Monday, July 22, 2013

Anniversary Weekend Part 2

Sunday, the 7th was our actual anniversary.
I failed at actually finishing this post in a timely manner...

After our rough night at the hotel, we skipped our original plan of me going to church with my friends Tammy & our sons. It worked out to give us plenty of time to have a leisurely breakfast (& even some lunch - our leftovers from Sat) & pack up for check-out. We didn't get our revised plans all hammered out before check-out, however. Paul & I left & went to Tammy's house a little before she originally expected to be getting home. She thought she had extra time & did some grocery shopping. So, we drove around the corner & shopped at a Walgreens & then headed back when Tammy said she was done.
We exchanged some gifts and visited at her house for a bit.

We were planning to go to the zoo, but it turns out it's closed on Sundays. We ended up going to Grant's Farm. The "Farm" is basically a zoo/wildlife refuge in itself! They have ELEPHANTS!
It was a lot hotter than forecasted, but the kids enjoyed it a lot and it was nice to visit.
The kids were enjoying their gifts on the way home after the farm.

They didn't do as well on the way home as on the way down. They both fell asleep after we stopped for our fancy anniversary dinner at Subway in East St. Louis... :P
Kevin ended up fussing & crying most of the rest of the way home. We stopped at my mom's place & he was happy to get out & visit grandma & grandpa, but he still cried most of the last hour home.
Amber slept through most of it. After she did wake up, I was able to keep her from freaking out by pointing out the lightning bugs outside. We had what could have been a rather magical moment admiring them - if it weren't for Kevin screaming through it. It was a rough drive, but we made it home without anything tragic happening.

Monday, July 8, 2013

Anniversary Weekend

My wonderful hubby & I shared our sixth anniversary yesterday.
Did you do the math? No? I wouldn't have either. We were married 7/7/07!
At the last minute practically, we made plans to go to St. Louis to visit my sister and a friend who's like a sister/aunt to me. I was originally planning a trip for me & the kids, but when our anniversary weekend ended up being the best weekend for everyone, hubby joined in too. I don't know what I was thinking when I thought I could have made that trip without him. It was hard enough with both of us and both kids!
Traveling down there was fine. Kevin slept about half the way & was surprisingly content the rest of the way. We made the whole trip in one shot! Even when traffic was slow in the city, we did pretty much keep moving & got there without any kiddo meltdowns.
We met up with my sister at her boyfriend's mom's house. She and her bf joined us & directed us to their favorite restaurant: Zia's. Amber was rather crabby at the restaurant, but the food & company were great. Thankfully, the lady sitting nearest Amber didn't seem too bothered by her antics. She kept telling me how cute she was. :)
Then, we went back to the house & hung out for a bit. Everyone but Amber was ready for a nap. Sis' boyfriend spent much of this time looking around his house for things that might entertain a 3yo. He had a good hit with crayons and paper, but that only lasted a few minutes.
He found a board game, but she wasn't old enough & just played with the pieces a bit. He found a soccer ball and they rolled it around a bit. Then we decided we were ready for the amazing cupcakes my sister had been talking about for the whole visit. We decided to drive separately. Paul & I had no idea that the place was Jilly's (a 2x winner on the TV show Cupcake Wars) nor that it was waaaay on the other side of town! At least Amber got a quick nap in on the way there. We went in and enjoyed some ginormous fancy cupcakes. They were pretty much dinner for us, and even then Paul & I could each only eat about half of ours with help from Amber!
After that, we said our goodbyes and headed off to the hotel. Kevin got tired of being in the carseat & became inconsolable. We stopped once & fed & changed him. After that, the GPS app Paul was using on his phone went crazy. It refused to recognize that we'd gotten back on the highway & kept giving us directions from nearby streets back to the highway. The map wouldn't update. It seemed to think we were driving backwards at times (It'd tell us to turn left at a street that was only on our right.)We barely avoided panicking, but we eventually got it sorted out & made it to our hotel.
Turns out, the hotel had some good points and some iffy features. They were pet-friendly. There were at least a couple different dogs in the hotel. This wouldn't be such a big deal if there weren't also some... people... setting off fireworks.
This was the first time all four of us had stayed together in a hotel. It wasn't a two-room suite like we like to get when traveling with the kids, just a room with two queen-sized beds & a crib. An actual crib: most places just have a Pack 'n' Play.
So, we haven't actually had Amber at a hotel in quiet a while. She's stayed with grandparents the last few times we stayed at a hotel. She's got her new "grown-up" bed at home; but it's a trundle bed she's sleeping on. No box springs, it's only about a foot off the floor, as was her toddler bed when converted from a crib. So, this was also the first time we'd attempted having her sleep on a tall bed.
It took her almost no time at all to fall out & hit her head on the night stand! We didn't even realize at first how bad it was. It sounded like she had gotten hurt, but we didn't see any bruises or anything. I got a washcloth wet with cool water and went to apply it to her forehead where I thought I saw a little bruise & she said (between sniffles) that her owwie wasn't there. She lifted her head off of Paul's chest then and then we saw the big goose-egg! Poor kiddo. At least she didn't show any signs of a concussion.
This picture is from later the next day, when the bruise wasn't so swollen.
We had her sleep between us the rest of the night. She did pretty well. Kevin woke up a few times and needed binky-retrieval services. Amber got up earlier than Paul or I was ready for and they kept alternating. She'd start to settle down again and he'd wake up and vice-versa.

With that, I think I'll pause for now, and finish my tale later. :)

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Diaper Duty

Why didn't I think of this sooner?? I'm always trying to keep little hands out of diaper mess... & I figured out that I can just fold them up in the bottom of the onesie! It's a temporary fix, but lasts long enough for me to get the worst of it. ;)

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Birthmark or What?

So, close to a month ago, an oddly-shaped red splotch showed up on Kevin's belly. I thought maybe we'd accidentally pinched him snapping a cloth diaper or something, but I watched the spot, put a little baby lotion on it & after two weeks, called his dr. She said to try putting Aquaphor on it for a few days & come in if it didn't clear up. I did, it didn't, so we went in & saw her. She deemed it something akin to a birthmark. Late-bloomer. It doesn't seem to bother him at all, so I felt relieved.
Then, he got these red lines on his legs that were clearly from the diapers... I later narrowed it down to the overnight diapers we were using.
So, we went to the cloth diaper store and showed them to the lady that owns it & got some new diapers to use overnight. After taking a few days to pre-wash them, we finally tried them. They're ginormous! It's so hard to get the covers over them! They're hemp & he can still soak them through. They're supposed to get more absorbent after more washings, and we can add inserts...
But, at any rate, the marks on his legs do seem to be getting better. The splotch on his belly, however, remains unchanged. *shrug*

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Gardening, ducks, jewelry & more

Been busy here lately. Yesterday we hosted our big Gardening Party!
Yeah, not a fancy party in the garden, and down & dirty gathering to garden! I don't know how he did it, but my hubby actually convinced quite a few of our friends that pizza & fellowship were worth the back-breaking work of tilling and landscaping & tree-planting (other planting is yet to come) a roughly 35'x20' area of our yard on a dreary Saturday. I had to run & get some last-minute things we'd forgotten or put off buying until that day & it ended up taking me long enough that I missed out on all the fun outside. I made it back just in time to track one last set of muddy footprints into the house & fix up some fruit & salad to go with the pizza.
I'm so amazed at how nice everyone was to come & help us and what good, quick work they made of the project! I think it looks pretty great! I was hoping to get out there today and actually plant the seeds and sedum, but it's been raining again. At least it's washing the mud off our patio. ;)
That's my hubby showing me what all they had gotten done. See the little plum tree in the back? :D
There's a little mini-fence up now & we're going to run chicken-wire around the sides to try to keep the bunnies out. We're also planting marigolds outside the big fence. Apparently, bunnies don't like them & will steer clear.

So, backing up a bit, in preparation for yesterday, and just because it needed to be done, Paul was trying to mow Thursday night when I started to feel icky. No usual symptoms of being sick, I just had a massive headache and then I had chills, so I checked my temp. It was 102! I ran out & told Paul, but he wanted to get the mowing done since we had more prep to do on Friday. I tried to tough it out, but Kevin kept crying and crying. That's totally unlike him & it certainly wasn't helping the headache. When I tried to change his diaper I realized my hands were numb & I was having a hard time fumbling with the cloth diaper & concentrating... I tried to put the waterproof cover on without an actual cloth diaper on him! So, I grabbed a disposable and went back out & told Paul, the yard will have to wait, I can't handle the kids by myself. I called the on-call dr. and described my symptoms. He asked some questions & basically said, "that's weird. It sounds like something viral. Get some rest & come in in the morning."
Thankfully, I improved overnight & my temp was in the 99-100 range the next day (even without Tylenol) and I saw the dr. I had talked to. He said he wanted to make sure it wasn't meningitis, but he didn't want to sample spinal fluid unless it was really necessary. Since I was improving, he didn't think it was necessary. He said it was just some weird virus & I'd have to ride it out. My temp was back to normal Saturday, so I wasn't too worried, but it certainly was weird!
Friday, I hired the neighbor's 19yo daughter to mow the rest of the yard for us. Her grandpa ended up helping her and doing the trimming even!
When she came around the South side of the house with the mower, she startled & was startled by a duck who flew out from under our "chimney" vent! She looked & discovered the duck had a nest with at least a half-dozen eggs (we later counted at least 10!) under there!
We're quite surprised & baffled by our new resident. There aren't any ponds nearby! The only idea anyone had that she was out there was that I had heard some noises outside the fireplace (while I was sitting inside) that I'm guessing were from her.
While our friends were working, I peeked & found that mama duck had returned to her well-hidden nest and her eggs.
Oh, & for reference, this is what the nest is under: Can you see it under there?

Meanwhile, my wonderful mother has been hard at work photographing my jewelry & updating my facebook page! I still need to finish some of the descriptions, but I'm excited to be making progress with her help. :D
Most of these are pieces I have been meaning to post & am glad to be getting out there now! I have one more new piece to post soon.
Here's a crappy picture with my leg as a necklace stand! Pay no attention to my mess in the background please! Getting in on the whole ombré trend...

I also got some other art projects done & started with the kids, inspired by this: http://pinterest.com/pin/211176670000214352/
Mine are just on paper so far & not so cool, but they're cuter (to me) because they're my kids' hand- & footprints! ;)

Monday, May 20, 2013

Feeling thoughtful

As in, full of thoughts!
I have lots on my mind this evening and I'm not sure where to start, but I do want to write more in general.
One thing I've been thinking about a lot, but not really acting on, is this blog post and all that it's talking about. I think we do a lot better than most Americans when it comes to expenses & finances in general. We don't have much debt; we buy, borrow & inherited lots of used things; we use coupons for grocery & other shopping & take advantage of deals where we can. We are gardening, using cloth diapers and I'm breastfeeding. All of those have financial and other benefits. They aren't without their costs, though. Mainly: time.
Sometimes I read things like the blog post linked above and I think of how much less we could be spending (money) on various things. My hubby points out the time trade-off for many of these things. The cloth diapers, for example, mean that diaper changes take a little longer and laundry takes a little longer. Since I'm a stay-at-home-mom, we decided the time investment was worth the financial pay-off. Hubby isn't all gung-ho for them, but is happy to be saving money.
That's where I am on a lot of things. There are few issues I take a very strong stance on, the rest of the time I'm trying to find a balance.
We're still doing many of the things we're doing rather selfishly, to save money, and not as good stewards of this nation or planet; though that is a happy side-effect of much of it. Sometimes I see or hear/read something that gets me really motivated to change in one way or another, like the blog post linked above, but I go back to wanting a moderate amount of little luxuries as well.
If this blog post seems a little wishy-washy and haphazard... that's just because that's the way my brain works... or doesn't, depending on your perspective. ;)

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Clutter busting

Well, I got all the stuff dropped off for the garage sale. There's a few things I could have added, but maybe we'll have our own garage sale after lil' K has outgrown some more clothes. Not in the pics below, but donated to the garage sale were another pair of black dress shoes, pet grooming kit, a bag full of bottles & binkies & such, a couple little novelty picture frames and a seat-belt adjuster thing...
I was SO happy when the lady in charge said we didn't have to price the clothing individually! That was what I was really dreading, so the rest wasn't so bad. I had no idea what to put on the bag of bottles & stuff, so I just put "make an offer." Pricing the rest wasn't too bad.
Then I took the kiddos to Steak 'n' Shake. Amber bounced around in her seat like a ping pong ball! I'm glad we got her in a set that wasn't adjacent to anyone else, the people behind me got to hear a near constant stream of "Amber, sit down, sit up, get back in your seat, get off the floor, sit up and eat..." and so on... Ugh.
Trying to get both kiddos to nap now so I can fold the laundry and get coupons ready for Paul to go shopping.
Edit: I did a little extra clutter-busting. My friend came to visit & mentioned that she was collecting Box Tops for Education for something, so I gave her all ours (since we've been collecting for a while & some were expired/expiring & Amber's still not in school)and since she works at the library that's having a donation collection for a book sale, I gave her a bunch of books that we were trying to sell. So, I don't have a pic of the box tops, but I can post a pic of the books later.
Edit: Books (Now or soon available at the B public library, except for "Broken Prey," which my FIL took.)

Monday, May 6, 2013

Blarg! How do you price for garage sales?

The moms' group I'm in is having a group garage sale this weekend, and we'll be donating our items & all the profit will go to pay for the groups expenses. We have to price all our own stuff though. I HATE pricing stuff... & this is why we have to price our own stuff, everyone hates pricing stuff & nobody wants to get stuck pricing ALL of it. I understand... that said, do you have any tips on how you price things? A few of us would like to do some blanket pricing, like "everything in this box is $1" but I'm afraid if it's not consistent, it might be an issue. Plus, since I personally won't be profiting from any of the stuff, I don't really care how it's priced. Paul's Ok with us not profiting personally, he's just happy to get some clutter out of the house.

So, that's the basket of clothes I'm donating that I mentioned in my earlier post about the decluttering challenge. I'll try to photograph some of the other things & if you're interested, email me at frau_innis (at) yahoo (dot) com.

Shoes - women's 7.5 or 7

Both boxes contain the lights pictured on the top one.

(Ugh! It rotated my pic!) Both boxes contain what's pictured - practically unused in both cases!

A whole box of unused furnace filters - we accidentally got the wrong size & couldn't or didn't want to bother with returning them.

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Day 1 - Clutter Busting Challenge

So, I'm wanting to follow along with MoneySavingMom.com's Clutter Busting Challenge and I have more than 7 thing ready to go already... in fact I got rid of a few things a few days ago, but brought in at least as many in return, so that hardly counts.
A friend was getting rid of clothes & I wanted to as well, so we traded. Two of the shirts she had from someone else were too big for me & she's a seamstress by trade, so she's altering them for me & I'm going to alter a necklace for her & let her raid my fabric stash. :D
Argh, I can't upload my pic right now. Anyway, imagine a laundry basket full of clothes that I'm going to donate to a group fundraising garage sale.
It was supposed to be this weekend, but the lady who was going to host it had a death in the family, so it's post-poned. I'm relieved, actually. I could use the extra time to get ready.
I'll check in tomorrow with some of the other things I've set aside for the garage sale.

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Just a Little Update

Just noticed I'd missed a comment on my last post & it'd been over a month ago, so I thought I'd check in!
My kids are still growing like crazy, especially my son! He's about 14lbs now & not yet 3 months old! Nights are starting to go better, generally, as he tends to sleep through the night. :)
My mom's been doing great with her new business venture: PJ's Place. So, I asked if she'd be willing to help me out with my jewelry. She said yes & she's been photographing the pieces I've had done for a while and been meaning to list on my Etsy page. She's going to help with the actual listing and my facebook page.

So, I've noticed a major trend on Pinterest & other sites... everybody's into Ombré!
So, I had a little fun on Thursday when I realized I had a LOT of different brown/tan nail polishes. I've always liked kinda different colors, but I didn't realize I'd acquired so many browns... so I managed to paint my nails this way... pardon my messy edges.


I've also been working on a new ombré necklace. Right now it's half-finished. It'll be four matching strands (with a clasp) when it's finished:

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Central IL Etsians & my Family Update

I've stepped down, so I'm no longer Team Captain of the Central IL Etsians. I (finally) had another team member step up & volunteer so I could focus on my growing little family. :D
I'm so happy! I feel such relief! I've been feeling so guilty for neglecting the group & not helping make it all that it could be. I'm hoping our new leader will be up to the task, and I believe she will be!

In other news, little Kevin is growing like a weed! Both of my kids are. They're both getting into size 3s... him in 3month clothes (while only 6 weeks old!) and she in 3T (shirts anyway, pants are still too long - and she's been 3 since the end of last year)...
He's a good baby & she's a good helper. I'm tired a lot trying to keep up with them... and trying to get some time to myself. I was "bad" again last night & stayed up too late finishing a book. Of course, that meant it was one of those nights that he didn't sleep as well as usual. I don't think I slept more than 2hrs at a time. Bleh. Most nights he puts in a 6hr stretch, or at least four... and he did put in a 3-4hr stretch at the beginning, but I was reading. Then, late in the morning he did another longer stretch, but I had to go help Amber.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Baby Kevin has arrived!

I had my baby boy yesterday (1/28) at 8:41am after about 5hrs of labor. He was 21ins long & just 1oz shy of being 9lbs even!
Despite being nearly 2lbs heavier, his delivery was a lot easier than his sister's! :)
So far, he's a great baby & I'm doing quite well. :D

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Baby Gracie Update

SO, I can't remember if I shared on here, but I'm going to put it out there for the few of you who don't follow me on facebook.
One of my 1st cousins got pregnant about the same time I did. Her official due date was the day after mine. She was excited to find out that she was having a girl this time. She has a little boy a bit older than Amber. She was not excited, however, to find out not all was well with her little girl. She went to two specialists & they both agreed, the little girl has poly-cystic kidney disease. Her kidneys are twice the size they're supposed to be. She's guaranteed to need a kidney transplant at some point in her life, whether it's pretty much immediately or if she'll make it to her teen or adult years before she needs it remains to be seen.
The immediate concern is that the over-large kidneys wouldn't allow her lungs to develop properly.
She was delivered today (15 days early) via planned C-section (due to the complications) and was born breathing, but stopped & was intubated. We're waiting to hear more.
For those of you who are so inclined, prayers & good thoughts are greatly appreciated!!

No news on my little boy, but I have been extra-extra grateful for his apparent health & vitality.

Gracie Update - She is on the ventilator. They said it would be days before they will know something. They have spent the last hour running tests and we will just have to hang tight for answers. Jenn and Brent were on their way in to meet their daughter a few minutes ago.

Another cousin, Gracie's aunt, posted this about an hour ago(6:40ish): "Just saw the most beautiful baby girl. She opened her eyes, she acted annoyed with the ventilator tube and she was furrowing her eyebrows and trying to use that little tongue to push out her tube. With that spunky attitude, she is bound to be a fighter! Keep praying-I need to be able to hold that little girl in my arms. The hardest thing ever was only being able to look."

Gracie's mom just posted a pic of her (7:50ish) & said "Grace's first breath took ours away ♥ she looks just like her daddy and brother ♥ "

An update from last night from Gracie's dad: "Ok one more quick update before this night comes to a close. Unfortunately we do not know a whole lot of information at this time. She was born at 8:36 this morning, she was screaming pretty good. She wore out after a few minutes so they decided to go ahead and put her on a breathing machine. She is still on the breathing machine at this time. Not much has changed at this point. They're going to run all kinds of tests in the morning. Everything is still very much pins and needles hour by hour. They're still trying to get her breathing figured out. We do know she is a fighter as she gets very fiesty and has pulled out an IV already. So once again thanks again to everyone for the visits and messages and prayers and support. The nurses couldn't believe how many visitors she has had. Jenn and I are so overcome with all the support we have received. If you have anymore prayers left though we will still take them."

1/12/13- Update from Gracie's dad: Not much to update today. She has not gotten better but also has not gotten worse. She is still using the ventilator quite a bit but they have turned down the amount of breaths it is taking for her. The doctors cannot really give us any type of prognosis at this point as all we can really do is wait and hope she gets stronger and that her organs are healthy enough to get her through. We have a monster of a fight ahead of us and again cannot express enough how grateful we are for all the messages, prayers and visits. Jenn is doing very well. She is up and moving around on her own. Thanks again everyone it really does mean the world to us.

2:30pm - Gracie is doing much better than they had expected... She has taken over a lot of her breathing and tomorrow they expect to take out both tubes for the air pockets! They keep adjusting the ventilator down so that she can do more of the work!

~7pm - From Gracie's mom: "Tomorrow is going to be a bitter/sweet day...getting to finally leave this hospital and uncomfy bed, but having to leave our little girl behind....we know she is in AMAZING hands though!!! We got all checked in at the Ronald McDonald House, so we are thankful we can be right across the street, and not 45+ mins away from Grace. Dr said that Gracie is moving in a positive direction!!! I am just praying I can finally hold my baby girl tomorrow or at least sometime soon, I wanna kiss that face of hers ♥"
~10pm- From Gracie's dad: "Today seems to have been a pretty positive day. The Dr.s are still slowly turning down the ventilator. She has two chest tubes that hopefully they are going to take out tomorrow. Which means Jenn and I will finally be able to hold our little girl. The Dr. said she seems to be moving in a positive direction. So we have a little momentum to build off of. Jenn looks to be discharged tomorrow. We have checked in at the Ronald Mcdonald house and will be staying there for a while. Still fighting still praying. Thanks again to everyone. You will never know how much the support means to us."

1/13/13 - From Gracie's dad: "Today's Dr. Update: Spoke with the Dr. this morning. He actually said she looks great. Which coming from him is a pretty awesome statement as he does not beat around or sugar coat things. They just finished taking both of her chest tubes out. She is still on the ventilator but it is way down from where we started as well as she is ok with room level oxygen now. Jenn and I have an appointment at noon to get to hold her for the first time. Pretty excited for that. The Dr. is also hoping to try taking the ventilator out tomorrow. Amazing things are happening. Jenn should be discharged sometime today. Again and again I cannot thank everyone for all the support we have received."

Later - From Gracie's Dad, Brent: "Trying to get some laundry done. Finally got to hold my baby girl this evening. Jenn got the first try earlier today, but I got to stare into her eyes all evening during my turn. We're all settled at the Ronald Mcdonald house now. Dr. said if her numbers stay stable they will try taking out the ventilator. Which is exciting and scary all at once. Hopefully we can keep this good momentum train a rolling. "

Jenn wrote, "First family photo, and NO we are not missing anyone, Grant [Big brother] is behind Brent! hahah He was shy"

1-14-13 - Update from Aunt Chrissy: "Look who is testing out being tube free!"
In response to a friend asking how every thing is going, Jenn says, "really good...brents holding her now!! Staceys moms is our nurse today!!!b love her!! they still have a few concerns with kidneys..but the specialist comes wed!! she is holding her own and they are taking the top off the bed and if she can stand that with out help she can move to open crib!!!"

From Brent: "Todays official update: I believe today is the first time I have ever cried tears of joy. We walked into the NICU to see our baby girl with no ventilation tube. Nothing in her now except an IV which they hope to take out tomorrow. Got to hold her again this morning and I can tell I am already her favorite. Tomorrow Dr hopes to take the IV out and begin regular feeding. Maybe even put her in an open crib. Right now she just has the roof off of her little house. It is amazing how far we have come in such a short time. We are not out of the woods yet but have made an amazing improvement. Again and again and again I cannot thank everyone enough for all the prayers and support and help we have received. We are surrounded by awesome people."

1/17/13 - Gracie was checked by the kidney specialist yesterday, Brent's brief update said "Dr said graces kidneys are fine for now. Will have to monitor the closely tho. She ate good this evening and got moved to a big girl crib. We are moving right along"
:D

Oh my goodness! It doesn't get much better than this! Gracie's other aunt, Becky, posted this:


1/17/13 - From Brent; "Not much to report today. No news is good news right now. Grace ate well all day. She has been running hi blood pressure which is pretty common with the disease. So Dr will be looking into treating that. Still hasnt mentioned going home yet but hopefully soon. Still moving in a positive direction. Pretty lucky to have no setbacks so far. Day by day. We shall see what tomorrow brings."

1/18/13 - From Brent: "another not much to report day. still trying to work on eating. she is getting better but her little body just gets tired and wants to go back to sleep. dr wants her to be eating more per feeding before we can get out of here. we shall see what tomorrow brings."

1/27/13 - Baby Gracie needs your prayers again. I'm not sure what's going on, just that she's "taken a step backwards" & is still in the NICU. Meanwhile... Kevin is apparently not interested in sharing his B-day with Grandma P., despite my efforts. :/

From Brent: "Haven't updated for a while so figured I better. Unfortunately the last couple days have not been our best. On Friday they decided to go ahead and put a feeding tube In her. She was getting to exhausted from bottle feeding lost some color and had no energy. Over the next day she started to lose interest in feeding at all and became very lethargic. She also started having trouble maintaining proper oxygen levels. So she now has a small flow of oxygen. She looked much better today but still seemed to have difficulty catching her breath. After some tests the dr decided her heart was not functioning properly to which the cardiologist wanted her transferred to St. Louis. The dr here convinced him that was not yet necessary as he felt her intermittent blood pressure was causing the heart problem and wanted to start meds for that to which her kidney specialist did not want to start in fear of the effect to the kidneys. Long story short we are trying the Blood pressure med and praying that fixes the heart problem but doesn't hurt the kidneys to much. She also is back on an iv and no longer feeding with milk. just getting nutrients from the iv. And that's where we sit at this very moment. All prayers will definitely be appreciated."

From Jenn's comment on one of her pics last night (1/28/13)- we were starting to get worried she went from eating and acting fine to not eating and needing oxygen..but sunday night the dr faught for her to get an eco of the heart and thank god he did...bc they found out her heart was getting overworked..so starting blood pressure meds to see if that helps...so fingers crossed it does!! She looked sooo good today compared to yesterday!

Took me a bit to catch up on that, because (as you can see from my other post, I was busy on Monday having my own baby! ;)

2/1/13 - From Gracie's aunt Chrissy, in response to a Q about how she was doing - "Back on a feeding tube and a little oxygen....she's on bp [blood pressure medicine because it was straining her heart and she was getting too tired to eat, etc....so no talk of going home yet, and we are now past the three week mark "

Later that evening, from Brent - "Still doing battle at the NICU here in springfield. Things seem to be progressing in a positive direction at the moment. Back to regular feeding some from the bottle some from a feeding tube. Hopefully she will get stronger and build her lungs up and be able to breathe a little easier. She is back to being a pretty responsive baby and has her sassy attitude back. She also just got new twin neighbors as her old neighbor got to go home. Learned some pretty interesting info from her genetic test as well apparently she has 3 variants that have never been discovered. So now lucky Jenn and I get free blood tests to find out more. Yipeeeeeee! Thanks to everyone for all the support it means more than you will ever know. Please feel free to come visit anytime as we are here all the time and enjoy visiting. Maybe someday we will get out of here :)"

2/2/13 - I got really worried for a second reading Jenn's status, but I think it's a good thing overall. ;)
She says- "VERY sad day for this mamma :(...my baby girl is almost to big for newborn clothes and she has not even been home to wear what is there...guess its time to stock up on bigger sizes"



2/3/13 - From Jenn - "What a great morning with my baby girl! Let the boys have the morning to sleep in, came to see Grace and she was feeding tube free!! Also, fed her and she had that bottle done in less than ten mins and after she stayed awake the whole time to bond with mamma! My baby girl is back and better than ever!!!"

2/10/13 - After exactly one month in the NICU, baby Gracie is coming home! :D


My aunt, baby Gracie's grandma, made a video for her. :) [Edit: I'm not sure who made it... as I see other family members post each one has a diff credit. I think it was Brent's step-mom.]