Giggle Box

Carson loves it when daddy gets his tummy.  Sorry the one video is really dark.  I wasn't planning on recording till the last minute :)

The Reason Carson Can't Put on Weight

We are starting to wonder if our child has ADHD.  He is always on the go.  In this short 2 minutes, he accomplishes....a lot!  Even as I write this, he is pulling on Dame's tail, banging on the baby gate, pulling off ornaments, and walking around like a mad man.  The kid eats a bunch, but burns it off doing, well, this....

Carson Meets Santa Claus

We took Carson to go visit Santa right before Christmas.  He amazingly wasn't scared at all and even tried to get Santa's beard.  I think that it reminded him on Earl :)  I must say that I was slightly disappointed that the Santa didn't have a real beard.  Oh well, can't ask for everything!

First Haircut

Carson got his first haircut last night.  He didn't really want to sit still at all, so the pictures are a bit blurry (action shots!)

We took him to the place where Chris gets his haircut.  There was an hour wait, so we ate dinner first.  At first, Carson didn't mind the cape, but then daddy started to hold his arms down and that made him mad.  The first few cuts were fine, but then Carson didn't like to be held in one spot.  I eventually turned on the Mario music, and he calmed down and did a good job.  He fell asleep during dad's haircut, but wide awake after his treatment and want to be photographed with his new 'do.

December CF Clinic

Carson had an awesome clinic yesterday.  They were extremely pleased with his weight gain and his eating habits.  He was 19 lbs. 4 oz. and 28.5 inches.  We are slowly climbing the growth charts with 37% for length, 14% for weight, and height/weight ratio at 32%.  Woohoo!

9 Month Photos

Cystic Life

So both Chris and I have been members of Cystic Life for a while now.  It's a awesome website that has a ton of information on Cystic Fibrosis on it.  You too can become a member and join in see what it's all about.  Come join in the fun and fellowship of others that are touched by CF.  (Plus there are drawings for prizes for new members!)  Go to CysticLife.org now to join.

Halloween

Carson was a tiger for Halloween.  We stopped by a few places, but he quickly got tired.

Carson and Earl

More Daycare Photos

Carson and Dame

Carson loves to get the dogs.  Unfortunately, Dame doesn't feel the same.

Hanging in There

Carson's been doing well.  He just finished up another round of antibiotics and steroids.  He is getting so heavy!  I can't wait until I can stop lugging the carseat around.  Since we started Carson on Claritin for possible allergies, he has been really good.  No more crazy sneezing, coughing, or runny noses.  It'll take more time to see if that really was the problem since he was also on antibiotics.

Carson loves going to daycare.  He likes to climb up on things.  Last week he pushed a box of wipes over to the pack-n-play to stand on to see the baby inside. (Baby Cooper wasn't in there at the time)  He will also climb up the baby gate and even got one leg over!  His favorite thing to do at daycare is to chase a ball around.  It's a little multicolored ball with a rattle inside.  You can roll it on the ground and he'll follow it like a dog.

Tonight, Carson was trying to "eat" the dogs.  Dame was just letting him try to bite her tail--stupid dog.  Then Carson moved on to pulling on Earl's ears and trying to eat those.  Earl would get up and walk away or move his tail if Carson got it.  Carson continues to enjoy ramming the dog food and water bowls with his walker.  The little turkey will repeatedly do it, but not ram into anything else.

October CF Clinic

Today Carson weighed 17 lbs.  4 oz.  They are pleased with his weight gain.  He was prescribed a medication for possible allergies.  Chris noticed that when he gets a runny nose, Carson does too.  Carson is now up to 7 teeth.  They just keep coming!

NICU Reunion

Today we went back up to Children's for a good reason--the NICU reunion.  It was good to see some of those amazing people who took care of Carson while we were there.  It was a fun day and we were excited to get a family photo taken; our first since the day the boys we born.  While waiting to see one of Carson's favorite nurses, we were interviewed for the news.  Carson was hamming it up for the camera!

http://www.wowt.com/home/headlines/103830889.html

So it was really three teeth that came in last weekend and another top front tooth came in this weekend.  Hopefully, Carson will be back to normal tomorrow and stop being cranky with these teeth!

More Teeth

Carson got in a top side tooth last week.  One of his front top teeth came in.  Two more are waiting to pop through.  He was miserable all weekend.

Daycare Photos

Here are some pics of Carson that were taken at daycare over the last week. The last few are from this morning.  She couldn’t resist taking the pictures of him standing on the chair because she just couldn’t believe he was doing it! He had this look on his face of, aha I know I can do this and I am before she notices me doing it! 

Walking Wonder

Grandma and Grandpa Strader got Carson a walker this weekend.  He loves it.  He even maneuvered it around the kitchen table.  The dogs got mad when he rammed their food bowls and moved them about two feet.

Carson is able to pull up on just about anything.  We again had to lower his bed a notch.  We also put on the "chew" guards on the railings to help keep Chris's beautiful crib looking nice!

Crawling Maniac

Carson is cruising all over the house now.  He has found the doorstoppers and thinks it's pretty cool to whack them.  Luckily, the dogs don't mind :)  They do mind that Carson tries to get into their food and water bowls.  We put up a child gate on Saturday and the dogs didn't realize that they could go around it.  They just sat behind it whimpering.  Maybe they'll eventually learn to go around the other way....or maybe not.

Little dude is pulling up on everything!  He discovered that he can know climb into his bouncy chair.  We really have to watch him because he tries to stand in it too.  He also seems to be putting on more weight.  You can see more fat rolls popping up.

August CF Clinic

Yesterday was our monthly CF visit.  Carson was back up to 15 lbs. 6 oz.  He lost quite a few ounces when he got sick, so it was good to see him back at what he had been before getting sick.  The doctor also started him on an antibiotic because of his viral infection.  This will either get rid of a secondary infection he might have or get.

Carson is crawling like a mad man.  He will chase the dogs around.  He also likes to start pulling himself up on things.  His favorite is standing on the back of the loveseat looking out the window.  I can say that we have been throw up free for about a week now!

Best Daycare Provider Ever

I absolutely love Ellen, our daycare gal.  She rocks!  She is so understanding of the issues that Carson has been dealing with: throwing up, weight gain, CF.  Her daughter went through many of the same things.  Carson has now developed a cough (as have I), so Ellen agreed to do an extra Albuterol treatment and chest physiotherapy during the day. 

Carson has clinic on Thursday, so we'll see where he's at.  I know that he lost a bit of weight when he started to get sick and kept throwing up.  He's been eating like a champ since his fever broke.  Hoping he's made up for what he lost--fingers crossed.

My students return to school tomorrow---yippee!  It will be quite different since I haven't taught in 7 months!  I hope I don't bring home a lot of germs to Carson.  Hand sanitizer will be my best friend.

Sick

Carson got sent home from daycare yesterday.  He was throwing up and had a fever.  I took him in and he doesn't have strep, but a viral fever.  It was as high as 103.5 early this morning and has been up and down all day long.  Carson has done a lot of sleeping.  We continue to try to feed him and give him Pedialyte, which he hates.  You can just tell that he's not feeling well.

This video is from the day before he got sick.  He loves his bathtime!

First Day of Daycare

Carson started his full-time daycare yesterday.  He rocked!  He ate well, napped well, and was a super happy guy.  He loved being around other kids.  Sadly, he didn't even notice me when I got there to pick him up because he was having such a good time!

Box of Fun

I bought a box/crate to put Carson's toys in.  I tipped it on its side so Carson could pick out a toy to play with.  He loved it!  I even found him with his head all the way in it!  If you look at the picture series, I took them all in about a minute.  He got all of those toys out.  Crazy boy!

Crawling!

Okay, today it happened...Carson crawled.  A few steps, but he did.  At least it happened before I went back to school, barely :)  He's up to 15 lbs. and 5 oz.

Crazy Guy

Carson loves to play.  He can now get on all fours.  He doesn't crawl, but still scoots around.  Carson can also now get on his toes like a bear crawl position.  Doesn't go anywhere and usually tips over.

Feeling Better

So Carson has been on an antibiotic for a few days.  The cough has really gone down.  No throwing up with coughs.  Although Chris did get "chucked" on last night after a large burp :) 

I don't really understand how it's possible....Carson was averaging about 28 oz of formula a day in 5 feeds (every 4 hours).  They made us add an additional feed, and now he's up to 30ish oz of formula a day in 6 feeds (every 3 hours).  Doesn't make sense to me, but as long as he's eating, he's got to be gaining, right?

Throwing Up

Carson has been coughing so hard lately that it makes him throw up :(  The pulmonologist put him on an antibiotic today and we'll see if that helps with the cough.  Poor little guy.  He also just got his 6-month shots, so it's been a rough week for the little guy!

Crawling?

Yesterday, Carson got up on all fours and rocked.  Then last night, he actually moved.  Okay, so it might have been an inch, but still that counts right?  I might be lucky to see him crawl for "real" before I go back to school.

July CF Clinic

Today we went in for our clinic--at UNMC (long story).  Carson weighed 14 lbs. 8 oz.  I was really happy with that, but they nutritionist there (never had her before) wasn't as excited.  That was an average weight gain of 18 grams a day and he should be around 25-30 grams a day.  We will be preparing his formula a bit differently to add more calories.  Also adding another feeding, so 6 a day now.  Hoping they like his numbers better next month.

Sitting Up

So I was holding the little nugget today and let go of him.  He stayed up....for a long time!

Man in the Mirror

So we took Carson into the doctor today since he had a fever on and off all week.  He started pulling on his ear and starting coughing more yesterday.  He has fluid in his ear and his getting over a virus.  On a happy note, Carson had a great time waiting for the PA to come in and was spinning around on the table.  Then he decided to check out the cute baby in the mirror.  He also is up to a nice 13 lbs. 8 oz!  Up one full pound in two weeks.

Teeth

Yesterday, Carson cut his two bottom teeth.  No symptoms before they popped up.  He really wasn't hungry yesterday  and got fussy about it last night.  Carson is really in good spirits!

June CF Clinic and Solids

Yesterday we had our monthly CF visit.  Carson was up to 12 lbs. 12 oz.  It was only 14 oz. more than a month ago.  It really bummed me out.  After thinking about it, I realized that we switched his enzymes to a different brand which could make a big difference.  He also hadn't been eating a ton the few days before our appointment. 

Today Carson started on solid foods!  He has been drinking like a champ and so he got his first "real" (not applesauce) food--squash.  It smells nasty!  Carson took his first bite and stared at me like "Hey, this isn't applesauce."  He ate about a teaspoon for his first feed and about another 1/2 teaspoon with his next bottle.  We'll try squash again tomorrow.

Pool Party

We got a little pool from my parents this past Friday.  Carson has been out in it twice.  The first time sitting in the bumbo chair and on Saturday sitting with mommy's help.  He loved it.  He got to splash and play more when he was really in the water.

For more pool pictures, click on the Flickr link at the top of the page.

Chase

On Thursday, Chase's headstone and vase were finally installed.  They both look really great.  It's so nice to finally have them in.  It looked really sad with the temporary marker.

20% Percentile

Carson had his official 4-month check-up today.  He is now up to 12 lbs. 3 oz. and is at the 20% in weight with an adjusted age!  His doctor was very impressed with his weight and developmental skills.

May CF Visit

This month's CF clinic visit was awesome.  Carson is now 11 lbs. 14 oz.  The next weight goal for him will be 12 lbs.  We should hopefully hit that next week!  Next week will be a busy one for Carson.  He goes in for his 4 month check-up, which means shots.  He will have a couple of days to recover before heading back up to Omaha to get started on a hypertonic saline trial.

First ER Visit

We took Carson into the ER early Saturday morning.  He was having trouble breathing.  All of his stats were good.  He had one spot on his lungs (which can be typical for a CFer).  They had to diagnose it as something, so they called it bronchitis, although it probably wasn't.  The next two days we went into the pediatrician to  make sure that he was okay and all was good.  We are thinking that it might have been some sticky mucus stuck where we couldn't suck it out.  Carson is quite happy and a healthy 11 pounds!

3 Month Photos

Last night, we took Carson to get his 3-month pictures.  He did an awesome job--lots of smiles!  I'll post the pictures soon on our Flickr page.  Carson is now maxed out for him enzymes and acid reflux medicine.  We go back in in two weeks, so we may have to wait until then to get his meds figured out.  On top of that, his medicine that he is using is no longer being made...ugh.

Me and My Blankie

Carson has a new obsession--his blankie! He will rub his face on his and hide behind it.  Sometimes Carson will put it in his mouth or just snuggle it.

Roll Over!

I was changing Carson today and put him on his tummy while on the changing pad to wipe off his back.  The little booger side rolled into the wall!  So I put him on the floor and he completely rolled over.  Of course, he hasn't done it again, but I will get it on video next time :)

Awesome Weight Gain

Last week at the CF clinic, Carson weighed 9 lbs. 6 oz.  They also told us that we could skip his feeding in the middle of the night since he has good weight gain (he would fall asleep anyway).  He is doing so well.

A New Friend

Carson made a new friend this weekend, red frog.  It's attached to his swing and he will just stare at him.  Then he will "talk" and smile at the frog.  It is so funny to see!  The toucan on the other hand, makes him mad :)

Final Shot

Carson got his final Synergist shot for this RSV season. He will get a series of 5-6 shots next season. Poor little guy screamed his head off!

First Easter

Carson celebrated his first Easter. He really enjoys his Easter book. He smiles when I rub his hand over the fabric pieces. He is now eating every four hours and is eating 4 oz. a feed!

A Little Piggy

I took Carson in to be weighed today--a hefty 8 lbs. 3 oz!

Fighting Fellow Bracelets

If you are interested in purchasing a FightingFellow purple bracelet in support of Carson and in memory of Chase, email: Deb Buchholz at dbuch@lps.org for more information.

First Walk

Yesterday, Carson, Emily, and I went out for a walk. Carson loved it so much that he fell asleep. Oh well. We started using new bottles last night and Carson is doing really well with them--no spit ups!

We also got our photographs back from Now I Lay Me yesterday and they are just beautiful! I will post our family photo on my Flickr site. Go and check it out!

Spit Ups

Since Monday, Carson has been dealing with larger spit ups. We called the pulmonologists and they told us to fortify all things that Carson eats. It is helping a bit, but he still spits up a little. Today Carson pushed himself up on his hands.

Busy Weekend

We had a lot of visitors this weekend and Carson did great. He went out to dinner with us on Sunday and slept the whole time. Thankfully, we really early so not many people were around us.

2 Month Check-Up

Carson went in for his 2-month check up yesterday and a CF clinic visit. He now weighs 6 lbs. 11 oz! He is doing so well. He had a chest x-ray and there is one small area that we can do a bit more CPT (chest physiotherapy) on--but not a big deal.

We also had to give Carson his vaccines. Three shots, poor little guy. He's been so sleepy since.

Lazy Weekend

All three of us had a nice relaxing weekend. Kristin went out to a school event on Saturday while Chris watched Carson. On Sunday, all three napped.

Carson has his 2-month checkup on Thursday as well as his second visit to the CF clinic in Omaha. Hopefully, he will be over 6 pounds.