MY BLESSING DAY...
3-30-2008





You all wish you could do this to his fat cheeks....haha.

Daddy and Ryder.

Ryder's great grandpa Jones.

right before my blessing.

cute.

simply adorable!

Thank you Lenard and Michelle for this adorable outfit!!

Lil' Rocker...

Thank you auntie Pam and Girls for this cute outfit!!

Someday I'll play like daddy...

I'm so surprised Greg and I haven't got gray hairs from lil' Ryder! haha. jk. I haven't updated lately because Ryder has been sick. ( I know it stinks!!!) Fortunately Dr. Leavitt said as of now, it's just a head cold. He's all stuffed up and miserable, but he's made it through MUCH worse! As much as our little man has been through, I feel so bad that he's having to go through this now. I hate it when I have to suction his little nose....He screams, which I know every kid does....but I think it reminds him of the annoying/painful CPAP(oxygen) he had on his nose in the NICU....which he has scars on his nostrils from the CPAP tearing at his lil' nose....poor guy! I seriously almost cried suctioning his nose, because I feel he's been through enough pain from the NICU. UGH, what can you do? You just have to be grateful for the fact it's just a head cold...and not RSV....knock on wood!

I'll update with pics this weekend, when he gets to meet his grandpa Page, and finally be held by granny Rosaline! and when he gets blessed this weekend : ) We decided to keep it little, just grandparents and Greg and I, so sorry to all of you that would've liked to come. We just feel it's better for his fragile health.

Ryder is doing still doing well, although he gave us a scare at home on monday....naughty boy! jk. Monday he had his first Dr visit which went great, but he got a shot...and blood tested for iron level. The blood test came back as expected saying his hemoglobin was low(due to all the blood taken in the NICU, that's why he had 2 blood tranfusions) They take so much for testing he can't produce more fast enough....which is normal for these lil' preemies....anyways, he's pretty anemic, which means we had to double up on his Iron ( poor kid, it makes him gassy! and hurts his belly)

The Scare was later at night, he slept for like 5 hours straight (thanks to his vaccine he got that day mixed with him being anemic), and I had to wake him to eat. After the first couple of sucks he was so weak he had no energy to remember to breathe...so he turned blue real quick....The NICU mom in me knew exactly what to do....stay calm, and quickly stimulate him and try to make him cry....so I did...it was about 20 to 30 seconds of no breathing!! I got him to cry....and went and got Greg and my mom and dad (we are staying with them right now, which is such a blessing!) They gave him a blessing...and I decided to take him to the ER....so we packed him up...and when we got to the ER parking lot, I decided maybe I shouldn't expose him to all the sick people....after all I knew what to do for him if it happened again...I then fed him a bottle in the ER parking lot, figuring if he stopped breathing again, and if I couldn't get him to breathe again, I'd run in with him and get him medical help.



Well what do ya know?! the kid woke up crying for food....he was weak but hungry. So I carefully fed him, and he drank what he needed without turning blue. Then we took him home, and he slept on my chest in a chair, so I knew he was breathing and ok. I took him to the DR Tuesday and Dr Leavitt (who is amazing!) Decided he wanted Ryder on a Apnea monitor...just to see what his breathing, and heart rate are doing...Ryder now has a monitor on and doesn't mind it, and neither do I. I can leave him in his crib, swing, or carseat and not worry about apnea problems.


I'm not going to lie, it scared me a bit...mostly because in the NICU I watched him turn blue, white, gray....so many times! I'd have to walk away watching Dr's, nurses, res. therapists hovering over him trying to get him breathing again. Many of those times I thought he was gone, or not going to make it. Several times when he stopped breathing stimulation didn't work, and his stats quickly dropped lower and lower...so they had to throw oxygen on and pump the bag (basically CPR) So when this incident happened Monday I had flash backs and it was tough.

To all the mom's you'll enjoy this....he has mixed up his nights and days...he's awake ALL night, and sleeps ALL day!!!! My mom says all babies do that during major growth spurt times....and he's def doing that now! ugh.

Thats one major blessing, staying with my mom and dad and Rob....anytime I need a break, I don't even need to ask....they come and take him from me and tell me to sleep. My parents work in an office attached to their house, and just work with him in their arms, or leave him in a swing. ( they are living it up!) In the mornings if I have to take Greg to work at 4 am, 5 am...etc. Rob holds him and loves him. What a blessing! It's been nice. I am grateful.

I'm home!!

Getting ready for the ride home!!

waiting to go!

barely fits in car seat!

spikey hair'd boy!

A couple days before I went home.

RYDER IS FINALLY HOME!!!

We are so happy to have been so blessed! What a miracle! He came home Thursday! He's been doing really well, but does have trouble sleeping in a new environment....poor guy! So the last few nights I have slept on the big lazy boy, with him on my chest, so both of us can get sleep! haha. I'm hoping he gets used to the bassinet soon! But he's in a new place so he just needs time.

Thanks again for all everyone has done for us, and continues to do for us. We are so blessed!

We will still keep up this page with pictures of Ryder as he grows...he's eating a lot more since he's been home so maybe he'll chunk up faster!

HE'S COMING HOME!!!!! tomorrow, or Friday! Thanks to the Dr. Brown bottles, and my lil' man's toughness!! It turns out my kid was picky with a bottle nipple, and the Dr Brown one was perfect for him! And it actually helps with his gassy tummy! So he's coming home! he's drank all per nipple for the last 2 days...and he's finally decided to poo everyday to....YAY!

We are so excited! but we are going to miss his nurses!!!! we love all of them so much! everyone of them!! and the unit sec's to! they are all so wonderful!!! Even the nurses that never had Ryder I got to know so well!! We love them all so much!

Now, Ryder won't be able to have visitors for quite some time, so please be patient. The Dr. said for at least 3 months, due to his preemie immune system...and RSV season! : ( We are only allowing immediate family for awhile. SORRY! but it's his health at risk!
TEN MILLION THANK YOUs To all the wonderful prayers! They worked! God blessed us with a miracle!

I am 19 inches long, and 5 Lbs 8 oz! yay! I'm a growing boy!

Ryder is well, he still needs to drink all of his bottle! he knows suck swallow breathe, just fine, he just needs to sleep enough to build energy to drink his bottle. That's all we are waiting on! : )

All camo'd out....

looking cute....

getting sleepy....

Ryder will later hate me for this pic...haha!!

he makes so many HILARIOUS faces!!!! so I had to share them with all of you!!

we always wonder what he's thinking...

whistling....

haha!

What the!!!???

looking up at daddy...

getting ready to puke on mommy...

getting sick.....

adorable...

lots of hair!

cute Ryder.....

I hate burping, can you tell?

me and mommy.....

this is what I do most of the time I'm sleeping, haha.....

so sleepy....

trying to eat....

Me and uncle Rob...

Thanks aunt Steph! for my new outfit!

Lil' Ryder is well today. Really all we are waiting for is him to build enough strength and energy to drink down all of his bottles. He's doing really well with it....he drinks all but a little at the very end (3-10 cc's) The nurses say one day they do it, and do it from there on out. So we shall see. If I don't blog anything new, it's the same news....just waiting! : )

Today around 4 pm I called and the nurse said he was wide awake...looking around....I mentioned that I usually go around 2 pm or so, but couldn't today....she was all; "oh! ok! that explains it, he's looking for you!"
Yeah, then I felt awful! I called Greg and told him to get home fast so we could go see Ryder....and we did, Ryder smiled when we picked him up from the crib....he kept smiling while we were talking to him and holding him....it was cute! He smiles all the time! what a wonderful lil' boy! We love him so much!

His uncle Rob came yesterday and hung out with me. When it came time to go, Rob kept going back to Ryders crib....then Rob asked, "Is it always this hard to leave him!???!!" I told him it's sooooo hard to leave him every time! esp cuz Ryder ALWAYS wakes up when i'm leaving and gives me these eyes that melts me! ugh! So today I made a deal with Ryder, if he drinks all his bottles for 2 days he can come home! So we never have to leave him all alone again! :)

continuing from my last blog....When I called this morning at 6:30 to check up on Ryder, Marianne said that he had a great night, and finally drank 60 cc's, in 15 minutes! so we know he can do it, we just hope he will consistently!! What a kid. She said to that she tried covering his eyes, and shading his head....but he wouldn't have it! He through a fit and wouldn't let her shade the crib, because he likes to look around at everything! and he fussed until she tucked him in....like his mama does! as you see in the pics! haha...he's a good boy.


****oh and this really touched me, marianne told me everyday before she takes care of Ryder, she goes to the chapel and prays for him....she said that when Ryder was really sick, she spent a lot of time in the hospital chapel praying for my lil' Ryder. Wow, what an amazing lady...she's so good to him! Last night another nurse came into the room and was like, " oh! marianne this is your primary baby!!!" and marianne picked up Ryder all proud of him and said, "oh yes, this is my boyfriend!" ( she always calls him her boyfriend)
The way she held him and looked at him, you can see she really loves my baby boy...she's so wonderful!

another nurse story....Karlee says she sings popcorn popping on the apricot tree, and once there was a snowman to Ryder when she wants him to wake up....how cute.
He has amazing nurses, we couldn't ask for any better!
We love them!

All tucked in....

watching mommy and daddy get ready to leave.....

mommy always makes me snuggled in tight.....

getting fatter!!!

spiky hair........

snoozing away....

to cute.....

stretching.....

ah, this is the life.....

my fingers are getting chubby...

my daddy loves me so much....

Yep, I'm a thumb sucker.....

lookin' at mommy....

so relaxed.........

adorable Ryder....

crazy eyes..........

being cute...