I have a BOB Revolution Jogging stroller (which I love by the way). The other day a mom I know sent the following link for those of us who forget how to collapse the stroller. This store (LullabyLane) is located here in the San Francisco Bay Area and made the video.
After viewing the above video, I happened upon this video, "Jogging Stroller Races" video, which made me laugh hysterically. thought I'd share:
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
All's well, crazy, but well!
Nothing wrong, everything is great, wow it's nice to type that.
Just have been crazed trying to get into the swing of things.
Some basic updates:
-Quinn is a bit anemic so we've had to have a few blood draws
-He's eating like a champ!
-We had a doc visit today and he now weighs 7 pounds 2 ounces! He's at 50% weight for adjusted age
-His due date is tomorrow, 8/27!
-We no longer have to fortify my breast milk with Neosure (which is a formula given to preemies to help them gain weight)
-I'm pumping every 3 hours during the day and about 4 hours at night, and like Kaitlyn am having a tough time of it, I have very sensitive skin and my nipples can't take the abuse very well (any suggestions for help)
-Quinn isn't breast feeding well still (he latches well, but gives up (I think he's just lazy now) and it's too exhausting to try to breast feed, bottle feed and then pump, hoping this isn't making me a bad mom, besides the fact that my poor nipples have taken a beating from the pump).
-I've stated working again, so it's been crazy juggling
-My mom came back once Quinn came home to help and visit for 5 days
-My dad and step-mom came for a day visit last Friday
-Brian's dad came Sunday to help/visit for a week on Sunday
-My birthday was yesterday! (ugggh 42 years old)
-Brian's dad's birthday is tomorrow
-Our wedding anniversary is on Thursday (4 years)
-Our feeding therapist (Dr Patel) is here today - this will be Kaitlyn's last time with Dr Patel most likely! (we may need a bit of consulting work here and there) but what I haven't mentioned in a while is.. DRUM ROLL PLEASE- Kaitlyn has only vomited 1 time in three weeks!!!! This is huge, I"ve been wanting to post more on the subject, but I just haven't had a free minute (I'll update more later). She's eating really, really well generally. We still have to measure and weigh out her food and work on feeding her, but generally, her feeding and chewing skills have really improved a lot in the last 2 months.
-I've been sad again that I'm no longer pregnant, I just finally put away all my maternity clothes (or gave them back to the wonderful women who loaned t hem to me). But we are done, no more children for the McCarthys, I didn't get the have the normal pregnancy that I wanted, but the I'll take the outcome - a normal, healthy baby that we love dearly like his sister.
But generally, Brian and I comment to each other that we think that Quinn is so much easier to take care of than Kaitlyn was and even still is. WOW, we feel like we do have our much dreamed about "term baby" experience. The kids doctor today even told me that Quinn is a healthy, regular baby, yes we'll still adjust his age, but he's doing really, really well. He's not a fussy little guy at all (except for on occasion when he grazes when he eats for a 2+ hour period at night which isn't fun). Yes, we are tired, as he eats every 3 hours, but he cries, he eats, that's it. NO vomit. No measuring feeds, no feeding tubes, just eats and poops, occasionally spits up and that's it! What an amazing thing. I remember when moms used to tell me when I'd "complain" about how hard it was to take care of Kaitlyn and they'd say, "oh, my baby spits up too". I"m telling you, a spitting up baby is NOTHING like a what we had to deal with when we fed Kaitlyn. That was projectile vomit, horrible projectile vomit - NOT spit up!
Kaitlyn has generally been indifferent to her little brother, but has been acting out a bit lately (nothing too bad), saying things like, put Quinn back in bed, no feed Quinn, but I think all the family in town has been helpful in keeping her occupied. We'll see what happens when things get back to just Brian and I! And we'll see how I manage once Brian goes back to work, that's what really worries me to be honest. Kaitlyn is still hard to feed and with feeding Q all night and trying to work, I"m a bit worried. Just with the last few days of work being really busy all of a sudden I've been crazed!
Here are a few pictures of our now 7 pound little fella!
Dad and Kaitlyn checking out mom's cupcakes
Kaitlyn eating her first birthday cake ever!
Mom and her 42nd birthday cupcake, yes, within 42 candles, thanks to dad!
Kaitlyn trying out her new swim goggles in the bath tub.
Monday, August 11, 2008
homecoming pictures!
First a few pictures from Thursday, my friend Lisa was visiting (mom to 4 preemies) taking pictures and Whitney was visiting too (step-sister) and they were there to hear the news that Quinn could come home on Saturday!
I know it seems funny that I'm smiling while Quinn is crying, but you have to understand, we NEVER heard Katilyn cry (and still can't) to this day. His cry is music to my ears!
Mom attempting to breast feed and feeling very happy about the little guy actually trying, (never had much luck with Katilyn), but he's still not doing all that great at it. He tuckers out after a few minutes and starts crying, wanting milk from the bottle.
Trying to burp Quinn
Aren't baby feet the most amazing things?
Proud mama in the NICU
Here is Kaitlyn on her going home day in her car seat!
I know it seems funny that I'm smiling while Quinn is crying, but you have to understand, we NEVER heard Katilyn cry (and still can't) to this day. His cry is music to my ears!
Mom attempting to breast feed and feeling very happy about the little guy actually trying, (never had much luck with Katilyn), but he's still not doing all that great at it. He tuckers out after a few minutes and starts crying, wanting milk from the bottle.
Trying to burp Quinn
Aren't baby feet the most amazing things?
Proud mama in the NICU
Going Home Day!
Quinn's going home outfit (not really planned out) First time without leads (monitors) attached. It's such a feeling to hold your baby (and scary) for the first time without looking up to the moinitors to see if he's breathing and getting enough oxygen. It's also amazing not to have to worry about all the cords. Only NICU mammas can understand this amazing sense of freedom (and fear) at the same time!
Quinn in car set on floor of NICU. This is when I first started really crying. Quinn was in the NICU in the same exact spot that Kaitlyn was when she went home and I remembered putting her in her car seat on the floor and so many emotions came rushing back to me. I'll see if I can find Kaitlyn's picture in her car seat for comparison. Quinn is SOOO much smaller on going home, which is also crazy, as obvioiusly Kaitlyn was such a smaller baby at birth.
Here is Kaitlyn on her going home day in her car seat!
Kaitlyn's home coming with our dog Kailan
In the car. Freedom! Of course I looked at him over and over to make sure he wasn't turning blue and not breathing.
At home at last!
Kaitlyn checking out her baby brother
Wow, this picture melts my heart!
Today, Kaitlyn checking out her baby brother sleeping. In the morning Kaitlyn runs out in to see where Quinn is.
This picture today of Quinn sleeping reminded me of the front cover of a Preemie book that was our bible while we were in the NICU with Kaitlyn.
Quinn is home!!!
Sorry for the delay in posting, but Quinn came home to us VERY SURPRISINGLY on Saturday afternoon!
Here he was poky eating and then all of a sudden on Friday we were informed by the docs that we could likely bring him home on Saturday! Holy cow!
This sent us into an excited frenzy as we really weren't the least bit ready for his homecoming!
So, no time for posting or checking email, but our son is home with us!
Quinn came home weighing 5 lbs 4 ounces. (Kaitlyn came home to us weighing 7lbs, so he's a little guy!) He was so tiny in his car seat!
He is doing great, eating like a champ (from a bottle, not very well from mom however). We were SOOO worried about how to take care of a "regular" eating baby, not having to measure out feeds, feeding tubes, etc. It's like we are first time parents again.
He cries, he eats, he poops, he goes back to sleep! So far so good. (no vomiting, no feeding tubes, no measuring out food). I'm having a hard time estimating how much he wants per feed without wasting my breast milk, but I guess I'll get used to that.
Kaitlyn's been very cranky about the whole thing (understandably), but she's not normally a cranky little girl.
Mom and dad are tired, but doing well all-in-all. Oh and Quinn is 3 weeks old today.
Here he was poky eating and then all of a sudden on Friday we were informed by the docs that we could likely bring him home on Saturday! Holy cow!
This sent us into an excited frenzy as we really weren't the least bit ready for his homecoming!
So, no time for posting or checking email, but our son is home with us!
Quinn came home weighing 5 lbs 4 ounces. (Kaitlyn came home to us weighing 7lbs, so he's a little guy!) He was so tiny in his car seat!
He is doing great, eating like a champ (from a bottle, not very well from mom however). We were SOOO worried about how to take care of a "regular" eating baby, not having to measure out feeds, feeding tubes, etc. It's like we are first time parents again.
He cries, he eats, he poops, he goes back to sleep! So far so good. (no vomiting, no feeding tubes, no measuring out food). I'm having a hard time estimating how much he wants per feed without wasting my breast milk, but I guess I'll get used to that.
Kaitlyn's been very cranky about the whole thing (understandably), but she's not normally a cranky little girl.
Mom and dad are tired, but doing well all-in-all. Oh and Quinn is 3 weeks old today.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Quinn is 2 weeks old
Yesterday was Quinn's 2 week old birthday. Mom started driving again! Yipee.
I was so nervous when I first set out (I was also pumping breast milk at the time for my first drive) on the way to the hospital. I hadn't driven in so long (almost 2 months) it felt so strange to be "free!" I also went to my Feeding Disorder meeting yesterday at the hospital (hey, I was there visiting Quinn in the NICU anyways), it was my first social outing for a LONG time. I was sooo tired last night, but amazingly today is the first day I feel sort of "rested". Maybe the anemia is starting to go away.
Quinn came off the cannula yesterday (again), let's hope he stays off this time. He is actually starting to take some more milk! Yippee!! I'm almost afraid to jinx it or something, but he is crying and wanting to eat, but still often won't take his full-feeds, BUT he has taken a few full-feeds (45ml) which is huge. He quickly drinks 20-30ml and then stops, so it's typically takes a lot of coaxing to get the rest of the feed in, but if he doesn't take it orally, the nurses gavage him the rest (yucky feeding tube). He's back to an oral tube (that's put in an out when needed) and he gags horribly when it's put in (wouldn't you?)
Quinn is still under his birth weight, but is gaining finally.
Here are some recent pictures:
Dad giving Quinn an oral tube feeding (brings back memories doesn't it? It sure does for us)
Quinn still looks so big in most pictures, so here is a little bit more reference with Dad holding him.
More snoozing on dad's chest
Yes, I am a little fella
Holding mom's finger
Still a tiny guy (under his birth weight still)Saturday, August 02, 2008
The Mighty Quinn
You may or not be aware, but there is a song called:
"The Mighty Quinn" (although our little guy isn't all that mighty at the moment, I love the lycrics that say:
"But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here
Everybody's gonna jump for joy
Come all without, come all within
You'll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn"
Here are the full lyrics that we keep singing to ourselves
(this wasn't why we named our litle fella' Quinn) but they are cute:
Everybody's building ships and boats
Some are building monuments
Others jotting down notes
Everybody's in despair
Every girl and boy
But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here
Everybody's gonna jump for joy
ome all without, come all within
You'll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn
Come all without, come all within
You'll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn
Let me do what I wanna do, I like my sugar sweet
But jumping queues and making haste
It ain't my cup of meat
Everyone's beneath the trees feeding pigeons on a limb
But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here
All the pigeons gonna run to him
Come all without, come all within
You'll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn
Come all without, come all within
You'll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn
Let me do what I wanna do, I like my sugar sweet
But jumping queues and making haste
Ain't my cup of meat
Nobody can get no sleep, there's someone on everyone's toes
But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here
Everybody's gonna want to doze
Come all without, come all within
You'll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn
Come all without, come all within
You'll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn
"The Mighty Quinn" (although our little guy isn't all that mighty at the moment, I love the lycrics that say:
"But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here
Everybody's gonna jump for joy
Come all without, come all within
You'll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn"
Here are the full lyrics that we keep singing to ourselves
(this wasn't why we named our litle fella' Quinn) but they are cute:
Everybody's building ships and boats
Some are building monuments
Others jotting down notes
Everybody's in despair
Every girl and boy
But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here
Everybody's gonna jump for joy
ome all without, come all within
You'll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn
Come all without, come all within
You'll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn
Let me do what I wanna do, I like my sugar sweet
But jumping queues and making haste
It ain't my cup of meat
Everyone's beneath the trees feeding pigeons on a limb
But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here
All the pigeons gonna run to him
Come all without, come all within
You'll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn
Come all without, come all within
You'll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn
Let me do what I wanna do, I like my sugar sweet
But jumping queues and making haste
Ain't my cup of meat
Nobody can get no sleep, there's someone on everyone's toes
But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here
Everybody's gonna want to doze
Come all without, come all within
You'll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn
Come all without, come all within
You'll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn
8/2/08 - Saturday Update
Today upon our arrival to the NICU Quinn's nurse told us that at 10:00 am he took an entire feed! We were hoping to feed him ourselves at 1:00pm for his 1 feed of the day, but I had told the nurses if he was really looking/sounding like he wanted to nipple than to go ahead and do so, which they did! The nurse indicated that he took almost 30ml in 5 minutes, then really struggled with the last 15ml, but that was great news.
He finally gained a bit of weight last night (after loosing 3 ounces the night before, hence the reason that they wanted to reduce the amount of times he nippled to only 3x per 24 hours).
He does still have his nasal cannula (oxygen) but it's on room air (meaning the same amount of oxygen that we breathe) but it's flowing in at 1 litre, which means if he doesn't take deep breaths, then the flow would help him. He was saturating quite well.
He finally gained a bit of weight last night (after loosing 3 ounces the night before, hence the reason that they wanted to reduce the amount of times he nippled to only 3x per 24 hours).
He does still have his nasal cannula (oxygen) but it's on room air (meaning the same amount of oxygen that we breathe) but it's flowing in at 1 litre, which means if he doesn't take deep breaths, then the flow would help him. He was saturating quite well.
Friday, August 01, 2008
8/1/08 Update
Hi everyone,
Good news, Quinn came off oxygen yesterday and is doing really well on room air! phew, this means a big sigh of relief for us. I was really scared when he was getting worse and not better and the doctors were stumped also.
The "bad" news is that Quinn continues to be a very sleepy guy and isn't putting on weight. The thought is that trying to nipple/breast feed is just tiring him out even more. He'll take about 1/2 of his feed orally, then won't take anything the next feed or 2 in a row. He's still under his birth weight considerably. He is on fortified breast milk (which means a formula called Neosure is being added to my breast mik to make it more caloric) and the docs have now increased his feeds to 45mls (1.5 ounces) every 3 hours.
They put in an NG tube today :( (This is a nasal-gastric tube) that is taped to his cheek. Oh, boy is mom scared). Before this point they were putting in an OG (Oral Gastric) tube at every feed and would pull it out after the feed.
There are plusses and minuses to the NG tube being in place all the time.
the good- Quinn doesn't have to gag at every feed when the put the tube in (which is horrible)
the bad - the tube is in his esophagus which leaves the esophagus spinchter a bit open, which can lead to reflux (my opinion here) but I have a lot of experience on this subject!
We just want the little fella to start taking more of his bottles!
Until he does he won't be coming home to us, He'll be 2 weeks old this upcoming Monday.
Brian and I took a break from visiting him today. Kaitlyn misses us while we are gone every day. Brian is still having to drive me around (until Monday), nothing is getting done around the house (not that it matters, but...), and I'm pumping milk around the clock and need naps every day and it seems Quinn sleeps the whole time we are there anyway. It's back to that helpless feeling that there's nothing I can do at this point.
Thank you for all reaching out to me, I'm VERY VERY behind on answering emails/calls at this point - I hope you understand....
3PM update: as always nothing is ever status-quo in the NICU:
Quinn was put back on O2 (oxygen) at a very low amount, as he had some desats and is now going to be nippled only 1x per nurse shift (3x per day) as he continues to get too tuckered out.
Good news, Quinn came off oxygen yesterday and is doing really well on room air! phew, this means a big sigh of relief for us. I was really scared when he was getting worse and not better and the doctors were stumped also.
The "bad" news is that Quinn continues to be a very sleepy guy and isn't putting on weight. The thought is that trying to nipple/breast feed is just tiring him out even more. He'll take about 1/2 of his feed orally, then won't take anything the next feed or 2 in a row. He's still under his birth weight considerably. He is on fortified breast milk (which means a formula called Neosure is being added to my breast mik to make it more caloric) and the docs have now increased his feeds to 45mls (1.5 ounces) every 3 hours.
They put in an NG tube today :( (This is a nasal-gastric tube) that is taped to his cheek. Oh, boy is mom scared). Before this point they were putting in an OG (Oral Gastric) tube at every feed and would pull it out after the feed.
There are plusses and minuses to the NG tube being in place all the time.
the good- Quinn doesn't have to gag at every feed when the put the tube in (which is horrible)
the bad - the tube is in his esophagus which leaves the esophagus spinchter a bit open, which can lead to reflux (my opinion here) but I have a lot of experience on this subject!
We just want the little fella to start taking more of his bottles!
Until he does he won't be coming home to us, He'll be 2 weeks old this upcoming Monday.
Brian and I took a break from visiting him today. Kaitlyn misses us while we are gone every day. Brian is still having to drive me around (until Monday), nothing is getting done around the house (not that it matters, but...), and I'm pumping milk around the clock and need naps every day and it seems Quinn sleeps the whole time we are there anyway. It's back to that helpless feeling that there's nothing I can do at this point.
Thank you for all reaching out to me, I'm VERY VERY behind on answering emails/calls at this point - I hope you understand....
3PM update: as always nothing is ever status-quo in the NICU:
Quinn was put back on O2 (oxygen) at a very low amount, as he had some desats and is now going to be nippled only 1x per nurse shift (3x per day) as he continues to get too tuckered out.
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