sick people and we want to decrease his exposure as much as we can since he can become very ill from just the cold. The office is going to allow me to call when I arrive to the appointment and greet us at a separate entrance and take us right into a room so that we can avoid all the germs. I was so happy to hear that they are going to be so accommodating because it was something the CF clinic was requesting.

After all that talk, it was time for his immunization shots! I was slightly worried about it, but they went well. He got three shots in the legs and one immunization by mouth. He was a trooper! He only cried and got red in the face for about 30 seconds and went back to sucking on the pacifier!

His badge of honor for taking those shots like a champ...two snoopy band-aids (the other one in on his other leg)!

We have recently discovered Mason's new love...The Ceiling Fan! Here he is gazing up at it from our bed. He can sit for quite some time and just stare up at it. It so fun to see the amazement in his eyes as he is starting to take more and more of his environment in. I just sit and wonder what is going on in that little brain of his.

Happy early Halloween!

Stay tuned for fun videos...i have to have Derek help me load them because he is the video guru!

Uh oh..that's not the Packer game...Its Grey Anatomy...

Uh oh..that's not the Packer game...Its Grey Anatomy. Mason watching Grey's Anatomy show.

Daddy feeding Mason for first time ...

Grocery shopping with Mason ...

Can't fit as many items when little man comes along. :) Don't worry Daddy didn't REALLY stack items on top of me, he just wanted a funny picture.

10 days of pictures!

Well, I have neglected to post for a whole 10 days. So this equates to a boatload of pictures! So enjoy!

Last Saturday (10.2.10) Grandma Pam came to visit and get some snuggle time in! Then Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Dave came into have supper and visit and of course snuggle! Grandma Pam and Grandma Kathy made a yummy supper for everyone. I got to enjoy it at a later time.

Dad showing everyone how my head is almost the size of my pumpkin that Grandpa Dave grew for me!

Grandma Pam reading to me before she had to go home

After work on Tuesday, Daddy and I had a staring contest...I won!

Thursday we hung out at home eating, napping, and pooping...

Naked Tummy Time...gotta air that gas machine out once and awhile :)

Out for walk in the warm fresh air. Like my pumpkin hat?

On Friday, we didn't do much except wait for Erin to come visit and then take a nap.

My long time friend, Erin, was in town from Door County and loved on Mason for a few hours.

"oops...I lost my pants!"

Guess who slept in his Big Boy Bed overnight for the first time on Saturday night...

THIS GUY!!!!

"hmmm, this isn't so bad!"

Mason's interesting balding head...suppose we could put it in a mohawk.

I don't think he liked the Mohawk idea...

On Saturday I finally took the pumping plunge. I figure I should probably get some supply stocked away so the milk maid can get away for more than an hour or so at a time. It was great because Derek and Mason got some quality bonding time together over a bottle.

not bad for the first time

He took the bottle like a champ...and then needed his mama for top off... 2 ounces is just not enough! :)

Today, Sunday, we just hung out at home with the windows wide open and enjoyed the Packers

Showing everyone what my poop/gas face looks like while enjoying the Packers today.

Smiling because we thought the Packers were gonna win

"Go Pack, Go!"

"What? you don't hang out in just your diaper and cool green socks?"