Home & Crawling

All it took was for us to get Robbie home and he has just taken off crawling everywhere. He had been looking like he was going to crawl for quite a while, but finally figured it out and is now going everywhere. He is still doing really well after surgery and you wouldn't even know that it was Monday that he was in the O.R. for 90 minutes. We are so grateful for the great surgerical work of Dr. Levitt and his team to make a new poop hole for our little guy.

We go back out to Cincinnati on January 7th so Dr. Levitt can see him again and start to do the dialations. If everything went as Dr. Levitt planned, the most painful part of this procedure, the dialations, should be a lot easier and less painful because he was able to make the hole big enough.

It has been great being back home and starting to get into the groove of things again. We are here for a few days then head out to New Jersey and Mimi's house for Christmas.

GETTING DISCHARGED!!!!!

Dr. Levitt came by this morning while I was taking Mimi to the airport and said that we were getting discharged today because everything went so well yesterday. He had mentioned it yesterday, but thought everything was good to go, so they are currently working on the discharge papers as I write.

For today we will stay here in Cincinnati at the RMHC so we are close to the hospital in case something would hapen. We will take off tomorrow at some point and drive halfway, probably the Illinois side of St. Louis again so Robbie doesn't have to be in the car too long. This should put our return home on Thursday afternoon.

Robbie is doing great and if you didn't know you would have no clue he had major surgery yesterday, what a trooper. We are so happy to be heading home and now it is just taking care of the little guy and making sure he is comfortable. Thank you for all the prayers and support, we can definitely feel their powers here in Cincinnati.

SURGERY IS COMPLETE

Robbie is out of surgery and in his Mom's arms right now eating a bottle. He is resting very comfortably and seems to be doing really well. Our last few days have been nothing but confusion and disorganization so to have Dr. Levitt tell us how well surgery went was an absolute surprise and relief. Robbie's surgery was scheduled for 7:30 a.m. and was not allowed to eat anything from midnight on. At 7:30 a.m. they came in to let us know that surgery was pushed back to 8:45 a.m., only after we asked though. At 8:45 a.m. we were still just waiting to be transported down to the O.R. Finally, around 9:00 a.m. we left for the O.R. and at 9:51 a.m. they made the first incision.

The surgery was scheduled for 3 hours so we had time to go get breakfast, lots of coffee and a chance to talk to some other patients that are staying in the RMHC House while we waited. About 11:00 we headed back to the waiting room and within 10 minutes they paged us to meet in a room with the nurse. We were both very nervous but Mimi remembered them saying that about half way through the surgery the nurse would come out and give us an update.

To our surprise though, Dr. Levitt came into the room and said that everything went better than planned and that he was done with surgery in about 90 minutes. The rectum was lower than he had planned, so it was easier to pull-through and that his butt muscles were so good that he was actually able to make his new butthole big enough where we won't have to do the entire process of dialations (which is supposidly the worst part of the entire process, pain-wise). Instead, he was able to make the hole the size he wants it to be so we just have to maintain that size and the pain level won't be near as much.

So now that he is all fixed up, we just wait for him to heal and have the opportunity of coming home even earlier than planned. We aren't going to count on that, but he said there would be a chance of being discharged tomorrow and be on our way home Wednesday.

Thank you to everyone that was thinking and praying for Robbie's safety and that he would have all the right muscles and parts. Once again, the power or prayer is an amazing thing.

Interesting Day

So about 9:30 this morning we got a call from Radiology to be there at 11:30 a.m. for his MRI at 12:30 p.m. So we had to change our plans of heading to the Outlet Mall and get him ready to go for th MRI. While we were waiting for the MRI to be finished the Ronald McDonald House called and said we were able to check in with them today. Robbie came out of the MRI around 2:00 p.m. and we went back to the hotel to pack up again and head over to the RMHC. We got all the paperwork done and were taken on a tour of the facility and just got things unpacked and going to head down for dinner.

The weather is starting to change here, as it's raining outside and will turn to snow by tomorrow morning. We hopefully will beat the weather in the morning as we check in at 9:00 a.m. The good thing about this RMHC is that it is right across the street from the hospital. So, even though plans got changed, it was an overall good day and Robbie is starting to feel like himself right again.

Meeting Went Well

Our meeting with Dr. Levitt went well and he was a very nice guy. He was able to look at his xrays and images along with a quick physical exam and gave us some positive news. He said by just what he could see from what was in front of him, that Robbie had a good, deep butt crack (which is good in these cases, guess Dad's big butt helped on this), and that his muscles in the anal area seemed to be good. When he looked at the xray he could see where the colon was and thought it was in a good spot to pull it through. The only concern he had was that there was a gap between his pelvis and femur that is somewhat common in bladder exstrophy patients because of the way the pelvis doesn't completely fuse together. He wants an MRI of the pelvis just to make sure that this gap just has a fatty tissue in it that can be removed before he gets in there and has to figure it out then. Again, this is common in exstrophy patients and shouldn't be a big deal.

We check into the hospital on Sunday at 9:00 a.m. (EST) and the MRI will be at some point during the day. Surgery is scheduled for Monday at 7:30 a.m. We are so grateful for all the prayers and thoughts for Robbie and just ask that they continue for a very successful surgery. If all goes as planned, we will be able to return here in 6-8 weeks, or after basketball season, and get rid of his colostomy bag and have to worry about changing poopy diapers.

As far as his bowel management goes, if everything goes well with the surgery and he is right about his assumption of Robbie's case, he thinks that he will be able to control his bowels, but will just be a little delayed in the time that he does this. We are praying that he is right and that Robbie will be able to poop whenever and wherever he wants to. More updates will come as we get them, but we are just anxious to get the surgery started and get Robbie on the way to a "normal" life.

Tomorrow we have some friends who Dr. Gearhart (Johns Hopkins) put us in touch with from Louisville, KY coming to visit us here in Cincinnati. They have a little boy who has a very similar case as Robbie and have helped us a lot in understanding what is going on with both the bladder and anus. It will be great to see them and see what we have to look forward to. He has had both the anus fixed and the bladder put away and is doing great. We really look forward to seeing them tomorrow and introducing the two boys.

Dr. Levitt Meeting

We got a call last night and we will be meeting with Dr. Levitt at 5:30 p.m. today to go over what the plan is with Robbie. The nurse on the phone said that they have never cancelled a surgery before, but that each patient just has a different bowel management program that they will be a part of. The meeting today will just inform us on how all the xrays and pictures looked and what he thinks will be the best way to fix up our little guy.

Mimi gets into town this evening as well, so Robbie is really excited to see her. Today we might go to the Aquarium which is really close to our hotel, we will see how that goes. We switched to an extended stay hotel yesterday because the waiting list at the Ronald McDonald House is pretty long and they thought it might not be until later next week that we can get in there. We just need a room with a refrigerator for his medicine and it will be nice to not have to eat out all the time.

Testing Is Complete

It took a little while to get back there, then the test took some time but Robbie was such a big boy and now the tests are done. They took some XRays of his stomach and pelvic area and then did a Colostogram. This test was done by injecting contrast into his mucous fistula to see what his colon looked like. The radiologist said that they got good images and will get those to Dr. Levitt today. After the colostogram is where there was some confusion on what the next step in the process would be. We didn't know if we were done or when we would talk to someone about surgery. After 45 minutes and Saree talking to a nurse in the colorectal unit, we are now waiting to see when we can meet with Dr. Levitt and he can go over Robbie's case, hopefully prior to checking in on Sunday. I guess if we don't hear anything before Sunday, we will check in and just wait to talk to him then. Right now we are still waiting to hear back from the Ronald McDonald House too. Looks like we have a Thursday of just hanging out in town and trying to catch up on some sleep, if Robbie will let us. More updates will come as soon as we find something out.

We Made It

The drive to Cincinnati was really pretty easy and we rolled into town exactly during rush hour. We got right to the hotel, after a 30 minute stay in traffic, and got everything into the room and will try to make it feel like home until we hear back from the Ronald McDonald House. We are on the waiting list and hopefully will get in there soon. Tomorrow our appointment is at 10:45 a.m. and there are two tests that they will do to see what the next steps are in the process. We will make sure to let everyone know what we find out as soon as we know.

Loading Up The Wagons For Cincinnati

We are going to load up the car tonight and head out to Cincinnati. We are hoping to get through St. Louis tonight and take it the rest of the way tomorrow. Robbie's appointments are Thursday morning and with the weather Cincinnati is getting we want to make sure we have time incase the snow is bad. Robbie has two tests scheduled for Thursday to determine if we have surgery and what type of procedure they will use. Between the blog and our Facebook accounts, we will make sure that everyone stays updated on what is going on. We are very grateful for all the prayers coming our way, we can definitely feel them surround us in our lives.

Thanksgiving Weekend

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend, the break from school was great. On Wednesday we headed up to Uncle Mike's in Nebraska and introduced Robbie to some good old fashioned Keno. He actually brought some good luck to the group as no one lost any money, usually losing money is a guarantee.

On Thursday, everyone pigged out on a great Thanksgiving dinner, thank you Sondra for making such a great meal. We headed home Thursday night because Robbie was not feeling great. We took him to the doctor on Friday morning and the pediatrician gave us a stronger antibiotic to hopefully get rid of this congestion and mucous that is really stuffing him up. We need him to be clear of anything before surgery.

On both Saturday and Sunday I took Robbie with me to our open gyms and he really seemed to enjoy watching the girls shoot baskets and loved rolling the basketball around the floor. We need to get him used to the sounds of buzzers and whistles though. Saturday night he wasn't a fan of the loud buzzer at the Missouri Western girls game. Saree was able to see all the girls from last year and talk to all of them after their big win. Robbie was such a trooper that night, considering he was up way past his normal bedtime.

Tonight marks the first basketball game for Saree as a high school coach. They play at 7:00 p.m. in the Savannah Tournament, so Robbie and I will be hanging out like some bachelors tonight.

Family Pictures

Here are some pictures of the family.

6 Months Old

On Wednesday Robbie turned 6 months old. It is hard to believe that it has been that long ago that we were blessed with such a sweet little boy. Even though we have had our share of issues, we wouldn't change a thing because of how strong Robbie is and how much stronger he has made us.

Mimi was here last week and were able to get some good pictures of Robbie and the family, despite it being a little cool outside. Robbie is just growing up so fast and getting such a great personality. He is up on all fours now and is rocking, just waiting to take that first step and get crawling. He has figured out how to roll all across the room to get where he needs to though.

Mimi Was Here

Robbie was so excited this past weekend because Mimi made the trip from New Jersey to come hang out with him for a few days. She flew in on Wednesday evening and was able to hang out with Robbie all day Thursday and with Robbie and Mom all day Friday. Over the weekend we all spent a lot of time shopping for things for the house, which we didn't buy, but were all together and Robbie had a great time. Sunday morning we were able to get out and get some good pictures of Robbie and we will be getting these on the blog as soon as Mimi emails them to us. Here is a video of Robbie and Mimi in the airport last night.

Cincinnati Update

We are still in the middle of moving and unpacking so sorry about the lack of updates and pictures. We are also still taking pictures with our phones since we can't find our camera charger, so sorry about the expressions on his face in some the pictures.

We received our itinerary from Cincinnati Children's Hospital and we head out there on Thursday, Dec. 9th for Robbie to get a battery of tests to see what they will be able to do in the surgery. We then hang out there for a few days before he gets admitted on Sunday, Dec. 12th. The surgery is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 13th at a time to be determined and the recovery is anywhere from 3-5 days. We are hoping to be home by the weekend. We then have his post-op follow-up visit on Wednesday, Dec. 29th. That is the schedule we have right now and I don't think anything will change from now until then. Saree and I are trying to get ourselves ready for another round of surgery and the thought of Robbie having to go through all of that again. We have just been raising a little boy the last 4 months that has a few minor differences in changing him, and to think about surgery again is really tough.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Here are a few pictures from yesterday and our little bumble bee. He was just a little too big for the outfit so he only wore it for about 45 minutes, but did a great job of answering the door when Trick or Treaters came by the house.

Long Overdue Update

Well, it's been over a week since the last post so here is a quick update as to what is going on in Robbie's life. We finally got moved to Liberty this weekend and are in the long process of setting up our house to our liking. Robbie has been doing great the past week with all the transition. He is getting to where he has to be held all the time now, which really cuts into our productivity.

He went to get his 4 month shots yesterday, even though he's 5 months old. Robbie weighed 15 pounds 4 ounces and was 25 1/2 inches long. He is still a little on the small-side for us, but is developing nicely, the doctor said. Now we just have to beef him up for his surgery in Cincinnati on December 13th.

On another note, Grammy is getting out of the hospital today and will be heading to Uncle Mike's in Nebraska to finish recovering. It has been a long 2 1/2 weeks but it will be nice to have Grammy out of the hospital.

I will try to do a better job of updating the blog, but it might be a little behind until we can get settled in to the new house. I will make sure to get some new pictures up next time too.

Grammy Update

Grammy has been moved to a new room (4144) in the hospital, which means that she is getting better and doesn't need as much care from the nurses. I am stuck in Parent Teacher Conferences tonight, so Mom and Robbie are going to go up and visit her or a little while. Robbie is such a talker now and just tells Grammy all about his day when he is visiting her.

Pumpkin Patch

Grandpa, Nana, Boston and Caroline took Robbie out to the Hunt's Orchard in Amazonia, MO for a day of hay rides, pumpkin picking, corn mazes and pony rides. Robbie had a great time and then loaded up and went to Maryville with them for a few hours last night. He really like the hay ride over to the pumpkin patch and got to sit on a pony. Next year will be even better for him out there so he can just run through the pumpkin patch and actually go for a ride on the pony. Thanks to Grandpa, Nana, Boston and Caroline for the great afternoon.

Grammy Update

Grammy is doing really well as of Saturday night. She has steadily gotten better each day, recovering from a pretty major surgery. The surgeon said that most people take 7-10 days to recover from a surgery like she had on her abdominal area. She has almost all of her tubes out now and is able to walk around her floor a few times a day. Please just keep the prayers coming her way as she takes this fight head on.

Rough Week

This past week started out great on Saturday afternoon, watching the Bearcats dismantle Missouri Western, but after the game we rushed out to the Emergency Room in Maryville to meet Grammy. She had been complaining about her stomach bothering her a lot that day and couldn't take the pain anymore. She spent the night in the hospital there in Maryville and then was transferred to Heartland Hospital in St. Joseph. On Sunday night she was rushed into surgery because there was a perferation in her colon that was allowing things into her body. During the surgery they told us that they found a tumor in her rectum and that the perferation was next to the tumor. She is in the hospital still, recovering from the surgery and trying to get rid of the infection. She is doing well and looks really good. We have been able to take Robbie up to see her everyday. We have a long haul ahead with treating the cancer but she is so strong and such a fighter that we know this will all be taken care of very soon.

We will keep the blog updated with how she is doing and of course how Robbie is getting along. Please just send thoughts and prayers her way.

First Football Game

Robbie went to his first football game yesterday, Northwest versus Mo West. The weather was good and there were over 10,000 people there to watch a 42-0 win for Dad's alma mater, Northwest. Grammy hooked Robbie up with lots of Bearcat gear; hat, jersey and t-shirt. We had a good time at the game and ran into a bunch of friends and family while we were there. Great day to be a Bearcat.

Surgery Date Set, December 13th

We got confirmation yesterday that we will be headed to Cincinnati on December 13th to start Robbie's surgeries to fix his imperferated anus. We don't have the itinerary yet but on December 13th we start the process of running tests to see what strategy they want to use. With this first surgery we are planning on being out there for about 2 weeks, but it could be less depending on what procedures they have to do. We are both excited and very nervous for this to happen, but know that it has to be done so that Robbie can lead a life without a colostomy bag. Our hope is that all the muscles and parts are where they need to be and the doctors can go in and get this fixed with no problems. We will continue to keep people updated once we get the itinerary from Cincinnati Children's Hospital.

Great Pictures

There hasn't been much going on the last few days. We are still waiting to find out when our surgery in Cincinnati will be, Saree's softball season is winding down (2 more games then districts), and as of right now everything with both houses is going smoothly. I just thought I would get these pictures on the blog for everyone to enjoy.

We are going to head up to Maryville this weekend for the big Northwest/Missouri Western football game and some tailgating. It will be nice to get Robbie into some Bearcat Green for the game.

Cincinnati Update

Well, after talking with Dr. Gearhart last week we are going to go ahead and schedule Robbie's surgery to fix the imperferated anus and get rid of the colostomy bag first. Dr. Gearhart said to just go ahead and get this done and we will reschedule Robbie's evaluation for a later date in Baltimore. Now we are just waiting to hear back from the nurse in Cincinnati to tell us when we will be going out there. They said it can take 3 months to get a date for surgery so we don't know if it will be soon or after the new year. Saree and I are both really nervous about this surgery because of the risk of infection and all the added things that go into making a new poophole, but we both know that this will be the best thing for Robbie and make his life a lot easier in the future. We both have just gotten so used to the colostomy bag that it will feel odd to actually have to change a poopy diaper.

Robbie is still fighting a little congestion, but is doing great overall. He is getting bigger, even though he is a little guy compared to his cousins. He is constantly smiling and laughing, which makes being around him such a treat.

We are still waiting to see if we can get into our new house a little sooner than October 21st, but we are dealing with the bank now and they don't seem to be in too big of a rush.

Kansas City Here We Come

Pending inspections and all the other good stuff that goes into selling and buying a house, we are scheduled to be in our new house on Thursday, Oct. 21st. It was a whirlwind search, I think we looked at every house in Liberty in our price range, but found one we both liked, that was in our price range, and that we could be in fairly quickly.

Our biggest hang up right now is that we are supposed to close on our house in St. Joe on Oct. 8th and the new owners take possession on Oct. 15th. That leaves us 6 days of floating somewhere. The people that bought our house told us that they would work with us if we need a few extras days in the house and we will probably have to take them up on that. Our realtor is also working with the new house to see if we can speed things up on that end too.

All we know is that we thought we would be commuting for a lot longer than we are going to have to and we can't wait to be closer to work and daycare. Even though the house address is Kansas City, MO it is still in the Liberty School District. Liberty has grown so much in the past 15-20 years that there are new subdivisions all over the place. Our new subdivision is called Hunter's Glen and actually my assistant coach, Steve Myrick, lives in the same subdivision. There could be some late night coaches meetings this season in Hunter's Glen.

Saree's Softball Team Highlights

The following link is from Saree's softball game a few weeks ago. One of her player's Mom makes these highlight videos and wanted to feature Robbie in one. The song that is playing is Robbie's favorite song from this summer when we would watch music videos at 5:30 in the morning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LR6JC5JrvuA

Update: Sunday, September 12th

There hasn't been too much going on since the last post but we did get good news on Thursday when I took Robbie back to the pediatrician for a weight check. Since we upped the dosage on his reflux medicine he has been eating so much better and gained over one half pound and the doctor was very happy with that. You can just tell that he is feeling much better and is eating a lot more than a few weeks ago.

Cincinnati Update

Saree talked to the nurse out in Cincinnati today and they have Robbie's chart ready to give to Dr. Levitt so he can make his evaluation. It sounds like it would still be 3 months away from anything happening so we have to check with Dr. Gearhart in Baltimore to see what he wants us to do. The good news about Cincinnati is that the stays aren't as long as we originally thought they would be. Sounds like now we would go out for the surgery and then Robbie would be in recovery for a few days. After the initial recovery we would get trained on how to take care of everything for another few days before we would be sent home. There is obviously quite a bit that goes into making a new poop hole, which I guess makes a lot of sense. After a few weeks at home and taking care of everything we would go back to Cincinnati and they would make the change from the stoma and colostomy bag to him pooping like a normal little guy. Now that we are so used to the colostomy bag and the diapers always just being wet, a dirty diaper is going to be a lot harder for my weak stomach to handle. I am sure that I will get over it pretty quickly, just a few dry heaves and a gas mask.

Shopping Day

We finally had a day completely off from softball practice, softball games, school, and house hunting to get down to The Legends and buy the little man an entire new wardrobe since he is starting to outgrow all the clothes he has now. We had a great afternoon, in great weather, as a family. As you can tell by the pictures, Robbie thought he could hang with Mom when it came to shopping and I'll tell you, he started out really strong. After about 2 hours of shopping he lost the battle and Mom won...he just needs to get used to not out-shopping Mom when she gets on a mission.

We are heading back down to Liberty again tomorrow to look at another 15-20 houses and see if we can find anything that suits us. We are really struggling to find a good fit because of how much we like the house we are in right now and can't seem to find "The One" in Liberty yet. Hopefully tomorrow is our day.

We have another busy week scheduled for the upcoming week with softball games on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and a tournament on Saturday. The good thing about these games are that they start at 4:00 p.m. and get done fairly early, compared to basketball games. Saree's team is 3-3 on the season, which for a roster full of mostly freshmen and sophomores is really good.

Home Softball Game

On our way to Mom's first home softball game yesterday. They won 9-4 and played pretty well. Robbie did a great job out there even though it was a little toasty. Mom is supposed to have a game again today but the couple inches of rain might postpone it.

Tonight at 6:30 is a big night too, we are signing a contract to sell our house. Hopefully everything will go smoothly and we will close on October 15th and finally get down to Liberty and save the 2 hours in the car everyday. I will update the blog tomorrow and let everyone know how it goes tonight.

Great Saturday

Robbie and I spent a great Saturday together yesterday. Mom had a softball tournament in Cameron, MO so Robbie and I hung out all morning then headed over to watch Mom's last two games of the day. This was Mom's first varsity games of the season and they won two and lost two games. Not bad for a brand new program and a very young team, no seniors in the school this year.

Robbie is getting to be such a big guy these days. He ate the best he has ever eaten for me yesterday and was just happy all day long. He is starting to really giggle and laugh when he gets tickled.

As you can tell by the picture he is ready for Nebraska football to start up next week, so is Dad.

We had an Ultrasound done on his head Friday afternoon at Children's Mercy. It was just a followup from his surgery to remove the encepholocelle. Dr. Hornig will look at the results on Monday and we are hoping that we don't hear back from him, which would mean that everything looks good. We should also hear back from Cincinnati this week and find out what the plan is for the imperforated anus.

Went To Mom's First Softball Game

Last night Robbie and I went to our first softball game. It was Mom's second game of the season and after last night they are 2-0 on the season. The weather was perfect, even a little cool at times, and Robbie loved every second of it. We made sure to stay out in the outfield area because there were three games going on at once and foul balls flying everywhere. We are going back again tonight for the last day of the tournament, hopefully they can continue the winning and win their first tournament ever as a new school.

I didn't have any new pictures on my computer so I threw in an old one from when Robbie was born. In the last two days we have had good friends have new additions to their family and I thought it would be good to see a picture of Robbie at Day One.

Congratulations to Isaiah and Carrie Dell who just today welcomed Reese Andrea Dell to the world and to Stan and Tara Grosdidier who welcomed Blakely Catherine Grosdider to their family yesterday.

"A Round For Robbie" Was A Huge Success

Saturday was the first ever "Round For Robbie" golf tournament at Paradise Point Golf Course in Smithville, MO and it was a huge success. There were 59 golfers (14 teams) that took part in the tournament and countless volunteers and others that just came out to show their support for Robbie.There were also over 35 hole sponsers for the tournament Along with the golf tournament there was a Silent Auction and 50/50 Raffle to help us with all of Robbie's medical expenses and travel costs.

The weather for the evnet was perfect and the course was in good shape considering that they got 3 inches of rain the day before. Robbie was able to stay in the clubhouse and just be the star of the show again, going from table to table and entertaining everyone.

There is no way that we can tell everyone how grateful we are for their support. It makes us feel very lucky to have so many great people that care about us and our little guy. To have such a great group of friends and family will help us get through everything that we have to in the future. Thank you to everyone that took part in this event, especially Mick Koch who was the person who got this event started.

Little Man Is Already A Star

We want to thank Mick Koch for not only starting the "Round For Robbie" golf tournament, but for also getting the story to KMBC Channel 9 News (ABC) here in Kansas City. They came out on Tuesday and did a story on the family and on the golf tournament. I attached the link below so everyone can see the story.

Keep the Koch family in your prayers, as Mick's brother suddenly passed away this week. For everything that the Koch family has done for us we are trying to do as much for them as possible and we all know that thoughts and prayers really do help things.

http://www.kmbc.com/video/24682075/

HAPPY BOY

3 Months Old

Robbie turns three months old tomorrow and just today learned how to roll over on his own. He is doing great at daycare and today actually ate better. We talked to his doctor today and he wants to up the dosage of Prilosec and stop the supplement and see if that helps at all.

Update

We got word last week that Cincinnati Children's Hospital has received our records from Children's Mercy. We are now just waiting for the Colorectal area to look at everything and let us know what our next step will be. We are hoping to hear something this week so we can at least get something started for our little guy. He had a rough weekend of acid reflux and struggled eating during the day. He was put on a new medicine that we thought was going to fix the problem, but he is actually eating worse than he was before. He eats pretty well at night and early in the morning but during the day he just doesn't eat much, even though you can tell he's hungry. We have a call into the pediatrician and hopefully we can get this reflux figured out.

Other than that, not much else is going on. We took Uncle Zach and Aunt Rachel to the airport on Saturday morning. Zach caught a plane to Kiev, Ukraine and Rachel back to Wisconsin. The weather has finally cooled off and hopefully we can get out to another Chiefs practice this week before they leave St. Joseph. School starts for Saree and I on Wednesday so we can start to get a normal schedule, we have been in meetings since Thursday and they are at all different times.

Day Care Begins

Today was Robbie first day at day care and things went very well. Michelle said that he was a little fussy at times but really did a good job of sleeping and loved being in her swing. Saree and I both had meetings all day and not being around Robbie is going to take some getting used to. When I picked him up today he was just happy as could be in Michelle's arms and seemed to enjoy his new friends. Robbie is at day care with two little boys, both about 2 years old, and a little girl who is going to be 1 soon. We go back tomorrow for a full day of meetings and then Saree has softball pictures.

Uncle Zach, Aunt Rachel and Grammy are going to spend the night tomorrow because Zach flies out for Kiev, Ukraine at 10:15 a.m. on Saturday. Zach signed with a team in Kiev and will begin another season across the Atlantic. Tomorrow we have a big night of watching the Kansas City Chiefs preseason game.

2 Month Doctor's Appointment

Robbie had his two month doctor's appointment yesterday and really did a good job of taking his shots like a big boy. When the first shot went in he let out a yell that basically said, "what the heck was that and why did it hurt so much." After the last shot he just laid there and then when Mom picked him up he started laughing. I guess if you've had two surgeries in the first week of your life, a few shots are nothing.

He weighed 12 pounds 3 ounces and was 23 inches long. Both of these are in the 30th percentile, so the doctor put him on some supplement to take with his bottle. He just wants him to put on some good weight before he starts all the surgeries that are coming up. He also changed his reflux medicine from Zantac to Prilosec. The Prilosec is a little stronger and he also upped the dosage. Don't know if it was from the new medicine or the shots, but he slept really well last night and seems to be doing a lot better today with his sleep.

We have one more day together tomorrow before he goes to daycare on Thursday. Robbie and I are going to go down to Kansas City with Uncle Zach and Aunt Rachel in the morning to do some shopping at the outlet mall.

We are still waiting to hear from Cincinnati that they received the records from Children's Mercy. I will give them until next Monday, then we will just head down to Mercy and see what the delay seems to be.

Weekend Update

Even though the weather is heating up again Robbie had another great weekend with family. The heat index was 116 degrees today but didn't slow down our little guy. We have tried to not let him nap in our arms and have been laying him in his crib each time he starts to nod off. Let's just say the first day of this project was a little stressful. He couldn't understand why we weren't holding him while he slept. When we thought that he was going to have the surgery for the bladder and pelvis in July we just wanted to make sure we held him as much as possible. When we found out the bladder was too small and there wasn't going to be surgery, we created a monster when it came to nap time. We started laying him down for naps on Wednesday and as of today he has slowly gotten better at sleeping in his crib. What started at 5 minute naps without crying are now at least 30 minutes and can go for about an hour. We are just trying to get him ready for daycare, which starts Thursday.

Things were even a little more difficult this weekend as Saree was feeling horrible with flu-like symptoms on Friday night and all day Saturday. She had a really high fever and was just feeling miserable. We were able to get some antibiotics late Friday night from the doctor and by Saturday evening she was feeling a little better.

Robbie was able to meet Uncle Zach's fiance Rachel, as they got in town on Friday. Zach flies out on Wednesday or Thursday to start another season overseas playing basketball. This season he is going to play in Ukraine. After five years in Spain he is going to venture out and see how life in the former Soviet Union treats him. Uncle Rog came up Saturday too and spent the night with us. He was a huge help with Robbie Saturday night.

Monday is the first day of Saree's softball season with a 8:00 a.m. practice. This will officially mark the end of her summer and that her new job begins in Liberty. I still have three days to hang out with my little guy until my meetings start on Thursday. Robbie is just growing and growing and is really starting to get more of a personality everyday.

Update: Wednesday, August 4th

We had a very good trip to Arkansas and got back last night. A trip that used to take about 7 1/2 hours now takes 10 hours. Our little adventure included a stop in Thayer, Missouri at Wal-Mart because Saree left her power cord for her pump in Arkansas. After that stop we made it to Springfield and because of a heat index of 115 degrees we stopped at Pet Smart to walk the dogs around the store and feed Robbie. Our last stop was just past Worlds of Fun in Kansas City because Robbie was melting down because he was hungry again. Robbie was really good again in the car on such a long trip.

We might head out tonight and watch the Kansas City Chiefs practice at 7:15 p.m. The Chiefs are doing their preseason training camp here in St. Joseph at Missouri Western. All the sports talk guys say this is the best practice of the preseason to go to. The weather is actually bearable today and Robbie just loves being outside.

We are still waiting to have our records sent from Children's Mercy to the Children's Hospital of Cincinnati. The nurse in Cincinnati said they will let us know the day they receive the records. From everything that we have gathered, once the records get there things start to move pretty quick. We will make sure that we keep everyone updated on the status of our trip to Cincinnati.

Kyler's 2nd Birthday

We made the trek down to Jonesboro, Arkansas to spend the weekend with Uncle Justin, Aunt Stacee and Cousin Kyler. Robbie did a great job in the car and we broke the trip up enough to keep him happy. Today was Kyler's 2nd birthday and it was great being able to spend it with him. He got all sorts of great presents and had the best Elmo cake.

We will be heading back home tomorrow so Saree can get a few days of relaxation before she starts her new job on Friday. I don't have to go back until the next Thursday, so the summer is really getting to the end. Robbie has been great all week after getting back on the reflux medicine, definitely a bad idea to try to get him off of that. He seems to just get bigger every day, he now has developed the "Morley Thighs" after a month or so of little bird legs. His arms still look like the Michelon man and now he has legs to match.

A Round For Robbie

We were blown away when Mick Koch decided to organize a golf benefit for Robbie and all the medical expenses that he is going to rack up. Mick is going to be Saree's assistant basketball at Liberty North and his daughter Jessica played for Saree the past three years at Missouri Western. The flyer that is attached has all the information that you will need if you are interested in playing in the benefit. Just click on the flyer to blow it up. The benefit will take place on Saturday, August 21st in Smithville, MO at Paradise Point.

Daycare Update

A huge sigh of relief was let out last week at our house as we found a daycare provider that would take Robbie. After a month and a half of scrambling and searching we were able to have a few great options come to us about the same time. We are very excited to have found a great person and family to watch Robbie for us this school year. It is also very nice with our crazy basketball schedule that we have someone that understands all the chaos. Since her daugter plays basketball for me at Liberty I think she understands the demands. Robbie is in great hands during the day and this really makes Mom and Dad feel very happy.

Whirlwind Weekend

Our weekend started early on Thursday and went completely through Sunday night. We started out with a long trip to Uncle Mike's in Nebraska with a stop in Maryville to drop off Kernel. We finally got to Filley, NE about 8:00 p.m. and had a great time hanging out with the family. On Friday morning I headed up to Omaha for a team camp at Creighton University. Saree and Robbie stayed in Filley all day Friday for a get together that night and to hang out with the family some more. Saturday morning Nate and Kirby drove Saree and Robbie up to Omaha to spend the weekend with our friends Jan and Gabe and their little guy, Barry. After our last game on Saturday I headed out to meet up with the family for the night. Sunday morning we finished camp with two games and then back out to West Omaha. We left Omaha around 3:30 p.m. and headed to Maryville to pick up the dogs. We stayed and had dinner with Grammy, Rog, Nate, Kirby and some of Nate's friends. We finally got back to St. Joseph about 9:00 p.m. It was a very long weekend but a good one spent with family and friends. Robbie is doing really well, just being a little more fussy than normal. We think it's the reflux acting up again but we aren't for sure. Hopefully getting him back on his medicine more consistently will help with these little meltdowns. He is getting so big and really starting to get some thunder thighs to match his arms.

Full House

I got home from basketball camp today to a very full house. There were people and dogs everywhere and it was awesome. In the house were myself, Saree, Robbie, Grammy, Uncle Rog, Uncle Zach, Uncle Nate, Kirby, Great Uncle Bill, Great Aunt Kris, Cousins Jeremy, Mandy, Sean, Lucy, Kernel, Husker, and Tug. Even Great Aunts Marilyn and Diane were here earlier in the afternoon. It was great to get Nate and Kirby here to finally meet Robbie. We had dogs chasing each other, trash talking about the big fishing trip tomorrow and lots of pizza for everyone. I wish we had both of our families closer than they are so we could have more days like this one. To have a full, loud house was something that we haven't had before in our house and it felt really good. It is obvious how much the family loves Robbie, he is a lucky little one to have all the love in his life.

Busy Sunday

We had a very busy, but very good Sunday in Maryville. The day started with the car ride where we loaded up Robbie and the two dogs along with a full trunk of dog kennels, lawn chairs, Aerobeds and a stroller. We started the day off at Pop's and Nana's for lunch and just had some good time to hang out with them and Aunt Caroline. Their household got a little bigger with the addition of Stewy, their new puppy. After their house we headed to Grammy's to lay down and take a nap for a little bit. Grammy and Robbie headed next door to Vicki's house while Mom and Dad took a nap. After that we head to Lades for dinner and to introduce Robbie to Aunt Marilyn. Marilyn is in town from Phoenix for a college reunion and she had the chance to hang out with Robbie for a few hours. After a few hours at the Lades we head back to Grammy's house so Robbie could meet the Peterson's who had just gotten there from a 13 hour trip from Atlanta. The Peterson's are here for the week and we will get the chance to see them later this week. We finally got home around 11:00 p.m. but it was well worth the trip. We have such a great family, that cares so much about us and we are just so happy that Robbie was able to meet all of his Great Aunts and Uncles now.

Also, if anyone has any information on possible babysitters in Liberty if you could let us know we would greatly appreciate it. You can email me at coachmorley@gmail.com.

2 Months Old

We have had a good weekend so far doing nothing but hanging out with Robbie. He has enjoyed all the attention and is really getting a personality. We have been still fighting some of the fussiness, but from what little I know that probably comes with the territory. We are heading up to Maryville tomorrow to have lunch with Pops and Nana and then we are going to Lades later in the afternoon so Robbie can meet Aunt Marilyn. After we go to the Lades the Petersons should be here from their drive from Georgia to meet Robbie too. The rest of the week will be full of visitors as Uncle Zach gets back to town on Monday and finally Uncle Nate gets to meet Robbie. Nate flies in from Palm Springs and Kirby flies in from Virginia on Tuesday. Should be a great week for everyone.

Close Up

Mom was trying to get a smile out of Robbie but could only get a sneeze.

Call Out To All Liberty Blog Readers

We are still looking for daycare for Robbie. We had one set up and ready to go and found out that she can't do it now. We are in scramble-mode now with school starting in about one month. If you have names of anyone that watches little ones and would be willing to take us in we would greatly appreciate it. You can email me at coachmorley@gmail.com if you know of someone looking to take on any more kids.

Thanks.

New Appointment Scheduled & New Friend

Yesterday Carly brought Tatum over so she could hang out with Robbie. They had a great time just looking at each other and crying when the other one did.

We also scheduled our next appointment to have Dr. Gearhart look at Robbie's bladder. The appointment is for Monday, November 29th, so it looks like we will be spending Thanksgiving out in New Jersey. The only thing that might change that date is if we can get in to Dr. Levitt in Cincinatti that specializes in the Pediatric Colorectal area. Dr. Gearhart put us in touch with him and to no suprise to me, he responded back to us within 30 minutes. We are in the process of doing all the paperwork to get into see him. Dr. Levitt is one of the world's best in his field and Dr. Gearhart works with him quite a bit on cases like ours.