I used to think that only 3 people read this blog. (Thank you to the three!) Then, I neglected to post on Benjamin for awhile and boy did I hear about it! It seems that many view the blog but have no idea how to post a comment. So here's how:
At the bottom of the post you are reading there is a line that divides it from the previous post.There you will see blue lettering that says "0 comments" or some other number of comments. Click on the "comments" word and it will take you to a page where you can post a comment. That page is pretty self-explanatory. Now, I know I don't always comment on other blogs, but if you have the time, I would like to know your out there. Thanks!
Love-Jen
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
We are still here....
Obviously, I'm not good at the play by play blogging. I apologize for not keeping everybody informed.
We are doing pretty well. I had a bit of a breakdown last week but honestly, it ended up being a good thing. It threw things back into perspective for me and I'm doing much better.
The 5 children at home are doing well. We are working to get better from a bout with illness last week and are battling that nasty cough that never seems to go away. It's a bit frustrating because I worry about bringing Ben home to the Palmer petri dish.
Ben is doing AWESOME!! He is 1/2 ounce away from being 5 lbs. He has been off nasal cannula for almost 48 hours and has been doing well. (That means he's breathing on his own folks!) Now we need to work on the eating. He only takes about 1/3 of his feeding from nursing or a bottle and we need to get that up to 80 percent before they will take out his tube. It's a bit of a two edge sword as many things are in hospitals. If they would stop feeding through the tube he would be more motivated to learn to eat orally but he also might lose alot of weight in the process.So now we need to pray that Ben learns to eat and the other kids get better before he comes home! And of course don't forget to pray that MamaJenny doesn't lose her newly found sanity. Again.
We are doing pretty well. I had a bit of a breakdown last week but honestly, it ended up being a good thing. It threw things back into perspective for me and I'm doing much better.
The 5 children at home are doing well. We are working to get better from a bout with illness last week and are battling that nasty cough that never seems to go away. It's a bit frustrating because I worry about bringing Ben home to the Palmer petri dish.
Ben is doing AWESOME!! He is 1/2 ounce away from being 5 lbs. He has been off nasal cannula for almost 48 hours and has been doing well. (That means he's breathing on his own folks!) Now we need to work on the eating. He only takes about 1/3 of his feeding from nursing or a bottle and we need to get that up to 80 percent before they will take out his tube. It's a bit of a two edge sword as many things are in hospitals. If they would stop feeding through the tube he would be more motivated to learn to eat orally but he also might lose alot of weight in the process.So now we need to pray that Ben learns to eat and the other kids get better before he comes home! And of course don't forget to pray that MamaJenny doesn't lose her newly found sanity. Again.
Friday, May 15, 2009
My awesome children
I have the best children, have I mentioned that? A few days ago I really enjoyed noting all the neat things they do.
Enoch was in charge of cleaning one of the bathrooms. He took Nathan in with him and invited him to help him wash the mirror and the bathtub. They had a ball! Nathan loved being able to help and Enoch did such a great job with him. Enoch is a great buddy and mentor to our little toddler!
That same day, when it was Nathan 's nap time, Naomi asked if she could help put him to bed. She covered him with his blanket, gave him his puppy dog, and kissed him.
Joel has been so good about hopping to it lately. When he is given an assignment he has been great at getting it done immediately and without complaining. What a relief! :)
Eli is often my content one. He's the one that is happy to move to a different spot if someone absolutely has to have the one he's in, understands that sometimes I need to take care of the littles first and doesn't worry what everyone else has compared to him. He also LOVES to make new friends. He will love you whoever you are. (Obviously we need to watch that but an admirable trait all the same. :))
Nathan is his sweet, loving , cuddly self. He's the type of toddler that makes you want to always have a toddler. He's joyous and spreads it easily.
It's so nice to have Ben at the point he is at. He still has awhile and I'm scared to death of bring him home. However, it's nice to be able to get him out of his crib and feel like he is a newborn instead of a really small being grasping at life. He is so patient and quiet. One of the nurses told me that she loves working with him because he has such a feeling of peace about him.
PS .I took a great new picture of Ben and when I went to upload it, the batteries died on the camera. *sigh* Will get a new picture up soon!
Enoch was in charge of cleaning one of the bathrooms. He took Nathan in with him and invited him to help him wash the mirror and the bathtub. They had a ball! Nathan loved being able to help and Enoch did such a great job with him. Enoch is a great buddy and mentor to our little toddler!
That same day, when it was Nathan 's nap time, Naomi asked if she could help put him to bed. She covered him with his blanket, gave him his puppy dog, and kissed him.
Joel has been so good about hopping to it lately. When he is given an assignment he has been great at getting it done immediately and without complaining. What a relief! :)
Eli is often my content one. He's the one that is happy to move to a different spot if someone absolutely has to have the one he's in, understands that sometimes I need to take care of the littles first and doesn't worry what everyone else has compared to him. He also LOVES to make new friends. He will love you whoever you are. (Obviously we need to watch that but an admirable trait all the same. :))
Nathan is his sweet, loving , cuddly self. He's the type of toddler that makes you want to always have a toddler. He's joyous and spreads it easily.
It's so nice to have Ben at the point he is at. He still has awhile and I'm scared to death of bring him home. However, it's nice to be able to get him out of his crib and feel like he is a newborn instead of a really small being grasping at life. He is so patient and quiet. One of the nurses told me that she loves working with him because he has such a feeling of peace about him.
PS .I took a great new picture of Ben and when I went to upload it, the batteries died on the camera. *sigh* Will get a new picture up soon!
Celebrate!!!!
Finally, Ben has reached 4 pounds today. He weighs 4 lbs 1/2 ounce. He rapidly started gaining but as soon as he got close to 4 he slowed way down. Maybe he knew he was a "watched pot."
He has also graduated to a crib and is up to 35 mls on his feeds. He is still on CPAP but his spells have gotten steadily less so we hope he will be moved to cannula soon. Yea for progress!
On the flip side, Nathan kept us up all night with a high fever and nasty cough. We pray that we didn't get our babysitters yesterday sick, or Ben when I visited, and that this won't spread so I can see Ben again soon.
He has also graduated to a crib and is up to 35 mls on his feeds. He is still on CPAP but his spells have gotten steadily less so we hope he will be moved to cannula soon. Yea for progress!
On the flip side, Nathan kept us up all night with a high fever and nasty cough. We pray that we didn't get our babysitters yesterday sick, or Ben when I visited, and that this won't spread so I can see Ben again soon.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Just when your going to cruise.......
I admit it, I fell into assuming we were almost out of the woods. :) The nurse practitioner called me today to tell me that Ben was really "spelly" so they put him back on CPAP. She also mentioned that they would get a few labs to check for infection because he seemed lethargic and they would do that after his transfusion was done. My reply was, "transfusion?" She apologized for how uninformed we were today but in their defense they are usually really good about keeping us up to date. So, Ben is unwell, they have given him blood, and let's hope it's anemia and not another infection and we can perk up here in a few days.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Chubby Ben
Last Saturday Ben finally reached 3 lbs and was wearing clothes!!! Lucky him! They've had him on CPAP for a week to try and help him rest so he will gain weight faster. He is on antibiotics because he has a little bit of urine that flows back to his kidneys and is at risk for urinary tract infection. He should grow out of that though. His eyes were checked and so far they look fine.
Yes, I know we need a recent picture. I was going to take the camera today but in the insanity of getting us all out the door I forgot it. We've had many friends loaning us cars so we can have two but this week it's just the suburban so we had to get Bart to work, kids to babysitter, and me off to Boise. What's scary is some people do this kind of insanity everyday!
Today, Ben is up to 3 lbs 8 ounces!!!!! Bart asked me if he was getting chubby, not quite chubby, less skeletal. Although several nurses like to show off that he finally has a bum cheeks. He was put back on nasal cannula so hopefully he will do okay and keep gaining weight. Thank you for all your prayers and help!!
Yes, I know we need a recent picture. I was going to take the camera today but in the insanity of getting us all out the door I forgot it. We've had many friends loaning us cars so we can have two but this week it's just the suburban so we had to get Bart to work, kids to babysitter, and me off to Boise. What's scary is some people do this kind of insanity everyday!
Today, Ben is up to 3 lbs 8 ounces!!!!! Bart asked me if he was getting chubby, not quite chubby, less skeletal. Although several nurses like to show off that he finally has a bum cheeks. He was put back on nasal cannula so hopefully he will do okay and keep gaining weight. Thank you for all your prayers and help!!
Enoch's First Pinewood Derby
Enoch had his first pinewood derby! We even watched the show that afternoon! ("Down and Derby") He had a good time, didn't win his race but won most colorful car and he was happy. (Therefore Mom was happy.) His car is the orange one with the blue windshield.
Shoshone Falls
Wow, sorry everyone for the late update. I didn't want to bore anyone with a day by day journal and now I have managed to let three weeks pass!
Two weeks ago Bart and the children came on a Saturday and picked me up to go see Shoshone Falls. The amount of water that was going over them was amazing! We had such a wonderful time.
The Monday after I realized that it was time to return to the other children for awhile. For the past few weeks I have been living at home and visiting Ben every other day. It's been wonderful to be with my family and feel like I have purpose. Soon, it will be time to be with Ben again full time. I admit I hate the idea of choosing between the two so I have been busily been trying to figure out how I can be supermom and be there for everybody! :) Being at home with the other children has really helped my outlook on things. It feels good to have them to hold and to feel useful. It puts things into perspective for me and we are eager to bring Ben home to join the crazy!
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