This is kind of long but he gets really excited!

Henry is just about 9 1/2 months now and he has grown so much just the past few weeks. He says 'mama' and 'baba' on a regular basis- though I am certain he has no idea what it means. He also crawls and sits on his own and recently starting to pull himself up on things which he is obsessed with right now. I spend most of my time following him around and spotting him while he stands. It is pretty cute.

He has 4 teeth now, front top and bottom teeth. I think he may be getting another one right now. He also has his 3rd ear infection too and it on antibiotic. I think he may be a little bit of a weenie, he was acting like he was in complete agony but the dr. said it was just now forming and barely there, she was surprised it hurt already.

Whoa. I forgot about my blog. Henry is almost 9 months now! 2 bottom teeth, one half tooth up top, army crawling everywhere, eating off a spoon and loving life. He is a happy happy baby and is getting a stronger personality every day. He loves to ride on dad's shoulders and actually enjoys it when I sing. His favorite toy is his bouncy seat that hangs from the door frame. Chris taught him how to swing in it so it has taken on a whole new meaning. He is very curious and wants to put everything in his mouth.
He sleep from about 8 pm to 8 am with out getting up now. It is so nice. He started doing that at 7.5 months. I called the dr. because he was getting up every 3-4 hours still, they said just give him water when he gets up. I did and it pissed him off but it worked. 3 nights later he didn't bother to wake up for just water and it has been glorious ever since!

Wow, it has been awhile since I have posted anything and lots has happened. Henry had his hemangiomas lasered for a 4th time and this time it included the one on his lower back. The one on his arm is still pain free but he has discovered it and occasionally likes to suck on it. Go figure. The dr. wants to try to wait as long as possible before removing the one on the neck to ensure a smaller scar. So maybe when he is 3 or 4 we will have it removed but that could change. Right now he is in good shape and pain free. Well, except his ears, we are actually leaving the house in about a half hour to head to the dr. Henry might have an ear infection.

On to more exciting things. Henry had his first trip to the beach May 8. We headed to Fort Walton Beach (5 min from Destin) with the Marsh's and Konken's for a total of 6 adults and 4 babies from ages 3 years-5 months. It was an awesome trip. We stayed in a 3 bdrm, 3 bathroom condo that is only 2 years old, so everything was up to date and really nice. We were right on the beach and even got 4 beach chairs and 2 umbrellas to layout at. Henry wasn't too into the beach but all the other kids loved it. Henry started to like the pool on the 3rd or 4th day.
While in Florida we celebrated my first real Mothers Day. Katie, Mary and I headed to the Manatee Bar while the guys made us dinner. Henry and Chris got me a framed photo of the pugs, a framed photo of Henry and a blue dress to wear at Henry's baptism. I loved it all! The trip was awesome and we decided to make it a tradition with the Marsh's and Konken's every year.

On the way home however, we made 4 stops in 1 hour for 2 blown out diapers and 2 vomiters. But that's okay it was an awesome time and Henry rolled from back to belly while we were there. He is so advanced. Not really, but he isn't behind like the drs. said he would be!

Lasered AGAIN!!!

Today was Henry's 3rd visit to the dermatologist, Dr. Hagstrom. We both thought the hemangioma on his neck was looking much better, however when you opened the fold there was a spot that was still not healed. Also the heman. on his lower back is starting to break down a lot and has bled a few times so she decided to treat the neck and lower back this time with 4-5 laser pulses. The last appt. which was 2 weeks ago he received 9 pulses to his neck and the appt. before that he received 34 pulses to his neck. So we are gradually getting there.

Dr. Hagstrom did suggest that when Henry is older (Between 1-3 years of age) we should surgically remove the one on his neck. She said that since it has causes so many problems and is often painful it makes sense. She said that if it did shrink on its own then the area will most likely look like a deflated balloon and surgery would be necessary eventually anyway. The other hemangiomas will be left alone however. Unless the one on his back becomes a bigger problem which she is not expecting.

She also thinks that the laser treatment today was probably his last treatment and he has made great progress. He is now bandage free and we will continue to put ointment on the areas along with aquaphor. He seems to be in much less pain so we are happy!

Henry Rolls Over!

Henry went in for his 4 month checkup on April 20 last week and the nurse put him on his belly to see how well he was using his upper body muscles- which wasn't going too well, he hates tummy time!

She actually said, 'well, it doesn't look like he wants to push up or anything' and she started to flip him back over but instead he popped up and rolled over. I was kind of waiting for him to give the nurse the finger too. Since then he has been performing his new trick often.

See rolling over video here: If I can get it to work!

At his 4 month checkup he weighed 12 pounds, 12.8 oz., 24 inches long. 12 percentile in weight and 18 percentile in length.

Laser Surgery Day

Today we went to see Dr. Hagstrom. She did the laser procedure and Henry screamed and hated it but now he is doing great and we can pick him up and he isn't crying.
The hemangioma still looks the same and the laser did not shrink it at all but it did seal it up so that it is not oozing and bleeding and therefore it doesn't hurt as much. The laser procedure took about 30 seconds and we had four people hold him down and Chris held goggles to his face. We all had to wear special glasses to protect our eyes as well. Henry wailed. But was brave- note the sticker on his shirt.

We given a topical antibiotic that we have to put on 3x a day and then on top of that we have special gauze that is infused with vaseline that goes on top of the hemangioma and then we put a large bandage over the whole thing and that stays on with tape. She also gave us rx ointment that will numb the skin if he is having a hard time.
Needless to say, Henry seems very comfortable now.

We go back in one week to follow up and she may laser again but we will see. She did say that hemangiomas of his kind seem to grow until baby is about 3.5 months old (which Henry is 3.5 months old) and then they begin to shrink down which can take up to 5 years at which point the skin may look saggy. Cosmetic surgery is an option if it is bad enough but I'm not really thinking that far down the road. I am just happy he isn't in pain again and I can pick him up without hurting him.

I did ask what are some causes to having these. She asked me a few questions and I had 3 'things' that often result in hemangiomas (this is not proven but most derms. agree) 1. Henry was premature. 2. I had preeclampsia 3. My placenta halfway detached depleting oxygen to capillaries causing them to bunch. Hopefully for future babies I can avoid all three. That's all for now, I will update again on Monday after visit 2.

Hemangioma Shcmangioma

We went to the Dr. this morning, Chris Nibisio- a woman, she was really nice and she looked at the hemangioma and said that is a larger one and still growing, she can tell because it is not a dark purple color. (the ones on his arm and back are dark purple so hopefully going to go down soon) she said that since it is in a tricky spot and still growing she wants us to see Dr. Hagstrom, she is the regional expert on hemangiomas and studied with the national expert in Milwakee. Dr. N. said there is a chance that Dr. H will want to do laser surgery right then and there on it for treatment. I asked if there were any risks to that and she said no, it is very safe but it will hurt, it feels like a rubber band being snapped on your skin- fine for adults but baby wont like it! She also said the dr. H might say lets wait and see how it grows. There are also medicines that can be injected which would be another route.

Henry has a total of 3 significant hemangiomas (I say significate because he has a tiny freckle sized one on his head and the one on the neck is really two that has grow into one) and children that have 5 or more usually undergo testing to see if there are any internal hemangiomas, like in the liver. She said Dr. H might suggest looking (which is done through an Ultrasound-painless) because of the size of the one on the neck.

Dr. N was able to get us into Dr. H on April 6, Chris and I are both going. She is at the IU Med Hospital downtown. Dr. N said that if I had tried to schedule him myself it would have been 6 months before we could get in, the fact that I saw her first and she called for the appt. we got in in a week. So I am happy we went.

In the meantime, Dr. N said that we should just keep it really goopy with aquaphor to keep it from scabbing and hurting. She said there is no need to overwash it or put gauze on it. Henry seems to be feeling better too, itt seem as sensitive since I have been using ointment on it. So basically the ER dr. at St. Vincent Ped. ER was an idiot and I wish we weren't sent there but oh well. So after a week we had 3 dr. visits and one ER visit and now I finally feel like we are getting somewhere!

- Jan and Mr. Goopyneck.

Pink Eye to Ear Infection

Last Wednesday, the day Chris leaves for Dallas, Henry begins fussing a lot. On Friday I finally decide this is really not like him and take him to the dr. and turns out he has an mild ear infection in his right ear. So we had about 3 sleepless nights without Daddy. It figures the day he leaves the poo hits the fan.

Anyway, it is now Monday, Chris is back home and the ear infection is doing a little better but still not great. I took him back to the Dr. because he is having some nasty reactions to the antibiotic and is not a happy baby. Hopefully it will be better by the weekend, we are going to Evansville to visit Sarah and Ryan with Mary and Eric and Blaire and Joe. In the meantime, Henry is taking naps with his best friend Newman.

Last Wednesday (Mar. 11) I took Henry to the dr. because his left eye was running a lot and goopy. ick. They thought it could be a clogged tear duct but his eye was slightly pink (which a clogged tear duct does not cause) so they are treating him for conjunctivitis/ pink eye. I bought the drops, which come in the smallest possible bottle costing $72 without insurance! We had insurance so it wasn't bad but still, the bottle is seriously the size of my thumbnail. Henry's eye seems all better but still watery so maybe it is a clogged tearduct. We'll see I guess.

Henry is very excited because he just found out he is going on vacation in May with all of his best friends- Connor, Gavin, Nina and hopefully Patrick. Henry is hoping he can roll over by then to get to showoff for Nina, he thinks she is hot.

Henry is about 10 weeks now and doing great. Tonight he had his first real bath (not in the kitchen sink) and he loved it. He is still on his preemie formula and taking about 3 ounces per feeding and still eating every 3 hours, sometimes at night he will go 4 hours. He is growing his little personality everyday. He is especially excited in the morning when we play peek-a-boo and when Dad comes home.

Mr. Henry Michael McHugh.

2 Months Old!

Yesterday Henry went to his 2 month check up and he now weighs 9 lbs. 1.6 oz. and is in the 6th % for weight and he is 20 and 1/2 inches long- in the 1% for height- which made Chris nervous but I think he will be average height eventually. He has started to lift his head and the doctor said the next step is rolling over so I guess naps on the kitchen counter are out now, just kidding we never did that.

I know I just posted yesterday but I had to put up these pictures of him, he is so funny. Definitely a happy baby.

Here he is at almost 7 weeks old. Henry is doing great and ruling the house. If he had his choice he would sleep all day and party all night, he will be fun in college.

We are still working on getting our days and nights right. He is starting to smile on his own now and sometimes he laughs in his sleep. I can not wait for him to start laughing on his own. I think he will be a funny little boy. We just love him and Chris can't wait to see him when he gets home from work everyday.

I just resigned from my job at the Eiteljorg Museum in order to stay home with Henry. It was hard to quit because I loved the people I work with but they were all very supportive and happy that I am able to stay home with him. This will be really different for me because I enjoy working, not that this isn't work but it is just different. Regardless, I am thrilled to be staying home with him even if we do have to eat Ramen Noodles to do it.

Henry smiles.

Hilarous! Formula Overload.

So last night I started to make Henry a formula bottle and got distracted and asked Chris to finish making it. He said sure- the usual two ounces? I said yes and he brought it in and said, "I added another scoop to make it a two ounce bottle." What? Waaait a minute, you have been doing two scoops this whole time? "yep, isn't that right?" NOPE! Its one scoop per 2 ounces. So....Henry has been getting double doses every time dad fed him since we have been home! Which is a lot! Well, needless to say, I think Henry will 'make weight' this Friday at his appt.

Photo Album of Henry

Here is a link to a photo album of Henry and the hospital stay. There are a total of about 100. Click here to check them out!

Henry is doing great. We had a Dr. visit last Friday and he is up to 5.3 pounds. They want him to gain a half ounce a day and he seems to be doing well. Henry likes to stay up from about 3 a.m. to 6 or 7 and sometimes 8. He insists on a pacifier but he can't keep it in his mouth so I spend a lot of the night putting the paci back in his mouth. The nurses got him stuck on the paci because when they would tube feed him through his nose, they would give him the paci so he would maybe associate sucking with getting full. Hopefully in the next few weeks he can keep it in his mouth.

We are doing well too, adjusting and finally getting the hang of all this parenting stuff. I usually stay in bed anywhere from 11:30-1:30 and just feed him and nap with him. Then I clean up a little and feed him and shower and feed him and that is about it. oh and feed him. I feed him so much that I can not believe he is not at least 10 pounds by now. I must say that his face is really filling out now, he looks very different from day one.

Bath time videos

Here is a video of Henry getting ready for a bath. Here is a video of Henry getting a bath. And here is a video of Henry crying after his bath.

On Sunday Henry had his first outing with the clearance of his dr. He went to the southside to visit his Great Grandma- Mama. This is Chris' grandma (his dad's mother). She was very excited to see Henry and told us about her Grandfather Henry. She cried and said Henry reminded her of Chris' father. It was a great visit. Henry also got to meet his Great Aunt Mo and cousin Sam.

New Pictures of Henry!

New Videos

I am having a hard time adding the actual links to the videos so it might work better if you copy the link and paste in your browser. Or just go to our You Tube Page at

http://www.youtube.com/user/janandchris28

the first 5 videos are new.


Henry's last day in the NICU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-UExRoBdIY


Henry's first day home
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNAKzPNqdTM

Bo meets Henry...kinda
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EQdHierJrM

Our First New Year's Eve as three (five including pugs)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44G_H62E6JM

Henry likes books
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeRCJ06-Bd0

New Pictures

Here are some new photos of the family. Super Dad. Not so Super Dad. Mom. Aunt Jill. Cacoon Baby. Henry's first bath.