Christmas

Christmas is my all time favorite holiday! This year we stayed in Center Point to keep Owen a healthy growing boy. We missed everyone greatly, but also had a nice quiet time at home.

Santa Came!!!

Ellie set out cookies for Santa...she was amazed when they were gone the next day

Waking up Christmas morning in their Christmas PJs

It was really fun watching Ellie open her presents. The first one she opened was a "Little People Farm", she loved it so much we had a hard time getting her to open anything else.
Owen slept the entire time...he will enjoy his presents in a few months. :)

Jeremy was also very happy with his new toy!
Look at that smile :)

And I was spoiled as well :)

Christmas Eve with YaYa and Grandpa

My parents came over to our house on Christmas Eve to celebrate together. We opened presents and ate great food! Ellie and Owen were spoiled as usual. We were so happy they could make it down with all the crazy weather surrounding the holiday.

Eating dinner with mommyOpening gifts!

Grandpa opening gifts

YaYa showing me my new baby

Cookies!

I love making Christmas Cookies every year! I can remember making them ever since I was a little girl. I use my Grandma Heins' recipe (although she makes them much better) and make my own frosting. The past two years I have had to make them all by myself. This year Lindsay and Josh came over to help frost them! Well, actually Lindsay helped and Josh drank with Jeremy :) I put Ellie in her chair and she enjoyed licking the frosting off the cookies!

The set up:

Mmmmmmm!Hanging with the boys...she thinks she is so cool!!! :)

Santa is COMING!!!

Santa Claus made an appearance in Center Point at the local craft store. Ellie and I frequently visited this craft store this summer and fall on our walks. The owners love her and were so happy to see her again. Lynn (one of the owners) picked Ellie up and carried her around the entire time we were there. You could tell that Ellie felt so special to get VIP treatment with Santa :)

Here is a picture. Ellie would not smile...but at least she didn't cry!

2 Months Old!

Owen is 8 pounds!!!!! Wooo Hooo I was so excited when we went to his Dr. appt and he weighed in at 8 pounds. He also got 4 shots, which was very sad to see, but he was over it very quickly. Our Dr seems very happy with his progress, she was not expecting him to be 8 pounds already. He was taken off all extra supplements and is eating just breast milk and normal formula. Owen is a big eater (compared to Ellie) he is eating 3-4 ounces every 2-3 hours. I have to give him formula once in awhile because my supply is not enough for him. I'm looking forward to seeing what he weighs at his next Dr. appointment in February.

Back off Mom!!Hangin in my bouncy

Meltdown

Ellie has been having some major meltdowns lately. Owen is not the most efficient at nursing and I'm stuck on the couch with him eating for the majority of the day. Poor Ellie gets so upset that I can't get down and play.
Here is one that I caught on camera...it was difficult not to laugh :)

Thanksgiving

Jeremy and I had my parents, brother and his girlfriend down for Thanksgiving. We have decided to not go home this year for the holidays in order to keep Owen healthy, so it was great to have my parents at the house for the day. It was also my first time making a turkey!!! I'm pleased to report that it turned out GREAT! :) Jeremy and I were a bit worried about ruining it, but I was very happy with the way it turned out. I have to admit that my mom's homemade pumpkin cheesecake won the "Best Dish" award. It was amazing!

Here are some pics from the day:

Carving the bird :)

Pigging Out!

Uncle Nolan, Ellie and Sam (Nolan and Ellie would not look at the camera!)

Reading with Grandpa Dan...she calls him Papa :)

Spending some time with Owen

This is a special Thanksgiving for us, it is our first as a family of four. We are thankful for our two healthy children and wonderful families!

6 weeks old

Owen is six weeks old!!! He is not caught up to normal newborn,s but he is on his way. The doctor says that Owen should be caught up to his peers between 12-15 months old. Until then we should expect him to be a bit smaller, and possibly reach milestones after his peers. We are just happy that he is doing so well at home!

All About Owen:
Weight: 5 pounds 5 ounces! (almost as big as Ellie when she was born)
Feeding: Owen is a eating machine lately, he will nurse on an off for hours at a time. He has to have two supplemented bottles a day and those feedings are between 3.5-4 ounces at a time.
Diapers: Owen wears newborn diapers, he has since he has been home. Like his sister he has no problem in the pooping and peeing department...thank goodness!
Sleeping: Owen is up 2-3 times a night for a couple hours at a time. He doesn't sleep very well in his bassinet, and I fully admit to spoiling him by letting him sleep with me for a short time most nights. This allows me to get a little bit of sleep as well.
Likes/Dislikes:
-Owen is a cuddle bug...he loves to be held!
-Owen is starting to be awake for longer periods of time.
-Owen likes to be talked to, he has started to look at me when I talk to him, he also stares at shadows and contrasting colors/shapes.
-He loves the ceiling fan just like his sister did.
-He only cries when he is hungry.
-Owen hates to have his diaper/clothes changed...he gets very upset.

Siblings

Ellie loves Owen (most of the time :)! From the moment we brought Owen home Ellie has been very interested in him. She calls him "O". Ellie kisses him on top of his head all the time, runs to him when he cries, and continues to say, "Hi O!" over and over as if she forgot he was here. She also loves to continue to point out his hands, feet, eyes, ears, mouth and nose. On the flip side she also has whacked him a few times, stolen his binkie over and over, and gauged him in the eye once. It is a work in progress :)

Ellie and Owen:Pointing out his eyes, mouth and nose :)

Our Family of Four

First Family Pictures!

Goodbye NICU

On Tuesday the 3rd, I was informed that Owen would be able to go home on Thursday if he continued to gain weight. He had his circumcision scheduled for Wednesday, head ultra sound Thursday morning, and if everything checked out we were told we could be home by supper time. We hit a bit of a speed bump when I found out I had shingles...didn't know if this would dleay our departure, they gave him a shot in hopes he wouldn't get it.

Well...Owen continued to gain weight, he was a trooper through his circumcision, and his ultra sound was normal! Owen was discharged around 4PM and Jeremy and I were so excited to bring him home.

I hope to never walk down this hallway again, unless visiting!

Shortest Deer Season EVER!!!

Typically it seems as if deer season lasts FOREVER in the Daughetee household. This year Jermey went out one morning and shot the first deer he saw! I was shocked to get a phone call that he got a deer! He is also skipping shot gun season and hoping to get out in January to hunt late muzzloader. Things are way too crazy right now to get much hunting in, but I'm glad he was able to get at least one deer this fall. He is currently in the process of boiling the head to mount just the skull and antlers....YUCKO!

Big Boy Bed

Owen is now in a "Big Boy Bed", as Nurse Mary calls it, also known as a crib :). He was put into a crib on Sunday. He seems to be a bit uncomfortable in the crib. It could be because he is now able to hear everything more clearly, or he could feel less secure.

Owen's new "Big Boy Bed"

Owen passed his hearing screening yesterday! He will have a vision test next Wednesday. I'm currently nursing Owen, along with two bottles every 24 hours for extra calories. He has not needed to be given food from his feeding tube since Saturday. Now we just need him to continue eating by mouth exclusively and gain weight over a 48 hour period and we can go home! :) Hopefully we will be home by this weekend!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween 2009

On Halloween I made sure to get home from the hospital in time to go Trick or Treating with Ellie. Last year we did not take her out on Halloween, because she was only 3 months old. This year we thought we would take her around to a few houses. I was really hoping that Owen would take his feedings during the day, so I could escape for a few hours to see her in her costume. Owen cooperated and I was home in time to dress her up.

Here is a picture of our little Lion:

Ready to GO!!!

Trick or Treating:

Trick or Treat Daddy

She was so mad when we had to come inside.

"I want to go back outside!"

Look at those red cheeks!

"Okay...now I'm better"

Outfit for her daycare's Halloween party:

Little Owen on Halloween as a Football Player:

On Wednesday Jeremy and I picked up Ellie early from daycare and headed to the Pumpkin Patch. We brought her to this same place last year. We had free tickets from Jeremy's work and I really wanted to get her out and spend some time with her. Unfortunately the day we picked to go was pretty icky! It was chilly and overcast. When we pulled up to the place there were only four cars in the parking lot :) Upon getting in, we realized just how cold it was. We snapped a few pics and left. Ellie wasn't very cooperative for pictures, but we still got a few cute ones.

Pumpkin Patch 2009:

Comparison

Ellie 1 week old

Owen 3 weeks old

Check List

Owen is long past the "critical phase" in NICU (crossing fingers nothing sneaks up on us), but we now have a check list to meet before he can come home. There are only 3 things on our check list, so you would think it wouldn't take too long, but it does.
Check list:
*Off all oxygen support
Owen has been off Oxygen since day four, check it off the list right??? Not so fast, since Owen has been attempting breast feedings he is so worn out he is dropping his oxygen level, thus the possibility of being put back on oxygen. They checked for infection, and that came back fine, so their conclusion is that feeding is taking all of his energy. Wednesday night the doctor thought he might need the oxygen, so the nurse brought it in, but then the doc said to wait on it. The oxygen is still sitting in his room and I really hope he doesn't need to go back on it.
*Eating for 48 hours by breast or bottle and gaining weight
Owen started 1 breastfeeding attempt every 12 hours on Monday, and is currently able to attempt twice as of yesterday. Yesterday he only had 1 good feeding out of 4, but today he has currently had 2 good feedings, and we have 2 more tonight. If things continue to go well we will hopefully be able to attempt 3 every 12 hours tomorrow.
*Holding temperature in room air for 48 hours
Owen's isolette temp is almost as low as it can go, it can be lowered 1 more degree until it is room temp. They plan on keeping him in his isolette until he gets his feedings down. We don't want him using his energy to keep his temp up, when we need him to be using it for his feedings.

Goal Board in Owen's Room

Daughetee News on the Rugby Website

The two men in my life have made news this week on the Cedar Rapids Headhunters Website. Owen is only 3 weeks old and is already BIG NEWS in the rugby world :)
Check them out: http://www.cedarrapidsheadhunters.com/rugby/

News from the NICU

I'm a bit behind on postings, that said...no news is good news right??? :) Actually, I have two new addictions, and that is what has kept me away. My first addiction up in NICU is holding Owen! Now that he isn't hooked up to a IV we are able to take him out of his isolette and put him back all by ourselves...I love this new freedom. My second addiction is the TV show "Weeds", I get Owen out of his isolette plop on the chair and watch it on my computer.
Owen Update:
Weight:4 pounds 2 ounces
Owen is starting to make one breastfeeding attempt every 12 hour shift. He doesn't get it yet, but hopefully he will catch on soon!

Me and my two "addictions":)

Daddy and Owen