My Really Big Day...

Okay so the day started off as planned, Nana Jo got into town around noon and we headed to Freeman to get all registered. From there they took me back into the Pre-op area and weighed me, measured me, and took my head circumference. All was the same as last week except fully clothed I weighed 16lbs. 6 ounces. From there I had to take off my clothes and put on a dress, can you believe it. It was open backed and I had fun showing off some leg for my pictures...

My surgery was scheduled for 3pm however they were running behind and I went back to the room around 4:20. My mom and dad got a pager and headed to the cafeteria to get something to drink. Around 5:05 the pager went off to alert them to head to a consultation room to visit with Dr. Rosenshein. He stated that the left hernia was quickly and easily repaired however the right hernia was much more difficult than anticipated. He questioned that the right side might have been incarcerated (which in many cases requires emergency surgery) due to the difficulty of its repair. The right one contained much more fluid than expected as well. The right testicle was also undescended and he moved it into proper placement.

There was quite a lapse in time between our visit with Dr. Rosenshein and being able to see him in recovery. It was explained to us later he had some difficulty waking up and was very sleepy however they were able to easily extabate him and he was only on a nasal canula, satting 100 when we arrived. They allowed us to feed him Pedialyte unflavored water basically to be sure that he had no trouble with it however he was very, very fussy which is unusual for Tennyson. We found out later he did not receive the local the anesthesiologist had anticipated giving him though we're not sure why. So basically he received no pain medication during the procedure so he was hurting and uncomfortable. Dr. Rosenshein stated Tennyson would be very tender and swollen for a while though because of the difficulty of the repair. They were able around 6:15 to give him some Tylenol to help with the pain and he fell asleep not too long after that.

Freeman is full, so we had to wait around 3 hours in the recovery before being assigned a room on the peds unit. We headed over here and got all set up with our apnea monitor for the night and they removed the oxygen because he was satting so well. We were finally able to feed him some formula though he slugged it down (keep in mind he hasn't ate anything since before noon) however we had to follow that with water because they didn't want him having too much too quickly.

That's where we are now, he again cried himself to sleep and he's resting in Nana's arms. At this point in time, please pray for his recovery, that his pain would be mild and that he would be back to his old self in no time.

Love you all-
Travis, Lindsay & Tennyson

P.S. Congratulations to Chris & Carol DeWelt & Phil & Susan Casey on receiving Ozark Alumni of the Year honors!!!

RSV, Valentine's Day, Answered Prayers, 5 months old, and the Last Three Weeks

It has been a crazy three weeks but I have to say it has flown by. Sorry I haven't updated sooner but I will try and recap some of the highlights.

Tennyson woke up one morning really congested and so we called Dr. Holmes' office and Travis ran him down there. He prescribed some medication for decongestion and thought that would take care of it. On Monday when the home health nurse came by to give his Synagist shot for RSV, the congestion had moved and could be heard in his throat area. She called Dr. Holmes' office describing the symptoms and they determined to start him immediately on Amoxocillin. The symptoms all pointed to RSV however it hadn't spread to his lungs yet so we were all hopeful with the quick treatment it wouldn't be as severe as it could be. Also with the Synagist shots he's been getting hopefully we would be able to beat this quickly and stay out of the hospital.

For the next two weeks we gave him medication three times a day and watched him closely for any signs of change for the worse however he did great with the Amox and is now back up and normal, hospital free.

So that was one hump to overcome and Tennyson did so greatly. During this three week stent Valentine's Day came around and Travis had praise team practice so we ordered pizza and hung out for about an hour between work and praise team and then Tennyson and I played the rest of the evening.

That same week a huge prayer was answered, Jesse Pavlik (I work with her husband Jace), who is expecting their first baby late April, Hazel, quit working at the daycare she'd been employed with while completing her classes at Ozark and was interested in watching Tennyson. She watched him four days last week, will watch him two this week, and from them on will watch him until Hazel's much anticipated arrival. So that's a huge answered prayer and a huge weight lifted off our shoulders. Jesse and Tenny get along great and they're both just all smiles when they're together. I'm so thankful someone who loves him to pieces is with him though I do wish it could be me.

The reason she only had him four days last week is Thursday, the 21st was a day with mommy filled with Dr's appointments. We started the day in the sleet and freezing rain heading to Neosho to visit Dr. Holmes. I always have things that I want to ask him however once I am there never seem to be able to remember them so this time I made a list. So we got there and he was weighed, measured and his head circumference taken. He weighed 15lbs. 7 ounces, was 25 1/4 inches long with a head circumference of 16 1/4. This was great news as we made it on the chart, his length and head circumference were at 3% and his weight was at 5% so we officially made it in all three categories so that was exciting. From there he was given four immunizations which he was really excited about however he's had so many shots they don't even faze him any longer.

Dr. Holmes and I discussed quite a few things, but first Dr. Holmes assessed him as if he were a four month old developmentally. Tennyson was able to smile, laugh, talk, roll over and focus on things. The one thing he isn't doing yet is grasping toys, he really has no desire to hold onto anything other than others fingers or handfuls of hair so they are going to start treating him as if he's a four month old rather than a two month old so that's exciting. We discussed his cradle cap which is clearing up nicely now that we're using the recommended head and shoulders shampoo, we discussed his constipation and will increase his juice intake though we're still giving glycerin three times a week, and we talked about eating. He recommended we start him on orange vegetables, if you start them on the green vegetables or fruit first many times they won't eat their orange vegetables because they taste the worst apparently. We're still trying to get the rice cereal down (I will post pictures) so we will start baby food though it will probably be a few days or so.

So that was all great news but the best news was yet to come...we can start attending church with Tennyson the last weekend in March if he stays in the sanctuary and isn't around many other children. We will also get to take him home the weekend of easter however have to keep him away from all the other children but we're stoked to be able to head back for Racheal's wedding, even though he can't attend that.

So after that we headed to College Press where I worked for about an hour before we had to go see Dr. Jordan for what we hoped would be our last appointment with him for a while. He released Tennyson for the next six months as his retina has fully healed itself (praise the Lord), we will see him again in six months because many preemies have other complications such as intro/extroverted eyes, one of Tenny's appears to be lazy, he will turn it in towards his nose and it seems to get stuck for a lack of better terminiology and he gets frustrated until it pops loose (note this all happens in a matter of seconds) and sometimes one of their eyes will be near and one far sighted which causes trouble with balance when they're learning to stand, pull up, etc.

Then we headed back to the office for a couple more hours where he slept and I worked, he's such a great baby.

This week Jesse has him only two days because tomorrow is the big surgery. Please remember to be praying for us. Dr. Rosenshine will be performing his bilateral inguinal hernia surgery at Freeman at 3pm. We will be there at least overnight as they have to intubate him. If he is easily extubated following the surgery we will have to stay on the Peds unit at least one night, if he isn't we will return to the NICU so keep that in your prayers as well. Mom is coming down and will be here for the surgery and through Friday. If things go really well and we head home on Thursday she is going to be babysitting him on Friday...I'm glad she's going to be here, she knows all about this surgery stuff and I'm just really nervous about it.

Anyways so he's officially five months old now and growing like a weed, he's doing so many things and just talking up a storm now. I will have to post some new videos later today of him eating rice cereal...he's starting to figure out when the camera's out and he won't look or smile at us anymore. Once you power it off and the lights go off he's back to talking, kicking, and smiling. What a little punk we have?? So cute though...

Anyways all that to say sorry it's been so long, praise the Lord for all He's continuing to do through Tennyson and those around us and we love you guys!!

Blessed and Beloved-
Travis, Lindsay & Tennyson Myers

P.S. A funny from last night...Tennyson was given glycerin Sunday night to no avail which has happened once before but we were trying a new kind, so last night on my way home I stopped and got more of the kind we usually use and gave that to him. Needless to say about 15 minutes later it had taken it's affect. Travis laid him down and I went to change him about five minutes later once we knew he was done and when I picked him up, my hands were all wet. He pooped through his diaper, his onesie and his sweats. It was literally everywhere. We ran into our bathroom and I laid him down on a towel to get him all cleaned up while Travis drew him some bath water. Needless to say it was a 20 minute bath of scrubbing and soaking in the tub which he enjoyed. The washer was started up immediately with the clothes, towels, blankets, etc. We've had some doosies, but this one beat them all I have to say. Just thought I'd leave you with a funny!!

Babysitting

If you live in the Joplin, Webb City, Diamond, Oronogo area and would be interested in watching Tennyson, even if you can only do it one time or one day a week, please don't hesitate to contact me at carryinthecross@hotmail.com. Sorry we're having a terrible time finding someone to watch him. If you have one or two children and they are not sick and you would consider watching him, please contact me as well.

Sorry to make this sound like a plea but at some level it is...

Thanks!

I can blow bubbles with my nose...

Be sure to watch closely...my parents are very proud!

Tennyson's Love Letter to You

I know this isn't the most flattering angle but we wanted you to be sure and catch his articulation.

Huge Praise

Travis just ran out and got the mail and we received a huge packet from the insurance company. It had Tennyson's total bill in it as well as our portion. We have really been sweating the uncertainty but at least we know now. We still haven't received anything around my labor and delivery however at least we know how to arrange things for his NICU stay.

Thanks for all the prayers around this.

Recent Milestones

Tennyson has recently made some friends. He has always loved the fans, not while they're on mind you but he has always enjoyed staring at them and such. Recently however he has begun to have conversations with them. He seems to always know when the camera is there so its difficult to get him having a conversation on film.

Even more recently however he's decided he likes the mobile that's connected to his pack and play. It's a rainforest theme and from the video I hope you can sort of see them. During the filming of course he got the hiccups and please excuse the end of the video I wasn't expecting that however here's our little man...

Also last Sunday for the first time we tried rice cereal, as cereal, not in our bottle before bed which we've been doing for a couple weeks now. He didn't really know what to do with it so for every spoonful I gave him we'd do three or four chin sweeps because he'd spit it out however he seemed to sorta grasp the hang of it toward the end. We will try it again tomorrow and I will post a video of the event then.

Also at Dr. Holmes' office on Friday he weighed 14lbs. 5 ounces fully clothed so we're guessing naked he's in the high 13s though we'll find out Monday when he gets his synagist shot. Home health aways weighs him while they're here.

All our love-
Travis, Lindsay & Tennyson

More pictures from recent days...

You can tell in the photo of him in the onesie (its from this morning) that he's not feeling well, see the lack of smiling...

Last Couple of Weeks

First of all Tennyson was released from the hospital as many of you know however the CBC was never redrawn. Our home health nurse wasn't pleased with that considering his white blood cell counts were so high so recently that was redrawn and praise the Lord the results were within normal ranges.

We headed up north (also referred to as home) the weekend of January 18 for the first time since Tennyson was born. He did so great on the four hour trip home. He woke up right before Harrisonville so we exited there and Travis grabbed dinner for us while I fed Tennyson. He really didn't want to be put back in his car seat however and cried from Harrisonville to Camden Point before he finally gave in and slept to Savannah.

Sorry we were unable to see everyone but Tennyson isn't allowed to be out and about yet so we only saw immediate family. We spent Friday night at Ted and Connie's house and were joined by Tyler and Jenny which was so fun. Saturday evening we had dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Newkirk and Grandma and Grandpa Myers which was great considering neither of them had seen Tennyson before. It was wonderful to surprise them and to see their reaction to this precious one.

Saturday night we headed to Union Star where we spent Sunday with mom, dad, Steph, Kelsey, Ryan and Grandpa and Grandma Hutchcraft. It was so fun for everyone to see him and see how much he'd grown since their visit at Christmas. Tennyson again did great, he didn't get hungry and wake up until Nevada where we quickly fed him before he fell asleep and he slept all the way home. Once we got back we unpacked the car and headed to bed as it was late and I had to work the next day.

We returned from the weekend, trying to catch up on our sleep. Thursday we had a going away party for a lady at work, Louise who retired. While we were at Ryan's eating, Travis called me. In front of Ozark Christian College a lady had veered into his lane and taken her car all the way down the drivers side of the truck. Neither of them were injured and she was issued a ticket, but we were thinking honestly what more can go wrong...I tell you when it rains, it pours. We're so thankful the truck is still driveable and they were not injured. The Lord was really watching out for us, it could have been so much worse.

Since then not too much has happened other than us taking turns watching him. A girl I work with is going to watch him two days a week but there is a bug going around down here and she was sick one week and her son the next so we're hoping to be able to have her watch him a few days this coming week. So I worked last weekend to make up hours and have worked evenings from home to try and make up hours, so far we're on track but it's draining us.

This past week Travis had him Wednesday through Friday and poor Tennyson had doctors appointments each day. On Wednesday we met Dr. Rosenshine who is a pediatric urologist from Springdale AR. He's only in Joplin on Wednesdays and is going to do a binguinal hernia surgery on Wednesday, February 27th. This entails us checking into Freeman on Wednesday and we will be there at least one evening. During the procedure they will put Tennyson to sleep with a mask and then they will have to intubate him or put him back on the ventilator. From there it's a routine procedure. After he wakes in recovery if he's able to breathe on his own and they can extubate he will head to the pedicatric unit for at least one night (due to his small size) and once he can breathe well and eat on his own we'll head home. If however in recovery he is not extubated we will again head to the NICU. So please keep that in your prayers.

On Thursday we had a check up with Dr. Jordan around his ROP and Dr. Jordan stated this was the first time his retinal detatchment was showing signs of reversing or healing itself. He thinks we will only have to see him once more and it will be healed. We're so thankful and this is such wonderful news that we're elated. He will see Dr. Jordan on the morning of his surgery.

Tennyson was having some trouble Thursday night breathing so I was up most of the night making sure he was alright, they removed our oxygen from the house last week. His nose was really rattley (like a child's chest sounds when they're sick) only it was all in his nose. I called Dr. Holmes' office and he prescribed some medication for decongestion and said if he's not better in the morning to give him a call.

Friday morning he was still really congested and we'd had another long night and poor Travis had to drive him to Neosho in all the snow. Dr. Holmes said that Tennyson's lungs and everything sounded really clear and he was pleased with that as they've had several RSV cases this year. He wanted to be sure we were still getting our Synagist vaccines monthly (our next one is Monday). He said however that Tennyson's nasal cavity was abnormally small therefore causing all the problems. He is very congested and it's creating trouble for him breathing because he breathes primarily through his nose. He told us to keep with the decongestant and to use saline drops and suction his nose every time he wakes and eats (which is around every three hours) to try and keep some of the mucus from backing up. Tennyson has started coughing frequently on the drainage and his eyes are really watery so we know he's not feeling well but he's hanging in there. Dr. Holmes prescribed an antibiotic we're to fill if the drainage turns from clear to yellow or green which thus far hasn't occurred. Please pray for his little nose and his breathing please.

Other than this, we're doing alright. We miss seeing everyone and have been asked several times what we're doing for the superbowl. Since Tennyson can't have guests or go anywhere I guess Trav, Tenny and I will just be hanging out here. I doubt we even watch the game, but that's just me.

Anyways know that we love you all and are so very thankful that you're in our lives and care enough to keep checking, especially since I've been so bad about keeping you updated.

Resting in the Redeemer-

Travis, Lindsay & Tennyson

On Friday

Broken...long time, no update...

"Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, 'It is a ghost!' And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.' And Peter answered Him and said, 'Lord if it is You command me to come to You on the water.' So He said, 'Come.' And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, 'Lord, save me!' And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, 'O you of little faith, why did you doubt?' And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, 'Truly You are the Son of God.'" - Matthew 14:22-33 (NKJV)

It has been an interesting couple of weeks for us. I have not posted in that there has been much frustration from our end around not finding someone able to babysit Tennyson. Travis and I have been taking turns but any business cannot function without a manager 1/2 of every week as ours have lately. We're indebted that they have allowed this for now but know they can't long term. So along with the confusion of why no babysitter is working out is also the financial implications of working each week (between the two of us) unpaid and worrying about our positions in the future. This is all to say I am sorry I haven't updated but was afraid if I did I would go on a two day rant about how this hasn't worked out for us and that wouldn't be a blessing to anyone therefore I decided if I couldn't say something nice, not to say anything at all.

This Friday at work, Linda reminded me however of the passage above, she pointed out that in verse 23 where it says, "And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray." Jesus had sent the disciples away to keep them from enduring the crowd, after He sent the crowd away He headed up the moutainside. He needed to be alone with His Father praying for the disciples, the five thousand He had just fed and Himself. In doing so He never left His disciples, the mountainside overlooked the sea and during the calm and the storm He witnessed and never left them. They were always within His will, even though they didn't know it. Just because they didn't see Him, didn't mean He was no longer there. It's the same with us, just because I don't see Him moving or "feel" His presence in the situation doesn't mean He's not overseeing and interceding to the Father for us every moment of each day. He knows our needs and provides for them. Even though we don't know or understand what is happening right now, doesn't mean He doesn't.

Too often I am upset with myself for asking why, but I think He expects us to. Peter asked Him to show them a sign through Him that He was in fact who He says He is. Though I don't need a sign to know that He's watching and working through us, sometimes I need a nod, a wink or a smile from Him to remind me He's going to see us through, no matter what.

He has shown Himself to us in so many ways through little Tennyson's life that I hate when my head and heart aren't in sync however know that I'm human and He is always with and will always be interceding for me.

Please pray for us and this situation as at this time nothing has materialized by way of a babysitter for Tennyson. Know that we love you all, and I will now post what's been happening in our lives.

Love you all-
Travis, Lindsay and Tennyson