Sick Week in the Newman House

On Sunday I woke up and had a slight sore throat. I assumed it was just my allergies although I don't usually have seasonal allergies. My throat didn't get better but started getting worse all week. I finally went to the doctor on Wednesday after school and it turns out I have strept throat.

I thought Brandon had pink eye on Monday. He woke up and his eyes were gunky. I wiped them off and left for work. Stu was off on Monday so Brandon was staying home with him anyway. When I got home from work they were still gunky so I called the pediatrician and they called in a prescription for eye drops. On Wednesday night Brandon went to sleep as usual and then woke up crying a little an hour later. I went in to rub his back and he was lying down letting me do that for about 5 minutes. He then stood up and started to cry hysterically. I picked him up and he was inconsolable. He didn't even want his pacifier. He finally stopped and went back to sleep only to start crying hysterically again two hours later and was inconsolable again. So not like him. He finally slept from 1:20-7:00 with some coughing throughout the night. My mom came to stay with him yesterday since he didn't feel well and his cough got pretty bad along with a runny nose. I brought him to the pediatrician after work yesterday and he has an upper respiratory infection. He isn't wheezing but is retracting while breathing so the pediatrician wanted me to put him on the nebulizer until he is better. He is on xopenex and pulmicort again. He woke up this morning with a fever of 100 and then after his nap he had a fever of 102.1. He has been a little more playful on and off today than he was yesterday but has also been pretty miserable on and off. The tylenol seems to knock his fever down each time he takes it. He hasn't had much of an appetite except for snack type foods which I have been giving him because I figure it is better than not eating at all.

Stu also didn't feel well this week so he went to the doctor yesterday and found out he has a sinus infection.

Hopefully we are all on the mend and will be feeling better soon.

My mom bought Brandon a Broby (from Yo Gabba Gabba) backpack that she gave him yesterday. He has enjoyed snuggling with it today. We also set up his play tent that goes with his tunnel last weekend and he loves going in it and playing.

March for Babies

We were supposed to do the March of Dimes, March for Babies today but unfortunately the weather had other ideas. It was raining here when we woke up and still raining when we would have had to do the walk. It wasn't worth chancing Brandon getting sick from the weather. We did raise $640 which was higher than my goal so I am still happy we were able to give a good donation from our team. Thank you to all of our friends and family that donated to our team. It means so much to us.

Opthamologist and Hamilton Sculpture Garden

Brandon and I went to the Hamilton Sculpture Garden yesterday. We met our friends Sara and Marino there (I know Sara from a message board that I am on and met her, Marino, and her husband in August when they were visiting) and Sara's friend Sonya and her daughters. Brandon had an eye doctor appointment earlier in the day so his eyes were still bothering him from being dilated. His appointment went great and he doesn't have to go back for a year. He was asleep when we first got to the Sculpture Garden since he fell asleep in the car on the way there but he enjoyed it once he was awake. The Sculpture Garden is a great place for kids and adults. I definitely plan on going back there.

Brushing Teeth

You Know You're the Parent of a Preemie When...

You know you're the parent of a preemie when...

1.You use strange initials (C-PAP, CCs, NICU, NG) when discussing your child.

2.You actually remember how many CCs make up an ounce.

3.You count her weight in grams.

4. The skin on your hands is peeling from washing so often!

5.You hesitate when someone asks his/her age, but you know exactly how much he/she weighs!

6. The answer to "How old is your baby?" is a story 30 minutes long!

7. When someone asks his birthday, you reply, "Which one?"

8. You start to understand some of the things they say on ER!

9. You turn into Kung-Fu Mom when someone tries to touch your baby.

10. You attempt to measure just how much spit-up he/she just had before you clean it up!

11. You know how much he weighs before putting him on the scale at the doctor's office

12. You cry at Maternity Ward and get mad at Baby Story.

13. You see a 7lb newborn and say "Wow! She's so BIG!"

14. Your baby is months old before she can even go to the mall.

15. You have never explained why your baby is on an apnea monitor.

16. When someone says how tiny your baby is, you argue that she is huge -- and to demonstrate, you whip out pictures of her in NICU.

17. You do a health check on people when they come to your house to visit .

18. You make people wash their hands before going near your child.

19. You want to scream when someone says that she just wants to have this baby now - at week 28, 32, or 34.

20. You are so amazed when someone actually tells you your baby is big for his age!

21. You tried to find a place to buy newborn size diapers in bulk.

22. You called half your relatives when the baby grew out of their first pair of pajamas!

23. You never take your child for granted.

24. You worry about RSV season and it is still weeks away . . .

25. You know what "RSV" stands for.

26. You donate his/her tiny clothes to the NICU and marvel that they seem so small - when they were too darn large!

27. Your daughter gets a simple cold and her doc sees her within the hour!

28. People say, "She CAN'T be __ old...she's too little!"

29. It has taken them 5 months to grow INTO newborn clothes!

30. You pick up 2 pounds of ground beef and think that your baby was born weighing less than that!

31. You buy "Purell" in bulk

32. You know about oxygen tanks and regulators more than the company supplying it to the airplanes

33. You can stare at your baby for hours when she sleeps

34. The security guards just wave you by when they see you come in the front door of the hospital.

35. When someone asks what sent you're wearing, you reply, "Germ-X" without batting an eye.

36. In the course of a day you have wanted to slap and bear hug the same NICU nurse.

37.The statement "breastfeeding is simple and natural" makes you laugh -- or cry, depending on the day and the hour.

38. You could drive the route from your house to the hospital in your sleep... and maybe you have.

39. You can't remember what you talked about before feeding schedules, diapers, and growth charts.

40. The sound of your baby crying is beautiful, not annoying.

41. You not only know what "bilirubin" is, you have had several extensive conversations about it.


These came from a post from my micro-preemie group. But, I thought they were so true.

Brandon Loves Elmo

Brandon loves Elmo. He loves watching Elmo's World on Sesame Street and his DVD's and he loves playing with his toy Elmos. Yesterday Brandon kept kissing Elmo. It was too cute.

Doing So Much

Brandon has been doing so many more things over the last few weeks. He now gives kisses when you ask him for a kiss. It is so cute. He opens his mouth wide and walks over to you and puts it on your cheek. Yesterday he kissed his babysitter's daughter who is his age when it was time to leave. He LOVES to kiss Hershey all of the time too.

Brandon points to his hair, ears, teeth, mouth, nose, eyes, feet, hands, toes, and tummy when you ask him to and sticks out his tongue when you ask him where it is.

He will follow directions and do what you ask him to (example, if you say "Brandon get a book and bring the book to daddy" he will take a book off of his bookshelf and bring it to Stu). He also will run to the bathtub when you tell him it is time for a bath.

Brandon LOVES balls. He has balls that are all different sizes and loves to throw them and then run after them to pick them up. He also likes to walk around carrying the balls.

Brandon is really good at going up and down the stairs. He has been going down the stairs on his tummy for awhile but now he wants to go down the stairs like a big boy. He does great when he is holding your hand but I still don't trust him to walk down the stairs on his own holding onto the railing.

He loves the song If You're Happy and You Know It and will clap his hands, stamp his feet, and put his arms up and say hooray on the parts when you sing it.

Brandon is FINALLY sleeping through the night again. It is so nice. I put him down between 8-8:30 and he usually sleeps through until between 6:30-7:00. A few mornings he has actually slept until 7:30 when I have to wake him to take him to the babysitter.

Mowing the Lawn

This past weekend was so nice so we spent some time outside. On Saturday Stu ran in a 5K at the park near us and Brandon and I walked it. After the 5K there were kids races so Brandon did the 4 and under. He was the youngest and he came in last but he still got a 1st place ribbon.

On Sunday Brandon used his new lawnmower from grandma and grandpa Newman. It is supposed to have bubbles that come out when it is pushed but Brandon had a little trouble getting the bubbles to come out.

Brandon had his 6 week follow up at the ENT today for his ear tubes. His ears look good so he doesn't have to go back for 6 months. He also had a hearing test which he passed with no problem.

March of Dimes March for Babies is in 2 weeks

In 2 weeks from today Stu, Brandon, and I will be participating in the March of Dimes, March for Babies walk. This will be our second year doing the walk.

The March of Dimes mission is to make healthy, full-term birth a reality for all babies. Research funded by the March of Dimes had a direct impact on Brandon's survival. Two drugs administered to him (steroid shots before birth and surfactant after birth) were developed during research funded by the March of Dimes.

We ask that you consider supporting us in this walk. We would love to have you walk with us and join "Team Brando" and/or donate to our team's fundraising efforts. To do this, all you have to do is scroll down to the March for Babies picture/ information on the left hand side after the other blogs I follow and click on the side of the screen. Last year we raised more money than our goal. We hope to meet or exceed our goal again this year.

The March for Babies will be on Sunday, April 25th at 11:30 in Ocean Grove. We look forward to helping to support this wonderful organization.

Cousin Visit

Brandon's Aunt Debbie, Uncle Rich, and cousins, Ben and Zack, came to visit yesterday from Maryland. We saw them yesterday afternoon and they stayed for dinner and then today after work we met up with them at the park and then went to Stu's parents for dinner. Brandon enjoyed his visit with his cousins, aunt, and uncle.

I talked to the pediatrician today because I think Brandon has allergies. He has been coughing on and off since Thursday but not the cough he gets when he is sick. I noticed that it gets worse when he is outside or right after playing outside. He also has been sneezing while outside. He doesn't have a fever, runny nose, or acting sick so I called the doctor to see if it could be allergies. She said yes and told me to give him children's claritin each night. I have to watch to make sure it doesn't turn into asthma or he will need to start getting nebulizer treatments.

Playing in the Sand at the Beach

It was another beautiful day out today. Sunny and in the 70s. We decided to bring Brandon to the beach to see how he would like it. He LOVED playing in the sand. As soon as I put him down he started walking in it. He then sat down and was picking up sand and dropping it. He started putting it in a big shell that Stu gave him and then was putting handfuls of sand in his bucket. He had fun running in the sand and plopping down. He also enjoyed rolling in the sand. I think this summer at the beach will be a lot of fun.