Pictures with Nanny and Dixie

Anthony and Dixie together - Dixie needed some Tummy Time. Not really happy about it!

Anthony and Nanny together - can't keep her hands off him.

Anthony usually does not like Tummy Time but of course now that I am trying to get his days and nights switched back to actually being awake during the daytime and sleeping at night I fed him his afternoon meal and of course he goes limp and I could not get him to wake up - even Tummy Time would not wake him up!

We all know that we are being looked after by those above us. Even Dixie is watching over Anthony! She probably thinks she is going to get some food from him.

Bloodwork Results

Tony heard back from the Nephrologist on Friday afternoon regarding Anthony's blood work. In his words everything looks fantastic! They were worried about the kidney filtering properly and/or him becoming acidic and salt wasting (not keeping enough salt's in the kidney to enable him to grow properly) but all levels were in good range!

Again I want to thank so many people and God for all their prayers and for putting him on your prayer list at Church! We have had such a tremendous outreach from so many people - even those I hardly know. Thank you!!

Tony's mother is here now - couldn't wait to get her hands on Anthony James. I have some updated pictures that I hope to put on this week.

Take Care,

2 week check up

Tony and I took Anthony to the Pediatrician yesterday and he received an A+ on his report card! He is currently weighing in at 7 pounds 6 ounces and 20.50 inches long. He has gained a full pound since leaving the hospital and has grown an inch and a half! Must be getting his height from me - ha ha.

My mother leaves out in the morning - no more home cooked meals - time for take-out!

Lets Swing!

Yesterday Jamie, Trish, Pat and Jayme came over to visit The Rocc and came bearing gifts. They gave him a swing, a Bumbo seat, and lots of stuff for the bedroom. He absolutely loves the swing! That was a major hit.

Tony and I gave Anthony a bath last night and he really seemed to enjoy it - until time to dress.

Last night was the best night of sleep for Anthony and us since he has been home. After his 11:00 feeding he went right to sleep until time to eat again at 2:00 then right back to sleep until time to eat again at 5:00.

Here are a few pictures from the past couple of days - some days we go through a lot of outfits

A BIG THANK YOU to my mother for being here - we have a clean house, clean clothes and food to eat. Not sure what the house will look like, what we will eat or if we will have clean clothes on when she leaves.

Here are two videos of Anthony this morning in his new swing!

First Nights at Home

Anthony is doing really good. He is eating and sleeping most of the day. Then come time for us to go to bed Anthony is all worked up. For the first couple of nights he has been awake from 11:00pm to about 2:00am then finally settles down for the night.

Our cat Ruger stalked Brian and Mischele's dog Tadpole all weekend. I got a picture -if you look real close you can see Tadpole's head sticking out between Mischele's arm.

Today Tony and I took Anthony to the pediatrician's office for weight check and general assessment. He is gaining weight and looking great. When the nurse went to weigh him he peed all over her. It was so funny! She was so shocked.

Here are a few pictures taken over the weekend with his Papaw Doc, Uncle Brian, Aunt Mischele, and Grandma KK - my dad said he was too small for him to hold. He keeps scratching his face with his fingernails so I put some mittens on him. My mom and I finally broke down yesterday and filed his nails down.

Hope you enjoy looking at the pictures. Again, we would like to thank everyone for their continued thoughts and prayers he is doing so great. Keep the comments coming I love reading them or you can email us at aprrocconi@aol.com.

Anthony James Rocconi - Born September 2, 2008

Anthony was born Tuesday, September 2, 2008 at 2:53 pm. Weighing in at 6 pounds and 8 ounces and 19 inches long.

This has been an extremely hard but rewarding week. I have a lot of information but will try to keep it short and simple. Anthony only has 1 kidney and he went through a lot of test run in the NICU to make sure it is working properly. The pyloragram confirmed that he has an extremely dilated ureter secondary from reflux of urine back into the renal pelvis during urination. At first, the urologist and nephrologist were concerned that there might not be enough parenchymal mass left for the kidney to function. The nuclear scan showed that there was no remnant of the right kidney. They were even preparing us for the possibility of the need for a kidney transplant. However, each day his creatine level (key indicator of renal function) continued to go down which showed that enough renal cortex was functioning to filter his blood. The neonatal nephrologist is optimistic for long term function of the kidney.

We want to thank each of you for your thoughts and prayers. Without them, I don't believe that we would be this blessed.

Here are some pictures of Anthony a.k.a. The Rocc! We will continue to keep everyone updated as to his progress. Anthony will be on antibiotics for some time because of the urine backing into the kidney as well as a special formula for his kidney. We are so fortunate to have such a support system and are so relieved to have him home. Last night was our first night home - we slept with one eye open.

Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers!