Ketchup is Funny

Wow...again it has been over 2 weeks since my last post....I've really been slacking at posting lately, sorry, but I have been trying to post, just never got around to it...and whenever I do, my hubby steals the laptop away from me.

So just to let you know, Sammy has been doing much better.  She is back at her full feedings and doing well with them...currently.  She doesn't come to bed upstairs with us anymore, but she is content.  We try to keep the stairs minimal with her, but when she wants to go up the little stairs to go outside she will....otherwise we have a door to go out the side of the house on the main level and so she picks which door she wants to go out of.

Jonathan is on the move like you wouldn't believe.  He has that army crawl down pat and is starting to push himself up with his arms as well...he just hasn't gotten the hang of moving while up...but it'll be coming soon...I can see him working hard at it.  But one thing is for sure.....he doesn't sit still unless he is sleeping!!

I have been doing pretty well with my January goal of taking 30 minutes a day for my me-time.  I usually take it after Jonathan goes to bed, but I do take it!!  So I do have my wind down time.  I will usually sit and do my cross-stitching (I am working on a stocking for Jonathan, for next Christmas).  None the less....I am relaxed before I go to bed.

So there isn't too much going around in my mind tonight, but I did take a video of Jonathan a few weeks (notice the Christmas lights are still up) ago and I did want to share the video.  There is just nothing better than a laughing baby!!!

ENJOY!!

My Sammy Girl

Wow...so it is almost 2 weeks into the new year and I haven't posted an entry yet.  I'm just glad that I didn't say to post more often in my January change.  We've been pretty busy here.  Jonathan is on the move.  Yes I do have a video and here it is...Jonathan is doing the army crawl.  Sorry for the short distance, but he has gotten so much better and I have to upload some more videos that I have gotten of him army crawling.  Once I get them up, I will post in the blog.

So he is on the move now!!  I can't get much done because I am constantly turning him around because he is getting into things he shouldn't.  He goes into the pack n play when it is nap time, because I don't trust him to wake up and not get into things.  Which is fine....he has been pretty content napping in the pack n play.  

I did capture a wonderful moment...Jonathan napping on Daddy!!  Don't tell Daddy, but this is one of my favorite pictures!!  So that is pretty much the new stuff with Jonathan...He's on the move and destruction is quickly following his trail!

Jonathan & Daddy...1/9/12

So the past couple of days has been a rough day on our Sammy girl.  It started a week ago.  We figured Sammy had finally caught up with her age (she's 11 and 1/2 years old), she just wasn't wanting to go upstairs with us.  She like to be around people, more particularly around us.  We just let her be, if she wanted to come up we would walk with her up the stairs, if not, she was perfectly content on her bed in the family room or in the utility room.  We did notice that she had lost a lot of weight.  Just hit us that she was very thin and you can see her ribs.

A couple days ago, Sammy had an accident overnight.  She had diarrhea in the house (like I said middle of the night, so we couldn't hear her if she was by the back door to go outside).  She had gone around our dinning room table and in the kitchen.  So I spent about 2 hours cleaning up the mess.  I did call the vet and set up an appointment for him to come out, as Sammy and Dakota are both due for their vaccines anyway.  So, Sammy had a few additional episodes and thanks to some advice from a family member, I switched her food to the boiled chicken and rice as well as gave her some pedialyte.  She had said to give this to her for the next 5 days and then to provided that she is doing better, she can be slowly weened back onto her normal food.  So she had a small portion at her dinner time feeding.  Sammy ended up have a couple more episodes throughout the night, this time I was close by and was able to let her outside in time...no mess in the house.  When it cam breakfast time for the dogs, Sammy had another small portion of the chicken and rice and I decided it was probably a good idea that I not give her the daily aspirin that I give her to help with her joints.  She did pretty well all day (although we were very nervous because of her age).  She got 3 small meals throughout the day.  I'm mixing the pedialyte with their water (so Dakota is getting it too, but that's what happens when you have 2 dogs), Sammy gets 3 small meals, and no one is getting any treats.  Sammy can't have them because of her diet and well, lets face it, they are really not healthy for them anyway.  

Dakota could stand to loose a little bit a weight....she has trained us that she won't come in from outside unless we have a treat in our hand, if not, she will bark and wake the neighbors up if it is late...she does not do this when it is freezing cold out.  However, since I've been a stay at home mom, I have broken this habit and just shut the door on her , she will want to come in on her own eventually.  Hubby on the other hand, I had to remind him Sammy couldn't have a treat because of her diet, this meant Dakota couldn't have one.  On the upside, Dakota thinks ice cubs are treats and sometimes we can get away with giving her an ice cube.

So back to Sammy....the vet came out today and I gave him a little background on Sammy and what has been going on the past week (much like I just did for you).  He did an exam and he said well, here's what I can tell you.  The exam for a dog her age was remarkable!!!  He said everything sounded normal, her teeth look great, gums are in great condition.  After hearing all of this, I guess we were getting worried for nothing.  I did let him know that her eating habits did not change, she was still scarfing down her food just like any normal dog would.  Neither of our dogs get table scraps.  I must admit, I do sneak her some people food once in a great while....nothing recent so it wouldn't have caused the diarrhea...it's usually when I'm cutting up veggies for Jonathan's puree or a salad for me, or dinner...but it is always veggies.  So with everything looking good, he said it is probably a case of gastroenteritis.  Great news!!  He said since she is in great shape we have a couple options that we could do...

Option 1:  Change her food to something easier to digest (Check...already done), Stop any and all medications that could possibly cause the diarrhea (check, I decided to cut out the aspirin to strip her down to the basics), He said he would be giving her some meds as well as a shot (he did say what it was and it's on the paperwork, I'm just too lazy to go look and I don't remember what it is) to help boast the meds.  He said the meds would be 1 pill 2x's a day.

Option 2:  All of the above with the addition of blood work the full senior workup.  

He said since she's really in good shape he would go either way.  I decided to to option 1 and then if she's still not better after the 5 days of meds, then we could call him back to do the blood work.  Regardless, he will have to come back anyway.  If she's not feeling better, for the blood work, if she is feeling better, for her vaccines.  So she got a shot and really, she seemed to be feeling better within 5 minutes!!  Back to herself and wanting all of the attention.  Of course she was like this when Dakota was getting her turn with the doctor.  I was holding Dakota and Sammy was nudging under my elbow wanting the attention.  She really does love the attention.  She hasn't had any diarrhea episodes the whole day, so I believe she is on her way back up.

As for her weight loss, he said that as long as she still eating we will work with that at a later date.  He would like to get her digestive system back on track first, and maybe this will help her out with the weight as well.

So this is where we stand now, and now it is time for this Mommy to go to bed.  So, I am hoping to get back on track on my blogging and not have such a big gap between this blog and the next one.

2011 in Review and Looking into 2012

So it is New Years Eve and a time to reflect on 2011.


I must admit, I really don't remember too much of 2011.  Jonathan came into our world WAY to early, but through all the tough times, we were all able to make it through and we now have our whole family under the same roof since June 9th.  I couldn't be more proud of him and am soo happy to say that he is my hero for what he has accomplished in his life so far.


We had an appointment on Friday, December 30th with the Neonatal Follow-up clinic.  One of the fellows that was in the NICU with him was in the clinic...he has not seen Jonathan since he was discharged, so he was very happy to see him and even came out into the waiting room to say hi to him before we went back to the room.  His admitting doctor was also in the clinic and she was soo happy to see him as well (again, she has not seen him since he was discharged).  The NICU nurse practitioner was in the clinic (she has seen him a couple times after discharge..and we have also been in contact a few times).  And of course the neonatal follow-up clinic isn't complete with out the therapist on hand to evaluate him.

Jonathan sitting all by himself...12/15/11

So the doctors were very happy with Jonathan's weight.  Just to refresh, in October, we went to the clinic and Jonathan had fallen from the 50th percentile down to the 25th percentile on the weight growth chart.  He is now climbing back up to the 50th percentile...just goes to show that he really was constipated and I was right that he needed something to help out...not just prune juice.  Jonathan is sitting up on his own (with support of his own hands).  He is just about ready to push himself up to get ready to crawl.  The therapist said she was super happy with him and everyone agreed that he is a textbook 6 month old right now...right were he should be (for his adjusted age).  

I even got him to stand long enough
for me to snap this picture...12/15/11

So since his weight was getting back on track, the doctors decided it was time to bring his formula down from Neosure 27 cal to Neosure 24 Cal.  So this will be able to give him more fluids in his diet.  This should help with the constipation and I should be able to cut back the miralax, but we will see how he does and gauge it off of that.  Something else that should help is they actually pulled him off of the lasix.  Since this is supposed to help him get rid of any retaining fluids, now that he doesn't have this medication (as long as he does well), this adds more fluids back into his diet as well.


As the therapist was evaluating Jonathan the doctors were watching and his admitting doctor said she didn't think there was any worry for CP (Cerebral Palsy).  She said that he is moving his arms and legs and kicking and it doesn't appear there will be any issues there.  She then looked at me and said what was his brain bleed and asked if it was a 2 or 3.  I then smiled and said it was a grade 4.  The fellow doctor that was there then said yeah, this is why we do what we do....it's a roll of the dice, but it makes it worth it to see babies like Jonathan...the ones that have everything against them and they pull through.


So to help shorten this up so I can move on to other topics, everything went well...we are down 1 more medication, the head tilt had corrected so there was no need for any physical therapy, formula calorie count is down.  Jonathan is even possibly ready for Cheerios!! (or a snack that dissolves in the mouth...apparently plain Cheerios does that).  We go back to the neonatal follow-up clinic in March.


So through everything that we have been through, we have managed to pull through that we ended the year on an extremely high note.


Now looking forward to 2012, I am looking at my 12 in 2012 and am happy with those decisions to make me a better person...So here's my list and I will print this out and hang it on my fridge or by my calendar (not sure which...maybe both)....so here is my 12:

January - 30 Minutes of "Me-Time"

February - Make a Chore List & Stick to it

March - Set a Budget

April - Have a Workout Routine

May - Eat Healthier

June - 1 Hour of Reading Time Daily

July - More Quality Family Time

August - Be more Organized

September - Blog at least twice a week 

October - Learn Something New Everyday 

November - Finish Christmas Shopping by the End of November 

December - Create better sleeping habits

At this time, I do feel these are all realistic, but as life goes on we will see if I need to make any changes or re-arrange some of my months. So, that is where I stand and I feel I have soo much more to say, but I will leave it here tonight....It'll give me something to say tomorrow :)


I hope everyone has (or had) a happy AND safe New Year!!

12 Changes in 2012

Ok so I was going to blog this tomorrow from my laptop, however, I am awake and can not sleep.  So, just maybe I need to clear my mind a little bit.  There just won't be any pictures in this blog...there probably wouldn't have been to begin with...just sayin :).

For those of you who don't know what 12 in 2012 is, let me do a little explanation.  This is a little way of introducing new habits to better ourselves in the new year.  Instead of changing everything all at once and trying to keep up, we change (or add) 1 habit a month.  By the end of the month, it has become a new way of life by doing this on a daily basis, when the next month rolls around, we add another habit, and so on.  So this is in a way 12 new years resolutions, but I am not looking at it that way because I have never made a New Year's resolution knowing that I wouldn't keep it.  This is changing me for the better and just so happens to start in January.

So one of the things that I need to do is make my list.  This is what I have come up with, and I have put a lot of thought into this list, and who knows, it may change with a little inspiration from other people.

So here it goes....

January - Take 30 minutes each day and designate that as "me-time".  When hubby gets home, he gets the baby and I get my me-time with NO interruptions.  I have come to realize that I need to be able to recenter myself and not be constantly on my feet and moving to cook, clean and take care of everyone else.

February - I need to make a chore list and stick to it.  I started to do this a month ago, but I seem to get side-tracked and then end up doing everything all at once.  I actually did even make a chore list...the problem is I didn't stick to it.  (stole this one from a friend...thanks, I really needed that and you know who you are)

March - Set a budget.  I do pretty well on managing out finances.  I handle all the bills and the "checkbook" (quotes because there is more online billing anymore, but the term is pretty much still the checkbook).  I would like to make the budget a little bit more concrete.  Since we have decided that I am staying home, we are down 1 income.  I think I would be able to handle this easily, it would be getting my hubby to be able to do this as well.  He likes to go onto his card trading website and trade or buy things from other people (more trading then ever).  But he also likes to buy cards when sets come out.  He usually goes to the atm every week and pulls little by little out so I don't see a big hit out of the account and then have to shuffle some bills around.  So March is time to sit down and figure out what can be spent and when.

April - Start working out.  Notice, I set this in the spring for a reason.  Nicer weather!!  I want to create this habit when it is a little bit warmer out and I can start by just putting Jonathan in the stroller, getting out and going for some walks.  I know I said working out and not walks...but hears the thing, walking is working out, so if I can't get out to walk, due to rain or whatever, then I stay in and do a workout routine at home.  So I will have to do some planning on this part to figure out a workout routine to do.  I am open to suggestions, just remember, I'm not going to start until April.

May - Start to eat healthier.  Since I will now have the workout thing down, maybe I should start eating healthier too.  I have really not eaten very healthy the last few years, so I need to do this.  I have never really been the health nut, and I'm sure I will still have a couple of my greasy favorites for dinner...I just need to eat less of them and more of the better stuff!!  I have already done a few little changes in my life to start that...I just need to do it with the food now.  For example, (for any of you that could be looking for tips), I cut out pop from my diet a while back.  I started out getting the propel drink mixes and mixing them into my water (I also have reusable water bottles, very "green").  I found them to be very sweet so I just mixed the packet into more of the water, the packet also lasted longer that way.  As time went on, I decided to buy lemons instead of the packets.  Couple of reasons for this change:  1)  they were cheaper and 2)  they are healthier.  So got a little off topic there, but hopefully someone will find that useful!

June - Read an hour every day.  This is not to be confused with "me-time".  I need to start reading more often.  Whether it's me reading to Jonathan (which we all know would not take an hour), or me reading by myself, I need to start doing this.  If I can spend an hour on facebook reading status updates, then I can spend an hour reading a book to keep my brain sharp and healthy.  Not that I don't love seeing what everyone is up to, I just need to spend less time on the computer reading and more time reading an actual book.

July - Spend more quality family time.  I love spending time with my family.  However, Dan is working a lot and I'm hoping that maybe next year we will get more quality time in and do more family outings together.  His job may slow down the overtime next year, so this might be more possible with him.  There is always free activities to do around and I really want him to be there and be a part of it.  This also isn't just for him and Jonathan, this also includes my parents, siblings & in-laws.  Like I said...I love spending time with my family!!

August - Become more organized.  I do feel I am an organized person.  I just feel that since Jonathan has entered our lives, I have slipped a little and fallen behind.  I need to get back to the organized person I once was and file my paperwork as it makes it into my house.  I also need to reorganize some of our kitchen cabinets as they have slipped as well.

September - Blogg at least twice a week.  Maybe this is the reason I am blogging right now.  I can't sleep, so this happens.  As long as I keep up with my blogging, maybe my mind won't be so full of things and I will be able to rest a little bit more.

October - Learn something new everyday.  You always hear you learn something new everyday.  I really want to encourage that and actually learn something new everyday.  I need to open my mind up a little more and hopefully, this will make me a much more well rounded person.  I'm sure this will help me keep up on my blogging.


November - Finish my Christmas shopping by the end of November.  This year, I was nearly done with the exception I only needed to get a few gifts online by the end of November.  It felt AWESOME!!  Of course, I would find something along the way for Jonathan, but it seems you are never really done until you tell yourself to stop and then have the will power to do it!!  So I want to have the goal of having it completely finished, so we are not scrabbling trying to find a good deal.  I just want that sense of relief again...it really is a great feeling!!


December - Have better sleeping habits.  Jonathan has a bed time....I should too (as I type this at almost 3 AM).  It's a good thing is a good sleeper at night time...I'm sure I will be exhausted when I put him to bed tomorrow.  Hopefully, Dan will be able to stay on Days in 2013 so I can continue to see him more often, if he moves to afternoons, one of my changes here will be messed up.

I have to admit....I didn't have my list planned out until I started typing it.  I think I may have had 3 or 4 things planned in my head.  But as I started typing it, more stuff just came to me.  I did go to a few places for some inspiration, so between me typing this out and getting the inspiration, the brain storming just happened.  So for now, this is my list (with my explanations).  I may change some things and rearrange some as well...for now this sounds good, at least until I go to bed and read this with fresh rested eyes...LOL.

Now that my mind is clear...I'm going to bed

Until Next Time....