Discovering Grady

Our little boy is starting to get more and more of a personality. He is becoming clearer about his likes and dislikes. For instance, he dislikes falling asleep. He doesn't mind being asleep, it's just the falling asleep process that he is not so fond of. There are so many things for him to discover out here, he can't be bothered to waste time sleeping! Today he discovered the little animals that hang off the top of his vibrating chair. Here is a picture of him in the chair from yesterday, pre-discovery of the animals.



Luckily for me, too bad for Matt, Grady has also asserted himself as a Red Sox fan this week, thanks to a gift from uncle Cliff. He does not seem to be too optimistic about this season, unfortunately.



Here's a shot of Grady contemplating whether or not to take Pedro out of the game.



It was vaguely suggested by my husband, but I refuse to do a comparison photo now to Don Zimmer.

For those that were worried, Besa also got some enjoyment out of Grady's Red Sox present. Luckily, the sweatshirt and hat had been removed.



She is still getting used to not being the exclusive center of attention.

Tomorrow Grady has his second date with Rose. Hopefully he will be in a slightly better mood tomorrow than he is today - I think the whole not wanting to sleep thing is wearing on him. The occasional smiles I'm getting from him now make up for his fussiness ten fold.

Urology Appointment

Grady, Matt and I met with the pediatric urologist today at long last to find out about the status of Grady's kidneys. Unfortunately the news is not great, although it is not horrible. Basically, Grady's right kidney has two ureters instead of the usual one. The top one connecting to the upper right kidney does not appear to have much functioning. The lower one connecting to the lower right kidney does have some functioning it appears, but also has a ureterocele, basically a little cyst where the ureter connects to the bladder. He also has some reflux in the lower ureter, so the pee is not just going out but is also going back up to the kidneys. The left kidney is functioning well, but also has a small ureterocele.

Early next week, Grady will have to go in for a procedure where they basically pop the ureteroceles. The procedure is done through a catheter, so he will not need to have open surgery. It doesn't take long, but he will need to be given an anesthetic and so will have to stay over night for observation. Hopefully the popping of the ureteroceles will fix functioning and reflux, but that is pretty unlikely so we are likely looking at another surgery a few months down the line. Before that happens though we will have a check up at 3 months to see how the kidneys are functioning.

The good news is at the end of everything, Grady should be just fine, but I wish we would get there without the procedure and likely surgery. It just seems like a lot for such a little guy.

Grady again was much braver than I. The procedure next week is supposed to be very straightforward, but I am still upset about it.

Here's a picture of Grady from today, getting ready for his big doctor's appointment.



Matt's parents just left to head back to Westfield. It was really nice to have them here and have them spend time with their newest grandson. I'm on my own now for the next 8 weeks, although luckily Matt's just across the yard!

Weekend with the Grandparents

Grady had a pretty fun time with the grandparents this weekend! On Saturday morning, we went to the farmers' market at Portland State University. Grady, again, was not able to stay awake, but I felt like he was really trying this time! Here he is in front of some strawberry plants.



Afterwards, we walked a few blocks to the Oregon Historical Society and learned a little bit about Oregon's history, including the Lewis & Clark expedition and the dispossesion of the Native Americans. Luckily, Grady slept through this one. No, just kidding. History is great.

In the afternoon, Matt and his dad built a trellis for the garden. I don't have a picture of it, but it is very impressive! The Wilkinsons know how to build garden ornaments!

Yesterday was a quieter day. Matt and I went for a walk with Grady while the grandparents went to church. Then Grady mostly napped and ate. He also did some impressive holding his head up during tummy time. This picture is from a few days ago, although it captures the mood of yesterday afternoon -



Grady had a pretty traumatic morning this morning, although I think he handled it better than I did. He had to go back to Emanuel hospital today to get a VCUG done. Basically, they insert a catheter in the penis, put some dye in, give him fluids, and wait for him to pee to see how well his kidneys are functioning. They took pictures of the bladder and kidneys throughout. The kid clearly needed to pee but was holding it in. I, I thought helpfully, informed the hospital staff that he likes to pee on people, but no one volunteered. Anyway, he did eventually pee and was really brave throughout. He cried only a little bit thanks to the miracles of sugar water. We have to keep an eye on him for a fever over the next 24 hours and encourage fluids (so far, he has not needed much encouragement). Tomorrow afternoon we meet with the pediatric urologist who should tell us the results of the VCUG and of the ultrasound Grady had last week. Here is a picture of Grady this morning getting ready for his doctor's appointment. His hair is newly washed since he took it upon himself to pee on his head this morning.



The kitties seem to be getting more used to Grady after a few weeks. I feel bad that I'm not giving them quite as much attention as before, but I am trying to spend as much time with them as I can. Luckily, they also have each other to cuddle with.



Matt's parents leave tomorrow late evening. It has been wondeful having them here, and we will miss them when they leave!

Also, for those who haven't voted yet, time is ticking on the does Grady look like Winston Churchill poll! Right now, the nays have it!

Grady's First Bath

With Grady's umbilical cord a thing of the past, we were able to give Grady his first bath today. We had really been looking forward to it because Grady's great aunt Joanie got him the absolute cutest bath time gear ever.

Grady looked a little uncertain about the bath at first, but quickly warmed up to it.




This image has been redacted to protect the innocent



After his bath, Grady got decked out. Get ready for some seriously cute photos.





We even broke out the video camera - sorry about the quality here, and then about having to tilt your head to the side for the second half. Still working out the kinks here.



Grady, Grandma, Grandpa, Matt & I went for a short walk along the bluff this morning to enjoy another beautiful April day in Portland. Grady again slept through the
whole thing. One of these days, he will be awake and outside!

Here are some photos of Grady with the grandparents. Of course, since the photos were taken outside, he's asleep.

Chubby Baby

Today was an action-packed day for little Grady. Most importantly, Matt's parents arrived late last night and met Grady this morning. They treated us to a delicious dinner of chicken chili and spent some quality time with Grady. We were gone most of the day, so we don't have any good pictures of the three of them yet, but I will post them once we have them.

We took Grady in for his two week doctor's appointment this morning. Grady now weighs in at a whopping 8 pounds, 13 1/2 ounces - a gain of 11 1/2 ounces in 7 days! Here is a picture of Grady looking decidedly chubby, mid-milk coma:



After his doctor's appointment, the three of us took a baby CPR class at Emanuel hospital. It was useful to learn, and hopefully we will never need to use it. Grady had to act as the manequin for one demonstration, and he was relatively accommodating, although much squirmier and noisier than the manequins we had been using up until then.

We are looking forward to spending the day with the grandparents tomorrow - hopefully the weather will cooperate and we can get some outdoor time. Grady's umbilical cord came off yesterday, too, so we may get to give him his first bath tomorrow!

Super Kidney!

We took Grady in today for an ultrasound to check on the progress of his hydronephrosis. For those that don't know, Grady was diagnosed at his 18 week ultrasound with hydronephrosis in his right kidney - basically, the tube connecting the bladder to the right kidney is swollen, which causes some dilation in the right kidney as well. We won't really know much until we meet with the pediatric urologist on Tuesday and have a follow-up test called a VCUG, which tracks how well the urine is flowing through the kidneys. We do know that the condition is still there, but we don't yet know what sort of action, if any, will need to be taken. The good news is that the left kidney seems to still be working fine, and absolutely worst case, he only needs the one kidney. When we met with the urologist a few months ago, he said if Grady ends up relying on the one kidney, it will become a "super kidney," basically doing the work of two kidneys. Pretty cool! Here is a picture of Grady in the waiting room. We gussied him up a bit for the doctors.



In keeping with doctor's appointments news, we take Grady in for his two week check up tomorrow - I'll be curious to see how much he weighs now.

Finally, in happier news, Matt's parents are coming tonight! We are looking forward to seeing them and having them meet their newest grandson.

Winston Churchill?

Someone who shall remain nameless (ahem, goopy) commented that our darling boy bore a striking resemblance to Winston Churchill. Now, I personally do not see any resemblance.

Compare:



to:



Now, how could anyone see a resemblance?

Of course, I must admit, there might be some minimal resemblance here:






What do you think? Cast your vote to the right.

(Some outtakes)




And the results? 8 said he was way cuter than WC, 2 said he maybe bore a slight resemblance.

Spring in Portland

Today was an absolutely perfect spring day in Portland - sunny skies, calm winds, 60-70 degrees. To celebrate the sun (a big deal in Portland in April!) Grady, Matt and I took a trip to the Rhododendron Gardens in East Moreland. Grady was unimpressed.

no pictures, please

It's amazing how friendly people are when you have a baby! Several people offered to take pictures of the three of us, and everyone commented on how cute he is. We already know this, but it's nice to get reassurance. Here is one of our first family photos.



Grady basically slept through the entire affair, but Matt and I really enjoyed ourselves. The rhododendrons were blooming, the weather was perfect, and it was nice to wander around outside in the sun.

A few hours after we got back, our friends Neil and Cynthia came over for some grilling. It was fun to hang out with adults for a while, and the first grilled hamburgers of the season were delicious. Grady again slept through the entire affair, but did begin crying nearly immediately upon their departure. The kid is well behaved for company!

Grady was a little fussy last night, but seems to be back to his happy self tonight. He is staying awake for longer periods, which is nice. I wish we could play with him more while he is awake, but he is just too little to do much by way of playing. We have, of course, already started his training plan for his first triathalon, and he seems to be responding pretty well. Once he figures out that his legs are attached to his body, I think he will progress even more quickly.

And, just so you know we have not forgotten about the cats, here is a gratuitously cute photo of the two of them.

Grady's First Date

We've had a pretty quiet few days as Matt, Grady and I have settled into life without the grandparents. Yesterday, Grady and I met up with one of the mommies from our birthing class and her daughter Rose for a walk in Forest Park. We decided to go for a sporty, athletic look:



The outfit was complemented with a yellow pompom hat - very chic. The date was a qualified success. Rose cried for a good portion of it, Grady slept for all of it, and also peed his pants. But still, for a first date, not bad!

Today Grady has been concentrating on eating and sleeping. I am working hard to keep up with his needs.

Grady's great-aunt Joanie sent the cutest package of wash cloths, a bathrobe, hooded towels, etc., which we received today. I can't wait for his umbilical cord to come off so we can deck him out!

If it's nice tomorrow, we may take a family trip to Washington Park - if we do go, I will take lots of pictures.

Grady is one week old!

Today Grady celebrated his one week birthday! In honor of his birthday, Matt and I bought cupcakes. Here is Grady presented with his cupcake:



And here he is when he was told he couldn't eat his cupcake:



Mommy and Daddy are mean.

Grady also had his one week doctor's appointment today. He weighed in at 8 pounds, 2 ounces, so he has officially exceeded his birth weight. That may no longer be the case, however, after the changing debacle that occurred this afternoon. Matt left to go get a few things at Babies R Us. While he was gone, I finished nursing Grady and went to see if he needed changing. He did. I was just finishing cleaning up the poop, when he NOT ONLY projectile peed all over the room, but also managed to spit up at the same time. It was quite a feat. I'm still recovering. No pictures of that, unfortunately.

The cats are starting to get more used to having Grady around. True to her personality, Fuzz is more of an observer. Here is Fuzzy checking out Grady while I was cleaning up the pee spray:



True to form, Besa is pushing boundaries a bit more, but is still being pretty cautious around Grady. Here she is trying to share lap space:



In sadder news, my dad and Dotty left today to head back to Tucson. They were such a huge help here - Matt and I ate like royalty and felt very pampered. Luckily they will be coming back in October to visit Grady (and us). He'll be six months old then, so he will be pretty different! Here are Grandma (Goomy) and Grandpa (Goopy) (I don't know why they aren't coming around to these nicknames) with baby Grady:



Hopefully I will write more soon - all things may change now that the grandparents are gone! Matt's parents are coming on Wednesday, and we can't wait to see them.

Welcome Grady Webster!

Grady Webster Wilkinson was born on Thursday, April 8 at 1:16 pm. He was 8 pounds, 1 ounce and 21 inches long.

For those interested, here is the birth story: Grady was due on March 31, but he was sitting pretty and didn't really feel like making his entrance. I tried everything, from walks to eggplant to acupuncture, but with the little one not budging and my maternity leave time running, we decided to go for induction on April 8.

Matt and I arrived at the hospital at 7 and were told that they almost called us that morning to tell us not to come in because they were so full! Luckily (for them and for us!) that didn't happen. It took a while to get the IV in since my veins are "spindly" and "valvey" (neither highly complimentary I don't think). While we waited, the doctor broke my water and told us that I was 4 cm dilated. They finally got the IV in at 9:30 and started the pitocin drip.

I started having cramps pretty soon thereafter, but didn't really associate them with contractions and, I think because the monitor wasn't set up quite right, they weren't measuring as contractions either. Matt and I did a short walk around the birthing center and came back to the room just before 11:30. Pretty suddenly after that, the cramps became very intense and were finally labeled and monitored as contractions. They came very quickly without a lot of recovery time in between, but by the time the pain was getting pretty unmanageable, I was already 8 cm dilated. The doctor was called, and I started pushing just before 1. Grady was born about 15 or 20 minutes later. He entered this world with a scream and a huge gush of pee, so we knew right away at least one kidney was working!

Grady has been very well-mannered so far. He is a great eater - as of Monday, he had already gained back all but 2 ounces of his birth weight. We spend a lot of time just staring at him in disbelief, not quite believing he's ours.

My parents have been here since Friday and they have been a huge help - cooking all our meals and buying us things we didn't even realize we needed. They leave tomorrow, which will be an adjustment. Matt has been super helpful, doing almost all the diaper changes and spending lots of cuddle time with Grady.

We have another doctor's appointment tomorrow - I'm guessing he'll be up over 8 pounds by then!