More cute pictures of the boy!

I wanted to show that Christian did not sleep ALL of the time!

Christian is doing real well. He only gained an ounce last week but hopefully that will improve soon. He needs to get some meat on his bones before his next surgery in March.

He is getting quite the personality now. He only loves his mama when I am around. I hold him and he cries. Oh well, I torture him more and keep on holding him! And I kiss him! HORRORS!!!!!!

Nicole and Bryan and not suffering too much from sleep deprivation as Bryan's mom helps out in that department! They are very lucky to have her around.

That's all for now. I am going to dinner with a friend so I need to get ready. Enjoy the pictures!

Grandma Whee

Baby's First Christmas

Christian had a great Christmas! Of course we did not spoil him at all! LOL But we had a great time none the less. We ended up opening some of the presents on the 22nd since some relatives were leaving on the 23rd. I think everyone had a great time and got many nice gifts.

Christian seems to be doing better since a switch to soy formula. He is not as gassy and does not cry as much. I cannot wait to see how much of a weight gain he will have now that he keeps things down better.

Bryan and Nicole got a bit of bad news just before Christmas. The Airline that hired Bryan went out of business. So Bryan has been filling out applications and sending resumes. So, if you know of any flying positions please let us know.

So, that is about all from this end. Thanks for popping in.

Grandma Whee

A Good Week!

While we are all adjusting to having a new baby around I fell behind in my blogging! Trust me when I say I have heard all about it! But today I made it a point to update and add some new pictures. I hope you all enjoy them.

Christian got to visit with Santa last week. Of course the photo I have is a PDF file and I need to figure out how to convert it. I will post it when I learn that.

Christian had a doctors appointment today and had gained 3 ounces! Good Boy!!!!! He is so tiny now since the surgery. He is up to 6 pounds 11 ounces. Hopefully he will keep up the weight gaining and get healthier all the time. He is looking real good.

Thanks for checking in. I will work on posting more often, but no promises...

Grandma Whee

We are HOME!!!!!

Day before yesterday Dave and I went to Portland to help bring the baby home. What a wonderful day it was! The pic out the windshield is Dave and I driving behind Bryan and Nicole when we were leaving. It was such a wonderful feeling!

Bryan went back to work yesterday. I know it is killing him being away from the family. I am not sure how long he is going to be gone this time. Thankfully Bryan's mom is home in the evenings to help out. I am going over for the day today to help reorganize things and MAYBE hold the baby a TINY bit. HAHA ! I plan on holding him a ton today. He is just so tiny now and fragile looking. Hopefully he stays healthy until his next surgery. Ohhhhh, he is also getting circumcised on Monday. Nicole asked me to be there with her for that so this could be interesting! I have never seen that done before. Hmmmmmm... should I take pictures???? When he gets older he may resent me ever owning a camera!

Anyway, off to the shower for a good soaking before heading into Bend. Thanks for stopping in. Only expect cute pictures and good news from here on out!!!!

Grandma Whee

Cute pictures

How are these for some cute pictures???? RoseMarie Photo came to the hospital and took a ton of pictures. They did this as a courtesy for families with babies in the intensive care unit. This was all for free. So if you ever need pictures and you are in the Portland area look up RoseMarie Photo. You will not get it for free, but they are very reasonable.

Reposted and some new.

Sorry about some repeats of photos but I cannot keep things straight these days. I am still having internet probs but will post even more later...

Grandma Whee

New stuff

Well Christian is doing better and better every day. I know I have not posted in awhile but my computer is not working well for me now. Absolutly hate this free wireless connection! I am going to end up plugged into the wall again!

Anyway, I will be posting more pictures this afternoon. But here is the scoop... Christian has been moved back to the other hospital for the remainder of his stay. He now has no tubes other than his feeding tube. He got everything else removed yesterday. Obviously these pics are from before yesterday, but I was behind! He has to learn how to eat again and then gain a bit if weight and then he can go home. So we are looking at a week or 2 at best. But all in all he is doing great. The docs are not concerned at all about the clot he had in his heart nor the collapsed lung and fluid. I am so please that he is doing so good now. For awhile it was something bad everyday. A bit depressing during that time.

I think I will make the trip up there next weekend to hold my little guy. I sure do miss him. Ohhh, I miss Nicole and Bryan too but they do not let me hold them and stroke their hair.

Thanks for checking in!

Grandma Whee

News from Nov 27th

Just got the update from Nicole along with some pictures. I am always excited to see my little man!

As you know, Christian was having trouble oxygenating and also had a bunch of fluid in the chest cavity. Well they think that he actually had a collapsed lung. But with the "Pigs in Space" placing positive pressure in his lungs, it re inflated, he is oxygenated better and any fluid started going away. So now the mask is gone, the feeding tube is gone, and he is just looking so stinkin cute! They are working on re-teaching him how to eat. That will be wonderful. Advances like that are what is needed to get him home.

Nicole says that they will begin weaning him off of his blood pressure meds now. When he is off of those he can move back to the NICU at OHSU hospital and work on coming home. Don't you know that will be a grand day! I should check on having a parade! Just kidding. Not that I don't think he needs one, I just think they will not comply. Stinkers!

I need to update the newspapers and the radio station that have been following our story. They will be excited to know that Christian is doing so well.

Thanks again for popping in. You may not realize how much your comments mean to us all.

Grandma Whee

Pigs in Space?

Well, Christian is always battling one thing or another it seems! He is once again collecting fluid around his lungs and also not oxygenating his blood in the capacity they would like to see. So, they put the "pig snout" over his nose and a special hat to hold the tubes where they need to be. They call this contraption "Pigs in Space". I guess they need to do something cute now and again to keep their sanity! This is making him oxygenate better now and even helping to reduce the amount of fluid in his chest cavity. If there is not a significant reduction they may insert the drain tubes again. YIKES!

It appears that the heparin is working. Last I heard they thought that the clot was shrinking. That would be a huge thing for him!

I have tried calling the hospital for an update for today and no one is answering phones, so all this info is from yesterday. It is killing me not being there! I will be so excited when he comes home sometime in December.

Ohhhh, is that not the cutest picture of Christian holding daddy's hand???? Gotta love it!

Grandma Whee

EXTUBATED!!!!!

His professional consult with his toys. They all concur that he is the cutest baby EVER!

Great Great Grandpa's hand.

This evening Christian was extubated! How exciting to see his adorable little face again. He still has a nasal cannula for supplemental oxygen and the feeding tube, but not the huge tube up the nose and lots of tape. He is sooooo cute. I got a few pictures of him with his eyes open. And even a few pictures with his crazy hair sticking straight up. I got a funny faced one also that I just had to put on. He is doing so much better today than last night. He did not have very many odd beats today and seemed to be more comfortable. His color was fantastic and he was more alert. What a nice thing. I have to go home tomorrow. That is going to be so hard. I will post as I get news. Please keep checking back

Grandma Whee

Doing better

Christian had a rough night but was better this morning. He is doing better with his heart rate but not fantastic. They will be extubating today and I will post some pictures then with him minus the tube. Then we can see his cute little face again. What a joy!

Grandma Whee

Thrown a curve

Well this afternoon a clot was discovered in Christians heart. They have started him on heparin again hoping to dissolve it. Of course there is always the chance of the clot moving to his brain or lung with many times is fatal. Nicole has not taken this news well as you can imagine. Bryan, stoic as ever, is supporting her very well. We will have to wait a few days to see what happens. It is going to be so hard going home on Sunday. But I can pop up here again real fast if I need to.

Send those prayers and well wishes our way please. We need em'!

Grandma Whee

Meeting more of the family...

Last night my father and grandfather flew in from a trip to Texas and Oklahoma. They came this morning to meet Christian for the first time. It was super sweet. Of course there I was with my camera. We were also able to get a five generation photo. Christian, Nicole, me, my dad, and my grandpa. Grandpa Rex came with Grandma Jeanne, Uncle Darrell and Clara. And my mom was still here. So we had a full room and lots of pictures.

Christian continues to heal. He got his chest tubes removed. His little chest looks so good now. He is still throwing out some irregular heart beats but that is to be expected.

I will be going home on Sunday. I know I am going to have withdrawals from my little fighter! I am sure I will be calling a lot and getting updates.

Thanks for popping in!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!

Today is Christians first Thanksgiving! You can probably figure out what we are thankful for here!

Last night Christian was visited for the first time by Great Grandma Sharon. Kady also came for a visit and was not scared by seeing all the tubes. Grandpa Dave was amazed by his grandson, as usual.

Today we will be here at the hospital for a few hours and then will go to visit Uncle Darrell, Aunt Kristin, Clara, Grandpa Rex and Grandma Jeanne for a nice Thanksgiving dinner.

So, have a great dinner! Thanks for stopping in!

Grandma Whee