Appointment update

Both Vince and Dominic have had appointments lately.  Vince had his braces looked at.  We noticed that they were leaving red marks and thought maybe his feet had grown and they sure did.  He went up a shoe size and his feet also got thicker.  He will get his new braces next Wednesday.  Vince will also have a urology appointment next Wednesday.  Dominic had his Cardiologist appointment too and it went really well.  He weighed in at 10 pounds 13 ounces and was 23 inches long.  From the last appointment he has gained an average of 1.3 ounces a day.  That is very good and they were very happy to see it.  From birth he has also grown 3 inches.  We don't have a surgery schedule yet, but at the next appointment in 6 weeks we will start looking at that.  I am hoping for the end of November because of vacation timing, but we will do what ever needs to be done for Dominic.  I will do a picture post in the near future, but for the time being here are just a couple.

  

Stroll N Roll - Second Annual

We are going to be doing the Stroll N Roll for Spina Bifida again this year.  It is the second annual one and we are looking forward to it.  It is amazing to be able to get together with a group of people who have been through very similar situations.  There are definitely times where it feels like no one quite understands what you have been through/are going through so it is a really positive thing for us.  It is also really positive because of all the great stuff the money goes too.  The WMSBO exists to alleviate emotional and financial burdens for the families it serves. The organization provides financial assistance for adaptive sports, special camps, and educational conferences. In addition, the WMSBO provides programs and events where the local SB community connects with those who share and understand the unique challenges that we face.  Last year we were able to raise $500.00 dollars for the stroll n roll and this year our goal is the same.  We would have set it higher, but having a new baby and not deciding to do this until late this year we have kept it the same. The entire group was able to raise over $20,000 dollars last year, which is simply amazing.  Please help us reach our goal for this year.  

The Stroll N Roll will be on September 22nd in Grand Rapids again.  

Here is the link to give a donation if you are interested:

https://www.wepay.com/donations/team-d-hats-spina-bifida-stroll-n-roll. 


Love,
Nick, Andrea, Vince, and Dominic

Just a couple of Doctors appointments

By this time with Vince we had been through two surgeries, been in the NICU and PICU, had seizures, and many other appointments on top of that.  This time, we have had just three appointments, one with the Cardiologist and two with his regular doctor for just the normal check ups.  To say the least this is a very different experience, and we are very grateful for that.  We still have some things to get though, but we will tackle that when that time comes.  So far Dominic is doing great!  When he was born his oxygen levels were a little low which is not completely unexpected with the heart defect, but by the end of the night it was up to 100, which is perfect.  He had an echo-cardiogram while we were in recovery right after birth and it showed everything they expected to see, he still has the two holes in his heart that will have to be fixed.  We met with the cardiologist before we left and she said the most important thing Dominic had to do was gain weight.  The goal is still to have surgery in between 4 and 6 months old and after that we should be pretty good.  They want to let him go as long possible but they don't want to let us get to far into flu season.  Nick and I are hoping for the end of November or beginning of December.  We don't know much about anything right now, but we will know more as time goes on and when we do we will pass that information along.  As far as the weight gain goes, Dominic is a champ!  He is very different than Vince in that way as well.  He wants to eat all of the time, during the day he is still on an every two hour schedule with a little longer at night.  In six days he gained 8 ounces.  He is most likely over 9 pounds by now.  The doctors were very happy with him when they saw that.  We will be seeing the cardiologist every month until he has surgery.  Other than that we have been enjoying our time together!

I took a few pictures of the boys and then somehow we all ended up with Michigan shirts on, so we ended the day by taking pictures of that too.  Speaking of Michigan, this Sunday is Kids Day, so Vince is very excited to go to the Big House and run on the field, he cant wait to tackle Nick.

 Vince loves to hold Dominic!

 A sleepy smile

 Vince is a funny boy

 Go Blue!

    

Gone Fishing

In our neighborhood we have a very nice pond that they stock with fish.  We got Vince a fishing pole a while ago and have attempted to catch some fish but have had no luck.  Finally Nick decided that we needed some real bait.  That is what did the trick.  The fish really like real worms and not the fake bait.  Nick and Vince were able to catch four fish, two each.  Vince loves to go out fishing, but when the fish was actually reeled in he was not so sure about it. :)  I am sure this is true of most kids and their first fish experience.

 

 Vince's first fish

 Dominic was there too, he was sleeping in his car seat though.

2 weeks off

We were lucky enough to have Nick home for two weeks after Dominic was born.  It was really needed!  We are now into week two of Nick being back to work and we are still adjusting, but it is going well.  Vince is a very big helper and Dominic is a very good baby, so it has not been that bad.  I thought I would put a couple of pictures on here of the last few weeks.  Enjoy.

Love,

Nick, Andrea, Vince, and Dominic

 Vince likes to do work in the office.  He loved having Nicks computer home too!

 We celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary at home this year, Dominic was only one week old and I was still not feeling great, how different the day was from five years before :)

 While we were outside I figured we should try to capture our first nice family picture.  I am pretty happy with how it turned out.  

 Cousin Emilia's birthday party!

 Vince being silly

 I love these little feet!

Dominic is starting to check out the world around him.  He is not quite sure what to think.