Gift For Gavin.org: 4 months old!

{ Hello! }

My name is Gavin. I am 11 months old. I was born with a genetic disorder called Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency that caused my liver to go into failure. I was misdiagnosed for 3 months and underwent emergency surgery before they found out what was wrong. I am on the Organ Donation List and am waiting for my "gift of life" so I can have a liver transplant. You can read about my story by clicking {here}. Thank you for visiting my online journal!

*It is our deepest sorrow to inform you that Gavin passed away while waiting to receive a liver transplant. He was only 14 days away from his 1st birthday. Please, if you haven't already, sign up to be a registered organ donor today and talk to your loved ones about your wishes: http://www.donatelife.net/. Thank you all so much for your love and support during this last year.

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

4 months old!

4 Months Old!

Stats

Weight: 9lbs 11oz
Height: 24in

Head: 39.5cm

Eating Habits:

We've had some ups and downs with eating since we came home from the hospital. We switched to Pregestimil, a predigested formula that is easier on Gavin's liver, but Gavin seemed to hate it! He would eat for a minute, then arch his back, scream and cry and spit it out. And he went down to eating only 3-4 ounces stretched over an hour or so. One day he refused to eat from 11am to 6pm! So we tried switching to Alimentum, which was supposed to have a "sweeter" taste, but he did the same thing. Finally we figured out that he would eat better if we mixed the formula with the electric mixer so it wasn't as grainy. His doctor also prescribed him some Zantac, which seems to be helping a lot so far {crosses fingers}. Now he's back to eating 4-5 ounces at a feeding and eating it all at once. Hopefully we'll get back onto a schedule SOON!!!

Sleep Habits:

Gavin's sleep schedule has been off, too. But I think now that we have his eating issues taken care of, his sleeping schedule will get in line, too. Last month he had only been waking 2-3 times a night. But this month he has been waking on and off every hour or two. Since he started taking the Zantac this week he's been sleeping at least 2 hours between feedings during the day, and every 3-4 hours at night. YAY!!!! Hopefully this isn't a fluke and will continue.

Play Habits:

Gavin has started playing, it is SO fun! We've gotten him to laugh a few times now, but it's still pretty elusive. He loves to kick and grab his feet. He has also discovered that hands are good to suck/chew on. When he gets hungry he tries to shove both fists into his mouth! He also likes watching his Baby Einstein Mozart DVD. I like holding him up to the mirror in the living room and when he sees the "baby" staring at him, he gives a BIG smile, like "hey friend, whats up?!" He can sit up in his baby seat and grab/hold onto rattles all by himself, too. We play "I'm gonna get you!!!" and he jumps and smiles when we tickle him. He also LOVES to look at books!

Any 1sts this month?

Gavin got to meet his Grandpa Chuck for the first time this month! Andre's dad has been in Kuwait for the last two and half years working for the army. So both his parents stayed overnight last weekend and it was really fun. He was really excited to see the baby. :)