Life With Baby G

Pumpkin Patch

2012-01-30T09:35:00.000-08:00

14 Months!!

2012-01-30T09:12:00.001-08:00

I can't believe he is already 14 months old!! He is walking now too!

I'm Back

2012-01-30T09:09:00.000-08:00

So I have been slackingon my blogging of Baby Griffin. It is amazing how fast the days run by when you are not paying attention. My plan tonight is to load some pictures to get caught up. We have had football season, a first birthday, Thanksgiving & Christmas. Griffin is doing great. He has a cardiologist appointment this Wednesday. My goal is to try and post at least one time a week. We will see how that goes!!

First Haircut!!

2011-09-30T09:15:00.000-07:00

Cardiologist Check-Up

2011-09-15T20:12:00.001-07:00

Griffin had his 3 month check-up yesterday with his cardiologist. We received excellent news!! There is no leaking around his VSD patch, there are no obstructions under his aortic valve and there is no leakage within the valve that was worked on!! WooHoo! The doctor said he is doing great. He also was very pleased with Griffin's weight and development. We will go back in 6 months for a check-up then in one year for a new echo to be certain that everything still looks good. For now though we are on no restrictions and doing great! God is good!

9 Month Check Up

2011-08-28T17:31:00.001-07:00

Well Griffin had his 9 month check up last week! He is growing like a weed. He weighs 20 pounds and is 28 1/4 inches long. He is crawling everywhere and pulling up on everything. We have finally gotten him into a good routine for naps and bedtime. He is doing great! We should have a visit at Childrens' soon. His next visit is due in September. With school starting back I have been slacking on blogging. We were also gone the week before last for Trey's grandmas funeral. Then last week Trey worked 7 days straight. Needless to say he is a little cranky. :)

9 months old!

2011-08-23T19:53:00.000-07:00

Griffin had his 9 month check up today! He weighs 20 pounds (75th percentile) and is 28 1/4 inches long (90th). He is doing great. The pediatrician said his heart sounded great and that he was meeting and exceeding his developmental milestones! He is such a big boy!!

Mini Not So Vacay Day 1

2011-08-01T13:55:00.000-07:00

Griffin and I are on a mini not so vacay this week. I decided that we needed to get out and do something so we loaded up and came to Little Rock with his Nana for the Arkansas Administrators Education Association Conference. So far we have shopped at the North Little Rock Rhea Lana sell and eaten lunch at Jason's Deli. That is where the story gets interesting. Nana ordered a baked potato and it was in the middle of the table. Some how stretch armstrong reached from his high chair to the middle of the table to get a hand full of the potatoe. BAD IDEA. I believe we saw some real tears. It was HOT! His little fat hand was covered in potatoe and hot cheese. However, he didn't learn his lesson because not five minutes later he had a whole handful of banana pudding! So he is just now down for his nap! He usually has had two naps by now, but his routine is off so he was a little cranky. So hopefully his night will go better. We are going to a fish fry with Nana and the rest of the AAEA convention. I'm sure he will be flirting with everyone!

Dark Chocolate and Espresso Bean Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

2011-07-23T13:37:00.001-07:00

Today we had these cupcakes! They were awesome! Here was my recipe.

Cupcakes:

Devil's food cake mixed like the box says

Add one egg, box of chocolate pudding, and 1/2 cup chopped chocolate covered espresso beans. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full and bake according to the box.

Icing:

I used a canned icing for these and piped it on. I also topped each one with a chocolate covered espresso bean.

Griffin is 8 months old!!

2011-07-21T13:43:00.000-07:00

On Thursday Griffin was 8 months old!!! It is hard to believe! He is growing up so fast!!

Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Icing

2011-07-17T18:14:00.001-07:00

So I have decided that I am going to start sharing recipes on my blog as well. This week my recipe is Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Icing!! I'm drooling just thinking about them.

Cupcake:

1 Box Yellow cake mix (prepared how the box instructs)

2 very ripe bananas diced

2 handfuls of chocolate chips

Once the cake mix is mixed stir in the bananas and chocolate chips. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 of the way full and bake until a toothpick comes out clean from the center. Remove from oven and cool.

Icing:

5 Tbs Butter

1 Cup Creamy peanut butter

1 cup confectioner's sugar

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup of heavy cream

Mix all ingredients together except the cream. Once it is all combined add in cream and mix until smooth. Once cupcakes have cooled ice them and enjoy!

2011-07-09T21:21:00.000-07:00

Griffin's Pappy and Nana Susan have been in town visiting this weekend. Today we started our day at the farmer's market. Next we had breakfast at Susan's. Griffin went for a little swim and had an afternoon nap. After that we had a great dinner then did a little shopping. Griffin really likes cruising in the car and in the shopping cart. Here is a little snapshot of him from today. :) Tomorrow we are heading out to Eureka Springs with Nana and Aunt Deb.

Swimming

2011-06-30T15:15:00.001-07:00

Griffin had his first swimming experience yesterday! He still can't get his incision wet so it was from the waist down swimming only! He sat on the step and kicked his feet for 10 minutes. He also like watching the big kids play. After about 30 minutes he was give out! He had a fun time and we are excited to take him on the 4th of July!!

ACH Check-UP

2011-06-24T14:13:00.001-07:00

Today was Griffin's check up at ACH. He got a clean bill of health. The Dr said his x-rays were clear and that he sounded good. He also doesn't have to take any medicine any more which is good because it apparently tasted really bad. So our new orders are take it easy for at least another week. He can start swimming next weekend, and we return for a check up in 3 months to the Lowell clinic.

While we were in Little Rock I managed to talk Trey into going to Babies-r-Us. To make a long story short, we left with a new car seat, baby food and formula. I think I even managed to get some swim diapers on sale! We made a pretty good haul, and Griffin looks really comfortable in his new car seat. It's already installed you ask? Why yes!! Trey thought it was vital that he install it before we left ACH so Griffin could try it out on the way home. So I think that Trey likes babies r us!

2011-06-21T17:51:00.000-07:00

Griffin is 7 months old today!! He is a big boy!!

First Post Op

2011-06-21T16:33:00.001-07:00

Griffin had his first post-op doctors visit. Everything went really well. His incision has healed up nicely, and he has two scabs from his chest tubes. Today when they weighed him he had gained 1 pound since we left the hospital. His pediatrician was really pleased with how well he is doing. Trey and I leave on Thursday to go back to Little Rock. G has an appointment with Dr. K'Necht on Friday. Hopefully we will be able to start going to the regional clinic in Lowell after this visit.

Settling Back In

2011-06-20T09:30:00.001-07:00

Well we have been working on getting back on our schedule. Griffin is sleeping better now. He gets a little sore at night. We have to be careful not to pick him up under his arms too much. He is rolling over again, but hasn't started his crawling yet. Yesterday he pushed up on all fours a few times, but never took off. We have been trying to get him to rest a few times during the day. All in all things are going well.

Home!!!

2011-06-15T23:02:00.001-07:00

We are home and settled back in! Griffin's next appointment is June 21st with his pediatrician and on the 24th we have to take him back to the cardiologist.

Tuesday Morning

2011-06-14T06:32:00.001-07:00

Griffin's doctor just came in to let us know that his echo and X-ray looked great. They are beginning the discharge process. Tonight we are going to stay in Little Rock so everyone can get a good nights rest and tomorrow we will start home!!

Monday

2011-06-13T13:50:00.001-07:00

Well we have had a very busy day. Griffin slept really good last night. Today is taking all his medicines by mouth. He is eating well. Last night he started rolling over again. Today he has had a X-ray and an echo. The doctor was very positive when he came in. Everything is going great. Trey had to go home today. He has a drs appointment at the VA tomorrow.

Sunday Afternoon

2011-06-12T11:12:00.001-07:00

Griffin is doing great. He is all settled in his new room. He ate a jar of applesauce. The ICU doctor came in and told us that Griffin is being released from the ICU. The floor doctors will now be in charge of his care. He also said that he might be discharged by Tuesday! God is good!!!

Sunday

2011-06-12T07:28:00.001-07:00

Griffin had a great night. This morning he has been laughing and playing. He is only on Tylenol with codeine for pain. He is doing great. The drs are making their rounds so maybe we will get more good news soon !

Saturday Night

2011-06-11T20:09:00.001-07:00

Griffin has had a great day. He got his chest tubes and pacing wires out. The only IV he has left is his central line. They are only using it right now to draw blood for his lab work. He is doing good. He is eating and playing. He has started smiling at people too. Trey made me get out of the hospital today to go eat dinner. We are all doing good. Thank you everyone for all your thoughts and prayers.

Saturday

2011-06-11T10:43:00.001-07:00

Griffin is doing great. He was moved to a different room last night. He got his chest tubes and pacing wires out today. I got to hold him today. He is doing great. Trey's dad and wife came down today. Kimber and Josh came too. We are all doing great. Thanks for the prayers.

Friday Night

2011-06-10T19:34:00.001-07:00

Griffin has had a great day. He is eating well, and his oxygen levels have stayed up. He will not be able to eat after 4 in the morning because they are gojng to take his chest tubes out so they will have to give him some sedation in order to do that. Tonight be started getting a little agitated when his morphine wore off, but he was able to have a small dose to help him calm down. He is resting good now. I will update in the morning!

Friday Afternoon

2011-06-10T13:21:00.001-07:00

Griffin is doing well. He is down to only iv fluid, morphine, and antibiotics. He has been eating like his normal self. They are trying to wean him off the morphine and get him on iv ibuprofen. He has been coughing some which is good for his lungs. For the last hour he has been kicking his feet up in the air like he normally does. He is continuing to make progress. They have taken him off his oxygen and have removed one of his IV lines.

Friday Morning

2011-06-10T07:49:00.000-07:00

Griffin had a great night. He rested well. During the night they were able to take him off the ventilator. This morning the doctors removed his catheter. When I was in the room with him this morning he looked like he felt better. He has good color and is resting well. When I would talk to him he would open his eyes and look for me.

Griffin rolled over last night and nearly gave his nurse a heart attack. When he flipped over all of his monitors went crazy and he was still on the vent so it was not a good thing. Two nurses had to turn him over and get him settled again. They have put some little restraints on his arms so that he can't roll over. He is still able to move his arms. He was sucking his thumb this morning. :)

They have weaned him off of some of the pain medicine. He is now on antibiotics. His cardiologist came by today and talked with me. He is very pleased with how Griffin is doing. He laughed when the nurse was telling him how Griffin rolled over. He has seen him in action and was not suprised by it at all.

I will update later today. For now all is well and calm. If anyone tries to call and I don't answer, just leave a message. My phone is not working well in the hospital. It does get texts better.

CVICU

2011-06-09T17:56:00.001-07:00

Well Griffin is in the CVICU. He is doing great. They are weaning him off of his ventilator. His blood work is continuing to improve. The nurses are awesome. I will update in the morning about how the night goes. Hopefully they will get him off his vent tonight. Thank you for the continued prayers.

Update #3

2011-06-09T10:30:00.001-07:00

Griffin is out of surgery. Everything is great. His post operative echo was good. We should be able to see him soon. The anesthesia person and surgeon should be in shortly to talk with us.

Update #2

2011-06-09T08:26:00.001-07:00

We were just updated from the operating room. He is doing great. They are having the remove some extra muscle from his pulmonary valve. The next step is to close the hole in his heart with a gortex patch. He is on a bypass machine right now so that they can work on his heart. They are going to be updating us in about another hour.

Update #1

2011-06-09T06:45:00.001-07:00

Well we have been at the hospital since 5:15. They took us back by 5:30. At 7:00 the anesthesia team came to get Griffin. They walked us up to the operating room. They are getting him hooked up to his IVs and all his extra garb. When they start the surgery they will come and tell us. I will update soon.

Pre-Op Day

2011-06-08T21:08:00.001-07:00

They should call it, scare the crap out of you day, or information overload day!! We began our day at Children's at 8:15. Our day ended at 3:45. Griffin was a trooper through the EKG, needle sticks, x-rays and random people "examining" him. We heard, "do you have any questions?" about 20 times. No I didn't have any! My brain is still trying to process all the information you just shoved into it.

After we got back to our room Griffin took a little nap and then we had dinner at The Faded Rose. Yummy!! The whole gang was there! Mommy, Daddy, Nana, Papaw, Grandma Kathy, Auntie Barb and Uncle Kevin.

Now we get to try and sleep. Hahaha!! We have to be at the hospital at 5:30. They will take him back at 7:30 and Surgery should start at 8:30. I will keep you updated more tomorrow.

Thankful.....

2011-06-06T20:25:00.001-07:00

We often say we are thankful for things or people in our lives. Today I was truly humbled and thankful for my co-workers, friends and family. I don't think that I could be making it each day without them. Today as I read the sweet words they had written to me about their well wishes for my little guy I felt surrounded by love. I gather my strength from these amazing people everyday, and it keeps me going each day. Words can never express mine or Trey's gratitude toward everything you all have done for us. Thank you so much.

6 Month Pictures

2011-05-28T19:59:00.001-07:00

Well today we did Griffin's 6 month pictures. He refused to take his afternoon nap so he was sooooo tired. We got some really great pics! We did some family pictures also. I want to give a big thank you to 5H Photography. We have had a crazy busy weekend. Mom and Dad closed on their house Friday. They have been moving their stuff in and getting all settled in. Griffin stayed the night with them last night for all of their first night in the new house. I'm beat. So I will update more later! :)

Now we wait..........

2011-05-03T16:50:00.000-07:00

We got the call today...... Griffin's surgery will be on June 9th. We have to be in Little Rock all day June 8th for pre-op stuff. I have about 1 million questions to ask, but the very nice lady on the phone asked me to wait and get my information packet before I start asking my million questions. So we have one month to come up with more questions and to wait. I think that this wait will be the hardest part for me. I wish we could just get it over with.

Over the past couple of days I have answered lots of questions about how Griffin is doing. The craziest part of this whole situation is that he is fine. If you did not know he had a heart condition you would never know. He is growing normally. He is also rolling over, sleeping at night, eating some baby food, and trying to army crawl. He has also been trying to sit up independently. He is doing great. :)

Sticks and stones.......

2011-04-29T18:46:00.000-07:00

We all heard this growing up for when bullies were bothering us. I learned this week that words can hurt you deep in your soul and shake you off your game. For me those words were........malfunctioning valve.....large hole.......open heart surgery for your 5 month old. Those words hurt me to my core. My baby having a major surgery and being in the hospital for 2 weeks. I think the shock is still wearing off, but I have had my big cry and now I have rationalized the situation.

In my job I see all kinds of issues that kids have. My current frame of mind has me saying at least this can be fixed. He is so little that he will not remember and he will not be affected long term. ACH will be calling next week to schedule his surgery. I am also thankful that we have Children's. They have amazing staff and facilities.

I will keep the blog updated as we know more. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Arkansas Children's Hospital

2010-12-18T17:57:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday of this week we made our way down to Little Rock. Griffin had to visit the cardiologist due to what they found in the NICU at Willow Creek. We found out that he only has a VSD. The defect is not is the muscle like we had hoped. It is at the top of the membrane. The doctor said that there is a 30% chance that it may close on its own. He also told us that he may or may not need surgery to repair it. In two months we will visit the Children's clinic that is in Lowell. Then two months following that we will go back to Little Rock for a new echo and to see the doctor again. Griffin did well on the trip down there and in the hotel room.

2010-12-08T23:06:00.001-08:00

It's going to be a long night!

Trey is working tonight, and for some reason Griffin has decided that sleep is the enemy! He did this last night too, but Trey was home. While I'm here though he is doing really good! He burps like a little man. He is trying to hold his head up more and is getting better head control. Tonight I got to watch the most adorable Christmas program that one of my favorite students was in. He was Mario! Ok. Going to sign off for the night and see if G-man stays asleep. Keep your fingers crossed!

Growing Like a Weed!

2010-12-07T10:14:00.000-08:00

Today we had Griffin's two week check-in at the doctor. He has gained 4 ounces putting him at 8 pounds, 11 ounces. He also grew 1 inch to 21 1/4 inches long. His head also grew to 14 cm around. The dr said his color looked good. She could still hear his heart murmur. Her office will send Griffin's information to Children's in Little Rock. They will be contacting us about his appointment with the cardiologist. The doctor told us that sometimes the ASD and VSD will spontaneoulsy close on their own. Overall he got a very good report!

November 29, 2010

2010-12-06T12:11:00.000-08:00

First Doctor's Appointment

Today was Griffin's first doctor's appointment since being released from the hospital. At this appointment they just really weigh them and check their color. Griffin had gained 4 ounces weighing in at 8 pounds, 7 ounces. She also said that his color looked great, and their were no more signs of jaundice. We made an appointment for the following Tuesday and headed home!

November 21-26th, 2010

2010-12-06T12:07:00.000-08:00

Well on November 21, 2010 at 5:46 pm our lives changed forever. That is when Baby Griffin came into our lives with a little assistance from the Dr. He weighed 8 pounds, 3 ounces and was 20 1/4 inches long.

Shortly after he was born they wisked him off to the nursery. The nurse told me that they were having difficulty regulating his oxygen levels. Trey went into the nursery with them. He knew the people that were working with Griffin which made it nice. They were in fact having trouble getting his oxygen level where it needed to be. They decided to put him on oxygen to try and open his lungs up. The next morning his oxygen levels were still not where they wanted them to be. So they decided to put him on antibiotics as a percautionary, and do an echo of his heart. They had also placed him under the billi light for jaundice. His echo showed that he had two small heart defects. He has a atrium septum defect and a ventricular septum defect.

Needless to say I was not in the best frame of mind after finding this out. Then the doctors decided to move Griffin to the NICU upstairs at the hospital. There were several babies downstairs and they thought it would be better to monitor him more closely upstairs. So he relocated. He was placed under a stronger billy light for his jaundice and his oxygen levels could be more closely monitored. We could go up every three hours to feed him, but he could only be out of his "tanning bed" for about 30 or 45 minutes at a time. After he moved upstairs the attention began to shift from his oxygen levels and heart to his jaundice level which was continually climbing. And one morning as we were about to walk into his room, Griffin's nurse stopped us and said, I just want to warn you, we had to put an IV in the top of his head! That is what the little clear helmet thing is covering in the picture.

Griffin got to move back downstairs because his oxygen level had improved and the regular nursery was equipped to handle his jaundice. We then found out that we were going to be celebrating Thanksgiving in the hospital. Trey had to work on Thanksgiving night. Since we found out we were going to have to go to Little Rock to see the Cardiologist we decided that it would be best for Trey to save his days off for our Little Rock trip. So for Thanksgiving we had Cracker Barrel's Thanksgiving special.

Then the morning of November 26th, we got the best news we had all week. Griffin's jaundice level dropped from 17 to 13! We were going to get to go home! So Nana started packing up all of our belonings. Even though we were going home there was still a lot to do. They had to do his circumcision before we were released, and we had to set up a doctors appointment for Monday. Finally at about 2:30 we started home!

Happy 1st Birthday!!

2010-11-21T09:14:00.000-08:00

Griffin loved his chocolate icing!!

Days 2 & 3 with Kaitlyn

2007-07-25T09:03:00.000-07:00

So we have been really busy the last few days!! We are going to the park everyday and playing. Monday we went to the Water Park. She had a blast! She was so tired when we left that I had to carry her out of the water park!! Last night we went to Chuck E Cheese. She had so much fun playing games and watching the Chuck E Cheese band that she didn't want to leave. She is getting braver and braver at the park. First she started climbing up the slides backwards, then she started sliding down on her belly, and yesterday she slid down on her back. We had to be standing there to catch her, but she did it!! Also on Monday we went shopping. She had to have some flip flops just like Aunt Lissa's so we found some Kenneth Cole sparkly flip flops just like some I have. She had wore them everyday since. We also had to get a few outfits to go with the shoes! Imagine that! So she has been sporting the new outfits and her new shoes everywhere we go!! I hope everyone is having a good week!!

Day 1 with Kaitlyn

2007-07-22T21:35:00.000-07:00

So today was Kaitlyn and I's first full day together. After we got up, she watched cartoons till about 11. Then we started getting ready for the movie. She had my make-up out EVERYWHERE!!! It was pretty comical watching her! We went to watch Ratatoille early in the afternoon then later today we went to the park. She was so tired when we finally got home that she barely stayed awake long enough to take a bath! Not alot to report, and too tired to report much more. Have a great day and enjoy some pictures from the park!!!