First Play Date

Today Jaeden had his very first play date. Kingston came over today to visit him, however, Jaeden didn't seem to want to entertain much. Sorry, Kingston! We will make it up to you. Jaeden slept the whole time that Kingston was here. It was still great to have the company. Kingston and Jaeden are two big boys and they look great. God Bless them both.

Today we did miss Annie. We will catch her the next time. She didn't have time for us. She went to the beach for the holiday weekend. We hope she had fun. She was with us today in spirit. :-)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JAEDEN! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JAEDEN!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOOOOO

JAEDEN KAI GIBBS....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

What do you mean, you may ask? Isn't his birthday June 6th? Well, today is Master Gibbs', original expected due date. Today is the day he would have been born had he not been so anxious to enter the world and be with his family. ;-)

We're happy and extremely grateful that he is here, regardless of what his birthday is.

Million Dollar Question

WHAT IS THAT ON HIS HEAD AND HIS ARM?????

It is a strawberry birthmark. The technical term for it is Hemangioma . It is a benign self-involuting tumor of cells that line blood vessels. They are connected to the circulatory system and filled with blood. The appearance depends on location. If they are on the surface of the skin they look like a ripe strawberry, if they are just under the skin they present as a bluish swelling. In most cases, hemangiomas will disappear over time. The cause is uknown. They appear early in life, usually the first few weeks. It started off really small. I thought it was a tiny bruise because of the IV and the constant switching from one side to another. Later on, we noticed it kept getting bigger and bigger and that is when I asked the nurse what it was. She told us what they were and informed us that they enlarge during the first year of life (thus causing worry) but stop enlarging by the end of the first year and start involuting. It should disappear by the time he is two years old.

Considering all the other obstacles we had to come, the birthmark seemed to be the least thing to be concerned about. Jaeden has a great pediatrician who is keeping an eye on the marks and will refer us to a hematologist when he reaches 4 or 5 months. Treatment is discouraged because they usually go away on it's own. As long as it does not interfere with his sight, or the use of his arm and the ability to bend it, there is really nothing to worry about. Once he is seen by the specialist, the condition can be better assessed. For now, it is just cosmetic but it does not interfere with my baby being cute or sweet or the love of our lives. Overall he is healthy and a true blessing.

Update

Things are good. My days and nights consists of changing poopie diapers, feedings every three to four hours. Getting no sleep at night. Just Friday night Master Gibbs decided it would be a great idea to stay up until 4 am. This was very different than what I am used to, but he seemed to pull it together on Saturday night. I was sooooo tired on Saturday, I swear I had to have been sleep walking. I still don't know how I made it through. I took a nap that lasted a long time, since he slept during the day, but I made sure I went to sleep as soon as he did at night. I didn't know what would be in store for me that night, but he did well. Way better than a 4 am bedtime, that's for sure.

Here are a few pictures for your viewing pleasure. How can you not love his little face. ;-)

Enjoy!!!

Chunky chunky

Today was Jaeden's third doctor's visit and he is doing very well. He is getting better and as the Doctor said...."He is Terrific!!!" He is weighing a whopping 6 lbs. 9 oz. What a chunky boy we have on our hands. His next appointment is in two weeks instead of the weekly visits. Jaeden continues to sleep well. The longest stretch we had at night was 4 hours and let me just tell you that was a real treat.

Friday, we have an appointment with the opthamologist and we hope all is well.

Here We Are!!!

Looking for us??? Word on the street is that you are missing us. I know, it's been two weeks since our last update and I'm sorry but Jaeden and I have just been having that much fun. LOL. Having him home is such joy and a lot of work at the same time. I think it was quite dilisional of me to believe that I could update the blog everyday. That is unrealistic but I will try my best to update it atleast on a weekly basis.

Sooooo, let's see.....what can we tell you about our past two weeks? He has adjusted quite well. We have gone to a few doctor's visits and the reports have been GREAT!!!! Each visit is further confirmation that Lil Man is just a true Miracle. The last visit to the pediatrician we found out that Jaeden weighed 6 lbs. He gained 9 oz. in a week and still gaining. Jaeden is a solid little boy. He eats every three hours and has been drinking 3 oz each feeding. He wakes up to eat and goes right to sleep. Daddy NEVER hears him in the middle of the night but we forgive him since he has to wake up so early in the morning to make the donuts and put the stripes on the candy canes. LOL (Muah....Love you Daddy! We appreciate you much!!)

Jaeden has had several home visits and everyone has fallen in love with him. This past Sunday, Jaeden had his first outing to visit family. He met his Nana who came to NY from Down South. It was amazing. I am very happy for the both of them. Great Grandmothers are SUPER special.

Everyone is doing great and we are having fun.

We Made It!!!

Jaeden has been home for 24 hours!!! Yay!!!

Jaeden passed his pneumogram and was able to come home without a monitor. He did very well on the ride home from the city and I must say his first night was wonderful. He is very peaceful and hardly fusses. He coos a lot and makes little noises but he does not cry. He may have cried once but that has been about it.

I think the nurses at the NICU are going to miss their "little Gibblet." But they were happy to see he has done so well and did all that he needed to do to get himself home. I thank all the doctors and nurses immensely. They were simply marvelous and if it were not for them and their impeccable bedside manner, I really don't know how I could have made it. But they are heaven sent angels, every last one of them and I thank God for them. God Bless you all!!!! Much love and many hugs!!!! We will keep you posted on his health and we will send many pictures.

Thank you to all friends and family and strangers for your well wishes and all your prayers and visits. We appreciate everything and it has and still does mean the world to us. More than we could ever begin to express in words. Thank you!!!!!

The blog will continue and pictures will still be posted.

Thanks again to everyone. Thanks to the Good Lord!!!!

Well I have to get back to changing diapers. God Bless you all! Good night for now!!!

Busy, Busy, Busy

My apologies to everyone who reads this on a regular basis. Things have been ridiculously hectic. So, let's see....where should I begin???

Well, Friday was a very big day for Jaeden. His two buddies, Annie and Kingston left the NICU to be with their families. It was bittersweet for us all. We are happy for them but we're missing them also. Now they are waitin on Jaeden to leave so that everyone can get together on the outside. It looks like this will be able to happen soon, considering that Friday, Dr. Navez informed us that Jaeden's pneumogram will begin 6 am Sunday, ending 6 am Monday. Once the test is reviewed and provided all goes well, The Jae Man will make his grand debut at home sometime this week. Since we received the news, there has been the mad dash to the laundromat, to Buy Buy Baby and Babies R Us trying to prepare for him to come home. Having been on bedrest and his arrival into the world 13 weeks early, left absolutely NO time to get things together. Once Jaeden was born, our priority was making sure we were at the hospital to see him and to be there for him as much as we could. Not to mention visits to potential pediatricians who for some reason have been giving us the run around. We've been running around like crazy people. I think, we are ok now. Don't quote me on that because I still feel like I am forgetting something.

BTW....I must let the world know that Daddy did put the cradle together all by himself and he did a great job. We all thank Uncle Nelson and Auntie Deborah for handing it down to us. We are most appreciative. Auntie Deborah...Thank you soooo much. It looks great. (wink...wink)

This has been my first time being able to get on the blog to do any kind of updates. My sincerest apologies.

Jaeden is great, he is still guzzling down 2 oz of milk and he weighs 5 lbs 3 oz. Things are great. So, my dear friends, please keep Jaeden in prayer. We pray he passes his pneumogram with flying colors as well as his car seat test which he will take tomorrow.