Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Frustrations Running High
I had a little breakdown last night. Andrew is not eating well and it is a battle everytime. He does ok for about an ounce and then he fights it. He cries, he pulls away, he turns his head, sometimes screams. I don't get it. I hate it. The low end of his goal for feeds is 750 ml. Saturday he had 504ml, Sunday was at 576ml, Monday was 662ml. He is so far from goal. We were just at the cardiologist for an echo so I'm confident it isn't his heart but how is he supposed to grow? I don't want him to start losing weight.
Part of this is missing out on the night time feed. When we were at the cardiologist we received conflicting information. He said we should be waking him at night to feed him. He also said we shouldn't have to fortify the breastmilk to 24 calories anymore. This is not what we have been told by the pediatrician. She said to not let him go more then 4 hours between feedings and to keep fortifying. I think he still needs that extra feed over night. And if we were to discontinue fortifying it would make his goal even higher! How long do you continue to wake a baby at night to feed them? I don't want to be waking up a two year old and making them eat a sandwich at 2am. Is this going to contribute to sleeping problems for him?
I'm wondering if maybe he has reflux. From the little bit I've read on the internet (good ole' Google!) it seems like it could be a very good possibility. Wanting to sit up while drinking his bottle, crying during, pulling away from the bottle, taking a drink, and then crying again. He sounds hoarse now while crying during feeding. I hate it!
We go to the pediatrician tomorrow for his 6 month well baby visit. I am looking forward to the appointment to see what she says but am also scared that the scale is going to show minimal weight gain or even a loss. Hopefully she will let us try some reflux medicine for at least a couple weeks to see if that helps. I am not looking forward to the shots! We also go to the occupational therapist tomorrow. She is such a nice lady, I'm looking forward to seeing her. She'll be happy with Andrew's progress developmental. I think he is right on track in that department. Maybe she'll have some bottle advice for me too. AND since we'll be at St. Mary's maybe we'll stop in the CICU to say hi. Love those nurses!
Part of this is missing out on the night time feed. When we were at the cardiologist we received conflicting information. He said we should be waking him at night to feed him. He also said we shouldn't have to fortify the breastmilk to 24 calories anymore. This is not what we have been told by the pediatrician. She said to not let him go more then 4 hours between feedings and to keep fortifying. I think he still needs that extra feed over night. And if we were to discontinue fortifying it would make his goal even higher! How long do you continue to wake a baby at night to feed them? I don't want to be waking up a two year old and making them eat a sandwich at 2am. Is this going to contribute to sleeping problems for him?
I'm wondering if maybe he has reflux. From the little bit I've read on the internet (good ole' Google!) it seems like it could be a very good possibility. Wanting to sit up while drinking his bottle, crying during, pulling away from the bottle, taking a drink, and then crying again. He sounds hoarse now while crying during feeding. I hate it!
We go to the pediatrician tomorrow for his 6 month well baby visit. I am looking forward to the appointment to see what she says but am also scared that the scale is going to show minimal weight gain or even a loss. Hopefully she will let us try some reflux medicine for at least a couple weeks to see if that helps. I am not looking forward to the shots! We also go to the occupational therapist tomorrow. She is such a nice lady, I'm looking forward to seeing her. She'll be happy with Andrew's progress developmental. I think he is right on track in that department. Maybe she'll have some bottle advice for me too. AND since we'll be at St. Mary's maybe we'll stop in the CICU to say hi. Love those nurses!
Friday, September 24, 2010
And now I can't stop!
Ok, I've said before that I HATE pumping. My goal was to make it until Andrew's 6 month birthday. That was Wednesday the 22nd. I had been counting down the days since around day 62.
Well I made it! And now I can't stop. A few weeks ago I cut down to 3 pumps a day, then last week cut down to 2 pumps a day. I knew I was going to have to wean down and couldn't just quit. Emotionally and my guilty conscience didn't want to wean too fast and not have enough to feed Andrew each day. I didn't want to dip into the freezer before I had to. So here I am at day 187 of pumping and it's weird, I'm kind of ok with the fact that I'm still going. And so the weaning continues...
On another note, I had to go buy different formula today for fortifying the breastmilk. Our current half used container was on the recent recall list by Similac. I wonder how long we have been using tainted formula. YUCK! So glad I have been able to provide liquid gold for my little buddy and that he hasn't had to consume all that nasty formula!
Well I made it! And now I can't stop. A few weeks ago I cut down to 3 pumps a day, then last week cut down to 2 pumps a day. I knew I was going to have to wean down and couldn't just quit. Emotionally and my guilty conscience didn't want to wean too fast and not have enough to feed Andrew each day. I didn't want to dip into the freezer before I had to. So here I am at day 187 of pumping and it's weird, I'm kind of ok with the fact that I'm still going. And so the weaning continues...
On another note, I had to go buy different formula today for fortifying the breastmilk. Our current half used container was on the recent recall list by Similac. I wonder how long we have been using tainted formula. YUCK! So glad I have been able to provide liquid gold for my little buddy and that he hasn't had to consume all that nasty formula!
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| Oh there ain't no bugs on me There ain't no bugs on me There may be bugs on some of you mugs But there ain't no bugs on me |
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Spare Key - We are so thankful!
When Andrew was in the NICU after surgery and the CICU we received an application from the social worker for an organization called Spare Key. It is a Minnesota organization that helps assist families with a mortgage payment if they have a child that is hospitalized for more then 21 days. On the application you list your additional expenses and loss of income with being in the hospital so much. I thought it sounded like an awesome idea and filled out the application. I didn't think we would get chosen. Dave was already unemployed so he was missing work to be at the hospital and I was on maternity leave so I wasn't really missing work either. We were blessed to just barely qualify for medical assistance with the state so we didn't really have medical bills either.
At the beginning of August I received a call from a lady at Spare Key. She wanted more clarification on our expenses and loss of income. As I told her the details I kept telling myself there was no way we were going to get approved. The following week, I learned the Buffalo Wild Wings was hosting a night of dining with 10% of the proceeds going to Spare Key. I dragged a co-worker with me to enjoy a cold beer and some wings. I met and talked in person with the lady who I had talked to on the phone the prior week. She was delighted to put a face to the name and wished me luck. She informed me I would be finding out if we were chosen on the following Monday.
Monday morning I received a call and learned we had been chosen!!! Spare Key would be paying our mortgage for the month of September. What a huge relief! We were in need of this financial pick me up. I was so happy!!
At the beginning of August I received a call from a lady at Spare Key. She wanted more clarification on our expenses and loss of income. As I told her the details I kept telling myself there was no way we were going to get approved. The following week, I learned the Buffalo Wild Wings was hosting a night of dining with 10% of the proceeds going to Spare Key. I dragged a co-worker with me to enjoy a cold beer and some wings. I met and talked in person with the lady who I had talked to on the phone the prior week. She was delighted to put a face to the name and wished me luck. She informed me I would be finding out if we were chosen on the following Monday.
Monday morning I received a call and learned we had been chosen!!! Spare Key would be paying our mortgage for the month of September. What a huge relief! We were in need of this financial pick me up. I was so happy!!
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| Our Home |
Last Weekend - Walk and Wedding
This last weekend was a busy one for our family. Dave and Eric were going to be in a wedding in Delano, MN and Andrew and I were going to Alexandria, MN for the 1st Annual It's My Heart of Southern Minnesota CHD Awareness Walk.
I didn't think I would ever make it to the walk in one piece. I am the queen of procrastination so of course I left making the Team Andrew t-shirts until Thursday night. I had my design the way I wanted it, set my printer to "mirror image", printed a test page and everything looked great! I printed on my special trasfer paper not noticing that the image was no longer "mirrored" and ironed onto the only white onsie I had for Andrew. Boy was I shocked when I pulled the transfer off and it was backwards! We live 30 minutes from town so I couldn't just go buy another one! I frantically searched for a larger sized onsie in the basement and thankfully found one. I go to the printer to print more transfers and my printer is now out of magenta ink. REALLY? So I had a mini freak out and then made a plan to do them in the morning at my grandma's house.
Friday morning I got to my grandma's house early to use her printer and do our t-shirts. Everything went well and they looked great! It says to wash the shirts before wearing so I had her do that for me while I was at work. Around 10am she calls me and tells me that my bright red hearts are now bright orange. REALLY? She went to Walmart for me and bought new shirts and transfer paper so I could make MORE shirts after I got done at noon. I got there and did the shirts and they looked great again. Phew! We packed up and headed out of Rochester at 2. We had to stop in Big Lake to drop Eric off with Dave for the rehearsal dinner so we didn't get to Alexandria until 7ish. What a long ride. We checked into the hotel, ate some pizza, talked with some friends, and went to sleep.
Saturday morning was rushed as most of my mornings are. We got out of the hotel later then I wanted to and then we couldn't find the park. Sadly, we were late to the walk and missed the opening ceremony. So mad at myself! After the beautiful walk by the lake, there was an awards ceremony. Andrew and I won 3rd place for raising $625. I was so surprised when I learned we had won a digital photo frame. I have wanted one of these for a long time! I was so happy, especially since I was only expecting a t-shirt!
We had such a good time at the walk. It was so amazing to see the support that everyone had there. Angela, the president of the Southern Minnesota chapter of It's My Heart did such an amazing job in memory of her beautiful daughter. Around $20,000 was raised and over 200 people walked in honor of our CHD warriors and angels. This far exceeded their goal of $5,000 and how super is that for a 1st annual walk?! I was so happy for Andrew and I to be a part of this event. AWESOME! We can't wait for the next walk in the spring!
After the walk we got in the car and drove to Delano for the wedding. I guess we were running a little late and got to the wedding in time for the receiving line! We found out Eric cried the entire time walking down the aisle and had to be escorted out once he made it down because he was bawling. I don't blame him, I would have cried too if I had a bunch of people I've never seen before staring at me! We went to the reception at a park. It was a nice setup but way too many mosquitos! We ate, talked, wished the couple luck, and headed home. By this time Andrew was fed up with being in the car and let us know it the whole way home. Poor little guy. I'm not taking anymore long driving trips for a while!
I didn't think I would ever make it to the walk in one piece. I am the queen of procrastination so of course I left making the Team Andrew t-shirts until Thursday night. I had my design the way I wanted it, set my printer to "mirror image", printed a test page and everything looked great! I printed on my special trasfer paper not noticing that the image was no longer "mirrored" and ironed onto the only white onsie I had for Andrew. Boy was I shocked when I pulled the transfer off and it was backwards! We live 30 minutes from town so I couldn't just go buy another one! I frantically searched for a larger sized onsie in the basement and thankfully found one. I go to the printer to print more transfers and my printer is now out of magenta ink. REALLY? So I had a mini freak out and then made a plan to do them in the morning at my grandma's house.
Friday morning I got to my grandma's house early to use her printer and do our t-shirts. Everything went well and they looked great! It says to wash the shirts before wearing so I had her do that for me while I was at work. Around 10am she calls me and tells me that my bright red hearts are now bright orange. REALLY? She went to Walmart for me and bought new shirts and transfer paper so I could make MORE shirts after I got done at noon. I got there and did the shirts and they looked great again. Phew! We packed up and headed out of Rochester at 2. We had to stop in Big Lake to drop Eric off with Dave for the rehearsal dinner so we didn't get to Alexandria until 7ish. What a long ride. We checked into the hotel, ate some pizza, talked with some friends, and went to sleep.
Saturday morning was rushed as most of my mornings are. We got out of the hotel later then I wanted to and then we couldn't find the park. Sadly, we were late to the walk and missed the opening ceremony. So mad at myself! After the beautiful walk by the lake, there was an awards ceremony. Andrew and I won 3rd place for raising $625. I was so surprised when I learned we had won a digital photo frame. I have wanted one of these for a long time! I was so happy, especially since I was only expecting a t-shirt!
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| Our Prize! |
After the walk we got in the car and drove to Delano for the wedding. I guess we were running a little late and got to the wedding in time for the receiving line! We found out Eric cried the entire time walking down the aisle and had to be escorted out once he made it down because he was bawling. I don't blame him, I would have cried too if I had a bunch of people I've never seen before staring at me! We went to the reception at a park. It was a nice setup but way too many mosquitos! We ate, talked, wished the couple luck, and headed home. By this time Andrew was fed up with being in the car and let us know it the whole way home. Poor little guy. I'm not taking anymore long driving trips for a while!
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| Eric followed the photographer everywhere! |
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| Daddy and Andrew (he looks so tiny!) |
Friday, September 3, 2010
Colds, Teeth, Mice, Oh My!
I hate colds. I don't have one right but Eric does. Since little Eric is so in love with his little brother he can't stay out of his face. AND he's only 3 so he doesn't always remember to cover his mouth when he coughs. So what does that mean? That means little Andrew now has a cold. GREAT!
Not only does Andrew have a cold but he is also teething hardcore today. fussy, Fussy, FUSSY! It's so hard to comfort the little guy. As if enough drool to fill a small cup wasn't enough, he's got a runny nose that makes the cup run over. Ugh!
And now a totally unrelated topic...Dave told me this morning that there is a mouse in our garage. Not just a little fuzzy thing but a HUGE mouse (or maybe a small rat!!). FREAK ME OUT! He saw it running across our shelving right by my car. I was terrified getting in my car this morning. I was convinced that the mouse was going to run across my foot and then jump in my car. Stupid thing. I've been being extra loud while out there to scare him off. Stay away Mr. Mouse or you're going to have to meet my friend D-Con.
Not only does Andrew have a cold but he is also teething hardcore today. fussy, Fussy, FUSSY! It's so hard to comfort the little guy. As if enough drool to fill a small cup wasn't enough, he's got a runny nose that makes the cup run over. Ugh!
And now a totally unrelated topic...Dave told me this morning that there is a mouse in our garage. Not just a little fuzzy thing but a HUGE mouse (or maybe a small rat!!). FREAK ME OUT! He saw it running across our shelving right by my car. I was terrified getting in my car this morning. I was convinced that the mouse was going to run across my foot and then jump in my car. Stupid thing. I've been being extra loud while out there to scare him off. Stay away Mr. Mouse or you're going to have to meet my friend D-Con.
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