Christmasy stuff

tagged by Shell-bell, Christmas traditions!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper.  I remember my dad teaching me how to wrap presents.  He is still the best wrapper I know!

2. Real tree or Artificial? Real is much more fun.  We always had a real one growing up.  Daniel and I have only ever had a fake one.  It's one foot talll.  

3. When do you put up the tree?  I just put ours up today!  

4. When do you take the tree down?  After New Year.

5. Do you like eggnog?  Mmmm yes I forgot about egg nogg!  It doesn't feel like christmas yet... I will have to go get some.  Or make some- I think someone gave me a recipe last year.  

6. Favorite gift received as a child?  Ummmm I remember lots of good ones.  My parents spoiled me!  They always got really good gifts.  

7. Hardest person to buy for?  Everyone.  I am NOT a good gift-buyer.  I need you to tell me what you want.  I've gotten better, though, being married to the best gift-giver I've ever met.  

8. Easiest person to buy for?  Probably myself, eh?  

9. Do you have a nativity scene?  Yes, we have one that Daniel's mom painted. 

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?  I don't ever remember doing either.  Now that we have a kid, we might have to start.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?  I don't remember.  I am blessed with forgetfulness.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?  All the clamation christmas ones, and then Elf.  

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?  Recycled?  Um....

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?  Christmasy things, like sugar cookies and egg nogg.

16. Lights on the tree?  Not on the one-footer.

17. Favorite Christmas song?  This year it's "I'll be home for Christmas".  

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?  Growing up we always traveled, but now it's just us stuck down here in Texas so we just hang out with ourselves.  We had a really nice Christmas last year, though.  It was nice to do our own thing.  

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's?  Dasher Dancer Prancer Vixen.  Comet Cupid Donner Blitzen.  Rudolf.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?  Again, the one-footer can't handle anything on top. 

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?  One Christmas Eve and the rest Christmas morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Consumerism for sure!!  And feeling kind of guilty because we never get anyone presents.  

23. Favorite ornament theme or color?  I'm just not much of a decorator.  This isn't a good question for me. 

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?  This seems repetitive now.  I don't know.  Probably something I slaved over all day that is super duper delicious.  

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?  I just wanted my son home and he is!!  I would also love a down mattress topper.  

26. Who is most likely to respond to this?  I don't know.  Aimee, Jamie?  

27. Does Santa wrap your gift or leave them unwrapped?  Who ever heard of leaving gifts unwrapped??? I don't understand!  Of course Santa wraps all the presents!

Ok I am tagging ALL of you!

We made it home!

We made it home!!  We're here!  

I meant to write sooner, but being a mom is some busy work!  Busy, happy, wonderful work.  I don't really mind at all getting up at 3am to feed him.  I don't mind when he cries.  I feel completely happy now that everything is (almost) the way it was supposed to be.  I've even lost 3lbs since we've been home!  Yay no more stress!

We had a nice trip back from Houston-- Ezekiel just slept the whole way.  When we left the hospital, he was 7lbs 6oz.  Today he had his first pediatric appointment, and he weighed 7lbs 13oz which also happens to be Daniel's birth weight!  That was kind of a land-mark for me and I've been waiting for him to hit that weight, so I felt very blessed that the day we took him to the doctors just happened to be the day he weighed 7lbs 13oz.  :)  The pediatrician was wonderful-- I really really liked him.  He reminded me of a mix between my cousin Brian and our favorite nicu nurse, Greg.  I was worried about getting a stinky doctor, but I couldn't have been happier with this guy.  

We have 3 or 4 doctors appointments this week.  It's a busy week for us.  When we went to the hospital today we realized we need to get a stroller.  It's hard work lugging around a car seat full of baby and a diaper bag full of oxygen canisters and monitors.  What I would rather do, though, is finnish the baby sling I am supposed to make.  Then he can be on the front half of me, and I can put the oxygen and monitor in a backpack and just wear it.  Strollers just seem so bulky to me.  Fortunately nearly the entire time we were at the hospital (like 3 hours) he just slept so that made things easier.  

I don't know what else to say.  I could go on and on or I could stop now.  We just love love love having him home.  He is such a little bundle of joy!  OH AND he is almost rolling over!  We think he will probably do it before the end of the week.  He just works and works at it, and he can get on his side-- he just needs to do that last little transition from side to tummy.  It's so cute!  He's also making much better eye contact since we've been home-- this was something I was concerned about in the hospital- he would never really look right at you, he always averted his eyes.  But now he will just stare right at us.  He seems really happy at home.  

Here's Ezekiel and Daddy on the first night home.

Ezekiel loves staring at his dragon that he got from some nice ladies at the hospital.

This is him in his bouncy chair in the NICU.  He loved this thing! 

Here is a picture of him without anything on his face!  Isn't he handsom? :)

Ok more pictures later!  I gotta go feed this little guy.  

GOING HOME FOR REAL!!!!! TODAY!!!!!

We're going home!! HOME HOME HOME!!!

TODAY!!

AHHHH!!!!

We are soooo excited. I can't believe it!! We are eating lunch at the mcdonald house for the last time. We packed up and checked out of our hotel. The carseat is all ready to go. I packed up all of Ezekiel's things in the NICU. Tonight our little boy will spend his first night at home! I can't wait!

I still have a cold, but I think I'm almost over it. I got some tylenol and that's helping me feel a little better. I've been wearing a mask in the NICU. On the way home, I will drive and Daniel will sit in the back with Zeke. Then when we get home Daniel will take care of him until I am 100% better. Our little man weighs 7lbs 6oz today! He hardly needs any oxygen at all anymore-- he often goes hours and hours without it. We will still be taking oxygen home, though. Hopefully he won't need it for too long.

Tomorrow a home-health nurse is coming to our house to help us get all settled in and make sure we know how to do everything (which we do). I will be glad for the extra support just to make sure everything goes smoothly. Next week we will have about a gazillion appointments. One with the pediatrician, the optamologist, the pulmatologist, the special baby clinic, and I'm sure there will be more. It will be kind of overwhelming. But good. Now we are starting a new segment of our lives-- the four month NICU experience is OVER. Thank GOD!! This new chunk of life will be the "take my baby to a million doctor appointments and make sure he is developing correctly" chunk. Again, not at all what I had imagined life with a baby to be like, but still OK. I'm learning to be more flexible.

Right now we are just waiting for a phone call from the discharge coordinator so she can come help us get him set up to go. Hopefully we will leave in the next few hours. The next time you all will hear from me, I'll be home!! I will put a million pictures up. And I can't wait to catch up on all your blogs-- I'm so behind! I will be so glad to be back at home... even if we haven't bought any diapers yet.

Not yet :( Boo hospital!!

We're NOT going home today. Should I be surprised??

They are concerened that Ezekiel is not gaining enough weight. It's a forever long story, but the gist is that because of his cronic lung disease they restrict the amount of fluids he can recieve. To make up for fewer calories because of less milk, they add fortifiers and formula to my breast milk to make it have more calories per ounce (they make it have 30, whereas my milk by itself has 22). Well they won't send him home on 30 calorie-per-ounce milk. The most they will send him home on is 27... he's been getting 27 for 5 or 6 days now, but not gaining enough weight. Today they decided to increase the volume and leave him on 27 calorie milk, but they are concerned about the extra fluid affecting his lungs, so, we have to stay here to see how he does. I think he will do fine. I just want to take him home. But it's ok.... soon enough. I guess that isn't the short version.

Meanwhile I got a cold, so I haven't gone to see him in 2 days because I don't want to get him sick. Daniel may have to go back to San Antonio on wednesday, we aren't sure yet. If he does, I will stay here, but no more stipend for a hotel and food, so I guess I will stay at the mcdonald house if they have room. We'll see what happens.

ANYHOW Ezekiel is doing really well. Fortunately he hasn't gotten sick from me, and Lord willing he won't. The last two days he is doing so well that he has even been able to be completely off of oxygen for 2-3 hours at a time!! That is wonderful!! If we don't end up going home until next week, he may not even need to come home on oxygen. That would be awesome!

I'm a little bored out of my mind, being sick and stuck in the hotel. I have nothing to knit with me. I can't believe it! The project I brought with me is all done except for the buttons need sewn on. It is this super cute baby sweater for our friends new baby. Anyhow, I think I will try and find a knitting store to which I can take the tram and get the ingredients for a pair of socks. I really want to learn how to knit socks. :) My big adventure today was coming over to the hospital to drop off milk at the milk bank and come to the mcdonald house to use the internet. woo-hoo. I am also hoping that room service will come while I am gone and give us clean towls and make my bed. :) I can't eat anymore pizza- that's what we've been eating every single night for dinner.

Ok I hope I'm not boring you all out of your minds. This blog isn't nearly so fun without pictures. And let me tell you, I have sooo many adorable pictures of my now-chunky little son. He is such a big boy now! Over 7lbs!! :) He's so precious.

Almost four months AND.....

It looks like (hold breath, cross fingers, say a prayer)..... Ezekiel should be going home Monday!! Don't say it too loud-- someone may hear and then it could be all ruined. I'm not a superstitious person, really at all. But it has been months and months of, "You can go home in just 2 or 3 weeks". So when you hear that over and over it's hard to believe it could actually happen. But it looks like we are almost there!

Friday we have our CPR class, and tonight we are going to buy a carseat. Tomorrow they will teach us how to take care of his feeding tube and how to mix his milk. We're working on going home! So exciting! I can't believe it.

Of course this all happened because an optamologist came to look at his eyes again, and they are looking better! As of now, they don't think he will need eye surgery! We are so thankful. Thank you all for your prayers!!!!! I can't believe the end of the NICU is almost in sight. On December 4th it will have been four months.

I'm not sure exactly how much he weighs today, because they keep telling us in grams. So he is 3110 grams. That's somewhere above 6.5 and somewhere below 7lbs.

He's breastfeeding well. My milk has 22 calories per ounce we found out (average is 20), so they are removing some of the extra calories they've been putting in. I'm glad about that. We're breastfeeding 3 times a day, and the rest are tube feedings (with one bottle feed). He doesn't have the strongest suck yet, so I'm hoping it will get stronger... you can pray for that if you're looking for specifics. :)

Alllrighty well we gotta head out to target. I miss you all.

Pigeon poop

The walk from the hotel to the hospital is one block long. There are trams running both directions in the middle of the road. We pass Starbucks, Chipotle, another Starbucks, a subway, an empty store, and a cvs on the treck to the hospital. Between the road and the sidewalk there are rows of trees that birds like to sit in. Swarms of pigeons. The sidewalk is speckled with poop. Every time we walk there I try to walk under the overhang of the building to avoid becoming a poop head. I guess last night I didn't do so well, since when I got to the hotel I looked down at my sweatshirt and thought to myself, "Ezekiel puked on me!" No, actually, he didn't. You always think it won't happen to you.

Today we got on the tram intending to go to "Uh downtown". I just couldn't figure out why it was called "Uh". Until Daniel informed me that it stands for the University of Houston. Oh. Anyhow, we never made it quite that far because earlier stops looked more interesting. We got off the tram and started walking around the Houston shopping district. It was a very surreal experience. Almost every single shop was closed. There weren't many cars around. All the people we saw came up and asked us for money. The Macy's sign was covered in more pigeon poop. Even the little pigeons looked pathetic. I felt very out of it and just wanted to get a breath of fresh air and see some grass. It reminded me that I don't like cities. We walked through a mall at 3pm on Saturday, a saturday before Christmas, mind you, and nothing was open. Then we got into an argument about wether they were trying to honor the Sabbath by having everything closed on Saturday. Of course they aren't, says I. Well they could be, says Daniel. Back and forth for a good 10 minutes. Exasperated, we got back on the tram and got off by the row of pigeon-poop trees and the two Starbucks. Ah, back to our new stomping grounds. I felt much better.

Ezekiel is doing good today. He is a breastfeeding champ. I am so proud of him. He was 6lbs 7oz today.

Thanks guys for all your encouragement and your prayers. We are just so thankful to know every one of you!!