Two years ago on September 26, my dreams came true and I became a mommy! My little man weighed in at 3lbs 10oz, but now at 2 years old he's nearly 30 pounds! Brennan has come so far, from a baby who didn't know how to breathe or eat on his own to a happy, silly, rambunctious toddler. He is absolutely delightful and I love him to pieces.
Charlie has been a bit of a blog hog lately, so this is for all the Brennan fans out there. :)
Brennan is swiftly moving from babbling all day to speaking English. I admit I'm sad to see the Brennan-ese go, but it's so much fun to hear real words in Brennan's little voice. Some of my favorites - kewkic (music), jujles (noodles), ursles (circles), popple (pineapple), bapples (apples), bapes (grapes), juge (orange), gackgack (backpack), bup (jump), Onsha or Ashon (his aunt Shonna), Bampa and Mehma (Grandpa and Grandma), and the adorable way he says "AhhSOME!" Brennan repeats pretty much everything we say! It's adorable.
Lately Brennan has been a huge Charlie fan (and vice versa!). He gives Charlie hugs and kisses, and brings him toys and water. But my favorite is the way Brennan loves to entertain Charlie! Brennan will do things that he knows makes Charlie laugh - like running really fast back and forth, or jumping of the step. Brennan watches Charlie's face the whole time, and really gets a kick out of making Charlie laugh. When I'm feeling more ambitious, I might post a series of photos that demonstrates it. :)
Brennan's also into trucks and cars, balls, dirt and water, and playing outside. I think he'd play outside all day if we'd let him. He likes to watch cars go by, and naming what color they are. He knows all the colors, including grey, silver, and gold, thanks to cars! He has a bunch of toy trucks and cars that he'll drive around the playroom for about 20 minutes all by himself. Today I found a car rug (the kind with roads) at a garage sale so now his cars have somewhere to go! Brennan also loves books, and we read 8-10 books before naptime every day. One of them is the "truck book" which has a picture of a different truck on every page. He can "read" this one by himself! It's so cute!
I hope you enjoyed this look into Brennan's life. :)
9.30.2011
9.22.2011
Can you believe it??
We're HOME.
Charlie amazes me. On Friday, he had open heart surgery. On Thursday, he's at home playing in the sandbox.
Just playing, as if his chest had not just been cut open. I can't believe this kid. No one expected him to do this well. Even right after surgery, when he was doing so well, we were prepared for him to go downhill at any moment. I think it was day 3 before we started realizing that this was it - there was not going to be a downhill, there was just going to be awesomeness.
Charlie came home yesterday, on day 5 post-op. I am in complete awe of him. The only new meds he's on are tylenol and an antacid. No heart meds, pressure meds, or blood pressure meds. May I just say, !!!!. I had him wear his Superman shirt home from the hospital. It seemed appropriate. :)
Charlie amazes me. On Friday, he had open heart surgery. On Thursday, he's at home playing in the sandbox.
Just playing, as if his chest had not just been cut open. I can't believe this kid. No one expected him to do this well. Even right after surgery, when he was doing so well, we were prepared for him to go downhill at any moment. I think it was day 3 before we started realizing that this was it - there was not going to be a downhill, there was just going to be awesomeness.
Charlie came home yesterday, on day 5 post-op. I am in complete awe of him. The only new meds he's on are tylenol and an antacid. No heart meds, pressure meds, or blood pressure meds. May I just say, !!!!. I had him wear his Superman shirt home from the hospital. It seemed appropriate. :)
9.18.2011
Day 2 - with pics
It's the end of post-surgery day 2, and Charlie is wowing us all!
Initially, it took some work to get his blood pressure and sedation under control. But since then, he's been doing great. His pulmonary artery pressures- which we were worried would be high - have been perfect! Last night they began weaning him off the nitric oxide, which is used to lower pulmonary pressures. He came off of it completely by early this afternoon. And the best part is...Charlie came off the vent completely today! He came off around suppertime, and he's doing great. He's still on some oxygen through a nasal cannula, but it's nice to see his gorgeous little face without all the tape. Today he got rid of the vent, the nitric, foley, an IV pole, and another sat monitor from his forehead. There's much more room in here now, and it looks so much more normal. AND - he hasn't had a fever at all! Charlie is absolutely amazing. We were prepared for him to still have his chest open at this point, and be very sick. But he's perfect! We're so happy.
Now, here's some pictures. Warning: some of them are graphic.
Initially, it took some work to get his blood pressure and sedation under control. But since then, he's been doing great. His pulmonary artery pressures- which we were worried would be high - have been perfect! Last night they began weaning him off the nitric oxide, which is used to lower pulmonary pressures. He came off of it completely by early this afternoon. And the best part is...Charlie came off the vent completely today! He came off around suppertime, and he's doing great. He's still on some oxygen through a nasal cannula, but it's nice to see his gorgeous little face without all the tape. Today he got rid of the vent, the nitric, foley, an IV pole, and another sat monitor from his forehead. There's much more room in here now, and it looks so much more normal. AND - he hasn't had a fever at all! Charlie is absolutely amazing. We were prepared for him to still have his chest open at this point, and be very sick. But he's perfect! We're so happy.
Now, here's some pictures. Warning: some of them are graphic.
Going to get my zipper
Shortly after surgery
So many tubes and wires!
Look, I'm breathing on my own!
I'm a rockstar!
I'm also a little naughty, so I've been tied down.
But look at those AWESOME numbers!
In order: heart rate, blood pressure, pulmonary pressure, CVP, O2 sats, and respiratory rate - all where they should be.
Way to go little man!
Thanks for the prayers everyone!
9.16.2011
Surgery's over!
Charlie came through with flying colors! He's doing much better than we expected. He will be kept sedated and paralyzed overnight. Tomorrow if he's doing well, they might start weaning him from the respirator. The only issue he has right now is maintaining a good blood pressure - but even that is going very well. YAY!
I keep staring at him - this feels so unreal. It was such an ordeal getting here, and now surgery is over. It's hard to believe. We're exhausted, but glad Charlie is doing so well.
I keep staring at him - this feels so unreal. It was such an ordeal getting here, and now surgery is over. It's hard to believe. We're exhausted, but glad Charlie is doing so well.
9.14.2011
Surgery, Take Two
Charlie's surgery is scheduled for Friday morning. I've been holding my breath to see if it's really going to happen, and so far it's a go! Pre-op is tomorrow - merely a part of an insane day. Our bags are mostly packed, various projects are ready, we're almost ready to go. This time, I'm not nearly as nervous as I was last time. I feel much more prepared and I think it will go great!
Tomorrow Brennan is going to go to daycare for the first time. It's strictly a back-up daycare that contracts with a few companies; Ken's company being one. So we get 20 days a year for only $15! We visited today and at first B wouldn't even walk inside. But then he saw some fish, and a baby, and he was good to go! Today they only had three kids. It's hard to leave him there but I think Brennan will have a blast! He'll go a few days next week as well.
Back to chores...
Tomorrow Brennan is going to go to daycare for the first time. It's strictly a back-up daycare that contracts with a few companies; Ken's company being one. So we get 20 days a year for only $15! We visited today and at first B wouldn't even walk inside. But then he saw some fish, and a baby, and he was good to go! Today they only had three kids. It's hard to leave him there but I think Brennan will have a blast! He'll go a few days next week as well.
Back to chores...
9.06.2011
The cuteness of Brennan
Brennan was particularly cute today. Or maybe I just got enough sleep last night. ;) So, mom readers, here's some cute Brennan stories of the day:
~This morning, Brennan decided his red "feffer" (sweater) was awesome. So he went to the park in a red sweater and green pants. I tried to convince him to change into a different sweater, but he thought that was an awful idea! At the park he was getting warm, so I asked him if he wanted his sweater off, but he got upset and whined "More!" until I assured him he could keep the sweater on!
~At snack time, I let B choose between two things, and he chose a "popple" (pineapple) fruit cup. He wouldn't let me open it for him, because he wanted to feed himself. So I said, "Fine. You can have it. What are you going to do with it now?" He thought for a minute and then shyly handed it to me!
~When we were coloring, he signed "black", with an UNcapped black marker in the same hand. Do you know what happens when you do that? You get a black line on your face!
~We recently taught Brennan how to kick a ball. So now he runs around the yard with the ball, and he yells "KICK!" every single time he kicks the ball. It's adorable!
~Another recent "skill" is jumping (falling) off the bottom step of our stair case. Brennan runs over and signs jump, then waits for us to say "Ready?" and then he jumps/steps/falls off. Both boys thinks it's hysterical, and it occupies them for minutes! Brennan pronounces it "bup".
That's a miniscule glimpse of the cuteness I deal with every day.
In Charlie news, he has his Infectious Diseases doctor appointment tomorrow. I'm hoping we can work everything out to be on the surgery schedule next week. It's not likely to work, because our surgeon is pretty full usually. But here's hoping for good news tomorrow...
~This morning, Brennan decided his red "feffer" (sweater) was awesome. So he went to the park in a red sweater and green pants. I tried to convince him to change into a different sweater, but he thought that was an awful idea! At the park he was getting warm, so I asked him if he wanted his sweater off, but he got upset and whined "More!" until I assured him he could keep the sweater on!
~At snack time, I let B choose between two things, and he chose a "popple" (pineapple) fruit cup. He wouldn't let me open it for him, because he wanted to feed himself. So I said, "Fine. You can have it. What are you going to do with it now?" He thought for a minute and then shyly handed it to me!
~When we were coloring, he signed "black", with an UNcapped black marker in the same hand. Do you know what happens when you do that? You get a black line on your face!
~We recently taught Brennan how to kick a ball. So now he runs around the yard with the ball, and he yells "KICK!" every single time he kicks the ball. It's adorable!
~Another recent "skill" is jumping (falling) off the bottom step of our stair case. Brennan runs over and signs jump, then waits for us to say "Ready?" and then he jumps/steps/falls off. Both boys thinks it's hysterical, and it occupies them for minutes! Brennan pronounces it "bup".
That's a miniscule glimpse of the cuteness I deal with every day.
In Charlie news, he has his Infectious Diseases doctor appointment tomorrow. I'm hoping we can work everything out to be on the surgery schedule next week. It's not likely to work, because our surgeon is pretty full usually. But here's hoping for good news tomorrow...
9.01.2011
Home
Charlie's home.
We had a roller coaster of a stay. We were back and forth on surgery on Thursday, and each "yes", "no", and "maybe" brought a slew of emotions. On Wednesday, the surgeon came in and told us Charlie would be on the schedule Thursday. He walked out, and a minute later came back in and told us one of his cultures grew, so surgery was officially off. We were totally bummed. It turns out that Charlie has a UTI. They kept him in the hospital long enough to make sure that he was responding to the antibiotics, and we got home late this afternoon. We had been told that Charlie could have surgery next week, but we found out today that's no longer the case. Apparently, in their conference this AM, the infectious diseases doctors decided they wanted to prevent this from happening again. So the current plan is to keep Charlie on antibiotics until the 8th, and then switch him over to a maintenance dose. And then he needs to be fever-free for a week before they'll let him have surgery. I'm angry and I disagree. If they want to prevent this from happening again ('this' being finding the infection in the OR), then they should do surgery soon! It's very unlikely that Charlie will remain fever-free for very long. If he does get a fever in the next 1.5 weeks, I'm supposed to bring him to the ER and have them page the peds ID on call. Areyoukiddingme. I should make them babysit Brennan while I make these ER trips. I'm going to try and call them and see if I can get a better plan, but they have such random clinic hours, I don't know how easy it will be. We have an appointment next Wednesday, so we might have to wait until then, but that definitely rules out surgery next week.
So, that's where we stand as of now. Charlie will probably not have surgery until late September. If that's the case, I'll have them push it out til October, because we have a lot going on at the end of September. Charlie won't be able to start school this semester, but I was on the fence about that anyway. And this does give us more time to pack some pounds on Charlie - in this hospitalization Charlie lost every ounce we'd worked so hard for these last few weeks. But knowing that makes me more eager to put weight on Charlie - he loses it so fast! He needs every ounce he can get!
We learned a few more things that will help us for the actual surgery. We learned Charlie's chest will likely be left open for a few days after surgery. He'll be in the hospital for longer than we thought. I am going to pack differently next time - instead of a backpack with a change of clothes, I'm going to pack a suitcase with a week's worth of stuff. That way, even when I do get to come home, I don't have to spend time running around and repacking things. So all is not lost. Also, Brennan learned how to say "Mommy is awesome". So, that's awesome.
We had a roller coaster of a stay. We were back and forth on surgery on Thursday, and each "yes", "no", and "maybe" brought a slew of emotions. On Wednesday, the surgeon came in and told us Charlie would be on the schedule Thursday. He walked out, and a minute later came back in and told us one of his cultures grew, so surgery was officially off. We were totally bummed. It turns out that Charlie has a UTI. They kept him in the hospital long enough to make sure that he was responding to the antibiotics, and we got home late this afternoon. We had been told that Charlie could have surgery next week, but we found out today that's no longer the case. Apparently, in their conference this AM, the infectious diseases doctors decided they wanted to prevent this from happening again. So the current plan is to keep Charlie on antibiotics until the 8th, and then switch him over to a maintenance dose. And then he needs to be fever-free for a week before they'll let him have surgery. I'm angry and I disagree. If they want to prevent this from happening again ('this' being finding the infection in the OR), then they should do surgery soon! It's very unlikely that Charlie will remain fever-free for very long. If he does get a fever in the next 1.5 weeks, I'm supposed to bring him to the ER and have them page the peds ID on call. Areyoukiddingme. I should make them babysit Brennan while I make these ER trips. I'm going to try and call them and see if I can get a better plan, but they have such random clinic hours, I don't know how easy it will be. We have an appointment next Wednesday, so we might have to wait until then, but that definitely rules out surgery next week.
So, that's where we stand as of now. Charlie will probably not have surgery until late September. If that's the case, I'll have them push it out til October, because we have a lot going on at the end of September. Charlie won't be able to start school this semester, but I was on the fence about that anyway. And this does give us more time to pack some pounds on Charlie - in this hospitalization Charlie lost every ounce we'd worked so hard for these last few weeks. But knowing that makes me more eager to put weight on Charlie - he loses it so fast! He needs every ounce he can get!
We learned a few more things that will help us for the actual surgery. We learned Charlie's chest will likely be left open for a few days after surgery. He'll be in the hospital for longer than we thought. I am going to pack differently next time - instead of a backpack with a change of clothes, I'm going to pack a suitcase with a week's worth of stuff. That way, even when I do get to come home, I don't have to spend time running around and repacking things. So all is not lost. Also, Brennan learned how to say "Mommy is awesome". So, that's awesome.
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