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Granddaddy Update-Friday Afternoon

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He is out of surgery. It lasted about 3 hours. He had to have a quintuple bypass (5 bypasses). He looked really good. He was still unconscious. They still had the breathing tube in him but would take it out once they know he’s stabilized.

Okay, it wouldn’t be my family without a funny update!

Here goes: We all got to go back to see him in ICU right after they got him situated. So, we went in and there was another patient next to dad. My mom and everyone else started heading over to the other man (who was quite a bit older and very bald headed). My mom went so far as to lean over him. He didn’t look in very good shape and mom was trying to keep her composure. The nurse “whoo hooed!” us over and we went over to dad. Mom held it to gather as he explained everything and then as we were exiting the ICU, she started to cry and grabbed my hand. Then she started giggling. As she was giggling, she said she was so glad he looked so good and that she really thought that the other patient was dad. We all lost it. Mom kept saying she was wondering what in the world they had done to him!

And: My cousin was having problems with her contacts, so before we went back to see Dad, my aunt (her mother/dad’s sister) told her to take her contacts out and she would be her guide. My cousin is virtually blind without contacts. Well, in all the excitment of going to see Dad, my aunt forgot she was supposd to be leading my cousin and she was walking with her arms out in front trying to find her way. She said she couldn’t even see my dad in the bed.

Oh, the joys of being in my family! While we have waited and prayed for Dad, we have reminicsed, laughed, and giggled over our family antics!

Please continue to pray for Dad. He is worrid bout possibly having depression after the surgery. I praise God that he has helped him through this and kept him safe from anything more serious.

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Dad (Granddaddy) Update

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We’re still not sure when his surgery will be. The doctor did not detect a serious heart murmur which is good but they still have to get the arteries cleaned up. We’ll be leaving soon, so please continue to pray.

I’m not 100% that I’ll be able to up date since we don’t own a laptop, so I’ll try and post if I can and if not, then “no news is good news!”

Oh, and my dad is on the cardiac icu and Josiah can’t be up there, so Mark and I will have to split up and divide our time. Not exactly how I pictured spending a getaway with hubby!

Please pray that Josiah does okay. Interruptions to his routine are hard for him at this age and he can get pretty fussy (even with the sling), so please pray that he just doesn’t and that he is good for Mark.

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Please pray

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I know I haven’t actually written anything in awhile. Life here is busy. I guess I have my “hands full.”

My dad went last week for a “routine” stress test per his doctor after his physical during Christmas break. It came back abnormal and he had a heart cath done today. It came back with lots of blockages in his heart, so he’s in the hospital awaiting surgery. Mark and I will head out to see him tomorrow afternoon (with my extra appendage, aka “the nursing Josiah”). Mark’s mom (I think) is going to watch the rest of the kids for us…she needs LOTS of prayer!

I think it was Richard Swenson who said, “Live life expecting the unexpected!” (from his book Margin).

All else is well here. Except that we pooled together gift cards that the kids received and purchased a Fisher Price digital camera. We’re on our second one (the first one wouldn’t open to put the batteries in) and now it won’t turn on and we can’t get the pictures off of it (not that they were art quality pics but Zoe took some cute ones of Josiah). I’m baffled and about to try a different brand. We’ll see if Master Engineer and All Around Genius of the House can get it working (the above described would be my sweet and more patient better half).

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Baby Essentials

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Since my time in babyhood is coming to a fast close and since I have several friends who are having babies (some for the first time), I’d thought I’d share my favorite baby stuff and what I deem baby essentials, along with comments about why I love these items. I originally wanted to do ten but all I could come up with were 8. I’m sure I forgot something but here it is for whoever needs it!

1. SwaddleMe Blanket-this blanket is the cheaper version of a miracle blanket. It has velcro and a sack to put the babies feet in. The velcro wraps the baby up in a swaddle that keeps them nice and secure. This can also be found in baby superstores. A definite must for fussy babies or babies who like to be wrapped tight.
2. Baby sling or Hip Hammock-when you need your hands free or you just want to carry them around all day. I used the hip hammock with Liam because I didn’t feel comfortable sitting him on my hip in the sling. I finally figured our how to use the hip carry with the sling for Josiah and I love it. My favorite sling is the ring sling, but there are a variety of ways to wear your baby. Check out The Baby Wearer for more info on them!
3. Boppy-nursing moms will get a lot of use out of this pillow for arm rests or if your baby prefers the “football” hold. It’s also great for sitting up practice (something to fall on) and for belly time.
4. Nursing cover, hooter hider (go ahead and laugh, you know you want to), or bosom buddy-These are awesome covers with nylon boning in them so mom can peek at the baby while eating without the whole world knowing. It’s a great modest way to nurse your baby without having to sit on a dirty toilet or hide like you’re doing something shameful. They are also very stylish. You can buy these online or make them or let me know and I’ll make you one.
5. The Bobby Swing-okay for people who lack space to store all the baby equipment out, this is awesome. It’s a travel along swing. It doesn’t slow down no matter what the weight and this is great if your baby likes to go high and fast (which Josiah loves). It cushions the baby great. The legs fold up easily and the seat folds up and snaps. My only issue is that the legs can pop out when you move it. There’s no way to secure them from doing that. And, keep in mind that not all babies are swing babies. But, for the price (cheaper than one of those fancy bulky swings), it’s worth a try.
6. SnuggleNest-this one’s for parents who want their babies to sleep with them but want to do it safely. We found this with Liam and wanted it because of his reflux. He would wake up choking and coughing and it was nice to have him so close that we could sit him up or just lay a hand on him. Josiah, “the big boy,” did not stay in it long, but it was great while it lasted. It folds up nicely for travel too. I just saw that they make one that inclines…again great for reflux babies.
7. Travel bouncy seat-for people on the go this is a must. The one we have was made by Summer. It’s a almost no frills bouncy. But it’s also about 2/3 the price of those frilly huge bulky ones. This one holds baby, has three toys, and folds up flat and fast for easy travel. It also has it’s own carry bag which makes it easier to carry. There’s music and a vibrator on it. Josiah loves it. Keep in mind, when purchasing these things, there is no need to buy one with a ton of toys…they’re babies and can get easily over stimulated. We always look for functionality before fashion!
8. Diaper Champ-uses regular trash bags you don’t have to buy refills, virtually eliminates all diaper odor and now, they’ve made it accomodating for cloth diapers with a wider opening! I wish they had that when we started using cloth diapers. There are just so many great things about this diaper pail!

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Well Checks & Josiah’s 6 Months

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Liam and Josiah went today for their well check visits.

Here’s the scoop:

Liam is doing great. His height/weight are gaining and he actually jumped up a percentage. She noticed that he walks with his toes turned in and checked and said that it was due to the curvature of his leg and that would correct itself over the next few years.

Stats at 2 years are:
Weight: 28 1/2 pounds (50%)
Height: 33 inches (25%)
Head: 19 3/4 inches (75%)

Josiah’s doing good too. His cold has improved and she didn’t note any difficulties. She did say that reflux babies sometimes take longer to get over colds. He’s doing everything he should do. She told us we could increase his meals to three times a day, but I’m wanting him to nurse longer than one year, so we’re going to wait at least a month or two. We’ve started introducing him to a sippy cup but so far we’ve just put water in it. He’s getting to be a real treat and a definite momma’s boy. He will reach out for me whenever Mark has him. He loves his toys and smiling at his brothers and sister. He is working on grabbing his feet when laying down. He rolls from every which way and is working on controlling where he goes. His favorite thing to do as soon as I pick him up is grab both sides of my hair and do a face plant on my face…drool and all. He’s got two teeth still and we’re guessing by the increase in drool that he’ll have more very soon. He now sleeps about 9 hours during the night. His naps are getting better. I can now put him down and he’ll roll over and go to sleep. A lot of time, he doesn’t want me to rock him and fusses until I lay him down (sniff, sniff…they get big so fast).

Stats at 6 months are:
Weight: 18 lbs, 11 oz (65%)
Height: 28 7/8 inches (95%)
Head: 18 1/2 inches (90%)

Not much else going on. I made it to the gym two days in a row…owww! Hopefully, it will work out for me to go tomorrow, but I have to get ready for a date with Mark and a baby shower on Saturday. We’ll see!

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Happy New Year!

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Well, I was going to post this last night, but something’s up with our electrical outlet that is attached to the computer and it goes out every once in a while. So, Happy New Year on January 2nd!

We had a good New Year’s Eve. I called the doctor to see if Josiah was in need of an after hours visit. Nope…just having issues with a sinus infection most likely. Then we proceeded to clean the house for our MOPS steering team to come over with their families. It was a blast.

I think that we’re going for another week of bruises, though. What a way to start the new year. Zoe fell on New Year’s Eve and got a major carpet burn on her knee along with a bruise. Last night, we had sparklers (don’t freak out no fireworks accidents) and Liam did a face plant on the bricks on our porch. He has a nice scratch and bruise on his forehead. Up next, Ace and Josiah!!

We were busy on New Year’s Day with Mark fixing Zoe’s toilet (it was leaking…don’t ask me). I spent the day taking out Josiah’s 6-9 mth clothes and replacing them with 12 months (he’s only six months old!!!). After that, I got clothes ready for consignment and then we ate, did the sparkler thing and went to bed.

Did you know that University of Hawaii’s football team does this chant thing? It’s supposed to intimidate the other team and give them an advantage. It didn’t work for Georgia!

Oh yeah, ROLLLLL TIIIIIIIIDE!

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