home sweet home

Tyson was discharged on Friday and now resides under the same roof with the rest of us crazies. He keeps me very busy, as does putting my house and older children back in working order. I sooo appreciate all Erik did to keep things going, but it isn't easy to get everything done all by yourself, especially when you aren't used to it.

As of today Tyson weighed 5 pounds 9 ounces and has no current health concerns other than continuing to gain weight. He is well loved by his siblings who just can't get enough of him. I have a hard time getting everyone to leave him alone so he can just sleep. I will post more pictures soon.

on the right track

We have made tons of progress the last few days, which is why I haven't had time to update everyone. At this point our only hurdle left is feeding. We are hoping to be home in a few days.

progress

This was taken late this evening. Today we removed the chest tube and made progress weaning off the cpap. I was finally able to hold him for a few minutes. Tomorrow we are hoping to go to a regular canula for his oxygen and make some progress toward beginning feeding him. Keep your fingers crossed he continues to improve.

Tyson Robert

Tyson made a somewhat unexpected appearance on Sunday afternoon at 2:34 pm. At 2am that morning I was at work and having contractions when I started not feeling too great, and I discovered that my blood pressure was sky high. So I called Erik and he came to get me and we came to the hospital where I was admitted and started on medication for my blood pressure. After a couple of hours observation, they decided to go ahead and induce labor. Things rocked slowly along most of the day. Once they broke my water Tyson started to have trouble tollerating the contractions, but we had a great nurse who kept a close eye on things. About 2 pm he really started to get stressed and we discovered we were ready for delivery. I had an epidural, but it was only marginally effective. They probably would have adjusted it, but I didn't really want all sensation gone,just some relief, and that is exactly what it did. The delivery was quick but scary, his heart rate dropped like a rock with pushing so it is a good thing it only took 5 pushes to get him out. Once out we found he had the cord wrapped around his body several times which explains the distress. He immediately started to cry and did well right off. He was 5 lbs 4.5 ounces and 19 inches long, not bad for 35.4 weeks. He held his own for a couple hours until just after the other kids left, and then he started to have trouble breathing. They took him to the special care nursery and started him on oxygen and then on CPAP. He did well for a little while and then developed a hole in his left lung, so then he got a chest tube. That improved things for a while and then the tube stopped working so they had to put a new one in. That brings us up to Monday evening. Last night and today he has rested quietly and made a little progress in the right direction. We are just watching him close and hoping for a "quick" recovery. More to come when I am less sleep deprived and can do this properly.

34???

I hate to say too much, but Monday is 34 weeks and I am still working and keeping a semi normal schedule. We feel like at this point we don't have to worry too much about him coming. My only wish is that he manages to miss the three family birthdays we already have this month and chooses a day all his own. Just watch him wait until his due date, that would be just like one of my kids to keep me guessing that long. Thanks for all your prayers and well wishes!

defiant

Just when I think all is going well and we just might be in the clear, this baby decides to show his personality and act up. I was woken up at 2:30 Saturday morning by a contraction. Not an unusual thing, except that is was followed by several more. I spent the next couple hours timing contractions and weighing my options. Finally about 7:00 I decided they weren't going away and we ought to call the doctor, so I woke Erik, called the doctor, called my mom to come get the kids, and headed in. I was sure they would laugh at me and send me home, I am always afraid of looking like an idiot. To my surprise they hooked up the monitors, and went oh my goodness you really are laboring. Not the best news, but at least I wasn't over reacting. So we then spent the next six hours getting fluids, doing tests, and giving medications to stop the contractions. They never did stop them completely, but they are significantly better, and all signs point to things staying as they are for a while. For the time I am on bedrest at home and awaiting further instruction from my doctor today. It is funny, but after all we went through with Colton, this doesn't seem like such a big deal. Even if he were born today, he would do so much better than Colton that it would hardly be a comparison. Here is hoping for a quiet couple of days and approval to go back to work.

29 weeks and still counting

Just wanted to let you all know we are still here and doing well. The baby is now 29 weeks gestation and doing well, we had another ultrasound last week and they think he is about 2 pounds 10 ounces which is 50th percentile. We had a good Christmas with lots of fun and family, and are just hoping for a few quiet weeks to get settled back into life before our little one arrives. All the kids are doing well in school and are healthy other than the minor colds and such. Can't ask for much more.