Hooray!

Just talked to the doctor and Alison can come home today! Yay! She will come home on oxygen, but hopefully she will only need it for a few days at most (and she's not on very much). We have been going in for weight checks anyway, so the doctor will just check to see if she can go off the oxygen. They said she gained 140 grams too! That is 4 ounces! Wahoo! A lot of RSV babies have a hard time eating, but luckily Alison has still been eating pretty well while we've been here. We were moved again last night into the super tiny room we came from (this was our third move), so I am so glad we get to leave this place!

And Happy Birthday to my dad! We told Molly this morning that it was papa's birthday and that she should tell him Happy Birthday when she saw him. We went upstairs and he was at the kitchen table and she yells "Happy Birthday to you (hudu) Papa" as loud as she could! She was so excited; it was so cute. My dad loved it.

My dad is so great. He always makes time for Molly and she adores him. She asks for him all through the week (he works in Denver) and is so excited when he is home. My dad would do anything for his family and has always made sure that we are happy and have not only our needs but our wants as well. He is the most selfless person I know as well as the hardest worker. He has Justin drive him to the airport every week so that Justin can use his car while he's in Denver and I can use our car. He listens for Molly when she's sleeping so we can go on dates and run errands. These are just a few examples of the many things he does for us. I love you dad!

Ali update

Last night Alison didn't have the best night. They needed to give her more oxygen and they suctioned her 5 times, which is probably once or twice more than they have done each shift. She was sleeping when I first arrived but I soon heard the worst coughing I've heard from her so far. She just sounded super congested. We think she probably reached the peak of RSV and hope we are now on the downhill. Today is day 6 of her sickness. They say RSV peaks between day 4-6.

She was also moved last night into a shared room. She had had her own so I was obviously bummed, but I had heard that they were doing this since they have so many cases of rsv there. Well today another baby was in her room. A couple hors later the dad showed up and smelled o smoke. Not what you want around babies with rsv!! I asked my nurse if she thought Alison would be ok and she said she would. Well I didn't feel good about it so I texted my friend who happens to be a nurse there. She said I should ask to be moved since Ali was in the nicu for 3 weeks. She said they would do it even if it took a while. I went back to the nurse and told her that Ali was 6 weeks early and spent 3 weeks at the hospital and I really didn't feel good about her being in that room. She said she'd ask if she could be moved.

She came back and said that they would move her when I finished nursing her. Thank goodness! I didn't want to be around him either! And I feel really bad for his son. No wonder he has RSV! We are now sharing a room with people more like us. So we're happy! I know the nurse probably thinks I'm bossy, but I'm just trying to do what's best for my baby.

They had lowered Ali's oxygen a bit before I left and hopefully they can continue to do that and less suctioning. They can send home oxygen, but I would rather stay an extra day if needed so we don't have to do that. I want her all better and then for her to stay that way! She was 6 lbs. 2 oz. when they measured her before we left. She has been gaining while there, but it sounds like she dropped today. She has been eating pretty well, but she gets pretty tired from suctioning so when they do it right before I feed her, it's a bit of a battle.

Thanks for all of the comments, texts, phone calls and encouragement! We are hanging in there. I stay with Ali in the day and come home and sleep at night (and pump) so I can be a better mommy. Molly is being a good girl and spending lots of time with grandma and daddy. She'll come in in the morning and ask, "Where did baby go?" It's so cute.

Cute cousins

I'm all about doing a happy post today! We visited sweet Emery over a week ago and I'm finally getting around to posting the pics of the two of them. Emery is a week and a half and Alison is 5 weeks I think.They had the very same blanket made by two different grandmas! So cute.

It was so funny to see Alison bigger than another baby! I think she was only about 6 pounds and Emery probably around 5 or a bit more. Alison definitely has the bigger head though!

These two cuties are 4 weeks apart and we think they'll be great friends! I never really knew how great cousins could be until we moved to Utah when I was 8. My sister Emily and I would do things with our cousins in Bountiful and we had so much fun! We had sleepovers all the time and did all sorts of fun stuff like: making things out of fimo clay, play marbles, watch movies, play with trolls (yes, we all collected them!), eat on the coolest castle plates and play tricks on each other while we slept! Ha ha! Thanks for all the good times Holly and Wendy!

Bad News

Yesterday Alison was diagnosed with RSV and I rode with her in the ambulance (at regular speed) to Primary Children's Hospital. She is on oxygen and they are suctioning her nose and mouth every few hours as needed. She doesn't have an IV yet, but if she is dehydrated, they will give her liquids through an IV.

Early Sunday morning she started to get sick with a bad cough, sneezing and congestion. Molly has a bad cold and gave it to me, so I wasn't totally surprised that she finally got it (although not happy about it of course). I knew that with such a little baby they can't do much for a cold except a humidifier, saline drops, suctioning the nose and keeping the baby upright, so that's what we were doing.

Tuesday night she spit up about 2 ounces that she had eaten. I was worried about it since we are trying to get her to gain weight. Well Wednesday morning she again spit up about an ounce or so and I called the nurse. She asked me a few questions and could hear Ali in the background and said she needed to be looked at that morning.

My mom was away helping my sister with her baby but when I called and told her I was going to the doctor, she decided to come down in case I needed extra help with Justin being at school. She met me at the doctor's office.

They took Alison's weight and measurements and then said that they needed to check her oxygen level. Well it was low. They had me go into a room and they brought an oxygen tank in at which point I started crying. Oxygen is never a good thing, this I know! The doctor came in and listened to Alison's lungs and said that she believed she could have RSV but that she needed oxygen and we needed to go to the hospital. Obviously this wasn't anything that I wanted to hear! Nor would any mom. She called an ambulance so we could transport Alison with the oxygen she needed. My mom took Molly home for me, so it was definitely inspiration that she met up with us.

We rode in the ambulance and arrived at the ER. They suctioned her nose and used some of her snot to test it for RSV (that's how they do it). Justin came shortly after. We were in that room for a few hours. They have so many RSV cases that they are even doubling up patients in some rooms. We talked to many nurses and doctors (more than I thought we would actually see) and the results came back positive for RSV.

We finally were taken upstairs to Alison's own room where I stayed with her until about 9:30 pm and Justin picked me up. They give you the option of staying, but I was exhausted at that point, physically and emotionally. The nurse said I wouldn't get any sleep there so I decided it would be the best for both of us if mom was all together the next day.

They say that it can be one day to about a week unless they see a fever which could mean that there are other illnesses. She hasn't had a fever the whole time, so that is a positive thing.

I have had a really hard time with this. I know RSV is a common thing and very treatable. But I think because Alison has already been in the hospital for three weeks that this was the breaking point for me. You try to be so tough and understanding and patient, but it is hard and takes a toll. Yesterday it caught up with me. I am doing better today! I slept great last night, just like I knew I would.

Thank you for your prayers, we need them! We hope Alison is better soon and that this is the last time we are at the hospital for any more of our needs. I am headed to the hospital this morning and will stay with her all day. I will keep everyone posted on her situation.

6 1/2

Today Alison was 6 1/2 pounds at the doctor. When they first weighed her the scale read 10 lbs. 11 oz. I was like, um, I think that's wrong!! How crazy would that have been? She is still in the 1% for her weight. The doctor said she is doing fine and to keep feeding her every 2-3 hours, even at night. Well, she actually does better than that at night and she is my alarm, so we may push that a bit! (don't tell my doctor!) She is happy, healthy and growing, so I feel good about it.

If you live in the SL area, you may want to check out the Layers warehouse sale. It started today and goes til tomorrow (9 am to 7 pm). The address is 6230 S. State St. across from fashion place mall. They are located in the old Pier 1 building next to the Sunflower Market. I went with my SIL today and we did quite well! It's totally worth it and nothing's over $20! I was definitely in need of some new clothing so we fixed that!

I've really enjoyed watching the Olympics. I kinda wish that they were on earlier than 7-11 pm here, but oh well. Anything I miss I just check online the next day and Justin always tries to find the results before we see them anyway. Justin has really enjoyed watching the men's ice skating ;) ha ha! Go USA! Hope you have a nice weekend!

Pretty in Pink

Well I tried a photo shoot about a week ago and let's just say that it didn't go well!! She woke up on me (I wanted her to be sleeping) and was crying and so mad! And the other time she peed everywhere! Now I know why you go see a professional!! Oh well. It was a learning experience I guess!

I took these the other day. Alison's little head is so small that it doesn't fit any of her headbands. Luckily my SIL Becky, the bow queen, made me this one that fits a preemie head! It perfectly matches a couple of her newborn outfits, so I put it on and snapped a few pics.

Newborns really make some funny faces. It was hard getting a few good pics where she didn't have a goofy expression on her face :)

She continues to be a good baby. We took her out on her first outing last night and she did really well. Molly likes to hold the baby while sitting on the couch and when you don't let her, she gets really mad and then tries to use force to take the baby...so we try to let her hold her if at all possible ;) But she is being a good big sister! She calls her "peach pit" (Justin calls our girls that!) and still says, "she's tiny"!

Baby Emery!

Congratulations to my sister Natalie and her cute family on the birth of Emery Jane! She was born Monday, Feb. 8th at 5 lbs. 5 oz. and 18 in. long. I can't believe she was 6 days overdue and weighed only slightly more than Alison!

Isn't she a doll? Baby and mom are doing well and come home today. Congrats you guys! Can't wait to meet her!

Confessions of a 2 year old

Molly to Grandma this morning: "I'm mean! I'm bossy!"

Molly to Alison last night: "You're my best friend, baby."

On the home front

It is so nice being home! Alison is an angel baby. She is so good! The only time she ever cries is if she's hungry and even then she will make little noises and fuss a bit for several minutes before she cries. She goes 3-4 hours between feedings (sometimes even 5 at night!) so we really have nothing to complain about. Ok, well if you want something, she has been known to fill her drawers and then while I change her she decides to go again...and we're not just talking pee! She went TWICE on me yesterday while I was changing her! I guess the good thing is she is very regular! :)

Molly is being a great sister. This morning I thought I would let her watch a show while I took a nap with Alison. She's already pretty much destroyed what she could, so I thought we'd be ok. Well she was so good and I slept for probably an hour before she came in...NAKED! Um, oops! Guess I should have changed her jammies! Live and learn, right?

Yesterday I bought a twin set of black sheets for my photo shoot! I will use it as my backdrop and see how things go. I wish I knew more about my camera and hopefully sometime soon I will. But in the meantime it's good to practice, right? So wish me luck!

I also bought a cork board bulletin board that will become the new bow board since the old one is well, too small. I figure with another girl we will only get more and more bows. And I also bought fabric a week ago for a car seat cover. I just barely washed it today. That's how much time I have on my hands! What am I thinking? Like I have time for projects! Slowly but surely I guess.

I am still supplementing Alison's feeds. I nurse her each time, then give her a bottle. And then I pump after every other feeding. So if you're wondering how I have no time even though she goes for 3-4 hours, that's why (and obviously there is a 2 yr. old involved...and you have to eat)! We saw the doctor on Monday and she weighed 5 lbs. 12 oz. The doctor said she looks great and they want me to come back again next Monday to check her weight again. At some point I will quit the pumping and just nurse her, but then she will eat probably every hour and a half, and I don't think I'm ready for that yet! Plus I am fortifying the milk she gets and I don't think they want me to stop that yet since they don't want her losing weight. That's where we're at...sorry that was long!