Accidents Happen...

Yesterday, we spent quite a bit of time at the doctor's office, which was definitely not in our plans for the day. Abigail accidentally pushed Benjamin off our bed, how it happened I'm not sure. Benjamin was sleeping between two pillows...I think Abi tried to help too much while I wasn't looking! I do know that it was a long drop (at least 2.5 ft) and I heard him fall from our bathroom. Poor little guy. He had a HUGE bump on the back of his head all day, and I thought it was only getting bigger instead of smaller. I felt so bad. So I took him to the doctor just to make sure he didn't hurt his skull or anything, of course they had to do xrays, but everything was okay. Just a battle wound I guess...the joy of having big sisters! At least his bump has gone done today! And Abi felt really bad about it...she had a tear in her eye.

The girls and I are going to take a trip to the park today after we make our special rice krispy treats with the pink "mashmallows" that Nani gave the girls. They are very excited about this...and thanks to Nani's suggestion, we must now use heart-shaped cookie cutters instead of just spreading them into a pan! Thank you Nani!

Abigail grows up!

Today, my baby girl took the step from baby girl to big girl...she got her ears pierced! We had been talking about it for a while and today while we were at the mall I asked her if she wanted to get them done. It only took her about 20 minutes to decide (she couldn't decide if it would hurt too much or not) and in the end, she went for it (as a bonus, she got a sucker when it was done!). Just thought I'd share this momentous occasion with you all! Emily has decided she will wait until she gets bigger, "like Abi". However, she was able to get a sucker as well for being a big helper for mommy during the process.

January Update

I thought I'd just post an update on Benny's progress and the rest of the "what's going on" news for the family. Benny, as of last Wednesday, weighed 8lbs, 60z. He's doing great with his weight gain. I'm thinking about talking to his pediatrician at his 2 month check up about going to normal calorie formula as opposed to the 22-cal diet he's on right now. He's not breastfeeding anymore, which makes me sad, but I will say, makes things so much easier for me. My supply had gone down so much and after he was admitted a second time, I just lost all hope. But he's doing great and I've told myself that I'm not going to feel guilty for not breastfeeding him. The doctor said he'll be just fine :)

He's starting to look much more like a little person with a personality. He has started smiling, which is the cutest thing ever! I've been trying to capture it on camera but he seems to know this, and changes his expression before I can push the button. This picture is the best I could do for now. He's even started rolling from his side to his back...soon he'll be doing crazy rolls in the crib, we think. He's even getting into routine now. He does down for a nap every morning between 9:30 and 10am. And our biggest news....drumroll please......HE'S SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT! He sleeps from about 9pm to 6am the next morning. It's been so nice!

The girls are great. They went to the dentist last Wednesday and they loved it. They got a new toothbrush and some kid flossers and that was worth the trip for them! No cavities! Hooray! Abigail is trying so hard to be the boss now, it's driving me crazy. She want to be a mommy so bad...I have to tell her several times a day, "that's not your job, that's mommy's job!" Poor Emily often receives the Abi scolding for something and ends up crying. Oy! It's always entertaining at our house, to say the least :)

Darin's job is going well, but he has expressed interest in looking for another job. This is definitely not where he wants to stay. Perhaps we'll start looking for jobs in other areas (wink wink!). Of course, we also have the option of having me return to work and having Darin stay home. He of course is all for this option! I really told him it's not as great and easy and it seems! :) We signed up for a 4-week parenting class at our church entitled "Parenting By the Book" and so far we've really enjoyed it. We're learning a great deal about ourselves as parents and about our kids as well. It's challenging us to re-examine how we're raising the kids and we both come away each week with something new. I think it's a great way for us to start the new year.

Anyways, that's our family for now. We're just hanging out, having fun. Now that things are settling down, I'm going to try and load pictures up here frequently so be on the look out!

Circumcision is no fun

Poor Benjamin was circumcised yesterday. I definitely know why they should get it done when they are newborns...poor guy. We ended up having to stay at the doctors office a little while after the procedure because he was having some bleeding and they wanted to keep an eye on it, especially since he's on aspirin. We were cleared to go after about 1/2 hour and when we got home I let him sleep in his chair because he was so tired. He hadn't had a good sleep at all until then. I was checking his diaper every 1/2 hour yesterday to make sure he didn't start bleeding, and of course, when he woke up (which was about 40 minutes after we got home) I checked it, and there was blood. I started freaking out, like I do, and called the doctor and left a message. After maybe 5 minutes of waiting for the phone call back I got impatient and called the appointment line and asked to speak to a nurse. Funny thing is, as I was talking to the nurse, someone from the nurse advice line called back...oh well! Anyways, everything was okay. The doctor said at that point he was okay with a little blood in his diaper as long as it wasn't running down or anything, which it wasn't.

Darin was making fun of me because I was freaking out, but I can't help it. Especially after everything that Benjamin has been through, I figured with his luck, something else would go wrong :( He's doing better now, sort of, but still grumpy. And, to top things off, today he's scheduled to receive his Synagis shot! It's a shot to help prevent RSV in babies. I guess only certain babies can qualify to receive it and since Ben was a cardiac patient born in the RSV season, he qualifies.

I just can't wait for this week to be over (it's supposed to take that long for it to heal up better). My little man needs a break.

The girls have a dentist appointment this morning so that should be fun! Abi is actually looking forward to it, she keeps asking about it.

Good news!

Benny has returned home! He was discharged this afternoon around 4:30pm. His incision looks so much better from when we admitted him! He is doing well and we are so glad to have him home. Emily cried last night when we got home because she was "sad that baby brother didn't come home with us." It was so sad, yet so adorable at the same time! The girls just love him so much! So, we are happy to say that he will be able to watch the Charger game with us tomorrow! Go Chargers!!!

Too good to be true

I wish this post was on happier news but it's not. We are asking for everyone's prayers for Benny. He was admitted back into the hospital yesterday afternoon due to an infection on his incision. On Wednesday I took him into the surgeon's office because he had been leaking some puss and hints of blood onto his clothes from his incision. The nurse practitioner looked at it, prescribed some antibiotic ointment as well as an oral antibiotic, and said to come back the next day. We went back, and she said she didn't see enough of an improvement and decided to admit him in order to be on the cautious side. We only want what's best for him, but we can't help but think he doesn't belong there. He had only had two doses of his oral antibiotic (not even a full 24 hours worth) and they made their decision based on that. We felt he should have been given another day but I guess they didn't. Probably because it's so close to his bone and his heart. Anyways, he's back at Children's hospital, hopefully only for a couple days. So please pray for quick healing for his incision so that he may come home and be where he belongs, with his family!