Catching Up

Already a Tigers fan.

Vince with Donkey at Luke's graduation party.

At the Micketti Family reunion.

He is smiling a lot more lately.

It's been a while since our last post and we have had many appointments and trips since then, so I'll try to do my best with the updates to get everyone up to speed.

Two weeks ago, we had a total of six appointments in four days - two sessions of physical therapy, two meetings with the Early On program, a pediatrician and a urologist appointment. At the pediatrician, Vince got his 2 month shots which he was not a very big fan of. We only got 2 of the 4 shots that time, so he is not going to be happy when we go back soon to get the other ones. The urologist said that Vince's bladder and kidneys looked really healthy, but from the VCUG test that he got the week before it looked like he wasn't emptying his bladder completely. Since that could lead to kidney problems in the future, he decided that we should cath Vince with every diaper change for a week to give him more data. So we have been cathing him a few times a day and recording how much liquid was in his bladder and we will have a follow up with the urologist in the next couple of weeks to go over those numbers and see what he recommends.

That weekend we drove 4 hours (it now takes about 5 hours with a 2.5 month old) up to Rogers City for Nick's family reunion and his cousin Luke's graduation party. Both parties were on Saturday, so Vince had a busy day meeting all of his relatives but he did very good and I'm sure he had a fun time.

Last week was a bit slower for us which was nice. We had an ultrasound on Vince's head to look at his ventricles and see if his shunt was working correctly. We will go back on Wednesday to meet with the neurosurgeon for the results of that. Friday we took a drive up to Grand Rapids so Vince could watch Uncle David play in a baseball tournament and then Uncle Chris met up with us after that for dinner.

The next couple of weeks shouldn't be as busy so hopefully the weather gets to be nicer and we can get out and enjoy the summer.

Nick, Andrea and Vince

2 Months Old/4th of July

Last weekend we took our first trip up north since Vince was born. Wow, we did not realize how much stuff has to be packed when you have an infant. Our car was packed. We got up there late on Thursday and came home on Saturday. It was very busy but we had a very good time. My cousins from Texas were up at the cottage as well as my Aunts and Uncles. Vince did great with everyone and all of the stuff going on around him. He stayed content and happy pretty much the whole time. Nick's parents also came over to the cottage on Saturday and they brought his Grandma. Being that Vince turned two months old on Saturday we took a lot of pictures so I thought I would share some of them. After our busy weekend, our week started out very busy. Between Monday and Tuesday Vince had four appointments and I had a work meeting. Vince had a Swallow test, a Bladder Ultrasound and VCUG, Physical Therapy, and a Neurologist appointment. We do not know the results of the swallow test (this test was to see if he has reflux) and VCUG (this was a test to see if his bladder is working properly) yet, we will find out next week when we meet with the doctors, at physical therapy he did really well and continues to get stronger, and at the Neurologist appointment we found out that he has to stay on the seizure medicine a little while longer. The EEG still showed a little bit of abnormal activity so in six months we will repeat the EEG and see what is going on at that point. After those appointments we do not have anymore until Friday when Vince has physical therapy again. It is going to be really nice to have two days off this week. Next week is very busy again, we are hoping that everything starts slowing down soon. We hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July.

Love,
Nick, Andrea, and Vince



Our little family.

Nick's Grandma, Mom, and Dad

My Grandpa, Mom, and Dad

My Grandpa, Cousin Amy, and her son Colton. He is about a year and a half older than Vince.

Our Grandparents

Four generations

Four generations again.

Day Off

We finally have a day off during the week without any appointments or taking Vince anywhere so I thought I would give a quick update and post some new pictures. There hasn't been much new information, which is a good thing because Vince has been doing really good lately. Recently, we met with the neurosurgeon for a checkup and he said that it looks like the shunt is still working properly but we will have an ultrasound in a couple of weeks verify. That appointment was last Wedensday and he weighed in at 9lbs, 9oz so he is gaining weight well. He's probably pushing 10lbs at this point. Physical therapy has been going well, he seems to be improving at every session except that he gets really frustrated when we do "tummy time" and he kept falling asleep during therapy yesterday. It's rough being a baby. Tomorrow we have therapy in the morning and then off to Kalamazoo for an EEG. Next Tuesday we will meet with the Neurologist to discuss the results of the EEG and possibly start taking him off of the seizure medication if his brain activity looks normal. Next week we also have an appointment with the Urologist to evaluate his bladder and kidney functions and he is having a swallowing study done to determine if he has any issues with reflux.

This weekend we are taking our first overnight trip with Vince up north to Torch Lake. The whole Coors side of Andrea's family will be there from Texas and Wisconsin so Vince will be meeting a lot of people. Hopefully the weather is nice for everyone and that Vince does well away from home.

Hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th of July weekend.

Nick, Andrea and Vince