Catching Up…

It’s time for an update…it has been much too long! Kaden is now 3 months old and doing amazing! : ) He is getting so big and changing so fast! The last time I weighed him (about a week and a half ago) he was 12 pounds!

Olivia is growing up (and out of her clothes) just as fast! She is amazes me everyday with the things she comes up with! She recently got to go to Chuck E Cheeses for the first time after getting all 10 magnets on her behavioral chart! She had so much fun…and so did Mommy! : )

Life has been a little crazy around here lately though….what was supposed to be a week’s worth of work in North Dakota for Wayne turned into almost a month and we have been here in Salt Lake without him the entire time.  It has definitely been  hard on all of us….especially Livie. : ( We miss him very much and can’t wait for him to come home on Wednesday.

We also lost a very special friend this week….Gypsy has been battling a heart condition for a few months now and it was finally time to let her go. It was one of the hardest things I have had to do by myself and equally heartbreaking that Wayne did not get to say goodbye to her.  Olivia did okay the first day, but the second day was horrible and she cried a lot and just kept saying that she wished she could just pet her 5 more times. : ( 

 

I made this last year for her…..we will miss her so much. : (

Last night, we got a new puppy. I know it seems fast, but for us (and especially for Livie’s sake) filling that missing spot has only brought us joy. We will never be able to replace Gypsy, but it is not realistic to think that we will never have another dog…So….this is the new addition to our family: Meet Copper Buddy Fuller

He is a Chiweenie and he is only 7 weeks old! He is so precious and loves to play with Livie! Tonight when we got home he was chasing her around and licking her little feet. She was squealing and laughing so loud…a welcomed sound given the sadness and her tears just a couple days before.

Well, we can’t wait to see everyone for Christmas! Love you all!! Goodnight….this Momma is EXHAUSTED!

2 Months Old and NO More Binkis!!

 

Yesterday, Kaden turned 2 months old! It’s really been two months already?! He’s been a little cranky lately and has been wanting to be held a lot! I decreased the amount of Rice Cereal we were putting in his bottles because it was so hard for him to get the formula out and we were constantly having to shake the bottle thru the feeding just to make it work.  I think that may have affected the reflux…I started putting a full scoop back in today. We will just deal with the constant shaking. : ) I tried a faster nipple but he couldn’t keep up with what was coming out. 

Perhaps the most exciting news of the month is that Olivia has FINALLY given up her binky! She took her binky's to the store and traded them in for a new Leap Frog Computer.  She gave them to the lady and the lady promised that she would give them to the binky fairy for her so that she could pass them out to all of the other babies in the world. : ) Nap time when we got home went horrible! She screamed and sobbed and ravaged her room looking for binky’s for 2 hours before I finally gave up and let her get up and sit on the couch with me.  Night time didn’t go so well that night either.  She cried for quite awhile but it only took her about an hour to fall asleep.  The second day was a bit better and by the third day, she stopped asking for it completely! She even brought me one that she found and she threw it in the garbage without one single complaint! I am so very proud of little Preschooler!! The sobs coming from  her room were heart breaking and exhausting but I knew she could do it! She is becoming such a big little girl and she makes me laugh every day with the silly things she says!

On a sadder note, we took our Dog Gypsy in last month because her head seemed to be sinking in and we were very worried.  Turns out, she has enlarged heart. Her heart should measure at a 9 and it measures at 13.  She also has fluid on her lungs.  I thought she was doing better since we put her on the meds, but lately she seems to dragging a lot again.  Last night I tried to wake her up to get her off the couch and it took me forever just to get her to stir!  We need to take her back before her meds run out and reassess.  If she is doing worse, then we need to make the decision to put her down. :( I am not ready to have to explain this to Livie…It’s going to be hard. : (

7 Weeks!

Kaden is now 7 weeks old?!! Where did the time go?! Since my last post, we have made some progress with the acid reflux.  Kaden had an Upper GI to rule out a condition called Pylorics Stenosis which would need to be corrected with Surgery, Luckyily, he does not have it! The noises, the choking, the coughing….they have continued, but they switched his formula again to a one that has rice starch in it and it seems to have help with the gasping and the noises when he eats.  They also have him on Prevacid now and I really am not seeing much of a difference…not like I did when they put Livie on it.  He almost always gags at some point if he is flat on his back for a period of time and he is very raspy after feedings and when he sleeps.  His bed is inclined at night and I do my best to keep him in an upright position most of the day. 

We saw a new Pediatrician the other day, mostly for a second opinion, but he pretty much agreed with the other Pediatrician about the acid reflux but also said he could have a bit of a swallowing issue as well and wants us to have another x-ray done.  We aren’t really sure what to do at this point.  He seems to be doing fine with feedings as long as we use that rice formula and keep a very slow nipple on his bottles.  These x-rays are not an ordinary x-ray and they cost thousands of dollars.  At this point, we both kind of feel like he is doing fine and if a problem arises in the future then we will look into it. 

Olivia is having so much fun at Preschool and has had such a desire to learn lately!  We do number quizzes and she is constantly asking “what letter is this” and “what shape is this” when she sees an object. She found a piece of paper on the floor the other day from something I had cut out and she said “Mom, look! It’s the letter L! Today is about the letter L!” LOL She sings “there are 7 weeks in a day”, I know that’s a little backwards but she will catch on! hahaha. When we read a story she sits down next to me on the couch and says, “Let’s begin.” LOL She is just growing up so fast and she is so smart! We are so blessed to have two beautiful, wonderful kiddos!

I recently did a mini photo shoot with the kids the other day at the park. The wind was blowing like crazy and Kaden wanted nothing to do with it, but I ended up with a few good shots. : )

Hope all is well with everyone! We love you and miss you all so much! Can’t wait to see everyone at Christmas!

Not Again…

Kaden will be three weeks old tomorrow…I CAN’T BELIEVE HE IS ALMOST A MONTH OLD! We are having a few issues and I just hope we can get them figured out soon!

Kaden has been making a lot of funny noises when he eats and then after he finishes a bottle, he coughs and gags and makes sounds like he is choking.  This all sounds too familiar to me since we went through this with Olivia as well…here comes the Acid Reflux is what I am thinking! On top of all the scary noises he makes, he breathes really hard sometimes….like he is out of breath. Sometimes he gasps and then breathes really hard for about 10 seconds. This scares the crap out of me and I never noticed Livie breathing like this ever! We tried switching him to a Gentle Formula and at first it seemed to help but all the noises came back within a couple of days.

On Tuesday we took him to the doctor for his two week checkup and I discussed all of this with his doctor. I had made a video of his breathing to show the doctor as well because he only seems to do it in his sleep and I knew he wouldn’t be sleeping during his visit.  The doctor thinks it is either Acid Reflux or a Milk Allergy.  He put him on this special formula that breaks down the cows milk proteins (this is what people are allergic to when they are allergic to milk). We are going to try that for a week and if his symptoms don’t get better within a week then we are going to put him back on a gentle formula and put him on an Antacid. If the breathing issue doesn’t clear up with the Reflux medicine (or with this special formula) then I am not sure what the next step is. The doctor agrees that is not good that he is breathing like that but at this point we think that maybe it is because he is uncomfortable after feedings. 

I watch him all day long and I am up half the night! It scares me so bad! He has never gotten sweaty or clammy and he has never turned blue so I don’t really know how concerned I should be at this point.  All’s I know is that it is not normal and it worries me! I am going to give this formula thing one or two more days and then I am starting him on the antacid because I am almost 100% sure that is what is going on with him and I am tired of seeing him so uncomfortable!

Well, other than the reflux issues, everything is going great! At his checkup, he weighed 7lbs 12 oz and and was almost 21 inches long.

Olivia loves him so much and holds him several times a day. We are still trying to get her to understand that she cannot be so wild around him and that she needs to be careful and to watch out for him.   So far he has been hit with a huge water filled bouncy ball and a sister foot to the back of the head! :O Oh…and mommy dropped the front pack on top of him while trying to get him out of the wagon at the zoo ( I had set it up on the side of the pickup). So far, daddy and gypsy still have clean records! LOL

These updates are gonna get long with two kiddos but we can’t leave out the special news of the princess! OLIVIA STARTED PRESCHOOL!!  : ) She loves it so much and can’t wait for day number two! She goes two days a week for two hours.  Right now I am driving her from Ogden, but soon we will be moved back to Salt Lake and then we will only be about 1 1/2 from her preschool. :)

2 Weeks Later…..

Here we are, almost 2 weeks later and boy has it been a ride! Kaden has been fighting Jaundice since we brought him home.  They heel-pricked him several times and each time it just kept getting higher. For reasons unknown, the doctors just kept saying, “Let’s give it one more day and then test again. They should start going down soon.” But they didn’t, and 8 days after he was born, we were headed to the NICU in Twin Falls for Photo Therapy Lights.  I couldn’t believe it and I couldn’t stop bawling! We got him there and they immediately got him under the lights, strapped on his “blinders”,  and started an IV…the sweet little guy didn’t even cry! Whimpered a bit, but that was it! I later pulled that IV out while attempting to burp him after a feeding and he had to be stuck 2 more times because they were unable to get the second IV in on the first try! Worst Mommy moment ever! I felt HORRIBLE!!

When he went in to the hospital I was nursing, but because he wasn’t allowed to leave the lights, I had to pump instead.  I soon found out that what I was pumping was not enough to keep up with Mr. Kaden. He had to be supplemented with formula along with my breast milk.  By the second day I was able to start nursing again…we had some challenges…he wouldn’t nurse for long enough to get enough food. So…I was having to pump and nurse. 

On Saturday evening, we were finally able to go home! We had to take a Billi-Blanket home with us, which is basically a fiber optic blue light that lies against his bare back.  He had to wear the blanket 24 hours a day.

2 days later, we took Kaden back to the doctor and he was freed from the billi-blanket!!

After we brought him home, he was hardly interested in nursing at all and I could not get him to stay latched on.  Pumping and nursing was proving to be too exhausting for me and finally, I broke down, bought some formula and bottles and decided to accept defeat.  I have been pumping a couple of times day and then giving him formula the rest of the day.  I don’t know how long it will last, but at least he is still getting some breast milk….I am doing my best not to feel guilty about it.  it sucks that I have now failed twice at this thing, but I’m going to be okay with it!

On a better note…Kaden got his first REAL bath the other day! He loved it..until I took him out! LOL

Well, life is great! Despite all of the craziness we are so blessed to be able to give our love to two beautiful children! Olivia loves being  a big sister most days.  She gets a little jealous now and then when I have to do something for Kaden and she is wanting something, but she never takes it out on him…just me! LOL

Thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers while Kaden was in the hospital! We are so happy to have him back home again with us!

Welcome to the World Baby Kaden!

August 18th, 2011 at 8:00 p.m., our sweet baby boy entered the world after only 7 hours of labor!

The day started out rather frustrating, but ended in pure bliss. Olivia and I stayed in a cabin in Salt Lake with Mom and Grandma Betty.  The beds were insanely hard and I slept a total of probably 3 hours the entire night! The hospital informed us to call at 6 in the morning and be ready to come to the hospital.  After a night of no sleep, I called at 6  and was informed that the labor and delivery was very busy and that I would need to call back at 9 am.  So…we dropped Livie off with the sitter…and when I called at 9 they told me that they were still too busy, but to be ready to go and to get to the hospital as soon as they called so that I did not miss my spot. 

We decided to just wait it out in the waiting room of the hospital so that when it was my turn, we would not have to drive the 20 minutes to the hospital and possibly miss my chance to get going with this induction!

So…we waited…and waited…and waited….and FINALLY….IT WAS MY TURN!! 

4 blown IV’s later and some very sore arms and hands, we were finally able to get the Pitocin going. I was checked by the nurse and I was at a 2. An hour after my Pitocin, the doc came in and broke my water and told me I was a 2 1/2, almost 3.

Things went pretty quickly from there. The contractions got strong very fast and the next time they checked me a couple of hours later, I was a 4.

TIME FOR AN EPIDURAL! Wayne got there just in time! After about 40 minutes I was still feeling my contractions so they gave me an extra dose of the epidural medication and then I was so numb that I felt like I was going to have a panic attack! The fact that my body could not move on it’s own was hard for me with Livie and was no different this time! Thank goodness that my Grandma and My Mom were there! They rubbed my legs all the way up until it was time for me to push!

At around 7:30p.m, I was fully dilated and waiting for the doctor to arrive. I couldn’t feel anything, but my body knew it was time and I felt myself pushing and trying to hold back so that the doctor could get there.  My mom since told me that Kaden’s head was right there so I am glad I was holding those pushes back or she would have been delivering Kaden! LOL

When Doctor Robinson got there, I was able to start pushing, and one big push later, his head was out….one more small one and there was my little miracle laid across my chest just as beautiful as could be!

WELCOME TO THE WORLD KADEN DOUGLAS JAMES FULLER!

7lbs 1oz 20 1/2 inches long

4 days later….

Coming Soon....

This blog will replace THEADVENUTRESOFMISSOLIVIA after Mr. Kaden is born! :) A new blog, a new chapter in our lives, and only 2 more weeks left!! :) See you all soon!!