Lactose Free!

Well, Laurie is finally eating normally! We took her to the doctor on Saturday morning for a weight check and she currently weighs 7 lbs. 10 oz.! The lactose free formula is doing the trick. Laurie is also sleeping much better than she ever has before. She just seems more comfortable and happy.

Here are some fun pictures that we took today....





Everett and April blessed their baby today. Some of my family came over for a little bit to say hello! Top Row (left to right): Dad, Mom, Bryce, Laurie, me. Bottom row (l to r): James, Kristina, Lily, Haili, and Marian.

I'm having way too much fun with this blog stuff... here is a cute video of Haili dancing! We do this every single day. She loves to dance and she will only wear dresses these days. She is 100% girl! Enjoy the movie!

Worrisome weight loss

In my world, usually losing weight is a time for celebration! I recently started going to the Sports Academy with my friend, Sarah 3 times a week at 5:30 AM. She's a great, and I mean - great! - workout partner. I don't know if I've ever been so sore in my life (and that includes the day after I ran a marathon!). It's also nice to have some adult interaction during the week. It kind of makes me feel like a normal person again! My goal is to lose 10 lbs. by Christmas... Wish me luck!

Unfortunately, Laurie has started losing weight. On Friday, she started to get extremely upset when we tried to feed her. By Sunday, it was to the point that she was only eating about half of her feedings. We put in a feeding tube to make sure she got everything she needed. We took her in to the pediatrician on Monday. She weighed 7 lbs. 11 oz.! Because she was acting like she had a tummy ache, we decided to give her pedialyte for a day or two to give her stomach a rest and then gradually introduce milk again. The doctor wanted us to take out the feeding tube. He didn't want us to force feed her and she needs to eat so that she doesn't get used to getting full without working for it. We took her back in on Wednesday and she weighed 7 lbs. 9 oz. We tried giving her breast milk, but she would just cry and cry. So we took her in again today. She weighed 7 lbs. 4 oz. Not good. They gave us some lactose free formula to mix with pedialyte. She is starting to eat that really well. We're going in again on Saturday to make sure that she's gaining weight.

Kevin and Haili are both doing extremely well. Haili is OBSESSED with the cello. Whenever I get out my cello to practice, she has to be sitting on my lap and helping me hold the bow. Needless to say, I don't get that much practice time in! She was crying this evening because she wants her own cello. We're hoping to get her a 1/10 Suzuki cello in a few months. I think she'll do really well. This has been the first time in 10 years (excluding my mission) that I haven't been teaching cello lessons regularly! I really do miss it. I just can't take the risk of having Laurie be exposed to any illnesses. I think that's why I'm so excited to get Haili a cello... then I can teach her regularly and it will also help us maintain our sanity this winter! Haili does let me play the piano. One of our favorite evening traditions is sitting in our living room, Kevin holding Laurie on the couch, and Haili sitting with me on the piano bench. I'll play the piano (with occassional help from Haili), and Kevin, Haili, and I will sing primary songs together. Kevin is currently working on his senior project with Everett. They are going to build a solar electrolysis tracking system. Maybe I'll have him write a post explaining what it is and how it works... He has already started applying for jobs! He is only applying for jobs here in Utah. We really want to stay in Utah, as all our family is here and we want to stay close to Primay Children' s Medical Center. We can't believe just how fast this school year is flying by!

Also, if anyone has fun ideas to help me keep Haili entertained... please post a comment! We are basically going to be spending 6 months indoors without any contact with other people... so please help me think of things to do so we don't go crazy! Thanks!

Growing!

Laurie is continuing to grow at an amazing pace! Tomorrow we will take her in for her weekly weight check... I think she will probably be 7.5 lbs! She is doing great and is as cute as ever. I love Love LOVE having two kids. Haili and Laurie are so much fun to be around. Haili is in that creative stage where her imagination is just on fire. Her vocabulary is improving dramatically. She will repeat words that are foreign to most two-year-olds (medicine, feeding tube, oxygen, blood draw, etc.).

Wednesday is Laurie's 4 month mark! We have also been home for one month. It's crazy how fast time is flying by. RSV season will be over before you know it... We had quite a scare this past week. Kevin got sick! It was not fun in the least. He was quarintined in our bedroom and wasn't allowed to come out. I disinfected the entire house, hoping that I could somehow prevent Laurie from getting sick. Just as a precaution, I took her into the doctor. Luckily, she was just fine. It made for quite possibly the longest 3 days ever! I had to do all of Laurie's feedings and cares and I had to pump on top of it. My sister-in-law April gave me a much needed break by taking Haili all one day. I think my longest sleeping streak in those two days was 2 hours... The good news is Kevin has fully recovered and we are all healthy! Kevin has upped his handwashing and hand sanitizing... we are crossing our fingers that all will go well this winter!

I went to the doctor for my "6 week" postpartum appointment with Dr. Fowers. We brought Laurie with us so that he could meet her. It was fun to talk with him and to let him know the details of what happened after we left Logan Regional Hospital back in May. We also talked about the future... he told us that if I become pregnant again that all my pregnancies from here on out will be considered "high risk". Because I had a premature birth with Laurie, I will most likely get weekly progesterone shots starting at 18 weeks to help prevent a premature delivery. I will also see my normal obgyn as well as a high risk obgyn during the pregnancy. Dr. Fowers was amazed to see how well Laurie was doing after everything she's been through.

Today I had to get Haili and Laurie loaded up in the car to go to the hospital for a blood draw. I picked up Kevin on the way, but it was quite the ordeal to get Haili and Laurie loaded with all of Laurie's equipment! Here are some pictures taken right before we left for the hospital.

Haili likes Laurie to have company when she's in her carseat!

Haili hiding from the camera! Haili loves to wear her princess dress. I originally bought the dress with the idea that it would be her Halloween costume. She wears the dress EVERY DAY, all day. It's quite the ordeal to get her in her pajamas! She loves to dance around in it while she sings "princess songs". It's so much fun to have a two-year-old!

6 lbs. 14 oz.

Hello again! We survived our crazy day... Ironically, I actually enjoyed going to all the doctor appointments! That may be in part because the only time I get to leave the house during the day is when we go to the doctor! We went to Laurie's physical therapy appointment at 8 am. (OK - from now on we're NOT going to schedule appointments that early if we can help it! I had to wake Haili up an hour early in order to get there on time... not always a wise decision if you want a happy toddler!) Laurie's torticollis and plagiocephaly actually got a little worse from her last appointment. We are now supposed to keep her right shoulder elevated whenever she is laying down so that she will keep off of the right side of her head. Hopefully that works!

Laurie weighs 6 lbs. 14 oz.! She'll be hitting the 7 lb. mark this week!!! Afterwards we went to the hospital to have her blood drawn to make sure that everything was in check. They wanted to get a venous draw - so they poked her right arm. I told the phlebotomist that at Primary's they never had much luck with finding veins in her arms... they always either did her feet or her scalp. The right arm didn't work, so they did the left arm... and lo and behold, it didn't work! By then, it was almost time for us to be at the ENT, so he told us to come back later and he'd call the NICU to do a scalp draw. Ick! When we came back, a different phlebotomist was there and she just decided to stick Laurie's foot - thank heavens! I don't know if I could handle any more head pokes. They aren't that fun to see on your baby. Laurie's potassium was quite high, so she is going down to 24 calorie breastmilk and we'll do another draw on Friday.

Dr. Blotter examined Laurie's ears and determined that she actually doesn't have any blockage or ear infections. Her ear canals just aren't fully developed yet. We are scheduled to come back to see him in two months to determine if her ears have developed. Once they have, then we will do more testing. He's confident that she doesn't have any hearing issues. One thing he did mention was that the antibiotic Gentimiacin that many preemies are given can actually cause hearing loss. Being on a ventilator for an extended period of time can also contribute to deafness. But at the NICU, their primary goal is to keep the baby alive, regardless of other side effects from the meds. It was just never mentioned to me that those things can affect hearing.

Kevin hasn't been feeling well today... we are hoping that it is allergy related and that he'll be able to find relief... but just to be safe, I am going to be doing all of Laurie's feeds and cares until we know he doesn't have anything contagious. This winter, our biggest challenge is going to be keeping everyone healthy! Because of Laurie's chronic lung disease, if she were to get RSV, it would be 10 times worse than if a normal healthy baby were to get it. You know, being a recluse isn't all that bad... in a way, it has really simplified my life! I know that I really can't be involved in much else than my family. I've never had so much fun with Haili! We play and sing and we love to be goofy. However, being stuck at home all the time isn't easy... I really miss adult interaction - talking with friends, going to the park, going shopping, having friends and their kids over to play...I just have to keep telling myself that we're doing this for Laurie and it makes it easier.

Here's a fun picture Kevin took of us girls. Haili loves wearing this red dress... even though it's getting a bit short. She loves the color red! Notice Laurie's cute double chin!

OK - so maybe I'm going a bit overboard with home videos... but I figure since we're not going to be seeing many people for a while, you can see how we're doing by viewing these videos. The video was taken just tonight! It demonstrates how much Haili loves her little sister.

Welcome to our new blog!

Thanks for coming to see our new blog! I will keep Laurie's Carepage up and running, though I won't be updating it nearly as often. I'm still learning how all this works, so forgive me as I am going through the learning process!

Kevin, Haili, Laurie, and I are doing great. Kevin is just about half-way through the semester. Compared to last year, his courses this semester have been a breeze. He gets all of his homework done before he comes home, so when he's home he can spend quality time with us. It's super. Kevin has been SUCH a great help. He basically takes care of Laurie from 10 pm until 4 am, at which time I take over. He's incredible. Haili is adjusting very well to having a baby sister at home. She's an expert at giving Laurie kisses and putting in her binkie. Haili is experiencing princess mania! She loves dressing up (thanks Karen) in pretty princess outfits and has recently discovered that she can do her hair MUCH better than I ever could... She's a funny girl! Laurie is doing extremely well. She gets stronger every day. We really hardly ever use her feeding tube anymore and we'll probably take it out for good later this week!

Jake and Diane (Kevin's sister) and their daughter, Aiden came up to see us on Friday. It was great to see them and to have the chance to actually feed THEM for once. They brought us Sunday dinner almost every week while Laurie was in the hospital. It really meant a lot to us and it was fun to have them come over. This picture is of Haili, Diane, and Aiden!

This Tuesday is going to be quite the day... we have 5 doctor appointments that morning! We also have to bring Haili along, because one of them is for her. It will be quite the adventure, I'm sure. I will post an update on Tuesday to let you all know how Laurie's ENT apointment goes... hopefully she just has some blockage in that left ear and that's all it is.

Here is a video taken immediately after Laurie's birth, just after I was stitched up from my C-section and brought in to see her. I thought I would post some video footage of Laurie for those of you who haven't had a chance to meet her or who weren't able to see her in the beginning...

And this is a short video taken of Laurie just a few minutes ago. Please excuse my poor video recording techniques... I'm bad, and I know it! Notice how much Laurie has changed in 3 1/2 months!

Thanks again for all of your continued support. It means the world to us. Have a wonderful day!