Bumbo!

William is not like a normal baby and cannot enjoy the luxuries of most babies. Until he is about 6 months old, it may even be longer, he will be spending most of his time of his back due to the blood flow of his heart. The doctors have given us exercises to do with William and have told us that he can do tummy time but for a little bit at a time. He cannot be in a swing unless it lies flat and of course most of you have seen the car bed he rides in the car. Well Dr. Jones wants us to work on the strength of Will's head so I decided to try him out in the Bumbo. He loved it. You can tell by the expression in his face:) I think he is very happy to be sitting up instead of lying down. He has to be watched very closely when it and can only sit in it for a minute or so but I think this is a luxury I will be providing him on a daily basis! :)

Jeter is adjusting to life with William around the house. At first he really wanted nothing to do with Will but now he is starting to understand him more. When Will cries you can tell Jeter gets upset and always comes around to make sure he is okay. Jeter does sometime fight for attention when we have company but I think he is starting to realize that William comes first.

William Update

William is doing great. We headed to see his surgeon Dr. Hammel on Thursday and they are really happy with his progress. His weight is up and he gained 23 ounces in 25 days and by looking at his oxygen levels you would not even know he was a heart baby. It also looks like his right ventricle is opening up as it should be. We head back to the cardiologists on October 20th and hopefully we will have some answers and have Will's next surgery all lined up. The anticipation of knowing something is going to happen we just dont know what is killing us. But we could not have a happier baby on our hands. He is just so special and so spolied by everyone in his life.

Scott and I also have been able to make a few football games in Ames. We are enjoying our weekends in Ames and cannot wait to take William to games with us next year:)

William's Baptism

William Arthur was baptized today at St. Patrick's Catholic Church. We had a great day with family and Will got to meet Uncle Jeremy and Cousin Sam for the first time today. It was nice to have both sides of the family together. William did great and did not even make a peep during the whole baptism ceremony. We are also honored to introduce Will's godparents Aunt Jordan and Uncle Steve. Will is one lucky kid!

8 weeks

William is 8 weeks old today. It is hard to believe that 8 weeks ago he was born and three days later whisked away to open heart surgery. By looking at him you would not even know he was sick besides the scar on his chest. His weight is up and his oxygen levels are high too. He is doing so good and Scott and I are so excited to see how strong he is. We are so lucky and have such a wonderful system around us!

Sunny Days!

Mr. Personality

William has been all smiles and giggles these days. I swear the smiles are not because of gas:) He is developing his own little personality. He really only fusses to let us know he is hungry other than he is happy as a calm:)

Here are some pictures of us at the Doctor's office. William is a champ!

Meeting Dr. Delaney

William's weighs 9 pounds 11 ounces and is in the 50 percentile. Dr. Delaney would like him to gain a little more weight but he has not lost so that is a positive. William's ecco showed that his right ventricle is opening up but is still not open enough to function on its own without the shunt. Before they can close the shunt they need to know for sure that right ventricle can handle the stress of acting on its own. The next two months are critical in finding this out. Dr. Delaney had more positives than negatives so that made Scott and I very very happy. We head back on October 20th and hopefully we know more. I am keeping postive and by looking at Will you cannot even tell he is sick. He is a fighter!

Heads Up!

Go Cyclones!

William and Aunt Jordan

My sister has been a great help and loves William so much. He is so lucky to have her as an

aunt and I am so lucky to have her as a sister.

Go Hawkeyes! ( Did I really just say that)?

This post is in honor of my Dad. I put William in this onesie since Football season starts tomorrow. Will's Iowa State outfit is going to make it's debut tomorrow. My dad is very disappointed that his two daughters turned out to be Cyclone fans. I keep telling my dad that Will might still be able to be convinced to be a Hawkeye! Between the Huskers, Cyclones and Hawkeyes this is going to be one confused kid:) We are looking forward to the showdown on September 12th. Go Cyclones!

We have a Gainer!

William is doing so much better after his hospital stay last week. We have his formula situation figured out and he gained 5 ounces in a week. Dr. Jones said this is great and he is gaining weight like a "normal" baby. The eating and the weight gain has been the biggest stressor on Scott and I and we are so glad he is doing so great. He is a different baby! I also think he is having a growth spurt because he is now eating more and is awake more. We head to the cardiologists on September 8th for William's appointment. William will get a ecco and we will know if his heart is working how it should be. This will determine whether Will will need another open heart surgery. Scott and I have been waiting for the answers and we are just hoping they are the answers we want to here.