2013: A Year in Review

Here is a recap of some of my favorite moments of 2013:

January - Tinkerbell Half Marathon

February - One Year Anniversary

March - We Moved!

April - Matt Turned 30

May - I Was Sick From Being Pregnant and Didn't Blog!

June - We Announced My Pregnancy

July - 4th of July in Inkom

August - Found Out We Were Having a Boy

September - Boise State Football

October - Sibling Preparation Class

November - Tyler is Born!

December - First Christmas as a Family of Four

It sure was a great year!

Christmas Happenings

What a merry Christmas season we had!  This Christmas was extra special for one big obvious reason (Tyler), but it was also fun to have our first Christmas in our new home.

One of the main reasons we selected the front elevation of our house (besides the fact that we just liked how it looked) was because Matt thought it would look awesome with Christmas lights.  I was so nervous for him to put the lights up I couldn't even watch (my vote was to pay someone to do it).  He had a ladder to get on the roof, then another ladder on the roof to get to the next story of the roof.  From there, he was hooked into a harness with a rope tied to the fence post so that if he slipped on the extremely steep pitched roof, he wouldn't completely fall off the roof and die. It took him about 12 hours over the space of a few days to get all the lights up (including putting in all the light clips), but he did it and they looked awesome!

My mom was excited that even though we had a new baby, we carried on the tradition of making gingerbread houses.

With Kylee spending Christmas Eve and Christmas morning at her mom's house and Matt working the 23rd through the 26th this week, we made the most of the time we had together and spread Christmas out over the space of a few days.  We had the traditional bowling with Matt's family on the afternoon of the 24th and prime rib and king crab legs with my family for Christmas Eve dinner.  Tyler and I spent Christmas morning with my family, followed by visits to both my parents and Matt's parents Christmas afternoon after Matt woke up and we picked up Kylee.  Santa came to our house one day late, and we celebrated "Christmas morning" today with Kylee.

And of course, the best Christmas present this year was this kiddo.  I can't get enough of him.  We are so happy that he continues to do well, weighing in at 5 pounds 10 ounces this week and measuring 19 inches long!

 

2013 Christmas Card

Just like every year, I made plans with my friend Mandy to make Christmas cards. The only problem was the day we had planned to get together was the day Tyler was born!  We were able to get together a couple weeks later, but I didn't have quite as much time with traveling back and forth from the hospital, so couldn't make as many cards as I usually do.  Sorry if you didn't get a card this year!  Anyway, here is what they looked like, along with the letter I put inside:

What a year this has been for our family. We started off the year by moving into our beautiful new home. Building was so fun for us and we enjoyed watching the entire process. We have loved settling in and getting to know our neighbors. Kylee has made several friends - it's been really nice having girls Kylee's age just two doors down on either side of us! Our sweet Kylee turned 5 this year and is our little social butterfly. She enjoys playing with friends, going to the park, coloring, and watching My Little Ponies and Horseland on the iPad.

We had a great summer enjoying the pools and parks in our new neighborhood but the highlight of our summer was probably our two family camping trips - complete with shooting, fishing, 4-wheeling, and dirt biking. We are already looking forward to camping when it gets a little warmer.

Shortly after we moved into our home this Spring, we found out we were expecting. Tyler Michael Hudson joined our family on November 16th, almost 7 weeks early and just 3 pounds 4.5 ounces. After 24 days in the NICU, he was finally able to come home, and we are looking forward to enjoying our time as a family of four.

Matt is still loving his job and enjoys his extra training as part of the Special Response Team. I had a great year at work, having a couple large projects with successful implementations, and I also earned my project management certification.

We have been greatly blessed this year, and we are thankful for our loving Father in Heaven. We are grateful for the joy that surrounds this Christmas season and wish you a very Merry Christmas!

One Month!

I can't believe our sweet baby is already a month old!  This last month has flown by, especially with the fact that Tyler has only been home for one week.  We love having him home.  I love being able to hold him or cuddle him or even feed him or change his diaper without having to drive to the hospital.  I do feel like I'm constantly feeding him though!  We start by breastfeeding.  When he gets too tired to continue to breastfeed, we feed him a bottle of breast milk that has had calories added to help him grow a little faster.  After he finishes the bottle, I have to go pump, followed by cleaning the bottle and breast pump parts.  The whole process takes close to an hour, and with Tyler eating every 2-3 hours, there's not much time in between the end of one feed and the start of another!  Matt has been amazing.  When he's awake, he does all the bottle/pump part cleaning and also does most of the bottle feeding so I don't have to wait to pump.  Matt's night schedule has been quite nice, because he's able to help out when I'm the most tired.

The entire feeding process is paying off though!  Home health weighed him in at 5 pounds 2 ounces this week!  Hooray!  I'm incredibly happy Tyler is doing so well at home.  He still sleeps a lot.  Tyler is a side sleeper - we are pretty impressed at how good he is at rolling himself onto his side!  We're still working on getting him to sleep at night instead of just during the day.  He seems to be getting better at this thank goodness.  He can be quite noisy when he's awake and laying in his cradle while I'm trying to sleep.  He doesn't really cry, more of just fussy noises.  I wish we could have blankets in his cradle with him when he sleeps - he loves being all swaddled up and is completely quiet when he is!

Kylee is loving being a big sister.  She is always saying how cute "baby Tyler" is and thinks he must be the cutest baby ever.

Dear Tyler - [NICU Day 24]

Dear Tyler,

You got to come home today!!!  Your dad and I couldn't be happier to be able to hold you in our arms whenever we want without having to drive to the hospital.  On one hand, it feels like we've been waiting to bring you home forever since we've been robbed of hours and hours of cuddles with you your first few weeks of life.  On the other hand, with all the back and forth to the hospital, meeting with doctors and nurses and lactation specialists, etc., time really has gone by quickly.  Regardless, we are all smiles to have you home.

Unfortunately, today of all days, I came down with mastitis.  I am in tons of pain and have a fever and chills and am pretty miserable.  But I'm getting on some medication and I won't let not feeling well hold me back from giving you extra loves tonight.

I got lots of information from your nurse today.  Here are a couple of the things we talked about:

• You gained over 2 ounces yesterday!!!  That puts you at 4 pounds, 9.8 ounces.  It makes me feel so good that you can gain that much weight taking everything through your mouth.  That, more than pretty much anything, makes me confident you will do well at home.  At home I will need to continue to add NeoSure to the milk I pump so you get extra calories.  I also need to give you vitamins every day.  To do that, I will mix 1 ml of vitamins with some milk and feed it to you in a bottle.  Unfortunately it doesn't taste very good.  I apologize in advance!
• You passed your car seat test with flying colors.  I was totally wrong on why you have the car seat test.  Besides making sure you fit okay in the car seat, the main part of the test is making sure your oxygen levels don't fall while you are in the car seat.  The test is 90 minutes and I am told you did very well.
• You have lots of doctor appointments coming up.  Tomorrow you will meet with your pediatrician for the first time.  You'll also be going back to his office on Friday for a metabolic test and weight check. Next week you have a pediatric ophthalmologist appointment to get your eyes examined.  You qualify for the eye exam because you were so small when you were born.  I also received a call from the hospital today that the doctor has placed an order to have home health nurses come to our house a couple times a week for 3-4 weeks to do weight checks to make sure you are growing okay (they want you to gain about an ounce a day) and to answer any questions I might have.

Anyway, enough of that for now.  I need to get back to cuddling you and giving you loves.  And I'm guessing you probably need to eat again!  I love you!!!

Love,

Mom

Dear Tyler - [NICU Day 23]

Dear Tyler,

What a great day! My morning started with an email from your nurses letting me know that you took 90% of your food by mouth yesterday and gained .9 ounces, bringing you to 4 pounds 7.5 ounces. Wow! That's awesome!

My morning got even better when I got to the hospital and the doctor told me you might get to go home tomorrow. If not tomorrow then within the next couple days. I don't know exactly what she'll look for before she makes the final decision, but I do know that you need to gain weight today. I'm anxious for you to be weighed here in a few hours! I was seriously so happy at the thought of you coming home that I have to admit I cried a little. I can't wait.

The other thing thing that made my morning so good was seeing your cute little face without a tube up your nose. I loved being able to see your right cheek (which is getting nice and chubby by the way - that's a good thing!).

So in preparation for you coming home, you got your Hepatitis B immunization and you had a hearing test (which you passed!). Tonight you will have a car seat study to make sure you'll be safe in your car seat and can keep your head from flopping around.

The other exciting thing about today is I am "rooming in" with you tonight... which means I will be sleeping in my room at the hospital and you will be in your crib right next to me. It will be some good practice for when you come home - I will wake up when you do and feed you when you're hungry. I will change your diapers and take your temperature throughout the night. I've never been so excited for restless sleep in my life. Let's do this!

Love,
Mom

Dear Tyler - [NICU Day 22]

Dear Tyler,

Today marks the start of week 4 in the NICU.  It's hard to believe you're already 3 weeks old!  But you've sure made some great progress in three weeks.  Your latest accomplishment is taking 68% of your food by mouth!  That's right - 68%!!!  One of the nurses called you Mr. Piggy yesterday - I told her we'll take that! We were all so impressed.  You get a gold star for your hard work yesterday.

Because you did so well yesterday, the doctor suggested taking the tube out of your nose to see how you do.  The trick is that you'll need to eat enough by mouth to gain weight before you can come home (and keep the nose tube out permanently).  The doctor set a "12 hour minimum", meaning you need to eat 130 ml through your mouth in 12 hours and the tube would be removed. We don't gavage (give you food through your nose) during this period, and we don't necessarily stick to your specific eating times every three hours. We let you decide when you want to eat... whenever you wake up and give us cues that you are hungry, we'll feed you (either breastfeed or bottle feed or both, just as long as the feeding doesn't take longer than 30 minutes). Sure sounds like good practice for when you are home!  You were so sleepy during the day today (for the entire 7 hours I was there!), but the nurse told me you perked up after I left, and you met your minimums! The day nurse was going to let the night-shift nurse decide if she was going to take your nose tube out or not.  I guess I'll find out tomorrow what they decided to do!  I can't wait to see your cute little face without a tube up your nose and taped to your cheek!

I also gave you another bath today... and this time I gave your bath all by myself!  It's a little tricky holding your head up and washing your body all at the same time, but I did it! Again, it's good practice for when we come home because I'm sure daddy won't always be around to help at bath time.  And each time I give you a bath, I notice that your hair seems to be getting lighter in color.  It's turning to a pretty brown color.  Daddy thinks you'll go blonde since that's what color his hair changed to when he was a baby.  I guess we'll see!

After your bath, we got you dressed in some festive Christmas clothes!  I think it was pretty appropriate since it's December and it was quite snowy this morning.  I thought you looked pretty adorable.  In fact, I couldn't keep my eyes off you :-)

One last thing... I can't remember if I've told you this, but you have some really great nurses watching over you.  It makes me feel good to know that you are in such good hands when I'm not able to be with you 100% of the time.  When I got home tonight after visiting you, I made up these thank you gifts.  I plan on giving them to your nurses when you finally get to come home.  I can't thank them enough for what they've done for you and our family.  Here's to hoping we'll be passing these out soon!

Love,
Mom

Dear Tyler - [NICU Day 21]

Dear Tyler,

I spent most of the day with you and Daddy and I came back to the hospital and spent part of the evening with you. I loved watching as Daddy held you and sang to you. It was precious. I love you both so much.

I am looking forward to the morning when I will see how much food you took by mouth today. I know you took at least two of your feedings today 100% by mouth! We didn't do that great with breastfeeding, but we'll keep trying.

Love,
Mom

Baby Shower

This post is super late, but I still wanted to make sure it got documented!  My sweet friend and coworker Jami threw me a baby shower at the end of October.  It was very nice and made me feel loved.  I was having so much fun that I forgot to take pictures until the very end.  Thanks to Natalie for taking a couple during for me!

Dear Tyler - [NICU Day 20]

Dear Tyler,

You are just growing right before our eyes.  You are up to 4 pounds 4 ounces, or almost an entire pound since you were born almost 3 weeks ago.  You are also starting to find your voice... you aren't crying much or anything (thank goodness!) but you are starting to make little noises with your mouth when you are awake, mostly when you are feeding.  My nurse told me a little story about how when she had her first baby, her nurse told her that if the baby makes noises like that they will be a talker later on.  I guess we'll see!  I wouldn't mind that :-)

Speaking of being awake, you're starting to do a better job of waking up when it's time to eat.  You are still pretty sleepy during the day, but the night nurses tell me you do a great job of being wide awake for your feedings at night.  Let's work on switching that schedule before you come home, okay?!

Love,
Mom

Dear Tyler - [NICU Day 19]

Dear Tyler,

I was one proud mama today - my morning update from the nurses told me that you took 59% of your food yesterday through your mouth!  That's AMAZING!  There was even one feeding late last night where you drank the entire bottle!  Keep it up!  Nursing today wasn't quite as successful as yesterday (as far as how much you drank), but you sure did a good job of sucking.  You really fooled me - I was convinced you got more milk than you actually did.  That's okay, though.  You are trying so hard.  Here's a picture of you on the scale before one of your feedings.

I love how your cheeks are starting to fill out a little bit.  I'm sure that will help you to eat better!  You're also starting to outgrow the preemie outfits that the hospital is putting you in.  You are still so tiny, but you are pretty long so your legs hardly fit in them.  They'll be putting you in newborn clothes soon... I'm thinking they will look pretty big on you, but maybe they'll be more comfortable and allow you to stretch out!

I hope you're enjoying the pictures we have up in your crib.  Did you realize that your sister Kylee drew the family picture for you?  She's becoming quite the artist.  Since she can't come visit you, she was pretty excited to see this picture and hopes you like what she drew.

Have I told you lately how much I like to cuddle you?  I could seriously cuddle you all day long.  I don't think you would mind that at all :-)

Love,
Mom

Dear Tyler - [NICU Day 18]

Dear Tyler,

I have a feeling your days are going to start sounding a lot alike... eat and grow, eat and grow.  And if that's what your days are like, then I'm happy!  You gained another ounce yesterday putting you at 4 pounds 1.5 ounces, and because you are eating so well, the doctor decided to increase the amount of milk you drink at each feed from 34 ml to 37 ml.  I'm thinking that because you will be eating more, that your percentage of milk taken by mouth will probably decrease a bit initially... but the extra food will help you get stronger so that you can eat more, so I will just need to be patient!  Also, starting tomorrow you'll get 1 ml of vitamins instead of .5 ml of vitamins - hopefully those vitamins will help you get stronger as well!

You did a great job of breastfeeding twice today - taking in 9 ml one time and 16 ml the other time.  And of course, I enjoyed my cuddle time with you.  I just can't get enough of it.  I love you!

Love,

Mom

Dear Tyler - [NICU Day 17]

Dear Tyler,

Guess who hit the four pound mark today!  That's right - you did!  I was seriously so excited for you when I got the update from your nurse.  Not only that, but you nipple fed 55% of your intake yesterday.  That's a great number!  Hopefully you can keep this up... if you do I'm sure you'll be home in no time :-)

I spent pretty much all day at the hospital with you.  You did a great job at breastfeeding again - you're really starting to get the hang of it.  I look forward to the day when you can breastfeed your entire meal.  Eating is so much work for you that it typically wears you right out.  This afternoon, though, you stayed awake for an entire hour!  I really needed to go pump some milk for you, but I couldn't bear to put you down while you were awake... it's just so rare to see you with your eyes open!  Needless to say, I decided pumping could wait!  I treasure our time together.

Love,

Mom

Dear Tyler - [NICU Day 16]

Dear Tyler,

I got to give you another bath today.  I love doing these little things for you.  And you sure seem to love your bath.  You've got it kind of cushy right now - you take a bath in warm water under a warming machine and get warm blankets the second you are out of the water.  The hospital is setting a pretty high bar for baths - I'll have a hard time matching that when you come home!

Giving you a bath really is a two person job because one person needs to hold your head up while the other person washes your body and hair.  I was hoping to take Kylee with me to the hospital to help with your bath, but when we picked her up from her mom's this morning she had another cold :-(  Bummer.  That means she won't get to see you again until you come home, since starting tomorrow nobody under 18 is allowed in the NICU because of RSV season.

We tried breastfeeding a couple times today, and one of the times you were so wide awake when we started that we weighed you before and after eating to see how much you ate.  It's not super accurate, but according to the scale you ate 12 ml!  I was so proud of you!  That is awesome.  You are getting so much stronger each day.

Love,
Mom

Dear Tyler - [NICU Day 15]

Dear Tyler,

I love checking my email each morning to learn about your progress (daddy signed me up to receive daily emails from your nurses).  In this morning's email I learned that your day yesterday was much like the day before... you gained 1.5 ounces and took in 38% of your daily intake by mouth.  That makes me so happy!

Speaking of being happy, there were several people who were pretty happy to meet you today!  You got to meet your aunt Beki, uncle Bryce, and your great grandma and grandpa Hudson.  They all think you're pretty special.

Grandma and Grandpa Nye also came to visit and got to hold you for the first time.

I think all the excitement of visitors wore you out - you were pretty tired after your busy morning and weren't too excited about eating lunch.  That's okay.  We just cuddled while you took most of your food through your nose tube.  We'll work on feeding again tomorrow.

One other thing before I head to bed for the night... you have a new cousin!  Joseph Jayden (JJ) was born this morning.  Your aunt Michelle and uncle Joey are going to be awesome parents.  And isn't that great that you'll have a little boy cousin your same age to play with as you grow up!?!

Love,
Mom

Dear Tyler - [NICU Day 14]

Dear Tyler,

I can hardly believe you're already two weeks old.  It's crazy to think that you've spent the last 14 days in the NICU.  You are doing so well that I'm getting more and more anxious to take you home.  I just want to spend all day with you and cuddle you any time I want to.  You sure like my cuddles.  When I put you back in your crib at the hospital after holding you, you get a little fussy and your heart rate increases so much that your monitors go off.  I told daddy that you are going to be a momma's boy :-)

Today you weigh 3 pounds 13.1 ounces... that's up 1.6 ounces from yesterday!  You are getting so close to that 4 pound mark.  I think you are being rewarded for eating so well.  You've been more alert during your feedings which is awesome, because you're able to take more food through your mouth.  Yesterday you took 38% of your food through a bottle, compared to 7% the day before.  I'm interested to see how you did today!  Unfortunately any milk you take in from breastfeeding doesn't count right now, so two of your feedings today will have 100% through your nose tube and that will kind of screw up your percentages.  Oh well!  I think it really only matters as you start eating more and more through your mouth.  When you hit 80% through your mouth you'll get to take out your nose tube.  Let's get there soon, okay?!

Love,
Mom

Dear Tyler - [NICU Day 13]

Dear Tyler,

Happy Thanksgiving!  We sure have a lot to be thankful for this year.  I am most thankful that we are now a family of four and that even though you were born early, that you are healthy and doing well and have some great nurses watching over you.

I was able to visit you a couple times today, but this evening was extra special because your daddy and I got to give you a bath!  The nurses have given you sponge baths before, but I think this was your first tub bath, and I was excited that both your dad and I could be the ones to bathe you.  It was also neat because they took all of your wires off for your bath (minus the nose tube).  You had your bath under a warmer and then got a nice warm blanket to dry off with after your bath.  You seemed to like your bath for the most part... at least when you were all covered up!

By the time your bath was over, you were wide awake so I got to try breastfeeding you, and then you took a nice little nap laying on daddy's chest.  You both looked so comfortable.  Daddy looks forward to doing that even more when you come home (as do I!).

Love,
Mom

Dear Tyler - [NICU Day 12]

Dear Tyler,

I got a call from the doctor first thing this morning with some excellent news... You were doing such a great job of maintaining your temperature that you got to move out of the incubator and into a crib!  I was totally surprised because you only weigh 1670 grams and they had told me that you needed to weigh 1800 grams before moving into a crib.  Seeing you in your crib just makes me happy.  Plus, it's so much easier now to change your diaper or pick you up to cuddle.

You were only awake enough to try breastfeeding for one of the three feedings I was there for, but you did awesome the one time you tried.  I'm thinking within the next few days we will get to try breastfeeding before you take the milk through your nose tube. They will weigh you before and after to see how much milk you were really able to get (the lactation specialist asked me if you were swallowing or just sucking - I didn't know so I'll pay more attention next time).  I'm hoping that we can increase the percentage of food you are taking through your mouth... that's your last big hurdle before getting to come home!

And one more picture for today.  Your daddy actually took this picture a couple days ago of you holding onto his finger.  I think it is super sweet.

I sure love you.

Love,
Mom

Dear Tyler - [NICU Day 11]

Dear Tyler,

I was able to spend most of the day with you today.  It's interesting to try and balance how much I hold you verses how much you stay in your incubator.  You are in your incubator to help you regulate your temperature, and when we pull you out to hold you, you burn calories trying to stay warm.  I definitely don't want you burning calories - you've gotta keep gaining weight!  At the same time, you can't just live in that little box all the time, and our cuddle time is so important for both of us.  Anyway, when I take you out to hold you or feed you, I just try to keep you close to my body and all wrapped up so you stay warm.

You didn't gain much weight today yesterday - just 2 grams.  You also aren't taking as much of your milk through the bottle.  Part of that will be because when we try to breastfeed, we don't try feeding you with a bottle at all (you would be too tuckered out to try and do both).  That's okay, we'll just keep trying.  They did increase the amount of milk you are taking at each feeding to 34 ml (from 32 ml)... I think it's always a good sign when you get more food.  Even though you are getting most of your food through the tube in your nose, you seem to be handling/digesting the food well.

I continue to try and help with your care while I am visiting you... taking your temperature and changing your diaper.  Today when I changed your diaper, I wasn't fast enough getting the new one on and you peed all over your clothes and your blanket.  I'm sorry I wasn't faster... I'm blaming all of those cords I have to work around (although I'm sure that won't be the only time that ever happens)!  Needless to say, I got to change your clothes for the first time today.  I'm also looking forward to helping with your next bath which will be on Thanksgiving!

Love,
Mom

Dear Tyler - [NICU Day 10]

Dear Tyler,

You continue to make progress, slowly but surely.  You are up 14 grams from yesterday, which puts you at 1607 grams (3 pounds, 8.7 ounces).  The nurses also tell me that your billirubin levels are good - no more blanket here!  Another positive is that they were able to drop the temperature a little in your incubator since you are doing better on maintaining your own temperature.

Today was kind of a special day for me.  We had our first "skin to skin" time where I got to hold you against my chest and just let you sleep there.  I think I could have stayed like that all day.  You seemed so peaceful and comfortable, and I felt like I was doing my job as your mom.  You also tried breastfeeding for the first time.  I thought you did great! Sure, it wasn't much and wasn't for long, but you tried and you did get a little bit of milk, so that made me happy.  We'll keep trying, hopefully a couple times a day.  They say that it will get easier for you as you get a little fat on your cheeks!

Love,
Mom

Dear Tyler - [NICU Day 9]

Dear Tyler,

Guess what!?  You got to meet your sister today!  She has been so excited to come and see you.

The first thing she did was wash her hands and arms up to her elbows for two minutes (like we do every time we come to see you).  Gotta get rid of any germs!

I think you were ready and waiting for her, because you were wide awake when we arrived.  Of course she thought you were "so cute".  She knows that she needs to wait a little while longer to hold you, but she softly touched your cheek as daddy held you - her touch put you right to sleep :-)

I got some good one-on-one time with you after daddy took Kylee out to the waiting room.  We chatted a little about the Boise State game last night and I also read you a book.  By this time you were sound asleep, but I talked to you anyway :-)  Speaking of talking to you, I think I forgot to tell you how proud I was of your weight gain yesterday!  You gained a whopping 3 ounces, bringing you up to 3 pounds 8.2 ounces.  I try not to get too excited, because I know that number can fluctuate on a daily basis, but still, I was impressed.  The nurse told us how you nipple fed 35% of your intake (the rest was through the tube in your nose).  Not bad! The nurse also talked to me about trying to breast feed you tomorrow.  I'm a little nervous and excited all at once.  Hopefully you'll be awake enough to give it a shot!

Love,
Mom

Dear Tyler - [NICU Day 8]

Dear Tyler,

You are such a trooper.  It looks like yesterday's move was pretty hard on you.  You lost 45 grams and are down to 1507 grams, or 3 pounds 5 ounces.  I'm glad you didn't lose 8 more grams or you'd be out of your clothes!  Daddy thinks that maybe you burned a lot of calories waiting for your incubator to warm up when you got to Meridian (they didn't realize you didn't qualify for a crib yet, so didn't start warming up your bed until after you got there).  Fingers crossed that you gain some of that weight back today.  I think mentally it would be hard for me to see you have another rough day and be undressed again tomorrow.  You're also not eating as much from the bottle... you've just been so tired.  I think you're trying to get your energy back. That's okay, we feed you whatever you don't eat through the tube in your nose.  I know that you'll get stronger and gain more interest in eating soon.

Tonight is a Boise State game so I stopped by the Bronco Shop across the street from the hospital and picked you up a fancy new hat.  They didn't have any preemie hats, so it's a little big on you, but I still think you look mighty handsome in it.  Did you know that you were born right in the middle of a football game?  I got to watch part of the game last Saturday as we waited for you to join our family :-)

Love,
Mom

Dear Tyler - [NICU Day 7]

Dear Tyler,

Today was a big day for you!  First, let's talk about your growth... you gained 2 ounces!  I'm thinking it's all that breast milk I'm pumping for you :-)  Actually, they are adding a calorie boosting powder to any milk or formula you receive.  Anyway, the weight you gained puts you up to 3 pounds 6.7 ounces and means you were big enough today to get dressed. And you look mighty cute in your new clothes if I do say so myself.  I snapped this picture of you just as you had a giant yawn.

Part of the reason we could see how cute you look in your clothes is because you don't need the billiblanket anymore.  Hooray!  That sure makes it easier to cuddle with you.  Speaking of cuddling, your dad got some nice cuddles today.  And he even got to feed you.

Finally, you had your first ever (and hopefully only ever) ride in an ambulance today because you were transferred to the Meridian NICU.  Your dad and I were pretty excited about this.  It only takes us 10-15 minutes to get to your new home.  And you lucked out... you have your own private little room, as opposed to a curtained off section of the NICU like most of the other babies have.  Not sure how you got so lucky, but we'll take it!  And I have my own room there too, making my visits with you even that much more comfortable.  We're hoping the move wasn't too stressful for you.  The nurses tell us that sometimes babies will take a dip in their progress after a big move.  We'll be rooting for you to continue to make good progress so you can come home soon.  We love you so much.

Love,

Mom

Dear Tyler - [NICU Day 6]

Dear Tyler,

Today was a good day.  I got to hold you for quite a while and that made me happy.  You were still wrapped in your billiblanket so I didn't get to cuddle with you the way I would have liked to, but I know that will come soon.  In fact, your jaundice levels were lower than where they needed to be to take you off the billiblanket, but they wanted them just a little bit lower in case you rebound a little bit once the blanket is off.  They tell me it should be off tomorrow.

You got your IV out of your belly sometime before I came to visit today.  It's awesome that you're able to get all your nutrients through your bottle and feeding tube.  You continue to eat really well.  The nurses told me that yesterday you gained 30 grams.  That puts you at 1495 grams, or 3 pounds 4.7 ounces... just barely over your birth weight.  But the best part is that once you reach 1500 grams you get to wear clothes :-)  I am positive that you'll gain at least 5 grams today, so tomorrow we will get to dress you!

I am getting to help more with your daily care.  Today I took your temperature and I changed your diaper (this is done every three hours, right before you are fed). I had to ask the nurse if I did the diaper right because it looked kind of funny.  She assured me that I did it right... it's just that even the preemie diapers look so gigantic on you - the bottom of the diaper is down near your feet!

Finally, we made a pretty big decision this evening.  We decided we wanted to move you to St. Luke's Meridian tomorrow.  They have a Level 2 NICU there, which is where little kiddos like you who aren't really "sick" can go.  Since you are doing so well (breathing on your own, no extra meds, etc), we can move you there (as long as doctors at both facilities agree - they will chat tomorrow).  It is much smaller than the Boise NICU (20 beds compared to over 60), but it has a lot of advantages for our family.  One big advantage is that we will be closer to you all the time so can visit more often and for longer.  Another is that we, as your family, will be assigned a private room right near that NICU.  I can use the room to pump or to go to the bathroom or to take a meal or even stay overnight if I want.  The medical staff at St. Luke's Boise have been great, but I know that you'll get equally great care in Meridian.  Hopefully you'll enjoy your new room too!

I sure am looking forward to your big day tomorrow!

Love,
Mom

Kylee Turns 5

Last week I asked Kylee how she would feel if her brother was born on her birthday.  She told me she would be sad because she would want to open her presents.  Good thing Tyler was born two days before her birthday!  Almost as soon as I found out that my 24-hour monitoring was being cut short and that I was being moved to labor and delivery to have our baby, my mind turned to Kylee and her presents. I had pulled them all out on Wednesday and had planned on wrapping them, but ended up being kind of lazy that evening, thinking I still had a few days.

I'm thankful for my friend Jen for saving the day!  She offered to go over to my house and wrap Kylee's presents.  She also made cupcakes and she and her husband even put up some birthday streamers at our house.  I was still in the hospital Monday (Kylee's birthday), so we arranged to have all of our family come down to the hospital to celebrate.  Kylee had told me she wanted everyone to "surprise" her... so following her instructions, everyone showed up a little early to a waiting room in labor and delivery.  Matt had Kylee's presents all in a large bag and had told Kylee they needed to drop some stuff off for me.  When they walked into the waiting room, Kylee beamed as we all yelled surprise.  She quickly opened all of her presents and enjoyed a cupcake surrounded by people who love her.  And I don't think she minded at all that the location of her party was at the hospital.

Kylee is just growing up too quickly.  I love how her answer to things this week is, "it's because I'm 5 now." Like when I asked her how she became so good at drawing, she answered "it's because I'm 5 now."  Also this week she learned how to spell her brother's name and is working on sounding out other words.  One sweet thing she did this week was offer to clean the breast pump equipment for me because my hands were getting so dry and cracked.  I told her that I need to wash them in the middle of the night - she responded by saying that I could just leave them dirty until she woke up.  Melted my heart.  I love her so much!

Dear Tyler - [NICU Day 5]

Dear Tyler,

This was my first day really away from you.  It was weird being at home when you were still at the hospital. I thought about you all day and I can't tell you how many times I looked at your picture.  I would just look at it and smile thinking about how precious you are.

Your dad, sister, and I all came to the hospital to visit you today.  Too bad your sister has a little cold... she wants to meet you so badly but she needs to get better first.  She hung out in the waiting room playing with the iPad while your dad and I took turns coming to see you.  We're hoping she's well enough by Sunday so that she can visit.

Today was the first day your dad was able to hold you.  You were all wrapped up in your billiblanket so you didn't really get to see him (when your billiblanket is on you get to wear these cool fabric goggles), but he was the one that tickled your little feet as he rocked you.  I wish I had been able to get a picture of him holding you - I'll be sure to do that soon!  We're hoping you don't need your billiblanket much longer - fingers crossed tomorrow will be the day.

You are eating like a rock star - nice work!  You are fed every three hours, and typically the amount you are fed is increased every 12 hours.  Since you are eating so well (I think the exact words were you "guzzled" your milk), the nurses decided to increase the amount of milk they are giving you every 6 hours!  Today you got up to 20 mL per feeding.  If you keep eating well, you'll get to get that tube out of your tummy.  It might even be out before I come see you tomorrow!

Speaking of milk, I'm going to brag a little bit.  My body seems to be doing much better now that I'm home and I'm getting a little practice with the hospital grade rental pump I have.  I am pumping for 15 minutes every 2-3 hours to try and get you the milk that you need.  The last few days when I would pump, I would spend about 20 painstaking minutes after each pump to try and get even two little drops (if I was lucky!) sucked up in the syringe to pass off to the nurses for you. Since I got home last night, my body has started producing a little more milk.  In my first 18 hours home, I was able to get close to 40 mL for you... and it's only getting better!  I'm hoping tomorrow that I'll be able to skip one of my times pumping and try feeding you directly.  Not sure if/how that will work, but I'm going to ask the nurses!

One final thing for today - you got a roommate named Audrey.  And you want to know what's crazy about that?  We know her family...they go to church with us.  Her mom works in Primary with me and her sister Laura is friends with your sister Kylee.  It's a bummer that Audrey needs to stay in the NICU, but since she does, I think it's pretty lucky that you get to share a room.  I'm hoping that her mom and I can keep each other company as we visit with you every day.

Love,
Mom

Dear Tyler - [NICU Day 4]

Dear Tyler,

Good news!  The procedure they did yesterday went well, and I was able to hold you today after all.  I spent quite a bit of time just holding you this morning.  You seemed so happy and calm as we just rocked. You are sleeping almost all day every day, but you opened your eyes a couple times for me today.  And I swear you even smiled for me a couple times - when I told you I loved you and when I told you daddy was going to come visit.

I can't believe how tiny you are.  I have never seen a baby so small.  You wrapped your little fingers around my pinky finger today.  I just loved feeling your touch.  You have lost about 2% of your body weight since birth, but they tell me you are eating well.  They gave you some milk with a bottle today and you drank it right up!  I think you like drinking through your mouth better than you like getting milk through the tube in your nose :-)  Hopefully that tube can come out soon... I think you'll be happier.

Today I met with a social worker and a family support nurse.  There is such a large group of people who will be taking care of all of us over the next several weeks.  We don't know how long you'll need to stay in the hospital.  We've heard anywhere from 3-4 weeks up to 7 weeks.  Before you can leave, you need to be able to show that you can breathe on your own with no problems, that you can eat on your own and that you can gain weight, and that you can maintain your body temperature on your own.  You also need to pass a car seat test... which I think just means that you can be transported safely in a car seat.  I was released from the hospital today, but I'll be back every day cheering you on as you work on reaching these milestones.

Love,
Mom