Sitting still

Trying to get Brooke to sit with her sister and her cousins is never an easy task. There are just too many other things to do.

Little Angel

1 Week

We did pictures of Brooke at every week for the first month and every month there after. It is amazing to see how fast they grow. This last week has been filled with many emotions and we are blessed to have Lindsey home with her family. We realize there will continue to be many emotions but we know we can do it. We are committed to doing everything possible to benefit both of our little girls.

What is one of the main questions being asked right now? How is she sleeping? That is pretty much all she does. Trying to wake her for feeds sometimes takes longer then the actual feed. We had an appointment with the lactation consultant to check the progress of her feeds. Lindsey weighed 7lbs 5oz fully clothed. She basically stated that with everything she has had going on this week (3 weeks early, jaundice, Down Syndrome, and the heart defects) she is doing rather well. She has me doing a few tricks to try and get her not to tire out during the feeds. Way more steps and effort compared to Brooke but she gave me the speech about how much it is going to benefit her so I am going to try and stick with it as long as possible. We will see what happens when Tim is back to work.

When she is awake for short bursts she just stares right at you and it melts your heart. It is amazing to look down at her when she is cuddling up with me and think that we did this and just last week all those little kicks were movements we could only feel.

Bye Bye Tail...

Spoke with Dr today and Lindsey's bilirubin is down to 8.7. Whohoo, no more machine to carry with us around the house or uncomfortable blanket for her to sleep on. We still need to watch for jaundice and said it will last about 2-3 weeks but he thought we would be fine to take her off.

Not going to happen...

Last night I was able to steal some time on the computer and I scheduled a few posts over the next couple of days. I realized this morning that most of them had posted with the dates listed. Weird because some of them are still scheduled and others were posted with future dates. Hence, the 3 days worth of posts that are now there all for today. Grrrr....Enjoy all the pics.

What a great helper..

Brooke still isn't sure what to do with Lindsey's tiny toes, belly button, or any other part for that matter. What does she always jump to try and help with? Changing the diaper. Brooke knew exactly what to do. She continues to show me how smart she really is and what a sponge she is for all sorts of information.

Snow Boots

Dancing in her boots. Brooke just loves all sorts of shoes. She gets in her closet and puts them on one by one all by herself. Here she is dancing in her snow boots. I am so not ready for snow. She will get a kick out of it this year though.

Mmmm, Frosting

Grandma baked cookies for Brooke to frost. She is loving any kind of crafty type project anymore. The part she liked best was she frosted a little and ate a little.

Setting the rules...

I just picture Brooke in my mind letting Lindsey know the rules. These are my toys, this is what mommy and daddy like and don't like. This is what you can do to get away with things, and all the other little secrets they will share.

Ohhh, I want this....

The Toys R US big toy book arrived the other day. Brooke loved flipping through the pages ohhhing and ahhhing at all the toys for her and Lindsey. This will be a fun Christmas.

Look alike

Tim loved his remote control picture with Brooke so much that he needed a duplicate.

Brooke

Lindsey

Sisters Forever!

Brooke's First Haircut

Brooke had her first haircut today! I had an appointment scheduled for last week but with the arrival of her sister we had to postpone. Here she is waiting reading a Star magazine just like her Mommy.

We were prepared with suckers, Elmo, and the DVD player. She did wonderful!

Renee at the Beauty Bar has done my hair for a few years and has a daughter Brooke's age so I knew she would do a great job with Brooke.

The finished product.

Nursery

Visit the web nursery to see Lindsey's nursery photos

Welcome to the World Lindsey

We would like to introduce our newest bundle of joy.

Lindsey Renee

October 21, 2008

12:16 PM

7lbs 3oz

19 inches

Lindsey couldn't wait any longer and arrived 3 weeks early. I woke up for my usual nightly visit to the bathroom at 3:30am and felt at little uncomfortable but went back to sleep. At 4:40 am I was feeling contractions but continued to try and ignore them thinking it was still too early. By 5:30am I thought that I might need to time them out because I was no longer able to sleep. I pulled myself out of bed to take a shower to see if I would feel any better. Nope! Now comes trying to pack a bag and decide if I should wake Tim up and call my mom. Man, I should have packed my bag before. I forgot so many things trying to pack between contractions. Tim was up and my mom was called by 6:30am. We were at the hospital by 8:00am with contractions that were anywhere between 2 minutes to 4 minutes apart. I was only about 4cm and had a bulging bag of water along with strong contractions so I was put in a delivery room. Once there, the IV was started and anesthesia was notified that I planned to have an epidural. Seriously, that epidural is a lifesaver! Once I had that by 10:00am it was smooth sailing. I was dilated and ready to push by noon. The nurse had me push twice and then Dr. Bishop was there had me push once for the head and once for the shoulders. I couldn't believe how right they were when they said how much easier the second time would be.

Dr. Bishop looked up at me and asked if we had done any genetic testing. To that I immediately freaked and said, "no, why". At that moment I noticed her almond shaped eyes as he grabbed to look for the creases on her hands. I knew what he was about to say. "I think she has Down Syndrome". Tim and I both lost it as they let me hold her for a second before they rushed her to the isolette and called the NICU team. She wasn't moving much and turning shades of blue and purple. The nurse was hearing an irregular rapid heartbeat and she was having difficulty breathing. Most of what happened still feels like a dream at times and many moments are blurry but I remember that I kept telling myself she was in the best place and as long as they let Tim standby with her and she was in the room with me it wasn't too bad. Once the NICU team looked at her, suctioned, did some blow by O2, and whatever else happened in between they let me visit with her for a few minutes and off she went to the NICU with Tim close behind. She had a few moments of color change so they did admit her overnight to watch her and do some further testing. Chest xray, chromosome studies, blood cultures, more labs, a hyper oxygenation study, among others. An ECHO was also completed which showed ASD and VSD something not uncommon in babies born with Down Syndrome. Lindsey has a cardiologist on board already that will continue to monitor the heart defects but she may require surgery up in Michigan between 6-10 weeks of age to fix the heart defects. It is just a waiting game right now. Lindsey was released back to the nursery Wednesday afternoon. We were happy to have her back so close to us. She did not pass the hearing test at the hospital so we have to have that checked again in a month. We are hopeful that will turn out fine. She startles with noises and turns her eyes to who is talking.

Brooke still isn't sure what to do with this new baby. She was up to see us for a few short visits and did really well. She just looks, smiles, points, and yells, "a baby".

Finally, on Thursday we were all able to go home. It seemed as though we were there forever and I couldn't wait to break out of the hospital.

Before we left I noticed that her eyes and nose looked yellow. The nursery nurse also took note and they checked her bilirubin. The initial skin test showed high so that meant more labs. The Bilirubin came back at 11.3 and we were told that she had newborn jaundice. She was sent home with a bili blanket that we have to keep on her at all times. We had it checked again yesterday and the Dr. called informing us that it was 11.5 so we needed to keep her on it through the weekend and to call if we noticed it was getting worse. She will have another check on Monday to see where she is at but until then we are carrying around a machine with us wherever we go.
Check out the little glow worm.

Brooke loves to cuddle up with us.

I can't get over how small she looks in her crib. Sleeping is not going well. What do you expect with a newborn though? She most likely has her days and nights confused. She sleeps all day and we have to get her to wake up for feeds. At night she wants to nurse for 20 minutes, fall asleep for 20 minutes, and nurse again. Thursday night that went on from 12am until 3:30am. Last night it was from 3am until 7am when Tim took her back downstairs. She went right to sleep downstairs and I was able to get some sleep. I am sure she will get it figured out eventually. We did put the pack n play in the bedroom so she could sleep in the bassinet part and I wouldn't have to continued to unplug and plug her bili blanket in with each feeding.

So innocent.

Last night Brooke decided that maybe she could be touched and gave her a kiss goodnight. Today she continues to offer her a binky.

Last night once Brooke was off to bed Lindsey received her first sponge bath at home.

She was not happy! That little baby cry is just so darn cute though.

Snuggled all back up and happy.

Thanks to everyone at the hospital, family, and friends for their outpouring of thoughts and prayers for us. I apologize if we haven't returned all the phone calls but we are taking it one day at a time and still trying to process the shock of it all. The crying continues at times but not as frequently. Some of the littlest things set it off. She is our beautilful daughter and we love everything about her. We are all she has and she will love us unconditionally. We plan to do everything we can from getting her involved with early intervention and educating ourselves and others.

Butterfly in the wind

A child is a Butterfly in the wind,

Some can fly higher than others.

But each flies the best that it can.

Why compare one against the other?

Each is one is different.

Each one is special.

Each one is beautiful.

-Author Unknown

Hello Lindsey Renee

On Tuesday October 21, Brooke's sister was born at 12:16pm, her name is Lindsey Renee. Lindsey was 7 lb 3 oz and 19 inches long. She spent her first night in the NICU and was release and sent to the Nursery this afternoon. Kelli and I would like to thank all the Nurses and Doctors that have been helping us. We would also like to thank our family for the support and love they have shown to us and our girls. We are planning on being home soon and will share updates and pictures real soon. Thanks to everyone that has called and sent texts to us. Lindsey is excited to see all of you real soon.

A Girl and her Barbie Dolls

I love knowing that some of the things I enjoyed doing as a child are still around and Brooke will also enjoy. Carrie and I would play with our Barbie dolls for hours. I hope Brooke will enjoy playing Barbie with her sister just as much.

37 Weeks

How your baby's growing: Congratulations — your baby is full term! This means that if your baby arrives now, her lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away.Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.
How your life's changing: Braxton Hicks contractions may be coming more frequently now and may last longer and be more uncomfortable. You might also notice an increase in vaginal discharge. If you see some "bloody show" (mucus tinged with a tiny amount of blood) in the toilet or in your undies, labor is probably a few days away — or less. (If you have heavier spotting or bleeding, call your caregiver immediately.) Also be sure to ask your caregiver about the results of your Group B strep culture. That way, if the result isn't yet on your chart when you get to the hospital or birth center, you'll be able to give the staff there a timely heads-up if you need antibiotics.It may be harder than ever to get comfortable enough to sleep well at night. If you can, take it easy through the day — this may be your last chance to do so for quite a while. Keep monitoring your baby's movements, too, and let your caregiver know immediately if you notice a decrease. Though her quarters are getting cozy, she should still be as active as before.While you're sleeping, you're likely to have some intense dreams. Anxiety both about labor and about becoming a parent can fuel a lot of strange flights of unconscious fancy.

Who doesn't love a lazy day?

Pumpkin Patch

What would October be without the pumpkin patch? Brooke really enjoyed Gust Brothers last year so we decided to make it a fall tradition. It was a lovely fall day.

First stop was to visit with all the animals and she told them all what noises they make.There were even baby pigs and cows for her to see. Some were so little their eyes weren't open yet.

She ran around free in the you pick yourself pumpkin patch.

Doesn't she look tiny next to big tractor?

Once she found a kids size wheel barrel that was all she wanted to do.

She picked out her own pumpkin and carried it around in her wheel barrel.

Brooke tried with all her might to pull the wagon full of pumpkins to the car.