. . . like her brothers, she too will be a Buckeye Fanatic!!! Go Bucks!
Some people would call this brainwashing . . . I would prefer to call it indoctination or otherwise good parenting. :)
Sunday, March 29, 2009
OH - IO, Go Bucks!
Siena heard some sick and crazy talk about someone trying to dress her in a Purdue onesie. She told me that she wanted to set the record straight . . .
. . . like her brothers, she too will be a Buckeye Fanatic!!! Go Bucks!
Some people would call this brainwashing . . . I would prefer to call it indoctination or otherwise good parenting. :)
. . . like her brothers, she too will be a Buckeye Fanatic!!! Go Bucks!
Some people would call this brainwashing . . . I would prefer to call it indoctination or otherwise good parenting. :)
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
More Doctor Visits
Siena had another follow-up eye exam on Monday. The Dr said that her eyes look perfect and she will not need to have them checked for another 3 years! Some preemies have retinopathy of prematurity, so that is what they were looking for.
http://www.kellogg.umich.edu/patientcare/conditions/retinopathy.prematurity.html
Little Miss also had her 2 month Dr check-up. The Dr evaluated her current dosages of Reglan & Zantac & upped her dosage to fit her new "big" body. Turns out she was not even at a therapuetic dose for the Zantac so hopefully with the adjustment her reflux will get better.
Her weight is up to 5 lbs 11 oz! That is a little over a pound and a half since last month's check-up. That seemed great to me but apparently preemies that start out as little as "Little Sissy" (that is what Bray called her the other night) should really be gaining about 1/2 pound/week. Hopefully her reflux gets better, she keeps down more of what she eats, and starts putting on the weight a little faster.
A HUGE thank you to all who have given us goodies, including diapers & clothes and an especially huge thank you to my MOMS Club friend, Mariel, who dropped off her fabulous pump to me yesterday. That will save us a ton in rental fees! I love it!
Today I dropped off almost 300 oz of pumped milk for the milk bank. What a terrific organization & a great group of people with huge hearts. When you go into the milk bank there are several scrapbooks with pages from moms who have donated. A lot of them are happy pages, celebrating their healthy babies, but many are pages from bereaved moms, and their page serves as a tribute to their little one that they lost. The first time I went in there when I donated after Bray was born, the scrapbooks just took my breath away. I remember I just couldn't stop looking through them and then once I finally left I sat in the car and bawled my eyes out. Everything was so easy with Bray, it just never really dawned on me that anything could go wrong. The first time I visited with Siena in the NICU I was reminded of those pages and praying to God that I would be able to do a happy page. Please continue to pray for Siena & all of the babies in the NICU.
http://www.kellogg.umich.edu/patientcare/conditions/retinopathy.prematurity.html
Little Miss also had her 2 month Dr check-up. The Dr evaluated her current dosages of Reglan & Zantac & upped her dosage to fit her new "big" body. Turns out she was not even at a therapuetic dose for the Zantac so hopefully with the adjustment her reflux will get better.
Her weight is up to 5 lbs 11 oz! That is a little over a pound and a half since last month's check-up. That seemed great to me but apparently preemies that start out as little as "Little Sissy" (that is what Bray called her the other night) should really be gaining about 1/2 pound/week. Hopefully her reflux gets better, she keeps down more of what she eats, and starts putting on the weight a little faster.
A HUGE thank you to all who have given us goodies, including diapers & clothes and an especially huge thank you to my MOMS Club friend, Mariel, who dropped off her fabulous pump to me yesterday. That will save us a ton in rental fees! I love it!
Today I dropped off almost 300 oz of pumped milk for the milk bank. What a terrific organization & a great group of people with huge hearts. When you go into the milk bank there are several scrapbooks with pages from moms who have donated. A lot of them are happy pages, celebrating their healthy babies, but many are pages from bereaved moms, and their page serves as a tribute to their little one that they lost. The first time I went in there when I donated after Bray was born, the scrapbooks just took my breath away. I remember I just couldn't stop looking through them and then once I finally left I sat in the car and bawled my eyes out. Everything was so easy with Bray, it just never really dawned on me that anything could go wrong. The first time I visited with Siena in the NICU I was reminded of those pages and praying to God that I would be able to do a happy page. Please continue to pray for Siena & all of the babies in the NICU.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Cat Nap
I took a couple shots the other night of Shayne & Siena taking a nap on the couch. A couple minutes later, Bray snuck out of his room and cuddled up with them. I thought Shayne would wake up and shoo Bray back to bed, but Bray was quiet enough to just join their nap.
After I escorted Bray back to bed I found Shayne & Siena like this. I am glad that my Brest Friend (that's what he is laying on) is getting some use. The nursing is not going so well..... my 2 weeks being banned in the NICU really hurt us in regards to that, but we'll figure it out. Right now she is eating about every 3 hours (sometimes goes 4 or 5 at night). She is taking about 45-50 mls of expressed milk fortified with Neosure powder. Today's weigh in was 5 lbs 6 oz.
Shayne is a fabulous dad and after 10 years of crossing his fingers for all boys, it didn't take Siena long to have him wrapped around her little finger.
I fell asleep before the end of the game last night, but Shayne told me how it ended. FYI...the 1st person to get Siena a piece of Siena College apparel will get some name recognition on the blog ;-)
Thursday, March 19, 2009
From the mouth of big brother
So... while visiting with Monsignor Lane yesterday (the priest that will be baptizing Siena), Braydon felt compelled to tell him..."When I first saw Siena I thought "Where's her penis? Then I remembered that girls don't have penises". Random thoughts from a 4 year old. Gotta love it.
And tonight Braydon told me that I should call God and tell him that we want another baby since we love Siena so much. Speaking of God, her baptism is scheduled for May 17th at St Margaret's in Hilliard. I can't wait to see her in her pretty gown. She will be beautiful!
Siena is up to 5 lbs 5 oz as of tonight's bath (she was 5 lbs 6 oz this afternoon so not sure where she lost that oz). She is getting taller everyday and her little toes are getting tight in some of her preemie sleepers. She has moved into newborn diapers rather than preemie diapers (although the preemies do still fit her).
She is really starting to make eye contact and I find myself sitting with her and just gazing into her eyes when I would normally be bopping around doing a million other things. When I'm not staring at her I am trying to catch cat naps with her cuddled up on me like a koala. (I should mention that the naps are when the boys are napping too). I am storing up all of these sweet, quiet moments with her so I can replay them in my head when she starts her tantrum stage in a couple of years.
And tonight Braydon told me that I should call God and tell him that we want another baby since we love Siena so much. Speaking of God, her baptism is scheduled for May 17th at St Margaret's in Hilliard. I can't wait to see her in her pretty gown. She will be beautiful!
Siena is up to 5 lbs 5 oz as of tonight's bath (she was 5 lbs 6 oz this afternoon so not sure where she lost that oz). She is getting taller everyday and her little toes are getting tight in some of her preemie sleepers. She has moved into newborn diapers rather than preemie diapers (although the preemies do still fit her).
She is really starting to make eye contact and I find myself sitting with her and just gazing into her eyes when I would normally be bopping around doing a million other things. When I'm not staring at her I am trying to catch cat naps with her cuddled up on me like a koala. (I should mention that the naps are when the boys are napping too). I am storing up all of these sweet, quiet moments with her so I can replay them in my head when she starts her tantrum stage in a couple of years.
The Monahans came to visit on St Patrick's Day.
Kelly was Bray's VIP that he took to preschool for VIP night.
The Prices came to visit this week too. It was so great to get to visit with friends.
Friday, March 13, 2009
New Pictures
Doctor Week
Siena is up to 5 lbs! A big milestone for her!
This week we were busy with lots of Dr visits. Grandma was in town helping with the kids so I could dart around town without taking all of them to all of the appts. It was great! Siena had her follow up RSV shot (on time!) & we visited an early intervention specialist to see how Siena was doing physically. The specialist was very impressed with how well Siena can already hold her head up a little, follow objects with her eyes and grasp onto an object when handed to her. Looks like she is very mature for her age & size.
Brody also went to the ENT Dr this week. We took him out of concern about his awful snoring and delayed speech. Turns out that he has fluid in his ears that is causing partial hearing loss. During his hearing test there were definitely sounds that he had no response to. I was really not expecting that so that was kind of scary to see. He also has huge tonsils and adenoids and that in addition to the hearing loss is probably why he has speech delay. He is scheduled to have his adenoids & tonsils removed as well as have tubes placed in his ears. That is set for April 27th. It will be about a 30 minute surgery but will need to stay at the hospital overnight. We are optimistic that we will see a significant improvement with his speech after his surgery.
I even got to sneak downtown to have blood drawn so I can get approved to be a milk donor. I donated 2 times before but never this much. Let's just say our deep freezer is filling up fast! There was a great article in O magazine this month about milkbanks. I admittedly have not had a chance to read the whole article but the women at the milk bank claim it was wonderful.
http://www.oprah.com/article/omagazine/200903_omag_milk_bank/1
Grandma Pooh brought Siena's baptismal gown that she picked up. Siena will be the 1st in 2 generations to not use the "heirloom" baptism outfit.... but I thought she needed a little glam on her big day. She will be just gorgeous in it. We have the gown, we have God parent's, Uncle Mike and Aunt Molly. Now we just need to pick a date for her big day. We initially were thinking of trying to have it at the same time as Shayne's but he is getting baptized at Easter Vigil and it is a big thing for all of the RCIA people (2 hours long). We will give Siena her own day. I think she's earned it.
Sorry my updates have been a little slow. We are pretty much spending every waking minute changing her and feeding her.... okay, so maybe not EVERY waking minute.... but most waking minutes :-) I will try to add some new photos later today.
Thank you everyone for your continued prayers and well wishes!
This week we were busy with lots of Dr visits. Grandma was in town helping with the kids so I could dart around town without taking all of them to all of the appts. It was great! Siena had her follow up RSV shot (on time!) & we visited an early intervention specialist to see how Siena was doing physically. The specialist was very impressed with how well Siena can already hold her head up a little, follow objects with her eyes and grasp onto an object when handed to her. Looks like she is very mature for her age & size.
Brody also went to the ENT Dr this week. We took him out of concern about his awful snoring and delayed speech. Turns out that he has fluid in his ears that is causing partial hearing loss. During his hearing test there were definitely sounds that he had no response to. I was really not expecting that so that was kind of scary to see. He also has huge tonsils and adenoids and that in addition to the hearing loss is probably why he has speech delay. He is scheduled to have his adenoids & tonsils removed as well as have tubes placed in his ears. That is set for April 27th. It will be about a 30 minute surgery but will need to stay at the hospital overnight. We are optimistic that we will see a significant improvement with his speech after his surgery.
I even got to sneak downtown to have blood drawn so I can get approved to be a milk donor. I donated 2 times before but never this much. Let's just say our deep freezer is filling up fast! There was a great article in O magazine this month about milkbanks. I admittedly have not had a chance to read the whole article but the women at the milk bank claim it was wonderful.
http://www.oprah.com/article/omagazine/200903_omag_milk_bank/1
Grandma Pooh brought Siena's baptismal gown that she picked up. Siena will be the 1st in 2 generations to not use the "heirloom" baptism outfit.... but I thought she needed a little glam on her big day. She will be just gorgeous in it. We have the gown, we have God parent's, Uncle Mike and Aunt Molly. Now we just need to pick a date for her big day. We initially were thinking of trying to have it at the same time as Shayne's but he is getting baptized at Easter Vigil and it is a big thing for all of the RCIA people (2 hours long). We will give Siena her own day. I think she's earned it.
Sorry my updates have been a little slow. We are pretty much spending every waking minute changing her and feeding her.... okay, so maybe not EVERY waking minute.... but most waking minutes :-) I will try to add some new photos later today.
Thank you everyone for your continued prayers and well wishes!
Friday, March 6, 2009
Our Little Sunshine
This is a video......just so you know (that is Bray's new thing now... "Brody is unrolling all of the toilet paper, just so you know", "Brody knocked off everything on top of our dresser, just so you know")
So Big!
Miss Siena has officially doubled her birth weight. She is now 4 lbs 10 oz. They grow up so fast!
Siena will be receiving her RSV shot on Tuesday, the 10th. Right on time. Not sure what he said or did, but somehow Shayne got our insurance to really put a move on and the processing that we were told would take 2 weeks is only going to take about 5 days. I'm impressed.
Had my 6 week check-up today. Can't believe it's been 6 weeks!
Shayne is taking the boys to the St Margret's fish fry tonight so Siena and I will be enjoying a quiet girls' night in.
Siena will be receiving her RSV shot on Tuesday, the 10th. Right on time. Not sure what he said or did, but somehow Shayne got our insurance to really put a move on and the processing that we were told would take 2 weeks is only going to take about 5 days. I'm impressed.
Had my 6 week check-up today. Can't believe it's been 6 weeks!
Shayne is taking the boys to the St Margret's fish fry tonight so Siena and I will be enjoying a quiet girls' night in.
Siena told me that she wants to be a pirate for halloween.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Thank you Mrs Flynn's 8th grade class!
We received the most fabulous surprise in the mail...an envelope containing homemade cards from Mrs Flynn's 8th grade class. They all had wonderful messages of inspiration, beautiful crafty pictures and drawings, and well wishes. You know those are some great prayers, coming from kids at St Gerard School (my grade school in Lima- St Gerard being the patron saint of expectant mothers- I have been wearing him around my neck for quite awhile now). We will keep them and treasure them. One day Siena will get to look through all of her cards and know just how many people were praying for her.
Tyler-Yes we know your family. I can not believe that you are in the 8th grade!
Mitch & Doug- good luck with your wrestling... we'll be watching for you at State someday.
Mitchell & Cole- love the computer graphics.
Kyle- the boys love the lion picture. They are pretty obsessed with Lion King so that was perfect.
Thank you, thank you, thank you . . . thanks to Cole, Mitchell, Mitch, Doug, Tyler R, Kyle, Molly, Marissa, Addie, Brendan, Jacob, Joey, Tyler G, Sydney, Kolleen, Shelby, Shannon, Emma, Jordan, Lexi, Hayley, and Zech and especially to Mrs. Flynn (AKA Mama Barb) for sharing our experience with so many people and having so many prayers sent our way. We really appreciate it more than we can say!
Teeny tiny Siena
Tyler-Yes we know your family. I can not believe that you are in the 8th grade!
Mitch & Doug- good luck with your wrestling... we'll be watching for you at State someday.
Mitchell & Cole- love the computer graphics.
Kyle- the boys love the lion picture. They are pretty obsessed with Lion King so that was perfect.
Thank you, thank you, thank you . . . thanks to Cole, Mitchell, Mitch, Doug, Tyler R, Kyle, Molly, Marissa, Addie, Brendan, Jacob, Joey, Tyler G, Sydney, Kolleen, Shelby, Shannon, Emma, Jordan, Lexi, Hayley, and Zech and especially to Mrs. Flynn (AKA Mama Barb) for sharing our experience with so many people and having so many prayers sent our way. We really appreciate it more than we can say!
Since we are not leaving the house much these days the boys are getting to pick what they wear. Fun for them, not so good for pictures :-)
Teeny tiny Siena
Sunday, March 1, 2009
A Person's a Person....
Through our experience we are hearing from so many parents of preemies born half of Siena's size or months younger than she was. Most of them grow up to be perfectly healthy children, some have slight handicaps or minor setbacks, but all gifts to their parents. This only solidifies what we have always known.... a person's a person, no matter how small. There are many people that think otherwise, especially in today's world. We pray that more people realize that they are babies, no matter how small, especially decision makers who have these tiny precious lives in their hands.
(from Horton Hears a Who)
Since she was born on inauguration day, Miss Siena felt compelled to be a little activist for her tiny friends that have no voice or blog to post.
(from Horton Hears a Who)
Weekend Update
Siena is now up to 4 lbs 5.5 oz!
Braydon wrapped his arm around me the other day while I was holding Siena and said "My two girls". That is what we always say to him and Brody... "My two boys". It was very sweet.
We found out on Friday that insurance red tape is going to hold up Siena receiving her 2nd dose of the shot to fight off RSV. She will still get it, it is just going to be a few days later than it should be. We were told that if she doesn't get it on time the antibodies from the 1st shot will be very limited at that point and not be at all effective. This being the case we will be extremely home bound for awhile and will be limiting visitors. None of us can afford to even get a cold right now.
Braydon wrapped his arm around me the other day while I was holding Siena and said "My two girls". That is what we always say to him and Brody... "My two boys". It was very sweet.
We found out on Friday that insurance red tape is going to hold up Siena receiving her 2nd dose of the shot to fight off RSV. She will still get it, it is just going to be a few days later than it should be. We were told that if she doesn't get it on time the antibodies from the 1st shot will be very limited at that point and not be at all effective. This being the case we will be extremely home bound for awhile and will be limiting visitors. None of us can afford to even get a cold right now.
Enjoying Siena napping on me.
Getting all cleaned up.
Nice and relaxed after her bath.
Grandma and Grandpa Boyd came to visit.
That's a lot of Boyds on a little love seat.
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