A sad story

Noah has pneumonia. Option A was hospitalization. Option B was home on oxygen 24/7 for 3{ish} days. His O2 levels are hovering around 89 w/o oxygen. They should be over 94. We picked option B. I feel we had this option partly because of our *ahem* extensive background in the area of critical child care. At least there are some perks to knowing and understanding proper O2 levels.

 Here he is after a crying fit because of the oxygen tube in his nose.

The next morning...I had to bribe him to take Tylenol with a few minutes of freedom from the oxygen...NO JUDGING! It was worth every minute to see him smile.

 At his checkup today....feeling better, but still have to keep the oxygen on.

 Tonight....he is SO over the foreign object on his face!

P.S. If you have any idea how this child of mine functions, you should know that trying to keep oxygen on him is like tryin' to catch a greased pig. It ain't easy! But he is better today than he was yesterday. Lets pray that tomorrow shows the same progress.

What we've been doing today...

Am I convinced he's ready?  No.  But a couple of days ago while building a puzzle w/the older boys, Noah came to me and asked me to take his diaper off.  I agreed, as I had not changed his night-time diaper yet {no judging!}.  I figured I would give him a few minutes {no harm in that right?} and then put a new diaper on.  Next thing I know he is "playing" with the toilet lid/seat {I'm regretting writing this already}.  I ask him if he needs to go potty and he says YES.  Been there, done that, but then he does something remarkable!  I head to the kitchen to grab a "potty treat" {1 M&M} come back, and........HE PEED!  The proof still dripping {TMI?}.  Sooo, you tell me...is he trying to tell me he's ready?

P.S. He has only had two "accidents" today.....but as I type, there is something BIG brewing.  Of that I AM convinced!

To be continued..........

Happy President's Day

Did you know?

Last week {the 29th to be exact} marked 1 year since Noah came home from the NICU. To celebrate this remarkable milestone, I want to share some fun facts about our little peanut...

• He is very much like Linus van Pelt {you know, from the Peanuts comic strip by Charles M. Schultz?} He has a favorite blanket, and wherever Noah is, his blanket is sure to be somewhere close by. Remind ya'll of anyone? :) Oh, he also rocks the EMO {backwards mullet} hair like Linus. How awesome is that?
  
• The broom is his nemesis. They "get into it" on a daily basis. Don't let the pictures fool ya, this is a rare occasion where they are getting along. It is very much a love/hate relationship.
  
• He lives for popcorn! Movie nights around here are frequently accompanied by a big bowl of air-popped popcorn, and peanut M&M's. As soon as the air-popper is plugged in, Noah comes a'squawkin!
• Is very strong-willed! We saw that one coming though, from the way he charged through milestones in the NICU.
• Eats ANYTHING! Including {but not limited to} Dirt, crayons, Legos, ??? off the floor, you name it, I've probably found it in his mouth at least once.
• Has a very large vocabulary these days. Some of my favorites are fuh-ba {football}, pop {popcorn}, Ri-duh {Ryder}, buh-duh {brother} and mom!
  
• He is very much a mama's boy :)
  

I can't believe you've been home a year already! You have touched so many peoples lives. You are amazing! I love you Noah River!

Look who's walking now!

Noah has been flirting with the idea of walking for some time, but just recently decided that he was ready. He has impeccable balance and coordination as demonstrated at the end of video #1






P.S. Bedtime is not the best time to try to get footage {not sure how I missed that lesson... as they say, this ain't my first rodeo!} All this short stack had on his mind was baba and a blanket.

Noah....1 year later.

Last week I took Noah in for his 1 year check-up. I arrived feeling very upbeat and excited! I have been doing quite a bit of reflecting on how far Noah has come in only a year and I am so proud of him! But I left the appointment feeling a bit deflated, and one phrase stuck in my head....."failure to thrive."
Yup, his doctor called him "failure to thrive" solely based on the fact that he has not "caught up" on the growth chart as fast as he would like to see. In the words of a good friend of mine {who by the way is a nurse}, What!?...That's Stupid! I couldn't agree more. He is still not on the chart, just following along nicely underneath, not a steeper curve, just mirroring it. But for the record, Noah weighs more than Ryder did at 1 year old. So here are his numbers in case you're wondering...

• Weight 14 lbs 12 oz
• Length 26 inches

Those numbers are amazing to me! He is 14x his birth-weight....AT A YEAR OLD! Lets do some quick math. A "normal" sized full-term baby born at lets say 7lbs...14x that birth-weight, would equal a 98lb 1 year old....anyone else concerned?! He has made remarkable growth if you ask me! So the doctors "solution" to our "problem"? Are you ready for this?.....HUMAN GROWTH HORMONES, a diet consisting of PediaSure 3x a day for 6 months, and for me to consider quitting breastfeeding. Have you seen the amount of sugar in 1 PediaSure? 19 grams. There's no way that could be better for him than feeding him stuff consisting of things carrots, beans, etc. so we are not doing the whole PediaSure thing, and not doing HGH either, but I did however quit nursing. Very emotional for me as I worked so hard to get/keep my milk supply, and am now realizing I will never breastfeed again.... :(
On a lighter note, Noah is an absolute joy to our family. Its so hard to believe he is the same sick little alien-looking thing that was in a plastic box just a short year ago. I often reflect back on where he was and remember feelings of hopelessness and despair as it was so hard to envision him doing the things he is excelling at now! He is crawling with remarkable speed, pulling himself up and walking along furniture, cabinets, etc. He can also stand alone for 5-10 seconds. He is waving and shaking his head "NO". Saying ba-ba and ma-ma and da-da. He has 3 teeth, and a few wisps of hair up top. Remarkable, and thriving.

I LOVE this child of mine!!!

This is Seriously one of my FAVORITE sounds in the whole world...

Noah today...

-7 1/2 months old

-11lbs 4oz {sigh....}

-23 inches long

-Rolling over, laughing, yelling, grasping, chewing, and beginning to sit unassisted in the Boppy {video coming...}

The biggest Gainer!

Noah, last week you weighed 9lbs 4oz, in order to survive elimination you must have gained at least 1lb... Dunt, dunt, dun...

Would you please get every last article of clothing off and get on the scale... {flying diaper, snaps popping, hearts pounding...}

Todays weight is............................................................10lbs 4oz!!!!! You did it! Congratulations, you are safe from elimination for another week.

Whats that Mom?!

We all know Noah is a bit of a piggy when it comes to eating {understatement of the year} and lately it seems to have gotten even worse. It seems I can't keep him full...EVER! So I started him on rice cereal today. Seriously SOOO funny! The pictures and video only show the beginning, but after a few minutes, Mr. Noah was not a happy camper. He was not pleased that it wasn't a continuous flow of food the whole time. Lets just say we saw a little {Okay, a lot} of the McBurney temper flare up! Hmmm... I guess tomorrow is another day! :)

Noah today...

Weight: 8lbs 7oz

Length: 21.5 inches

Head circumference: Large! {37.4 cm}

Doctors assessment: Developmentally he is on track for his "corrected" age. He is holding his head up, smiling, cooing and babbling, "standing" on his legs, tracking sights and sounds both side-to-side and up and down.

Mommy's assessment: Opinionated, Thrives on a schedule, Loves to eat, Fantastic sleeper, Loves his binky {mommy does too!}, Loves interactive "conversations"!!!

I think we'll keep him!!!

Would you look at those toes!!!

Noahs' toes are one of my favorites parts of him! I am not sure where they came from, but they look like they were thrown on as an afterthought. When he was 3 months old, one of his nurses made some footprints for me on a cute little shamrock {being St. Patricks Day and all} but... it would appear as though he only has 4 toes! Nevertheless, I think he's a keeper!

Welcome home Grandma Grape!!!

The boys and I {and grandma Sheri} loaded up and drove to Idaho Falls to surprise Grandma Grape at the airport today! She was coming home from a 5 month stay in sunny California. This was the first time she was able to see Noah outside of the NICU! So sweet...

Look who's beginning to smile!!!

Wow, he's so...........................BIG!!!

That is the reaction that people tend to have when seeing Noah for the first time. We are starting to venture out more and allow more people into our home to see him. It is so funny to see how people respond to him. I don't know why, but time after time it's always the same, "He is so much bigger than I thought he would be..." He is getting close to 8lbs!

Utah...we came, we conquered!

Noah and I made our way back to the big city today! He had two follow-up appts., one with surgery and one with the opthamologist. The surgeon was pleased with how well his incision site had healed and gave us two thumbs up! The opthamologist was also very pleased, both of Noahs eyes are fully developed and he is at no further risk for developing ROP {retinopathy of prematurity} He made a point to tell me how remarkable that is for a baby born as early and as tiny as he was! Way to go Noah!
We also got to see and visit with some fellow NICU grads! We met Layton {and big sisters} and Catherine for lunch {in between our appts.} and got to see what a monster he is! 14lbs! He is adorable, cooing and blowing bubbles!
On the way home we stopped in to hang with Miss Lucy B. Cragun and family! Lucy you get cuter and funnier every time I see you! It was hilarious to see Lucy and Noah interact, wish I could speak baby and knew what they were thinking!

A day in the life of Noah...

6:30 am - Get mom or dad up by squawking, eat!...
7:30 am- Mom and Noah snuggle in bed until big brothers arise {and crawl in bed to maul us!}
8:30 am- Eat! again...
11:30pm - Eat yet again and down for a nap...

So you probably get the picture by now that Noah loves to eat! As of last Friday, he had gained a full pound in a week, for a grand total of 7lbs 3oz!!! For Noahs complete history, you may view his care page at www.carepages.com, his pagename is "mightynoah" by clicking on his picture. but from now on, all of his updates will be here!