Family walk at the Cabin in Nisswa..
How cute are they?!
Kids slip and sliding in the backyard at the cabin......
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Friday, May 26, 2006
Gonzalez's Heart
OK, after a VERY busy morning, I am finally able to say hi. We woke up early because Sal had a meeting at 6:30 and I had to get up and make a special treat for the teachers at Ashley's school. Ethan and I took Jaden to the Dr. and she had more blood work done and found that his levels were all really good and he had gained an oz. now. He was also eating and wetting better. He is less congested today also. So, she was pleased with him and said just to keep a close eye on him and bring him back if he drops in eating again. So we do not have to go to the hospital. YEAH!!! I am not sure how I would have been able to handle it if we would have. I was a total mess just thinking about it.
So depending on how tonight goes, I think we will go to the cabin and yes, create an even bigger mess in our house. I have thought a lot about it and I think the kids need this. I do not, but they do, and we will be telling them about Amber this weekend as well (hopefully). We are going to get a slip and slid at Target and a few other fun things for them to play with this weekend. It would be so much better for them to get away to have fun then to be around here where they will not do much as we will be so busy trying to get the house together. The choices we make for our kids and not ourselves. I think it will be good. Plus it was both of thier last days of school today so we do need to celebrate.
I will let you all know how tonight goes and if you don't hear from me until Monday or Tuesday, it went well and I will have a lot of fun pictures to post from our weekend.
Love you all and thanks again for your prayers.
OK, after a VERY busy morning, I am finally able to say hi. We woke up early because Sal had a meeting at 6:30 and I had to get up and make a special treat for the teachers at Ashley's school. Ethan and I took Jaden to the Dr. and she had more blood work done and found that his levels were all really good and he had gained an oz. now. He was also eating and wetting better. He is less congested today also. So, she was pleased with him and said just to keep a close eye on him and bring him back if he drops in eating again. So we do not have to go to the hospital. YEAH!!! I am not sure how I would have been able to handle it if we would have. I was a total mess just thinking about it.
So depending on how tonight goes, I think we will go to the cabin and yes, create an even bigger mess in our house. I have thought a lot about it and I think the kids need this. I do not, but they do, and we will be telling them about Amber this weekend as well (hopefully). We are going to get a slip and slid at Target and a few other fun things for them to play with this weekend. It would be so much better for them to get away to have fun then to be around here where they will not do much as we will be so busy trying to get the house together. The choices we make for our kids and not ourselves. I think it will be good. Plus it was both of thier last days of school today so we do need to celebrate.
I will let you all know how tonight goes and if you don't hear from me until Monday or Tuesday, it went well and I will have a lot of fun pictures to post from our weekend.
Love you all and thanks again for your prayers.
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Gonzalez's Heart
Well, Jaden and I spent 2 hours and 45 minutes at the doctors today. He has not been doing so well these last few days so the home care nurse said we should go to the Dr. They did blood work and chest x-rays. The end result, everything looked pretty good. We are to journal his diapers and eating and we are going back at 8:15 tomorrow morning. They will decide if he is eating enough and having enough wet diapers to be all right. If not, they will want him to go into the hospital to get him back up to speed on feedings. Hopefully that will not need to happen. If admitted to the hospital, they may send us to the U of M. That would not be fun. He has been doing a lot better today with feedings but still not so well with the wet diapers. So we will just get him working on it all so we do not have to go to the yucky hospital.
Since we were there longer then I had anticipated, I had to call Adina from the clinic to see is she could help and pick up both the kids from school. She also took Ashley to gymnastics for me. Thank you Adina.
Hopefully we will get needed rest tonight and have a good outcome for tomorrow.
Love, Steph
Well, Jaden and I spent 2 hours and 45 minutes at the doctors today. He has not been doing so well these last few days so the home care nurse said we should go to the Dr. They did blood work and chest x-rays. The end result, everything looked pretty good. We are to journal his diapers and eating and we are going back at 8:15 tomorrow morning. They will decide if he is eating enough and having enough wet diapers to be all right. If not, they will want him to go into the hospital to get him back up to speed on feedings. Hopefully that will not need to happen. If admitted to the hospital, they may send us to the U of M. That would not be fun. He has been doing a lot better today with feedings but still not so well with the wet diapers. So we will just get him working on it all so we do not have to go to the yucky hospital.
Since we were there longer then I had anticipated, I had to call Adina from the clinic to see is she could help and pick up both the kids from school. She also took Ashley to gymnastics for me. Thank you Adina.
Hopefully we will get needed rest tonight and have a good outcome for tomorrow.
Love, Steph
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Gonzalez's Heart
Well, the last few days have been a little hard and busy. Jaden has not been feeling well since Monday afternoon. He has not been wanting to eat much and has been pretty fussy. He also has not had many wet diapers. The home care nurse came yesturday and said stat wise he looks great and he does not look dehydrated. He had only gained 2oz from Thursday to Tuesday. That is lower then we would like to see. Last night he was really raspy sounding and still not wanting to eat. I think he may have a cold. We were not sure until last night. Hopefully that is all that is wrong and he can get better soon. I did not sleep much last night because I would listen to Jaden and make sure he was breathing and doing fine.
On top of Jaden not feeling and eating well, we ran out of his Simply Thick to thicken his milk. He had alot left when I ordered more from the company on Saturday but he was eating so much that we ran out. So luckily he is not eating well when we don't have what he needs. I had to go get rice cereal to thicken it but it does not work to well. I am also going through breast milk storage bags like water. I can not seem to keep enough at home. I go through so many because Jaden just can not keep up wih my milk supply. I give him fresh and then at the end of the night bag the rest. I bag at least 24oz at the end of each night. So we have been working on trying to find a bulk amount to order without paying a ton of money. I have a call out to a supplier to see if she can help me out. I gave Steph T. the project of finding the info and of course she found some good stuff for me to check on. Thanks Steph.
We also had an episode with Ethan last night. Ashley and I were on our way to the St Cloud Christian School graduation and Sal called saying I had to come home that Ethan would need stiches. He was playing around and hit his head on our bakers rack. We took him to the ER and he needed 5 stiches. They actually used staples. Robyn met us there so she could take Ashley for us. That was extremely helpful. Thank you Robyn!! Ethan was such a strong little guy. He was asking the nurses what their names were and telling them all kinds of stories. He loves to talk now and was doing alot of that. He was telling them how strong he was and how he likes spider, super and batman. He kept pointing out his little brother to them. It was so cute to see Ethan dealing with this and being so brave when they had to put the needle in his head to numb it. When we got to Robyn's to pick up Ashley, she had a really hard time. She was crying and telling me that I spent all of my time with Ethan and not her. She said she just wanted to cuddle with me. We did that for a very long time.
So today we are waiting for UPS to come by with our Simply Thick and I am about to take Ethan to pre-school.. I will then come home and try to work on some laundry. I do want to take a nap but am trying to get things done around here so we can go to the cabin this weekend. We will see what today brings.
Well, the last few days have been a little hard and busy. Jaden has not been feeling well since Monday afternoon. He has not been wanting to eat much and has been pretty fussy. He also has not had many wet diapers. The home care nurse came yesturday and said stat wise he looks great and he does not look dehydrated. He had only gained 2oz from Thursday to Tuesday. That is lower then we would like to see. Last night he was really raspy sounding and still not wanting to eat. I think he may have a cold. We were not sure until last night. Hopefully that is all that is wrong and he can get better soon. I did not sleep much last night because I would listen to Jaden and make sure he was breathing and doing fine.
On top of Jaden not feeling and eating well, we ran out of his Simply Thick to thicken his milk. He had alot left when I ordered more from the company on Saturday but he was eating so much that we ran out. So luckily he is not eating well when we don't have what he needs. I had to go get rice cereal to thicken it but it does not work to well. I am also going through breast milk storage bags like water. I can not seem to keep enough at home. I go through so many because Jaden just can not keep up wih my milk supply. I give him fresh and then at the end of the night bag the rest. I bag at least 24oz at the end of each night. So we have been working on trying to find a bulk amount to order without paying a ton of money. I have a call out to a supplier to see if she can help me out. I gave Steph T. the project of finding the info and of course she found some good stuff for me to check on. Thanks Steph.
We also had an episode with Ethan last night. Ashley and I were on our way to the St Cloud Christian School graduation and Sal called saying I had to come home that Ethan would need stiches. He was playing around and hit his head on our bakers rack. We took him to the ER and he needed 5 stiches. They actually used staples. Robyn met us there so she could take Ashley for us. That was extremely helpful. Thank you Robyn!! Ethan was such a strong little guy. He was asking the nurses what their names were and telling them all kinds of stories. He loves to talk now and was doing alot of that. He was telling them how strong he was and how he likes spider, super and batman. He kept pointing out his little brother to them. It was so cute to see Ethan dealing with this and being so brave when they had to put the needle in his head to numb it. When we got to Robyn's to pick up Ashley, she had a really hard time. She was crying and telling me that I spent all of my time with Ethan and not her. She said she just wanted to cuddle with me. We did that for a very long time.
So today we are waiting for UPS to come by with our Simply Thick and I am about to take Ethan to pre-school.. I will then come home and try to work on some laundry. I do want to take a nap but am trying to get things done around here so we can go to the cabin this weekend. We will see what today brings.
Monday, May 22, 2006
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Gonzalez's Heart
Things have been going well for us. Jaden has been gaining weight and that is very good. The Dr's. want him to gain an oz. a day. Monday he weighed 7lbs 10oz and on Thursday he weighed 7lbs 14oz. He is gaining a little more then an oz. a day. That is great. He has a great appetite and is a happy little baby.
Ashley had here dance recital today and was very good. She smiled the entire time and you could tell she was having a great time. Grandpa and grandma both got to come. YEAH!!! Ethan woke up at 5am today and was very tired. Luckily he fell asleep during the show and woke at the end. We then all went out for our after performance tradition.. Our family has gone out to eat after all of our performances since we were little kids.
Dad headed for the cabin now and mom and Sal went to Robyn's house to get the changing table. Tomorrow Sal has to go to the cities first thing in the morning. I do not think I will make it to church. It may be to much for me to handle alone. I am still getting settled to it all and there are so many extra things I have to do and remember with Jaden.
Hope you all have a great weekend. Love to you all, Steph
Things have been going well for us. Jaden has been gaining weight and that is very good. The Dr's. want him to gain an oz. a day. Monday he weighed 7lbs 10oz and on Thursday he weighed 7lbs 14oz. He is gaining a little more then an oz. a day. That is great. He has a great appetite and is a happy little baby.
Ashley had here dance recital today and was very good. She smiled the entire time and you could tell she was having a great time. Grandpa and grandma both got to come. YEAH!!! Ethan woke up at 5am today and was very tired. Luckily he fell asleep during the show and woke at the end. We then all went out for our after performance tradition.. Our family has gone out to eat after all of our performances since we were little kids.
Dad headed for the cabin now and mom and Sal went to Robyn's house to get the changing table. Tomorrow Sal has to go to the cities first thing in the morning. I do not think I will make it to church. It may be to much for me to handle alone. I am still getting settled to it all and there are so many extra things I have to do and remember with Jaden.
Hope you all have a great weekend. Love to you all, Steph
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Jaden in his very first outfit to go home from the hospital at 5 weeks old.
Jaden for the first time in his car seat. Ready to go home!!! 
Grandpa calming Jaden down for his car ride home. 
His house was decorated for him to welcome him home. He even had a pin wheel in the front yard with a "it's a boy" sign and a table full of gifts.
Monday, May 15, 2006
Gonzalez's Heart
I hope you all had a great Mother's Day weekend. Sunday we woke up and were very tired but so very happy to all be together. Jaden wanted to make the day eventful and decided to throw up first thing in the morning. He had been crabby since the night before and he is usually a very happy baby. So we stayed home from church and just vegged out to try and give Jaden less stimulation. Mom and Robyn came over and we had a good afternoon and Sal and Robyn cooked a very yummy dinner with a salad fit for a king. It was a nice day.
Jaden has gained 2 more oz since Friday. He is doing very good and keeps wanting to eat like the star he is.
Steph T. I loved the story you posted. It made me cry. What a joy to know that life is not in anyone's hands but God. I learned from our experience so far that you have to believe more then any of the Dr's are willing. My motto for the year is, "anything at all is possible."
Robin, I would love for you to come over Friday. We can catch up on life and I will also let you help with our laundry. We have so much and that is so far down on my list. Give me a call and let me know when you would want to come over.
Love, me
I hope you all had a great Mother's Day weekend. Sunday we woke up and were very tired but so very happy to all be together. Jaden wanted to make the day eventful and decided to throw up first thing in the morning. He had been crabby since the night before and he is usually a very happy baby. So we stayed home from church and just vegged out to try and give Jaden less stimulation. Mom and Robyn came over and we had a good afternoon and Sal and Robyn cooked a very yummy dinner with a salad fit for a king. It was a nice day.
Jaden has gained 2 more oz since Friday. He is doing very good and keeps wanting to eat like the star he is.
Steph T. I loved the story you posted. It made me cry. What a joy to know that life is not in anyone's hands but God. I learned from our experience so far that you have to believe more then any of the Dr's are willing. My motto for the year is, "anything at all is possible."
Robin, I would love for you to come over Friday. We can catch up on life and I will also let you help with our laundry. We have so much and that is so far down on my list. Give me a call and let me know when you would want to come over.
Love, me
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Gonzalez's Heart
You guys, I am thankful for all of your patience as I have been so busy. Thank you to Mama Rose for updating everyone as you know better then anyone how busy we have been here. I had a lot to read and get caught up with on my blog and I laughed and cried. Tears even ran down my chest (so Jaden will get a salty dose of breast milk). Robyn and I went shopping today for the best mommy in the world. Sorry to all you other moms, but I have to say, mine is by far the best. She deserves tomorrow so much. She always helps everyone out so much but this time she far exceeded her mommy duties. I unwilling had to kick her home to rest and try to recoup. She felt horrible leaving as I did not want her to leave either but knew she needed to. So this is the first minute I have had to write and all of my fun shopping is sitting on the floor in bags having to wait.
We have had a wonderful time at home but very exhausting. Dad came to the hospital to help me with Jaden on Wednesday as Sal was there Tuesday but had to get back Wednesday so he left at 6am. Dad wanted to make sure I was not alone when Jaden got to leave. That was so nice. We then had to do some last minute things at the RMH and then we drove home. Jaden's first car ride. I was very nervous and afraid I may not hear him cry. It went fine.
So I drive up to the house and there a very large pinwheel spinning in the ground with a "it's a boy" sign. It was so nice to be greeted with. I waited for mom as I saw her at Ethan's school and I knew she would have it special inside. When she got out of her car she saw me and fought back the tears. I of course had to also. We went inside and it was decorated so nice and a plate of sandwiches were on the counter and gifts on the table and cute decorations on the wall (balloons also and one was even a star). It was so wonderful. A perfect welcome home.
I picked up both Ash and Ethan from school one at a time and when we got home, they did not even notice Jaden. When they did, all they could say was "does he get to stay home forever." They fought over holding him and my attention. We were busy all afternoon and went to Awana and everyone said hi to me and half of them didn't even realize I was pushing a stroller at first. It was pretty funny. It was a great night. Thursday and Friday were so busy. I have been going non stop. Steph T. was so nice to offer to watch Ethan Thursday and Friday morning and then to even bring him to pre-school Friday. That helped me so much no one would ever be able to understand. The nights have been so long and tiring. We have been run down and trying to stay positive with everything. It has been a wild ride being home. We have midnight meds to give, feedings, diaper changes, pumping and Ethan crawling in our bed in the middle of the night. We are trying to help each other out with who does what when, and so far we are doing fine.
Jaden is doing wonderful and at night we are so tired that I have to set the alarm to wake up as he does not always wake to eat because he gets so exhausted from eating.. He does wake up at least once a night on his own and I wonder how long he was crying before I heard him and woke up. He is in our room in his bassinet but he is very quite and we are very tired.
I know you are all wondering if I have unpacked yet since that seems to be the topic of discussion and NO, I have not. There are bags in the car still (not many as Sal unloaded some and so did mom). There are bags in the living room, the hall up stairs, the laundry room and of course our bed room. I know a lot of stuff for only 5 and a half weeks, but we had clothes, toys, baby gifts, and living kind of things for the RMH like picture frames, bath mats stuff like that our room did not have. I will be posting pictures and another audio in the next day or so.
I love you all so much and hope you all have a great mothers day with your moms or grandma's or your children, which ever you may be celebrating with.
Love, Ashley, Ethan and Jaden's mommy
You guys, I am thankful for all of your patience as I have been so busy. Thank you to Mama Rose for updating everyone as you know better then anyone how busy we have been here. I had a lot to read and get caught up with on my blog and I laughed and cried. Tears even ran down my chest (so Jaden will get a salty dose of breast milk). Robyn and I went shopping today for the best mommy in the world. Sorry to all you other moms, but I have to say, mine is by far the best. She deserves tomorrow so much. She always helps everyone out so much but this time she far exceeded her mommy duties. I unwilling had to kick her home to rest and try to recoup. She felt horrible leaving as I did not want her to leave either but knew she needed to. So this is the first minute I have had to write and all of my fun shopping is sitting on the floor in bags having to wait.
We have had a wonderful time at home but very exhausting. Dad came to the hospital to help me with Jaden on Wednesday as Sal was there Tuesday but had to get back Wednesday so he left at 6am. Dad wanted to make sure I was not alone when Jaden got to leave. That was so nice. We then had to do some last minute things at the RMH and then we drove home. Jaden's first car ride. I was very nervous and afraid I may not hear him cry. It went fine.
So I drive up to the house and there a very large pinwheel spinning in the ground with a "it's a boy" sign. It was so nice to be greeted with. I waited for mom as I saw her at Ethan's school and I knew she would have it special inside. When she got out of her car she saw me and fought back the tears. I of course had to also. We went inside and it was decorated so nice and a plate of sandwiches were on the counter and gifts on the table and cute decorations on the wall (balloons also and one was even a star). It was so wonderful. A perfect welcome home.
I picked up both Ash and Ethan from school one at a time and when we got home, they did not even notice Jaden. When they did, all they could say was "does he get to stay home forever." They fought over holding him and my attention. We were busy all afternoon and went to Awana and everyone said hi to me and half of them didn't even realize I was pushing a stroller at first. It was pretty funny. It was a great night. Thursday and Friday were so busy. I have been going non stop. Steph T. was so nice to offer to watch Ethan Thursday and Friday morning and then to even bring him to pre-school Friday. That helped me so much no one would ever be able to understand. The nights have been so long and tiring. We have been run down and trying to stay positive with everything. It has been a wild ride being home. We have midnight meds to give, feedings, diaper changes, pumping and Ethan crawling in our bed in the middle of the night. We are trying to help each other out with who does what when, and so far we are doing fine.
Jaden is doing wonderful and at night we are so tired that I have to set the alarm to wake up as he does not always wake to eat because he gets so exhausted from eating.. He does wake up at least once a night on his own and I wonder how long he was crying before I heard him and woke up. He is in our room in his bassinet but he is very quite and we are very tired.
I know you are all wondering if I have unpacked yet since that seems to be the topic of discussion and NO, I have not. There are bags in the car still (not many as Sal unloaded some and so did mom). There are bags in the living room, the hall up stairs, the laundry room and of course our bed room. I know a lot of stuff for only 5 and a half weeks, but we had clothes, toys, baby gifts, and living kind of things for the RMH like picture frames, bath mats stuff like that our room did not have. I will be posting pictures and another audio in the next day or so.
I love you all so much and hope you all have a great mothers day with your moms or grandma's or your children, which ever you may be celebrating with.
Love, Ashley, Ethan and Jaden's mommy
Friday, May 12, 2006
Updates from Mama Rose
I wanted to make sure everyone could see these great updates that Mama Rose posted on the blog, so I'm just copying and pasting them from the comments section for her. =)
mama rose reporting from Jaden' s home said...
Well, it happened!! Jaden finally got to his own home. Robyn and I did some decorating to welcome him home and mommy home.
Ethan woke up this morning, happy and excited to see mommy, he got dressed quickly, even helped Ashley with her morning chores, after taking AShley to school, the two of us went and got more baloons, found a couple more presents, ... he was being very patient for mommy. I took him to day school and knew mommy would be home in a min. ... yup, I got back home and there they were. I got teary eyed... she was still in the garage and there was Jaden in his new car seat. At last!!! How divine. He said Hi Grandma I am home and now I am ready to eat.. so feed me.
Well I had lunch ready for Steph but life is different... she can't eat when she is hungry when she has a little one like Jaden. No, food had to wait.
First, he had to eat. I fed him... much more difficult than one knows. It is not like a normal feeding. I had to be taught how to mix the milk, I will still need more training. Then the feeding itself has to be different so he doesn't get too much. Then burping, changing diapers, mommy had to pump, then she had to figure out all the medications, she filled the daily doses and we talked about how to set up a meds stations, ... he got his meds...NOW WE CAN EAT. We were both hungry.
HOw was the rest of the day?... Well Steph got to pick up Ashley while I watched Jaden. When Ashley saw Ethan she was so happy and had to hold him. She was so thrilled.
Then it was time to pick up Ethan. So Steph surprised him and then when Ethan saw Jaden, at first he didn't know what to think then after his "second take" he did his jumping up and down and getting excited number.
He had to hold him...the rest of the afternoon, it was like they were after mommy all the time to help feed Jaden, to hold him, to give him his meds, Ethan couldn't understand why he couldn't give him the meds. Oh my, oh my. It was tiring just watching his determination and his not understanding that he couldn't just take care of him. Mommy was so good helping them with Jaden.
Well have they started to unpack yet? NO
While all this was happening, I was trying to fix dinner, because we had to hurry to get to Awana. You can imagine the challenge that Steph has to tend to Jaden's needs as well as two other mommy deprived children.
Now Sal has come home early and is unloading bags, etc.
When we got to Awana, Ethan had to point out to everyone that Jaden was HIS baby. He was so proud of him.
It was so nice to see how wonderful all the parents were at Awana, greeting Steph and Sal, hugging,and of course welcoming baby however they did.
So not later we are home, are they unpacked yet? No.
Tomorrow, there is so much to do and I hate to say, i must go home by late afternoon... I am exhausted.
Just having Ashley and Ethan, the day starts no later than 6:30... and then non stop.. unto 8:30 at night. Wheewww. Part of the schedules always involves doing various mental and artistic taskes. They love to sit down and do it too. They have those kids trained well. No TV for them...just creative activites. .
I give you all a glimps of this... because this is a mother. Many of you reading this know what all that means. Even after the kids go to bed, is their work even done then? No.
With a special baby, this is going to be very hard for Steph and Sal. It would be nice if money grew on trees, then Sal could stay at home, but he has to go win bread so he has to be gone.
For those who know me, at night time I can have a tenedency to ramble on .. I just found myself falling asleep while writing this... so I better be off to bed. Tomorrow night, I will be home to recouperate from some wild days. hehe
Being with the kids is a blessing, what a gift. Forget if Ethan is five hands full, I love them so much and it is a priviledge to be with them.
Well,everyone in the house is sleeping ... so I am on my way,Be patient with hearing from Steph... she sill has to unpack the computer.
nighty nite,Rose
mama rose said...
UPDATE:
Stephanie has her hands so full, as I mentioned in my previous comment, it may be 1 day or 5 days before she can dig her computer out and take time for that. So I will share some update.
Yesterday we took Baby Jaden to his first "Well Child" check up. When I walked in, and saw those words it put a real smile in my heart. Well child..he now can be considered a "well Child". Yeaaaa!!!!
His check up was fine. I got to meet Jaden's Doctor, a marvelous Lady Doctor who is all what Stephanie said she was. She takes 150% interest in the children and families she sees.
Jaden has been drinking well. He has no problem with an appetite. That is good as one of the goals is to fatten him up. Steph says that he will, according to the doctors, always be slim.
Jaden seems to want to eat every couple of hours... Steph has to fix medication for 5 different times a day. This takes up the whole counter and lot of dedicated work. One she has to crush. Others she has to measure and then put in these dispensers. Sal does the best job in getting Jaden to swallow those medications.
We had a long list of things to do yesterday, but in taking care of Jaden, the list slips away and only a couple things gets done. Unpacking is there on the list... There are suitcases filled in the entrance and three times as many that are in the garage.
Sal has been tring to be at home much more but that means less income coming in and with more expenses, that could be a challenge. Challenges make us stronger. They are both creative and strong and as time passes, I am sure that they will figure out how to handle all these challenges that are divinely given them. Isn't that the secret? Knowing that God's hand is on everything? That he will give nothing that we can't handle. The secret to my days is to never not be in awe and gratitude for every single morning, to take in those early moments to see the wonderful gifts that are freely given, the new green buddying leaves, or the drops of rain, or the magical sunrise, the colors of the sky giving depth and hue to the clouds. How can anyone who does that ever start the day glum... Then add all the other gifts to be in gratitude and you can't help but to start the day energetic and with a song in the heart.
Oh, here I go rambling again. Anyway, I could not stay longer with the family this week. If only she and baby would have come at the beginning of the week. With me having some maybe heart complications the week before and also fighting some congestion in my lungs, 4 days were the maximum I could handle physically. I always will overdo and I don't mind and usually can easily handle it. This time, because my system was already compromised, I knew I had to go. So she is without anyone during the day today except if Sal can come home early. Thanks to Steph T. who has been taking our "hands full" young sweet Ethan, it helps handle the load.
So I ask that anyone out there reading this, please now send out prayers for Steph and Sal to handle all the extra responsibilities and stress.
So I am back home wishing I could have handled more, also feeling guilty, but I do know when I have to pause so I can work another time. :))
so by for now and extra blessings go out to Jaden and his mommy, daddy, sister and brother.
Love coming from his grandma Rose
mama rose reporting from Jaden' s home said...
Well, it happened!! Jaden finally got to his own home. Robyn and I did some decorating to welcome him home and mommy home.
Ethan woke up this morning, happy and excited to see mommy, he got dressed quickly, even helped Ashley with her morning chores, after taking AShley to school, the two of us went and got more baloons, found a couple more presents, ... he was being very patient for mommy. I took him to day school and knew mommy would be home in a min. ... yup, I got back home and there they were. I got teary eyed... she was still in the garage and there was Jaden in his new car seat. At last!!! How divine. He said Hi Grandma I am home and now I am ready to eat.. so feed me.
Well I had lunch ready for Steph but life is different... she can't eat when she is hungry when she has a little one like Jaden. No, food had to wait.
First, he had to eat. I fed him... much more difficult than one knows. It is not like a normal feeding. I had to be taught how to mix the milk, I will still need more training. Then the feeding itself has to be different so he doesn't get too much. Then burping, changing diapers, mommy had to pump, then she had to figure out all the medications, she filled the daily doses and we talked about how to set up a meds stations, ... he got his meds...NOW WE CAN EAT. We were both hungry.
HOw was the rest of the day?... Well Steph got to pick up Ashley while I watched Jaden. When Ashley saw Ethan she was so happy and had to hold him. She was so thrilled.
Then it was time to pick up Ethan. So Steph surprised him and then when Ethan saw Jaden, at first he didn't know what to think then after his "second take" he did his jumping up and down and getting excited number.
He had to hold him...the rest of the afternoon, it was like they were after mommy all the time to help feed Jaden, to hold him, to give him his meds, Ethan couldn't understand why he couldn't give him the meds. Oh my, oh my. It was tiring just watching his determination and his not understanding that he couldn't just take care of him. Mommy was so good helping them with Jaden.
Well have they started to unpack yet? NO
While all this was happening, I was trying to fix dinner, because we had to hurry to get to Awana. You can imagine the challenge that Steph has to tend to Jaden's needs as well as two other mommy deprived children.
Now Sal has come home early and is unloading bags, etc.
When we got to Awana, Ethan had to point out to everyone that Jaden was HIS baby. He was so proud of him.
It was so nice to see how wonderful all the parents were at Awana, greeting Steph and Sal, hugging,and of course welcoming baby however they did.
So not later we are home, are they unpacked yet? No.
Tomorrow, there is so much to do and I hate to say, i must go home by late afternoon... I am exhausted.
Just having Ashley and Ethan, the day starts no later than 6:30... and then non stop.. unto 8:30 at night. Wheewww. Part of the schedules always involves doing various mental and artistic taskes. They love to sit down and do it too. They have those kids trained well. No TV for them...just creative activites. .
I give you all a glimps of this... because this is a mother. Many of you reading this know what all that means. Even after the kids go to bed, is their work even done then? No.
With a special baby, this is going to be very hard for Steph and Sal. It would be nice if money grew on trees, then Sal could stay at home, but he has to go win bread so he has to be gone.
For those who know me, at night time I can have a tenedency to ramble on .. I just found myself falling asleep while writing this... so I better be off to bed. Tomorrow night, I will be home to recouperate from some wild days. hehe
Being with the kids is a blessing, what a gift. Forget if Ethan is five hands full, I love them so much and it is a priviledge to be with them.
Well,everyone in the house is sleeping ... so I am on my way,Be patient with hearing from Steph... she sill has to unpack the computer.
nighty nite,Rose
mama rose said...
UPDATE:
Stephanie has her hands so full, as I mentioned in my previous comment, it may be 1 day or 5 days before she can dig her computer out and take time for that. So I will share some update.
Yesterday we took Baby Jaden to his first "Well Child" check up. When I walked in, and saw those words it put a real smile in my heart. Well child..he now can be considered a "well Child". Yeaaaa!!!!
His check up was fine. I got to meet Jaden's Doctor, a marvelous Lady Doctor who is all what Stephanie said she was. She takes 150% interest in the children and families she sees.
Jaden has been drinking well. He has no problem with an appetite. That is good as one of the goals is to fatten him up. Steph says that he will, according to the doctors, always be slim.
Jaden seems to want to eat every couple of hours... Steph has to fix medication for 5 different times a day. This takes up the whole counter and lot of dedicated work. One she has to crush. Others she has to measure and then put in these dispensers. Sal does the best job in getting Jaden to swallow those medications.
We had a long list of things to do yesterday, but in taking care of Jaden, the list slips away and only a couple things gets done. Unpacking is there on the list... There are suitcases filled in the entrance and three times as many that are in the garage.
Sal has been tring to be at home much more but that means less income coming in and with more expenses, that could be a challenge. Challenges make us stronger. They are both creative and strong and as time passes, I am sure that they will figure out how to handle all these challenges that are divinely given them. Isn't that the secret? Knowing that God's hand is on everything? That he will give nothing that we can't handle. The secret to my days is to never not be in awe and gratitude for every single morning, to take in those early moments to see the wonderful gifts that are freely given, the new green buddying leaves, or the drops of rain, or the magical sunrise, the colors of the sky giving depth and hue to the clouds. How can anyone who does that ever start the day glum... Then add all the other gifts to be in gratitude and you can't help but to start the day energetic and with a song in the heart.
Oh, here I go rambling again. Anyway, I could not stay longer with the family this week. If only she and baby would have come at the beginning of the week. With me having some maybe heart complications the week before and also fighting some congestion in my lungs, 4 days were the maximum I could handle physically. I always will overdo and I don't mind and usually can easily handle it. This time, because my system was already compromised, I knew I had to go. So she is without anyone during the day today except if Sal can come home early. Thanks to Steph T. who has been taking our "hands full" young sweet Ethan, it helps handle the load.
So I ask that anyone out there reading this, please now send out prayers for Steph and Sal to handle all the extra responsibilities and stress.
So I am back home wishing I could have handled more, also feeling guilty, but I do know when I have to pause so I can work another time. :))
so by for now and extra blessings go out to Jaden and his mommy, daddy, sister and brother.
Love coming from his grandma Rose
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Gonzalez's Heart
We were so excited. Yesterday late afternoon, the Cardiologist asked me how I would feel going home. I said when Jaden is ready and when they say it is time, then I am ready. They said at 5pm that he would get to go home tomorrow (Tuesday). I was in complete shock. So I made many calls and started planning how to get everything ready, packed, the kids situated and Sal's work stuff figured out. Kelly and I stayed up until a little past midnight packing everything and we had to go buy the car seat and stroller since I wasn't going to do it until this weekend.
So we get to the hospital in the morning and everything is still a go. Around 4pm rolls around and they tell us there was a little communication problem and they did not know that the pacer wires had to be out and Jaden stay over night afterwards. We asked why and they said that they had sent a baby home in the past and it died over night. The pacer wire is attached to the heart and they gently pull it out. Well, it could bleed when this is done and they usually monitor the babies for 4 hours. This baby had very slow bleeding so it was not detected with in that 4 hour period and ended up dying.
We were pretty upset and frustrated because this should have been known and they should have taken the wires out the night before. We finally cooled down and knew it was for the better if there could have been a problem. So we did not get to leave today as planned but will leave tomorrow (Wednesday). Sal will have to leave at 6AM to go to work, but I will not be far behind with our little love bug.
After all of the emotions of thinking we could leave and then hearing we could not leave, we were pretty burned out. So Sal and I decided to go out for dinner to the Spaghetti Factory to get away for a little bit. It was nice and we really needed this "last supper" as you could call it before our new life of 5 started.
I would like to ask you all for some prayers for some other families. The first is for Shelly and Jon. They are the couple who came in the same time we did and there baby had the exact same problem as Jaden. Little Mara passed away on Friday from liver failure. They are wonderful people and I am sure are going through some very tough times. This was their first baby and they had been having complications through out all of these past 5 weeks.
There is also a baby named Tin who has a heart problem as well and is not doing well at all. The parents are incredible and very strong. They need prayer for continued strength and to be lifted up in God's glory. They look very tired and almost defeated. They became close with Shelly and Jon and had to see their little one pass on and now their little Tin is not doing well. I can only imagine what is going through their minds right now. So while praying for Jaden, please keep these families in your prayers as well. Also, all of the other families with sick children here in the hospital.
Thank you for your continuous love, prayers and support. We are excited to go home tomorrow and we will be have a "celebration of life" party for Jaden in a few weeks. So keep your eyes posted as all will be invited. I will also keep the blog going on his progress and pictures of our homecoming will be posted as well. We will come back around October for his 2nd surgery and have seen that it is just as hard as the 1st. We will need your prayers through all of what is to come.
Love you all so much, Steph
We were so excited. Yesterday late afternoon, the Cardiologist asked me how I would feel going home. I said when Jaden is ready and when they say it is time, then I am ready. They said at 5pm that he would get to go home tomorrow (Tuesday). I was in complete shock. So I made many calls and started planning how to get everything ready, packed, the kids situated and Sal's work stuff figured out. Kelly and I stayed up until a little past midnight packing everything and we had to go buy the car seat and stroller since I wasn't going to do it until this weekend.
So we get to the hospital in the morning and everything is still a go. Around 4pm rolls around and they tell us there was a little communication problem and they did not know that the pacer wires had to be out and Jaden stay over night afterwards. We asked why and they said that they had sent a baby home in the past and it died over night. The pacer wire is attached to the heart and they gently pull it out. Well, it could bleed when this is done and they usually monitor the babies for 4 hours. This baby had very slow bleeding so it was not detected with in that 4 hour period and ended up dying.
We were pretty upset and frustrated because this should have been known and they should have taken the wires out the night before. We finally cooled down and knew it was for the better if there could have been a problem. So we did not get to leave today as planned but will leave tomorrow (Wednesday). Sal will have to leave at 6AM to go to work, but I will not be far behind with our little love bug.
After all of the emotions of thinking we could leave and then hearing we could not leave, we were pretty burned out. So Sal and I decided to go out for dinner to the Spaghetti Factory to get away for a little bit. It was nice and we really needed this "last supper" as you could call it before our new life of 5 started.
I would like to ask you all for some prayers for some other families. The first is for Shelly and Jon. They are the couple who came in the same time we did and there baby had the exact same problem as Jaden. Little Mara passed away on Friday from liver failure. They are wonderful people and I am sure are going through some very tough times. This was their first baby and they had been having complications through out all of these past 5 weeks.
There is also a baby named Tin who has a heart problem as well and is not doing well at all. The parents are incredible and very strong. They need prayer for continued strength and to be lifted up in God's glory. They look very tired and almost defeated. They became close with Shelly and Jon and had to see their little one pass on and now their little Tin is not doing well. I can only imagine what is going through their minds right now. So while praying for Jaden, please keep these families in your prayers as well. Also, all of the other families with sick children here in the hospital.
Thank you for your continuous love, prayers and support. We are excited to go home tomorrow and we will be have a "celebration of life" party for Jaden in a few weeks. So keep your eyes posted as all will be invited. I will also keep the blog going on his progress and pictures of our homecoming will be posted as well. We will come back around October for his 2nd surgery and have seen that it is just as hard as the 1st. We will need your prayers through all of what is to come.
Love you all so much, Steph
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Gonzalez's Heart
We had a good weekend. Ashley and I got to spend alot of alone time together. We went shopping, played and had a sleep over together. She was a wild sleeper and karate chopped me a few times. Sal did not come until Sunday. He dropped Ethan off with Ryan and Tammy on Sunday on his way to see us and Kelly took Ashley to a parade so we were able to spend some alone time together as well.
Jaden is doing very well! He has been drinking about 80% of his feedings. I will be asking tomorrow about starting to nurse and to see how long they think until we are able to go home. I am excited because I am hoping sooner then later. I will let you all know what they say to me tomorrow.
Love to you all. Hugs and kisses!! Steph
We had a good weekend. Ashley and I got to spend alot of alone time together. We went shopping, played and had a sleep over together. She was a wild sleeper and karate chopped me a few times. Sal did not come until Sunday. He dropped Ethan off with Ryan and Tammy on Sunday on his way to see us and Kelly took Ashley to a parade so we were able to spend some alone time together as well.
Jaden is doing very well! He has been drinking about 80% of his feedings. I will be asking tomorrow about starting to nurse and to see how long they think until we are able to go home. I am excited because I am hoping sooner then later. I will let you all know what they say to me tomorrow.
Love to you all. Hugs and kisses!! Steph
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Gonzalez's Heart
HAPPY ONE MONTH BIRTHDAY JADEN!!!
Jaden knew it was his birthday today so he wanted to show off a little. Yesterday went pretty good with his feedings but still not too consistent. Well today, he ate a lot from the bottle. He ate a couple 30ml, a 40 something and even a 50 something. I was soooooo excited. I have been telling all the nurses that he likes to drag his feet at the beginning of everything and then when he is ready he sprints. He even woke up on his own a few times and wanted to eat. We did go to a 4 hour "feed on demand" instead of 8 hour. This helps control the volume he may have to take in through his feeding tube. So things are going well.
I am very excited to go on the field trip tomorrow. Ashley knows I am going and I am taking her with me when the field trip is done. Robyn and Kelly are both going to show up and surprise her as well. It should be really nice and make her feel important. And for those of you who would like to come and visit, just call my cell phone and let me know when works best for you. The number again is: (320)260-9096.
pictures below...
HAPPY ONE MONTH BIRTHDAY JADEN!!!
Jaden knew it was his birthday today so he wanted to show off a little. Yesterday went pretty good with his feedings but still not too consistent. Well today, he ate a lot from the bottle. He ate a couple 30ml, a 40 something and even a 50 something. I was soooooo excited. I have been telling all the nurses that he likes to drag his feet at the beginning of everything and then when he is ready he sprints. He even woke up on his own a few times and wanted to eat. We did go to a 4 hour "feed on demand" instead of 8 hour. This helps control the volume he may have to take in through his feeding tube. So things are going well.
I am very excited to go on the field trip tomorrow. Ashley knows I am going and I am taking her with me when the field trip is done. Robyn and Kelly are both going to show up and surprise her as well. It should be really nice and make her feel important. And for those of you who would like to come and visit, just call my cell phone and let me know when works best for you. The number again is: (320)260-9096.
pictures below...
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Gonzalez's Heart
You are all great.... Mom your blog always makes me cry and laugh. Yes, I know I need a chauffeur. I do keep them busy but they do enjoy it so much. Sometimes however, I don't enjoy the constant go, go, go.
Well, today we have a good nurse and I have requested to have her all week. She said she would try to be with us. She actually requested to be his nurse all week before I had even asked her. We have had her before and liked her then as well. She helped me figure out how to get Jaden more hungry. I asked since he is always being fed by the tube, his stomach would always be content and he would choose sleep over eating. So she talked to the Cardiologists and asked them if we could feed him on demand for 8 hour time frames and then at the end of the time, feed him the rest through his tube. We will try this for a day or so and see how it goes. We fed him 2 times already by the bottle and he took 20ml the first time and 18ml the second time. Lets just hope this works and Jaden starts eating more and more and can gain some weight so they don't start talking about putting a feeding tube in his side.
Friday, Ashley is going on a field trip here in the cities with school so I am going to meet them. She will be very happy that I am there. They went on a field trip last week and was very sad that I was not able to go and drive her and some of her friends. So she will be excited to know that I will not miss this one. I will then bring her back with me to the hospital and Sal and Ethan will come later that night.
Well that is it for now. I will write later if there are any changes.
You are all great.... Mom your blog always makes me cry and laugh. Yes, I know I need a chauffeur. I do keep them busy but they do enjoy it so much. Sometimes however, I don't enjoy the constant go, go, go.
Well, today we have a good nurse and I have requested to have her all week. She said she would try to be with us. She actually requested to be his nurse all week before I had even asked her. We have had her before and liked her then as well. She helped me figure out how to get Jaden more hungry. I asked since he is always being fed by the tube, his stomach would always be content and he would choose sleep over eating. So she talked to the Cardiologists and asked them if we could feed him on demand for 8 hour time frames and then at the end of the time, feed him the rest through his tube. We will try this for a day or so and see how it goes. We fed him 2 times already by the bottle and he took 20ml the first time and 18ml the second time. Lets just hope this works and Jaden starts eating more and more and can gain some weight so they don't start talking about putting a feeding tube in his side.
Friday, Ashley is going on a field trip here in the cities with school so I am going to meet them. She will be very happy that I am there. They went on a field trip last week and was very sad that I was not able to go and drive her and some of her friends. So she will be excited to know that I will not miss this one. I will then bring her back with me to the hospital and Sal and Ethan will come later that night.
Well that is it for now. I will write later if there are any changes.
Monday, May 01, 2006
Gonzalez's Heart
This weekend was hard but nice. We had a bunch of bad nurses for Jaden. They made many mistakes with his feedings and just did not really seem to know what they were doing. I will not go into detail because there is just to much that I have to complain about and I just don't have the energy. I will be talking with the charge nurse tomorrow about all of our issues.
Sal and the kids came on Saturday and left Sunday and we got to spend some good time together. It is very hard with the kids here though as they are so over stimulated and have so many emotions that they are trying to work through. So I took the kids back to the RMH and Sal stayed with Jaden for about 5 hours. It was nice for both Sal and I to switch spots. The kids and I just hung out and played on the computer and with toys. They have been very sad to be away from me and are having problems with many areas at home because of it. It has been very hard for all of us. Because of this, I asked mom to stay longer this week to help with the kids. Thank you mom so much. I know it can be very exhausting taking care of them. I love you!!
Good and bad news with Jaden's tests today. The first one was to check for reflux. This one I was very nervous for as I really did not want him to have any of these issues. This would definitely affect him not eating from the breast. They filled his stomach with Barium which helps them see with x-rays and then they rotated him to see what happened in side of him. They saw no reflux with 50ml but minor reflux with 60ml. They were extremely shocked and pleased to see this outcome as this good outcome is very uncommon in heart babies. This is very good news as he gets 52ml. So he is having no reflux at these amounts and as he grows this should not be any different. So yeah!!!
ENT came and scoped him. They found that his left vocal cord is paralyzed. From how they explained it, the left vocal cord starts in your head, goes down the throat and wraps around the aorta and up to the throat. They said that when having heart surgery, it is very common for this to be affected. What happens is the vocal cords open and close and vibrate against each other. The left one is staying open all of the time. This is usually not permanent damage but they will not know for sure until he is a little bigger. They would re-scope in 6 months. They said if it is just damaged, it could take up to 2 years to get to normal. So I guess he will be a quite boy for awhile. If it is permanent damage, we will talk at a way later date to see what options we will take. They said that his aspirating when drinking most likely is being caused from this. They told me that in adults, they have them turn to the left and it will help close the vocal cords so they can drink or eat and not have any problems. So my solution for this new problem is to have Jaden turn his head to the left while nursing from me and then there is no reason I can not nurse once he gets a little stronger.
So I guess the bad news is one with a solution for the time being. We do need prayers though for his vocal cords to be temporarily damaged and not permanent. And we need prayers for him to be able to eat with his head turned to the left so he can start nursing soon. We have shown everyone through all of this the power of prayer. We have over come so many things and have worked against the odds for many things. I make it very clear to everyone that it is because of all the prayers that Jaden is getting and this is why he keeps being different then the average heart babies that they see.
Keep the prayers rolling. I love you all and am so grateful for your continued love and support. We have meals coming to my family at home, cards and money for vending machine and coffee shop have been sent to me, church bulletins for memorabilia talking about Jaden and CD's of some services have been sent and of course family and friends helping out with the kids. This all means so much to us and we just thank you all!!!!!!!!
Hugs and kisses, Steph
p.s. Steph, Jaden does not spit up or throw up at all.
This weekend was hard but nice. We had a bunch of bad nurses for Jaden. They made many mistakes with his feedings and just did not really seem to know what they were doing. I will not go into detail because there is just to much that I have to complain about and I just don't have the energy. I will be talking with the charge nurse tomorrow about all of our issues.
Sal and the kids came on Saturday and left Sunday and we got to spend some good time together. It is very hard with the kids here though as they are so over stimulated and have so many emotions that they are trying to work through. So I took the kids back to the RMH and Sal stayed with Jaden for about 5 hours. It was nice for both Sal and I to switch spots. The kids and I just hung out and played on the computer and with toys. They have been very sad to be away from me and are having problems with many areas at home because of it. It has been very hard for all of us. Because of this, I asked mom to stay longer this week to help with the kids. Thank you mom so much. I know it can be very exhausting taking care of them. I love you!!
Good and bad news with Jaden's tests today. The first one was to check for reflux. This one I was very nervous for as I really did not want him to have any of these issues. This would definitely affect him not eating from the breast. They filled his stomach with Barium which helps them see with x-rays and then they rotated him to see what happened in side of him. They saw no reflux with 50ml but minor reflux with 60ml. They were extremely shocked and pleased to see this outcome as this good outcome is very uncommon in heart babies. This is very good news as he gets 52ml. So he is having no reflux at these amounts and as he grows this should not be any different. So yeah!!!
ENT came and scoped him. They found that his left vocal cord is paralyzed. From how they explained it, the left vocal cord starts in your head, goes down the throat and wraps around the aorta and up to the throat. They said that when having heart surgery, it is very common for this to be affected. What happens is the vocal cords open and close and vibrate against each other. The left one is staying open all of the time. This is usually not permanent damage but they will not know for sure until he is a little bigger. They would re-scope in 6 months. They said if it is just damaged, it could take up to 2 years to get to normal. So I guess he will be a quite boy for awhile. If it is permanent damage, we will talk at a way later date to see what options we will take. They said that his aspirating when drinking most likely is being caused from this. They told me that in adults, they have them turn to the left and it will help close the vocal cords so they can drink or eat and not have any problems. So my solution for this new problem is to have Jaden turn his head to the left while nursing from me and then there is no reason I can not nurse once he gets a little stronger.
So I guess the bad news is one with a solution for the time being. We do need prayers though for his vocal cords to be temporarily damaged and not permanent. And we need prayers for him to be able to eat with his head turned to the left so he can start nursing soon. We have shown everyone through all of this the power of prayer. We have over come so many things and have worked against the odds for many things. I make it very clear to everyone that it is because of all the prayers that Jaden is getting and this is why he keeps being different then the average heart babies that they see.
Keep the prayers rolling. I love you all and am so grateful for your continued love and support. We have meals coming to my family at home, cards and money for vending machine and coffee shop have been sent to me, church bulletins for memorabilia talking about Jaden and CD's of some services have been sent and of course family and friends helping out with the kids. This all means so much to us and we just thank you all!!!!!!!!
Hugs and kisses, Steph
p.s. Steph, Jaden does not spit up or throw up at all.
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