Just thought I'd let you all know that Brettley is doing well off of his caffeine so far. It will be out of his system tomorrow and then he will be ready to do his car seat test. He has to sit in his car seat for an hour and a half without having any heart rate or breathing problems or anything before he's allowed to come home. So it could be as early as Sunday, but the nurse told us within the week for sure that he'll be coming home. YAHOO!!!
UPDATE:
Car seat test is on Monday and if he passes he will come home on Tuesday.
The goings on of our geeky little family and the musings and soapbox moments of the lone female in the group.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Attitude of Gratitude Day
Wow, it's Thursday already! Actually, to be honest, I kept thinking that yesterday was Thursday. It was confusing me all day. Here we go with our weekly routine.
1) I am grateful that my little B man is doing so well. His feeding tube is out, he's over 4 lbs 12 oz (2160 g) now and is doing demand feeding. It sounds like he's just about ready to come home, so we're hoping for next weekend. He has been doing so well and we are so grateful that he stayed in as long as he did, that he was as ready as he was and that he had a wonderful place to be to work on the things that he had left to work on. We have been so blessed through this.
2) I am grateful that I've started exercising and I'm continuing to lose weight. Let's be real, I wasn't exactly small when I got pregnant with Brettley. I had gained a lot of weight the previous fall when I was on medication and never really lost the weight after that. But I'm sure doing great now. We are using Lose It again (calorie counter). It works really well for us, so why give up a good thing. I'm also doing steps on my Wii Fit board right now. It feels great to feel healthier.
3) I am grateful for my parents who have been so wonderful through the past couple of weeks. They have dropped things in an instant without any hesitation to be with me when I needed them. They have bought things for Brett that we didn't expect we'd need without really batting an eyelash at it. It is such a blessing to have such a supportive family.
So there you go. Maybe some day my Attitude of Gratitudes won't be totally centered around Brettley, but right now it's kind of my life.
Last night we did an infant's First Aid and CPR course at the hospital. It was mostly review for me as I'd taken it 6 years ago when I worked in day care, but it was great to be reminded of what is to be done. I don't feel scared after taking it this time, I feel more ready for Brett to come home.
Also, because a couple of people have asked about it, being able to write their own name is not a prereq for kindergarten. It's just something that I personally would like him to have accomplished, if possible. Well, that's about all for now. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
1) I am grateful that my little B man is doing so well. His feeding tube is out, he's over 4 lbs 12 oz (2160 g) now and is doing demand feeding. It sounds like he's just about ready to come home, so we're hoping for next weekend. He has been doing so well and we are so grateful that he stayed in as long as he did, that he was as ready as he was and that he had a wonderful place to be to work on the things that he had left to work on. We have been so blessed through this.
2) I am grateful that I've started exercising and I'm continuing to lose weight. Let's be real, I wasn't exactly small when I got pregnant with Brettley. I had gained a lot of weight the previous fall when I was on medication and never really lost the weight after that. But I'm sure doing great now. We are using Lose It again (calorie counter). It works really well for us, so why give up a good thing. I'm also doing steps on my Wii Fit board right now. It feels great to feel healthier.
3) I am grateful for my parents who have been so wonderful through the past couple of weeks. They have dropped things in an instant without any hesitation to be with me when I needed them. They have bought things for Brett that we didn't expect we'd need without really batting an eyelash at it. It is such a blessing to have such a supportive family.
So there you go. Maybe some day my Attitude of Gratitudes won't be totally centered around Brettley, but right now it's kind of my life.
Last night we did an infant's First Aid and CPR course at the hospital. It was mostly review for me as I'd taken it 6 years ago when I worked in day care, but it was great to be reminded of what is to be done. I don't feel scared after taking it this time, I feel more ready for Brett to come home.
Also, because a couple of people have asked about it, being able to write their own name is not a prereq for kindergarten. It's just something that I personally would like him to have accomplished, if possible. Well, that's about all for now. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Caleb and Brettley
I just registered Caleb for Kindergarten this morning. Is he really that old? Am I? I was talking to John about this the other day. Most of the time, when I'm not feeling like a sickly 80 year old, I feel like I'm only 19 or 20 still instead of 26 (which still isn't old but is in the late 20s, regardless). I don't feel like I'm in a ma'am instead of miss stage yet, but I guess I am. Anyway, Caleb is VERY excited to go to school this fall. He has been asking to go since he was 2 and figured out there was such a thing as school. As much as I will miss him for the first while, I'm looking forward to it as well. It will be nice to have a slight breather for a few hours every morning and I'm excited for him to be able to focus more on learning. He does well at home, but I just don't have the drive and what not to keep him focused on it for more than 20 or 30 minutes a day. The only thing I want to finish working on with him before he goes in September is to be able to write his name. He can spell it and knows what the letters look like, he's just having issues with his coordination and making it work on paper. Also, his red/green colour deficiency seems to be only mild, so I'm hoping it won't be a big deal for him in school.
As for Brettley, he is eating more from the bottle now. I guess he took all of his feeds during the night from the bottle. The nurse told us last night that as soon as he feeds from the bottle for all of his meals well that he can come home. YAHOO! It's so nice to kind of have an end in sight now. He was about 4 lbs 11 oz last night, so he just has 5 oz to go before he can go in his car seat that I got for him yesterday.
Well, that's about all for today. Have a good one!
As for Brettley, he is eating more from the bottle now. I guess he took all of his feeds during the night from the bottle. The nurse told us last night that as soon as he feeds from the bottle for all of his meals well that he can come home. YAHOO! It's so nice to kind of have an end in sight now. He was about 4 lbs 11 oz last night, so he just has 5 oz to go before he can go in his car seat that I got for him yesterday.
Well, that's about all for today. Have a good one!
Monday, February 21, 2011
Brett Update and a Tiny Bit About Me
My update is pretty much about Brettley, since that seems to be my life right now. He is doing very well. He has only spit up once in the last 24 hours (we'd been having some issues with that) and is starting to take more from a bottle again. He had went several days being too tired to wake up to eat so he was being strictly tube fed. I miss him lots and am really looking forward to when he is ready to come home. I'm struggling right now with being torn between 2 places. Whenever I am at home I feel like I should be at the hospital with him and whenever I'm at the hospital with him I feel like I should be at home with the other boys. Later this afternoon my dad is taking me to get a good thermometer for him as well as a new infant's car seat. Our's is still usable, but not very easy to use and we wanted a system that would be a lot more comfortable for Brett. The one we have has to be adjusted in the back which ends up being REALLY uncomfortable for the baby so my dad said he'd buy Brett a new one. My mum also bought a bassinet for upstairs. We're borrowing one from my sister-in-law, but we figured it would be a lot easier to have one downstairs during the day and one upstairs for night time rather than me trying to lug one up and down all of the time. She also got us a better baby monitor. My parents have been so great about helping out with the unexpected things with Brettley. I am so blessed.
Anyway, other than that, I am just an assistant in Activity Days now, apparently. I'm pretty happy about that though because it's less stress for me while we're trying to deal with the trial of having Brett in the hospital and then having to keep him out of public for a while even after he comes home. I got my hair cut and thinned on Saturday and my eyebrows done. It's nice to be able to do something with my hair again other than just throwing it up in a ponytail.
Well, that's about it for now. I hope you all had a great weekend:)
Anyway, other than that, I am just an assistant in Activity Days now, apparently. I'm pretty happy about that though because it's less stress for me while we're trying to deal with the trial of having Brett in the hospital and then having to keep him out of public for a while even after he comes home. I got my hair cut and thinned on Saturday and my eyebrows done. It's nice to be able to do something with my hair again other than just throwing it up in a ponytail.
Well, that's about it for now. I hope you all had a great weekend:)
Friday, February 18, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Attitude of Gratitude
I think the better question this week might be "What in my life am I not grateful for?" However, I'll stick with the original plan.
1) I am SO grateful for the fact that my beautiful little preemie is doing as well as he is and for the staff and technology that are helping him to do so well. His IV came out during the night and his only problem is a little bit of spitting up, which happens in babies born at any age. This last week has strengthened my testimony of Heavenly Father and miracles so much. I don't think you could go through something like this and not believe.
1) I am SO grateful for the fact that my beautiful little preemie is doing as well as he is and for the staff and technology that are helping him to do so well. His IV came out during the night and his only problem is a little bit of spitting up, which happens in babies born at any age. This last week has strengthened my testimony of Heavenly Father and miracles so much. I don't think you could go through something like this and not believe.
2) I am grateful that my mum has been here to help take me to see Brett when John was sick and to help with my kids and chores around the house. Also, just to be there for emotional support. She is such a giving person and I'm so lucky to have her as my mommy.
3) I am grateful for my brother and future sister-in-law. When they got the phone call saying that I'd had the baby they dropped everything (school, work, etc) and were on the road within the hour to drive 3 1/2 hours and spend the weekend up here to be with me. I have family who still haven't congratulated me or called me to even see how Brett's doing, but to have a brother who just dropped everything like that to be with me meant the world to me. He's definitely the best brother.
So I guess I gave our update in #1. Brett's doing well and really working hard on his 'jobs' as his nurse, Alison, called them. The boys are enjoying having Grandma here. I feel good most of the time, although I still have my moments where I feel like I'm hanging on by a thread, but I'm sure that's normal. Anyway, unless something really big happens over the weekend, I'll post the next update on Monday, like normal. Have a great weekend.
3) I am grateful for my brother and future sister-in-law. When they got the phone call saying that I'd had the baby they dropped everything (school, work, etc) and were on the road within the hour to drive 3 1/2 hours and spend the weekend up here to be with me. I have family who still haven't congratulated me or called me to even see how Brett's doing, but to have a brother who just dropped everything like that to be with me meant the world to me. He's definitely the best brother.
So I guess I gave our update in #1. Brett's doing well and really working hard on his 'jobs' as his nurse, Alison, called them. The boys are enjoying having Grandma here. I feel good most of the time, although I still have my moments where I feel like I'm hanging on by a thread, but I'm sure that's normal. Anyway, unless something really big happens over the weekend, I'll post the next update on Monday, like normal. Have a great weekend.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Monday Update
Brettley took all of his feedings from a bottle yesterday. He was given caffeine because he was having some apnea spells but is doing great since he was given the caffeine (only one spell since then). I went and saw him in the afternoon. He was quite alert and as soon as I was holding him and talking to him he looked at me:) My heart melted, he already knows me.
Other than all of the Brettley stuff, not too much is new here. I'm still recovering and trying to learn how to deal with the stress of having a preemie in the NICU. John had a cold but is fine now so he'll be able to go and see Brettley tonight. The boys are doing well and up to their usual antics. My mum is here with us for the week, which will help me out a lot. Yeah, that's about it. I'm trying to find ways to keep busy when I can't be with Brettley since that seems to be the biggest problem is that my mind is too active and that's when I become stressed out is when I have nothing to focus on.
Hope you all had a wonderful (and less stressful) weekend.
Other than all of the Brettley stuff, not too much is new here. I'm still recovering and trying to learn how to deal with the stress of having a preemie in the NICU. John had a cold but is fine now so he'll be able to go and see Brettley tonight. The boys are doing well and up to their usual antics. My mum is here with us for the week, which will help me out a lot. Yeah, that's about it. I'm trying to find ways to keep busy when I can't be with Brettley since that seems to be the biggest problem is that my mind is too active and that's when I become stressed out is when I have nothing to focus on.
Hope you all had a wonderful (and less stressful) weekend.
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