Merry Christmas To All!!

Wow! Where has this year gone!! I can not believe that in 3 days it will be Christmas. This year has really flown by.
Jacob is out of school for Christmas Break. That means he is bored from the time he get up until the time he goes to sleep. And for some reason he thinks that I was put on this earth to "find" his things. If only he would clean his room, I am sure the things he can't find would be found.
Gabe is 10 months old. He is getting to sooo big! At the last Drs. visit he was 16lbs 8 ozs. The boy can put some food away. I just wish Jacob would do that.

A week ago we had snow. In the South, snow doesn't usually happen until January or later. It is rarely found in December. Everyone in the house was sick, expect for Jacob. He did make it out side to play in it while the rest of us watched from the living room window. The bad mother that I am DID take Gabe out in his reindeer outfit for pictures.

Where has the time gone!!!

WOW! Its been a long time since I have updated my blog. Gabe is now almost 8 months old. WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE!!!

I am not sure of Gabe's weight. Since he is so healthy, we do not have to go to the dr every month like we did with Jacob. BUT we did put him on the home scales and it looks like he is around the 14 1/2 pounds mark. To say that he eats well, is a BIG understatement.
In August, He had a hernia repair. He did great except for the fact, he does not like to miss a meal. We went back for the follow up visit, and the dr even commented on how he looks as if he gets ALL of his meals and then some.
Gabe is now eating cereal, fruits and veggies. He likes his cereal with a little fruit mixed in. He loves pears, apples and bananas. He HATES peaches!!! And he doesn't know why I continue to give them to him. He loves carrots, squash and sweet potatoes. We have not tried anything green yet. They just look nasty to me!!! He wishes he could eat sweet potatoes all of the time!!!

Gabe has started to roll over to his tummy. He would like to know what the big deal is. He can't see much on his tummy, so he prefers to be on his back or sides. He is now sitting unsupported for 10-15 seconds at a time. He is right on track with his development with his due date. And you can get him to do almost ANYTHING if food is involved.

Jacob has now finished up the 1st 9 weeks of school. At the beginning I didn't think we would see 4th grade. BUT as the weeks went on, we got into a rountine and it looks like we just might survive 3rd grade.
Jacob has had his 2nd set of tubes put in his ears. Jacob has some hearing loss. Hearing loss that does require a hearing aide. He does not like his hearing aide. He complaines and says it makes everyone loud. Of course, he picked out a red hearing aide that has a red ear piece. It looks like Big Red chewing gum is stuck in his ear. He has yet to wear it to school this year. We are hoping that the tubes will help his hearing improve.
I did not go back to work this fall. I am again a stay at home mom. It seems busier this time around. I guess with an older school age child it would be. My day is planned around Gabe's eating and Jacob's school times. I really do miss my co-workers, BUT I could not imagine not being at home with Gabe like I was with Jacob. I still do get to see some of my former co-workers. I just don't have to be there at 645 in the morning to see them :)

This summer we made a family trip to St. Louis. Greg took Jacob to his 1st Major League Ballgame. HE LOVED IT!! The game had a 3 hour rain delay and went into several overtimes. They did not make it back to our hotel room until 1am. Both said it was fun and worth it.


We went to the zoo, the Arch, Budweiser, Grant's Farm and to the City Museum. The City Museum has a Wonderful playground on top of the building...aka the roof!!! It was cool and I think Greg had as much fun there as Jacob did ;)

My favorite time of the year is upon us. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Halloween. Its the only day of the year when you can be whatever you want to be, and its OK. Jacob plans on being an Alabama Football player (no surprise) and Gabe will be a little Monkey since he is our Monkey Boy!!
I will try harder to update more often.......

One Month & Counting

Gabe has been home for a month for little over a month now. And BOY am I TIRED!!! It has been quite an experience this last month. Last week at the dr, Gabe weighed 8lbs 1 oz. I would not be surprised AT ALL if he now weighs 9 lbs. The boy can put away some milk. Greg has nicknamed him TB...meaning two bellies. We are not sure how he hasn't exploded with all the milk he takes. Some nights we are up 4 times and other nights we are only up twice. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the nights we are only up 2 times. The next day I am not as tired or cranky. (last night was a 3 time night)
Gabe has the sweetest smiles. And he cries to be picked up, only to give a sweet sly grin when he gets his way-he knows how to work me. Yes, I am afraid that he is spoiled ROTTEN already. I manage to get NOTHING done around the house. But I do manage to hold him a big portion of the day.

Gabe has found the backyard, through the window only (its TOO HOT for anyone outside these days!). He has also found himself in the mirror. And I love to see his eyes light up when the ceiling fan is on. He can watch it for hours. Gabe has started hitting at toys with his hands. And he helps to hold him bottle up-just in case I drop it, his hand is there to keep the flow going.

Gabe has graduated from Newborn diapers to size 1's. He has also started wearing some 0/3 month clothes. The next few weeks and months should be fun and quite interesting.

2 Weeks Home

Gabe has been home for two weeks now. It has been quite an adjustment for all of us...including the cat and the dog.
At his weight check this week, he weighed 6 lbs 3 ozs. Since he has came home, he has ALMOST gained a pound. Its werid to go to a drs visit and actually have a child who gains weight. We were always lucky if Jacob gained an ounce or maybe two. We even considered ourselves lucky if he didn't lose weight.
I have came to the conclusion that breastfeeding is like a baby buffet. You can eat anytime you want and stay for ever how long you want. It seems to be a NEVER ending buffet. Supply and demand has become quite a problem for Gabe and I. He demands more and my supply is going down. This milk factory can not keep up with the chunky monkey that lives here.
Gabe has some interest already. He is really into looking at our lamps. Either he likes them or thinks we need new ones. He spends quite a bit of time just looking and studying them. He also loves to lay on the floor and "talk". He is quite noisy!
Our dog, Spanky, has decided that Gabe is his new best friend. He has started sleeping in Gabe's room. I think its mainly because Gabe is the only one who doesn't kick Spanky out when he starts snoring at night. Plus, Gabe has a rug in his room and Spanky's smell is not on it yet.
The cat is a whole different story. Bootsie doesn't understand WHY we now have another person in this house. She doesn't like the other people in this house, so do we really expect her to like this one. BUT she does get up with me most nights and go to Gabe's room for his nightly feedings. She has only been within about a foot of Gabe. She studies him and he "talks" to her. She does not like it when he talks to her or when he is on her bed (aka our bed).
Jacob spent most of the last week in Alabama. He was of course spoiled rotten by too many grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. He told me that everyone kept asking him about Gabe and he didn't want to talk about Gabe.
Jacob is really into holding Gabe. The only problem, he does't like to hold his head. According to him...it feels funny. Yesterday he decided that he wanted to change Gabe's diaper. He got the new diaper but changed his mind once Gabe tooted. He said he smelled like poop. Last night he wanted to pick him up and bring him to me. That didn't happen. If you can't hold his head, then you can't carry him. When Gabe has more head control, we will talk about carrying him to me.
Here is a picture taken of Jacob and Gabe on Jacob's awards day. He receive 2 awards (or as he calls them rewards). He received the most improved in all subjects and the most inquisitive award. That's a nice way of saying you ask to many questions. And he does.

Gabe is HOME!!

It has been a LONG time since I have updated my blog. To say that things have been busy around here would be a total understatment.
Gabe came home from the NICU on Friday May 21st. Four days after his orginial due date. We did come home with an apnea monitor for his spells during feeding. A spell is when you drop you heart rate (under 100 for him). His brain is forgetting to send a signal to his heart to continue to beat at the same rate. He always self recovers which is a good thing and he NEVER drops his oxygen rate which is also good. He has not had any of these spells since he came home. BUT since I brought 6 pieces of equipment home with Jacob, I felt I needed something. To just bring home a BABY would be way to easy and way to scary.

Greg and I had to learn CPR and go over some other things they make you learn before you take your preemie home. It's werid how if you have a term newborn, you just get to go home. If you have a preemie, you have to complete a checklist before they allow you to walk out the door with them.

Gabe came home weighing 5 lbs 5 ozs and he was @18 inches long. About 2 week before he came home, I was able to attempt to nurse him. To my surprise and the lacation nurses surprise, he did quite well. I will have to say that nursing is ALOT better than pumping. BUT getting up every 2-3 hrs during the night to feed him is rough. The hospital had him on an every 4 hr schedule, but for some reason-he will not do that for me.

Today we visited the doctor. Gabe is now 5 lbs 11 oz and was 18 1/2 inches long. SO-in 6 days he has gained 6 ozs. That's what happens when you eat every 2 hrs. A baby that eats for us is such a new experience. Jacob NEVER ate well and at night he was connected to a feeding pump for overnight feeding.
Gabe looks so much like Jacob did at this size. He is going to have dimples like Jacob and I. And of course, he still has the blue eyes. Guess I will never have a brown eyed child.
On Jacob's 9th birthday, which was April 26th he was given the opportunity to go visit Gabe in the NICU. We got some of the most precious pictures. He would only hold Gabe while he was sitting in Greg's lap. When we left, he told me that he thought Gabe was going to be a cool brother and that he was going to try to be the best big brother ever. I am sure when Gabe is mobile, things will change. But we will cherish the thought for now.


Today was the last day of school. I guess you could say that Jacob is now a 3rd grader. He wishes he could stay in 2nd grade, but he knows that he has to move on to meet a new teacher and new friends. Its sad to think that my little Jakey is growing up. It seemed like only yesterday I was dropping him off at Mothers Day Out. BOY-the time has really flown by. Before I know it, Gabe will be starting Kindergarten and Jacob will be in middle school.

Its been a while since I have updated my blog. Work is REALLY cutting into my leisure and internet time.
Gabe is doing wonderful!! He is taking the bottle beautifully. On Tuesday his bottle was increased to 2 times a day. That way he can get fed by the speech therapist during the day, and I can feed him at night. Last night he took his bottle for me in 19 minutes. It had 35 cc's in it-a little over an ounce. He was quite mad when he was unable to suck the VERY last little bit out. Yes, I think I have an eater on my hands. When I take the bottle away from him to burp him, he takes his itty bitty hands and pulls my hand back with the bottle.

Gabe is now up to 4 lbs 1 oz. In a few more ounces, we will leave the incubator behind and move to an open crib. This past weekend, Gabe was moved to the 8th floor. This is his last stop until he gets to go home.

Several people have asked how much he has to weigh in order to go home. There is really not a set limit. The main things now are getting him to eat ALL of his bottles (8 a day) and for him to have his oxygen turned down and then off. He is on very little oxygen and the flow is also low. I have already brought a baby home with oxygen before. I would LOVE to not have to do that again.

My due date was May 17th. We are hoping that we will be able to bring him home, oxygen free, sometime around then. Thanks for all you prayers. They are working!! Miracles still do happen. And I never thought I would be the mother to two of them!

Happy Easter!

Gabe has had quite an eventful Friday and Saturday. The NICU is divided up into 3 levels...High, Intermediate, and Low. We have been on the High side since Gabe was born. WELL...On Friday afternoon we were downgraded to the Intermediate side aka "The Pond." It was nice to be able to move and know that he is doing well enough that he can be downgraded. This was a new feeling for us. Jacob was NEVER downgraded. We left from the high side.
Also on Friday, Gabe got to try his 1st bottle. He LOVES his pacifier. So, we were able to attempt it. He only took about 5 cc's from the bottle. At first, he had NO IDEA what to do with the milk that he got out of the bottle. But he eventually figured it out. On Monday he will be officially 34 weeks, so we will be giving the bottle more and more attempts. I hope he is not lazy like Jacob was. Jacob was smart enough to figure out that if you don't try to hard then they will tube feed it to you.

Gabe is 3lbs 4ozs. He has to be 1500 grams in order to wear clothes. Gabe is 1470 grams. BUT since it was Easter and I wanted cute Easter Pictures, we dressed him up. Here he is in his Easter outfit.

He cried the WHOLE time I was putting the clothes on him. Once he was dressed, he was too tired to open his eyes. He is not that impressed with clothes. Or maybe it was that he preferred a different outfit. He was still wearing his clothes when we left. If he can keep his temperature up himself, he will be wearing clothes from now on.

Gabe has changed so much in the last 7 weeks. He no longer looks like an alien with transparent skin. He now looks like a baby doll that you would give a little girl to play with. A baby doll that can whine, cry, poop and pee. One that you can feed, give a bath and dress up. Gabe has blond hair and dark blue eyes (i think they will stay that color). He looks alot like Jacob did at this size. One major difference-Gabe has hair and it doesn't look like its going away. Jacob didn't have hair until he was 2. And when it came in, it was RED!! Luck for us, it has gotten lighter and he is now a strawberry blond. Gabe looks like he will be a blond. Here is a picture of him taking a bath. He kept trying to slide down further into the water.

I hope everyone has a Wonderful Easter. The Easter bunny will be making his stop here tonight I am sure. This year he will be leaving gifts for my two little miracle boys. And I am so thankful that I have been given the pleasure of being their Mommy. Happy Easter!!!