Boston Family Visit

Faith's family came from Indiana for a visit last week.  We had a great time and Gabriel enjoyed being spoiled by Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Jenna.  He got to be held all the time!  He started smiling a lot too.  Usually he smiles at the pictures behind the couch, but sometimes he will smile at us! 

Since Grandpa is so handy, he helped Mike out with a lot of projects around the house while he was here.  Curtains were hung in the nursery, the closet door was fixed, flowers were planted, and the biggest project was putting in a new sink, faucet, garbage disposal, and a brand new dishwasher.  We haven't had a dishwasher since we moved to this house, so it was really, really nice to use it for the first time!  

Gabriel got to enjoy a few outings with the family as well.  We went to dinner a few times, Costco, and shopping with the girls at the outlet mall.  He got the most clothes out of the shopping trip!  

Gabe also had his 2 month check up (at 7 weeks) and got 3 vaccines.  His legs were sore for about a day, but he was very good when they gave him the vaccines.  He was diagnosed with acid reflux about 2 weeks ago and is on daily medication until he grows out of it.  He weighs 10 lbs now and is 22 1/2 inches long.  He is finally growing out of the newborn clothing :)  

Here are some pictures.

Mike's Parents Visit

Mike's family came to visit us for the last week and Gabriel got to meet his Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Dani for the first time.  They were a great help, they made us a lot of meals and helped finish up some painting in the bathroom.  We didn't really do anything other than hang out around the house, but I think they were plenty happy with that since it gave them lots of time to spend with their first grandson.  Gabriel really enjoyed all the attention and got spoiled being held all the time!  Below are some pictures from their visit.

Finally Finished

The bathroom is finally finished.  Here are some pictures.

4 Weeks Old

Well, it's been busy since leaving the hospital, but we feel like we are getting into a bit of routine at home.  Gabriel turned 4 weeks old yesterday and is catching up for lost time.  He gained 13 ounces in the past week and is now 8 lbs. 3.5 oz.  He had a follow up appointment at Children's Hospital on Thursday and his incision is mildly infected.  It's a good thing that he loves his cherry flavored antibiotics :)  

He actually gets to go an entire week without having to see the doctor!  This week he will definitely be spoiled since Grandma and Grandpa Carpenter and Aunt Dani are coming to visit.  Maybe with visitors around we will remember to take more pictures!  

Finally Home!

After one week at Children's Hospital, we were all able to come home on Friday evening.  Gabriel gained weight after starting feeding again and seems to be healing very well after his surgery.  He is free of all of his IVs and heart monitors!  We are very excited to have him home and are praying that he continues to eat well, gain weight, and thrive!  

We will post some more pictures soon.

At Children's Hospital

Praise God that things went so well today, we were able to start feeding Gabriel today we had to start with little bits and work our way up about every 3 hours, just to make sure the food wasn't a sudden shock to his system. He has done well with it so far and has kept it all down. This morning Faith's mom arrived and she will be with us through the weekend. Here are a few pictures from the last couple of days.

Another Update

Here's an update on Gabriel: Very early Monday morning, all of Gabriel's IV's failed because his veins were no longer able to receive fluids/nutrition. There were about 15 different nurses that worked on him for several hours trying to place another catheter. It was very difficult for us to hear him cry while they poked him repeatedly. Finally an anesthesiologist was able to place a small catheter in a vein on his scalp which would only work temporarily. The doctors needed to place an IV through his arm into an artery near his heart under anesthesia. There was some concern with Gabriel's heart since his potassium levels have been high and have not reached the normal level yet. The doctor worked very quickly this afternoon and had the PICC (new catheter) placed in a short time. Gabriel joined us back in his room and slept very well for the rest of the day. We praise God for how well he did and that there were no complications with his heart or lungs.
We want to thank everyone for their prayers, errand-running, meals, and cleaning our house. We appreciate it more than we can ever tell you!