Friday, December 28, 2007
Thursday, December 27, 2007
A Doctor's Appointment, A Television Debut & the Hutchcraft Family Christmas
Thursday evening Tennyson made his television debut, please visit http://fourstateshomepage.com/media_player.php?media_id=10583 to view the December Buddy check segment. If you are unable to view it via this link, please visit http://www.fourstateshomepage.com/. On the right hand side, near the bottom there is a box labeled Buddy Check, click on that and then watch the December segment.
Friday morning we went to see Dr. Holmes in Neosho. He thought Tennyson looked great and he weighed in at 9 lbs. 4 ounces. They measured Tennyson in retrospect to where he should be compared to other children his age and their lowest measurement is less than 3%. For our weight and length we were in the less than 3% percentile and for our head circumference we were at 3%. We also discussed how much Tennyson eats, how well he's digesting and how his stomach does following eating. Dr. Holmes recommended we go to part breastfeeding, partial formula, and the formula is to be soy formula as he's guessing his digestive issues are related to an inability to digest milk as well as he should.
He also found a hernia which we are watching closely and will monitor changes in, we pray it will take care of itself and resolve however it's possible surgery will take place at a later date. Dr. Holmes also discussed introducing cereal into Tennyson's diet and we are to begin that on January 21. If he just spits it out, we will give him another couple weeks and try again however Dr. Holmes thinks he'll be ready for it at that time.
Friday evening my parents, Ryan, Stephanie and Chase made their way to Joplin to begin our Christmas celebrations. Kelsey and Gary joined us Saturday morning and we spent the weekend, enjoying each others company and congratulating Kelsey, who graduated from Vaterott's cosmetology program last Wednesday. She also received high recommendations from her professors and was offered a position in a new salon in downtown St. Joseph that the campus director at Vaterott is opening.
We had a great time hanging out as a family, enjoying each others company and catching up on one anothers lives. Sorry I can't find the camera cable however when I do I will add pictures, they're precious. They all headed home on Sunday afternoon.
Monday morning the home health nurse came and did her check-up on Tennyson, he weighed 9lbs. 7.5 ounces and is doing great, he was satting 100% and has been without his oxygen for over a week.
Travis, Tennyson and I spent Monday and Tuesday together just laughing and reflecting on the year and all that's happened, I can't believe how far we've come and how much we've experienced, God has sure blessed us beyond what we deserve. The Christmas debacle that I have to tell you about is Tennyson bought Travis a set of golf clubs, they are really introductory and I got a great deal on them. I couldn't believe how inexpensive they were. I found out why however on Christmas Eve when Travis opened them and they were for a left handed individual. Silly me, who would have known you had to think about that sort of thing...
Christmas morning around 3:30 am the doorbell rang, granted we were awake as Tennyson had just woke up and guess who Santa had delivered, Ted, Connie and Trudy. They had come to drop Trudy off until Thursday when everyone else would join us for the Myers' Christmas.
Travis, Lindsay & Tennyson Myers
Friday morning we went to see Dr. Holmes in Neosho. He thought Tennyson looked great and he weighed in at 9 lbs. 4 ounces. They measured Tennyson in retrospect to where he should be compared to other children his age and their lowest measurement is less than 3%. For our weight and length we were in the less than 3% percentile and for our head circumference we were at 3%. We also discussed how much Tennyson eats, how well he's digesting and how his stomach does following eating. Dr. Holmes recommended we go to part breastfeeding, partial formula, and the formula is to be soy formula as he's guessing his digestive issues are related to an inability to digest milk as well as he should.
He also found a hernia which we are watching closely and will monitor changes in, we pray it will take care of itself and resolve however it's possible surgery will take place at a later date. Dr. Holmes also discussed introducing cereal into Tennyson's diet and we are to begin that on January 21. If he just spits it out, we will give him another couple weeks and try again however Dr. Holmes thinks he'll be ready for it at that time.
Friday evening my parents, Ryan, Stephanie and Chase made their way to Joplin to begin our Christmas celebrations. Kelsey and Gary joined us Saturday morning and we spent the weekend, enjoying each others company and congratulating Kelsey, who graduated from Vaterott's cosmetology program last Wednesday. She also received high recommendations from her professors and was offered a position in a new salon in downtown St. Joseph that the campus director at Vaterott is opening.
We had a great time hanging out as a family, enjoying each others company and catching up on one anothers lives. Sorry I can't find the camera cable however when I do I will add pictures, they're precious. They all headed home on Sunday afternoon.
Monday morning the home health nurse came and did her check-up on Tennyson, he weighed 9lbs. 7.5 ounces and is doing great, he was satting 100% and has been without his oxygen for over a week.
Travis, Tennyson and I spent Monday and Tuesday together just laughing and reflecting on the year and all that's happened, I can't believe how far we've come and how much we've experienced, God has sure blessed us beyond what we deserve. The Christmas debacle that I have to tell you about is Tennyson bought Travis a set of golf clubs, they are really introductory and I got a great deal on them. I couldn't believe how inexpensive they were. I found out why however on Christmas Eve when Travis opened them and they were for a left handed individual. Silly me, who would have known you had to think about that sort of thing...
Christmas morning around 3:30 am the doorbell rang, granted we were awake as Tennyson had just woke up and guess who Santa had delivered, Ted, Connie and Trudy. They had come to drop Trudy off until Thursday when everyone else would join us for the Myers' Christmas.
Please be in prayer for my cousin Drew and his wife Melissa, they delivered their first born son, Eli Andrew Cameron Friday evening, Dec. 21 and there were some complications, including Eli experiencing a staff infection around his umbilical cord. He was transferred to Children's Mercy in Kansas City on Tuesday, Dec. 26 and is doing better but still fighting at this point. They are doing a spinal tap tomorrow to test for miningitis. I will post more as I know it.
We pray you all had a great Christmas and were able not only to reflect upon but to celebrate the reason we praise.
Love you all-Travis, Lindsay & Tennyson Myers
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Unbelievable Morning
I can't believe this but this morning Lisa, our nurse called and asked if I would mind if some people came with her this morning. One of the local television stations is doing a story on her as she's a breast cancer survivor (10 years this Dec) and wanted to film her working with one of her babies. She chose us and they graciously said they would drive to Oronogo. They spent probably an hour with us though I think the segment is only two minutes long but nonetheless Tennyson will make his television debut on Thursday evening (this time I was assured he would be on, I didn't want to say anything if he wasn't). So as it's posted on fourstateshomepage.com for your viewing pleasure I'll let you know.
Otherwise he's doing great, he weighed 8 lbs. 12.5 ounces and was satting 100, without his oxygen since Sunday morning around 10 am. He is struggling with horrible belly aches that are keeping him from using the restroom because well, he's a pig, eating all the time and I can't quite keep up. So he's received a four ounce bottle each evening for the last three or four and is having a horrible time with it, so please pray for him.
Otherwise all is well, I got our Christmas cards ordered yesterday so my hope is you'll receive them by New Years :)...
I have to run, the lion is stirring.
All Our Love-
Travis, Lindsay & Tennyson
Otherwise he's doing great, he weighed 8 lbs. 12.5 ounces and was satting 100, without his oxygen since Sunday morning around 10 am. He is struggling with horrible belly aches that are keeping him from using the restroom because well, he's a pig, eating all the time and I can't quite keep up. So he's received a four ounce bottle each evening for the last three or four and is having a horrible time with it, so please pray for him.
Otherwise all is well, I got our Christmas cards ordered yesterday so my hope is you'll receive them by New Years :)...
I have to run, the lion is stirring.
All Our Love-
Travis, Lindsay & Tennyson
Monday, December 17, 2007
Fighting Sleep
A short video of Tennyson fighting sleep, with no tears mind you, there usually are lots of tears...
Nothing too new has occurred lately other than the usual everyday occurrences. He is oxygen free however Saturday night he had several apnea episodes and we're not sure why so we put the oxygen back on him for the night. He usually pulls it off and we were going to use that as our cue to remove it so he wore it until around 10am Sunday morning. He has however been oxygen free since then.
Something that was rather funny, or is now happened in the middle of the night last night...Tennyson had a blow out a couple weeks ago, through his onesie and blanket right after his bath. Last night without thinking after his bath I dressed him in the same onesie with the same blanket, I should have known at that point what I was in for. About 3am I was changing his diaper, pulling the dirty one off when he exploded, all over his blanket, the sweats he was wearing, my hands, arms and legs but somehow we didn't get any on the bed, I don't know how but it was amazing. So after I got him all cleaned up, mind you the onesie was untouched at this time and back to sleep, all seemed well. This morning when we woke up around 8, he had peed through the onesie, and not just a bit like up his back and around his arms, it was crazy. So I think from now on I will know better than to pair that onesie with that blanket. So we went in only our diaper for a while this morning then our my first Christmas outfit which you can see in the pictures. Also posted are pictures from our hotel stay...
The home health nurse hasn't come yet today so I don't have any new news but will pass it along when I do. I can't wait for Christmas, I know he won't know what's going on, but we're so excited...
Love you all-
Travis, Lindsay & Tennyson Myers
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Home at last...
We heard Tuesday evening that our power had been restored however remained at the hotel until Wednesday morning to be sure it would stay on. We headed out here around 10:30 during Travis' lunch break (he went in at 6 for a load of generators). After we got out here Tennyson and I started getting things done that needed to be put back in order (sorry that's why I didn't post). I managed to get the dishes done yesterday afternoon and the refrigerator/freezer cleaned out as we lost everything, it smelled so bad when we got in here.
Tennyson has had a ton of trouble since we headed to the hotel with sleeping more than one hour at a time. He will not stay sleeping unless someone is holding him and patting his back...it's a hassle and sometimes annoying however I realize I will never get these moments back so I am treasuring them now. So yesterday he was up around 6:30 am and stayed that way until Travis held him when he got home around 6pm. He would doze between times but I couldn't hold him, there was too much to be done so he wouldn't sleep ten minutes once I put him down.
So we wrapped all the Christmas presents, did the laundry up, washed dishes, cleaned out the fridge and unpacked with him staring at me the entire time. He is so good, and doesn't cry much unless he's hungry or agitated however I knew he was so tired. Don't get me wrong the kid can wail, Travis has affectionately nicknamed him, "my little angry man."
So needless to say by the time we got everything done, and him bathed last night it was midnight when we were going to sleep. He woke up at 2am and I fed and changed him and then he slept until 6:30, I couldn't believe it. I am thinking maybe keeping him up all day helps...at 6:30 I did some patting to his back and he was back to sleep until almost 8 when the home health nurse called.
Lisa came by around 9:45 and he weighed in at 8lbs. 5 ounces and was 21 inches long. He's growing so fast, right before our eyes. He had a bit of a fit with his oxygen last night and they told us not to fight him any more so he didn't have it in his nose between 2 and 8 when I took it off. He was satting 100 this morning so Lisa said to try him off it at night and see how he does. If his monitors alarm we will put it back on but he is obviously showing us he can do it.
So now we're just hanging out, I'm hoping to catch a nap with him this afternoon, please pray for me as yesterday I began coming down with a cold. I talked to his pediatrician to see what was safe to take so will start that this evening. As for now that's all she wrote..
Love you all.
Blessed by the Blesser-
Travis, Lindsay & Tennyson Myers
Tennyson has had a ton of trouble since we headed to the hotel with sleeping more than one hour at a time. He will not stay sleeping unless someone is holding him and patting his back...it's a hassle and sometimes annoying however I realize I will never get these moments back so I am treasuring them now. So yesterday he was up around 6:30 am and stayed that way until Travis held him when he got home around 6pm. He would doze between times but I couldn't hold him, there was too much to be done so he wouldn't sleep ten minutes once I put him down.
So we wrapped all the Christmas presents, did the laundry up, washed dishes, cleaned out the fridge and unpacked with him staring at me the entire time. He is so good, and doesn't cry much unless he's hungry or agitated however I knew he was so tired. Don't get me wrong the kid can wail, Travis has affectionately nicknamed him, "my little angry man."
So needless to say by the time we got everything done, and him bathed last night it was midnight when we were going to sleep. He woke up at 2am and I fed and changed him and then he slept until 6:30, I couldn't believe it. I am thinking maybe keeping him up all day helps...at 6:30 I did some patting to his back and he was back to sleep until almost 8 when the home health nurse called.
Lisa came by around 9:45 and he weighed in at 8lbs. 5 ounces and was 21 inches long. He's growing so fast, right before our eyes. He had a bit of a fit with his oxygen last night and they told us not to fight him any more so he didn't have it in his nose between 2 and 8 when I took it off. He was satting 100 this morning so Lisa said to try him off it at night and see how he does. If his monitors alarm we will put it back on but he is obviously showing us he can do it.
So now we're just hanging out, I'm hoping to catch a nap with him this afternoon, please pray for me as yesterday I began coming down with a cold. I talked to his pediatrician to see what was safe to take so will start that this evening. As for now that's all she wrote..
Love you all.
Blessed by the Blesser-
Travis, Lindsay & Tennyson Myers
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
D-Day
Today is the official day he was due...I can't believe we're 11 weeks and 1 day already.
Alright a lot has happened since we left you yesterday...the power as I said yesterday was back on however that only lasted about an hour. So from around 2:30 until 8pm we were without power. I received an emergency back up battery for Tennyson's monitor however didn't need to use it though we were getting close, during the first outage the battery had depleted a bit however didn't get fully recharged while the power was on for that short bit.
So what to do, what to do...it was like a cave in our room however Tennyson and I were able to hang out, eat, sleep and do his business though he was dressed in layers and covered in blankets which didn't make him too happy. I must say this morning I was so glad the power was back on because he was beginning to show smells of being unable to bathe...I am sure while he was screaming in the tub everyone thought that I was beating the boy but he sure looks and smells better.
After that we headed out to Dr. Jordan's office as we had another check-up. There has been no change at this time so we don't have to go back for three weeks and will continue to watch it closely...then we returned to the hotel, took a short nap, cleaned up and Lisa our home health nurse arrived. She thought he looked so cute in his little puppy outfit and he weighed in at 8lbs. 2.5 ounces, I can't believe that's how big he would have been had we made it to today.
Please be in prayer for our families as we heard this afternoon our house now has power at it however we will stay at the hotel tonight and head home in the am. Our families however are without power. My mother has been called into the hospital as they're short-staffed so she will be working the next 48 hours probably from there. Just pray our parents, grandparents and siblings will be able to stay warm.
Love you all, sorry he's waking up and wanting to be fed...gotta run, duty calls.
Travis, Lindsay & Tennyson Myers
Alright a lot has happened since we left you yesterday...the power as I said yesterday was back on however that only lasted about an hour. So from around 2:30 until 8pm we were without power. I received an emergency back up battery for Tennyson's monitor however didn't need to use it though we were getting close, during the first outage the battery had depleted a bit however didn't get fully recharged while the power was on for that short bit.
So what to do, what to do...it was like a cave in our room however Tennyson and I were able to hang out, eat, sleep and do his business though he was dressed in layers and covered in blankets which didn't make him too happy. I must say this morning I was so glad the power was back on because he was beginning to show smells of being unable to bathe...I am sure while he was screaming in the tub everyone thought that I was beating the boy but he sure looks and smells better.
After that we headed out to Dr. Jordan's office as we had another check-up. There has been no change at this time so we don't have to go back for three weeks and will continue to watch it closely...then we returned to the hotel, took a short nap, cleaned up and Lisa our home health nurse arrived. She thought he looked so cute in his little puppy outfit and he weighed in at 8lbs. 2.5 ounces, I can't believe that's how big he would have been had we made it to today.
Please be in prayer for our families as we heard this afternoon our house now has power at it however we will stay at the hotel tonight and head home in the am. Our families however are without power. My mother has been called into the hospital as they're short-staffed so she will be working the next 48 hours probably from there. Just pray our parents, grandparents and siblings will be able to stay warm.
Love you all, sorry he's waking up and wanting to be fed...gotta run, duty calls.
Travis, Lindsay & Tennyson Myers
Monday, December 10, 2007
Another Day in Paradise
I have to say I don't know what happened to this week, it just got away from me. After his home health visit on Monday we spent the rest of the week trying to get our days and nights figured out to no avail thus far.
Nothing too exciting happened until Thursday when the home health nurse came back to check on him. He satted so well on 50ccs he's allowed to be off the oxygen for 12 hours at a time though Monday she told me to move him to only at night. He also received his Synagist shot which is the RSV monthly vaccine. I tell you I was almost angry because we pay a small (or large in my opinion) fortune for each dosage, approximately $1800 and they sent us a 100MG vial and he only needed 50, so I had to throw away half of the $1800 medication...I tell you what.
When she weighed him he was 7lbs. 8oz. so he sure made up for that small gain over the weekend.
Thursday some of the guys from the church and Joe Flynn (who also attends CCO) a local mechanic came over and picked up Travis' truck as the water pump went out right before we had Tennyson and in lieu of everything we hadn't made time to get it fixed. It was amazing, and such a blessing and they took it Thursday evening and returned it Friday night. We are so indebted and thankful for each of them and for the blessings they are in our lives.
Please be in prayer for Senior, one of the guys Travis works with, he had a stroke at the end of the week and was still being tested this weekend, I haven't heard an update today but will let you know when I do.
Anyways, mom came down and stayed with us Friday and she and I did some Christmas shopping on Saturday, I am all finished except for one gift though they aren't all wrapped yet. I was starting to stress about it because typically I have all my shopping done and all the gifts wrapped by Thanksgiving, so as soon as the tree goes up the gifts are underneath it. I do believe however I will have to create a new method because Travis shook his and was taking guesses that were pretty dead on though I wouldn't tell him so.
Saturday night/Sunday morning brought us into our current predicament as we received tons of ice down here. It's estimated that 50,000 people/homes are without power still now. We lost power at 3am and again at 5am on Sunday morning so we tried keeping Tenny as warm as possible until after church when Mark called. He had spoke with Travis earlier and some of the guys at the church were reserving rooms in a local hotel and they got one for us as well, so Tennyson had his first official hotel stay, it was amazing. I sure hadn't thought that far ahead and by the time we got here at 2pm to check in they were booked solid and turning people away.
Last year when we lost power like this, Travis and I spent a couple days at home freezing but decided you can't do that with Tennyson. We probably could have kept him warm (though when we left the temperature was below 60 in our home) however his oxygen concentrator and apnea monitor run on electricity so we were using portable oxygen tanks and praying the battery on the monitor would make it.
We checked into the hotel and had a good night though Tennyson is waking up every hour, I think it's new sights, sounds and smells but he's sure keeping me on my toes. Then this morning Travis headed to work (with both sets of keys as he gave Ted his house key while we were in the NICU and wanted to head home and turn off our water tonight) where they were without power however they sent him and Gail to KC and Concordia to get parts for the electricians to hopefully get some electricity back on here.
While he was away however a transformer nearby (we're at Rangeline and I-44) went down and we were without power here at the hotel from around 10:45 to 1 when it just came back on. I was a bit panicked as it was getting chilly and I wasn't sure I would be able to keep Tenny warm enough for very long. We made it however there is discussion as my dad and Ted have both heard we're supposed to get more tonight of taking Tennyson and I up north this evening.
As for the rest of the family...Connie got a new car, a purple Chevy HHR and I am sure she's stoked about it, I haven't got to visit with her though Travis did.
AND OUR BIG NEWS...Trudy is home, she got into Omaha yesterday so she's in KC seeing her physicians today for check ups and will be around for the next month. We're stoked she's back and can't wait until we get to see her though we're not sure when that will be. She is giving a presentation about her journeys at Grace this Friday night and I was hoping that Travis would be able to make it though I believe they are going to tape it for us. It will sure be good to see her, we've missed her tons, though God has truly blessed her and us in our time apart.
Thanks for checking in, I apologize its been so long however if I head north tonight it may be longer as my parents internet service, Cooks has been down since October...until I am able to write again, I tried uploading photos but the hotel server said no, my apologies.
Love you all.
Living Out Loud-
Travis, Lindsay & Tennyson Myers
Nothing too exciting happened until Thursday when the home health nurse came back to check on him. He satted so well on 50ccs he's allowed to be off the oxygen for 12 hours at a time though Monday she told me to move him to only at night. He also received his Synagist shot which is the RSV monthly vaccine. I tell you I was almost angry because we pay a small (or large in my opinion) fortune for each dosage, approximately $1800 and they sent us a 100MG vial and he only needed 50, so I had to throw away half of the $1800 medication...I tell you what.
When she weighed him he was 7lbs. 8oz. so he sure made up for that small gain over the weekend.
Thursday some of the guys from the church and Joe Flynn (who also attends CCO) a local mechanic came over and picked up Travis' truck as the water pump went out right before we had Tennyson and in lieu of everything we hadn't made time to get it fixed. It was amazing, and such a blessing and they took it Thursday evening and returned it Friday night. We are so indebted and thankful for each of them and for the blessings they are in our lives.
Please be in prayer for Senior, one of the guys Travis works with, he had a stroke at the end of the week and was still being tested this weekend, I haven't heard an update today but will let you know when I do.
Anyways, mom came down and stayed with us Friday and she and I did some Christmas shopping on Saturday, I am all finished except for one gift though they aren't all wrapped yet. I was starting to stress about it because typically I have all my shopping done and all the gifts wrapped by Thanksgiving, so as soon as the tree goes up the gifts are underneath it. I do believe however I will have to create a new method because Travis shook his and was taking guesses that were pretty dead on though I wouldn't tell him so.
Saturday night/Sunday morning brought us into our current predicament as we received tons of ice down here. It's estimated that 50,000 people/homes are without power still now. We lost power at 3am and again at 5am on Sunday morning so we tried keeping Tenny as warm as possible until after church when Mark called. He had spoke with Travis earlier and some of the guys at the church were reserving rooms in a local hotel and they got one for us as well, so Tennyson had his first official hotel stay, it was amazing. I sure hadn't thought that far ahead and by the time we got here at 2pm to check in they were booked solid and turning people away.
Last year when we lost power like this, Travis and I spent a couple days at home freezing but decided you can't do that with Tennyson. We probably could have kept him warm (though when we left the temperature was below 60 in our home) however his oxygen concentrator and apnea monitor run on electricity so we were using portable oxygen tanks and praying the battery on the monitor would make it.
We checked into the hotel and had a good night though Tennyson is waking up every hour, I think it's new sights, sounds and smells but he's sure keeping me on my toes. Then this morning Travis headed to work (with both sets of keys as he gave Ted his house key while we were in the NICU and wanted to head home and turn off our water tonight) where they were without power however they sent him and Gail to KC and Concordia to get parts for the electricians to hopefully get some electricity back on here.
While he was away however a transformer nearby (we're at Rangeline and I-44) went down and we were without power here at the hotel from around 10:45 to 1 when it just came back on. I was a bit panicked as it was getting chilly and I wasn't sure I would be able to keep Tenny warm enough for very long. We made it however there is discussion as my dad and Ted have both heard we're supposed to get more tonight of taking Tennyson and I up north this evening.
As for the rest of the family...Connie got a new car, a purple Chevy HHR and I am sure she's stoked about it, I haven't got to visit with her though Travis did.
AND OUR BIG NEWS...Trudy is home, she got into Omaha yesterday so she's in KC seeing her physicians today for check ups and will be around for the next month. We're stoked she's back and can't wait until we get to see her though we're not sure when that will be. She is giving a presentation about her journeys at Grace this Friday night and I was hoping that Travis would be able to make it though I believe they are going to tape it for us. It will sure be good to see her, we've missed her tons, though God has truly blessed her and us in our time apart.
Thanks for checking in, I apologize its been so long however if I head north tonight it may be longer as my parents internet service, Cooks has been down since October...until I am able to write again, I tried uploading photos but the hotel server said no, my apologies.
Love you all.
Living Out Loud-
Travis, Lindsay & Tennyson Myers
Monday, December 3, 2007
Monday...Monday...Monday
Alright, nothing too exciting happened this weekend. Travis said things went well at CCO as he was the "soundmaster" this weekend. Friday night I had the board dinner and the board meeting was Saturday morning but other than that, we hung out with Tennyson, watched Christmas movies on the Hallmark channel and relaxed.
Tennyson has started crying uncontrollably at times for no reason, I thought he was just fighting sleep but he has a clean diaper, a full belly and still cries, especially at night. The home health nurse came this morning and colic was discussed as that would be the only explanation she can think of. We discussed some possible things to try that could help ease his discomfort, though there is no cure for colic we will try a few things to help hopefully.
Tennyson weighed 7 lbs. 1.8 ounces so he didn't gain much over the weekend however otherwise looks perfect she said. She monitored his sat levels the entire time he was here and he never dropped below 100 so she turned him down to 50ccs and he now receives holidays for up to 6 hours daily so we're really excited about that. She said next week he will be at 25ccs which is room air and will only need to wear the oxygen during long naps and while sleeping so again we're thrilled.
I received a call from Freeman this afternoon because our insurance company hasn't given the pharmacy approval for his second Synagist shot (for the RSV) which is due Thursday so I called and had our case worker call so hopefully we'll receive it in the mail by Wednesday. I think its so strange that they send his vaccine to our home in the mail but what do I know.
Otherwise things here are going great, we're so blessed with his progress and he's starting to be awake for longer periods of time so we have some 'play' time in each day which is so fun.
I will update you again soon hopefully with some pictures...but for now be sure to visit Freeman's website as they've uploaded his photos now. I don't think they look like him any longer but be sure to look under his birthdate which was Sept. 24. Here's the link...http://www.our365.com/WebNursery/WebNursery/BabyFinder/BabyResultsByHospital.aspx?id=0. If however this doesn't work visit freemanhealth.com then look under babies online.
Love you all-
Travis, Lindsay & Tennyson Myers
Tennyson has started crying uncontrollably at times for no reason, I thought he was just fighting sleep but he has a clean diaper, a full belly and still cries, especially at night. The home health nurse came this morning and colic was discussed as that would be the only explanation she can think of. We discussed some possible things to try that could help ease his discomfort, though there is no cure for colic we will try a few things to help hopefully.
Tennyson weighed 7 lbs. 1.8 ounces so he didn't gain much over the weekend however otherwise looks perfect she said. She monitored his sat levels the entire time he was here and he never dropped below 100 so she turned him down to 50ccs and he now receives holidays for up to 6 hours daily so we're really excited about that. She said next week he will be at 25ccs which is room air and will only need to wear the oxygen during long naps and while sleeping so again we're thrilled.
I received a call from Freeman this afternoon because our insurance company hasn't given the pharmacy approval for his second Synagist shot (for the RSV) which is due Thursday so I called and had our case worker call so hopefully we'll receive it in the mail by Wednesday. I think its so strange that they send his vaccine to our home in the mail but what do I know.
Otherwise things here are going great, we're so blessed with his progress and he's starting to be awake for longer periods of time so we have some 'play' time in each day which is so fun.
I will update you again soon hopefully with some pictures...but for now be sure to visit Freeman's website as they've uploaded his photos now. I don't think they look like him any longer but be sure to look under his birthdate which was Sept. 24. Here's the link...http://www.our365.com/WebNursery/WebNursery/BabyFinder/BabyResultsByHospital.aspx?id=0. If however this doesn't work visit freemanhealth.com then look under babies online.
Love you all-
Travis, Lindsay & Tennyson Myers
Thursday, November 29, 2007
This week...
Our Christmas Tree and Tenny in his precious outfits.
Alright, Tuesday started off with us heading to Neosho to see Dr. Holmes. After Tennyson was weighed, measured and checked all over Dr. Holmes stated he looked perfect, which of course we already knew. He is scheduled for a follow up with Dr. Holmes on Dec. 21 and will receive his next hep B shot along with his two month immunizations (maybe I can talk dad into taking that appointment).
Tennyson has been spitting up quite a bit, almost back to where we were before we got the prevacid so Dr. Holmes increased his dosage to 2ML/day and if that doesn't work we will try something else next month. Dr. Holmes did comment on Tennyson being very active and not one you'll be able to take your eye off of. Hope the attached video shows that well though he does tend to wear himself out at times.
From there we headed back home and got lunch ready and then headed back out to see Dr. Jordan. Dr. Jordan examined his eyes and stated he's still showing the ROP however it isn't any worse than it was last week so that's a good sign. That it's not continually progressing is good. We will see him again Dec. 11, our due date.
From there we had about an hour and a half before we had to pick Travis up from work (the water pump in the truck is out so we're using the Pacifica for our transportation) and by the time we would drive home, we would have to turn right around and head back that direction so I had brought a bunch of extra blankets because I thought this may happen so Tennyson and I hung out in the car cuddled up until he got off work. It was really a great time to nap (praise the Lord for tinted windows, no one even saw us).
Rachel Bond brought over dinner for us, we had vegetable soup and croissants and cookies, it was wonderful and really hit the spot. God sure has blessed us with wonderful friends.
Wednesday, Tennyson and I spent the day catching up on sleep, he sleeps so well during the day and since I was apparently exhausted (Travis said Tuesday night I slept through Tennyson's cries so he got up and fed him, isn't my husband wonderful). We basically napped off and on all day. I was a bit nervous last night that he wouldn't be able to sleep however after his bath we were only up three or four times, it was great. I have noticed however that he's starting to fight sleep, if you're not holding him you have to be sure he's really out or he will wake himself back up and cry and cry because he doesn't want to go to sleep. Isn't it amazing how as children we fight sleep because we don't want to miss a thing and as adults we crave sleep because we never get enough??
Travis and I were visiting this morning before he headed to work and decided it's a good thing we don't rely heavily on the oxygen because when we woke up this morning Tennyson had it down on his top lip. I can't imagine how much oxygen we've pumped into our home without it actually going anywhere, you know? He doesn't really like to wear his cannula, I can't say that I blame him.
This morning the home health nurse came for a visit and we weighed in at 7lbs. 1 ounce. I can hardly believe it, he's doing so well. She did a full exam and said he still looked great.
I can't thank you all enough for taking the time to visit this blog, my apologies that I haven't been keeping up with it as well since he came home. I am hoping we will establish a routine and then I will be able to. However each time I think I've got a routine figured out, Tennyson goes and changes it. I knew I never should have asked the Lord to teach me patience. :)
Love you all, but I have to run, Tenny's waking up.
Amazed by the Almighty-
Travis, Lindsay & Tennyson Myers
Monday, November 26, 2007
Funnies from our precious one...
I just have to tell this, it was so hilarious. If it hadn't been the middle of the night I am sure I would have gotten a picture. As you all know from the pictures Tennyson is on oxygen which daily following his bath we have to tape to his cheeks to ensure it remains in his nose. We usually double reinforce it during the night however haven't had any problems with it thus far. Saturday night however he was making some noise in his cradle so I walked over to it and he had not only gotten the tape loose and pulled the cannula away from the piece at the back that holds it snuggly into place but he had wiggled the cannula down his body and had his arms hanging through it. It was the funniest thing I had ever seen and since we weren't having any episodes makes me wonder how much he's needing the oxygen, but that's another story for another day.
This has been a great weekend, everyone but my sisters and Trudy (who's traveling the world) were able to come down and see Tennyson, it was great. We had such great food, and so much fun together. No one can believe how big he's getting, don't get me wrong, we're still too small for most of our newborn clothing but compared to where we started, we're huge. Double our size actually. He's really filled out as well as I'm sure you can see by the pictures which makes a huge difference.
Last night was another long one as he woke up every hour, almost exactly on the hour and just wanted to play, we're definately going to start doing baths before bed because once those are done and he's ate, he's usually out a good three hours. I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow. We'd had two good nights in a row so I guess I was like, we're over this hump, little did I know.
Then this morning the home health nurse came by a bit after eight and I had to wake him up, it was the first time since midnight he hadn't woken up on the hour, of course, of course.
He weighed in at 6lbs. 12.5 ounces so he's growing like a weed. She turned his oxygen off so we could monitor how much he's relying on it. In the NICU he needed it primarily during feedings however this morning since I had woken him up he was throwing a fit needing to eat about 8:20 so I fed him without his Os and the lowest we dropped was 95%. She turned him down to 75ccs from 100 and stated if he continues this well then next week, they will turn him down to 50ccs with holidays. Holidays are a few hour stretches where he doesn't have to wear it, she said we would probably start with 3-4 hours and see how he handles that.
So all the news from that front is good, we then tried to take a nap however everytime I would get laid down Tenny would cry until I would reposition him. He would then fall back to sleep until I tried to lay down, it was a vicious game so I decided to do laundry instead. When he woke up I bathed him, changed his leads, fed him and he's sleeping soundly now. He is wearing a very precious outfit so I am hoping to get some good pictures of him later today along with the finished Christmas tree and will post them when I have them.
Hope you all had a great weekend, and the Lord refreshed you in ways you couldn't imagine, He sure did me. Worship at CCO was so great, and the message was on "Whatever Happened to Gratitude??" Chad Ragsdale did a great job. The Lord really is blessing us beyond what we could have ever imagined.
When discussing Tennyson's age we were told to go by his adjusted age, so currently we're -3 weeks, isn't that hilarious, but in all actuality he's been with us 9 weeks today.
Know we love you all more than we can say and once I get the perfect picture I will get his birth announcements out.
Made for these Moments-
Travis, Lindsay & Tennyson Myers
This has been a great weekend, everyone but my sisters and Trudy (who's traveling the world) were able to come down and see Tennyson, it was great. We had such great food, and so much fun together. No one can believe how big he's getting, don't get me wrong, we're still too small for most of our newborn clothing but compared to where we started, we're huge. Double our size actually. He's really filled out as well as I'm sure you can see by the pictures which makes a huge difference.
Last night was another long one as he woke up every hour, almost exactly on the hour and just wanted to play, we're definately going to start doing baths before bed because once those are done and he's ate, he's usually out a good three hours. I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow. We'd had two good nights in a row so I guess I was like, we're over this hump, little did I know.
Then this morning the home health nurse came by a bit after eight and I had to wake him up, it was the first time since midnight he hadn't woken up on the hour, of course, of course.
He weighed in at 6lbs. 12.5 ounces so he's growing like a weed. She turned his oxygen off so we could monitor how much he's relying on it. In the NICU he needed it primarily during feedings however this morning since I had woken him up he was throwing a fit needing to eat about 8:20 so I fed him without his Os and the lowest we dropped was 95%. She turned him down to 75ccs from 100 and stated if he continues this well then next week, they will turn him down to 50ccs with holidays. Holidays are a few hour stretches where he doesn't have to wear it, she said we would probably start with 3-4 hours and see how he handles that.
So all the news from that front is good, we then tried to take a nap however everytime I would get laid down Tenny would cry until I would reposition him. He would then fall back to sleep until I tried to lay down, it was a vicious game so I decided to do laundry instead. When he woke up I bathed him, changed his leads, fed him and he's sleeping soundly now. He is wearing a very precious outfit so I am hoping to get some good pictures of him later today along with the finished Christmas tree and will post them when I have them.
Hope you all had a great weekend, and the Lord refreshed you in ways you couldn't imagine, He sure did me. Worship at CCO was so great, and the message was on "Whatever Happened to Gratitude??" Chad Ragsdale did a great job. The Lord really is blessing us beyond what we could have ever imagined.
When discussing Tennyson's age we were told to go by his adjusted age, so currently we're -3 weeks, isn't that hilarious, but in all actuality he's been with us 9 weeks today.
Know we love you all more than we can say and once I get the perfect picture I will get his birth announcements out.
Made for these Moments-
Travis, Lindsay & Tennyson Myers
Saturday, November 24, 2007
A Beautiful Baby, a good night and our Christmas Tree...
We had another good night last night and after a bath this morning he has slept the last four hours though he's stirring now. We have spent part of last night and this morning getting our Christmas tree put up (there will be pictures once it's perfected). I have included some pictures from being home and just hanging out this past week.
Know you all are loved so very much and we're so thankful for each of you. We couldn't have made it this far, nor could we continue on without you. God has blessed us beyond words with you being in our lives. Thank you for allowing Him to use you for His glory not only in our lives but we pray you will always.
All our love-
Travis, Lindsay & Tennyson Myers
Friday, November 23, 2007
So many moments, so little time...
Okay I barely even know where to begin. Monday morning my mom headed back to Union Star and Tyler and Jenny came down. It was great to see them as it had been so long since we'd been with them. We learned two new card games and had a blast. They headed back to St Joseph late Tuesday night and my parents and Ryan came down Wednesday evening, they had Thanksgiving with us, chicken and noodles, it was wonderful and headed back home today. Ted and Connie came down today and everyone is loving on Mr. Tennyson.
He's doing so great, the home health nurses are raving. Monday he weighed 6 lbs. 3 ounces which was a 4 ounce gain after being dismissed and this morning he weighed 6 lbs. 7 ounces so again with a four ounce gain. It's been so great having him here and being able to cuddle with him and watch all his facial expressions and his little quirks.
We decided that the NICU night nurses sure must have spoiled him because last night was the first night we weren't up every hour. The previous nights were so hard to get through as he was up every hour on the hour and just wanted to be held, I think maybe he was used to being held all night :). We tried everything, he has been put in the bouncer, the swing, his cradle, his carseat however the only thing that worked was mom sleeping in a corner on a quilt holding him which I know I'm not supposed to do because of the monitors but I couldn't think of anything else, we'd tried it all. He is however hopefully starting to get this figured out as last night he slept four hours the first stent and then two and two.
He has no problems however sleeping during the day. He'll be up to eat and be changed, cuddle till he's back asleep and then you can put him anywhere but laying flat on the floor and he'll sleep many times his four hours. So we're trying to be patient in this but pray for us, it's sure frustrating in the night when you don't know what to do for him.
We visited with Dr. Jordan, the optamolgist on Wednesday (it was a follow up exam) and he was diagnosed with stage one ROP (Retinopathy of prematurity). "ROP is a potentially blinding eye disorder that primarily affects premature infants weighing about 2¾ pounds (1250 grams) or less that are born before 31 weeks of gestation. The smaller a baby is at birth, the more likely that baby is to develop ROP. This disorder—which usually develops in both eyes—is one of the most common causes of visual loss in childhood and can lead to lifelong vision impairment and blindness."-Quoted from the National Eye Institute.
What this means to us at this time is that we will visit with Dr Jordan weekly to monitor and if we progress to stage three will then have eye surgery to alleviate it before reaching full detatchment and causing blindness. We will visit with him next Tuesday again as well as visiting Dr. Holmes the pediatrician on Tuesday.
With our monitors we have had several apnea episodes, so I am so glad that we have it. They occur almost always while he's sleeping and being held so there is question as to their validity however nonetheless I have to chart them and turn the chart into the pediatrician next week. I will let you know if any changes are made though I doubt they will be as during his home health checks he's been satting 100%.
So for us, that's really all that's happening, I apologize that I haven't updated more frequently and promise I will try to. If we can get our routine down, we'll have no trouble I pray. Know that we love you all and can't wait until June to show off our precious one.
Leaning on the Lifegiver-
Travis, Lindsay & Tennyson Myers
He's doing so great, the home health nurses are raving. Monday he weighed 6 lbs. 3 ounces which was a 4 ounce gain after being dismissed and this morning he weighed 6 lbs. 7 ounces so again with a four ounce gain. It's been so great having him here and being able to cuddle with him and watch all his facial expressions and his little quirks.
We decided that the NICU night nurses sure must have spoiled him because last night was the first night we weren't up every hour. The previous nights were so hard to get through as he was up every hour on the hour and just wanted to be held, I think maybe he was used to being held all night :). We tried everything, he has been put in the bouncer, the swing, his cradle, his carseat however the only thing that worked was mom sleeping in a corner on a quilt holding him which I know I'm not supposed to do because of the monitors but I couldn't think of anything else, we'd tried it all. He is however hopefully starting to get this figured out as last night he slept four hours the first stent and then two and two.
He has no problems however sleeping during the day. He'll be up to eat and be changed, cuddle till he's back asleep and then you can put him anywhere but laying flat on the floor and he'll sleep many times his four hours. So we're trying to be patient in this but pray for us, it's sure frustrating in the night when you don't know what to do for him.
We visited with Dr. Jordan, the optamolgist on Wednesday (it was a follow up exam) and he was diagnosed with stage one ROP (Retinopathy of prematurity). "ROP is a potentially blinding eye disorder that primarily affects premature infants weighing about 2¾ pounds (1250 grams) or less that are born before 31 weeks of gestation. The smaller a baby is at birth, the more likely that baby is to develop ROP. This disorder—which usually develops in both eyes—is one of the most common causes of visual loss in childhood and can lead to lifelong vision impairment and blindness."-Quoted from the National Eye Institute.
What this means to us at this time is that we will visit with Dr Jordan weekly to monitor and if we progress to stage three will then have eye surgery to alleviate it before reaching full detatchment and causing blindness. We will visit with him next Tuesday again as well as visiting Dr. Holmes the pediatrician on Tuesday.
With our monitors we have had several apnea episodes, so I am so glad that we have it. They occur almost always while he's sleeping and being held so there is question as to their validity however nonetheless I have to chart them and turn the chart into the pediatrician next week. I will let you know if any changes are made though I doubt they will be as during his home health checks he's been satting 100%.
So for us, that's really all that's happening, I apologize that I haven't updated more frequently and promise I will try to. If we can get our routine down, we'll have no trouble I pray. Know that we love you all and can't wait until June to show off our precious one.
Leaning on the Lifegiver-
Travis, Lindsay & Tennyson Myers
Monday, November 19, 2007
I Don't Want to Miss A Thing...
of course however Tennyson missed everything on his first car ride...
That's right, we're home!!!
Saturday morning while I was working the nurse asked Travis if we wanted to room in that evening. Of course he called me and we discussed it however decided that would be wonderful, I think we were a bit scared and nervous.
When I got off work, we met at Ronald McDonald and cleaned out our room however didn't check out as many times parents are kicked out of their rooms early in the morning and then have no where to go. So we did that, headed over for his 4pm feeding and then grabbed some dinner with mom and unloaded the car at home before heading back at 8 to room in.
We spent the night in the pediatric wing (which in Travis' opinion was heaven), there were two twin beds with the bassinette inbetween and two televisions (we hadn't seen TV in so long) and a kitchen down the hall we were able to use at any time. Each room on the unit has it's own decorating theme and ours was a jungle (pictures will be attached later) so it was neat.
Around 11pm we gave Tennyson a bath and got him dressed to have his picture taken to be posted on Freeman's website (I'll let you know when it's online) however the cute outfit I had picked out was a newborn and you could have put three of him into it. So we resorted to an old standby and had his picture taken in a navy blue pair of sweats and a hoodie. After that we were up a few times but nothing major.
Around 10am we returned him to the NICU to check out of our room at Ronald. After doing this we returned for his noon feeding and Dr. Topper visited with us around his care, how perfect he is, his medications, etc. and dismissed us. Needless to say by 1:30 we were heading home.
We got home and unloaded everything from the car, and ordered pizza (thank goodness Papa John's now delivers) and ate, while admiring Tennyson who was sleeping peacefully in his car seat.
The night went well with his monitor only alarming a few times because one of his leads had gotten loose, otherwise all was well.
This morning around 9:30 Buddy from Health Essentials came by and put in our new buddy, a large oxygen humidifying machine, dropped off five 12 hour tanks and a 42 hour option in case we lose power. He also brought a new kind of lead for us to try that he believes will work better and alarm less.
Then the home health nurse came around 1:30 to check him out and see how things were going. Saturday evening he weighed 5lbs. 15.1 ounces and today he weighed 6lbs. 3 ounces so we must be doing something right. He was satting 100% so the plan of care at this time is to weane him down to 75ccs (from the 100 we're on right now) next week, then 50 ccs the next week, then 25 ccs the following week, then we will only have the oxygen at night for a month or so as he tolerates.
It was great to get a routine started and home health will visit every Monday and Friday. We have an appointment with the eye doctor Wednesday morning and our pediatrician next Tuesday morning. We will find out then if we need to see a pediatric neurologist because apparently on his MRI the radiologist found an artifact on his cortex. They were not testing for this and it was only found in some of the pictures so there is discussion that it may not need to be checked at this time however we will know more after visiting with Dr. Holmes.
So sorry this post is late, I wanted to get the laundry caught up and the house cleaned up today before we get started with everything that will be happening in the next few weeks. Don't worry, I will continue to post and let you know how things are going.
We love you all and thank you for your prayers.
Praising our Father for His Goodness-
Travis, Lindsay & Tennyson Myers
Friday, November 16, 2007
An apology for my poor attitude and Praises out the Wazoo
is wazoo really a word anyways??
First a bit of an explanation for yesterday's post...
I was feeding him between four and five Wednesday afternoon and the nurse practitioner came by and said that we would be rooming in Wednesday night and going home Thursday night. I was so excited, we ran home and got the car seat, clothing for him to have his picture taken in, etc. I just couldn’t believe our journey in the NICU had finally come to a close and to boot one of the nurses we love was on duty on Thursday so she would be able to see us off. We were so stoked.
When we came in at 8 to feed him again I peeked in his room and they were bagging him, I just stopped, I couldn’t function. It’s scary when you’re child is bagged however that coupled with the immense disappointment I had when I realized we weren’t going home…just led to immense tears. I cried the entire time I nursed him at 8 and then went back to feed him at midnight.
I just wish they’d never said we would room in Thursday night and go home Friday, it just sorta knocked the wind out of my sails. Apparently they’re finding that he’s desatting with bottle feeds which we haven’t done but twice a day the last little bit because we’ve been nursing and he’s been doing great. So in discussion yesterday with Jeanne (as she's back) it was decided that Tennyson would be put back on oxygen and we would be taking home the oxygen and monitors (which we expected all along).
Now that I've had some time to reflect on the entire situation and to get over the emotions I am so glad we're still in the NICU, had we been at home, the stimulation techniques did not work and we would not have had the oxygen and therefore would not have been able to assist him in that way. That being said we would have had to call 911 and we don't live near an ambulance bay so it is hard to say how much irreprible damage would have been done to our little boy had we gone home. I can't thank the Lord enough that we were still in the NICU and that we will have the oxygen and monitors along with home health visits frequently that first month.
So now for how he's doing...since that episode he's been doing great, they were only putting the oxygen on him for feeds however it's hard when you get them home to only use it in that fashion as it's so upsetting to the little ones to have to tape it on and then take it off, etc. so it's a permanent fixture for us for a while.
So my apologies for having such a poor and emotionally overdriven post yesterday, I was having a rough day but that's not fair to make it sound like my world is ending...it was just crashing down a bit!! :)
He weighed in last night at 5lbs. 12.5 ounces, again an increase (we're almost back to where we were a few days ago) and he hasn't had an episode since he went to the oxygen at 3pm yesterday afternoon.
Travis and I will be receiving our oxygen and monitor training this evening and then we will be waiting until he gets to come home, there is discussion that if he remains episode free it will be sometime next week. What a great Thanksgiving this will be...
Anyways sorry for such a poor attitude yesterday, the emotions at time wear you out, but above all the emotions I am so thankful to the Lord that Tennyson is ours, is perfect and is beautiful.
Thank you for all your prayers and the time you give us, you don't know how much it means to us and how thankful we are for each of you.
Love you all...
Praising our Protector-
Travis, Lindsay & Tennyson Myers
First a bit of an explanation for yesterday's post...
I was feeding him between four and five Wednesday afternoon and the nurse practitioner came by and said that we would be rooming in Wednesday night and going home Thursday night. I was so excited, we ran home and got the car seat, clothing for him to have his picture taken in, etc. I just couldn’t believe our journey in the NICU had finally come to a close and to boot one of the nurses we love was on duty on Thursday so she would be able to see us off. We were so stoked.
When we came in at 8 to feed him again I peeked in his room and they were bagging him, I just stopped, I couldn’t function. It’s scary when you’re child is bagged however that coupled with the immense disappointment I had when I realized we weren’t going home…just led to immense tears. I cried the entire time I nursed him at 8 and then went back to feed him at midnight.
I just wish they’d never said we would room in Thursday night and go home Friday, it just sorta knocked the wind out of my sails. Apparently they’re finding that he’s desatting with bottle feeds which we haven’t done but twice a day the last little bit because we’ve been nursing and he’s been doing great. So in discussion yesterday with Jeanne (as she's back) it was decided that Tennyson would be put back on oxygen and we would be taking home the oxygen and monitors (which we expected all along).
Now that I've had some time to reflect on the entire situation and to get over the emotions I am so glad we're still in the NICU, had we been at home, the stimulation techniques did not work and we would not have had the oxygen and therefore would not have been able to assist him in that way. That being said we would have had to call 911 and we don't live near an ambulance bay so it is hard to say how much irreprible damage would have been done to our little boy had we gone home. I can't thank the Lord enough that we were still in the NICU and that we will have the oxygen and monitors along with home health visits frequently that first month.
So now for how he's doing...since that episode he's been doing great, they were only putting the oxygen on him for feeds however it's hard when you get them home to only use it in that fashion as it's so upsetting to the little ones to have to tape it on and then take it off, etc. so it's a permanent fixture for us for a while.
So my apologies for having such a poor and emotionally overdriven post yesterday, I was having a rough day but that's not fair to make it sound like my world is ending...it was just crashing down a bit!! :)
He weighed in last night at 5lbs. 12.5 ounces, again an increase (we're almost back to where we were a few days ago) and he hasn't had an episode since he went to the oxygen at 3pm yesterday afternoon.
Travis and I will be receiving our oxygen and monitor training this evening and then we will be waiting until he gets to come home, there is discussion that if he remains episode free it will be sometime next week. What a great Thanksgiving this will be...
Anyways sorry for such a poor attitude yesterday, the emotions at time wear you out, but above all the emotions I am so thankful to the Lord that Tennyson is ours, is perfect and is beautiful.
Thank you for all your prayers and the time you give us, you don't know how much it means to us and how thankful we are for each of you.
Love you all...
Praising our Protector-
Travis, Lindsay & Tennyson Myers
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Pray for me...
This will be a short post as I have few words...
There were talks of us going home in the near future however we had a horrible desat episode last night that has set us back at this point indefinately as the discussions have ceased. I am so anxious to bring him home though don't want to prematurely however didn't realize I would have all the emotions I do with that one episode.
He is doing great since then and is again oxygen free however he's kind of hovering so I am unsure how much longer that will last. The circumcision site looks great and they're talking of no longer needing vaseline or gauze at noon today it looks so good. He weighed in at 5lbs. 11.9 ounces last night so he's down some but that was expected following the MRI, sedation and circumcision.
Anyways that's all we know. We are clinging to the Father and know we're being lifted up.
All our love-
Travis, Lindsay & Tennyson Myers
There were talks of us going home in the near future however we had a horrible desat episode last night that has set us back at this point indefinately as the discussions have ceased. I am so anxious to bring him home though don't want to prematurely however didn't realize I would have all the emotions I do with that one episode.
He is doing great since then and is again oxygen free however he's kind of hovering so I am unsure how much longer that will last. The circumcision site looks great and they're talking of no longer needing vaseline or gauze at noon today it looks so good. He weighed in at 5lbs. 11.9 ounces last night so he's down some but that was expected following the MRI, sedation and circumcision.
Anyways that's all we know. We are clinging to the Father and know we're being lifted up.
All our love-
Travis, Lindsay & Tennyson Myers
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
How Great is our God...
Tennyson is doing so wonderful, even better than we could have hoped or imagined after last week. In the last twelve hours he's really been worked over but is doing great.
Yesterday morning around 10:15 a.m. they removed him from his oxygen (they do this with every baby because for insurance purposes they have to fail thriving on their own to be allowed to take the equipment - oxygen and monitors - home with them). Needless to say, Tennyson has thrived on his own since then, which was highly unexpected. He has even made it through numerous breast and bottle feedings, so praise the Lord for that.
All day yesterday he was scheduled for an MRI that was pushed back and rescheduled and such. He finally had it around midnight last night so while they sedated him, through the MRI and then the bath he was given while sedated after the MRI he had oxygen on because they were afraid with him being out he would not remember to breathe. Once he was bathed it was taken off and he was fed by bottle so he's doing great. He weighed in last night at 5lbs. 12.7 ounces and growing like a weed.
Early this morning he had his circumcision done. The nurses said Tennyson did great, as did Dr. Holmes. There was no bleeding however as a thank you Tennyson had a blow out as Dr. Holmes did his work, bet he doesn't forget this kid for awhile.
So that brings us up to now, he's doing great, holding his own, the circumcision site is red but otherwise looks great, he ate right after the circumcision for a bit and will be hungry again soon I'm sure. Just wanted to let you all know how great our God is in that He's carrying our little one through all of this. I'm just thankful Tennyson won't be able to remember any of it.
There is mild speculation we'll be heading home in the near future from the nursing staff however Dr. Porte would like us to be 37-371/2 weeks and we were 36 yesterday so we'll see. We're not getting our hopes up because we've heard their speculation before. We will however let you know when we know. We will also post MRI results when we have them.
Again thanks for the prayers, we know we would be nowhere near going home if it weren't for all of you interceding for us. Know you are loved.
Excited in the Everlasting-
Travis, Lindsay & Tennyson Myers
Yesterday morning around 10:15 a.m. they removed him from his oxygen (they do this with every baby because for insurance purposes they have to fail thriving on their own to be allowed to take the equipment - oxygen and monitors - home with them). Needless to say, Tennyson has thrived on his own since then, which was highly unexpected. He has even made it through numerous breast and bottle feedings, so praise the Lord for that.
All day yesterday he was scheduled for an MRI that was pushed back and rescheduled and such. He finally had it around midnight last night so while they sedated him, through the MRI and then the bath he was given while sedated after the MRI he had oxygen on because they were afraid with him being out he would not remember to breathe. Once he was bathed it was taken off and he was fed by bottle so he's doing great. He weighed in last night at 5lbs. 12.7 ounces and growing like a weed.
Early this morning he had his circumcision done. The nurses said Tennyson did great, as did Dr. Holmes. There was no bleeding however as a thank you Tennyson had a blow out as Dr. Holmes did his work, bet he doesn't forget this kid for awhile.
So that brings us up to now, he's doing great, holding his own, the circumcision site is red but otherwise looks great, he ate right after the circumcision for a bit and will be hungry again soon I'm sure. Just wanted to let you all know how great our God is in that He's carrying our little one through all of this. I'm just thankful Tennyson won't be able to remember any of it.
There is mild speculation we'll be heading home in the near future from the nursing staff however Dr. Porte would like us to be 37-371/2 weeks and we were 36 yesterday so we'll see. We're not getting our hopes up because we've heard their speculation before. We will however let you know when we know. We will also post MRI results when we have them.
Again thanks for the prayers, we know we would be nowhere near going home if it weren't for all of you interceding for us. Know you are loved.
Excited in the Everlasting-
Travis, Lindsay & Tennyson Myers
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
An MRI, a fight and our beautiful baby...
First Tennyson has an MRI scheduled for this morning in which he will have to be sedated, so the rest of today he will be rather lathargic, at least we got in one good feeding at 8am. The MRI is to look for clusters in his brain that are indicators of developmental abnormalities. Doesn't mean he won't have any developmental disturbances but if there aren't any its a good indicator. I will post results from that when I have them. They have to sedate the babies for two reasons, one because they need them to lay still and second because it's very noisy in there. Once Tennyson is sedated, they will put ear plugs into his ear canals and wrap his head with ear muff looking things to be sure and not damage his hearing during this procedure.
I bet you're wondering about the fight...have you ever been manipulated and not realized it. I sure have and I hate that. Needless to say I received a call yesterday from Tennyson's case worker (just so you all know if you are ever contacted by a case worker who is contracted by the insurance company to be your babies advocate during their stay and assure you they're receiving the best and proper treatments, beware). She was so nice and wonderful at first calling once or twice a week to see how things are going, yesterday however I felt she was being rather pushy, pumping me for information on Tennyson like she hasn't before though his medical files are right in front of her. I mentioned that to Travis while we were on our way to the hospital as she encouraged me to ask the nurse practitioner if we could room in last night. For those of you who don't know (you're blessed) what rooming in is, it means we stay overnight in a postpartum room with Tennyson, just as we would have had he been full term and take him home the following day. Needless to say, we all know he's not quite ready for that yet.
I was outraged by this and of course it's another thing to worry about, but we discussed it and decided to let it go, she must have been having some mental lapse and confusing us with another patient. Little did we know...when we arrived at the NICU and were scrubbing in Dr. Porte stopped us and mentioned she had contacted him questioning why Tennyson was still here, he felt he needed to defend the reasoning to Travis and I. We were completely aware of why he was still here and knew he wasn't ready to go home, we assured Dr. Porte that we were very pleased with the care Tennyson was receiving and didn't want to be discharged early, which causes readmittance on pediatrics many times.
So by that time I was a bit angrier, then Jeanne, the nurse practitioner came into our room and reviewed with us the same information Dr. Porte just had as the case worker had contacted her as well, wanting her reasoning and rationale. We discussed with Jeanne what I was told by the case worker and all the pieces were falling into place.
They are trying to push our precious baby out of the NICU, sending him home on oxygen (which isn't a problem) but he has so many desat issues still that they don't at this time trust him on portable monitors which is what we would be taking home. We discussed the plan of care with both Dr. Porte and Jeanne and with the MRI today that will at least buy us a few more days however both they and Mara (the speech therapist who I found out today was also contacted) are going to be fighting those battles for us. When the insurance company begins denying our stay which will be soon (possibly today or tomorrow) they will be appealing it as he's not stable enough at this time.
Anyways all that to say, please be praying for us. It's just one more thing to have to deal with and somedays it's hard enough just to get through.
Okay enough about me...Tennyson gained again last night and broke the 5lb. 12 ounce barrier. In the middle of the night feedings he ate 70MLs and 90MLs (OINK, OINK)respectively so I would wager to say there will probably be another gain tonight.
He's looking wonderful and so grown up now, I can't believe he was seven weeks old yesterday and we're 36 weeks gestationally today. Amazing!!
Specific prayer needs for him right now are the MRI and his response to the sedation following the MRI, his circumcision which is scheduled for tomorrow morning, his respiratory systems continued development, allowing him to keep his breathing up while being sedated especially (when he gets really comfortable or into a deep sleep many times we forget to keep breathing), and that infection will stay away.
Sorry this was a tyrade and a tangent I just have to vent about what's happening before I allow it to consume me. Needless to say I won't be so naive the next time.
Love you all and thank you so much for your prayers, we're only making it because the Lord hears our (yours and mine) cries and is lifting us up.
Loved by the Lord-
Travis, Lindsay & Tennyson Myers
Okay so the beautiful baby part was to be more photos but blogger is down...I will upload them as soon as I can.
I bet you're wondering about the fight...have you ever been manipulated and not realized it. I sure have and I hate that. Needless to say I received a call yesterday from Tennyson's case worker (just so you all know if you are ever contacted by a case worker who is contracted by the insurance company to be your babies advocate during their stay and assure you they're receiving the best and proper treatments, beware). She was so nice and wonderful at first calling once or twice a week to see how things are going, yesterday however I felt she was being rather pushy, pumping me for information on Tennyson like she hasn't before though his medical files are right in front of her. I mentioned that to Travis while we were on our way to the hospital as she encouraged me to ask the nurse practitioner if we could room in last night. For those of you who don't know (you're blessed) what rooming in is, it means we stay overnight in a postpartum room with Tennyson, just as we would have had he been full term and take him home the following day. Needless to say, we all know he's not quite ready for that yet.
I was outraged by this and of course it's another thing to worry about, but we discussed it and decided to let it go, she must have been having some mental lapse and confusing us with another patient. Little did we know...when we arrived at the NICU and were scrubbing in Dr. Porte stopped us and mentioned she had contacted him questioning why Tennyson was still here, he felt he needed to defend the reasoning to Travis and I. We were completely aware of why he was still here and knew he wasn't ready to go home, we assured Dr. Porte that we were very pleased with the care Tennyson was receiving and didn't want to be discharged early, which causes readmittance on pediatrics many times.
So by that time I was a bit angrier, then Jeanne, the nurse practitioner came into our room and reviewed with us the same information Dr. Porte just had as the case worker had contacted her as well, wanting her reasoning and rationale. We discussed with Jeanne what I was told by the case worker and all the pieces were falling into place.
They are trying to push our precious baby out of the NICU, sending him home on oxygen (which isn't a problem) but he has so many desat issues still that they don't at this time trust him on portable monitors which is what we would be taking home. We discussed the plan of care with both Dr. Porte and Jeanne and with the MRI today that will at least buy us a few more days however both they and Mara (the speech therapist who I found out today was also contacted) are going to be fighting those battles for us. When the insurance company begins denying our stay which will be soon (possibly today or tomorrow) they will be appealing it as he's not stable enough at this time.
Anyways all that to say, please be praying for us. It's just one more thing to have to deal with and somedays it's hard enough just to get through.
Okay enough about me...Tennyson gained again last night and broke the 5lb. 12 ounce barrier. In the middle of the night feedings he ate 70MLs and 90MLs (OINK, OINK)respectively so I would wager to say there will probably be another gain tonight.
He's looking wonderful and so grown up now, I can't believe he was seven weeks old yesterday and we're 36 weeks gestationally today. Amazing!!
Specific prayer needs for him right now are the MRI and his response to the sedation following the MRI, his circumcision which is scheduled for tomorrow morning, his respiratory systems continued development, allowing him to keep his breathing up while being sedated especially (when he gets really comfortable or into a deep sleep many times we forget to keep breathing), and that infection will stay away.
Sorry this was a tyrade and a tangent I just have to vent about what's happening before I allow it to consume me. Needless to say I won't be so naive the next time.
Love you all and thank you so much for your prayers, we're only making it because the Lord hears our (yours and mine) cries and is lifting us up.
Loved by the Lord-
Travis, Lindsay & Tennyson Myers
Okay so the beautiful baby part was to be more photos but blogger is down...I will upload them as soon as I can.
Monday, November 12, 2007
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