Thursday, January 31, 2013

NICU Donations

Hannah Kate is collecting donations for the NICU to celebrate her 2nd birthday. These nursing/pumping covers make great gifts for NICU moms who spend a lot of time pumping! Use the code "onefree" to get a cover for free-you just pay shipping. Apparently you can get more than one by opening a new browser window. If you don't live nearby & want to donate one, you can have it shipped to us & we will donate it. Thanks!
www.uddercovers.com

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Pertussis Vaccine

Hey, friends. I posted a link today that I thought you might be interested in if you have a new baby around you or are going to soon.
http://shotbyshot.org/pertussis/bradys-story/
Once you read that, here is the info on the vaccine (how often, etc.) on the CDC's website. They are saying now that pregnant women can get it in the 3rd trimester and it may help protect the baby as well (especially important since the baby cannot get the first shot until they are at least 2 months old).
More than half of infants less than 1 year of age who get pertussis are hospitalized.
http://www.cdc.gov/pertussis/about/prevention.html
Hope that all makes sense, I am certainly no expert, but I thought you might be interested. Having Micaiah in the PICU with RSV was scary enough! Praying for those of you who are expectant mamas!
Denise

Monday, January 28, 2013

Funny

Just turned around from cleaning the toilet to find Hannah Kate holding the toilet bowl cleaner upside down over Micaiah (sleeping in his bed) & saying "caiah bewey" (belly). I have no idea what she thought she was doing, but I'm so thankful it was securely closed & she was aiming at his bottom & not his face! Yikes!!

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Reflections....

I kept thinking last week of all of the snippets I wanted to "reflect" on after Micaiah's hospital stay--I should have made a list because I have forgotten most of them.
God provided for us in some huge ways during Hannah Kate & Micaiah's illness:
~Nana was able to take care of Hannah Kate when I had to take Micaiah to the doctor/emergency room or when he was in the hospital & Wesley was at work.  Each time she had Hannah Kate, she had only Hannah Kate-even on days when she normally should have had Maggie & Mollie, it just worked out that she was free.  She said God was being merciful to her :)  I was really thankful that she was able to bring Hannah Kate to our house for her naps & be here in the mornings when she woke up (instead of having to wake her up early).
~A wonderful pediatrician & nurses who called to check on us several times before Micaiah was finally admitted into the hospital.
~Amazing doctors, nurses, & respiratory therapists at the Children's Hospital-I wasn't super crazy about the ER doctor when we went on Tuesday (the first time), but he was still a good doctor.  The PICU people were amazing & extremely thorough.  They took great care of Micaiah & of me-especially the first night when I spent the entire night sitting by his bed.  They brought me water & a blanket, got Micaiah a soft blanket donated by a local congregation & a Beanie Baby giraffe, & assured me that he was MUCH better off than most RSV cases they see.  I loved every nurse we had the entire time.  That is saying a lot because you almost always have someone who you might not mesh with personality wise, but I loved each one of them.
~Papa drove us to meet Wesley on Thursday night when Micaiah was admitted to the hospital & came to pick me up on Friday morning so I could come home to get my car (Wesley had driven it back around 11:30 the night before).
~Hannah Kate started getting a little better right before Micaiah was admitted to the hospital.
~I had plenty of Puffs Plus tissues on hand at home! That was important!  We've gone through over four boxes in a week!
~Micaiah was in the hospital over a weekend, so that was two days that Wesley was able to stay with Hannah Kate & keep her in a somewhat normal routine.
~Hannah Kate really does better when our entire family is home.  Who wouldn't?! She is getting over being pretty sick herself, but she has also returned to the "funk" she was in when Micaiah was in the NICU & the few weeks following.  Hopefully, she will be back to normal soon.
~Until the night that Micaiah was admitted to the hospital, Wesley & I had never spent a night apart since we got married seven & a half years ago. We went from never to four nights being apart.  On the last night, I texted him "We broke our streak." I was so consumed with Micaiah & being in the hospital, it didn't occur to me until then.  Hopefully, we can start a new streak & not break it again! No more kids in the hospital would be fine with me. :)
~Micaiah was one very sick little boy, but we are so blessed to not be in the hospital regularly or for extended stays.  I thought of our friends who have a son who has had many lengthy hospital stays (five hours from home), of several little girls I know of who have cancer & treatments have taken their families far from home, of NICU families who have babies in the NICU & other children at home.  We are so blessed.  Over the weekend, there was a tragic car accident that took the life of a precious little toddler's parents.  They rear ended a tractor trailer at 65 mph.  They died on impact & she was taken to the hospital. I am 99% sure I encountered her & her family in the hallways several times.  They were absolutely pitiful. 
~All doctors, nurses, & medical personnel are awesome, but it takes some really awesome people to be in a Children's Hospital.  You know they have to see some terrible situations (like the family I just mentioned or the little girl we saw in PICU who was about Hannah Kate's age with a terrible home life-I was in tears several times just seeing her crying for her mommy who was not around or would show up for ten minutes then leave her alone)-they see terrible situations or illnesses, but they still have a joyful spirit & are able to take care of sick kids & their families!  On Sunday, Wesley & Hannah Kate came after morning worship.  She was out of sorts, tired, etc. & Wesley was tired & short on patience.  After they left, our nurse saw that I was upset & came to the room to sit down & talk with me & make sure everything was okay.  I ended up sitting there crying while I talked to her & she just listened.  She was so sweet.
~RSV is a serious illness. It is scary how quickly Micaiah became VERY sick.  You know it's bad when the ER doctor thanks you (the parent!) for bringing him.  (So, on a side note, if you or your children have "just a cold," please please please do not go around someone with a tiny baby or a baby who has been a preemie or had lung issues.  What is "just a cold" for you or your bigger children can be life-threatening for them.) In the hospital, any medical person who came into Micaiah's room had to wear a mask. In the PICU, anyone who came to the bedside had to wear a mask, plastic gown, & gloves.  It's serious. And scary.
~I am so thankful we went to the hospital.  There were several nights that Micaiah would have a coughing fit that lasted over 30 minutes & was bad enough I had to call a nurse for help.  I would just be standing by his bed holding him up & crying because it was so pitiful.  It scares me to think what might have happened if we had stayed at home.
~Being in the hospital with a nursing baby exhaustion is WAY worse than regular being at home with a newborn baby exhaustion. Until now, I didn't know it could get worse than that!  Those sweet nurses brought me a Coke when I needed one.  I'm SO thankful! :) 
~I have a pretty fabulous husband.

We are immensely blessed & thankful to God for providing for us exactly what we needed at exactly the right time.  Thank you to our church family for your prayers & to everyone for checking on us.  Hopefully, everyone is on the mend!

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Update

We just left Micaiah's doctor appointment. He lost 8oz since last Tuesday-poor thing! We go back next Wednesday for a recheck & for shots if he's better. We need to keep him in a week & then if he's better next week we can see about being normal (we will definitely be on the safer side of normal!). Dr T also looked at Hannah Kate's ears since she was sick the other night & but they looked good.

Hannah Kate got 3 stickers--since it was Micaiah's appointment & all. :)









Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Hannah Kate 23 Months

This month, I've been keeping track of everything so I wouldn't forget anything.....so this post may be VERY long!
Weight: Not sure....heavy!!
Clothing Size: finishing up 12-18 months, getting into 18-24 months
Diaper Size: 5

Food Fun: This kid LOVES fries......anytime she hears a paper bag rattle, she says, "Here, fwies!" & sticks out her hand.  Also, whole apples, juice, using her new straw sippy cup, & hot trocolate (chocoloate).

Fun Facts:
~Since Micaiah came home, I let her start watching the Leap Frog Letter Factory DVD occasionally when I am need to feed him.  I told Wesley the next week that she was going to know all of the letter sounds in a week.  Then, the next day I asked her a couple & she knew them....so I asked her more & she could tell me every letter sound!  Amazing.  She can also recognize a few letters (K, O, sometimes H & S)
~She is very diligent at folding her hands for prayers and helping with prayers by filling in the blanks when I stop.  Examples: Dear .... (God), thank you for:  (almost always: this day, bwessings, Mommy, Daddy, Caiah-then whoever she has seen that day or whatever she sees around the room-diapers, books, seats, whatever!), help our children to grow up to be..... ( faiful (faithful) isian (Christians) and mawy (marry) faiful isian)

Things Hannah Kate LOVES:
~turning flips....she stands on her head with booty in the air then flops back onto her bottom
~hats...real hats or baskets or felt pieces from the Busy Bible, anything she can put on her head or ours!
~spinning in circles
~coloring
~Polar Express (the movie & soundtrack)-she especially loves the Hot Chocolate song ("Hot Trocolate")
~Corduroy (the bear books)
~gummy vitamins

Things Hannah Kate Does Not Love:
~sitting quietly during evening worship services (she recently set a new record of being taken out four times during the sermon)-Funny story: we were riding in the car & listening to a sermon on CD.  Hannah Kate randomly piped up & said, "orship (worship) kiet (quiet)! spankin's!"
~sitting on Santa's lap (did you see our Santa picture?!) If you ask her about seeing Santa, she usually says something about "wap" or "Anta key you," only once has she said "crynin'," even when she sees the picture-so she must not be scarred for life!

Hannah Kate-isms:
~crynin (crying), ess you (bless you-usually followed by a fake cough), up here (as she tries to climb onto a seat), gimme FIVE, soon (spoon), read it!, is-mas (Christmas), pwesent...opent! (open it), bi-mins (vitamins), Yes Me Yes Me (singing Jesus Loves Me), I see...., Help! I need.... (yes, she speaks in first person sometimes...crazy!), shuuu-gar (sugar=kisses), banket! co up! (blanket, cover up), Powo Spress (Polar Express), get-wes (necklace), gwawess (glassess), woink woink (oink oink), obey.....spankin's, 'Caiah eatin', 'Caiah seeping, Anta key you wap (Santa-carry you-lap), key you (carry you-if she wants us to pick her up), 'Caiah key you (better watch out because she might try to pick him up!), rock you, hug!, key mere (come here), home! out! (when we pull in the garage), Maurice (Micaiah's Wubbanub paci) no no!, ride pony!, diaper.....change
~to her babies: rock you, key you, co up (cover up), night night, eyes cwosed, go seep




Going Home Pictures

From 1.21.13

Micaiah screamed on the way home. I stopped twice in the parking garage & three times once we got on the road. I think he was just really tired.
Hannah Kate was excited to see him. As soon as I walked in the door she was saying "Caiah! Caiah!" She didn't care a bit about me being here. Oh well!













Survived

Well we made it through the day with no more sick messes to clean up. Nana came & got Hannah Kate so I could rest this morning because I started feeling sick (I think because I was so tired). Someone asked about how much sleep I'd been getting & my response was that this is worse than "newborn baby at home" tired! I got two naps today so I'm back to regular tired. :)
Nana also saved the day by bringing supper. I don't know what we'd do without her lately!
Micaiah is doing okay. He's sounding more congested-I'm guessing because I don't have the good hospital suction here.
He's still eating okay so that's good.
Tomorrow he has a doctor appointment (originally his two month well baby visit!) & we have to go back to the hospital because I left all of the breastmilk I pumped while we were there (oops!). I'd been pumping to help keep up my supply since he was eating so much less & had to have feeds held for awhile the first night.
Thank you so much to our church family for all of your prayers and to everyone for your checking on us!

Hannah Kate seems to be better from the supposed RSV as well. She put this bucket on her head then said, "too big...so cute! So pwetty!"










Hk has now thrown up twice in the night. Please please pray that she will stop & that no one else (esp m) gets sick. Thank you.

Monday, January 21, 2013

Everyone feels better when they get to wear regular clothes!

He's doing good so far off of oxygen. We may get to go home today.

Micaiah Update

Micaiah is perking up a bit & letting me know if I'm two minutes late feeding him. Once last night he ate for 39 minutes. 39 minutes! & he was eating well the whole time! He had a feast. If I stopped him, he would scream. He ate a lot better the rest of the night too. The team just rounded, turned off his oxygen, & said if he does okay sleeping then we can possibly go home today. I'm praying that happens.

Wesley said that last night Hannah Kate said "Caiah better" all by herself in the bedtime prayer.





Sunday, January 20, 2013

Micaiah Update

We moved to a regular room around 9p last night. Last night I felt like he was really on an upswing-temp going down, nursing 20 minutes at a time, etc. I don't remember if I'd posted this, but he lasted an hour & a half yesterday afternoon with no oxygen help. Here are today's updates so far. I'm ready to go home. Wesley is bringing Hannah Kate to see us now.

7a
Micaiah had a rougher night last night with several bad coughing fits that wore him out. He hasn't eaten as well the last two times. Unless he makes some big improvements early I don't see us going home today. :(

11:45a
He lasted an hour with no o2 help but he had a giant coughing fit in the midst of it all. He got back to sleep & started dropping to high 80s. 92 is the limit so he's back on. She said we can try again later today but he may need another day.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Micaiah made it an hour & a half without oxygen help but now he's back on it. They have a room for us on the regular floor so we will be moving soon. Not crazy abt leaving these doctors & nurses but it'll be okay. He's been a lot more alert this afternoon.









PICU second morning

Micaiah is doing about the same. He was on .5L of oxygen most of the day yesterday. They stopped his IV fluids sometime around mid-day I think. He nursed for about 5-10 minutes every three hours for most of the day. Last night before shift change we decided to try every two hours since he was still nursing so little & not getting IV fluids. We did that the first two feedings of the night & he did worse-acted more tired like it was wearing him out. So we decided to go back to every three. Two hours after I fed him then he acted restless & hungry. I guess he wanted to establish that he is in charge right now. His temp also went up over the night to 100.7 (the highest I've seen him have). He acted really restless & fussy for about an hour. His nurse gave him some Tylenol & he settled down after that. He just nursed for a total of 15 min (wow!) & then I realized I had reset my alarm at 630 so he had been 4 hours between feedings. Mother of the Year...thanks! Oh well. Our pediatrician stopped in to see him & the resident (Dr Bali) who was here when he was admitted is back today. He also has the same nurse (Kaycee) as yesterday. Both Kaycee & Misty (night) have said he's doing much better than most RSV babies in the PICU so that's a plus! I have been amazingly pleased with everyone we've come in contact with here. It's definitely more like our Vanderbilt NICU experience. We are still in a room in the PICU because the regular rooms are full. Wesley is at home with Hannah Kate & will hopefully be coming down later. She is feeling better & was actually running around the halls here last night & playing. So far she's cool with being left with Nana a lot & hopefully that will continue until we are home. We did FaceTime last night so she could see Micaiah. I asked her who she saw & her first response was "Mauuurice!" (Micaiah's monkey paci)
Thanks to our church family for praying. Please pray that Micaiah would continue to improve & be able to go home soon (I do not think that will be today) & that Hannah Kate will continue to so well as we are running back & forth. Here are some pictures from yesterday.























Friday, January 18, 2013

Still in PICU

We are staying in a room in the PICU. I'm having to feed every 2 hours since he's not eating much & IV fluids are stopped. Tonight has to be better than last night though since I got 0 sleep last night.









I asked his nurse if he was pretty typical for rsv & she said definitely but he was actually a bit better oxygen-wise. She said they normally need more help. We're still waiting for a room. He's trying to nurse & doing better than yesterday so that's a plus!



PICU morning 2

He's okay. He's still on oxygen & having a bit of trouble breathing at times. He nursed for abt 8 min & had a coughing fit & was worn out then. Looks like we will be here tonight too. We will be moved to a regular room when one is available.

PICU morning update

Micaiah got some pedialyte at 5am so that calmed him down until he ate around 11:30. He nursed better than he did all day yesterday. He is still on 1 liter oxygen & is having pretty bad coughing fits. They are going to move him into a regular room when one becomes available.
Papa came & got me at 630a so I could get my car & some things from home. I fell asleep while setting my alarm so I slept a little over 2 hours instead of 1 & was later getting back down here. Wesley is at work & Hannah Kate is with Nana.

Here's a picture from right before I left this morning.