Happy Thanksgiving!

We spent this Thanksgiving with my family who came out from Chicago. My parents rented a condo up in Park City for us to all hang out in for a few days during the break. We had tons of fun and wish the break could have lasted longer.

Trevor came home early Tuesday and we rushed to get up to Park City to beat the blizzard. It never came, despite the fact that the news was calling it "the blizzard of 2010". Lamest non-blizzard ever. But our boy did look extra cute all bundled up.  

 

Thompson got to be spoiled with attention by everyone over the break. Like his uncle Jonathan. 

 

And his Grandpa Davis.  

  

 

And of course his Grandma Davis.

 

He also got to meet (and be spoiled by) his aunt and cousin. My sister, her boyfriend, and her little 4 year old drove all the way out from Chicago to spend Thanksgiving with us as well. We were so happy to have them around, especially since my sister went to culinary school and makes awesome food and especially since my nephew is adorable. We were sad they had to leave Friday and will continue to campaign for them to move out here, every though the chances are slim. 

Oh and we discovered that when a 4 year old is done holding a baby, he will just pull his arms out from under said baby without warning. 

But we also discovered that Thompson and Ethan are pretty cute together.

We made/ate lots of good food and watched lots of football. Sometimes even at the same time.

 We played in the snow in our swimming suits.

 Then warmed up in the hot tub on our balcony.

We took advantage of free babysitting and went Black Friday shopping. I may or may not have spent almost 4 hours at the outlet mall. And I may or may not have wanted to spend even more time there.

 

But mostly I just enjoyed spending time with my favorite boys.

A Normal and Healthy Newborn

I think we are finally starting to have a more normal newborn experience. Thompson has been out of the hospital for almost two weeks now, and it looks like he is out for good this time (although we did think that last time).

Thanks to some very mediocre residents (whose primary qualities were overdeveloped egos and underdeveloped knowledge/experience), the first week Thompson was in the hospital was a whole lot of going around in circles. The reason he was admitted to the hospital was because he was breathing too rapidly and his oxygen saturation was too low. The pediatrician assumed it was a virus, but didn't want to just send him home on oxygen until he knew for sure. The doctors at the hospital assumed the same thing, and thought he would just need to be on oxygen for a few days until the respiratory infection cleared up.

As the days passed and he continued to rely on the oxygen, they worried something else was going on since he wasn't getting any better. Because of his blood sugar problems, Thompson had been on a medication to lower his insulin levels, which could also have the side effect of fluid retention. They started to look at his heart and lungs for swelling that might be the cause of the breathing problems. But then they told us there was no fluid in his lungs and his heart looked fine. The residents on his case went back to a respiratory infection - despite the fact that the day before they were telling me it couldn't be a virus because he wasn't getting any better. And they told me they just wanted to send him home on oxygen, hoping it would resolve, not knowing what it even was.

This is what frustrates me about the majority of doctors and makes me very, very grateful for the few truly good ones. It seems easiest for doctors to take the band-aid approach to complicated cases. When our pediatrician (who is one of those exceptional doctors) had him admitted, he specifically told us he could just give us oxygen to take home with us, but there was no reason a newborn should be on oxygen and he wasn't going to do that unless he knew why Thompson needed it.  

I think there is nothing more frustrating than knowing something is wrong with your child, but not knowing what it is. Everything the doctors had said to us just didn't make sense and didn't seem right. Teaching hospitals have their advantages, but after a week of getting nowhere with the residents, we finally asked to just work with the attending directly. The day after we did this, the attending called our pediatrician to set up a plan finally. Our pediatrician suggested calling a pulmonologist for a consult. This was the single greatest and most logical idea that we had heard since we had been there. Why it took so long to decide to bring a lung doctor in to see a baby who was having problems breathing is beyond me.

The pulmonologist who came was one of those rare, amazingly good doctors. I loved that little Indian man. He came in, took the most thorough history of any of the doctors we had seen there, and then in stepped us through his thoughts on the case. Although we had been told that all the tests run on Thompson had been normal, this doctor showed us subtle abnormalities that combined with his symptoms suggested that our little guy was actually leaking fluid into his lungs because of swelling. He told us he needed to get off the medicine and be given diuretics to get rid of all the edema. After he left Trevor and I were so relieved. We felt so good about this diagnosis, and so grateful that this doctor figured it out before it got any worse.

As soon as he started the diuretics and weaned off his medicine, his breathing problems resolved completely and he was out of the hospital in a few days. We didn't know how his glucose levels would be or if he would be able to tolerate coming off of the medication, but he did great and has not had a single problem yet. He seems to have completely outgrown the hypoglycemia and stopping the medication stopped the fluid retention issues as well. Looking back at pictures, we can't believe how puffy he actually looked when he was on the medicine compared to now. We kept telling the doctors he looked a little swollen to us, but they told us it wasn't bad and that he was fine. Although I am annoyed at how long it took things to start happening, we our so glad we trusted our instincts and pushed his doctors to find an answer.

These last 7 weeks have been nothing like we expected. Things could have been so much worse, but we had no idea how many bumps there would be along the way to getting a healthy baby. We are so thankful that for the most part, Thompson is a healthy and normal baby. A little small still for his age, but growing like crazy. If there is one thing this kid has always been good at, its eating and gaining weight. He is 8.5 lbs. and seems so big compared to when he was born. By the way, I can't even imagine being pregnant with or giving birth to a baby as big as he is now, even though that's a normal newborn size.

Hopefully Thompson got a lifetime of doctors/hospital stays out of his system. And just in case anyone was wondering, he is still as cute as ever.

 

A few of his favorite things...

Today Thompson is 4 weeks old. In the short time we have had him we have discovered many of his likes. Here are a few:

1. Hospitals. He likes them enough that he has spent more time in them than at home.  He's back at Primary Children's since Friday for a respiratory virus this time. Good thing he is cute, because he is not exactly making this whole parenting thing easy for us.

 

2. Having his hands up by his face. Swaddle his hands in and he will Houdini his way out just so he can sleep with his hands under his chin or on his cheeks.

3. Having something to hold onto. His pacifier, our clothes, my hair - whatever he can grab. I fear my jewelry wearing days are over.

 

4. Sleeping as noisily as possible. It's pretty cute, except for when it is in the middle of the night.

 

5. Cuddling. This kid is quite the snuggler. I can't say I mind at all.

 

6. Entertaining his parents. We discovered this one time when Thompson was starving and Trevor went to give him a kiss.

 

7. And finally - looking adorable. His very favorite thing to do.

Home...once again

We were just starting to get a little more used to the whole newborn thing when Thompson had to go back to the hospital last Sunday morning. Friday we had to give him an emergency shot of glucagon and his glucose levels continued to be inconsistent over the weekend. His endocrinologist first tried to increase his medicine, but when he started reacting to the higher dose she just decided to admit him to Primary Children's Hospital. 

It was hard taking him back to the hospital after having him home for only a few days. But I have to say he was the cutest little patient ever in his giant hospital crib. 

 

After a few days of low glucose levels in the hospital, we switched his feeding schedule to every 2 hours and started supplementing his feedings with high calorie formula to help him pack on the weight and build up some nutrient stores. By Wednesday we were able to take him home again. He is still on medicine and fortified bottles and we still need to check his glucose and feed him every 2.5 hours. But he is doing great. And apparently the plan to fatten him up is working. Before he was in the hospital he was 4 lbs. 14 oz. When he left he was 5 lbs. 10 oz. He will have chubby baby thighs soon. 

Bringing him home again felt a little bit like bringing him home for the first time. We had to readjust and work out a new schedule for everything. But we love having him home again and are hoping he continues to do well so we can just have normal newborn stuff to worry about.

Our next big adjustment will be not having my mom here. After two weeks, she finally had to get back to her own life. She was a HUGE help and Thompson loved spending time with Grandma. And we loved her spending time with him...especially in the middle of the night (or day) when we needed some sleep. We will miss her lots. 

And one more picture just because he is so cute...

A happy little family

Thompson came home on Tuesday. We couldn't be more excited and relieved that he is home with us. The whole not having my child with me thing got old fast, even though we only had to do it for a week. He seems to get cuter and cuter each day, especially now that we get to be with him all day every day. This little boy just makes us so happy.

Thompson's wrinkled forehead makes us happy. And his scrawny little legs. Luckily my mom went out and bought some preemie clothes for him before she flew out. He will probably grow out of them fast, but newborn clothes still drown him (see picture of hat below).

Over-sized hat + tiny head + very hungry boy = this adorable picture that makes us happy.

The way he loves looking at our faces when he is awake makes us happy. 

His tiny little wrists and hands makes us happy. 

 

Driving home with our boy made us happy. He is still too tiny for his car seat so they gave us a little car bed carrier to use. 

Having our little family all home together makes us very happy. 

This picture does not make me happy. It breaks my heart actually. Especially since I am the one that now has to do this to him. Thompson has continued to have problems with high insulin and low glucose levels. We give him medicine to lower his insulin, check his glucose every six hours, and have an emergency shot of glucagon ready in case his blood sugar gets too low.  In the hospital he was checked every three hours, so both his heels are already all bruised. Poor kid doesn't even cry anymore when we prick him. He is a tough little one. 

Although he is still having some problems, we are so thankful that he has done as well as he has. He was a late pre-term baby, but because he had been under some distress before he was born, they didn't really know what to expect in terms of his health when he came out. He has had no breathing problems at all, and he is eating really well and gaining weight. We went to the pediatrician yesterday who said he looked great. He is in the 1-2% for his weight and length, but that is expected for a premature baby.

It has been quite an adjustment having him home the last few days. We loved the cute little squeaks and purrs and snores and other noises he made in the hospital, but we have found they aren't so cute when he makes them all night long, and the neurotic mother in me has to check to make sure he is okay every 5 minutes. Our moms have been a tremendous help though, especially now that Trevor is back to work. Despite the lack of sleep, we are so in love with this boy and can't imagine our lives without him.

An Unexpected Surprise

Last night at 7:50, Thompson Henry Wright was born. He was apparently anxious to get here, coming 4 1/2 weeks early. The last few weeks he had been showing some signs that he wasn't doing as well as he should be, but what we thought would be just another test and check-up ended in the decision to have him delivered right away. I guess he was just ready to come, despite the fact that mom and dad weren't.

He is 4 lbs 13 oz, 18 inches long, and absolutely adorable. He is doing very well considering his size and age and has had no problems with his lungs or heart. He has had a few minor issues with blood sugar and temperature regulation, which has made it hard for us not to have him with us. We are so thankful that the operation went smoothly, that Melissa is doing well, and that little Thompson has no major problems. We really feel like we have been blessed during this whole process and that the doctors and nurses have been guided in their decisions.

Now for what everyone wants to see...

Growing

This baby boy has grown. A lot. The evidence:

Exhibit A. 

Picture on the left: Me about 20 weeks pregnant. I felt like I had quite a little bump going then. My family was in town and my little brother even asked a few weeks after that, "are you going to get any bigger, because I don't think you can". Oh the encouraging words of children.

Picture on the right: Me now at 33 weeks pregnant. Apparently the answer to my brother's question is yes I will get bigger and yes I can get bigger. Which makes me a little scared for the next seven weeks. 

Exhibit B.
20 week ultrasound

Compared to now at 33 weeks...

   

Although he was measuring big at my last ultrasound, he is right on track now and weighs about 5 pounds. I know ultrasound measurements aren't all that accurate for weight, it makes me feel better that he is nice and average sized, considering my mom and sister had big, not-so-average sized babies.

And my very favorite ultrasound picture we have had...

Yes, our baby is giving us the star trek sign with his hand in the top right portion of the picture. The technician said she had never seen a baby do this. Well, live long and prosper, baby. Keep growing the next 7 weeks and please, please do not grow up to be a Trekkie.