Horton Takes a Nap

This picture was taken yesterday when Ryan really wasn't feeling well at all. He and Horton curled up for a mid-morning nap.

Ryan seems to be doing much better this afternoon. He hasn't had a fever for a few hours now, and his most recent dose of Tylenol was at 9 this morning. He has been sleeping A LOT! I'm hoping this is just his way of recovering from this virus. He woke up at 6 this morning and promptly went back to sleep in my arms. I laid him down on his blankie and he slept until 9. He woke up for a bottle and then slept until 11. He woke up and ate a little bit...squash, watermelon, chicken, milk. He played for a few minutes and we took a short walk to see Daddy. He went back to sleep at about 1:30 and he's been sleeping since then. It's now almost 3.

Here is a picture of our new friend...

No News

Well...I haven't heard back from the doctor, so I'm assuming that no news means no strep. I'm quite sure the doctor would have called me so he could call in a prescription had strep shown up on the rapid strep test. Part of the test was sent for culturing, so it's possible that something may show up later. For now it's safe to assume that Ryan has another virus. Oh blah....

Blah. :(

Ryan is sick again. Blah. :(

He has a fever of 102. I took him to the doctor this morning. It's either strep throat or another virus. We're waiting on the strep test results.

You Don't Need To Check Your E-Mail!

If I've never mentioned it before I must say that my sweet little boy is a very ornery little boy, and I LOVE IT! Ryan is starting to learn that some things are his and some things are not. For a while he has known what drawer in the kitchen is his and what cabinet doors he can open.

It was actually pretty amazing. I set aside a drawer just for him and one day I showed it to him. He has always gone back to that drawer since. Of course now he is enjoying "pushing the limits", if you will. He has found other drawers that he can open, and he mostly enjoys the squeak they make when opened and closed in a quick, jerky fashion. He has also learned that the doors of the cabinet that is allowed can be hit hard against the refrigerator or the stove which makes another *lovely* sound.

He is stong enough that he could probably do some damage, so we've introduced a new word, "no". This isn't the only, nor even the first, time he's been introduced to the word. We try not to use it much, though. We don't want him to think his first name is "NoNo". In most situations we just remove him from the temptation and distract with something else. However, there are times when his cute little persistence warrants the use of the word no. He is beginning to understand it's meaning, and he is also beginning to challenge it's worth. Today was the first day in which I had to actually apply a little discipline. I'm really sold on the "Love and Logic" form of discipline and I intend to use it to the best of my ability and in the areas it works best for our family. (Grandparents beware: there is a book about grandparenting with love and logic. It could possibly show up on your doorstep someday!) Today he continued to bang the cabinet doors despite the "no", so off to his crib he went to "think about it". Yes...he screamed. No...he wasn't hurt. Yes...I was able to finish warming his bottle. No...he didn't stay there more than a minute or so, but I'm sure he thought it was next to eternity.

I must confess I just got off a bit from my original thought. So on to the picture. One of the objects in our house that does not belong to Ryan is my computer. He knows this, but he likes to make sure he still isn't allowed to check his e-mail from time to time. He casually walks up to the computer and begins to look around as his tiny little hand begins making its way toward the forbidden machine. He waits until he's been caught. That's when the game begins. I say, "Hey! You don't need to check your e-mail." A great big sheepish grin crosses his face and sometimes a little giggle bursts forth. His curious little hand begins to move in a haphazard furry closer towards the computer until he is snatched up into the air and smothered with kisses. It's our game!

Today we actually let him "check his e-mail" on a broken machine. He thought it was great!


A Side Note:
I put Ryan on the scale today. We have a digital scale that I ought to frequent more often, but I usually dislike it's opinion of what I weigh. Anyway...I put Ryan on the scale. He weighed 18 pounds 0 ounces. And...no...there is no way I'm sharing what it said about me!

Empty

"Hey Mom, I think the bird feeder is empty."

"Yep! It's empty."

Happy Mother's Day

Today is a day I wondered if I would ever see. You may be wondering what exactly I’m talking about. Today, this May 11th, has so many meanings and memories. It’s Mother’s Day. Happy Mother’s Day to my mom, my wonderful 2 mothers-in-law, and all the other women who’ve been as close to a mother as anyone else. Happy Mother’s Day to those who are new mothers, to those who are expecting, to those who are still dreaming. Happy Mother’s Day to the moms who may not feel like a mother because they no longer get to hold their children any longer. Happy Mother’s Day to those who have loved and cared for another’s child so much that they will always be like Mom to that precious little one.

My very first mother’s day, as a mom, I was expecting our very first child. I was glowing with anticipation of the baby growing inside me. My next Mother’s Day I spent holding my precious baby girl who once was a vibrant little girl, but who had recently suffered a severe brain injury and was suffering with severe seizures. It was a difficult mother’s day. A mother’s heart breaks for her children when they suffer, and that day my heart was breaking. My next mother’s day I spent with empty arms. My precious baby girl had passed away just 3 short months ago. I cried and curled up in the arms of my Great Comforter that Mother’s Day. Mother’s Day the following year was difficult in another sort of way. It was still a day to remind me of the pain of empty arms. We had started trying to have another baby almost a year prior with no success. This Mother’s Day I wondered if I would ever hold a child of my own once again. The following Mother’s Day was simply amazing. I was holding my little boy at home!

God is so Good. I’ve been so blessed…more than I deserve. Even in times when I’ve hurt the worst I’ve been blessed. I feel honored that He has chosen me to be a Mother. Being a Mother is the most challenging and rewarding and honored job in the entire world! I love you MOM. You’re the greatest!!!

This day, May 11th, is incredibly special in one other way, and let me tell you the story….

On January 29, 2007 we went to the doctor to have some things checked out because I had become nervous about the health of my little Peanut. Unfortunately, to our surprise, the doctor found that my body was not holding our baby inside well at all, so he immediately admitted us to the hospital. That evening I had a emergency "rescue cerclage" procedure to help hold Peanut inside. We were absolutely blessed with the success of this procedure. The plan was to stay in the hospital from that point forward until our little Peanut was born. Our hopes were to remain for 10 weeks so our baby could reach 32 weeks gestation. Everything had been going well overall. We had some ups and downs physically, but emotionally we were doing quite well.

Late in the evening on February 10th I began to have some contractions and bleeding. The nurses gave me Brethine to stop the contractions and it worked. The contractions and bleeding came back the following day. I was given Brethine several times, and the contractions stopped for a while then started again. Finally early in the afternoon it was decided to move me to the labor and delivery floor and start Magnesium to put a stop to labor. Labor continued despite all efforts. At about 5:00 p.m. it was decided that our little baby was going to be born and a C-section was going to be the safest for him because an ultrasound revealed that he was breech. At 5:31 p.m. our little Peanut came into the world. He weighed 1 pound 8 ounces and was 12 1/2 inches long. He was only 23 weeks 5 days gestation, a little less than 6 months in the safety of his mommy's womb.

Ryan Andrew was born way too early. Would he make it? Could he survive? I was scared, numb, confused. I had days I rejoiced at his life and cried out to God to please heal my baby and bring him home to me whole, but I also had days where I tried to mentally prepare for the worst. Some days I was riddled with fear and other days I experienced that unexplainable peace only God supplies.

Ryan had his fair share of struggles, but God blessed us immensely more than we could have ever imagined. Ryan’s lungs were his biggest concern. He was on the ventilator for 2 months and 1 day. He never had to be on CPAP and for that we are grateful. He continued to breathe fast, and to this day he breathes faster than most kids his age. 10 days after he was released from the ventilator he was offered his first bottle. He did very well! He was also moved from the Critical Care nursery to the Intermediate Care Nursery. From there it was just a flash of eating and growing, baths, hearing tests, minor procedures, ROP exams, brain scans, MRI, discharge teaching, and precious moments.

ON MAY 11th 2007, WE TOOK OUR LITTLE BOY HOME!

He was exactly 90 days old, 3 months from his birthday. He weighed 4 pounds 2 ounces. He came home on oxygen and an apnea monitor. We were scared and excited all at the same time. We were home!!!

Happy Mother’s Day! I just love this day....

Chasing Ducks

Yesterday we spent half of the day in Lawton. Ryan's Aunt Lizzy graduated from the university, and we spent the day with her and then watched her receive her diploma that evening. It was a good day! Before the graduation we ate pizza at Pizza Hut after which we headed over to the park. We saw lots of baby prarie dogs this time. We tried to feed the ducks but the park was pretty busy, so we figured they must have been full from everyone else's bread. That didn't stop Ryan from chasing them though. Of course he's still so little and unsteady on his feet that he wasn't able to spook the birds, but it sure was cute to watch him chasing the birds with his squeals of delight. His other favorite was the water. That's where he constantly ran. I finally let him stick his hand in the water and splash around a little. He loves water. I think it's going to be so much fun this summer when we put up our pool. After our visit to the park we went to the graduation. It was an outdoor graduation, and it was one of the best graduations I've been to. After all the graduates received their diplomas and the Alma Mater was performed there was a fireworks show. This was the first time for Ryan to see fireworks. He was mesmerized!

Remember when...

I was this small!

Singing In The Rain

It's flooding around here. Oh geez. In case you don't know I'm a very, very laid back person. Not much gets my blood boiling unless it involves my kids. I don't want the house to flood. I really like my home. However, there isn't anything I can do about the rising water, so what better thing to do than to enjoy it a little! That's what Ryan and I decided to do....

This is Ryan and I wading in our front yard (if you want to call it that). It looks more like a pond. You should see our street. It looks like a river!

No worries...right?!

Start talking about a tornado, and that's a different story. :)

Answer

Well...someone guessed it right! Ryan's firsts from yesterday's pictures: his first major boo-boo on his head and the first time he fell asleep while eating. Ryan was walking around the other day and he fell hard against a metal door jam. He was walking around with someone else (name withheld to protect the broken-hearted) trying to get to me. I was in another room visiting with someone. It was really bad. I almost decided it was worthy of visiting the ER. It immediately became a HUGE goose-egg knot on his head that turned black, purple, and red. I was a little scared. I watched him carefully for the rest of the evening, and he never acted any different than normal. He sure is a tough little guy.

Firsts

These two pictures show a couple of firsts that happened yesterday. Can you guess what the 2 different firsts are?

For The Birds...

...and the cats and the zebra and the donkey and the horses and the dogs. We had a great day yesterday. Our family went to see Ryan's Mimi, Grampie and the rest of the family.

He played with Grampie's kitty...
and petted Grampie's pigeon.
He even petted the baby pigeon...
and Grampie's pretty white pigeon.
We played with a zebra.
We visited the Express Ranch and visited the big Clydesdale Horses.

Ryan liked the miniature ponies.

This Clydesdale was just his size!

After a long and fun day we went back to the house...

"Mimi, pleeease let me in!"

March for Babies, Part 3: More Pictures

Make sure you look at the previous 2 posts to read about our March for Babies day and see some more pictures. It was awesome!

Ryan and The Hat....

March for Babies, Part 2: Pictures

March for Babies!

Today was the day! It was fantastic! If you missed it...you really missed something great. Today was the March for Babies Walk. It started out cold this morning. I tell you what...this Oklahoma weather. You got love it! 90 one day 60 the next. How crazy is that? So the morning started out quite chilly, but it was good for one thing...motivation. Motivation to get moving!

We arrived at the OKC Myriad gardens at about 8:30 this morning and registered. We ate a couple of donuts, reconnected with great friends, and waited for the words "lets go". Around 9 we were formally welcomed to the March for Babies, met the Oklahoma Ambassador family, and commenced with a light warming-up session. Hey, it was cold...why not warm up!

There were 2 options for walkers. One was the long walk, and the other was the short one. Part of our team decided to brave the long walk...5 miles. They later confessed to taking a shortcut. Part of our team took the short walk. Now for those of you that chickened out on us because you thought you couldn't walk that far here is some information for you so you can't use the same excuse next year. The short walk was merely around the city block on which the Myriad Gardens sits. It's beautiful all the way around.

We walked on the sidewalk at very leisurely pace. It was great to stroll around the block visiting with other families of miracle preemies. I met a lady, Jennifer, and her team who have a little girl named Mackenzie who was born 10 weeks early. Mackenzie is now 3 and very cute. It was great to meet the family and visit while we walked. Before we knew it we were being directed back into the street so we could cross the "finish line" and receive our prize...a sticker. I was left wanting to walk a little more! It was short. So next year I expect our team to be HUGE!! No excuses. If you think you can't walk the short walk just bring yourself a wheelchair. Maybe somebody will push you.

After the walk we spent the rest of the morning lounging on the grass in the warm sun, visiting with friends, watching the kids play, eating free food, and dreaming about next year. Next year we are hoping to design t-shirts for our team, have fundraisers, and make it BIG! It was such a fun day, and to spend a day with hundreds of people so closely affected by prematurity was awesome. Until you've walked the road of prematurity you never fully understand how amazing (and challenging, and heartbreaking) it can be. Please consider joining us next year.

Pictures coming later.

Late Update

I meant to update earlier. For those of you waiting on it, I apologize for the delay.

I took Ryan to the doctor this morning. The doctor said he is actually doing fine...he's still well hydrated, and seems to be on the mend. Ryan hasn't been eating much of anything all week...2-4 ounces of Pediasure (won't drink milk) every 4 hours, no solids. Dr. Schrader explained that the sores in his mouth are painful and that when those are gone he will probably start eating again without problem. He gave us a prescription for "Magic Mouthwash". It's a mixture of lidocaine (sp?), benadryl, mylanta, and a few other things. It helps to numb, cool, and soothe his mouth. So far I like it. This afternoon he has been running around like a crazy little monkey...I love it. I haven't seen him play most of the week. The doctor said he isn't contagious anymore with the exception of his poop, so I told the doctor that I wouldn't let anyone play with his poop this weekend. I'm still planning on bringing him to the Walk tomorrow unless he is still blowing-and-going in the morning.

Ohhhhh....

Yesterday I mentioned on another blog that Ryan was doing much better. I guess I spoke too soon. His diarrhea has returned with a vengeance. He has already been in the bath twice this morning...it would have taken a bucket of wipes to clean that much, so to the bath he went. Poor little guy. He doesn't have a fever. He is very lethargic. He has almost completely quit eating. He has only been taking about 2-3 ounces 4 times a day. He will only eat a couple of bites of whatever I offer for a meal. Sometimes he won't eat anything. The main thing I'm most concerned with right now is dehydration. I may call the doctor....

Sleeping Miracle

Back to the Doctor

I decided to take Ryan back to the doctor today to make sure the blistery bumps on his feet were either related to this stomach virus or something new. It's not! It's new! Well, it's probably not new since the symptoms started at the same time...one covering over the other. Ryan is fighting off 2 infections...2 different viruses. His little immune system is getting a workout. His newly diagnosed problem: Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease. He seems somewhat uncomfortable with it, and I think perhaps the blisters on his feet hurt because he hasn't been walking much and complains when he does. He also has lesions in his mouth on his hard pallate. This is making him not want to eat much of anything. He doesn't really need to go on a crash diet right now...all 17 pounds of him!

He has been playing today though which I love to see. He hasn't been himself since Saturday, and it breaks my heart. I'm ready for him to be that sweet, spunky, ornery, mischevious, big-grinned, giggly little boy again.

On a very happy note though, the doctor said that he would be well past the time of being contagious by this Saturday. Yeah! This means that if he doesn't catch anything else between now and then and he doesn't seem to feel bad on Saturday morning we get to go the Walk...both of us! Please continue to pray for his healing. I really want him to be super-well by Saturday.

Little Tiny Beauty

We have a humingbird now visiting Brandy's garden. The feeder is right out our dining room window. I sure do enjoy these little birds.

And because it just wouldn't be right to not share a Ryan picture...

Ryan still isn't feeling quite up to par, but he is doing better. Thanks for the prayers. Please continue to pray that he is totally well by this weekend. I sure would like to be able to take him to the March for Babies walk this year. It just wouldn't feel right to be walking in honor of and for preemies without my little preemie walking too.

Tagged

I’ve been blessed, and I’ve been tagged. Ann Marie tagged me last Saturday. Here are the rules:

• Link to the person who tagged you
• Post the rules on your blog
• Write six random things about yourself
• Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs
• Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment at their blog
• Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

Here are six things about me:

• I firmly believe in that mother’s intuition thing. I think it is a gift from God to help mother’s take care of their children. Although I firmly believe in it, it has taken a while for me to learn to listen to it and then act. A couple of examples (These aren’t exactly happy examples. Like I said…I’m a slow learner.): When Brandy was being wheeled back to the ICU something inside me told me not to leave her side. I did…she crashed. The night I went to the hospital with my “Peanut” pregnancy I knew something was very wrong. A nurse checked me and said she couldn’t feel my cervix, but said she thought everything was just fine. So I went home. The next morning I experienced some bleeding, called the doctor, was sent to the hospital, had an emergency cerclage. I should have listened to that gut feeling and insisted that either I stay in the hospital overnight or insisted that my doctor come render an opinion. Oh well…no harm done either way.
• I grew up on a farm in Marshall, OK. My family raised cattle and farmed wheat. I love farm life. One of the fondest memories of farm life is feeding baby cows with a bottle and then letting them suck on your finger. Another of my fondest memories was sitting on a blanket under the bed of the wheat truck waiting for the combines to fill the bin enough to take it to the elevator for dumping. We always brought lots of toys and had loads of fun playing as a family. Along those same lines was the joy of “swimming” in the wheat.
• I love to read. I haven’t had much time to read over the past few months, but that’s okay. I’m not a big fan of the self-help type books, but I admit that I’ve read some pretty good life-changing books that I still own and would recommend to anyone. We have started a tradition in our home of reading aloud at night as long as Ryan allows it. Ryan loves books too, but he gets too excited if he sees the book. If he sees the book he beats it and our nightly reading is put on hold. The first book we’ve read and enjoyed as a family was Les Miserables. It took us several months to get through it, but everyone enjoyed it. We are now enjoying Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which Ryan has already ripped the cover off.
• I love taking pictures. Someday I would like to take some photography classes through the local CareerTech.
• Wade and I have lived in the same small town of Crescent, OK (I moved here when I was 13) for many years. During the time I was in high school there were numerous times we crossed paths, but we never saw each other. Anytime there was a performance requiring a soundman Wade was that guy, and I was usually one of the performers…band, piano, high school related performances, etc. We never knew each other. We never saw each other until one day the light was turned on, and…there he was…and there I was. We fell in love, got married, and are living happily ever after.
• I love my home. It is a modest-sized home. It required lots of work before we could move in, and over the years we’ve done remodeling projects here and there. I have now had experiences with laying floor tile, laying laminate flooring, ripping up carpet, painting, ripping out showers, doing drywall work, texturing walls, and installing wall tile. Now if I could just convince my husband to allow me to convert the garage into a big playroom/den….

Here are the 6 lucky people I'm tagging: Melissa, Jacyln, Jodi, Donna, Kara, Misty

Quick Update

I took Ryan to the Pediatrician this morning. He has an intestinal virus. He now has a rash and that wonderful thing called diarrhea. Yuck! The course of this illness is generallay 3-5 days...let's hope for 2 1/2. :) The doctor said he would be contagious until he has been fever and diarrhea free for 24 hours, but that the only way of transmission is through his secretions...not airborne. I guess we will limit our activities this week, but for those outings that we must go we'll just make sure no one touches Ryan for fear of him spreading his germies.

Prayer Request, Please.

Ryan is sick. He started with a low-grade fever last night. He slept okay, but cried out a few times. I really thought it was probably related to teething, but just a few minutes ago his fever was 102. I know he feels rotten. He's been very lethargic today and just hasn't wanted to be anywhere other than his mommy's arms. Poor little guy.

We have a really busy week this week, and it should be very exciting. Two of the events this week are related to commitments made some time ago. Tuesday is "Bank Day" for the March for Babies" and Saturday is the actual day of the walk. We really need to be at both of these. Please pray that Ryan gets well fast.

Walking

Ryan is officially walking. You can see it in this video, and this video was even taken last week sometime. He is now a *professional* at the task...carrying things from one room to another and everything. As long as he can get to someplace to pull himself up he will walk everywhere. He even runs from time to time. For the first time today he even walked outside unassisted. Life is so exciting around here.

My Little Potato Eater

I have a basket of potatoes in the dining room. You can often find Ryan carrying a potato around, and now that he has 5 teeth (3 top, 2 bottom) he has been able to actually get little chunks of potato to eat. SoonerStart has encouraged us to increase the fiber in his diet. I guess you can't get more fiber than the natural fiber in raw potato skins.

A First!

In the 14 or so years I've been cooking I have NEVER ever caught anything on fire in the kitchen. I've burned myself and burned the food, but never have I created an actual fire. I broke my record today. So sad... :( Tonight was "clean out the refrigerator" night, so dinner was a hodge podge of different foods. I was trying to make some brownies while warming up the leftovers. I inadvertently put the brown sugar on the stove with the bag touching a burner. Smoke and flames...Ohhhh...I can't believe I did that.

Stay tuned...I'm hoping to get a video (of Ryan...not the fire) posted this weekend!

Zoo Friends

Guess what Ryan and I did today!...

We went to the zoo! It was great.

We saw some birds...
and some fish...
and some more fish...
and some ducks.
We found a new friend.

We petted a big kitty.

Ryan was a bit afraid of the big kitty. He wouldn't stand next to it, and he didn't really even want to sit by it. Do you see the concerned look?

We thought this kitty was very pretty!

We had a great time. We didn't stay too very long, but we'll probably go back next week and see some more. My mom bought a zoo pass. If anyone wants to join us we'd be glad to have some company. Ryan's favorites today: the "Caution, wet floor sign", the fan in the pachyderm building, the fish. He was also fairly interested in the big gorilla sitting at the window.