Updating Finally! Walker is HOME!

Be on the lookout for lots of posts coming up all at once! I am finally sitting down to record what's been going on the past few weeks.  Walker is home! We couldn't be happier and he seems to be settling into our family just fine :) He is proving to be super laid-back and easy-going in comparison to his sister, which we all prayed he would be :)  He is also a great eater and sleeper.  He is pretty happy most all the time!  Walker came home on an RX of caffeine to keep him from having any apnea spells (common in preemies) and because of that he is on a heart monitor.  It is a belt that goes around his chest under his clothes, and has wiring that connects to a little box in a bag.  We take it everywhere.  He will get off of the heart monitor at some point.  It could be a month or it could be 4 months, we just don't know but we don't care!

Odd picture, she's just looking at a ladybug, but look at her adorable dimple! 

Too funny not to share! "Mama, TEETEE! Potty??"

I don't think this is a smile, just a funny face my camera happened to catch, but you can see his dimple too!

The night we brought Walker home.  

Here's his coming home outfit! The shirt was actually my daddy's (and Uncle Steve's) and my mom washed and ironed it, also adding some blue accents to go with the adorable pants she made to match.  He looked just dashing, of course.

Walker's roommate, Andrew, and his mom.  we became great friends!

What's been going on

Well, we're just trucking along and all getting used to things being crazy.  Walker is 5 weeks old this week (on Monday to be exact).  Savannah is Tinkerbell this week for Halloween (we have several Halloween events so she will be Tinkerbell 3 times to be exact!)  Birc is working lots this week and I have a lot going on too.  Just for my memory, a daily schedule for us is:  Birc gets up and goes to work by 8:30, Savannah and I wake up between 8 and 9 (I know, it sounds late, until you hear our bedtime), Savannah and I play a little bit and eat breakfast and get ready.  Savannah gets to daycare between 10 and 10:30 and I go straight to work.  I work until 2:30 and then head straight to the hospital to visit Walker and hear how his day has gone, and then leave the hospital around 5:00 or 5:15 in order to get Savannah picked up before her school closes at 5:30.  We all come home and usually someone is bringing us dinner (our Sunday School class and friends/family are awesomely taking care of us) and we unpack for the day eat dinner, then play for maybe 30 minutes.  Then I head back up to the hospital around 7:30 until usually around  10 or 10:30.  Sometimes Savannah and Birc come up in a separate vehicle to visit but sometimes they just stay home and play.  Savannah then usually waits to go to sleep until I get home (although Birc is the pro at getting her to sleep these days) and goes to sleep around 11:00 (I KNOW. SHE'S A TODDLER WHO STAYS UP SO LATE) and we pack her lunch and bag for the next day as well as ours, and I stay up until about 1:00 to get the final pumping in for the day.  Keep in mind I am pumping about every 3 hours throughout the day and 12:30 am is my last one.

Walker's latest update: He is OFF OXYGEN! and he is IN AN OPEN CRIB! I need to post specific prayers more often because God hears them! He is currently working on learning to eat and is doing ok with it all.  It is so much work for him in comparison to just lying in bed getting fed through a tube, and he tires out easily.  He is on caffeine still to keep his heart rate from dropping and is on vitamins to keep his red blood count up as it is low.  All other medications have been discontinued as of right now.

Things to pray for:  1. Walker to keep his red blood cell count up so he does not have to have a blood transfusion.  The vitamins they put him on should help.  2. Walker to gain an interest in feeding with a bottle or breastfeeding so he can go home!



On another note, I am hoping to catch up on a few blog posts I've been meaning to make this week.  Walker at 1 month, Halloween and Pumpkin Patch Trip #2, My 30th birthday events, and Walker's nursery which is almost finished.  For now, here's some pictures of my babies!

Tiny baby hands and eyelashes-

Walker getting weighed last week sometime.  He's so tiny but growing every day!  He weighs 6 pounds and 5 ounces as of tonight.

Selfie Savannah. 

Handsome Like Daddy!

Savannah is wearing OshKosh overalls that were mine when I was her age! So adorable!

Here is Walker minus all the extra tubes! Now he just has the feeding tube in his nose.  Yay!

A view of his big boy open crib!

Savannah napping on the couch Saturday afternoon.  She's got a ladybug painted on her cheek from the pumpkin patch.

Again. Selfie Savannah.  She loves to take them!

Just showing off his great hair!

And a little one-eyed smirk!

Lately...

We've been busy obviously, just like everyone else in the world.  Walker is doing much better, thanks to modern medicine and prayers.  He is still on his oxygen and feeding tube but is getting close to getting off of them.  Here are the three things you can pray for:
1. Walker's lungs are strong enough for him to be taken off of oxygen so he can start on feeding and moving to an open crib.
2. Once he is taken off oxygen, his desire to eat is good and he has the strength to eat when we try to feed him.
3. Once he's taken off oxygen, he can regulate his body temperature and can move to an open crib.

Once he passes all of these obstacles, he can come home!  I can't wait for the day.  (I mean, I can, I want him to be ready, but you know.)

Savannah has been a busy little bee lately! She's had her first field trip to the Pumpkin Patch. CC and I took her and she had an absolute blast! She's also just in general looking adorable all the time these days.  (not surprising)  She also had her school pictures.  I don't think we'll be purchasing these either, just like last year's.  She is still terrified of the photographer, who barks at her and pretends he's a dog.  It honestly is a bit frightening. She went to her BFF's birthday party and got her face painted.  She thought it was AWESOME.  She chose a teddy bear :) So cute!

We also had a great time celebrating Anna's birthday, and I'm looking forward to celebrating my big birthday Thursday! 3-0! I can't believe I'll be 30.  I still feel 18.

I came home from the hospital and found that no one had made it to the bed before falling asleep. :)

Charlee wasn't interested in opening all of her presents, so Savannah sat in Charlee's mom's lap and opened instead.  I was mortified but everyone else seemed fine with it.

Mama-Savannah picnic on the back deck!

Anna and Aaron's buddies, Tucker and Sophie! They love each other.

she wanted to hug him so badly!

so we settled for a kiss on the back of the head.  She was SO excited to get so close to Walker!

both of my babies in my arms. 

Cute raincoat walking down the hospital hallway

some close-ups of Walker's adorable tiny perfect features.

sleeping on his back for the first time! (they usually keep him on his belly or side for good pulse ox but he rolled to his back and did fine!)

 The rest of the pictures are from my friend's fancy camera.  They are so good!

BFFs.  Like seriously they love each other.

there's the love :)

Ok, now picture overload is done, I can't wait to get back to blogging daily so my posts aren't so long! Happy rest of your week!