Surgery Update December 2

We are back home and Caleb is back to his fun, little personality with all smiles and (even some giggles-something new he is learning.) He is eating all the time and the whole sleep thing we are still working on it (but that is nothing new.) The time Caleb sleeps at night is getting longer but his "naps" during the day are almost non-existent these days- not sure if it is that he is in pain, if his little world has been turned upside down, or if this is just a new stage we all must fight through.

We wanted to capture a few of our emotions from the day. The hardest things about Tuesday was saying bye to him before they wheeled him off to surgery and seeing him coming out of anesthesia very pale and thrashing around- not himself and not a very good picture to remember our sweet son. (The above picture was taken at about 6 pm that evening, just an hour after the surgery was complete- he does not look like himself.) But, every hour that past he was looking much better and by Wednesday morning he was himself again. Caleb even brought back his sweet little purr from when he was just a week old - we think he was in such a deep sleep that he was "snoring." (We are not going to post the video we took at 3:45 am during one of the many times the nurses came in to check on him.)

We go back to the doctor on December 12 to get the tube removed that is currently draining the kidney (which by the way makes for a tough diaper change - 2 diapers means it takes 4 hands to change his diapers or a pretty handy contraption Julie created to make it easier without urine flying everywhere.)

We are still asking for prayers to heal the incision on his side and heal the incision of the base of the kidney and the ureter. The Urologist was able to sew the straight ureter to the base of the kidney, but he feels that there may potentially be a blockage on the other end of the ureter (on the bladder side.) Please pray that the Lord heals this problem so we do not have to go through another surgery again in 6-12 months.

Philippians 4:7 surrounds us during this time, "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Week 9 = 2 months and 2 days!!! Nov 27

Happy Thanksgiving! We have much to be thankful for...a Sovereign Father, a precious healthy son, a loving family, supportive friends, a wonderful church to grow in, and so much more.

Tuesday, December 2 is the big day! Please lift Caleb up in your prayers, specifically: the 3 hour surgery, Dr. Strand (the surgeon), the anesthesiologist, the nurses, and the people we will encounter at the hospital. We will update the blog as soon as we have a chance. Thanks for surrounding us in your prayers and we hope you and your family have a blessed Thanksgiving!

Here are just a few of the pictures from the past month!!

Kidney Update and a few pics - Nov 10

We have an update on Caleb’s kidney that we wanted to share with you. Since May 14th when we had the first of many sonograms, we have been waiting to hear the extent of the blockage and if Caleb would require surgery. We saw the Pediatrician Urologist on Monday, November 10. During that appointment, we found out that Caleb’s right kidney has grown significantly the past 6 weeks since the last sonogram when he was a day old. The doctor is concerned that it will continue to grow, will be harder to correct, and could potentially harm the kidney if we wait too much longer. We scheduled his surgery on Tuesday, December 2 at 1:00 p.m. at Medical City in Dallas. The 3 hour surgery is called pyeloplasty, which will consist of removing the blockage between the kidney pelvis (the base of the kidney) and the ureter (the tube that runs to the bladder.) A 1 ½ inch incision will be made above his right hip. Caleb will have to spend the night in hospital and wear a tube draining the kidney of urine for 10 days after the surgery.

Thank you all for your continued prayers. While we are bit nervous with the thought of our son having surgery at such a young age, we take comfort in knowing that the Lord is in control of every detail about this procedure. Please join us in praying that Caleb will respond favorably to the anesthesia, that the surgery would be successful, that Caleb’s kidney would be healed, and that we would trust in God’s sovereignty in an uneasy time. Also, pray for healing right now as Caleb has a little cold. We need complete healing or they will not do surgery and our doctor does not have another opening until February. (The above picture is our first time to church at 6 1/2 weeks old. Caleb did great with all the loud music during Wake, Watermark's Student Ministry.)

We took a family outing on Caleb's 6 week birthday to the Arboretum, a botanical garden.

We found a crazy red neck at our church that wanted to take a picture with our precious pumpkin.

"Empower Babies" Caleb says during the Election of 2008

Daddy brought home beautiful flowers for Mommy. I have a lot to learn from how good he is to my mommy!!

Week 4 = 1 month!! October 25

What a month to rejoice! Our little guy is growing so much these days (as he should if he is eating every 2 1/2 - 3 hours including the night). He is a whopping 11 pounds 3 ounces and is 23 1/4 inches long. (75% in both) We went to the cardiologist to have his heart murmur checked out. Turns out he has two small holes. One between the right and left ventricle and one between the right and left atrium. The doctor said that this should correct itself by the time Caleb is 7 years of age if not sooner. We will return in 6 months for another exam. Caleb did so well as he was wired to machines, cords, sticky things, and during the EKG. Pretty amazing how educational it was for us! Caleb is a normal baby and will grow to be normal little boy. He can do anything and everything that any other child can do. We would appreciate your prayers for healing for the two holes to heal as his heart grows.


We just adore looking at Caleb and discovering things he’s inherited from each of us. Whether it is Craig's his shape of his eyes, his expressions, his lips or from Julie- the round shape of her face, or her blue eyes (for now). It’s amazing to see in him a miniature version of the two of us and look forward to seeing him grow and change into his own little person or little versions of us.

Tagged

Tagged...

Our sweet, pregnant friend Amy tagged us in her blog, asking for us to list seven random facts about ourself, so here it goes:

THE RULES::
* Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
* Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog.
* Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
* Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1) Craig and Julie met in Las Vegas on February 8, 2002 at a club called The Light in the Belagio. It is a long story, if you ever want to hear it.


2) Julie flew in a plane for the first time when she was 16. Her drill team took a trip to Disney Land. The highlight of the trip was the plane ride!! Ever since, she met Craig in '02 and living long distance, she has not stopped traveling. When Julie was in 8th grade her geography teacher asked where we would want to travel. Julie so badly wanted to fly on a plane, that she said, "I just want to get on a plane and fly all around the world and not stop."


3) Speaking of traveling...Craig and Julie backpacked around Europe in 35 days. We went to 30 cities, 7 countries, and had an amazing experience. Went to Thailand for a month for our honeymoon and traveled around Syndey, Australia and the southern island of New Zealand for two weeks last year. What amazing experiences!!




4) Julie is afraid of car accidents. (Carspashaphobia) She was in a few fender benders about 10 years ago (when she was a young, immature driver) but can see and hear accidents happening in her mind while she is driving. Julie prays everytime she starts her car for the Lord to protect her while she is driving, especially now with precious cargo in the car with her.


5) Julie has had a variety of jobs during her life. 1) selling fireworks every 4th of July and New Years with her family from the age of 9-14 2) janitorial service at her parent's office with her sister and brother ages 11-18 3) lifeguard during the summer at Balcones Country Club 4) hostess during the winter at the same country club during high school 5) pre-drill team teacher at a private school 6) assistant dance teacher 7) bev-cart girl at Falcon Head Golf Course 8)d onating plasma-so it's not a job but Julie got paid for it 9) babysitting 10) secretarial work at TABC 11) 4th grade teacher at Purple Sage Elementary School 12) 3rd grade teacher at Landels Elementary School in Mountain View, California 13) 1st grade teacher at Skaggs Elementary School in Plano 14)4 th grade Math teacher at Skaggs Elementary 15) Class 2 teacher at West Dallas Community School and finally...16) being Caleb's Mommy- the BEST job in the whole wide world!!!


6) Anytime Julie takes a shower in a different or unfamiliar place (like a hotel) she always lifts her toes up and only stands on the ball of her feet. Nor, does she ever, ever touch the drain of a shower. It is strange and unusual but you asked for random facts.


7) Julie loves anything with chocolate and peanuts/peanut butter together. What a great combination. Mr. Goodbars, Reese's, Peanut Butter M&M's, MMMMM....good! Also, with Halloween in the air. Candy Corn and Salted Peanuts are a great combination. Yummy!!


Since it took me so long to publish this post, I am not sure if the friends below have already been tagged. So here I go...I tagging:
Sara
Laura
Ali
Kristen
Christina
Kelley
Molly

Week 3- October 16

Caleb's third week was fun but pretty uneventful. Except for the new challenges of gas. Hopefully, Craig did not "pass" on the inheritance of his gas to our son. Like father like son!! Sweet Caleb seems to be sleeping through his loud grunts, curling his legs up to his chest, and outcries. Wish we could say Mommy and Daddy are sleeping through it too! This too shall pass and hopefully it is just a growth spurt that he will soon out grow.

We can't believe how quickly our little one has grown. He is more alert, keeps his eyes open more (unfortunately he does not like the flash of cameras- so we have a hard time capturing his sapphire blue eyes.)


We also had fun taking pictures of Caleb while Texas was refusing to lose in the battle against OU. WOW! What a game 45-35 - Hook'Em Horns!!!


The happy grandparent's- Mammy and MeDad

Remember to keep looking at all of Caleb's week 3 pictures on Picasa (YEAH for ME! I figured out how to make a link- Caryn are you proud! Her blog is so cool- what an inspiration!)

OR you can just look at this cool slide show I just figured out how to use- I know, slide shows were so yesterday but I am slow at this blogging thing.

Just the Two of Us- October 14

As you can tell from the funny picture- we are not looking like ourselves. No, being sleep deprived did not change our image, nor did we try to dress up like the waiters and waitresses at Magic Time Machine. We had a great laugh receiving this picture and continue to laugh- as it just looks so hilarious!! Craig looks like a crazy hippie and Julie well, enough said! Let's hope Caleb did not inherit all of these traits and end up looking like one of us in the picture.

Let us tell you about the night...After almost 3 beautiful weeks, we were ready for a date night. While Craig's mom was in town, she allowed us to have a night to ourselves. Funny we choose to have dinner at Magic Time Machine (neither of us had been there in many, many years). FYI- it was not quite as fun as we remembered it but we definitely had some laughs and enjoyed the wonderful time with just the two of us! Thanks Mammy for giving us the gift of time, babysitting, and a great meal!

Week 2- October 9

Here we are 2 weeks in and still loving having this precious little life in our arms! We not only feel so blessed to have the joy and honor to raise Caleb but we are overwhelmed by the love and support we are receiving from friends and family. It has been amazing to see so many people gather around us during this wonderful time of our life. The grandparents have blessed us by coming and staying for weeks at a time to cook, clean, and love their grandchild as if it were the only one. (This is Julie's parent's 4th grandchild and Craig's parent's 7th grandchild) Friends have blessed us with providing delicious meals- we never knew how great this would be until it is 7:00 pm and we are finally thinking about ourselves and wondering what to eat. Family has blessed us by driving long distances and making it a truly special day to spend with the newest addition to the family. We thank God everyday for each and everyone of you in our lives! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

We also wanted to update you on Caleb's first real doctor's appointment. Thankfully, Caleb has gained 1 whole pound since birth. He now weighs a whopping 9 pounds 8.5 ounces and is an inch longer (21 3/4 inches long). The Doc says everything looks great. Caleb is a very "laid back" baby. We need to go see a cardiologist because the doctor heard a heart murmur. He said it is probably nothing and will correct itself in 6 months. Please be praying for Caleb little heart and his kidney.

Don't forget to look at all of Caleb's Week 2 photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/Wennings/CalebWeek2# (I tried to make this a link but it didn't work- any of you bloggers out there want to lend a hand)