A Long Time...

Oh my...

I didn't realize it had been SO long since I'd posted!

Photobucket and Flickr are horribly unupdated as well...I need to do something about that.

Quick update?

Nio is nearly ten months old now. He started crawling a couple of weeks ago. A few days after that, he started pulling himself up. I have a strong feeling that he'll be walking before he turns one. Wow.

He has 8 teeth, with two more on their way in. Yeah...he bites well (and painfully!) too.

He's such a happy little boy. He's just amazing...I fall more in love with him every day.

Okay...pics. :)

Grand Intentions, So Little Time

I really do have grand intentions of updating this blog. But really...it's been so busy at work and by the time I get home, I just want to play and cuddle with Nio until he goes to sleep. :)

Okay...so updates...

We noticed a few gum swellings last month (like in the first week of January) and he was in a fair amount of pain. As swollen as they were, I was convinced that he was going to have at least one tooth before he turned 3 months old. As it turned out...he's nearly four months old -- still no teeth, which I'm absolutely fine with. Because he still looks like a baby! *LOL* The pain seems to come and go now...which is good for him.

He has his 4 month needles this Saturday and I'm really dreading it. I missed his 2 month needles, not because I wanted to...but because the appointment was during the week and I was at work. He doesn't cry that often, so when he does it really breaks my heart. :(

He's grabbing at things, laughing at things, loves music...and I mean LOVES music. He's just begun to show an appreciation for cartoons too. Good cartoons...like Tom & Jerry from the 40's and OLD Mickey Mouse...as well as The Lion King (LOVES Hakuna Matata!) and The Little Mermaid (LOVES Under the Sea). He loves dancing, he loves being high up in the air, he loves Freya...and he loves us. He's such a happy little boy...and that's really the most important thing to us.

We have his naming ceremony next month (2 March), so life has been a bit hectic sorting out the ceremony details, catering, venue hire...but, it's going to be such a wonderful and special day.

We're having another photoshoot on 16 March...hopefully, with his cousling Nicholas this time. And then...heading off to the States on 27 March.

I'm SO looking forward to introducing Nio to Mom, Grandma, Grandpa, and my father. We'll have about 3 weeks there (which doesn't seem long enough at all, but was all we could swing at the moment)...then come home for one whole day...and then off to Fiji for a week for Louise's cousin's wedding.

I'm hoping Fiji is as fun as it should be. *LOL*

I need to update the links over there...and probably add the Flickr links too.

Sorry for taking so long to update. I'll try to do better!

Merry Christmas!

I realized this morning that it's been ages since I've posted. I'm so sorry!

Nio is absolutely perfect. He's gorgeous and sweet and smiley and cuddly and...perfect.

He's growing quickly. In fact, we're not buying 000 for him anymore. There's just no point. The 00s that we have aren't that big on him. We've already had to adjust the straps on his carseat three times!

He's a chatterbox too, always chatting about something. So so cute.

I just can't get over how quickly he's growing and how fast time is speeding by. It's just ridiculous!

We're taking him to the States to see my family at the end of March. We'll be staying for pretty much all of April, so he'll have his first Easter and turn 6 months old over there. I'm hoping that they still do pictures with the Easter Bunny because we so need one. Nothing like having a picture of a screaming baby on a 6 foot tall Bunny's lap. *LMAO*

The links for Nio's December pics and vids have been added to the links list over there.

--->

I hope everyone is doing well!

Luckier than we ever thought...

I wanted to wait a while (until some friends of ours had their baby) to post this...

Now that their son has arrived safely, I feel okay to make this post.

On 29 October, Louise had her surgical follow up with Dr K.  What he had to say brought me to tears, shudders, and makes me feel a bit sick.

Let me start off by saying, she's fine.  But, Nio's placenta wasn't so fine.

It was 25-30% calcified when he was born.  Dr K isn't sure that the pregnancy would've continued for another week, like we had originally wanted.  In fact, if it hadn't been for Dr Mangos (the hematologist), we would've pushed for the birth to be on the 18th.  There was nothing to show that there was a problem and Dr K didn't have an issue with letting us go to 38 weeks.

Dr Mangos wanted Nio born before 37 weeks...and was quite adamant about it.  Dr K took his advice and that's why Nio was born on the 11th.

It takes my breath away to think that if Dr Mangos hadn't been so adamant we probably wouldn't have Nio here with us now.

Also...

At our 12 week scan, the high risk OB guy there (who is really very talented, this is nothing against him at all) told us that there was no reason for Louise to be on Clexane and aspirin and suggested she come off of them.  I wasn't very keen on that at all...simply because maybe it was coincidence that we had achieved a pregnancy the first time after being on the blood thinners...but maybe it wasn't a coincidence.

Dr K and Dr Mangos both agreed.  The dosages of Clexane and aspirin that Louise was taking wouldn't hurt her or the baby...so why not just stay on it.  So, she did...and came off of at 35 weeks.

Dr K is of the opinion that if Louise had stopped the Clexane...the pregnancy may not have progressed.

Little Nio is definitely our Little Miracle.

The reality of how close we came to losing this perfect little boy is just numbing. 

Dr K said that if we decide to have another baby (and Louise falls pregnant again), he would deliver at 36 weeks. 

I'm not sure right now if I would be able to withstand another pregnancy...emotionally speaking, that is.  I was a nervous wreck throughout Nio's pregancy...and we thought everything was just fine. 

Someone was definitely looking out for all of us.  Of that, I have no doubt.

Thank you, Thomas.  We love you so very much.  ♥♥♥♥

Wow...

Today is Nio's official due date.

And he's 3 weeks and 1 day old.

Three weeks doesn't seem like that long, but in all honesty...I'm having a very hard time remembering what life was like without Nio in it.

Thomas seems to be making his presence known a fair bit lately.  Just little signs...a random song, a random butterfly or three, a flutter of his birthday balloon (which still hasn't gone done completely). 

I miss him so very much...and I thank him so much for looking out for his little brother. 

Sometimes Nio just lays in the bassinet, smiling at "nothing" as he waves his arms and kicks his legs.  I wonder if that "nothing" is actually someone that only he can see.

The thought of that brings a smile to my face.

Nurse Visit

The community nurse came to the house yesterday to have a look at Nio.

Everything looks really great and she's really happy with his development.

She didn't measure his length, but did measure his head circumference...which was 36cm.  It was 34cm at birth.

In other good news...he's up to 3.3kg!  Nearly back to birth weight.  He's put on nearly 300g in less than a week!  :D

Over the weekend, I started giving him a bottle of ebm (expressed breast milk) for his 6am (approx) feed.  I'm up anyway...and this way, Louise can get a bigger block of sleep.  It's also great for me...because I have an hour where it's just me and Nio (and Freya watching intently).

There's not much that is as beautiful as a baby looking into your eyes as he feeds.

I continue to be amazed by him every single day.

I also find that I'm thinking about Thomas more than usual too.  Maybe because Nio looks so much like him...maybe because I just miss Thomas so much...maybe both. 

Jaundice

They let us leave the hospital on Monday morning.  They said that Nio was a little yellow, but should be fine...just to keep an eye on him.

Tuesday was great.  Wednesday morning was great.

Late Wednesday morning (17 October), Louise was starting to get a bit worried because he hadn't had a proper feed since 6 that morning...and he was sleeping heavily.  She woke him up for a feed and noticed that his eyes were a bit yellow. 

So, she called the doctor and got an appointment for that afternoon.

Her mom took her and I left work early to meet them there.  The doctor was a bit concerned and suggested we take him to the hospital...just to get checked out.

We got to the hospital at about 4:30...he had had a 45 minute feed at 6 am, a 30 minute feed at midday, and a 5 minute feed at 3pm.  And he showed no interest in feeding...mainly because he was not waking up to feed. 

His reflexes were fine, he was just too tired to eat.

They put a cannula in his arm...and I cried as much as he did.  The most amazing thing happened though...he was crying and Louise put her hand on his head and said "Mumma's here, Nio..." and he calmed right down.  It was just beautiful. 

He was pretty dehydrated and more yellow.  They tested his bilirubin levels and they were at 308.  Borderline for being under the lights. 

Since he was only 6 days old and hadn't been feeding properly during the day, they decided to go ahead and put him under the lights for the night. 

Only one of us could stay the night...and that had to be Louise, since she's feeding him.  It was SO hard leaving them to go home... :(

As you can see, he looked quite comfortable...which made it a bit easier.  He was in the best place, having the best treatment.  They were keeping a close eye on him...it just didn't seem fair that we only had him at home for two nights before he had to go back. 

I went back in at 6 am the following morning and there was a huge difference in him.  He was more alert, not as yellow, and he had gained 20g overnight.  (Birth weight was 3.425kg, weight on Wednesday was 3.04kg, weight on Thursday was 3.06kg)

The midwife on duty gave Louise some great breastfeeding tips...and they worked like a charm!

By Thursday afternoon, Nio's bilirubin levels were down to 240...and they let us bring him home! 

Louise had to take him in on Friday for one last test and it had come down even more to 211.  The doctor is convinced that he's just fine.  After all, jaundice is pretty common.

It may be common, but seeing him so floppy and non-alert scared the hell out of me.

He's all good now, though!  :D