Beautiful Baby

Since Cash has pretty much taken over my blog, I figured I'd make it official by posting as many pictures of him as possible :) These are a few (or maybe a lot) of my favorites from Cash's photo shoot when he was a week and half old.

Shelli Dame took these amazing pictures for us. If you're interested, you can check out her blog here.

One Month

Hard to believe that Cash is already one month old! He is the sweetest baby and we have had so much fun with him in the last month.

Just a few things about our little man...

He is a binky boy

He loves to be wrapped up as tight as possible

If we'd let him, he would be content to stay in the bath tub all day long

His hands are his favorite toys

He's not a big fan of getting dressed, but loves having his diaper changed

He has been kind and hasn't peed or pooped on us... yet :)

He is an excellent sleeper and now eater

According to Andrew, he already loves to watch sports with his dad

He loves his vibrating chair and vibrating bassinet. When the chair turns off, he fusses until we turn it back on!

He already needs a haircut... the back is looking a little mullet-ish

He eats medicine like it's candy

And of course, he is the center of his parents' world!

Home

...has never felt so good.

We got to bring our baby home from the hospital yesterday afternoon. It was a long 3 days, and we are so incredibly grateful that it's all over. Cash's surgery went great, and his recovery has been amazing.

Andrew and I have talked several times this week about how real the power of prayer and Priesthood blessings are. Our testimonies have definitely been strengthened through this experience. Somehow, Cash went 36 hours without food in the hospital and never even fussed. Today, he hasn't even been able to go a full two hours without eating. I can't even think about how blessed we have been without crying.

So yes, Cash is definitely eating and I don't see him slowing down anytime soon! I think he is making up for the last few weeks of not being able to keep anything down. He just acts like he can't get enough, and it makes me so happy. I can't wait to see some chubby rolls on his tiny body! He has grown 3 inches since he was born, and only 10 ounces... so he has a lot of filling out to do. I'm sure we'll get that taken care of right away!

Like Father, Like Son: The Sequel

But not in a good way...

Last week, Cash started spitting up quite a bit. He was never fussy and didn't seem to be in pain, but we took him to the doctor just to make sure everything was OK. We were told that he probably just had a mild form of acid reflux, and they gave us some medicine to take away the pain (if there was any). The medicine didn't do anything, and a couple of days ago, he started full blown vomiting. Sometimes it was projectile, and other times it would just fall out of his mouth. I felt like he was emptying his stomach every time he threw up, but he would always just sleep after and it never seemed to bug him. I started getting nervous when his wet/dirty diapers were few and far between, he couldn't stay awake to eat, and when he ate, it wasn't much at all. When Andrew was a baby, he had something called Pyloric Stenosis, so it is something that we've been watching for since he was born. For some reason, it's most common in firstborn males, and 20% more likely when a parent has had it.

So, after an extremely rough night last night, we took Cash to our doctor this morning to try to figure it all out. They checked him out, and sent us to the Primary Children's Outpatient hospital to get an ultrasound on his stomach. The ultrasound showed that he has Pyloric Stenosis, so from there, we were sent to Primary Children's hospital for surgery. We got here around 2 and have pretty much been playing a big waiting game. They told us that he would either go into surgery tonight or in the morning, and told us not to feed him in case he had the surgery tonight. They took some blood to determine when they could do surgery, and we just found out that it won't be until tomorrow morning. But for some reason, they still aren't letting us feed him. We're freaking out a little bit because all the IV is doing is keeping him hydrated, not fed or nourished in any way. He hasn't eaten since 11 this morning, so by the time surgery is over and he can eat again, it will be a full 24 hours. Heavenly Father is definitely helping us out though because Cash has been asleep pretty much the whole time we've been here and hasn't fussed at all. Andrew and his dad gave him a blessing, so we know that His hand is in this.

From what we know, the surgery is pretty simple and won't take more than an hour. Pyloric Stenosis is when the muscles around the bottom of the stomach are too big and so food can't pass into the intestines. So basically, when Cash eats, the food just builds up and then spews out of his mouth. He has only gained 1 oz. in the last week, so we know he hasn't been keeping much down. Our skinny boy only weighs 7 lbs. 14 oz. right now. The recovery isn't supposed to be too bad. He'll be on pain medications for a while, and the incision in his stomach will be about 2 cm long (I think). I guess he just wanted to have a scar to match his dad's.

Right now, we're more nervous about him not eating for 24 hours than we are about the surgery. The nurse can't really explain why we can't feed him, so we're waiting to hear from the doctor here what the reasoning is. Please keep Cash in your prayers. We know it is a simple surgery and will make him a healthy little boy, but it doesn't make it any easier to see him laying in the crib hooked up to so many monitors. Thank you so much for all of your love and support, we appreciate you all so much.

Newborn Pictures

My friend Shelli was nice enough to come and take some pictures of Cash when he was just over a week old. She sent me a couple to preview today, and I am so excited to see the rest, I can hardly stand it. She is amazing... let me know if you need a photographer for anything and I'll get you her info!

Like Father, Like Son

I've always thought it was funny how Andrew sleeps with his mouth wide open. Actually, his whole family sleeps like this. And now little Cash is carrying on the tradition. Looking at this picture just makes me happy. I love my boys!

Two Weeks

On Thursday, Cash had his 2 week appointment. He now weighs 7 lbs. 10 oz (10th percentile) and is 21 inches long (also 10th percentile). So our little man is still pretty tiny, but he is definitely growing! He weighed 6 lbs. 10 oz. when we took him home from the hospital, and was only 19 inches long at birth, so he's put on a pound and 2 inches. Not too bad!

It is amazing how long you can stare at your baby and never get bored. Between the many faces he makes and the cute things he does with his hands, my days are pretty much consumed with watching him.