The Alvarez Family
-With God, all things are possible.
-With God, all things are possible.
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What's New
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
For those who don't already know, Ethan has a cleft lip and a cleft palate. He is currently in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Texas Children's Hospital. He was transferred there Sunday, August 31 from Willowbrook Methodist Hospital a couple of days after he was born. Needless to say, he has not been home yet and 11 days have passed. He is there to have his feedings monitored and to be evaluated by the cleft palate team of specialists. Other than that, Ethan is one healthy kid. The specialists have already tried two different types of nipples with Ethan. One was the Haberman nipple, which is longer than most standard baby bottle nipples, but this made him gag. The other is called a Pigeon nipple. This one is fatter than most, but the top side is hard, while the underside is soft. He has done well with this one. He has yet to fully finish an entire bottle, but he is progressing. Today, he went to the Orthodontist to get fitted for a denture appliance. They took a mold of the roof of his mouth and the denture is expected to come back Friday. This piece is supposed to help during feedings by covering the gap in the roof of his mouth. Also, this will gradually close the gap, however not completely, in preparation for the surgery he will need in about 3 to 4 months.
As first time parents, it was difficult to accept the fact that your child will have to take a different path than most newborns. In addition, the realization of coming home to a house that is prepared for a baby's presence and not being able to bring the baby home is tough. This has been especially difficult for Adriana. I will never forget the first night at home the day Adriana was discharged from the hospital. It was heartbreaking to say the least. It is what it is though. He is in good hands here at TCH. This is one of the best hospitals in the nation and we have faith that everything will be fine in due time. So far, we have dealt with the situation one day at at time. We spend every day and evening at the hospital. We are there to support our son and to learn exactly what we need to do in order to provide the care that he needs. Adriana and I believe we are blessed to have a child first and foremost, and as his parents, we will love him unconditionally.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
My fellow coworkers kept a little tradition alive at work today when I was presented with 12 huge boxes of diapers from Sam's Club. This is a pic of the boxes stuffed in my car. I had to fold the backseat down in order to fit them all in. I surprised Adriana when I got home by knocking on the window that overlooks the driveway. She looked through the blinds and pulled them up right away when she saw this. She was amazed at what I brought home. I bet any parent would agree that getting any amount of diapers as a gift for a new baby is one of the best gifts they could receive. Many thanks go out to the people who went out of their way to give us these -- Rick, Leroy, Jim, Kevin, Jonathan, Archibald, Raymond, and George. God bless you.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
This past Sunday, we were blessed to receive this cradle swing at church from our Sunday school classmates. It was more of a surprise to Adriana, because I was actually in on the secret. Kim called me to let me know they were planning to throw a little something for Adriana in class. My job was to make sure we made it to church Sunday. That was a job in itself though. I'm usually the one who has a hard time getting out of bed on Sundays. This time it was Adriana's turn. Her body was hurting and she wasn't fond of the idea of going to church. If it was any other Sunday, I would totally understand. I tried suggesting that we shouldn't skip any more days since we didn't go the previous week. She wasn't buying it though. We had our disagreement and we went back and forth. She ended up getting ready though, and I felt guilty because of the fact that she was in pain. Now we all know that I'm terrible at trying to keep secrets with pregnant women! LOL!
Sunday, July 7, 2008
Ethan's room is coming along just fine. Many thanks go out to my gracious parents for contributing the crib, dresser, and play horse. Here are a few pics of the progress. From left to right, I am putting together my first crib. Adriana said it took me a while, but when it comes to my kid's safety I take my time. You can see the finished crib in the next pic alongside the play horse, bouncer, and the cute little baseball glove chair Adriana found online. The last pic shows the recliner Adriana is going to use with Ethan and the dresser/changer combo that we'll use to slap some Butt Paste on Ethan's behind after changing poopy diapers. Wow. I'm sounding more and more like a dad!
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Today, Adriana had her first baby shower. Her sister Nelly, good friends Andrea and Angela were so kind to organize the whole event. I know that Adriana is very appreciative that they are in her life. We are thankful that our friends were able to attend also. From what I heard, the games were fun and the prizes were very nice. Kudos to Lori for a perfect hit with the pacifier sticker while blindfolded. Quote of the day went to Wendy for her guess on what flavor one of the baby foods was! Thanks to everyone for their advice for the mother-to-be. I would just like to add that Nelly's was really good. We appreciate all the gifts that we received. Adriana couldn't wait to put the high chair, the jumper, and the bouncer together. Seriously, she didn't wait. She already assembled them. We hope you all had fun. Many thanks to everyone who attended. God bless you.
