Colorado 2010

Jeff had an oppurtunity a couple of weekends ago to go to Colorado to learn about a new product.  We decided to make it a family weekend, so Sydney and I joined him.  After the seminar on Saturday, we drove up to Fort Collins to see Jeff's sister, Wendy, and her family.  This was their first time to meet Sydney.  We had a fun weekend together.  It was nice just to sit & visit.  Plus we got to watched Bronco football.  (They lost.) 

Sunday morning we went up into the mountains and took some family pictures.

It was a beautiful day. Jeff, Wendy, and Mark were very surprised that it was Halloween and not snowing.  I always expect it to not snow on Halloween...but then again I grew up in Texas, not Colorado. 

Thank you Wendy & Mark for such a nice weekend!

Bottles are for Babies!

Yesterday I had some friends over for a jewelry making get together at my house.  Thursdays just happen to be Jeff's half days at work too.  It was a perfect opportunity for Jeff,  he came home after running a few errands and swooped Sydney away to have some "Daddy/Daughter" time.  After about an hour, Sydney starts crying and Jeff asked if it was about feeding time?  I made her a bottle and Jeff went to feed her.  She still kept crying, and crying, and crying so I went in the room to see if I could help.  He said that he just didn't understand - he held her this way, that way, and the other and she would arch her back and refuse the bottle.  I picked her up and tucked her in my arms and proceeded to give her the bottle - she refused and started crying again.  Diaper had been changed so it isn't that - looking at the clock, it is time for her to eat....so I went into the kitchen grabbed the bowl and spoon, the mixed the "squash", rice cereal, and extra calorie formula together, plopped her in the bouncer and started feeding her - she smiled and ate the whole bowl!  She then cuddled up with binky and blanket and went to sleep. 

That night, we fed her a bottle and then about 1 1/2 hrs later we fed her the rest of the squash.  She went to sleep at 10pm and didn't wake up until 5am.  Jeff being the wonderful husband that he is got up with her this morning and fed her her bottle.  Except that the milk kept flowing out of her mouth.  We thought that the nipple might be bad on the bottle and it was flowing too quickly.  We changed it and we got the same results.  Then we realized...she was refusing to swallow!  So at 5:20 am I got up grabbed some sweet potatoes, cereal, and formula and made her a bowl of "food".  She ate about 1/2 the bowl, refused to eat anymore, but was crying, then drank the bottle, burped, and finished off the food. Then, curled up with binky and blanket and as I am typing at 9:40am is still sound asleep!

Where did I get such a 'determined' child?!?!?!  (determined if you don't know is 'Southern' for stubborn!)

We are flying to Colorado for a quick trip this weekend - Jeff is going to learn about a new product to do a bladder lift on Saturday morning and then we are driving up to Loveland to visit with his sister, Wendy, & her family for the rest of the weekend.  This new development in eating is going to make flying very interesting!

I love her and am having so much fun seeing her personality blossom!  She is a fun, happy baby! (who in a few weeks will be 6 months old!!!!! aaaahhhhh!!!!)

Carrots & Butterflies

For the past month, off & on, we have been feeding Sydney rice cereal w/ probiotics (the stuff that is in the yogurt "Activia" that helps keep things "moving"...).  She was getting a little bored with it, so we tried some carrots - I added the rice cereal to it so it would be a little thicker, plus she would still be getting the probiotics to help her. 

She actually smiled at the end of the first spoonful.  The rest of the "meal" was a little more difficult. 

The 3rd day we fed it to her, she seemed to do a lot better.

Today we tried sweet potatoes - she really enjoyed them!

Last Friday - Oct 22nd - was our ward's trunk or treat.  I know some of y'all are saying that the 22nd is way too early for such a thing, but we have 3 wards in our building & this was our night to have the building.  Sydney dressed up as a "butterfly".  A friend from our ward, Karen, found these small little wings that fit her just right.  I went to JoAnn's and bought some "netting" and made a little purple tutu to match. (Yes, I know that butterflies don't have tutu's, but it was cute!)  Her little headband with a "too big" flower - it is a costume dad, so it is ok! - and her little antennaes.  Grandma & Grandpa Phil came over and went to the chili dinner/trunk-or -treat with us.

As you can see, Sydney was soooo excited to go trunk-or-treating!  It would've been nice if she would've woken up for some part of the night's festivities.  :)  Oh well, there is always next year!

Sleeping Positions & The Ft Worth Zoo

Sydney is pretty funny  when it comes to being sleepy.  She can fall alseep in any postition.

Here is her little butt sticking up in the air... look at her little thigh rolls! (This is the only time in life where that is a good thing to say about a girl!)

Sydney and I went to visit Grandma and Grandpa Phil earlier this week.  Sydney loves to play and sing with Grandpa Phil.  She also loves falling asleep on him!  She can fall asleep in the weirdest postitions!

Here she is tonight (Saturday) with her arm straight up in the air...

We mit her hands on the nightgowns to keep them toasty warm.

The Houston Gang along with Mike and Jeff got tickets to the BYU v TCU football game on Saturday.  So, Grandma Cami, Aunt Angie, JT, Andrew, and Keller drove up early on Friday from Houston and we met up at the Ft Worth Zoo...
Here is a picture of Andrew and a big gorilla...Andrew had no fear and walked right up to him.  (There is a piece of "glass" between them. - Andrew is the little blonde kid!) JT was a little more cautious (JT is not shown.)

This is Sydney enjoying the zoo in her stroller....(I know the picture is sideways, I couldn't get this blog thing to upload it the correct way even though on my computer it is portrait not landscape! - technology!)

Here we all are...Me w/ Sydney in the stroller, Grandma Cami w/ Andrew in the stroller, Aunt Angie w/ JT facing the camera and Keller in the infant seat.  It was actually pretty hot outside.  Kinda surprising for October, oh wait...this is Texas, I shouldn't be that surprised!

It was a long, hot, fun day!  Thanks Angie for inviting us!



MRI

Yesterday Sydney had a follow-up MRI with the nuerosurgeon.  This was just a check-up.  We don't suspect that anything is wrong with the shunt.  He just wanted to see how it was doing and how her ventricles were 2 months after the surgery. 

We arrived downtown at 6:30am (yeah, I know...it's early!) and checked in.  By 7:30 we were in the MRI room.  Because an MRI is just a big magnet, they have to be careful about too much metal in there.  Snap and zippers are ok on Moms though, so I got to go in the room with Sydney.  Her little snaps on her onesies were not ok since she her whole body fit in the magnet.  I wrapped her up in a blanket to keep warm and then the tech did a little wrapping of his own.  He wrapped a sheet around her and then there was an inflateable mattress looking thing that was wrapped and snapped around her and then blown up a bit to really confine her so she doesn't move.  Yeah, Sydney didn't like this at all!  She hates having her hands pinned.  I put her binky in her mouth and then the tech moved the head piece in place.  Her binky just fit.  I think it kinda freaked her out a bit though, cuz the binky popped right out of her mouth!  As he conveyer belted her into the magnet, I could see her struggling and moving - then the machine started up.  I think it scared her - she held perfectly still!  It was pretty loud, they had Sydney and myself wear earphones to protect our ears.  Once she was belted in, it was pretty fast. The tech was kind enough to direct me to the neurosurgeon's office on a different floor and we were off to get the results.

We got up to the office and it was completely empty.  Where the lady behind the glass sat was a metal privacy/lock-up screen.  I checked my watch 7:45a and checked her appt time...10:30a.  A 3 hour wait!  Someone didn't plan this very well!  I debated hopping in the car and driving home (1 hr), sitting around the house (45 min) and then drivng back (1 hr) plus paying another $2 for parking and all the gas money - I stayed.  Luckyfor us I did.  Dr S had picked up a surgery case that was going to last 3 hrs, but since I was already here and ready at 8:30a, he went ahead and saw us to help alleviate the massive backup this surgery was going to cause.

Now the important stuff - what did the MRI say?  Everything looks great!  The ventricles are "normal" and the shunt appears to be working and doing it's job.  Our next neurosurgeon appt - 1 year!

So now Sydney has gotten rid of the eyedoctor - the ROP has corrected itself and gone away - the neurosurgeon has been put off for another year.  Let's pass this stupid hearing test in a month and I can scratch off the ENT and we will be down to her pediatrician and developmentalist.  Whew! 

Dance with Me, Sydney

Sunday, Jeff, Sydney, and I went over to Grandma & Grandpa Phil's house to watch conference and hang out.  I did a few posts to the blog (FINALLY!), Jeff did some indexing, and Grandma & Grandpa played with/fought over Sydney.

Sydney is really starting to be awake for longer periods of time, to respond to her environment - smiling and giggling.  When she wakes up in the morning or from some of her naps, I sing to her - "Good Morning, Good Morning, It's great when you sleep in late, Good Morning, Good Morning to you...." then a few kisses. (I adapted this from a song from "Singing in the Rain".)  She smiles and giggles when I start singing.  I'm not sure if she likes the song or thinks it is funny that I try to sing to her!

Last night before we left, Grandpa Phil decided to sing to her.  It was really cute!  Because he loves me sooooo much and loves Sydney sooooo much, I am sure he isn't going to be tooooo mad that I am posting the video of him singing to Sydney.  (He thought I was just taking pictures.)

I love it that Sydney is "dancing" while he sings!  She sure does love her Grandpa!  Thanks for singing to her Dad! Love you! :)

Tummy Time

June 10, 2010

Sydney is about 1 month old in this video. With all the wires and tubes, it got kinda frustrating moving Sydney around. You would untangle everything, and put her in your lap - somehow that small act would tangle everything again. So while y'all were sitting there, the nurse would untangle her lines again. In about 30 min when it was time to put her back in the crib, her lines would be tangled again! (all you did was just sit there!)

To keep her head "rounded", the nurses had a schedule that they tried to do. Lay Sydney on her right, next feeding - the left, next feeding - her back, next feeding - her tummy. They rotated this schedule every 3 hours. I think it worked - Sydney doesn't have a flat spot on her head!

The video shows the nurse putting Sydney on her tummy....it is kinda cool!

Shunt

July 19, 2010

Today was a hard day. We had to put in Sydney's shunt. It was not something that we wanted. What we did want was for Sydney to be healed. We wanted a "miracle" to happen. We wanted it to resolve all by itself. We wanted the Lord to heal her.

The prospect of the shunt weighed heavily on Jeff and myself. For weeks Jeff & I prayed that the doctors' hearts would be open to the possibility that she would "fix" herself. We would, as a side note, pray also that we would accept the Lord's will, even if that means she has to have a shunt. About 2-3 weeks prior to this, we had seen improvement in her ventricles. Instead of draining the reservoir everyday, the doctors started draining it every other day. Our hopes were raised that she would not need the shunt - all we would need is time. The doctors expressed that they would wait, to do a shunt, until she was at full feeds - thus insuring that she was as big as possible before they did the procedure.

The hospital drive is about 45 min each way, so I had a lot of time to think as I drove to visit everyday. I started thinking about the fact that the Lord performs some of his miracles through the people around us. He gave knowledge to someone to "invent" a shunt. He helped people refine it to what it is today. He can perform the miracle that we were hoping for by using the shunt. What was our ultimate goal? To have Sydney's ventricles drain properly. The shunt helps it do that. I was also reminded of the story of the man who was at his house and it started raining hard. The area started flooding and he prayed to the Lord for help. A man came by in a big truck and told him to get in. He waved him off and said, "no thanks, the Lord is going to save me." The water kept rising and a boat came by and told him to get in. Again he said, "No thanks, the Lord is going to save me." Pretty soon the the man was standing on his roof. A helicopter came by and told him to get in. For a third time he said, "No thanks, the Lord will save me." He died. When face to face with the Lord, the man was dumbfounded. He asked the Lord why he didn't save him. The Lord replied, "I sent a truck, a boat, and a helicopter. What more did you want?" This is what I have to think about when I think about the shunt. This is how the Lord works.

The week up to the procedure, we started seeing that Sydney was NEEDING the taps to her reservoir and we starting wondering if they should start doing it more often again. With it being so close to the surgery, the doctors didn't want to increase the taps. It was a way for the Lord to show us that the surgery was needed. We had started wondering if we just waited a few more days/weeks if Sydney would resolve it on her own. With the little downturn, we knew that we needed to go forward with the plan and get the shunt.

Jeff and I got to the hospital early - 5:30am on Monday. Nurse Sue - a fun Taiwanese nurse who loved to sing musicals to Sydney - was her night nurse that night. She asked to work this shift so she could be with Sydney before the procedure. She took great care of her.

The procedure took about an hour. She came back to the room and they took her off the ventilator. She did pretty good during it all and after. They kept her on some pain medicine for the rest of the day and she slept.

Jeff went to work and I scrambled around to hurry and find her a carseat! My little girl was finally coming home! (Boy did it sneak up on me fast! I only had 72 days to prepare!)

Her head after the procedure...

The board is to keep her arm straight while she has the IV in.

Baby Shower

July 10, 2010

Well, like all things in the "pregnancy", I have to do everything backwards.... I had my babyshower 2 months after Sydney was born. The nice thing about it was that they couldn't do the "how big is her tummy with toilet paper" game. I really didn't want to see how big people thought my stomach was getting. (that goes for small people too! - hahahaha! I crack myself up!)

Ginger, Allison, Stacy, Haley, and Erin threw me a wonderful shower! I did feel kinda odd showing up without Sydney. I know that most people don't have their babies at the shower either, but really they do....they are still pregnant with them!

The Hostessess with the Mostessess!

Here are a few pictures...notice they are mostly food...YUM!

Sydney's room is flowers and butterflies....Stacy was very creative with cupcakes!





Haley made a baby carriage out of the watermelon and the fruit...I think that Sydney could actually fit in that watermelon!


Ginger made some delicious sugar cookies!



The spread!





This is a wreath made of diapers. It is decorated with binkies, burb cloths, bibs, lovies, mittens, socks and toys. Very creative Stacy!

My mother-in-law Cami, my sister-in law Kate, and my nieces were able to drive up from Houston. Kate got to see Sydney in the hospital for the first time. Because of the age restrictions, Courtney & Emily couldn't go in.

4th of July!

Today is the 3rd of July! Grandma and Grandpa Phil came to the hospital to visit Sydney. Grandpa Phil is wearing his original navy hat... Can you believe it still fits?!?!?! :)

I didn't think about or plan for the 4th of July. It just kinda snuck up on me! I didn't have a "Red, White & Blue" outfit for her! I went to the closet and pulled out the clothes that have been passed from Susan (3 girls) to Rebecca (1 girl) to me. Silly me, I just assumed that there would be a 4th of July outfit between 4 girls...I started searching, and searching, and searching. Then I started thinking.... Emily & Kate would've been in 3-6 month clothes, Kari was still in the hospital (2 days old), and Sarah was born in August. Luckily one of the girls from Jeff's office had given me a few clothes too, so I had this red and white outfit as her "4th of July" outfit.

Bottle

June 24, 2010

We got to start trying bottles today! Sydney is 34 weeks old (gestationally)! This is the earliest that the hospital will allow bottle feeds. This is the age that the "suck, swallow, breathe" reflex kicks in.


As soon as she gets up to full feeds for all bottles, she will get to come home. It is very hard to not want to push her to do it now! I want her home now! She will start out taking 1 bottle (35cc - this is just a little over an ounce) every day. When she takes the whole bottle, then she will move to 2 bottles (1 day, 1 night). They bump her up slowly, they don't want to tire her out too much. Their schedule is 1 bottle, 2 bottles (1 a shift), 4 bottles (2 a shift), then 5 bottles - this gives her a bottle that she will do back to back with another bottle, 6 bottles, and all bottles if she takes them. She also has a time limit on how long they will let her feed her bottle - this is to help her not tire out too much too. The rest is put in her nose tube. They will also be slowly bumping up the amount of food she eats. So just as soon as she gets to where she barely takes 35 ccs, then they will have her start doing 40ccs.
I remember the frustration I felt watching Noah do these feeding schedules in the NICU in Ogden. I just kept thinking, "well, if you want Noah to be successful, then quit bumping up his feed amount. He will eat all bottles all day if you quit making the amount more!"

Binky time

I have been "practicing" with Sydney to get her ready for bottle feedings. She has graduated up to the newborn pacifier. She does pretty good sucking on it and keeping it in her mouth. I try to make sure, especially at the beginning of the feedings, to get her to take her binky. This way she can associate her tummy getting full and the suckling. For her noon feeding today, the nurse had swaddled Sydney up and noticed that she was rooting a bit, so the nurse tried to give her her binky and prop it on the blanket. She kept spitting it out. I unswaddled her hands a bit, put the binky in and used her hand to prop the binky in her mouth. This way was a lot more successful. Her is a little video of her sucking her binky... notice her left hand towards the end of the video...

Bathtime!

Sydney got her first "tub bath"!  Friday they took out Sydney's PICC line in her head.  As long as she had some kind of something piercing her skin, she had to have "sponge baths".  This was to help reduce the chance of infection.

Jeff was busy, so I took my friend Jenn Forthman along to help.  This hospital doesn't have any special bathtubs to bathe the kiddos in, so we just used the pink tubs they have.  We put a couple of blankets down for Sydney to sit/lean on during her bath.

She really didn't complain or cry during the bath.  The confused look is her "normal" look it seems...

The leads were not hooked up to anything, you just need to wet the sticky sides and they come off.  Everytime she gets a bath, they change the leads and the pulseox cord.

She was a little startled by the water being poured on her...

Time to wash the backside.  She was actually giving some standing resistance here. 

I am always amazed at how strong Sydney is!

Time to wash the hair...

Sydney just relaxing getting a little massage and lotioning.  Love the smell of babies!

I bought this preemie outfit for the hat.  The hat and the outfit ended up being WAAAYYY too big!

It seems the "Carter's" preemie outfits run a little smaller and fit her a lot better!

We had lots of fun bathing and dressing Sydney up...we took a lot longer than we should've - Sydney was waiting for dinner and we kept playing with her.

She is getting her rooting reflex...She also likes to suck on her binky...or her hand it would seem!

Mmmmm....dinner!  Soon we will get to try the bottle! Yay!!!