Newborn Checkup

My handsome little man

This sweet outfit was a gift from my wonderful friends, Haven, Lea Ann, Laura and Alyssa

This one is for Haven. Remember this hand gesture, Haven?

Ms. Kim (aka Jill)

Ms. Mary

We took Reed for his 2 day newborn outpatient checkup at the hospital. He weighed 6lb 2.5 oz! He had gained 1.5 oz from Tuesday, which was great because he hadn't gotten any formula since coming home and was strictly on mommy milk. We took him by the NICU to say hello to the staff and got a quick picture with Kim who took care of him for a couple of days and Ms. Mary, the secretary. Kim came and talked to me after I was admitted and we knew we would have a baby in the NICU. But for some reason after Reed was born, I kept calling her Jill. I must have called her Jill 5 times before another nurse corrected me! I plead postpartum brain cell depletion. It was so nice to go back to the NICU and take our baby in and back out with us!

All Clean!

Wednesday night I gave Reed his first sponge bath at home. The nurses had him on a Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule so I decided that sounded like a good plan. It wasn't until I was finished with his bath that I realized we hadn't taken any pictures! He is definitely the second child. With Will, there was a ton of pomp and circumstance with every new activity. First time in the swing, first time in bouncy seat, hammock, crib, etc., meeting the dogs, first bath. We haven't gotten ANY of those with Reed. I did hand him over to Brad and take an after pic and a few more when we got his pj's on. Poor baby. I really haven't taken very many since we have been home. Mostly what I do during the day is hold him. I am looking forward to getting a few good pictures for his birth announcement. Maybe I'll do that next week. Or the next...

More Homecoming Pictures

Home Sweet Home

Reed officially became ours today! Dr. Wender had told us Sunday morning that we could possibly send him home today. I tried not to get too attached to the idea because the last time I did that and he didn't get to go, I was crushed. Plus Dr. Wender's rotation had ended and it was now up to Dr. Temple to discharge him. But I called this morning and they told me he was good to go! I really wasn't even that excited when we left the house today because it didn't feel real. But with each mile that passed, I felt a little more giddy. When we got off the elevators and started walking the long hallway to the NICU, I was elated. I was nearly in tears thinking about taking our baby home! I managed to keep in the tears because (and anyone who knows me can testify to this) I am an UGLY crier. It is BAD. But I couldn't keep in the smiles. Knowing that I wouldn't have to drive 10 miles to see my baby. Knowing I wouldn't have to be buzzed into a locked unit to get to my baby. Knowing I wouldn't have to scrub my hands and forearms for 3 minutes before touching my baby. Knowing I would be able to hold him without wires limiting how far I could walk with him or machines beeping at me if his leads came off. Just knowing all of that kept me smiling.

We were actually a little late getting there. Not late, but later than I wanted to be. His nurse Charlie had him all packed up when we got there. I thought we may have to wait around a bit but Charlie was ready to kick him out! We got him changed into his 'going home' outfit as Charlie went over the discharge instructions. We said our goodbyes and Charlie escorted us to labor and delivery because the staff had requested we stop to show off our boy!

Helen, Melanie and Charlie with Reed. Helen told us if we hadn't shown up by the end of her shift, SHE was taking him home!

Our little guy, all ready to go! I did try to put booties on his feet but they are so tiny, they just fell off. I guess this makes two barefooted babes at our house.

Me and Reed with Kathy and LauraBeth. Kathy admitted me and was my nurse the day Reed was born. She was awesome! LauraBeth was my nurse one day during my week-long stay. She and I used to live in Pontotoc together and her dad was the pastor of our church. I hadn't seen her since we were in elementary school until a few weeks ago!

Our precious family, minus our little big guy!

Finally outside after 2 1/2 weeks with no windows.

Aaahhh, sunlight!

We got home about 12:30 and fed him. Brad's dad brought Will home a little after 1:00 and visited for awhile. Then from 2 to 4 I did NOTHING but hold my baby. We napped in the recliner amidst Will running around and slamming doors and being a noisy toddler. I didn't care, though. I finally had my baby in my arms in our house and I was loving it! It has been an interesting evening since Will isn't the constant center of attention. He seems to like Reed but then throws stuff at him. I don't think it is anything personal against Reed, Will just likes to throw things! It is a frustrating thing for me and Brad to deal with (throwing in general) but what can you do besides time-out and spankings? I know life is just going to get more interesting and challenging in some ways, but I am so thrilled to have my baby home, I just don't care how challenging it may become!

"Clean Bill of Health"

WHAT?!? AN ENTIRE POST ALL ABOUT ME?!?

Our big little man had a cardiology appointment Monday. When he was a month old he had some cyanotic spells where he turned blue. After consulting with our pediatrician we spent a night in the hospital and had several tests done, including an echocardiogram. It was Thursday afternoon before Mother's Day and I heard the tech mention to another tech something about 'shunting'. I knew that wasn't good. I had to wait an agonizing 24 hours before hearing more about the results, wondering if my baby was going to be ok. I worried about surgery, heart caths, activity restrictions. Much to my frustration I didn't even get to talk to a cardiologist, only to a resident pediatrician who read the cardiologist's notes. He had an atrial-septal defect and pulmonary stenosis, which meant that the hole that allows blood to flow between the chambers in the heart while a baby is in the womb hadn't closed up and that his pulmonary artery was smaller than normal. We were sent home with a diagnosis of reflux which they thought was causing the blue spells and an appointment with a cardiologist in November.

We went to that appointment and had another echo. The ASD was still there but it was small. Dr. Shores told us that it would probably close up by the time he was a year old. She said even if it never closed on its own, we would never have to do surgery or a heart cath to close it. She wasn't worried about it at all. That was a relief to hear, but we were still a little worried about our baby.

So fast forward to this year. A lot has happened. Life has happend. FAST. It is hard to believe it was already time to go back to see Dr. Shores! I called last week and arranged to have the EKG and Echo done at the hospital where Reed was to save a little money. I have to pat myself on the back for that one because I didn't think about the financial part last year. If you have never been to a cardiologist and had tests run, too, let me just warn you: it is expensive.

Anyway, so I took Will to see Dr. Shores Monday. We had the tests done Friday and Will was an angel. He did so well laying still for both tests. Dr. Shores had to tell us the results. But first, we had to wait for an HOUR just to register. Seriously. Will and I sat in the lobby of the Children's Hospital for an HOUR before our names were called to verify insurance information and such. Did I mention our appointment was at 12:45 and because I am a bad and disorganized mommy, neither of us had lunch yet? I was thinking since we had our tests already and the doctor would have already read them, we would be in and out pretty quickly. Ha! I was wrong. So while we waited, Will and I shared some animal crackers and he took his shoes off.

These feet look HUGE to me now.

We finally got back to the Pediatric Cardiology clinic and after waiting another 40 minutes or so, got to see Dr. Shores. She shared some very good news with us! Will no longer has an ASD and he gets a 'clean bill of health!'. He has no activity restrictions and NO need for future followup from a cardiologist. Such good news for our little boy! So since we will not be seeing Dr. Shores again, I snapped a quick pic of her and the patient.

By the time we left the parking lot, it was a few minutes before 3:00. So Will and I treated ourselves to a yummy lupper to celebrate!

Boy Meets Brother

We took Will to see Reed Sunday night. The NICU rules are that only siblings ages 3 and up may visit if they are well. But they bent the rules a bit for us since Will hadn't seen Reed except for a few minutes after he was born. We thought it was important that he see him up close again and see both of us hold the new baby that would be coming home soon.

The visit started out well. Will saw him and started saying 'bebe, bebe' and pointing. It was so sweet. But, he is only 18 months old so the sweetness didn't last too long.

The first (second) encounter

Checking him out a little more closely

Giving Reed a 'hug'

After about 2 minutes, he lost interest in his brother and found the bouncy seat much more appealing. Then he moved on to the curtain in the room, followed by the glass door, which thankfully was too heavy for him to open.

When Will got restless and it was time for Reed to eat, Brad took him to the NICU visitor waiting room so I could nurse Reed. When I came out, this is what I found. Yes, the shoes are off. It is nearly impossible to keep them on him. What can I say? He is a Mississippi boy and comes from a long line of people who prefer to be barefooted.

Best Halloween Ever

I am not really a lover of Halloween. I did enjoy dressing up as a kid and getting candy, but I didn't just love Halloween. But I loved yesterday. I decided to skip the 9:00 feeding with Reed that I usually try to be at the hospital for. Instead I spent some extra time in bed with my other two boys. Will was in an unusually calm and snuggly mood and just hung out with me and Brad for a bit. Brad got up and made cinnamon rolls for us and let me have a few more minutes to be lazy in my pjs. It's a good thing I stayed home, because about 10:30 my friend Alyssa called to see when we could meet up. She had planned on a lunch date for weeks because she would be in town from Memphis. Actually she asked me about it before my water broke and we were thinking I would be nearing my due date. I figured she would just meet me at the hospital and see Reed but she asked to come by the house. At 11:00 our doorbell rang and when I opened it, not only did I see Alyssa and her hubby Chris, but also our friends Lea Ann and Steve! They drove from Columbus to surprise me! We visited and then went to see Reed and had a wonderful lunch at Primos. And I was told Haven was supposed to come from Huntsville, but unfortunately her sweet mama is in the hospital so she stayed with her. But we got the best of Haven: her birthday cake! Red velvet with cream cheese icing. Yummy! Sorry we had to eat it without you, Haven.

Lea Ann made her wonderful chocolate chess pie. Best pie ever. Seriously. And I just happened to have some spray cool whip, so we warmed it up, sprayed on the white stuff and had cake and pie! Mmm mmm good. My friends know how to eat! They left the rest of the pie and I may have had 2 pieces after church today.

Alyssa, Lea Ann, Will and me right before they had to leave. I was sad to see them go but it was time to go to the Fall Festival at church!

Cutest Peter Pan ever. He got mistaken for Robin Hood a couple of times, but he was adorable anyway. And he even left the hat on for awhile!

This was his first experience in a jumping thing. He LOVED it!

Just look at that smile!

After having some fun at the church, we trick or treated at Gigi and Poppy's and they took him to their sweet neighbor's house next door. After that, I had to pack my bags and get ready to spend the night with my baby bear!

The NICU staff let me 'room in' with Reed. They have a nice private room with private bath with a not-that-comfortable-but-not-too-bad pullout sofa and a tv. They hooked him up to a monitor and the nurses pretty much let me take care of him. He was oh so sweet and didn't cry the whole night! He is so laid back. He would just start to wake up when it was time to eat and start making little squeaky baby noises and after I fed him he would go right back to sleep. I hope he stays this easy going!

The day was a lot busier than I anticipated and I wasn't able to do a couple of cleaning things I needed, but I got to spend lots of time with family and friends that I normally don't get a chance to. Plus seeing my big boy dressed up was so much fun. Hanging out with Reed all night was icing on the cake. Best Halloween Ever.