February 12, 2009

Braden and I got outside today and enjoyed the *warmer* temps (ok it was like 32 degrees - but the sun was shining!) Snow is supposed to be on it's way tomorrow! We had to get out the 4 wheeler of course... ...and the new big bike that Santa brought him!He also had to play in the mud - I mean, was there really any question about that?!?!?

"Ummm...Excuse me, I have a question. Who turned out the lights?"

February 11, 2009

Room with a view!

Blake doesn't so much appreciate it - but he does have a pretty view from the top floor!

February 10, 2009

A friend of Mommy's from NY sent Blake two teeny tiny little shirts (fit 1-3 lb. babies) they are perfect for the NICU - as they allow access to all his leads and IVs and yet make him oh so cute :) He's not really wearing clothes yet but Jill and Kahala had decided he needed to put on a fashion show last night! All the nurses loved the way they fit - maybe I'll look into getting some for the NICU for other tiny babies!Thanks Lori - you are so kind for thinking of us!!

February 09, 2009

So sweet - saying my prayers!

Look at all that BLONDE hair!

Showing my size.

Great Meena Gross got me this Beanie Baby Lamb - it's just my size!

Braden got to go to his first "Big Brother" class tonight. He did really well. They read books about having a sibling in the NICU, did some crafts, played games and had fun. He met another little boy who has a sister in the NICU too!

Then Daddy got to help Jill change Blake's sheets - He truly is a Daddy's boy - he just stares and stares at him!!

February 08, 2009

Braden was so excited - he got a package in the mail from Mommy's good friend Denise (or Aunt Dee to the boys) - John Deere Boots!!! He was thrilled! He had to put them right on with his Transformer pajamas (which pretty much sums up what his life consists of these days - with the addition of monster trucks!) Blake also has a tiny matching pair! I'm sure there will be a photo shoot in the future!!! Thanks Denise - you Rock!!

February 07, 2009

A weekend for visitors...

(Ok technically - the first two came up last weekend - but just wanted to show that ALL the aunts and uncles have now officially met Mr. Blake!)

Aunt Emily

Uncle Nathan

Aunt Katie

Uncle John

Uncle Eric & Meghan

Uncle Matt & Uncle Adam

And so many people have asked for a comparison on his size - this is what I had on hand. It is a normal 16.9 fluid oz. water bottle - pretty much reaches head to toe!

February 6, 2009

Well --- hmmm...a lot has been going on here - so please forgive the gap in time :) I'll catch you up a bit and then hopefully start from here!

In case you didn't hear - Cookie Bean (aka Blake Joseph) was born at 12:18pm on Friday January 30, 2009. He made it to 28 weeks 2 days gestation. He weighed in at 1 lb. 6 oz. and was 11.25 inches long!

He is one week old today and doing fabulous in the NICU. He has truly been a rock star and has been doing better than anyone thought!

Braden is very happy to be a big brother and constantly asks about Blake and wants to make sure he is ok. He is still sad that he can't see him in person, but we've finally got some good video of Blake and he liked seeing that - he also loves to look at pictures!

I am doing ok recovering from my c-section - it's been pretty painful - but I'm making it! Chris is doing well and was able to take this week off (paid!!!) and a week off when we get to take Blake home - so that is a blessing. It has been wonderful to have him home and for him to get to spend a lot of time at the hospital this week! I got to finally hold Blake yesterday and daddy got the chance today - it was so precious!

So here I sit in the NICU - watching Blake sleep. Waiting for Chris to come pick me up (can't drive myself till next Friday - I don't like that ;) ) then we will meet Braden and Meena K and aunt Katie for dinner. After this weekend all of the aunts and uncles will have gotten a chance to meet him. We have to be very careful of who is allowed in the unit - we don't want to get Blake sick - so if you have had ANY symptoms of any kind in the last 72 hours and are thinking of visiting, please know we'd love to see you - but we'll wait till you're feeling better ;)

That's about all I have for now - we also are keeping a Caring Bridge site for Blake's updates - so if you'd like to check that out the address is www.caringbridge.org/visit/babyblake !

Thank you for all of your continued prayers and support - we are blessed!

Hugs,

Carissa, Chris, Braden and Blake!!

January 28, 2009 - 28 WEEKS!!!

Well I have to admit, I honestly didn't think that I would still be pregnant at 28 weeks, but I am so happy that I am! Cookie continues to prove everyone wrong - and we love it! Each day he stays put does wonders for his lungs, brain, GI system, heart etc. The doctors are very happy that we've made it this far! This morning his fluid was the lowest it has been at 3.2 centimeters, but he's had a pretty uneventful day - so that is good!

We got some unexpected visitors (and I didn't get a picture?!?!) Uncle Gene and cousins Shane and Chris were on their way back from a trade show in Chicago and stopped in to say hi! It was a total shock and brightened my day - so thanks guys! Hope you made it home safe!! My friend Jac made me a whole slew of these weekly links - each day represents one more day that I've stayed pregnant, with the date and some words of encouragement...we've been able to pull off more than we thought! This is this weeks chain...

...and this is the one I got to pull off today! 28 weeks on the 28th Yeah!

January 26, 2009 - 27 weeks 5 days

Sorry for the lack of picture yesterday again - really, it's hard to take a new picture every day up here, I hope you forgive me! Today I've been here officially just over 3 weeks - that is hard to believe! But I am not complaining! Each day I am up here hopefully is one less day Cookie has to stay in the NICU - so I am fine staying where I am!

Tonight they let me go on a 30 minute wheelchair ride - so Chris pushed me around the hospital while we talked. It was good to get out of the room for even a short amount of time!!

January 24, 2009 - 27 weeks 3 days

Hopefully you can see Cookie's face in this picture. Some have had trouble - but I cropped it so it is just his little face - eye, nose and smiling mouth (turned to the side)! Trust me he's cute ;)

January 23, 2009 - 27 Weeks 2 days

Today I got some very cute visitors!! The McTriplets drove all the way from Kansas City just to visit me and Cookie today! Their mommy Kara is a great friend of mine and I can't believe she drove 7 hours round trip just to come hang out for 2 hours! (with three 4 year old boys!!) The boys have been praying for Cookie every night and were very excited to come *see* him! It just so happened that Braden and Meena K were visiting at the same time - so we had four 4 year olds in my room - but they were amazing and played together for 2 hours with hardly a problem! Thank you Kara for making my day - Love ya (and the boys!!) Eek - I couldn't open this is photoshop for some reason to edit it - so ignore the bags under my eyes!!
Five boys and Me!
(L-R) Sullivan, Cookie, Issac, Lorne and Braden

We also wanted to wish Meena C a very

Happy Birthday!!!

(yes Dad is only 4 days older than she is!)

Hope you had a great day! We'll see you next week!

Love you!

This was the first time mom got to hold her first grandchild - he was just shy of a month old!

January 22, 2009 - 27 Weeks 1 day

Braden loves taking pictures with the camera while he's up in my room - but he's been away from mommy a little too long b/c he's getting camera shy! I turned the camera on him and he thought it was hilarious and tried to get away!

January 21, 2009 - 27 WEEKS!!!

Hot Wheels and GraveDigger made it to my room today! Braden and Meena K found them in the garage where they were still muddy from the last time Braden drove them all through the mud! But Meena cleaned them all up for him and he had to bring them to show me! This is just one of MANY pictures he took of them today - it was a Monster truck photo shoot!!

Another milestone - 27 weeks! We are thrilled! This morning he had some low fluid 3.9cm and didn't do his breathing during his test - so we had to do a repeat ultrasound this afternoon -and he did much better - he does not like Wednesdays - he always acts up!!

January 20, 2009 - 26 weeks 6 days

No picture today. Sorry - but we're holding steady!

January 19, 2009 - 26 weeks 5 days

Happy Birthday Dad!

Wish we could be there to celebrate! Hope you have a great day!

This was the first time PopPop Joe got to hold Braden - he was 7 weeks old!

January 18, 2009 - 26 weeks 4 days

Mom and Dad brought Braden back today - he had a great time with the family!! He spent some time here with Chris and I tonight and it was nice being a little family. They took my IV out today and said I could go on a 30 minute wheelchair ride - so we went up to the NICU waiting room where this bus is - Braden loves it!
Daddy got to ride in it too! He even told me that on his bus they had room for wheelchairs - but I just couldn't fit back there - what a sweet boy!

January 17, 2009 - 26 weeks 3 days

Meena C took Braden to Nebraska for a little change of scenery this weekend! It gave Chris a chance to not feel pulled between home and here - and we had a nice weekend hanging out together! We broke out the checkers - and you can see by the chips I accumulated - it was Total Domination!!! Poor Chris :)

January 16, 2009 - 26 weeks 2 days

Ok - so I have an IV in still and this is what I have to do to take a shower - if you have ever seen Billy Madison, I feel like his golf coach with the wooden hand when I'm wearing this thing! It's a little awkward!

January 15, 2009 - 26 weeks 1 day

A few monster trucks found their way into my room tonight - photo courtesy of Braden again :) Give him a digital camera and he's occupied for a good 5 minutes - priceless!

January 14, 2009 - 26 WEEKS!!!

Well today Cookie gave us our first real scare - and it was not fun! I woke up at 6:30 to nurses in my room ready with an IV kit, changing me into a gown and taking away my water jug and saying no food or drink - just in case. He had had some significant heart rate drops and we were preparing for delivery - I was taken first into ultrasound and he checked out ok - he was still in there kicking around, flow was absent but not reversed, fluid was still ok - so we decided to watch and wait. He had a few more decels throughout the day, but nothing consistent. We said he must have heard all of us celebrating 26 weeks and wanted to shake things up...silly, troublemaker boy. Chris stayed with me all day and we played on computers as we listened intently to his heartbeat...