Birthday Celebration

Well, I'm yet another year older....28 as of November 7th. I'm creeping closer to the big 3-0, but that is o.k. because I'll never be as old as Jimmy!!! My dad's birthday is November 8th, so we always do a combo family birthday celebration. This year we got together at my parents house for dinner and cake. Cameryn and Owen had a blast, as usual. They are just the best buds. Reid slept most of the evening, but we were able to get a couple of pics with his eyes open. I got a beautiful necklace and earring set from mom and dad, a cosemtics bag and scarf from Chris, Tina & Owen and a GORGEOUS sterling silver necklace from my hubby and kids...did I mention that the necklace came in a little blue box from a little ol' place called Tiffany??? Love it!

4 Month Update

Weight: 9 pounds (even!) Length: 20.5 inches Proud accomplishments: Holding head steady, Rolling over from tummy to back, Sleeping 5 hours during the night, and SMILING!!! (The last one is mommy and daddy's favorite) Reid is 4 months old today! We had our check up with Dr. Kahn last Friday and were pleased to hear that everything is progressing wonderfully. Reid weighed in at a whopping 9 pounds even! Dr. Kahn was absolutely thrilled with his growth. Nine pounds puts him in the 25th percentile for weight (on the preemie growth chart). His head circumference was exactly 50th percentile. His length was only the 10th percentile, but that's not too shocking! Please keep the height jokes to a minimum :-) The only slightly disappointing news was that we were not able to get rid of the stinkin' heart monitor. He had five low heart rate episodes in October, so we have to keep the machine around for another 3 weeks. Dr. Kahn is 99% sure that the low heart rates were due to Reid's reflux problem, so she upped his dosage of Zantac. We were able to come off of his other reflux meds (Reglan) because it was causing him some pretty severe abdominal cramping and diarrhea - no fun at all! His last dose was last Friday morning and he's now really like a whole new baby! He doesn't grunt and groan all the time. Anyway, I'll have to have his monitor downloaded again (hopefully for the last time!) around Thanksgiving and then we'll go back in to see Dr. Kahn sometime during the first week in December. Wish us luck! Update news on Cameryn - we are really making progress with her potty training! She is so proud of herself when she remembers to go on the potty!

The Weather Outside is Frightful...

Well not frightful, but it sure is starting to get chilly! We had one nice day (low 70's) over the weekend and Reid and I spent some time laying on a blanket in the yard. He seemed to like being outside in the fresh air. I put him on his tummy, and he promptly rolled over onto his back. Guess he likes gazing at the heavens. I like to think he's communicating with Jameson :-)

We've had a few days in the 40's - I think we are in for a very cold winter. I've been watching the squirrels from my window at work...they are busily storing nuts for the coming months. I can't be sure, but for some reason, I think they usually start doing this in late December. We've had very mild winters for the last couple of years, so I guess we are due.

We are starting to pull out winter clothes for both Cameryn and Reid. Reid has so many clothes from his buddy Tyler who has outgrown his old stuff. Thanks Tyler! Reid just looked adorable in his little blue hoodie.

The Princess & The Great Pumpkin

Well, no surprise here...Cameryn LOVED trick or treating. She is such a social butterfly! She loved going up to people's houses and saying "twick o tweat!" And yes, I made sure she said "tank you' to everyone!!! Owen (Cameryn's cousin) was dressed as an Indian - well, minus the headdress. He wasn't a fan of having anything on his head. Cameryn on the other hand loved showing off her tiara. We dressed Reid in a pumpkin costume (the same one that Cameryn wore for her first Halloween), but he had to stay inside with Mimi. We're still on hold from actually taking Reid out in public. Once the sugar high started wearing off, things got a little dicey. It was WAY past Princess Cameryn's bedtime, but with all of the excitement, she wasn't real interested in sleeping. All in all, I'd say Halloween '08 was a success. Of course, the day after Cameryn was ready to go trick or treating again. She doesn't quite grasp the concept that it's a 'once a year' type of thing. Now we have to start gearing up for SANTA!!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! As you can see, I've changed the title of this blog. I decided that we are past Reid's difficult NICU journey and should now focus on our lives at home. And the blog will now be all about the whole family and our happenings. I'll continue to update Reid's growth progress - keep in mind that he is really (gestationally) only one month old! That is still so hard for me to believe. It's funny because when you look at him, he does physically look like a one month old - 8 pounds, 7 ounces as of last night. BUT, he is doing so many things that older babies are able to do. He holds his head up pretty well and focuses very intently on everything. He has also rolled over already, which is something that no newborn can do. So all in all he is really catching up! Oh, and this is one happy mama because Mr. Reid slept for 5 straight hours last night!!! We are heading out for Uncle Chris and Aunt Tina's house tonight for some fun trick-or-treating. As most of you know, Jimmy and I live in an 'active adult' community - we are far and away the youngest family in the neighborhood, so trick or treating wouldn't be a whole lot of fun. It would just be one little princess going from door to door. Anyway, I'll of course take lots of pics of Cinderella (Cameryn) and the little pumpkin (Reid) and will post early next week.

Closing in on 8 lbs!

As of last night, Reid now weighs 7 pounds, 14 ounces - only two more ounces before we hit the big 8 pound mark! My friend Amanda's little girl Addison was born two weeks before Reid and weighed 8 pounds at birth....so, we're a little behind, but making GREAT progress! It's hard for me to explain well enough in writing just how small Reid is compared to another baby his age. So, I've posted the pic to show you all. The first picture above is of Reid & his buddy Brady Wendt. Brady is the son of Erich Wendt (Jimmy's old college roomate). Brady was born two weeks before Reid - hard to believe! The picture was taken about three weeks ago, so Reid HAS gotten bigger! I think I am going to take Reid back to visit the NICU nurses and Dr. Ahmed during the second week of November. That will be nice to see them all again and I can't wait to see their faces when they see how much Reid has grown. Cameryn is doing well. She has been on Orapred (an oral steroid) for about three days. She had a nasty cold which was causing her to cough and of course when she coughs her asthma kicks in. It's just a vicious little cycle she has to deal with. I hope she grows out of her asthma issues. I've also included a couple of pics from our weekend trip to the Pumpkin Patch. Reid had to stay home with Mimi - he can't go out in public places for a long time. I look forward to next fall when we can get pics of our WHOLE family!

Well Rested

So, it's been WAY too long since I've updated the blog. I don't really even have an excuse! Nona has been in town for a whole week now and I've certainly been able to catch up on some much needed sleep. I will try my best to get back into a routine of updating at least a couple of times a week. Mr. Reid is all the way up to 7 pounds 5 ounces! He really does look and act like any newborn baby would - except for the fact that he's actually 3 months old now (as of Oct. 10th). He is doing some pretty incredible things though. He can hold up his head really well. He also rolled over from his tummy to his back a couple of times this past weekend. I still haven't witnessed it myself, but Nona and Aunt Janine both saw him do it. So I'll take there word for it! Speaking of Aunt Janine, we had a wonderul visit with her this past weekend. She finally got to meet Reid and spent many hours holding and feeding him. She also had a chance to spend some quality time with Cameryn. They went shopping and had lunch together on Saturday. I think she has become Cameryn's favorite person in the whole world. No kidding. We already miss her so much. Reid is still eating about every three to four hours and eats between 2 1/2 and 3 ounces per feeding. Apparently he ate every 2 hours while Nona was on duty last night - maybe another growth spurt??? He is starting to enjoy bath time too. We go back to the Dr. on Nov. 7th (happy birthday me!). I think he'll be due for a few more vaccines then, but I'm not exactly sure which ones. Cameryn has come down with another cold, so we are having to be SUPER careful at home. Lots and lots of hand washing! It's very hard for a two year old to understand why she can't give her baby kisses on the face though. We try to explain, but she just doesn't get it. Hopefully she'll get better soon. She did just get her flu shot yesterday, so that should take care of that. Until next time....