Tuesday, May 30, 2006

It's been too long






We know, we know...it has been way too long since the last post. Things have been pretty hectic around here. We had intentions of posting sometime this weekend but we never got around to it.
We had a pretty good holiday weekend. We decided to build 2 flower beds in the back yard so most of our time was occpuied with that. We have gotten one done and the other is in process of being completed. The one we have completed looks really good! We now have some pretty nice back-yard appeal! Maddox really enjoys being outside so he got to hang out with us while we worked in the yard. The outdoors has a great calming effect on him.
Maddox is getting bigger each day! I know we keep saying it but it is true! He had a doctors appt this morning with the cardiologist. When he was first admitted to the NICU they did a ultrasound of the heart and discovered that a valve had not closed yet. All babies have these valves and they close shortly after birth, most babies do not have an ultrasound done at birth so nothing is ever detected. When we left the NICU the heart doctor said he didnt hear anything abnormal and again today he said he looked and sounded great! He had an EKG and chest x-rays done and they all looked normal. He goes back in 3 months to have another EKG and then he will go back when he is a year old for an ultrasound. The doctor suspects everything will be normal then too.
Maddox weighs 6lbs 4oz now! Wow he grows fast! But it is very good to know he is gaining the right amount of weight. He is still 18 1/2 inches long. Poor thing he really does not have height on his side. He is still sleeping well at night. We have a few off nights (early mornings) but that is usually related to tummy issues that resolve with time and Mylicon! He is taking great naps throughout the day. He is much more alert during the day now. We really like watching him and talking with him. He follows us with his eyes and enjoys looking around at different objects. He especially likes to be read and sung to. These two things have the same calming effect that the outdoors has. He is just a wonderful baby!
Jamie made a day out of going to the doctors today, she had a doctor's appt this afternoon. Apparently she has gall stones and had a very severe gall bladder attack on Saturday night that lasted all the way until sunday afternoon. She went to the doctor today and they discovered that yes it is gall stones. One may possibly be blocking a duct to the liver and is causing elevated liver counts. She goes in the morning to have a MRI of the gall bladder done to see what is causing the trouble. They know something is wrong they just need to confirm what it is with the MRI. After the MRI the doctor will decide what needs to be done. We will update the blog to let everybody know.
So our lives seem to be filled with medical things these days. Hopefully we will get all this stuff behind us and return to somewhat normal lives.
So in a nutshell that is all that has been going on in the past few days. We will try to keep more current updates and more pictures posted. Sorry to you faithful blog readers who have been dissapointed these past few days with no new posts!
And of course we have included more pictures. Can you tell he is getting bigger?
Untill next time.....

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Be My Baby






Sorry we haven't posted an update lately. I know a lot of you really look forward to them. We just don't have a lot of time lately and the days seem to go by really fast. But, here is a new post!
Maddox went to the doctor on Wednesday. He weighs 5lbs 14oz! Right on track. He should be gaining about an ounce a day. He was discharged weighing 5lbs 7oz and a full week later he gained 7oz! Everything else looks great too! He is healthy and definitely eating well, just ask Jamie! Thankfully he got over the bottle/breast confusion he was having when he first got home from the hospital. Now, he is a nursing champ! He has also been sleeping really well. At night he sleeps for at least 3 hour intervals sometimes four. His bedtime is a little late though. This is not by our choice, Maddox has set this one. He usually falls asleep around 10pm! Ack! This is a big change for us. We were used to going to bed around 8:30 or 9:00. We know, that was probably earlier than MawMaw and PawPaw go to bed, but we were always really tired. Well now we have this little guy and we are lucky to get to bed by 10pm. Last night it was more like 11:30 but that is because we went to our small group Bible study and got home late. He does sleep until about 9am so that evens things out a little. He has a pretty good schedule during the day and takes some really good naps, he gets that from Jamie! Brian doesn't take naps and never did when he was a baby either.
We are still doing really well. Adjusting hasn't been easy, but we wouldn't call it hard either. Really it has all been a blessing. We are having a great time and watching each other be a parent to this little one is amazing!
Of course we have more pictures! We also included one of his wonderful hair cut! His head was partly shaved to put IV's in. They didn't shave the whole thing so it looks kinda funny. They asked us if we wanted them to shave it all but we leave it just the way it is. Maybe it will turn into a great blackmailing tool or embarrassment tool when he is older! One person said it looks like the Pharoh's haircut on the Ten commandments! The other picture is of all his new girlfriends aka babysitters. These are our good friends and ladies of our small group! Maddox had a great time being cuddled by them last night! He is a charmer already!
Well that's it for this post!
Until next time....

Sunday, May 21, 2006

The Lion Sleeps Tonight





Finally!! We had a normal night of sleep (well normal with a newborn). Maddox slept for 4 hour intervals last night!! This is after a pretty rough few nights and and pretty rough day yesterday. We think it was the Chili's salsa Jamie ate that messed up his tummy. So no more salsa :( He finally went to sleep last night around 9:30 slept until 1:00, woke up to eat, went back to sleep, and slept until 5:30, ate, and slept until 8:30! This was our first semi-normal night with him! We felt very refreshed after getting some decent sleep.
Today was also his first trip to church out of utero. He always enjoyed church while in Jamie's belly. He would kick and move around while we sang worship songs. He enjoyed it today too! He slept through the entire service! This was good for us, so that we didnt disturb anybody and we got to hear the whole sermon. Everyone was very excited to finally meet the little guy they had been praying for! And we enjoyed showing him off of course, because we think he is the cutest baby in the world.
After church we went over to some friends house for a lunch get together with friends. We really enjoyed just getting out with friends and having some conversations not all about baby stuff.
Tonight we are going to give him another bath. Hopefully this one will go better than the last one. He has been in a very good mood today so maybe that will help.
He has a doctor's appt. tomorrow afternoon. We will update the blog sometime tomorrow evening and let everyone know how much he weighs now and any other info we find interesting.
Of course we have included more pictures for everyone to see. Hope you enjoy!

Friday, May 19, 2006

Splish Splash





Maddox had his first bath Wednesday night. As you can see from the pictures he was not that fond of it. In fact, he screamed the whole way through. The good thing was he did wear himself out so he slept really well that night. Hopefully as he gets a little older he will come to enjoy bath time, until then mom and dad will just have to listen to him scream through it. We do not enjoy that.
Last night was our first really rough night. Maddox did not go to sleep until 11pm. For some reason he was wide awake and fussy. We tried gas medicine, rocking, nursing, the paci but nothing worked. Finally Jamie decided to get up and walk with him, worked like a charm. He slept for a couple hours and then we were at it again. We got him back to sleep then he conviently wakes up 30mins before the alarm is going to go off. Funny how he has that timed so well. Hopefully tonight we will have a better night. All we have to say is thank goodness for "paci." At first we were not fond of the hospital giving him one of these, but it has saved our sanity a few times.
Thankfully tomorrow is Saturday so we can all catch up on some lost zzz's.
Jamie and Maddox are getting out and about a lot more now. He really likes car rides so getting out is easy. He is getting to meet all of our friends. We just love showing him off too! Today we had a lunch date with our friends Michelle and Chris. They have a little boy who is a month older than Maddox. It was fun to visit with them and share baby stories!
We are still adjusting to the newness of this little one. Learning his cries and trying to console him when he is crying has proved to be the most challenging aspect of it all. The sleepless nights run a close second. We are beginning to discipher this baby language, but it is taking some time.
We are excited about the weekend because we get to hang out as a family. Hopefully we'll get some rest and some housework done, and of course hang out with the cutest baby in the world!
Have a great weekend!
Love y'all!

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Baby Love




Sorry there has not been a post in a while, we have had some busy days and nights lately!
As for an update:
We are all doing great! Having a little one around is definately an adjustment, but we are starting to get the hang of it. Jamie and Maddox are starting to have a little bit of a routine during the day. This makes things easier. Learning and adjusting to the routine Maddox has set just took a few days. Our nights have been sort of hit or miss. The night before last we had a great night. Last night was not so hot. Apparently Maddox decided to play the "how many times can I soak my diaper and wet my clothes" game with mom and dad. This resulted in 3 changes of clothing and blankets last night. He also played the "I'm going to wake up at 4am and not go to sleep" game. These two games together do not make a very fun night. Thankfully he takes a great morning nap and so does Jamie. Unfortunately Brian does not have the same luxury, so dad went to work a little groggy this morning.
Maddox is changing everyday. He was 2 weeks old yesterday! Wow, time goes by so fast. We are waiting for him to grow into his clothes. He is a very little guy and currently only has 2 premie outfits that fit him. All of his other clothes are still very big for him. At least his clothes will last him a while. Everyone asks who we think he looks like. We think he is the perfect combination of both of us. He has features that we both have. God's little creation is amazing to us!
We like to take him and the dogs out for walks in the evening. He sleeps through them so hopefully that means he likes them. It is nice to be able to get out as a family and get a little exercise. Jamie took him for his first Walmart trip yesterday. He slept through that too. We thought getting him out would be a challenge, but suprisingly it is very easy. He is generally very content so we think that helps.
We are absolutely in love with parenthood! What a blessing! We are also in love with our little Maddox! We just love watching him grow and change each day!
These are some recent photos we have been taking! Keep checking back! We'll try to update as often as we can!

Sunday, May 14, 2006

He's Home!





Finally! It seems like it has been forever but now he is finally home! We thought he was coming home on Friday, but it ended up being yesterday. We waited all day on Friday for the doctor to tell us at 6pm that he was not coming home until Saturday. We were really bummed because we had gotten our hopes up. So, on Saturday we went up to the hospital and waited all day for the doctor again. He finally arrived at 6pm and told us we could go. We quickly packed up his things and headed out of there. MiMi and PawPaw (Jamie's parents) were the first to welcome him home. Nana and PJ (Brian's parents) arrived soon after. Everyone got their chance to hold and cuddle little Maddox. Then it was time for a little bath and off to bed. Our first night home with him went great! Waking up to nurse and change him does make you very tired though. Thankfully today we got to rest and enjoy our new little family. He got to go on his first walk and his first trip to the grocery store. He was wonderful and slept the whole time. So far he is a very content baby. He has not fussed much at all and really only fusses when he gets hungry.
Brian goes back to work tomorrow and Jamie and Maddox will get to spend their first day alone together. Hopefully everything will go well. He is nursing great! We had a little trouble with feedings after a bottle, but now that he is not getting a bottle anymore he is nursing really well.
The pictures are of getting ready for his first bath at home, first time in his bouncer, and his first nap with mom.
Keep checking back, we'll keep updating and posting pictures!

PS - You can now leave comments...we discovered that our old settings only allowed members to comment; so we changed them to allow anyone. Also, you can click on the pictures to make them full size if you'd like (we just discovered that neat trick).

Thursday, May 11, 2006

He's coming home!!!



Tomorrow!! Tomorrow he gets to come home!! The nurses said probably around noon! We are sooo excited! He finishes his antibiotics today and that is the only thing that we were waiting for. He is a healthy little boy now! Thank you all so much for all the prayers and support!! Last time they weighed him he weighed 5lbs 7oz. He's a little guy. He is soo adorable and we just cant wait until tomorrow! We probably wont post for a day or so as we get settled in, but we will update as soon as we get a chance! Now off to get things ready!

Love you all!!

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

He is wonderful!!





Maddox is doing perfect! He only has one IV left and that gives him his antibiotics which he finishes in a few days. We can hold him as much as we want to now!! He feels so wonderful in our arms. And more good news...he is nursing now!! And he is a pro at it! We started nursing yesterday and the first time went great!! A lactation consultant was there to help Jamie and Maddox out, and he took to it right away with no problems!! Jamie goes over there around noon for a feeding and then we go back together for his feeding at 6. If he was closer it would be easier to nurse at more feedings but 30 mins is a long drive and Jamie still needs to get her rest.
Not much else is going on. He is now just a normal newborn. We cannot believe he is already a week old!! Wow time flies! He sleeps most of the day and the nurses just love him because he doesnt fuss and is always so content. Hopefully he will continue to be like this at home. We still dont have a discharge date, but we know it is coming up soon. Hopefully he will be home this weekend!
We are doing great, still adjusting to the new schedule and we stay pretty tired. Brian is back at work and Jamie is taking care of things around the house to get ready for Maddox's arrival home. We will post a date as soon as we know what it is. Thanks for the continued prayers!
Have a blessed day!

Monday, May 08, 2006

Perfect in every way!



Have we said how perfect our little Maddox is? We just think he is the most beautiful baby ever!! We think he gets cuter each day we see him. Of course our opinion may be a little biased.
Now for the update: He is doing great!! And they are finally letting us hold him!! Yay! Jamie got to hold him yesterday. He fit so perfect in her arms. What a wonderful feeling. In all the pictures so far he has been sleeping, this is because he does this a lot. He only opens his eyes for us every once in a while and we usually are jsut in awe to see them that we dont think about taking a picture. We'll try to get a shot of him with his eyes open soon!
He is still having a little trouble with his breathing so the nasal canula is still in but it only gives him a little bit of an extra pressure of oxygen. They hope to take it off of him in the next day or so. All of his IVs are out of is head!! He had two up there one for his immunoglobins and the other as a back up. He finished his immunoglobins yesterday, and they decided to just take the back up one out. So now he just has 2 IVs one in each arm. He was under the bili lights again yesterday because his count was back up. It's really not a big deal but since they have the lights there they might as well use them and get his count back down. Plus, having jaundice makes his veins weaker so we want to try and keep the jaundice away so they dont have to stick him a lot. Other than that he is doing great. He does not have a blood infection!! The blood cultures never grew anything, so that was great news. We still dont know exactly what kind of infection it is, probably just a little cold or something like that. His immune system was just low when he was born and couldn't fight it off. He is eating great! They are now feeding him 40ml at each feeding which is a little more than an ounce. He is digesting it great and taking it great. We still dont know when we get to try nursing but we are hoping it is very soon. Jamie is just trying to keep up with his demand which has not been easy.
Thats pretty much all. Brian has gone back to work today, something neither of us are excited about. Maybe it will make the week pass by faster. Jamie goes today to get her staples removed. She has healed wonderfully and is getting around really well with very little pain. We are just anxiously awaiting his arrival home. The doctor has said that should be at the end of the week! Just in time for Mother's Day! Now we will have a little more time to prepare for his homecoming! We will continue to keep updates and pictures here so keep checking in!
Love you all!

Friday, May 05, 2006

He can eat!!



Yay!! Today he got to eat! It was only a little bit, but it will be increased over the next few days. Today he got 5ml out of a bottle and this evening he will get 10ml. Tomorrow it will be increased to 15 and then 20. Hopefully on Sunday we can try nursing!! The feeding that we got to be there for today was just a tease for him, he was fussing and smaking for more. Hopefully tonight he was more satisfied with the increase in milk.
He is doing great! Its amazing how much stronger he is getting each day! They plan on taking out his Artery line (draws blood) tonight and maybe even the IVs in his head. Once they do this we can start holding him. They also plan on moving him to a bed tonight or tomorrow. Today he was under the bili lights because he was a little bit jaundice. This is not uncommon for newborns. They plan on removing those tonight too. His eyes were covered today since he was under the lights but when they fed him they took off the eye covering and we got to see his eyes for just a bit.
We are still doing great. We like to just sit and watch him. Its just fun to just be next to him. Of course we would love to just stay there all day but thats just not possible. Soon enough we will have him at home and we can snuggle and watch him as much as we want. I think he definately going to be a spoiled little squirt!
The pictures are from today when his eye mask was off. We also took a picture of his feet because he has such long toes!! We have no idea where he got those from!
We love you all! You can email us if you want to know anymore or just want to say hi!
jayme_415@hotmail.com

Maddox is here!!!


We didnt think he would be here this early but he is here! Maddox Lee was born on May 2 2006 at 4:40pm. He weighed 6lbs 2 oz and was 18 1/2 inches long. We are absolutely thrilled! He is in the NICU for an infection though. He is doing great though! He is a strong boy and is fighting this infection great! We got to see him yesterday and he looks so beautiful! He was on a ventilator but was removed from it yesterday. Yay!! Now he just has a nasal canula for a little extra oxygen. We got to hear his beautiful cry!! Wow, we never thought we would be so excited to hear a baby cry! It was music to our ears! We also got to change his diaper and wipe off his face and arms a little too! It was so much fun! His nurses are great and try to let us touch him and help out as much as we can. We cannot hold him yet because of a very important IV in his arm (the one he gets his antibiotics from), but the nurse lets us help move and lift him whenever we can. They are going to start feeding him today. Jamie has been pumping since birth so he is going to get his momma's milk which will be great for him especially since he has an infection. She cant nurse him yet because she cant hold him but hopefully in a few days they will let her start. We are going to see him again today and hope to spend a little more time with him.
Jamie is recovering great from her C-section. God has definately been with us through the recovery. She is taking it easy and resting a lot. Brian has been a great support and helps out so much!
God has been so good to us and we are so blessed to have this little boy. We are staying positive through this whole situation and we know God is in control. We appreciate everybody's prayers and would like for you to keep praying for him. We will keep updates coming through this blog so you can pass on the link! Hopefully we will have another update this afternoon or this evening. We love you all!

Blog Archive