Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Eleven weeks later:
Sam had a cardiologist appointment today. They did an echocardiogram and said his heart was in great shape. They felt guilty about having him there since there wasn't anything wrong with him. Next appointment is in one year! Wow. Also-- Sam has finally been taken off of his daily dose of Lasix. He was down to 0.6 cc by mouth once per day. The only downer news this week is that Sam has come down with a cold-- lots of sneezing and congestion.

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Ten weeks later:
This is Sam at dinner last Wednesday. Sam is starting to "gum" hard foods now that he has some teeth. He's also getting better sitting balance and has graduated to the bathtub for baths.

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Nine weeks later:
Sam got his first RSV shot the other day. He'll get one of these every month for the next several months until the flu season is over. It's not a simple shot either-- it gets mixed based on Sam's weight (mass) and sits for 90 minutes before being delivered through two injections (due to the large volume) to his thighs.

As a precautionary measure, everyone else in the family will be getting a flu shot. Janna's allergy to eggs (and the fact that the flu vaccination is egg-based) means she may get a flu-mist type product.

The weirdest thing happened the other night-- Janna and Sam were upstairs in bed when we heard someone cry out "MOM!". We thought it was Janna, but she was sound asleep. Could it have been Sam!?

Saturday, October 08, 2005

Sam's 6-month checkup:
Sam got 5 shots the other day and wasn't happy about that. (two shots in each thigh, one in arm). One thing we've noticed about Sam is that he doesn't hang on to you when you carry him. He's always been very trusting. That makes him a little hard to carry since it's like carrying a large sack of potatos. There was a sudden change at the doctor's office when it came time to get his shots. Suddenly Sam grabbed onto Sue and wouldn't let go. I guess he knew what was in store for him. Sam is tipping the scales at 18 lbs (8.17 kg) now and 27 1/2" (70 cm) in length. That puts him at approximately 60th percentile for weight and 85th percentile for length.

Two months ago, at the 4-month checkup, Sam was 75th percentile for length and 25th percentile for weight at 13 lb 15.5 oz. Obviously he has been doing some catching up on weight since his surgery to move from 25th to 60th percentile in only 2 months.

Sam made his print debut this month. Out on the newsstand near you-- the November edition of Linux Journal. Sam is on page 6 in the Letters section. Here's the picture (taken in July).

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Eight weeks later:
Sam is due for his 6 month checkup this Friday and a Cardiologist appointment in three weeks. We'll post news this weekend on Sam's progress. One datapoint-- Sam's daycare caregiver who only sees him on Monday and Wednesday noted a growth spurt between last Wednesday and this Monday-- "What were you feeding him over the weekend?"