Update and new pics of Baby Jace

I'm home and have been home since saturday..........I haven't told very many people that I am home but I am having a hard time juggling the nicu trips and my own life at home........

Jace is doing very well and progressing astoundingly well however I don't see him coming home until next week sometime........he has to be able to take all feeds by mouth and do it in a time limit he also has to be off oxygen and pass his car seat test....We live an hour away from the hospital so he has to be able to set in the carseat for an hour without desating......they will do this test after he is ready to go home........he will also have a sleep study........We have had one of these done with Alyssa so this is nothing new to us.......it will tell them if he has acid reflux, apnea etc.........

Now for the good stuff, the pics.......

Alyssa, Joshua and Austin are hanging in there...........They are ready for momma to come home, can't say I blame them.........I mean here it is saturday and I have been here since monday...........I'm ready to go home and sleep in my own bed/chair, yell at my kids for doing something they are not suppose to, praise them for doing something that they are........Have my 3 yr old wrap his arms around my neck and say "Momma, I missed you, Momma I loooooovvvveeeeee you"........to have to argue with my 4 yr old that he is not to old to give his momma a kiss and a hug good night.............Its hard to believe in about 7 wks he will be 5............I'm trying to decide what to do for his birthday........Weither we do it at the zoo or at the skating rink..........Alyssa well she is being her own self and has had enough of not having mommy there to rescue her or argue with her.......She is going on 9, she needs to learn how to do things but everytime I try to get her to do it, she throws the world's biggest hissy fit.........

Saturday April 18th

I'm still stuck here waiting on my dr to show up and release me to go home......However emotionally I am not ready to go home as I will be leaving a piece of me in this hospital.........Physically on the other hand, I am ready to go and I do need to get home for my other kids........I know that Jace is in very good hands........but still he needs to be home with his momma.......

Jace on the other hand is doing fabulus........His labs are showing constant improvement.........He is fighting to expell the co2 from his lungs......The last levels that I know showed it was at 50.......The levels are suppose to be between 35 and 45..........So we are at almost normal levels......They can not take him off the vent until those stay at a normal levels and his chest xrays show much improvement.......He can only stomach breast milk.........Not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing right now.....My milk has come in and I'm pumping but I'm not getting enough to sustain him so we will end up supplementing until he gets home at least........I really want to bf him solely until he is at least 6 mths old even further would be really nice.........

Update on Baby Jace

I just came back from having a beside meeting with the neonatologist and social worker........Jace is doing awesome......He is still on the vent but on very low settings.......Dr. Siddiqui said that he will be able to come home in about a week.......He has what they call RDS or Respritory distress syndrome...........That is his only problem........In babies who are born to diabetic mothers their organs tend to not mature as fast as a baby born to a mother without diabeties.....Not only that, I had a c/s so he didn't get the hormone that a mother's body gives off to help prepare him for the outside world.........

Baby Jace has arrived

He arrived April 13th at 9:24 pm weighing in at 7lbs 2.7oz and is 17" long.....He is in the NICU for breathing issues but for him being delivered at 34wks 5days he is doing great.......that makes him 5 wks early........He honestly looks so tiny.......I got to see his eyes today when I got to go down to the NICU.......He is on the vent as he is having troubles with his breathing.......Not exactly sure what troubles he is having (daddy knows, LOL) He went down to see him this morning when I was still stuck in bed because of the spinal.....The setting on the vent is at 25% and room air (the air that you and I breathe) is 21% so he is almost ready to come off of it........They did start feeding him but only 5 ccs at a time.......Which I am aggravated with the post partum floor about.......I requested a pump last night and got one brought in.......I am boung and determined to breastfeed this baby.........I pumped got about 15 ccs which at first I was discouraged about but now I have found out that it is normal for that amount.....but that is 3 feedings for him at this time.......UGH........Nicu didn't know that I was pumping so they went ahead and gave him his first feed........

Right now I am watching him on the tv in my room.........They have closed circuit tv here for moms with babies in the nicu, you can call down and have him placed on the camera and you can see it.......It really helped in the middle of the night when I couldn't get up and see him........

The big news is that I might get to hold him tomorrow........neither Kent nor I have gotten to hold him yet I am really looking forward to it........But for now here are some pics of the newest member of our family........Enjoy!!!!

The other news is that he was born on his great grandmother's 86th b-day........she is absolutely tickled pink........

Joshua and Shadow

Shadow is our horse.........Well he is still a colt but still.........On friday evening Joshua and Alyssa got over in his pen........A little background is in order about Shadow........He is a full blooded spanish mustang.......He was a rescue.......Just about to turn a year old in June........But he is just a little fellow.......Well it had been raining on friday and Alyssa went to try to dump the feed trough so that she could feed him for her daddy who was doing a job down south........Joshua went into the pen to help her.........And the next thing I know he comes in screaming bent over.........Shadow had kicked him......Apparently he came up behind Shadow and startled him......He has a black and blue groin, looks pretty nasty............Never knew that it could change that many colors..........No he didn't hurt the family jewels........but just above it..........I immidately called his daddy, put ice on it and stripped him and not in that order either........The swelling began to spread but by the time Daddy got home, it was going down......He just had a large hematoma from where the hoof connected to the skin.........We have kept an eye on it and while it is very sore its just fine.........Its very scary what could have happened........the kids are now forbidden to get in his pen at all...........I noticed he was out there acting fiesty but just thought he was being Shadow...........It was also right before this storm system moved in that we are dealing with now.........It started raining in the middle of the night last night and hasn't stopped yet......Its suppose to continue through tomorrow morning.............I went out to get Austin meds today and the road was already covered.......but then again anytime we get a decent rain it does that but its been like 3 times a week here lately that we have been getting rain and the ground is already saturated.............

Happy Easter

The kids were great........Kent cooked a ham and helped with the rest of dinner..........I thought I had royally screwed up the baked beans by not draining them but they turned out so good and it did thicken up...........I made watergate salad and cottage cheese salad........we also had deviled eggs and potato salad..........I forgot to have kent pick up spinach to do the spinach dish that my mom does every holiday.........So we didn't have any of that but it sure would have set it off.........all I needed was the spinach I have everything else..........

The only thing that would have made this easter any better is if Austin could get a break from being sick all the time.........I really think it is allergies but when you throw a fever in there on top of that, it always manages to kick that idea aside..........Yes he is sick again..........and to think it only started out as a runny nose.........Now he has a horrible cough and a fever........So even if I dont' get put in the hospital tomorrow for a tuesday delivery I am calling the kids dr and setting up an appt for him.........I know his ears cleared up from the ear infection he just had and was on antibotics for.......We had him in there last monday and he was fine.........but of course at that time his nose wasn't running and he wasn't coughing.........Oh the joys of motherhood.........hehehehe...........

Baby update

I didn't come and post on thursday when I got home.......things are kind of crazy around here........
My dr's appt didn't go so well..........I have gained 10lbs in a week and the placenta is showing signs of deterating (spl)..........Jace is not moving the way he had been.........So doc set down and had a talk with Kent and I........He said to pack a bag and to come back on monday......Instead of going once a week, we are now going twice a week.......He decreased my metformin (diabeties meds)...........If my blood sugars get to low, then again we can have damage to Jace and that just isn't happening...........

Lets see now........
My bag is packed except a pair of socks, which I highly doubt I will need.......especially if I continue to swell...

I have washed the car seat cover..........a small load of Jace's clothes..........Missing a shirt to one of his new outfits.........I know it got into the clothes hamper but I am not sure if it ever got out and I am not digging for it..........I also washed the blanket that my grandmother made for my oldest son, Clayton.......All of my kids have come home from the hospital with it............Its hard to believe that next month it will be 16 yrs old......Got Jace's baby book in my bag.........Got the extra cell phone charger packed as well.........I will put the laptop in the bag before we leave.......I have the 35 mm camera packed as well as 4 rolls of film...........I was going to borrow a friend's digital camera as mine is not working (thank you kids) but she is having surgery tomorrow and will not be home til the weekend.............I kind of hope that I hold out that long.........Next monday/tuesday sounds good.........I will be 36 wks then.........Each day I give him in is 2 days less in the nicu that he could have.........I still need to add socks to his bag along with his coming home outfit......Oh and a regular recieving blanket again something that Great Grandma made..........I love these blankets they are huge and perfect for swaddling..........I swear they must be a yard of material before she puts the trim on it............They are the best for swaddling my big babies........But over all I think I am ready...........I can't think of anything else that needs to be done besides the corner beside my chair cleaned out so I can set the pack n play there or the bassinet........Will probably do the bassinet for awhile..........Just because it is smaller and easier to move around over there.........Oh and I still need to call a number to find out if the travel swing has been recalled............If it has I just have to wait a bit for something to come in for me to go get another one..........Ok now that I have all this typed............I am not ready for him to come regardless........Emotionally I am not ready..........Physically I am.........Its scary the thought of having a 35 wker...........I mean seriously even Alyssa held out til 36 wks 5 days...........Clayton we born the day before his due date........Joshua and Austin were both born at 38 wks..........Austin however did have a 3 1/2 day stay in the NICU due to blood sugar issues so its not like I am new to the NICU scene........Its just more stressing..........I am delivering at one of the better hospitals in tulsa plus it has one of the areas top NICU so it could be worse............ but why do I feel like I need to run away from the dr's appt tomorrow........I hope he stays put for awhile...........I just need to get through this week and then I think things will be ok with me emotionally.........

And more yet

Alyssa is fixing to start taking her state tests..........These are nothing big but yet they are.......The teachers are putting a lot of pressure on these kids to do good.....Its stressing Alyssa out and she had told me as much but I guess I didn't understand it the way she said it.........The end result of the teachers putting this pressure on the kids caused Alyssa to act out for the last 2 wks........I never put 2 and 2 togather until yesterday when I was talking to her therapist.......It was then that I realized why she was acting out, why she was saying she had a headache, her stomach hurt and was throwing up........She came to me and I missed the signs.........UGH I am a bad mom!!! Anyways talking with her therapist, I realized what was happening and have since made phone calls to her special ed teacher.........I also sent a note to her main teacher......She is still acting out and probably will until after next week when the tests end but hopefully this is the source of all it and it will end..........Please lord I don't know how much more I can take........Grant me patiences to make it through these next 6 wks with my sanity intact.........

Crazy life!!

Austin had his 3 yr old check up yesterday........He weighs a whopping 29.8lbs.......and is 37" tall..........They said he is in the 50th percentile for his weight and 75th percentile for his height.......Just like his daddy and sister, he is going to be tall and lanky........Joshua on the other hand had his checkup for croup and weighs 44lbs..........We often joke that Joshua is built like my side of the family and that Alyssa and Austin take after daddy's side of the family..........But it makes me curious as to how Jace will come out........I am hoping againist all odds that I have a dark haired blue eyed baby...............All my kids are blonde, Clayton has blue eyes just like his momma but Alyssa, Joshua and Austin have hazel eyes that turn green.........Austin has the weirdest colored eyes as it is......they almost look like a dark gray at times.......But all 3 of them have their daddy's twinkle........Ya know with Kent being a brown eyed indian and me being a blue eyes where the heck did the hazel/green/gray come from.........My mom, dad, brothers, grandmother, grandfather (paternal) everyone that I know of on my side of the family has blue eyes, not a single green or hazel (Oh wait there maybe one and of course she is already the odd ball out (love ya)..........AS for Kent's side of the family, well I'm not sure........OOOOO I can blame it on him........hehehehe


AS for Kent~Well his tonsilectomy healing is not going that great.......I used to think I wanted to become a nurse.......however I am not sure I want to take care of grown men......they are just to whiny (then you wonder where my daughter got it from)............Ya'll know he smokes......Ok, they tell you when you have a tooth pulled not to smoke because it can dislodge a blood clot and then you are bleeding..........you would think that it would be the same way with a tonsilectomy...........Can ya get him to even slow down.........Nope....not happening..........Last night the site on the inside of his throat started oozing blood.......He has been gagging on it and carrying on like he is dying.......Telling me about it.......I finally blew up and asked him what he wanted me to do about it..........Seriously there is not a thing I can do about it........I took him to the ER at the VA (we all know how well that goes) they could not figure out where it was coming from......I made it about 10 miles from the ER and he started throwing it up........So we turned around and went back........This time one of the other surgeons came down and took a look.........(why they didn't do this before I have no clue) but they figure out where it is coming from and the cause of it..........He takes aspirin everyday to prevent blood clots (he had 2 form 6 yrs ago and has been on that ever since) anyways one of the side effects of that is it thins the blood.........He stopped it the week before surgery as he was told to.........However they didn't say not to start it back up after surgery so on wednesday he started it back up.......Now combined with the fact that a lot of incisions drain from time to time and his blood being thin........Its the cause........They said that it will continue for a few days but he should be remarkably better by thursday and if not to come back in.............Ok so we get home and the trash needs to go out.........Neither one of us thought anything about it........He is up doing that and the chores (taking care of our animals) when he starts bleeding heavily again..........He is ready to go back to the ER........I have one kid eating, one kid in the tub and another switching the laundry around for momma..........He is frustrated because we can't just pick up and leave........finally I get the kids taken care of........Get them redressed and we leave for the ER...........by that time he has calmed down considerably.........We get into Locust and I figured it out what was going on........When you are up and walking, moving, doing chores......You are increasing your heart rate........increasing your body temp..........When that happens your blood vessels expand, causing more bleeding...........As your body temp cools, your heart rate slows down, your vessels contract, slowing the bleeding........Which is exactly what happened to Kent...........I just had to be able to think about what was going on to tell him in words that he could understand it.........So off to the grocery store to get more pop sciles and bananas for the kids and back home..........Again the coldness from the pop sciles will help contract it so that it doesn't bleed so much.........Now if I can get him away from all the hot stuff that he wants to drink/eat...........Ok I think I have bored ya to tears now........hehehehe........

April 5th

I never made it back here last night to post about it being Austin's birthday...........

My baby turned 3 yesterday.........Though he isn't much of a baby anymore and only momma's baby for another month..........I posted elsewhere about his birth.........His birth was uncomplicated to say the least its just afterwards that it was he**.........The day before I gave birth, I was in the hospital for pre-op and then they wanted to admit me because of all the swelling that was going on..........My poor feet looked like footballs.........I couldn't move my toes because my feet were so swollen......They soon discovered after having me go up to labor and delivery that I had a severe uti.........I didn't have any signs of it at all.........The only sign that I had was the frequent bathroom trips but when you are 38wks pg who doesn't go to the bathroom constently.............But it was to the point that I was already overloaded with fluid and I was miserable........Then combined with the c/s, my kidneys shut down and didn't want to work, I was admitted a week later for fluid overload and ended up on powerful antibotics.........They didn't let me keep my baby up there either.....Probably a good thing so I could recover cause I was so short of breath but still that left Kent at home with 3 kids including a newborn...........thankfully my mom came to the rescue.........Austin on the other hand had his issues right after birth.......Because I grow big boys (he was my second largest at 9lbs 0.6oz) he had issues maintianing his blood sugars and ended up being admitted to the NICU for 3 1/2 days..........I later found out that it was just because he was a big baby not because of my gestional diabeties at the time...........I had wholeheartedly believed that I caused his issues when he was born but the maternal-fetal medicine specialist that I am seeing now says that is not the case........It is to do with his weight and because I have big babies without being diabetic that its them and not me.........He finally stablized on thursday evening but was not released from the NICU until friday when we both got to go to home............anyways enough of a trip down memory lane, LOL......

Yesterday we woke up and Austin came crawling in my bed and then bounced out again........I had to hollar at him to come back to me........Took him a few but I took the minute to snuggle with him and wish him a happy birthday.....His daddy asked him how old he was and he holds up 3 fingers and says "3!!!!!" with a big grin on his face..........We got him a bike and a helmet along with a shirt that says "I'm the big brother".........We ended up having to take the helmet back because it is to small but I have another one already that he can wear, LOL..........He loves having his bike however he can not quite figure out how to pedal forward the whole time and ends up putting the brakes on, LOL........And I was going to get pics of him today on it but its way, way to cold.....So hopefully sometime this week I will get more pics of him on it.......

Joshua~Well Joshua........I picked them up at school on friday because Alyssa had an appt at Grand Lake.......His teacher said that he had been on red everyday this week and she didnt' know what was up just wanted to let us know that he wasn't behaving..........We have had the same issues this week as well........He just wouldn't listen, nothing we could do anyways.......A couple weeks ago he had an ear infection and I had thought maybe he was still dealing with it........So I called the dr's office, set him up an appt for monday when I take Austin in and went about my weekend......I let him go to a birthday party for a little friend of his that was cancelled last weekend due to the snow..........And last night he woke up around 1:30 with croup, I gave him a breathing treatment and tylenol for his headache that always seems to accompany his croup attacks...........The attack continued on until after 7 this morning which by that time I had already bundled him up and headed to the ER..........By the time we got to the ER, he was wheezing just a bit in the upper lobes of his lungs but nothing like what he was experiancing.......Seriously he acted like nothing was wrong but the nurse heard the wheezes so the dr listened........by the time he got in there, the wheezing was gone........but he decided that he needed a shot of steriods.........they had to give it to him in 2 shots.......Poor baby.........He got them in his butt.....As if his butt wasn't already sore from falling yesterday at the skating rink......

I have a feeling Alyssa is next........She is having behavior issues like no tomorrow and I am getting complaints at school again.........then grand lake decided to change her appt time on me and not notify me at all.........They know it is harder then heck for me to make it over there before 3:30-3:45........They want her to miss school, UGH!!! However next month when we are suppose to be in there, I will be having Jace so they will be calling in her scripts to the pharmacy.......Already made the arrangements......

Kent is still recovering from his tonsilectomy.....He had them out on tuesday.......and is really having a difficult time getting well hopefully he will be better soon.......he isn't hardly eating because his throat hurts...........but overall he is getting better.........

As for me, only 1 month left.........from a stand point here and now it seems as if I am going to be pg forever..........My pregnancy is going great even with my diabeties........I did have one weekend where my blood sugars shot up and wouldn't/couldn't go back down...I was on insulin but then a week and a half later my blood sugar fell and wouldn't go back to normal so he decided that the insulin was not needed........I have had a few high bs but nothing like that weekend so apparently it was just something I ate.........My dr says he will see me for my next pregnancy, however I am not even sure I want another one.......I developed pneumonia this time and it was the very first time I have ever had it and it put me in the hospital for 5 days........According to the dr that was in charge of my care it was a combanation of things.......Diabeties makes your immune system low and then with pregnancy on top of that, it basically made my immune system nonexistant.......I am going to be looking in things to help boost my immune system after I have Jace just to prevent other issues down the road......I have been swelling but nothing like what I did with the boys, LOL........but enough to make me uncomfortable.......So anyways that sums up our life in a nutshell..........Also here are some pics of the birthday boy......One is from 3 yrs ago and the other is from today..........

A baby's secret

A Baby's Secret
By Andrea Leigh Brigstock
I'm just the little girl (feller)
who didn't quite make it there
I went straight to be with Jesus
but I'm waiting for you here.
Don't you fret about me Mommy
I'm of all God's lambs more blessed;
I'd have loved to stay there with you
but the shepherd knows what's best.
Many dwelling here where I live
waited years to enter in
struggled through a world of sorrow
and their lives were marred with sin.
Sw sweet mommy don't you sorrow
wipe those tears and chase the gloom,
I went straight to Jesus's bosom
from my lovely mother's womb.
Thank you for the life you gave me,
it was brief but don't complain;
I have all of Heaven's glory
suffered none of Earthling's pain.
Thank you for the name you gave me
I'd have loved to brought it fame
but if I'd lingered in Earth's shadows
might instead of brought in shame.
Daddy gave me something for you
it's our secret, mommy dear,
pressed it tight against my forehead
whispered in my tiny ear.
I'll be waiting for you mommy-
you and daddy, but and sis
I'll be with you then forever,
and I'll give you daddy's kiss.

the cost of raising a child

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140.00 for a middle-income family.
Talk about price shock!
That doesn't even touch college tuition.
But $160,140.00 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into:
* $8,896.66 a year, * $741.38 a month, * $171.08 a week. *
A mere $24.24 a day! * Just over a dollar an hour.
Still, you might think the best financial advice is; don't have children if you want to be 'rich.' Actually, it is just the opposite.
What do you get for your $160,140.00?
* Naming rights. First, middle, and last!
*Glimpses of God every day.
* Giggles under the covers every night.
* More love than your heart can hold.
* Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
* Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
* A hand to hold usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
* A partner for blowing bubbles and flying kites.
*Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.
For $160,140.00, you never have to grow up. You get to:
* finger-paint,
* carve pumpkins,
* play hide-and-seek,
* catch lightning bugs,
* never stop believing in Santa Claus.
You have an excuse to:* keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
* watch Saturday morning cartoons,
* go to Disney movies, and
* wish on stars.
You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.
For a mere $24.24 a day, there is no greater bang for your buck.You get to be a hero just for:* retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,
* taking the training wheels off a bike,
* removing a splinter,
* filling a wading pool,
*coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and
* coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.
You get a front row seat in history to witness the:
* First step,
* First word,
* First bra,
* First date,
* First time behind the wheel.
You get to be immortal.
You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!!Love and enjoy your children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren! It's the best investment you'll ever make!