Photos from Heidi

Our sweet neighbor came over to take photos of Matthew last week. She did a great job of capturing each of the boys and she has posted some to her blog: they're fantastic! If you're interested in seeing them, click here. I'm almost embarrassed that I posted my amateur photos yesterday!

Crazy life

Yes, we're all home. Yes, everyone is surviving, though I don't think it would be possible without my mom here. I'm not quite capable of going one-on-three yet. Micah isn't making it any easier. He's fussing a lot overnight and has gone through some puking sessions the past couple of days (causing me to reduce the amount of food he's getting and that appears to be helping).

Matthew is doing great. He threw up for the first time this morning while I was at Bible study. But it appears to have been an isolated incident. He eats like a little piggy. And Micah pants like a puppy when he gets excited. And Nathan has always climbed like a monkey. So we have Piggy, Puppy, and Monkey.

I'll try to write more of an update later. But here are some long overdue photos.

Micah with his occupational therapist

Nathan making Valentine's with Oma

Nathan making cookies

Matthew's car seat study in the NICU on 2/13. Thanks for the cute Valentine's outfit, Mary. I would never have thought we'd use it two years in a row!!!

Matthew's last hour in the NICU

Can we go home now?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Enamored by the television

Welcome home, Matthew

Nathan feeding baby Matthew

Little piggy trying to hold his own bottle

All three boys (yes, Nathan was giving Matthew an un-prompted kiss)

Home tomorrow!

Matthew is coming home on Saturday. But there's a catch... he has to be attached to a monitor for over two weeks. Huge bummer! Matthew had another apnea session at 1:30am today. Today is Friday the 13th, after all. He had gone 72 hours without one. Ugh. But we're very excited to be bringing him home tomorrow. Our Valentine's Day treat!

Matthew is scheduled to be discharged on Sunday. The little stinker had an "episode" (stopped breathing briefly) on Tuesday at 2:00am. If it had been before midnight, it would have counted as a Monday episode and he could have gone home Saturday. Ugh. But he's doing great... eating like a little piggy (3-3.5 ounces per feeding). Can't wait to bring him home so that his brothers can do more than look at him through a window. But maybe having a solid surface between him and his brothers is not such a bad thing...

Micah is getting an x-ray today to check his adenoids. If it shows what his ENT thinks it will show, then he's going to get his adenoids removed along with tubes in his ears. The poor kid gets so stuffed up overnight that he's consistently waking around 3:00-3:30. "We" spray his nose with saline (okay, so lately that's been Mark's role). Then he wakes up again between 5:00-6:00am coughing and throwing up mucus (usually all over Mark, who I think has finally figured out that it's just better to not get dressed for work until Micah has his morning puking session).

I'm awaiting a call from cardiology to see if Micah can have this surgery done locally or whether it will require another visit to the OR at Children's. Oh, and for some reason Micah has lost about a 1/2 pound over the past 3 weeks. Hmm.

Plan for discharge

For Matthew to be discharged from the NICU, he has to go five days without an apnea or bradycardia (stop breathing or major slowdown in heart rate). He went 24 hours this weekend, but then had one yesterday. So the countdown started today and he could be discharged on Friday. We've been given an option of taking him home sooner than that on a monitor. I've heard that can be very stressful with the monitor going off all the time (usually false alarms). After discussing the options with each other and nurses, we've decided to ride it out until Friday and bring him home without the monitor. But... if he has another episode before then, we will consider bringing him home with a monitor because we don't want this time to extend any longer than Friday.

But barring these small episodes, Matthew is doing very well. His bilirubin level is in the normal range so he is free from the lights. He's eating well so his IV line was taken out yesterday. The only attachments he has are for his heart rate and respiratory rate. So he's in a little bassinet that can be wheeled around. I was able to spend a few hours with him in a "family room" today. He was incredibly sleepy today, probably because the little piggie took between 2.5-3 ounces PER FEEDING overnight last night. And he was likely exerting more energy keeping himself warm today because he was out of his isolette. I'm trying to think positive and not believe that he has his nights and days mixed up...

We brought the boys over to "meet" Matthew last night. The boys are too young to be allowed into the NICU during viral season, so the only option is to bring Matthew into a family room with a window so the boys can look in to see him.

a kiss from Nathan

One of the funniest things about this week has been the reaction of some of the nurses who see me (or Mark) in the NICU and they do a double-take. They certainly weren't expecting to see us back at all, let alone so soon! Matthew's nurse for the past few days has been Ann. She was also one of Micah's nurses one year ago. She enjoyed seeing Micah. He was quite the ham too.

Matthew likes his arms to be free from blankets

Oma with Matthew

Oma with Micah

Grammie feeding Matthew

Home

I was released from the hospital yesterday. Being home is bitter sweet. I'm glad to be back with Mark, Nathan, and Micah. But I hate having to come home without a baby again.

Matthew is doing very well. He's under the bili light due to jaundice, and he'll likely stay under the light today. But he's eating like a champ! He is up to 2oz per feeding, so his PICC line should come out today. The hurdle that he has to clear before being released is that due to the respiratory distress he was in when he was born, he has to go five days without an apnea (when he briefly stops breathing). Yesterday was day one, so we're looking at Wednesday at best. I will have a lot of work to do to get him to nurse after he gets home, but expecting him to take all of his required calories by nursing before being discharged would mean that he would be in the hospital for a long time. We're not willing to make that sacrifice. So here we go again with the pumping. Hopefully he'll pick it up within a month.

Sweet baby face

Under the lights

Time with Daddy

Update on Micah: He has another ear infection. So, it's time for us to get down to Milwaukee to see an ENT about options. The antibiotics took care of his last ear infection, but he had another one just four days after finishing the last dose. So in our opinion, he's destined for repeated ear infections unless something is done about the root cause, which appears to be adenoids, tonsils, etc. This poor kid continues to go through coughing, throwing up, etc., because of congestion.

Quick update

Thanks for the well-wishes, everyone. I'll be checking out of the hospital tomorrow. Unfortunately, Matthew will not be joining me. It appears he might be here another week. The threshold for eating in order to be discharged from the NICU is higher than it is for leaving the regular nursery. He is off oxygen, so now it's just a matter of getting him to take all the calories the doctors want him to take. What a wonderful experience to re-live... not.

Newborn Matthew with Daddy in the OR Welcome to the NICU

This was Nathan as a newborn. Any resemblance to Matthew? I see a bit in the eyes, but not in the mouth. Matthew

Matthew with Daddy

First bottle (in his isolette) from Daddy

a visit from Pop and Grammie

cutie pie!

Some recent Micah photos

the nutty professor in his new specs!

What a silly face!

Smiley boy!He loves his bunny. Thanks, Auntie Kara!

Baby is Here!!!

Here's the great news that Mark and Jennie asked me to post:

Matthew Taylor arrived safely via c-section this morning at 7:50 CST.  He weighed in at 8 lb., 2.6 oz., 20" long, with a 14/5" head circumference.  He is currently in the NICU on oxygen because his lungs were not quite fully developed at 36 weeks, but Jennie tells me he's doing fine and they have already reduced the amount of oxygen that they are giving to him.  Jennie is doing well, too, and resting.

Congratulations to Mark, Jennie, Nathan, and Micah!

Matthew Taylor is born!

Matthew chillin' under the heat lamp

Matthew and Mommy

We are blessed to welcome Matthew Taylor into our family. Matthew was born this morning at 7:50 am. He weighed in at 8 lbs 2.6 oz (a big boy at only 36 weeks of pregnancy). He measured 20 inches long.

Despite being a healthy weight, Matthew is acting like a bit like a preemie. Shortly after birth, Matthew was working harder than he ought to breathe. As such, he was transferred to the NICU where he is on a low dose of forced air through a nasal cannula. We hope and pray that Matthew will be able to get off the cannula and leave the NICU soon. Other than the need for forced air, Matthew is a beautiful healthy little boy.

Jennie is doing great and getting some much needed rest (kinda).