Work: Started Sept 10th doing evening shift with the other full time NNP for Mon-Thurs. That went well. :) Did 8 hr day shifts the past 4 days with one of the neonataologists...she said I did great!! :) On my own now for 16 hrs (3pm-7am). I've done 2 admissions and one transfer out (to St Vincents for surgery) now. :) Also went to some high risk deliveries and a very high risk c-section.

Austin: Doing awesome! :) Loves to climb now, which can be scary! He loved being at my parents this week and especially loved that my dad gets home at 4pm so he could spend a whole hour outside (while my mom staying inside with Mason) til I picked him up around 5. :) He hates to come back inside most days. Still waiting on more teeth to come in....teething takes forever in this house! He also is getting very good at walking next to you and staying next to you when walking from the house to the car (Andy parks outside and did drop off at my parents this past week so he got lots of practice walking to & from the house).

Mason: Doing much better. Saw the GI doctor on Sept 13th & he confirmed a milk protein allergy. He also recommended that I limit or cut out my soy since 50% of babies with milk protein allergy also have a soy protein allergy. He weighed in a whooping 13lbs at the office! His symptoms are much improved over the last couple of weeks. He had to have one bottle of formula Tues, Wed & Thurs because I didn't have enough breastmilk :(...and he did not tolerate it well. It was Similac Alimentum which is made for babies with milk protein allergy...well I guess the milk protein is only partially broken down. So we now are going to be using Nutramingen AA (different than regular Nutramingen you see in the store) if we need formula and see how that goes. His GI dr gave us a sample can to try and if it works we will have to special order it. Hopefully he doesn't need much formula anyways. He is very smiley and coos often. :) Tried the bumbo seat yesterday and he liked it! Still loves to watch his brother play! :)

I'm sure there's more to write about but that's all I can think of for now! Updating the blog from work...seems easier than trying to do it at home where there's always something else that needs to be done!

Update coming soon (no later than Friday).....been way busy and very tired!! Lots to talk about though.

Whew...this week was long and fast at the same time.

Mason had a rough week! We started Prevacid Tuesday (after a pain in the butt process to get it from the compound pharmacy)...not sure it's working any better than the Zantac though. Need to give it a few more days I think. Wednesday & Thursday were awful in terms of fussiness and reflux. Called his pediatrician Friday because I was feeling so very helpless. She is out of ideas and referred us to the pediatric GI group here in Fort Wayne. We have an appointment this coming Thursday morning.

I am upset that my maternity leave wasn't as enjoyable as I thought it would be. Mason certainly has his happy times but I wish he felt better. I've struggled with guilt from the day he was born. First with being mad at myself for wanting to deliver since I was over being pregnant, then stressed and guilty about him needing the NICU, and now wishing that I could do more to help him.

The milk elimination diet isn't going too bad. Currently missing Starbucks real whip cream and Reese's peanut butter cups. Oh well. He's worth it! Hopefully the GI doc has some answers or ideas. I'm sure they'll want to do some diagnostic testing or bloodwork. Gah...more pain and uncomfortableness for my sweet little boy.

Nervous about how things will go next week with me working 4 days in a row...bathtime/bedtime routines can be tricky when only one parent is home!

Austin is becoming quite the repeater with words. It's cute to hear him repeat stuff! :) Currently loving stickers, Little Einsteins DVD and Curious George. Love him so much!

Mason is also cooing more and smiling more when he is awake and happy. The reflux doesn't seem to be keeping him from gaining weight...he's getting some cute chubby cheeks! :) Love him!!

Can't believe it's already Friday again. Only one more week of maternity leave. :(

Plans to go see my cousin, her husband, their twin boys and new baby girl tomorrow at my Aunt & Uncles house! Yay! This is the cousin who has twins 6 days older than Austin and a new baby girl almost 4 weeks younger than Mason. Should be great fun! :) They live south of Bloomington and will be at their parents for the weekend which is just under 2 hours from us so they planned a family get together so everyone could meet the newest baby...Lillian. :)

In other news...I am so happy I passed my boards!! :) So nice not having to study everyday!!

Milk free diet is going ok. Having some frustrating moments when I crave something that I can't have but I know it's worth it and it's short term in the grand scheme of things. Mason's symptoms are slowly improving. :)

Milk Allergy in Infants

Milk Allergy in Infants

Good link to information in an easy to read format. :)

Busy, busy week so I decided not to blog til today! Didn't really have a lot going on...just the usual 20 million outfit and diaper changes a day. Learning how to do most everything one handed since Mason is quite the fussy boy.

Mason is 2 months old now! His appointment was today and he is 11lbs 9oz (50th%), 21.75in long (12th%) and his head is 15in (12th%). Sooo...he's longer and weighs more than Austin did at his 2mt but I think his head is smaller. Will have to look it up. I think that contributes to him still looking more like a newborn than a infant.

Lots of stuff covered at this appointment....

For starters: we will be adjusting his milestones due to his somewhat early arrival. I didn't think 3 weeks would matter but she said that it would. Already have evidence of that since he just started smiling this past weekend and hasn't done it everyday yet. He started some cooing earlier this week and that has increased in the last day or so. :) She does think he will roll over early since he is so hypertonic (tight muscles for non medical peeps) due to always splinting/guarding himself against the pain of reflux.

She did increase his Zantac dose since he gained a bit more weight so that should help. He was increased to 0.8ml twice a day at the 6 week weight check and she increased him to 1.2ml twice a day today. Recheck in a month to see if the dosage is still working.

I've got a feeling we will be seeing the insides of doctors offices a lot in the coming months...

So onto the milk protein allergy issue. His stool was tested on Monday for blood. It was negative. With a (undiagnosed/untreated) milk protein allergy the blood in stool may not show up until the baby is a few months old due to the chronic inflammation. So it wasn't unreasonable that his was negative. Based on his many, many symptoms that matched the milk protein allergy she went ahead and diagnosed him with it. He should start to get better in 2-6 weeks. Takes a while for the milk protein to leave my system and his. I had already started the new diet this past weekend but was not completely aware of what all I need to avoid. I know have the ingredient list of what I can't have so I feel more confident. Whey and casein are milk protein derivatives....they are in everything it seems like! Had to throw out my "dairy free" coffee creamer yesterday because it has sodium caseinate in it. If he is not much improved in 6 weeks we will do bloodwork. I'm sure I'll keep ya updated. Random factoid of the week...Oreo's are "safe" for me to eat! haha :)

Also this allergy is completely different than lactose intolerance. Lactose intolerance is actually rare in babies....while milk protein allergy is uncommon in adults. There is a good chance Mason will grow out of this as his intestine matures! We will do a "milk challenge" test around 9 months of age. Could take up to 5 years (or more) to outgrow the allergy. Doctor said most outgrow it around 1-3 years of age.

Next on the issue agenda: his penis. My poor lil guy has penoscrotal webbing. Not sure how much detail or if I've even talked about this on the blog. It isn't dinner table conversation and I don't want to gross anyone out. His isn't terribly noticeable...actually wasn't caught until they were prepping him for his circumcision. So no circumsion for him until he sees a pediatric urologist to determine the course of action. We see the pediatric urologist on November 30th. He comes once a month from Riley Children's Hospital to the Lutheran Pediatric Outpaitent clinic to see kids and do consults and followups. So we will see him on his November visit to Ft Wayne. He didn't want to see Mason til he was 4-6 mts of age. If he needs surgery and then circumcision it will be done at Riley when he is older than 6 mts. Do yourself a favor and don't google it! It comes up with a bunch of adult men with the disorder and the extreme versions of the webbing. His is minor.

I think that's all I wanted to blog about with regards to his appointment. Other than his few medical issues she is very happy with his weight and his development thus far. :)

Austin is 20 months old now! Getting closer to 2! He is quickly growing out of 18mt shirts but most shorts still fit...even have several pairs of 18mt pants from spring that fit. Must have a long torso I guess! He is continuing to learn new words and loves this new movie series we got him. Little Einsteins...there are 4 "episodes" on one dvd. The one we got is about a rocket ship that saves the day in each episode. It's a good distraction if I need for him to stay quiet! He is starting to attempt to repeat what we say. :) This morning Andy and him were saying "clock" back and forth. He has a small desktop type clock on the shelf above his changing table so he sees it often.

Mason had his first time away from Andy or I yesterday morning. I had to renew my CPR so my mom watched both boys for me! :) They did great she said. :) I wasn't gone too long since I had done most of it online including the test...just had to go do the skills checkoff portion of it.

Mason seems to be getting a little better with his fussiness...it's still a daily thing but doesn't seem as extreme most days. Finally! Reflux is still there...we average 2-3 outfits on a good day. Still waiting for the lil stinker to smile! He halfway smiled in the bathtub the other night so it must be coming soon!

11 days til I take my exam...getting pretty stressed and anxious.

I meant to post yesterday...wanted to do a "Weekly Wednesday Check-In"...(stealing the idea from another blog haha!)

Anyways...this has been a long week. Mason's reflux is acting up and he's back to being fussy and not wanting to sleep much. Poor guy...just when I think we are seeing an improvement, we have a backslide. He started the day at 4am today! This momma is tired!

Other than his fussiness he has started to coo and make a couple other noises a couple times a day. :) He is also enjoying his playmat more and LOVES nature noises...he likes the nature noise option on his playmat so much that I downloaded a nature noise app on my iphone. :) Helps a ton during the fussy times! Really hoping he will smile soon. He's come close but nothing yet. Worries me a tad since Austin started smiling at 5 weeks. But they are all different. He loves his bath and loves to be held! :)

Austin is learning new words almost daily now!! :) This week he has added: "pee" and  "read" so far. He also says "pa" now when stealing Masons pacifier to give to him or us....or to run away from us with it. He says "pee" when hes wet and grabs himself. Haha! Getting closer to potty training time I guess! Also says "neigh" for horse...did I mention that already in a different post? Hard to keep track. Still loves to be outside and is glad that he can go outside more since its starting to stay cooler longer in the morning.

We are getting into a better routine and I'm starting to be much less stressed about handling it all now.

Taking my NCC exam on the 27th. Took a practice test last night and got a 84% ...feel like I'm getting more prepared now. Been very consistent on studying lately. Fear of failure is a huge motivator haha!

Looking forward to the much cooler weather today through Sunday. :)

Mason had a weight check today since he is on Zantac. He is 9lbs 11oz now! That is some crazy weight gain!! So, of course, his dose needed increasing. He won't go back now til his 2mt appt which is on the 24th.

Fairly confident he doesn't have a milk protein allergy now. Most of the symptoms he had that I thought were related seem to be diminishing now. His diaper rash is improving slowly...we are now going to do cortisone twice a day for two weeks with hopes that it will get rid of it for good. She thinks he must just have fairly acidic poop! He seems happier the last few days. Enjoying the playmat a bit more...likes the nature sounds on it but not the music...must be overstimulated easily!

Austin is doing much better with the whole adjustment. Less and less tantrums each week. :) :)

HR finally finalized all my salary, bonuses, & contract! Still waiting on credentialing approval but I think it'll all work out. Have to submit 3 more things and should know for sure by the end of the month. I am signing a two year contract...they don't have a one year option. If another hospital that I'm interested in ends up interviewing and hiring me before my 2 years are finished then we will have to pay back the money (not all...it would be pro-rated). Figured I might as well just sign on so I can get the retention bonus. Hard to tell the future! They do theirs very nicely....half with the first paycheck and the other half at the one year mark!

We are going to be preparing Andy's car to sell by next month so he can get a newer one and we are going to be starting some home improvement projects to get this place ready to sell!  Lots to look forward to. :)

Happy (belated) one month to Mason Andrew! :)

Mason is starting to be more alert now and is falling into some sort of a routine/schedule. He was 8lbs 5oz on Friday. We go back for a quick weight check August 2nd to see if his Zantac dose needs increasing (she thinks it will by then). For the last week he has been sleeping from 11pm to 3:30 or 4am! Very nice. :) He is fairly fussy in the late evening (6-9ish pm)...which can be a bit tiring. Really starting to like his baths which we've been doing every other night. I find that he does calm down easier on those nights so I think we'll start trying to do them every night like Austin. Makes for more work obviously but oh well!

Austin got his first "big boy" haircut today...we went to Great Clips and they cut off all the curls and really made the rest of it short. The girl was extremely fast and did a great job! He was pretty nervous and started crying a few times. I think he is used to his Aunt Cassie. :)

I've finally got all my fees paid and the rest of my paperwork submitted for credentialing & privileges for work. Long process. The peeps that decide everything meet again on Monday (they meet once a month). Hopefully all my stuff is approved the first time around. There is a possibility that I wont have to do the on call hours....or at least not right away. That would be fabulous! I'll know about that next month. They also still havent finished deciding my salary & benefits....that makes me a bit frustrated. Hopefully its all finished soon.

19mts & 3wks

Hard to believe we have a 19 month old and a 3 week old now! Life is BUSY! :) But we love every minute of it! :)

Austin is learning about one or two new words a week. He's recently added "door", "bye dogs", and "whale". He is getting taller and some 18mt shirts are getting short....more incentive to go shopping haha! He brings me his shoes several times a day to go outside...unfortunately, lately I've had to say no, its too hot. We did let him go outside last night right before his bath since its wasnt terrible out but he still came in sweaty! Needs a haircut and we are trying to decide how short we want to go.

Mason is still refluxing alllll the time. He does have his good days where its not as frequent. I took him back to the dr yesterday to see if his Zantac dose needed increasing or if there was something else we could do or try in addition to the other reflux precautions we were doing. He weighs 7lbs 14oz now! So he's gaining just fine with the reflux. She didn't increase his dose, she wants me to try to only do one side per feeding and see if volume restricting him a lil bit will help. He, of course, wanted to eat more frequently last evening but the reflux did seem a little less. We'll see. We go back Friday to see if his weight is affected at all by the new plan.

My to do list is very slow to get things crossed off lately. Work has already started emailing me about my about the rest of my nnp paperwork and orientation. Realllly need to start studying more for boards. Pray that I can find time to fit it all in!

Weight recheck showed Mason to be 7lbs still. Dang it! I'm glad he didn't lose but wished he would have gained. We are starting Zantac tonight and have another weight check Monday morning. The reflux/spitting up has not gotten any better as the week has gone by. Was hoping it would.

Pictures this morning for his birth announcement turned out well...she must have been somewhat slow in her office since we were able to go pick up the disc this afternoon. :)

Austin had his first act of meanness towards Mason. He slapped him on the forehead this morning while we were packing up to go to the Pedi & our picture appt. Both babies cried. :( Not sure what provoked him to hit his brother. The rest of the day he's been giving him kisses...lets hope that continues!

Mason had his NICU follow up appt with Dr. Camille today. She said he looks great! :) His weight was 7lbs even ...she thinks that he is just peeing out all the IV fluids he had while in the hospital. But to be safe we are going for a weight recheck on Friday. He did grow in length though...hes now 19.75in long which puts him in the 20th%! His weight is currently in the 10th% as well as his head circumference. He's a tiny guy. She didn't see a need to have us supplement with formula since he is peeing with every feeding and pooping with most feedings.

She looked over his penis and decided that she agrees with the other pedi that was on call this past weekend. He will have to see a urologist if we want a circumsion. She will make the referral for it at his 2 mt appt. The pediatric urologist is in Indy at Riley Childrens Hospital. She said he will want to evaluate him around 4mts of age and then if we proceed with wanting him to have it done it will be performed sometime between 6mts to a year of age. Guess we have some time to think about it. It is an outpatient surgery but would require him to go under general anesthesia.

Mason is also still spitting up with every feeding no matter how much you pace him or burp him. Dr. Camille said we could start Zantac after Fridays appt if he is still doing it so frequently or we could wait it out and see if it gets better by his 2mt appt. Austin was on Zantac for a looooong time so we may be heading down that road with Mason as well. He doesn't seem to be in pain from it (like Austin was) but he does gag right before some of times...to warn us I guess!

Austin continues to be a great big brother! :) He now says "brother"! :) It is fairly clear but doesn't sound exactly like how we would say it.

Decided not to put the NICU notes on here since they were all on facebook for everyone to read. :) I'll just jump in with regular updates!

We are HOME now...as a family of FOUR (or six if you count the dogs)!!!!!!!!!! :)

Austin seems to like Mason...he likes to put his pacifier near or on him, likes to attempt to put his hat on him and points/touches his hair, nose, toes and eyes. :)

We will be seeing Dr. Camille sometime next week...have to call Monday to make the appt. and we will be seeing a urologist soon I imagine. We are also going to be getting his Legacy Portraits done Monday I hope. Legacy Protraits is something offered (for a fee) at the hospitals around here. They also have their own company to do other baby photo shoots and family pics as well. Since Mason was a NICU baby we have up to 2 weeks after he gets home to come back in and get his newborn birth announcement pic done. So be watching your mailbox!

Mason's Birth Story--the highlights:
~2 pm Stronger contractions started at home on Friday June 22 (had been having them off & on for a week)
~4:30pm Decided it was real and we should head to the hospital soon.
~6:30pm arrived to the ER & was taken to L&D triage
~6:40pm assessed and placed on the monitor...dilated to 1.5cm 50% or more effaced...contractions every 9 minutes
~7pm walked around the L&D and postpartum unit to see if any change would be made after an hour
~8:15pm assessed and determined to be 2-3cm and 75% effaced...OB said that was great progress and decided he better admit me to a room
~8:30pm admitted to our L&D room!
~8:30pm-midnight...IV placed, frequent checks, slow progress somewhat... Mason's head was not laying fully on my cervix so they couldnt break my water or start my epidural...this is when we start to realize that Mason is in charge & we can't do much about it!!
~Midnight...Mason decides he is ready for action and is found to be in the correct position...nurse breaks my water....during a contraction (not on purpose)...very painful because of that!
~Epidural shortly after that...goes in just fine...but then my blood pressure got extremely low and I am given an emergency drug to keep me from passing out
~Midnight to 6am progressed from 3cm to 5cm and 80% effaced ...slow progress...contractions every 1-3 minutes!
~7am my OB (who was on call) comes in to say goodbye and that he is bummed he wont be able to deliver Mason...assures us that Dr. Haley is great and we will like him
~7:30am 6cm & 100% effaced...nurse recommends alternating from side to side every 30 minutes to attempt faster dilation and his head to move down
~8:30am...feel tons of pressure...ask the nurse to recheck me...found to be 10cm and his head is right there! I seriously asked her "Are you sure?" haha...took all night to get to 6cm and then I go from 6cm to 10cm in an hour so of course I didnt believe her!!
~8:45 start practice pushes with the nurse...we do 3 rounds of pushing with contractions and she says "stop...time for Dr. Haley"
~2 more rounds of pushing with contractions and Mason is out!! 9:13 am! :) He weighed 7lbs 2oz and is 19.25in long! Was doing fine right after birth but within 5 minutes developed all the breathing issues that lead him to the NICU.

Stayed tuned for NICU notes. :)

Stayed tuned for Mason's birth story and NICU updates.

Austin had his 18 month appt today with the Pedi. :) He did pretty well considering he's starting to remember that the nurse does the shots! Luckily he only needed one and he's now done with vaccines until he's 5! YAY!

He is 26lbs 14oz (65th%), 30.75in long (10th%) and his head is 19 5/8in (95th%). Growing, growing, growing! :)

He loves Dr. Camille! He immediately started pointing out his body parts to her like a good boy. She said he is a smartie ...he started waving bye-bye near the end of our conversation and she said that is great because he is able to tell by listening when a convo is about over. :) Proud mamma! She said to hold off on toilet training (I'm not in a rush anyways) until he is able to tell us he pooped. Gave us a handout on a good way to start the process and what to expect for when the time is right. He doesn't go back to see her again until he's 2! Crazy! Of course, he'll still see her everytime we bring Mason in. :)

Still having contractions off and on but nothing regular (work was a little more difficult to handle than usual)...maybe I'll go into labor tomorrow and Mason & I will share a birthday?! Gotta go downtown and get fingerprinted & get my background check done for the state for NP stuff. Its neverending with the crap that I need to do and new things keep popping up it feels like!! Got my "approval to test" letter from the NCC so I can schedule my test between now and Sept 20th it said. Still planning to take it in August. Got a call from Helen deVos Childrens hospital in Grand Rapids, MI but Andy doesnt really want me to take the interview since he doesnt want to move to Michigan ...or at least not there. Its 3 hours away. I think the only city he would move to in MI is Ann Arbor since he's a huge U of M fan. :)

36 week appt today. Lost a pound from my appt 2 weeks ago. Maon's heart rate was normal but I forgot to ask...bad momma! Measuring on time. Got my GBS test done. Dr. L checked me and I'm 1.5cm dilated and 50% or more effaced/thinned out he said. So a tiny bit more progression since Thursday night when I was in L&D triage. He said to expect Mason to be born around the same time as Austin or earlier since that is typically how it goes with subequent pregnancies. Based on my continued contractions off & on he guessed later this week/weekend he may make his arrival. Still had me schedule an appt for one week though just in case!

The back pain has been horrible!!! By the end of the day I can hardly walk without shooting pain. I have a bad feeling that this labor is going to be more painful than with Austin but we'll see. Dr. L said its likely from lifting Austin so much but he didn't know for sure. Contractions have been anywhere from 8 to 18 minutes apart when I do have them. Still not regular and I wonder if they will be...they never got timeable/regular with Austin til they broke my water.

Scheduled to work tomorrow night and Saturday night. Austin has his pedi appt Wednesday and my birthday is Thursday. Eventful week but we would be more than happy to add me going into labor to the mix!

Happy 18 months to Austin Jacob!! :)

He is growing and changing so much each week it feels like! We go to the Pedi on Wednesday for his 18mt appt.

Some new stuff:
~10 teeth total...5 on top and 5 on bottom :)
~says "go" & "go away" in addition to the other words he's been saying
~correctly points to: belly, nose, ear & hair (learned them in that order)
~blows kisses about 50% of the time that he's asked to...would much rather wave!
~says "moo" when asked what a cow says or if pointing to a cow
~correctly points to cow, bath tub, dog & computer in his "100 words" book
~does pretty good brushing his teeth given his age! :)

Still loves to be outside, take a bath and throw the ball for the dogs. He eats pretty much whatever you put on his highchair tray. Current favorites: blueberries, ham, cheese, green beans & hard boiled eggs.

We hope/think he is ready for Mason's arrival. :) He says "baby" whenever he sees someone smaller than him...that's a good sign right?! :)

Experienced a trip to L&D triage this evening. I started contracting and feeling more pressure than usual around 12:30pm this afternoon. By 3:15 I had a strong urge to pee with every contraction. Andy came home a little early from work and we were at the hospital around 4:50pm. They checked us in...took me upstairs and put me in a triage room.

The nurse sent my urine down to see if I had a UTI since those cause contractions and uterine irritability. Monitors were strapped to my belly to monitor Mason's heart rate and my contractions. His heart rate was good and he was moving. Monitor showed contractions. She then tells me...oh your OB was just here delivering a baby but now Dr. G is on call. Boo!! I know from a friend that she is minimal on interventions and would likely not do much.

No UTI which is great. Nurse checked me after they got the urine results back and I am 1 cm, 40% effaced and Mason's head is at -3 station. So progress...and contractions. She spoke with the OB in the hospital (Dupont does OB Stat..meaning there is always an OB in house) and she didnt even come in to talk to me or anything. grrr! That is some bad bedside manner in my opinion! She just told the nurse to send me home. Makes me mad since I still feel the same and I'm still having contractions! Why not just admit me and watch for another hour or two and see if I dilate anymore?! Now I don't know when to go back in!! Guess I'll see if the contractions continue through the night & go from there. I really don't want to go to work tomorrow night now!!