WOW...Where has the time gone?!
Lane and Sloan are now 7 months old, and we have all been home for 3 months! I am thrilled to report that both babies are doing fantastic! (so are mommy and daddy)
Lane Kathryn continues to be the sweetest little girl. We call her a little busy body, as she is always looking around to see whats going on. She loves having company over and has no problem be being held by everyone. Very rarely will you catch Lane WITHOUT a smile on her face! No matter how crazy my day can get, I can look at her sweet face, and somehow my worries go away. Lane now weighs about 12 pounds and is 22 1/2 inches long. A far cry from 1 pound 6 ounces, huh?! She is a strong little girl who can hold her head up and roll from her tummy to her back. She still has her sparkling blue eyes, and her hair is just now starting to grow. Scott and I are still debating what color her hair is going to be. I am thinking she will have dark hair like my side of the family, but her daddy is certain he is going to have a blonde-haired baby girl. I guess we will see:) As you can imagine, Lane is a daddy's AND a Papa's (my dad) little girl. If either one of them are around, the odds of me or anyone else getting to hold her are slim!
Sloan Benson has been OXYGEN FREE for about 3 weeks now and he is doing great! While we had all gotten use to all of the tubing and the portable tanks anytime we left the house, it is so nice for him to be FREE! He has been a new baby ever since. Sloan is the funniest little man in the world! He loves to laugh, and once you get him going he will not stop. He is also the "talker" of the two! After his first bottle in the morning, Sloan will lay on his jungle mat, look up at himself in the mirror and talk to himself for a good 30 minutes. Sloan is also 12 pounds (yes, he finally caught up to Lane) and is 21 1/2 inches long. She still has him beat in length though! We have seen a big improvement in his strength since being off of oxygen. He does not tolerate tummy time as well as Lane, but he can hold his head up and roll from his tummy to back as well. We have a physical therapist that comes once a week to work with both of them, and Sloan seems to think that if he rolls over at the beginning of the session then he is done! And just as I had hoped, Sloan is a momma's boy!:) He too likes having company over, but he would rather his mommy hold him while he checks everyone out. He is a little snuggler too, and unlike Lane, allows me to rock him to sleep!
Thankfully, Lane and Sloan are great sleepers too. They have both been sleeping all night for awhile now. It is amazing how much better I function with a full nights sleep!
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
Tomorrow we will have been home for 2 weeks, and I do not know where the time has gone! While I still have not unpacked all of our bags, I believe we have finally settled in to a schedule that works for babies, mommy and daddy, and my mom (aka GoGo!) I don't know what I would do without my wonderful husband and my mother.
I am happy to report that Lane and Sloan are doing fabulous! They have both grown so much in the short time that we have been home. Last Wednesday Scott and I loaded everyone (and everything!) up in the car and drove back to Amarillo for our first outing as a family to our pediatrician for the babys' 4 month check-up. We were thrilled to find that they had both gained a pound in one week! Lane weighed 7 lbs. 2 oz, and Sloan gained right at 7 pounds. They are also growing in length with Lane being 19 inches long and Sloan 18 3/4 inches. We go back next Wednesday, and I just know they will have both gained another pound!
Every morning when I step foot in their nursery I continue to thank God for his precious gifts to me. I look into their little blue eyes, and my heart melts all over again! I couldn't ask for anything more!
I am happy to report that Lane and Sloan are doing fabulous! They have both grown so much in the short time that we have been home. Last Wednesday Scott and I loaded everyone (and everything!) up in the car and drove back to Amarillo for our first outing as a family to our pediatrician for the babys' 4 month check-up. We were thrilled to find that they had both gained a pound in one week! Lane weighed 7 lbs. 2 oz, and Sloan gained right at 7 pounds. They are also growing in length with Lane being 19 inches long and Sloan 18 3/4 inches. We go back next Wednesday, and I just know they will have both gained another pound!
Every morning when I step foot in their nursery I continue to thank God for his precious gifts to me. I look into their little blue eyes, and my heart melts all over again! I couldn't ask for anything more!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
HOME!!
Well...after 117 days we are finally HOME with our precious babies!!!!
After a long day of paperwork and meetings, we were surprised with a cake and a small going away party from the wonderful NICU staff before we left. While we were thrilled to be going home, it was hard saying goodbye to all of the wonderful people we have spent the past 4 months with. I know we will be keeping in touch with them for many years to come!
Lane and Sloan slept peacefully in their carseats for the 2 hour drive, and around 9:00 p.m. we walked through the front door of our house! What a great feeling it was!
They had a great first night waking up every 3 hours to eat and then falling right back to sleep. My mom (their GoGo) came to stay with us so daddy could finally get some sleep. So far we have been able to stay on their eating/sleeping schedule that was established in the NICU.
As you can imagine we are a little sleep deprived, but we wouldn't change it for anything in the world! Scott and I are so thankful to have our family under one roof, and we truly appreciate all of the support and prayers.
After a long day of paperwork and meetings, we were surprised with a cake and a small going away party from the wonderful NICU staff before we left. While we were thrilled to be going home, it was hard saying goodbye to all of the wonderful people we have spent the past 4 months with. I know we will be keeping in touch with them for many years to come!
Lane and Sloan slept peacefully in their carseats for the 2 hour drive, and around 9:00 p.m. we walked through the front door of our house! What a great feeling it was!
They had a great first night waking up every 3 hours to eat and then falling right back to sleep. My mom (their GoGo) came to stay with us so daddy could finally get some sleep. So far we have been able to stay on their eating/sleeping schedule that was established in the NICU.
As you can imagine we are a little sleep deprived, but we wouldn't change it for anything in the world! Scott and I are so thankful to have our family under one roof, and we truly appreciate all of the support and prayers.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
6 POUNDERS!!
After 15 1/2 weeks....both Lane and Sloan are 6 pounds!! We sure have come a LONG way from 1 pound 6 ounces! I was looking back at the pictures of them when they were first born, and I think I was in denial about how small they really were. I remember getting frustrated when people would come and see them and the only thing they would say is "They are so little!" I can admit now how truly shocked and scared I was, and YES they were so little. Looking back, I am glad that I was in a state of denial or I don't know if I would have been able to make it through the first few weeks.
Thankfully, today we are in a whole new place with the babies! We are actually talking with the doctors and nurses about going HOME soon! There are few things left on our "checklist" to accomplish before we take our sweeties to Gruver. The main thing we are working on now is being sure that both Lane and Sloan will take every feeding (8 a day) either by breast or by bottle. Neither one of them have their feeding tubes anymore, and we are hoping those are a thing of the past. They also have to pass the carseat challenge. This is where we bring their carseats in and they have to be able to sit in them for 3 hours without dropping their heartrate. More than likely Sloan will be going home on oxygen, so we also need to meet with a home healthcare to get trained on how to operate his oxygen tank. Lastly, we will be rooming-in with the babies for atleast 2 nights to make sure we are ready to care for them around the clock! So, as you can see...we are getting REAL close!
Thankfully, today we are in a whole new place with the babies! We are actually talking with the doctors and nurses about going HOME soon! There are few things left on our "checklist" to accomplish before we take our sweeties to Gruver. The main thing we are working on now is being sure that both Lane and Sloan will take every feeding (8 a day) either by breast or by bottle. Neither one of them have their feeding tubes anymore, and we are hoping those are a thing of the past. They also have to pass the carseat challenge. This is where we bring their carseats in and they have to be able to sit in them for 3 hours without dropping their heartrate. More than likely Sloan will be going home on oxygen, so we also need to meet with a home healthcare to get trained on how to operate his oxygen tank. Lastly, we will be rooming-in with the babies for atleast 2 nights to make sure we are ready to care for them around the clock! So, as you can see...we are getting REAL close!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Off the Ventilator....AGAIN!
At 9:15 yesterday morning, about 12 nurses came into our NICU room and said a prayer over Sloan before he was wheeled down to surgery. Scott and I were once again touched by the love and compassion shown to us from our new friends.
At 9:30 we walked Sloan down to the operating room, and then made our way to the waiting room. After 3 hours, (yes..we were starting to go crazy!) the surgeon came in to let us know that Sloan did great, but that he was going back to the NICU on a ventilator. We knew there was a great chance this would be the case, but we were optimistic that he would be extibated before he left the OR. Sloan rested for the next several hours, and around 11:00 p.m. it was decided that he could come off the ventilator! He has been doing great ever since. I was able to start nursing him at all of his feedings today, and in between we let him sleep.
Scott and I are thankful for all of the support and prayers and to be able to mark his surgery off of the list!!
At 9:30 we walked Sloan down to the operating room, and then made our way to the waiting room. After 3 hours, (yes..we were starting to go crazy!) the surgeon came in to let us know that Sloan did great, but that he was going back to the NICU on a ventilator. We knew there was a great chance this would be the case, but we were optimistic that he would be extibated before he left the OR. Sloan rested for the next several hours, and around 11:00 p.m. it was decided that he could come off the ventilator! He has been doing great ever since. I was able to start nursing him at all of his feedings today, and in between we let him sleep.
Scott and I are thankful for all of the support and prayers and to be able to mark his surgery off of the list!!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Preparing Sloan for Surgery
Well, the night to prepare Sloan for hernia surgery has finally come and Scott and I are full of all kinds of emotions. His surgery is scheduled for 9:30 in the morning, so he will not be able to eat after 2:30 a.m. Our first prayer tonight is that Sloan nurses well at his 2:00 a.m. feeding and remains calm and comfortable until surgery time. Our second prayer is for the surgeon, the anesthesiologist, and the nurses who will be with our son. And our final prayer is for a speedy recovery where Sloan is able to get back on track.
I was extremely touched to learn that one of our favorite nurses went in and said a special prayer over our baby boy before she went home tonight. We are so thankful to be surrounded by amazing nurses and staff who truly love and care for our babies. We will forever be grateful for every one of them!
I was extremely touched to learn that one of our favorite nurses went in and said a special prayer over our baby boy before she went home tonight. We are so thankful to be surrounded by amazing nurses and staff who truly love and care for our babies. We will forever be grateful for every one of them!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
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