Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Good News!

This is a good news post!
Yesterday Parker saw the pediatrician...he has gained half a pound from Friday to Monday! This is significant especially with his CAH. We are quite proud of our little eater. He is less than impressed by this news.

His blood work came back yesterday very good and because of the great levels, he doesn't have to go back to see Dr. Larson for 2 weeks! He also doesn't have to have another blood draw until Thursday! Hip, Hip Hooray!


Buddy has adjusted to having Parker in the family. Buddy doesn't seem to mind, in fact, I think he forgets that Parker's here as I sometimes see him sniffing Parker's stuff, but he never bothers it.

We received these beautiful flowers from my Uncle Russ in Cedar Rapids. Parker will be pulling the wagon around before we know it. Everyone comments on how strong he already is. He does have quite the kick!


We have been blessed to have many visitors at the house. We love visitors! Last evening we had a steady stream. My mom came by, then Sarah came with dinner (yummy! Thank you), then Nicole and Jeremy came and brought 2 huge bags of their sons clothes that he has outgrown. This is one of Sawyer's outfits. We are excited to be able to be next in line for Sawyer's clothing!


We have been blessed to have extra time with Daddy home and are not looking forward to him going back to work :(
However, we realize we are luckier than most families and are trying to enjoy the rest of the week as a family!

This has been a week of good news and we have been thanking God for answering many people's prayers! We are hopeful that Friday's visit to the specialist will be full of equally good news.
Thank you all for your continued support! Come visit us soon! Parker LOVES to be snuggled!

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Cousins

Parker met his cousins from Des Moines on Saturday!
Annica, the oldest cousin, giving Parker some advice.
Caleb, saying hello to the newest boy in the group.
Tyler and Buddy were able to bond about not being the "baby" anymore.
Four Stecher Grandchildren
Grandma and Grandpa with their growing brood


Aunt Heather and Uncle Kirk who are old pros at this newborn thing were great to have here to ask questions and get advice from.
Parker's room got a run through as a toy room. The cousins say it passed and Parker will enjoy playing in here.

Saturday Morning Cartoons

On his first Saturday morning at home, Dad taught Parker how to be a true "American" kid....they watched Saturday Morning Cartoons together!

One Week Old

Parker had a pretty eventful first week of life!
After spending much of his one week birthday in the hospital Parker got a GREAT present....he got to come home!

It's hard to tell who's more tired here....Parker or Dad?
Happy one week birthday Bud!

CAH

Wednesday afternoon we received a call from our pediatrician saying there were some abnormalities in Parker's newborn blood screen. She wanted us to go back to Cottage and have the test re-done. One of the tests would have to be sent away to a lab, but one of the blood tests would be back later that night.
When Dr. Larson called back it was news we weren't expecting. Parker's levels of Potassium and Sodium were all out of whack and Dr. Larson was not comfortable with him staying at home or Galesburg for the night. We were told to quickly pack a bag for the 3 of us and head to Peoria!
Wow! What a scary feeling as parents and especially parents of a newborn! We quickly headed to the Children's Hospital in Peoria.
This is a WONDERFUL facility where they really know their stuff! Parker was admitted and had several tests done through the night and next day. We met with doctors and specialists in order to find out how to make our little boy better.

Parker was a trooper man! He had an IV started in his head. That is where there are good veins as a newborn and that way he couldn't kick or pull at the IV. Each time they came to examine him, take blood, do an enema, or poke, prod, and mess with him he would cry only a minimal amount....in fact I am pretty sure mom and dad did more crying than Parker!!

On Thursday after meeting with a specialist it was determined that Parker has a condition known as CAH. It is a genetic disorder where he received 2 mutated genes one from Travis and one from me. Travis and I are only carriers of this gene which is why we don't have the condition that Parker does.

With CAH Parker's body can not break down potassium so his levels get to high, and he gets rid of too much sodium in his urine so his levels get to low. He was not showing any signs of this condition when we took him to Peoria because he was still living on my hormones left over from pregnancy. However, if the blood screen had come back 2 days later he would have started to get really sick.

Travis and I are thankful that this condition was caught early, can be treated with medication daily , and that Parker can still have a completely normal life as our perfect little boy!

Thanks to everyone who has sent prayers our way and kept our family in your thoughts. We will see many doctors during this first year of life because Parker will grow so quickly we'll have to stay on top of the medicine dosage to ensure he doesn't get sick, but it appears he will be just fine. He is responding well to the medication and doesn't fuss when it is put into his bottle.

We are thankful and lucky that this disease is easily treated. We saw many families in Peoria who have it MUCH worse off than we do.