Griffin's First Christmas Eve in Pictures

Chris's parents came down to stay with us for Christmas. It was so great! Chris's mom made chicken and dumplings for us to eat, people read, I decorated sugar cookies for Griffin to give to Santa, we loved on Griffin... It was really nice. Here are a few of the pictures taken on Christmas Eve!


Griffin wanted to try some of the cookies he was leaving for Santa. ;)
First taste of icing!! (that's red food coloring on my fingernails...)

Smiling, Smiling!

We are finally to the point where we can say Griffin is smiling at us. He does not smile ALWAYS when we try to get him to do it yet, but he does do it often enough that we are trying a lot!

He likes to watch lights, he likes to "play drums" with daddy, he likes kisses on his feet and neck, and he likes for his feet to be tickled! He also smiles when I use a high pitched voice and say,"Hiiii, Baaa-beeee!" Cute cute! I'll catch a REAL smile on camera eventually, but here are the best I have so far!

2 Months!

Griffin was 2 months old on December 15th!

At his two month appointment he was in the 75th percentile in weight, length, and head circumference. He weight 12 pounds 11 ounces, the was 23 and 3/4 inches long, and his head circumference was 16 inches!

At two months, he is just starting to really look at things other than lights - like books and faces! He is just beginning to smile - and has even been doing this more in the last week! He is sleeping at nighttime for about 5-6 hours at a time. And we are just LOVING him!!

I learned something about taking these monthly pictures, though. If it is a month when he has to get shots at the doctor, take the pictures BEFORE the appointment. I could not get a good picture of him on the 15th because he was a little fussy from the shots. Oh well! This is real life! Enjoy the pictures!

A Visit with a VERY Special Santa

I am SUPER paranoid about Griffin getting sick. We have hand sanatizer all over our house that Chris and I use and anyone who comes over is "required" to use if they hold him. We don't let people at church hold him (except my mom and dad), I take his temperature probably almost every day at some point because I get nervous, I've given him about a 3 month waiting period before I'm going to take him in Wal-Mart - you get the idea. (Yes, I know all you experienced mothers out there want to tell me to chill out, but "'tis the season" for yucky respiratory bugs and my baby has a yucky respiratory history...)

So, with all of that going on in my crazy mind, you can imagine that I wouldn't want to take him to see Santa Claus in a mall where a bunch of other grubby, snotty little children (sorry if your child went to see Santa at the mall - I'm not talking about yours, just all the other ones... and really not the children at all, just there grubby, snotty germs. I love children. ) sit in this guy's lap and leave their germs. Lucky for me, MY dad is the Santa Claus (or Santa's helper) for TXU's Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant! MY dad doesn't have germs, right?

His company has an employee and family appreciation dinner/party where he dresses up as Santa. You'll see in the picture that it is in the rodeo arena at the Somervelle County Expo Center. I think this was his 2nd or 3rd year to do it and our first year to go. Jodi took some really cute pictures of Griffin with the most special Santa he'll every meet. See, this guy was MY Santa, too, many years ago - and let me tell ya - he was a good one! (Mrs. Claus was/is really good, too!) Enjoy the pictures!

Griffin's First Thanksgiving

Okay - So, I'm a little late getting this posted. I admit it.

This year for Thanksgiving, everyone - EVERYone - came to our house. Chris's parents came Wednesday evening and stayed through Friday. All of my family came on Thursday for lunch. It was awesome to have 16 people for Thanksgiving! I'm gonna kind of cop out and post this link to my sister, Rachel's blog for Thanksgiving.

Griffin had a great time. His Nana brought him a First Thanksgiving little onsie:
He also got some cuddle time with his mommy, Nana, and his cousins! He got passed around all day - and I was a little frantic about "keeping his schedule." I've thought better of it now - when he's with family, especially grandparents, I should probably forget about the schedule and just let him get loved on. Enjoy the pics!

One Month (November 15)

On Novemeber 15, Griffin turned one month old! I can't believe how the time has flown already.

I'm totally copying my friend, Jamie's, idea of taking the monthly picture with the pet (Ollee) to show how Griffin is growing. Thanks, Jamie!! (oh - and forgive the pile of toys next to the chair. I'm still working on his room and finding places for all of that!)
Everyone says he looks so much like his daddy - which I pretend to mind, but I really don't. I'm a fan of his daddy's looks. ;) My family and a few other tell me he's going to have my eyes, but we'll just wait and see!

At one month, he likes to eat and sleep and poop! :)

He is a REALLY good eater, almost too good! He can drain a five and a half ounce bottle like it's nothing.

He gets the hiccups ... a lot. He gets them before he eats and after he eats. It doesn't bother him that much, but it bothers me! I feel so sorry for him.

When he's awake, he likes to be in his swing. He is just starting to focus in on things like our faces and pictures in books that we show him.

The video here is totally for my memories only. I using a super high pitched voice and likely it will be a little bit annoying for anyone else to watch, so please don't feel obligated. :)


We love you Griffin and are so proud of how you've grown over the last month. We can't imagine not having you now! Thank you, God, for growing him so healthily!

First Bath!

Well, Griffin got his first bath on his second day at home with us... it was Sunday afternoon.

And here's the true confession: Neither Chris or I had any idea how to do it! I knew how to give a baby a bath, but not with this "don't get the umbilical cord wet" notion. So, thankfully, BooBoo was there to help. She told us to be prepared because we would probably hear him scream like he never had before... and we did! But, honestly, it was kind of nice to hear those lungs working so well. The funny thing was, he started to enjoy it once he got really warm with the water. It's the lotion afterward that he really does not like! He let's me know even now that he does not appreciate my efforts to keep his skin baby soft.

Here's the little photo journey of the bath:

Daddy changing his diaper before we got started... and getting tinkled on a little. :)


And here I am getting everything ready.

As you can tell, Griffin LOVES baths (ha!)


All finished and dried off!
Here he is in his warmest pajamas, and all ready to eat!

Robbie Seay Band - Your Love Is Strong

Days 6, 7, and 8... HOME!

(For any grammar police out there - I know. There are all kinds of changes between present and past tense in this story. I'll fix it before I make the book...but for now, consider it an exercise in your patience. ... You're welcome. :) )

This is the account of our last 3 days in the hospital...Chris and I talked about a song by the Robbie Seay Band that's in the previous post. I highly recommend listening to this song, praying this song. It's good stuff. It was certainly our theme song for the week.

Wednesday, 10/20

This morning Chris called the hospital to check on Griffin (like he did every morning) and the nurse told us that they had to put Griffin on the nasal canula last night after we left because he wasn't able to hold his oxygen saturations high enough.

When we got to the hospital, Griffin was on the nasal canula at 3 liters per minute.

Today, Griffin breastfed like a champ 3 times - 18 minutes, 27 minutes, and 35 minutes. Mommy is so proud! We also found out that he really likes for his head to be rubbed.

Today, Griffin was visited by Aunt Rachel all by herself and was held by her. He was wearing his cousins' hand-me-down sleepers and the blanket Cousin Micah gave him!

Today, Griffin was visited by mommy's friend Ashley and was held by her.

Today, Griffin was held and visited by Aunt Jodi and Uncle Robert.

Today, Griffin grew stronger and stronger and was weaned down to 1/2 liter of oxygen per minute by the time we left the hospital.

Today, Griffin prayed with mommy and daddy some more, asking God to make him even stronger through the night.

　

　

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Today, Chris left the house EARLY to go give Griffin his first bottle feed of the morning. When he went to the NICU and looked for Griffin's bed, it was gone! "Oh, he's been moved to the Neonatal Progressive Care Unit! He did great over night," one of the nurses told him.

Today, Griffin was taken completely off of his oxygen support. This is huge. He officially has NO help - Just monitors on him to make sure he is doing well. You may not be able to tell, but this is a different bed for him. The progressive care unit has cribs that resemble what someone might have at home instead of the very medical looking ones in the NICU. Also - look at that bruise on that sweet baby's hand. Yuck!

Today, Boo Boo spent the whole day at the hospital with Griffin and me. She was such a good helper. I don't think I could have made it through all of this without her.

Today, I asked the doctor when we might could take Griffin home...We've been thinking about when we should do this. We just loved Dr. Lynch. She was always so helpful and positive and telling us how much Griffin looks like Chris. Today - Dr. Lynch said we could probably take Griffin home tomorrow!!! We just had to pass a few final tests and get the circumcision.

Today, Griffin was circumcised.

Today, Griffin had his hearing screening and passed!

Today, Griffin took his car seat test. This means he has to sit in his car seat for 90 minutes and keep his oxygen saturations above 90 percent, or if they dip below that he has to resolve it within 20 seconds. The first time he attempted it, he did not pass. We think he was just too tired from his circumcision and his hearing screening. His oxygen seemed to drop when his head dropped into the seat and he wasn't able to recover his airway.

Today, Allen and Trevor, Chris's best friends, came to the hospital to meet Griffin and held him.

Today, Yogi came to the hospital and finally got to hold Griffin! ( I think there's a picture of this on mom's camera...)

Today, I stayed at the hospital almost 11hours. It was the most amount of time I've ever gotten to spend with him and Chris had to pry me away to leave at about 9:30 that night when Griffin was starting his second attempt at the car seat test. I was so tired. So tired of saying goodbye to my baby. As we left, tears filled my eyes, and seemed to fill my lungs. It was hard to breathe - I guess that's the feeling of a mom being pulled away from her baby.

Today, I lost it. I was so scared that he would not pass his car seat test and that we would not get to take him home on Friday. I was SO tired. I missed him SO much. I was hurting so bad in places that didn't even make sense with my surgery. It hurt to breathe. This new love hurts...it's so strong it hurts... and I'm helpless in the hands of my Creator.

Today, Chris and I got closer as a couple.

Then, late that night - Griffin passed his car seat test! While I was sobbing in the shower, Chris called the nurse at about 11:00 to see if he passed - and he did. Finding this out was the best pain relief I had felt yet. We were so thankful. God has answered our prayers daily, and it was looking like having our whole family at home was going to be a reality.

　

Friday, October 22

Today, Chris and I could hardly wait to leave to go to the hospital. They had told us we would probably get to take Griffin home by about 11:00 this morning.

Today, we found out that Griffin had racked up a $77,000 bill at Cook's as of the night before! I paid our deductable at the registration office - and Chris and I thanked God for insurance!

We got to the hospital to find our little prince still doing well. We hovered and fussed over him waiting to find out when the doctor might come to tell us he could go home. Everyone kept saying it would be soon!

Well, 11:00 came and went. Our doctor, Dr. Lynch, was off today and so we were waiting for her partner to come in and see him.

Finally, at about 1:30 a nurse practitioner came in and reviewed all of Griffin's charts and checked him out and told

Chris and I that we would, in fact take our baby home today! There's not another feeling like that. We just needed to talk with the actual physician to know if we needed to take him in for lab work to check his billirubin levels on Saturday or just at our pediatrician's appointment on Monday.

At around 3:30, Dr. Nedrulow came! He checked out Griffin and joined the club of folks who can't help but notice how much Griffin looks like his daddy. Dr. Nedrulow gave us some warning signs for increased billirubin and jaundice to look for and told us we could go home and just take him to the doctor on Monday!

Chris and I almost immediately asked the nurses to unhook him from all of his monitors. We dressed him in his first onsie and pants - He had only been able to wear things that snap down the middle so far.

Chris brought the car around to the front of the hospital and the nurse walked me out to the valet drive, carrying Griffin in his carrier.

The nurse checked us off on car seat installation and off we went!

We're finally home!

Then Uncle Ira surprised us with a visit.

The journey we have been through the last ten days has brought Chris and I closer together and closer to God. It undoubtedly deepened our love for Griffin. It undoubtedly deepened our love for our family and friends. This is a strong love. It is God's love.

So, like the song says, "Why do I worry? Why do I freak out?" Look at this precious baby the day after that crazy week. I'd say he looks like he's been loved by "strong love." Thanks for letting me share our journey.

Days 3, 4, and 5

I'm finally finding time to get back to this. This is what happened on days 3, 4, and 5 that we were in the hospital with sweet Griffin - who, by the way, is doing fantastic!!

Today is Sunday, October 17.

Today was a good day.
Today Griffin got both of his IV's taken out of his hands.
Today, Griffin stopped taking Dopamine for his blood pressure.
Today, Griffin got to wear clothes for the first time.


Today, his umbilical central line was taken out.

Today I held my baby for the first time.


Today, Griffin was held by his daddy for the first time.

Today, Griffin was fed real breastmilk through an OG tube instead of just IV nutrition and he tolerated it without difficulty!

Today, we prayed for Griffin before we left the hospital and his O2 saturations sored form 93% to 99% while he listed to his daddy commit him into God's hands for the night.

Today we thanked God for all of our blessing and for his strong love.


Today is Monday, October 18.

Today was a good day.

Today, Griffin held is oxygen saturations at great levels while receiving little to no extra oxygen through his c-pap.

Today, Griffin kicked and squirmed more than we have ever seen him kick and squirm.

Today, Griffin squeezed our fingers tighter than he ever has.

Today, Griffin sucked the pacifier while he was taking a feed into his stomach. He looked so cute!

Today, Griffin sucked on the pacifier while being held by his daddy and held is O2 high, still!!

Today, Griffin's mommy did "kangaroo care" (skin to skin contact holding) with Griffin for the first time. (He's tucked down inside my dress!)

Today, we prayed with Griffin again before we left him for the night and we thanked God for how He's blessed us with sweet baby Griffin.


Today is Tuesday, October 19.

Today, Griffin's swelling was down enough that he opened his eyes for the first time. We believe Griffin got to see his mommy and daddy for the first time today!

Today, Griffin got his c-pap taken off! He lasted all day without the c-pap machine or the nasal canula (nothing on his sweet face except the feeding tube). By the end of the day, though, he was tired. He was allowing his O2 sats to drop in the the 80s while he was sleeping.

Griffin tried nursing for the first time today and was able to latch, but may not have sucked very well.

Griffin took this first bottle today, given by Daddy. The nurses took the feeding tube out completely! He then took all of his feedings by bottle the rest of the day and evening!
Since he took the bottle well, the nurses left the feeding tube out. For the rest of the day, Griffin didn't have anything on his face!


Griffin got a visit from Mommy's friend, Lindsay, from Mike and Marsha Gilbert, from Daddy's friends from camp, and from Yogi and BooBoo.

Griffin moved even more today and was squeezing our fingers even harder than yesterday!

Today, Griffin's nurses moved the feeding pole away from his bed because the doctors think he will not need it any more!

Today, we thanked God for all of the progress Griffin made and asked him to continue healing our baby. We want him home so badly!

Today...

This is an account of the few days leading up to Griffin's birth and his birthday. I'm blogging it not because I think everyone is so interested, but because, as hard as it is, I want to remember. I know someday will come when he frustrates me to no end, and I will have this memory to remind me how thankful I am to have him - and to have him living at home with me. It's really long, and there are no pictures until the end, so if you read it, hang in there.

Today is Wednesday October 13th:

I was so excited to go to the doctor for my 36 week appointment. I thought maybe, just maybe they would tell me from the sonogram that Griffin had performed his acrobatic feats and turned head down. I was there for a regular weekly appointment to have a sonogram to check my amniotic fluid levels and to have fetal stress testing done as I had bee doing the previous 3 weeks. Last week my fluid level was 9.4 cm. The week before it was 9.5 cm. And the week before, it was 7.5 cm. The doctor wants it to be between 10 and 20 cm and when the level gets to 5cm or below it is considered critical. Griffin had been moving around like crazy, so I felt like everything was going to be fine... mostly.

I had been telling Chris over the weekend that I felt like Griffin was getting the hiccups more and that my belly had gotten smaller... weird, we thought, but not bad.

I got to my appointment, always excited to get a glimpse of my baby on that black and white screen and I could tell that the fluid was lower before the sonographer even gave me the measurement. We were down to 6.3 cm. Hmmm.... Let's go see what the doctor has to say.

My doctor said that this was not the "best" sign, but we shouldn't worry or panic right now. He sent me home from the appointment to drink a liter to a liter and a half of water and to REST. I was to come back in the morning to check it a gain. "More than likely," he said, "we'll be back above 8cm and you'll just be on bedrest the rest of the pregnancy."

So, home I went. I drank and drank and drank and drank 2 liters of water that night.... at least. And we prayed.

Today is Thursday, October 14:

Today, I went to the doctor a little bit more nervous than I normally do. Chris and I showed up at the appointment and settled in for the sonogram. We both could tell immediately again that the fluid level was lower. We were down to 5 cm.

The doctor decided to admit me to the hospital for IV fluids to see if we could pull the fluid levels up using the intravenous method.

So, Chris and I began call our parents... and freak out a little bit. Were we going to have a baby this soon!? We went home and packed our bags, and Griffin's bag, and the carseat, and millions of other things that we "might need." We had no idea how long we'd be there! Would it be one night and then a baby? or would the IV work and we'd stay several nights so Griffin could "cook" longer and then we'd have a baby?

We got to the hospital and checked in at the ER. It was a little bit disconcerting because they didn't seem to know we were coming! Finally, they figured out why we were there, talked to my doctor and got us settled in. Then we discoverd the most ironic thing! My friend, Sarah, and her baby were next door to us! What!? I won't put all of the details of why they were there in case she doesn't want that on the internet, but it was certainly a pleasant surprise to have a good friend so close. We had joked that we wanted to be at the hospital at the same time (her due date was 3 days after mine, but had her baby at 34 weeks and 6 days) and we were, but for different reasons that either of us had thought!

My parents also came and brought us super that night and visited for a while. The nurses told me not to eat or drink anything after midnight just in case I was going to have a c-section tomorrow. So I ate a wonderful avacado hamburger from Chili's and we enjoyed my parents company and the comfort of having them there for a little while.

Then, they left and it was a long night of getting up and dragging my IV pole with me to the bathroom .... And we prayed for God to take care of our baby...

Today is Friday, October 15th:

It was a long morning of waiting for the sonographer to come! My doctor had told me when he admitted me for IV fluids that he would have the sonographer that had been working with me come over to the hospital and check my fluids in the morning. All of the nurses seemed to think she may come around 7 or 7:15.... which came and went. Then 8:15 came and went. Then 9:15 came and went! Finally, my doctor showed up in my room to just do the sonogram himself. Great!

"Well, I'm gonna call this 1cm of fluid just to be nice, but there's really not that much in there. " Then he proceded to tell me that we needed to get Griffin out of there and we were going to have a baby today!

What!? Chris and I just looked at each other and smiled. We were both so excited and so scared, I think. We of course again began to make phone calls to our parents. My parents, Chris's parents, Jodi, Robert, and Ira were all able to make it before I went back to surgery. I was so nervous! I've been told that I was pretty funny back in the OR, just out of sheer nervousness, not drug induced. Chris got to come back and hold my hand after I was all numbed up. He also said I was pretty funny back there.

Then - the c-section. I'm not going to describe on here how it felt or looked or anything like that. I know that they llifted my sweet baby up over the sheet to show me and I began asking to hear the cries... They suctioned him and finally we heard the most beautiful little cries.

From there it's kind of a blur of what happened. People began telling me he wasn't breathing quite as good as they wanted him to, so instead of giving him to me he needed to go to the oxygen hood. Chris went with them. I stayed on the table to be sewn up.

The next thing I knew I was back in my room and my family was coming back in there with me. Then Chris and the pediatrician came back and began telling me that they were going to put my baby on a helicopter and send him to the NICU at Cook Chidren's Hospital. I'm crying now as I type this. This was probably the most devastating news I have ever heard in my life.

As I layed in the bed, unable to move my legs, with my family holding my hands and petting my head comforting their crying/balling daughter/sister, the Teddy Bear Transport Team was back hooking up my baby to his "helicopter carseat" and intubating him. They wheeled him in and the first time I touched him was inside this beast of a machine, telling him goodbye before he flew somewhere I could not go. I can hardly even see to type this now through my tears remembering the helpless feeling...

Today we took our first family photo:

Today I said goodbye to my baby.

Today I pumped for the first time instead of breastfeeding.

Today, Chris followed Griffin up to Cooks to see where he would be and check on him. Today, Chris took some pictures of Griffin on his birthday.

Today I had a baby that I haven't held yet... and today we thanked God that we had one.

Today is Saturday, October 16:

Today, I woke up through the night to an alarm to pump my breasts instead of a hungry crying baby.

Today, my doctor came in and told me he was going to release me from the hospital about a day and a half early so I could go to Cooks and see Griffin. Thank you, God!!

Today, we found out that Griffin had been extubated overnight (big move in the right direction!) and would be using a c-pap to help him breathe by the time we got to the hospital to see him.

Today, I touched my baby and told him I loved him a million times, but I wasn't allowed to hold him. He had an umbilical central access line that was arterial, meaning it was very fragile. He had that so that the nurses could draw his blood without sticking his heel and hurting him. That's so good! - but because of this line, my sweet one day old baby had not been held... by anyone yet.His sweet little eyes were swollen shut because he had to start Dopamine and fluids for his low blood pressure and he was retaining some fluid.

Today, my family surrounded me with support as they all made the drive to Cook's to see Griffin.


Today, Griffin's aunts and uncles gave him his first Halloween costume! He's gonna be a giraffe. :)

Today, I cried my eyes out sitting next to a clear plastic box holding my baby safe... and today I thanked God that I had a baby.

We all know by now this has a happy ending... I'll get the next few days posted as soon as I can.