Day7---Baby Kale

We took Great Grandparents Clapper and Fodor to the hospital last night to see Kale.  He’s still breathing well on his own, still has feeding tube and his bilirubin had been up more yesterday so they put extra lights on him so we didn’t get to see him without his snazzy sunglasses:

Great Grandma Clapper wanted a picture with his glasses on.

Look at that cute little head!

 

 

 

 

Those lights are pretty bright!

Great Grandma and Grandpa Fodor

 

 

 

 

 

Great Grandma Clapper and Auntie Briana

 

 

 

 

 

Fortunately, his second bili test came back after we left and was coming down so Tyler got to hold him for about an hour last night!  Now to get him eating.

Sneak Peek—Day 3

We spent lots of time with these 2 wonderful gals.  What a blessing!  Lee Conrey from Florida and Carole Anne from Canada.  They just gave the kids so much attention and really cared about what they had to say. We had such a great time!

Here’s a sample with some of the new fabric.

Day 6—Baby Kale

Tash and I got to go see the baby last night.  The NICU was hopping with sick babies…..it made me very sad.

The nurse told us that they were going to take out Kale’s endotube (the tube that goes into his lungs and hooks to the ventilator).  It was in a bad position and so they figured they’d take it out and see how he does.  They warned them that most likely he will need to be re-intubated but they wanted to see. We didn’t stay cause we were already passed visiting hours and didn’t want to get kicked out. 

As we left, I just felt a huge pressing to pray for Kale and for another baby that was there…I know no details except that everyone was crying and it was a huge family.  I prayed that Kale would breathe on his own and that this other baby would have a surge of strength and the family would have peace that he/she would be okay.

When Tyler got home late last night, he had called in and Kale was having some apnea  (stopping breathing) so they gave him a shot of Caffeine, say it helps babies to breathe better and they give a large dose then smaller doses.   I’m still praying for his strength!

Over night, I kept waking up and wondering how he was doing, wishing I could call in and see how he is.  As soon as I got up, I called Tyler at work and asked him….he told me he texted me right away.  Kale did not have to be re-intubated.  He breathed well through the night.  They did not even have to give him any more doses of caffeine!  Thank you God, you are so good to us!  Please keep your healing hand on this little baby.  Next, help him to learn to eat good so that he doesn’t need to be fed through a tube!

Sneak Peek—Day 2

We trekked back to Animal Kingdom in the evening to go to the Rainforest Cafe which we got to enjoy with Sue and John Brummer!  Then we walked through the park again to see if there was anything we had missed in the morning.

You’ll notice some new colors here as well as some new designer papers

Disney Trip—and Sneak Peek

We were so blessed to be able to enjoy a fun trip to Disney….completely paid for!   We stayed at the amazing Boardwalk Resort.

I thought I’d share a few highlights of our trip this week, along with some fun things to wet your appetite for this upcoming catalog!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joel chose to save his 1 week vacation for a family trip to Chincoteague later this summer so I brought our youngest: Natasha and Malachi with me…yes, he’s 11 and he’s the tallest one on this pic!

Each day, we got to visit the Stampin’ Up! room and spin the wheel for prizes, stock up on our candy supply and see great ideas.

Here are a few ideas from the upcoming catalog.  You may have to zoom in!

Day 3 Baby Update

I got a text with this picture on the way home from church!  My heart just melted.  They finally got to hold him.  This is Mommy Beth.  She’s such a good mommy and isn’t he just the most beautiful baby you’ve ever seen?  before Joel got to see this picture he said, “oh, come on, are you sure your not a little prejudiced”.  Okay, so he’s the 6th cutest baby ever!

So, they took him off the oscillating ventilator (sp?) and put him on a regular ventilator…a step in the right direction.  He requires no oxygen, only room air.

He is taking 15 oz at every feeding—by feeding tube. 

Then I got this picture…. they have been giving him very little sedation so they actually got to see him with his eyes open.

You’ll notice he still has swollen cheeks/neck…it happened since birth so they’re pretty sure it will correct itself.

You can see his little chest tube there on the left side of his chest (my right) you can see the green cannula going in to drain the air around his lungs.  His x-rays are looking good.

Oh, he does have an inguinal hernia, not sure when they will want to repair that.

Okay, off to order my new stuff from the stamping catalog!  Yes, I cannot give that up.

Our Grandbaby is Here

So, I’m in Disney on our fabulous Stampin’ Up! Incentive Trip and Thursday morning I get a text that Beth’s water broke!  The baby is 6 weeks early so the doctors had to decide to hold her off for a few more days or let her go into labor.  They chose the latter and baby Kale Wyatt was born 10 hours later.  Beth did fabulous and is recovering quickly.  He is 5 lbs. 5.7 oz. and is 18 1/4  inches long.  I think he’s pretty big for 6 weeks early.

So here’s the picture I received in a text at 5:30 Thursday night

I almost cried….Joel did cry.  It’s so hard to be so far away when this miracle happens. 

His lungs are underdeveloped so they gave him medication for that and he is ventilated.  I don’t think they got to bond much yet as he was whisked off to NICU.

This morning…Friday…our bus picked us up at the resort at 3:50 AM for our trip back home….and we were definitely ready.

As soon as we arrived home, I called Joel to see how soon he could get off work so we could go see the precious little guy.

So, according to what I understand from the nurse, the fetal hydrops that he had in-utero really seems to have no affect on him right now.

Things you can pray about:

• He does have a pneumothorax (an area where a part of the lung is collapsed) but he’s ventilating well and his Oxygen levels are perfect so they hope that it will resolve itself and of course that his lungs will grow stronger quickly
• His platelet count was low at birth and was even lower today…it’s a concern and they plan to do a brain ultrasound tomorrow to make sure there is not bleeding in the brain…I don’t know what causes this.
• He has some fluid build up, just since birth around his neck area….it’s very firm….they don’t know why, they say I guess from the birth process and they hope that it will also resolve itself

Tyler took us down to see the baby while Beth pumped so I don’t have any pictures of her with baby yet.  

I told the nurse that I wished I could see his little eyes and she said, “Oh, we can turn the light off for awhile”.  They are just the sweetest nurses.  So we got to see him try to open his eyes a little.

He is very ticklish and even in his sedated state, he pulled his legs up when we rubbed our finger along his leg….oh how I long to hold and cuddle him!

Cast Your Vote: Okay, so some of you have helped me to explore the name that I’d like to be called: Gramma, Grandma, Grandmom,  Nana….but this week, I heard 2 new ones: Grandy and Meme (spelled a little different in French but I’m spelling it how it sounds to me with the e’s sounding like the e in egg but the accent on the last syllable…what do you think?)  I’d love to hear any thoughts, any new ones.  I'm thinking Meme would be easy for a small baby to learn to say.

Also, What do you think Joel should be called?  Grandpa, Pappy, Granddad, DaddyO…..any other great names that you’ve been called or heard? 

 

When they took the eye patch off, I was amazed at how narrow his face is, much like Beth and her sister Abby.  It’s hard to tell since he’s so small but I’m thinking he’s going to look much like his Momma’s side of the family.

Thank you Lord for this sweet baby.  Please watch over him tonight and help him to grow strong and serve you the rest of his days.

Didn’t get pics yet with all the aunts and uncles…we can only go in with Tyler or Beth, 2 at a time… but Briana did get this one with Tash: