The Phillips Phamily

I'm Baaaaaaaaaaack!

2009-12-12T18:53:00.004-06:00

A big THANK YOU to my sis in law Rachel for once again keeping the blog going when I can't. She did great and it was so fun to read all the comments and stuff when we got home. Little Quinn (and his whole family) are surrounded by some pretty amazing friends! Thank you!

We came home Thursday afternoon and have been settling in ever since. I am still very sore, but reminding myself that these sorts of things just take time. My parents are here saving the day by playing with Kanyon and keeping things going at the house. Kory is of course tons of help to me and Kanyon. Being the wild man that Kanyon is, we don't get too close to each other, he doesn't know that my stomach just got cut open and OUCH! He's doing great though and still not paying much attention to the little blanket wrapped burrito that just stole his mommy. Quinn is doing what newbies do and doing them all well. Eating (when we can keep him awake), sleeping, and pooping. I'm pretty sure his beautiful skin tone = jaundice, but we'll find out Monday. Hopefully it won't be.

The name thing was kinda funny. We had it narrowed down to 3 names going into the day. None of them were Quinn. We had 2 of Kory's favs and my favorite. We pretty quickly ruled out one, that we both agreed didn't fit the baby boy we just had. We thought we'd just pick one of the two favorites...ya know...battle it out! We couldn't. It just didn't feel right having one of us "give in". We had given ourselves a goal of naming him by bedtime Tuesday. At 11 pm we were getting nowhere. Then Kory said, "Well, what about some of the other names we liked, like Quinn" At that exact second a commentator came on ESPN with the last name Quinn! We both thought it sounded good and that it fit him, but we were too nervous to make the call that night. So we slept on it and the next morning we made the final call. It was funny when we called our parents and brothers to tell them because they were expecting one of 2 names and we threw them a curve ball with a name we hadn't mentioned in months! Its not a family name, we just liked it. Spencer (for those of you who don't know) is my maiden name (and Jayde's middle name too). So, there you have it. Quinn Spencer Phillips.

I thought I'd post a few pics off of our camera and ones from the last couple of days.

The weigh in:

This is the bundle they brought and held up to my face.

Not sure what they were doing here, I'll have to ask Kory.

When they finally let me out of the bed we enjoyed nice romantic walks down the hall. SHEESH I was sore! One of Kanyon's NICU nurses (actually Intermediate Care nurses) works part time at this hospital and she took care of Quinn and got to see Kanyon. That was kinda fun.

klp giving qsp a good night kiss.

Mommy giving her big boy a good night kiss

We're HOME!

Uncle Clint brought this outfit to the hospital...he made a special trip to the store once he knew it was a boy. We had to wear it home despite its hugeness. And it was really cold, so we bundled him up with blankets. (Paige....do you and Parker recognize the blue sports blanket!!??)

He already looks so different from this picture!

Happy big brother!

He' VERY LOUD!

Here's the little bundle Thursday night. Its fun to watch him change these first few days home.

Classic dad pose.

oh MAN I love a swaddled baby!

Thanks again for your prayers leading up to this event and for sharing in our joy! We are beyond thankful.

A few more pictures

2009-12-09T16:45:00.002-06:00

This was right after they brought him to the nursery.
Nanny Lou checking out her new great-grandson

Kanyon seeing his baby brother for the first time

I think he was more excited about seeing his mom for the first time.

See how excited he is about being a big brother? Actually, I just wanted you to see his cute shirt.

First time to see him without the glass between them.

Gay Gay's first time to hold him.

and here's Pawpaw's first time to hold him.
Think they're proud?

I realized after I left the hospital that I never once saw his eyeballs. He was one sleepy boy.

Beautiful mommy

Don't you just want to kiss those cheeks?!

One more sweet shot of big brother

I'm sure Jaymie will have many more to post when she gets home from the hospital, but this should tide you over until then.

He Has a Name!

2009-12-09T09:38:00.005-06:00

Please welcome....

Quinn Spencer Phillips

Isn't he precious?

Now that I'm home from Longview, I can post more than one picture at a time, so I'll post more later today. But Jaymie just called me with the name, so I wanted to go ahead and let everyone know. I love it!

First Family Photo

2009-12-08T12:49:00.000-06:00

Still no name, but I do have a family picture to share. Kanyon was so
excited to meet his baby brother.

Kanyon has a new baby.......

2009-12-08T09:25:00.000-06:00

Brother!

His brother doesn't have a name yet, but he is precious and healthy.
7 lb. 8 oz.
21 inches long

What's going through my mind

2009-12-02T13:50:00.003-06:00

Here I am at 36 1/2 weeks. Belly is for sure lower. I think it got tired and just decided to drop! :) As you can see, the face swelling is setting in. I hate that, but oh well, that was what we wanted, right?!

We are scheduled to have a baby in LESS THAN A WEEK!!! So, Lord Willing, this time next week I'll be in the hospital holding our new baby. It goes without saying that this pregnancy and hopefully the birth have been and will be a totally different experience from my first pregnancy. I have so many things running through my mind as we get closer and closer to the birth. This could get long, so feel free to skip it. Here is a little peek into my racing mind:

I can't remember what it feels like to NOT be feeling a baby kicking and moving around in my belly. I think I'll miss it.

I don't even like thinking about the C-section. I'm scared to death. It seems silly, even to me considering what I went through when the twins were born. That was nothing short of terrifying and horrible physically and emotionally, but it was one of those times where the craziness of it all makes you push through it. This (hopefully) will be boring and that means I'll have lots of time to think about what they are about to do/doing. Scary. Kinda ready for that part to be over.

I still don't feel miserable and I'm sleeping pretty good (other than the million potty breaks)

My crocs have saved my life. Kory bought them for me when I was carrying the twins. My back had started hurting and since I was teaching and on my feet all day, he thought they would feel good. Didn't get to wear them long. This time I wish I would've thought about them sooner. They would've been really helpful while we were in Dallas in the hospital. Our house almost all hard floors, so I wear them in the house and they have SAVED my back.

I don't know what I'll do if this baby cries. Kanyon NEVER cried. yikes.

I feel like a first time mom in LOTS of ways. I feel like I've never done this before because of how different things were with Kanyon.

I love bassinets and can't wait for our baby to be sleeping in one.

I am exciting about having something to swaddle!

I'm not expecting this transition to be too rough for Kanyon. I'm thinking his cluelessness will work in our favor and he'll just bee bop along.

What if I'm wrong??!!

I have conflicting emotions about taking the baby before I go into labor. On the one hand, 38 weeks is a DREAM!!! AWESOME!! On the other hand, there is something in me that wants to carry it like 42 just to make sure its ready. My delivery with Kanyon puts me at high risk for rupture, so I have no choice but to take it at 38 weeks but its just kinda a funny feeling.

I moved all of Kanyon's stuff to his new room (he will keep sleeping in the nursery until all our company is gone since his room is also our guest room.) It was kinda sad, but I didn't have much time to think. Since I've waited so long, I just have to get it done!

I still feel like its a boy. So much that when I think about it being a girl, I feel like I'm pretending.

I only imagine a dark headed baby. I was the same way with the twins, but you'd think I would at least acknowledge the fact that It COULD be blond since Kanyon is, but for some reason, I still picture a dark headed baby.

A blond girl would be the surprise of the century!!

I could care less what color hair it is or if its a boy or girl...just gimme a big ol' screamin' baby!

I am disappointed about one aspect of the delivery. I just realized that I won't get to see every one's reaction when its born and they find out what it is. I'm guessing Kory will walk out and tell them...I'll be on the table. I'm contemplating making everyone wait so I can see the reaction. That is half the fun....letting everyone else find out too! I don't want to miss it!

How long will it take us to name him if its a boy?

How is it that so many part of your body are affected with pregnancy. Like what do leg cramps have to do with having a baby. Or freckles on my tummy. Or loosing my brain. I don't get it.

I realized the other day that I will be feeding SOMEONE at least every 2 hours. If not every hour. Kanyon eats every 2 hours for 30 min. when he's awake. A nursing new born eats....well a lot, so chances are at any given time in the day I'll be feeding a child.

How will I not lift Kanyon for 6 weeks.

Boy or girl, the baby will be named after someone on my side of the family.

Most people think its a girl.

When I bring the bouncy seat down from the attic, I'm curious to see what klp does. Will he be so happy or will he be "sooooooo over it"??

Do I even need to say that I hope this baby is a good eater.

Why am I blogging when I have so much to do?

I am washing some of klp's newborn clothes and his preemie clothes are in the same box. They are ALL tiny.

I bought some newborn Pampers swaddlers to have ready. I forgot how good they smell. And sheesh, those things are tiny too!

All of Kanyon's clothes have stains from his medicine he was on when he came home.

Will this baby end up with Kanyon's laid back personality?? Kanyon is SOOOO good at entertaining himself and playing and going with the flow. I have come to really depend and appreciate that AND be really spoiled by it. I'm really hoping this one will be the same way.

I'm starting to get really excited about the relationship Kanyon and baby will have with each other. Siblings are about the best thing in the world and that has been one of the things that has been so painful about losing Jayde. Kanyon lost his twin sister. The one that was supposed to be with him all the time. Not that this baby will replace that, but I'm excited for Kanyon to finally get to experience life outside the womb with a sibling.

Will they ever sleep at the same time?

I'm determined to not focus on sleep. I think that is when it stressed/stresses me out. If I don't dwell on it and count hours I'm getting or not getting, I don't seem to be as bothered by it. But when I think about it, its worse. I've been tired before, it will be OK.

Remind me I said that in about 2-3 weeks.

What will Santa bring baby?

I think having a difficult experience, loosing a newborn, or having a sick one gives you a little different perspective from that point on. Not that all people aren't thankful for their healthy pregnancies and newborns, but I think those of us who have experienced the worst have a certain emotion of thankfulness that could only come from knowing the alternatives to a healthy one. With that being said, we are so very thankful to have reached the "full term" mark this week. While prematurity is no longer a worry for us, we know too well that a lot of things can still happen. Not that we have a lack of trust in GOD or don't believe that he is totally capable of blessing us with a healthy baby, but we know a lot can happen and we will pray and continue to pray for a perfectly healthy baby. I don't think any of us ever STOP praying for our children to be healthy.

On that note, its easy to think "Surely things will go good for us, look at what we've been through. We've already paid our dues. We HAVE to have it easy this time." That kinda makes sense, but we know that life doesn't always work out that way. I don't want to sound negative, but these are just reality thoughts.

We are FULLY looking forward to the joy of a healthy delivery and a healthy baby and we are thankful for all the prayers that our friends and family have offered up for us to get us this far and know that they will continue to pray for us as we count down the days!

I'll probably get wheeled out in a wheelchair to leave the hospital, huh? Never did that last time.

I'll be in a different hospital, so it really will be TOTALLY different. I'm kinda sad because I would probably know all the nurses if we were at Good Shepherd again. Oh well. I'll meet new nurses.

Am I gonna get ridiculously engorged again? I really really really really really really really really hope not.

I just realized today that I have no sort of baby book. Wonder if I need one? Never did get klp and jsp's done. That was on my list of things to do before this baby was born. Never did.
Even though this baby won't have preemie lungs or an immature immune system I think I'll still be paranoid of germs. Seriously, me the person who for the last 2 years has had to watche every single surface and be aware of every germ and not take my baby out for 2 winters, is having a baby in DECEMBER!!!!!! So, I'll probably be nervous about snotty noses and germs because even healthy newborns don't need to get sick!

I can't wait to feel what it feels like to hear my baby cry when its born and immediately hold it!!!

I could go on and on. I've done this post throughout the day as I thought of things. I'd better post it and end it or I'll just keep thinking of things.

Thanksgiving Weekend

2009-12-01T08:00:00.001-06:00

He's turning into a man. His favorite place in the house is the recliner and he LOVES to use the remote control!

THANKSGIVING! This was a unique year for us, but it was great. It was "my" turn for Thanksgiving and my whole family was in Paris with my mom's side of the family. I couldn't travel that far, so we were stuck here in Longview. BUT so was my dad's mom because all of her kids were with their spouse's families. So instead of traveling with one of her kids, Nanny offered to have a special Thanksgiving with just us. It was GREAT, low key, and fun to spend time with Nanny and just us.

That meant Kory was the man of the house and had to carve the turkey. Nanny gave him a sheet with directions.

She'd never carved one either but she looked on and helped. Kory did a great job on his first turkey!

In the mean time, Kanyon was manning the stairs NON STOP. He's actually doing better at climbing them. Its funny...again, we encourage him to do all of the things his other little cousins get in trouble for.

"I gotta go HOW HIGH?"

First thing the next morning, he had Nanny on the stairs with him. He needs just a little bit of help and enjoys the company.

Not sure where his pants are, but he also liked to come down the stairs on his rear end.

We went on a couple of walks since the weather was so nice.

We came home Thursday night in time for me to get my LAST shot from Mindi!!!! She's been a great shot giver but after 20 somethin' weeks I'm glad our date with this giant needle is over!

Saturday we went out to the Christmas Tree Farm with some of my cousins to cut down our tree. I'm not ready to put it up yet (I just can't get excited about keeping Kanyon out of it for such a long time) but we wanted to make sure we got to cut one down, so its in our garage in water for now.

klp watching closely as KLP cuts it down

and of course taking his turn too!

Phillips Pham with Christmas tree

We ended the weekend with fun things like riding around in the laundry basket

And eating off Daddy's plate. You'd think this kid was a PIG...he is ANNOYING when we eat because he wants our food so bad (he really doesn't though) and loves to dip forks and spoons in and take bites. To prevent gagging and throwing up, we only let him when the plates are empty. The face he's making is SOOOO HIM. When he's concentrating, that's the look we see.

Pic of the Day

2009-11-30T09:27:00.003-06:00

FYI: The can is empty. Remember this is the kid that doesn't eat or drink, but he DOES like to try to be like Daddy. That's what was going on here. It cracked us up that he knew exactly what to do with it.

What Kanyon's been up to

2009-11-20T14:58:00.004-06:00

Here are a few things Kanyon has been up to lately:

Gagging himself on his Slinky Dog tail
LOVING this little place in our living room. He goes over there and surrounds himself with toys and is SO happy!

Bundling up to play outside

Asking his mommy "Why the hood??"

Reading Sports Illustrated with Daddy (notice the diaper hanging out of his pants. It is IMPOSSIBLE to keep his pants up)

Making it really hard for mom to get a picture because he does THIS every time he hears the beep of my camera!

Watching a little TV while taking a ride on his Po-Knee

Ridin' double with cousin Caden on the Po-Knee

Getting in a rumble with the laundry basket

He's a busy boy having lots of fun and keeping his mommy busy. Have a great weekend!

Videos of NEW things!

2009-11-14T10:10:00.000-06:00

Over the last couple of days, I've gotten some footage of some of Kanyon's new things. These are all things that we've been working on for MONTHS and a few of them are starting to come together. This little guy works SO hard to do EVERYTHING. We are beyond proud of each little accomplishment. Please ignore my annoying prompts to him.

We'd been waiting on a seat for his gait trainer so that we could let him stand in it without us holding him up. His PT brought the seat the other day and we were curious to see what he would do without us holding him up (to keep him from falling since there used to not be a seat). We put him in and HE TOOK OFF!! I'm not kidding! Celia (his PT) and I looked at each other and laughed! I grabbed my camera for the next few trips up and down the hallway, but of course he didn't quite perform. He was getting very distracted, but he still did good. We have lots to work on with his walking, but this is a great place to start.

Crawling has been on our brains for a LONG TIME. We have worked and worked and worked on crawling. Well, I think that we can finally say he CAN crawl. It may not be perfect and he of course DOES NOT prefer it over scooting, but he can do it if we make him. So, you will see a little bit of that. You will also see that when we tell him to crawl, he can get into position and go by himself. For the longest time, he'd just put his hands down and couldn't get his hips up. Just in the last couple of days, he's been able to do it himself. You will see that too. You will also see him not try very hard, roll over and play cute trying to get out of it. Then he finally does it and I'm backed in a corner at a bad angle so you can't see it well, but oh well!

Pretty much all the things you get on to your kids for doing, we TRY to get Kanyon to do. Like climb. When we take the cushion off of a chair in our room, he can get into it ALL BY HIMSELF! Of course we've practiced and practiced so its nice to see it happen! I did this in 2 clips because the first part is of him getting up from sitting (a whole accomplishment in itself) and then he spends quite a while trying to get the rest of the way up, so I didn't make you watch him struggle forever.

He is so pleased once he gets up there. And the first thing he does EVERY SINGLE time is shut the closet door (it won't stay closed...the hinge is messed up). Not sure why he gets all emotional after he closes it. I'm telling you...closed doors hurt his feelings. Any time a door is closed he cries. Even if he closes it himself apparently.

And here is the finale of the chair videos. Getting down from anything has also been something we've been working on. He, of course, prefers a nose dive, but we've had to get him to do the whole lay down, roll over, and slide down backwards thing. I think we've drilled it into his head. He does it on his own now. He also doesn't like to bend his right leg (thanks to all the scooting) so it takes him a while to decide to bend the leg and sit down to finish it out. YEAH!

This is NOTHING we've worked on, but its pretty funny. He loves to pull the top tray off of his high chair. It usually ends up on the ground. Since bending over isn't on my list of things I LOVE to do at this point, what goes on the floor usually stays on the floor. I heard a strange noise and looked in the living room and he was sliding on the top of the tray all over the house! He LOVED it. He would scoot all over the place on his "sled". Here he is spinning in the kitchen on it. It was loads of fun!

Baby Day!!

2009-11-10T08:39:00.002-06:00

We have a date scheduled for baby to be born............................DECEMBER 8!!!!!
gulp. holy cow. That is less than a month away!!! I will be 38 weeks that day and my Dr. doesn't want me to carry it any longer because my risks are higher for complications because of the kind of C-section I had with Kanyon. SOOOOOOOO hopefully December 8 will be the day! I feel like I can't call it Birthday until it actually is born on that day, so until then, we await BABY DAY!!

Am I ready? Ummmmmmm define ready. Physically, I feel great. About a month ago I finally completely lost all nausea so I've actually felt better the last 4-6 weeks than I've felt the whole time. My belly is big, but I'm not uncomfortable. I'm still sleeping pretty good (excpet for when bit brother Kanyon decides to pull his wake up in the middle of the night stunts). If there ever was a "cute" phase of pregnancy for me, its FOR SURE over. Now I'm just big. But hey, that was my goal! I also just started to think about stretch marks. Never thought of that last time. Hope I don't get 'em.

To-Do list wise, I'm NOT ready. I have seriously done NOTHING to get ready for this baby. Some of that is that I've been busy, but some of that is me just not getting started on it yet. We don't have a ton to do since we aren't re-doing any rooms or anything. We will move klp into our guest room that is already cowboy themed. We won't do that until January probably because we'll have company til then and that is our only guest room. The baby will be in our room for a while so klp can still sleep in the nursery. We have 2 beds so one will go with klp and the other will stay for the baby. We will just put whatever bedding on the bed that we need when we see if its a boy or a girl! I basically just have to clean/de-junk/rearrange closets and that's it. Yeah, no biggie right?!!

Another thing I'm NOT ready for is the actual birth part. I'm very nervous about the C-section and the fact that (hopefully) I'll just walk in and then have a baby. The needles make me nervous, the surgery makes me nervous. I know I've done it before, but last time was more like a scene from a medical drama where everyone is going crazy so there was no time for nerves, I had to do what I had to do. That almost made it easier because I didn't think about anything.
I know people do it all the time, but STILL! I AM looking forward to only recovering from ONE type of delivery this time. That should be nice.

As my friend Stacey said are YOU ready? Meaning am I ready for this thing to be in my arms. YES! I don't know if its been the unique stress of this pregnancy, the busy-ness of the last couple of months, or the fact that we have a baby here with us and that keeps us so busy that we don't always stop to think about the new one, but in the last week I've started getting SOOO excited about it actually being here with us. My arms are just so ready to hold it. Our house is ready for a new addition and our ears are ready for new sounds (even if they're loud and screamy)! I'm very excited!

Is Kanyon ready? He has NO. CLUE.

Do we have names ready? NO! If its a girl, we think we could decide pretty quickly. We have 2 we both really like we just have to make the final call. If its a boy, there will be a stand off in the hospital. We CAN NOT agree. We both have names we really like they just aren't the same ones. So, I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

I have taken my last FFN and had our last ultrasound. I'm 34 weeks today! I have 3 more shots left to take and then I will be a normal patient! We are so very thankful for every single day. I remember when I got pregnant saying, "If we can just make it to November!" And here we are 10 days into it and still going strong! As we shift our thoughts to BABY DAY we are praying for a (medically speaking) dull, routine, boring day. Of course for us the day will be anything but routine as we will be meeting our next little one to love.

DECEMBER 8 HERE WE COME!!!!!!!

catching up in PICTURES

2009-11-06T10:35:00.003-06:00

After my last post, I will try to use as few words as possible in this one. I will say that we've had 2 great days of eating in a row and we're off to a pretty good start today too! YEAH!! So, I've felt great....I'm back to that place where my moods are TOTALLY dependant on how klp eats. Oh well that will balance out too and I'll figure out how to be in a good mood even when he eats bad!

Rach sent me her Yamboree pics and this one was too cute not to post. Avery and Roselyn like to try to feel my baby move. Sweet girls.

Ummmm so, maybe I let klp get a little sun burnt at the Yamboree. We were in a great spot for the parade, so I wasn't worried. BUT the corny dog line was another story. We waited forever and no matter how I tried to shade him, that one side was always in the sun. He was fine though, and he and Landry enjoyed a nice ride on Paw Paw's belly.

We are back in the swing of thing at Windridge (our hippo therapy place). Kanyon is riding a new horse named Candy and doing well. It is about a 25 min. drive out there and our time is 9:15 so those mornings are a little tough on the boy who doesn't do mornings, but once we get out there and he gets to ride, he's feelin' good!

Cool dude in his Halloween pj's

Speaking of Halloween, here we are. I tossed around a few ideas and the night before Halloween, landed on a mummy. I did a horrible job on his costume, but I had no motivation. He turned out to be a pretty cute little mummy.

Here he is at Trunk or Treat with Addison the Tooth Fairy.

He reached for Eric's glasses and wanted to put them on. He was one cool mummy.

Our small group's trunk was Camping theme. We set up tents and stuff and then the guys roasted marshmallows so we could hand out s'mores. Yummy! It was really fun!

It didn't take long for klp to decide he wanted in on the roasting action.

Doodle and I put our heads together for the mummy thing so klp and Caden were mummies. We went over to Ty and Janelle's after trunk or treat to meet up with our mummy cousin. They love each other!

serious mummies

mummies and daddies

Kanyon was all ready for church Sunday morning and melted my heart looking like a grown up. This was his first time to ever have his shirt tucked in! He was so very handsome.

Have a great weekend!

This is WAY TOO LONG and there isn't even a picture

2009-11-03T19:04:00.003-06:00

Well well well I have pictures to post and feel the need to "update" so we'll see how this goes.
If you don't want to read about feeding, then click on over to the next blog.

The biggest thing is just our new routine here at home with feeding. It has been WAAAAAAAY harder than I expected getting back and implementing everything here at home. It is a LOT of work. It occured to me about half way through feeding camp when Kory said, "Do you feel like your life is about to get way harder?" I knew the answer was YES, but I had no idea. Part of the initial adjustment was simply getting the food made. He eats all pureed foods, but not baby food. So, real food, just blended in the Magic Bullet. Yes, its nasty. They sent me home with a packet of "recipes" but most are canned and kinda processed. I would like to be a little healthier and have more fresh food, so I'm finding the balance with that. The first 2 weeks home I felt like I literally LIVED in my kitchen I was either cooking, steaming, chopping, blending, or dividing portions to store. I was just waiting for my Magic Bullet to burn out on me, but she's still a churnin'! I feel like this part has gotten more manageable. I've figured out the portions better so I'm not wasting as much and I'm able to use some of our meals to blend as well as just getting faster at getting it ready and multi-tasking at the stove! It is sometimes hard to think of stuff to feed him (I find that to be the hardest part of cooking for anyone....THINKING OF WHAT TO DO!) but I'm getting better and this part is getting easier. I have some things in my freezer and I've found some store bought things that are easy to blend and don't require my cooking them.

All meals are supposed to have 2 foods offered and water in his sippy cup. I feed him breakfast which can be yogurt and fruit or stuff like biscuits, pancakes, waffles, or blended oatmeal usually I give him fruit with any breakfast. He hates breakfast no matter what I serve. Lunch is a food food and then some sort of veggie or fruit again. Snack is the only one food thing and it can be pudding, or anything else that is snacky. Supper is food food again like lunch. We still do 2 bottles a day on top of the food. One after lunch and one at bed time. It is amazing how easy the bottle seems now. There are so many times that I'd rather just forget the feeding food and give him a bottle because its so much easier. Who would've ever though that!!!?? Mornings are the WORST, he's just not interested at all. He never has been a morning eater. Those were always his worst bottles and really, in general, the kid is not a morning person.

By the time we left feeding camp, Kory and I had both been trained on the protocol and how to follow it for his feeding times. Its pretty specific and made to be the same thing every time...same words, same reinforcement/rewards, same expectations every time. We have to set a timer each time so each meal lasts 25 minutes. The basic idea of the philosophy is to reward good behavior with good things. Those good things can be toys that he likes to play with or anything that is fun to him (turning off lights, opening the window, etc.) but if he doesn't eat, he can't have those things. That is a very basic explanation and there is a lot more to it than that, but I already write too much, so I'd better not go into any more detail. If you wanna know more, I"ll tell ya more, just ask.

Along with the actual feeding comes the nutrition part. We are still followed by our nutritionist there so we have to weigh every gram that he eats and every milliliter that he drinks. I have to record this and send it to her every week for her to make sure his intake is good. We also have stuff that we measure out and add to his food to boost the calories...ya know, more bang for your buck! This is rather annoying as it only ADDS to the time it takes to prepare, heat, weigh, serve, re-weigh, and clean up, but I'm glad we do this so we can make sure he's getting what he needs. I don't think we'll have to do this long term, but for the time being we will have to keep it up. I'm glad to have them keeping up with this! I don't have to worry "Is he getting enough".

So, how's he doing with his eating???? That has been the big question I get. Ummmmmm I'd say he's doing OK. While we were there, he was a total ROCK STAR! He went the whole time with little to no resistance to anything they did. So, I was only really worried about coming home and MY part of getting the food made, the schedule, what we would do if I had to feed him somewhere besides home (we do have to carry on normal life at some point)....etc. I expected klp to continue on the same path he was on there at the clinic. I'd say he did that the first week and then we started a little downward slide. Its not like he's NOT eating ANYTHING, but he's refusing it way more and I'm finding it harder and harder to motivate him to want to take his bites. I've talked to his therapists and they said its pretty normal for kids to honeymoon and then decide to test the new place (home) or just take time to readjust to eating somewhere besides at the clinic. There, the setting is ideal. Tiny room, no distractions, all kinds of toys and reinforcements at your fingertips, etc. Home is good, but not THAT good! SOOOOOOO this has been quite a source of frustration to me. I feel like I'm feeding him every time I turn around and I'm back to getting a sick pit every time I think about feeding him. I dread every single meal every single day. It brings back feelings like when his bottle feeding was so bad. BUT this is not NEAR as bad, I just can't let myself get frustrated. Feeding is THE most frustrating thing, but I really do have to remind myself that we are in such a better place than we were a year ago. And the whole taking it one day at a time trick. It seems to fix everything, but its so HARD TO DO! I am hoping and praying that he will settle back into eating easier and it will be a less tense time in our house. The good thing is that he's done pretty well when we have to be on the go. If we're at a restaurant or someone else's house or whatever, he's managed to still eat. We don't follow the strict routine, but we are able to have a successful meal. I am really happy with that because I was worried about that when we came home. I mean its almost impossible to be AT home for EVERY single feeding every single day.

Though all things eating seem to consume my day, we're also trying to get back in the swing of things with his therapy and other things that are a part of our days and weeks. I'm feeling like I can't get it all done in a day as far as his scheduled therapy and the things I need to do with him at home. BUT we're getting back in the swing of things and each day and each week will get easier. It makes doing ANYTHING else, especially outside our house really difficult (not just fun stuff, but just ANYTHING like grocery store, post office....) but we're getting better. He's started back up at Windridge with his Hippo therapy and is loving it. We are getting a new OT all set up to come to the house, so that will start next week. I try not to think about WHEN and HOW I'll fit another 2 hours of therapy into our week. PT is still coming to the house in addition to hippo therapy and we are working more and more on standing, kneeling, taking steps, climbing, etc.

AND while I'm being Debbie Downer I'll add this. Another huge frustration coming home was his sleeping. He was waking up EVERY SINGLE night. Sometimes twice, sometimes for 2 hours at a time. Most of his naps were interrupted too! Most of it I think had to do with his tummy. We have a hard time keeping all of his G.I. issues balanced out. I didn't know what to do! His tummy hurt, so I felt like leaving him to cry was wrong. BUT we've had more and more full nights of sleep, so I think we're back on track there.

AND we're not only learning about life with a kid who eats food (even if it is blended) we are learning about life with a kid who has an opinion. We're seeing more and more "fits" when things aren't just right. He's finally figured out what he wants, but gets frustrated when he can't communicate it to us or physically do it himself. We are trying to find the happy medium with him and helping him communicate (which is tricky with his development, etc.) but also teaching him that things aren't gonna always go his way. So on the one hand, we're just like any other parent of a 2 year old. But on the other hand, we have a few more question marks when it comes to this sort of thing. We are confident that he can understand A LOT so we know he is capable of learning how to communicate and how to handle his anger/frustrations. Let the parenting begin. How can I complain, we've had the most laid back easy going kid for 2 1/2 years. He's still pretty darn good if I do say so myself. I figure its time he start giving me a run for my money. I just kinda think it was interesting timing with all the other stress going on!! :)

I've been home 2 1/2 weeks and I'm SOOOOO glad to be here. Each day is a day closer to finding our little groove. Kory has been SOOO helpful in keeping me from going totally crazy. Its been a long while since I've been pushed and stretched and STRESSED this much. I keep reminding myself that it will not last forever, it is just a season and it WILL get better. Not to mention, I've been in such worse places that some days I just tell myself to suck it up and get a better attitude! :)

Now that you've read this you will know why i have done NOTHING for the arrival of this baby I'm carrying. Nothing. We'll get to it eventually. Baby is great. 33 weeks today!

I will not post another word because this was crazy talk. and TOO MUCH OF IT!

Spitting like Daddy

2009-10-29T22:03:00.003-05:00

The Phillips Phamily has never claimed to have the best manners, so you may or may not be surprised to see this video. I posted a video quite a while back of Kory spitting and Kanyon laughing SOOOOO hard. It has continued to be a source of side splitting laughter for Kanyon so of course, we keep doing it. (plus, sometimes we REALLY need him to smile at the camera!) This video was taken the very first evening we were home from Eating Camp and KLP and klp were doing their spitting/laughing thing. Then we realized after KLP would spit, klp would try to do it too!! So I ran and grabbed my camera. Again, a little trick he taught himself. Are you seeing a pattern here, almost all of the "tricks" he's mastered are ones he's taught himself. Who needs mommy, right? I missed the best spits, but managed to get one before my memory card filled up. If it happens again, hopefully I can get a better video. Enjoy! p.s. Halloween is Saturday and we STILL don't know what Kanyon is going to be!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yamboree!

2009-10-24T18:50:00.004-05:00

We've been home for a little over a week now and I just can't get my feet on the ground. I am SLIGHTLY (by slightly I mean MAJORLY) overwhelmed as we try to settle into things. It doesn't help that klp has YET to sleep through the night (well, the first night he did....for 12 hours!) and we can't figure out why. BUT all of that is another post for another day. For now I will share pics of our great weekend in Gilmer for the Yamboree.

I managed to remember to dump my camera so my memory card would be empty and ready for pics, but didn't notice my battery was dead til we got there. So these are all Mo's pics and maybe Rachel will send me hers later.

Landry and Nolan waiting with great anticipation for the parade to begin!

The two big girls. They turned 3 yesterday. Seriously? 3??!! They are at such a fun age for everything at the Yamboree, they loved it! And no, we didn't tell them to pose like this. They just did the exact same thing.

Part of our crew on the curb and part standing up on the grass. Do you like how my giant belly makes my stripes look like an optical illusion?? Nice.

We were at the end of the parade route so there were a few times that there were some gaps in the floats. Landry was totally bored waiting for the next one to turn the corner!

Here we are with our crew (klp, landry, nolan, avery, roselyn) and Norah and Caden too!

These signs are all over town on different businesses. So very festive.

I will just say that klp LOVES his cousins. Its so fun to watch him. He gets so excited...he squeals and laughs so much! Here he is laughing at Avery.

Almost the whole group......

Ahhhh NOLAN!!!! YEAH! And you can see Avery decide that she wants to hold HER baby sister since Ro is holding Nolan.

Landry says I'M NOT A BABY!!!!!!!!!!

These two are particularly big buddies right now. Landry is SOOO sweet. Wherever Kanyon goes, she goes. She loves to rub his head and follow him everywhere. Here she is about to get a kiss from klp.

Mom with all her little chicks.

Back and my grandparents' house after a nap. I LOVE this picture. 1. the look on his face is SO him. 2. he is missing a sock on the other foot. always. 3. his mouth is covered in food! Haha! 4. This tractor has been around since we were little. Its been ridden many many miles. Kan was content to just sit on it. Which is probably good because I'm not sure it works anymore.

Not sure what Kory was doing, but it was VERY funny!

Back on the tractor after church Sunday. Now you know the truth about why he loves the tractor....the steering wheel spins! Yep. that's all he cared about. He would spin and lick!

I realize all these pictures are of the little ones. We had a great time with our WHOLE family and everyone except 1 cousin and 1uncle were there. The weather was perfect and we had a great weekend!

Eating Camp- THE END

2009-10-19T11:11:00.002-05:00

We made it home from Dallas Thursday afternoon just in time to grab lunch with Kory on our way into town. We got home and hit the ground running with a busy weekend at my Grandma's for the Yamboree. Now I'm trying to get settled and get my feet under me. I have a lot of adjustments to make to our daily doings here, so it may take me a while to figure it all out. So far so good with the eating thing at home. This weekend was probably a bad time to evaluate that since we were on the go and all over the place. Considering the circumstances, we did pretty good. Here are our last pics of Eating Camp '09

NO MORE BRACELETS! I had to wear the orange one, he had to wear his ID one. NO MORE!

All loaded up and ready for the ride home.

The last night we were there, the only way we could keep this boy occupied and happy was to take a bath. He had LOTS of fun splashing. So much fun that my mom had to hide behind the shower curtain to keep from getting soaked.

Kasey came by to see us one last time! Its the end of an era for us and Kase since we won't be going back to Dallas weekly anymore.

This was his last dinner. He finished both foods. Not without getting it all over him though!

I'm so happy to be home! I have said it several times over the last few weeks, but we really have the best friends! They constantly sent cards, goodies, gift cards, and magazines, etc. When I got home Thursday my house was SO CLEAN. I was so happy! I was so proud of Kory for doing that for me since he knows it makes me feel so good to come home to a clean house. As I was walking through the house and unloading I noticed that the house was REALLY clean. Like cleaner than I would think Kory might do. No offense to him, but ya know. So I started to think maybe he hired someone to clean it. When he got home from work I thanked him for the clean house (I didn't want to accuse him right away of hiring someone) and he quickly confessed that it wasn't him. Or a hired gal. It was my dear dear friends Amy and Mindi. They had come over one evening and cleaned my whole house. Like mopped, dusted, bathrooms, the WORKS!! How great is that??!!!! Thanks girls!

Eating Camp Day 23 1/2

2009-10-14T10:55:00.002-05:00

The Kan Man is set to go home TOMORROW!!! We are THRILLED with this and all of us are VERY READY. He is now bored, fussy, bossy, and DONE with this place. He is doing great in his meals and his drinking is on a slow, but steady climb up. We're trying just 4 meals a day instead of 5 (more on this later) so we'll see how his calorie count is with just 4.

The last 3 nights he has slept ALL NIGHT and I've had to wake him up in the morning to get him ready. I guess he's finally settling in to sleeping here. Nice timing.

One thing that has kept him happy (which has been pretty hard these days, especially since its been rainy and he hasn't been able to walk outside with mom) are these stickers. Our awesome friend Holly (mommy of Kan's lady Addison) sent these window gel sticker things to decorate your window to look like a pumpkin. klp doesn't take too much interest in making it look like a pumpkin, but he LOVES sticking these on the window.

THE BIG 3-0!!!!!! We made it to our BIG goal of 30 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I went to the Dr. here yesterday and everything looked great. Baby measured perfect and healthy and about 3 1/2lbs! My cervix got an A+ again, its is perfect!! All these things show that we should make it to our next BIG goal of 32 weeks. So very very very thankful. And large as you will see in the pic below!

I am carrying this baby much like I did the twins. High and pointy! :) My belly button is now flat and I think I'm about the size I was when I delivered Kanyon and Jayde, but I'm anxious to look at my chart when I go back to my Dr.

I'll update tomorrow or sometime when we get home. I'm going to have A LOT of adjusting to do. In many MANY ways, this whole eating thing is going to make my life much harder and will require a lot of my time, but we'll figure it out.

Maybe the most exciting thing is that we are making it back just in time for the EAST TEXAS YAMBOREE!!! We will get to be with lots of family and enjoy all of the festivities of the YAM in Gilmer!! YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eating Camp Weekend Update

2009-10-11T22:15:00.002-05:00

Hopefully this will be our last weekend update!! My mom left on Thursday and Kory got here Thursday night. We wanted him to be here on Friday so that he could watch the therapists feed Kanyon and see how it works. WEEEELLLLLLLLL it didn't quite go that way. He felt TERRIBLE Friday. He woke up feeling bad and something just wasn't right. He was puney all day so we didn't do any meals, we just had a few bottles. He started feeling better on Saturday and we tried to eat a couple of times and he did OK, but not great. He finally got back to his normal self today, so that was nice. We think that maybe a new medicine we tried upset his stomach. It was FOR his stomach (well, his poopie situation) but we're thinking we won't try that one again.

The good thing was that his speech therapist was actually here feeding Saturday morning (usually its a tech which is fine, they're good, but I wanted him to see his actual therapists that feed him and work with him every day), so Kory got to watch her and then Kory fed him several times over the weekend. The therapists or feeding techs are in the room helping or answering questions while the feeding is going on, so its nice to have them there, but it makes me nervous. Kory did great and I'm glad he got to be here to watch, learn, and ask questions. Its kind of a nerve racking process having someone in there watching your every move and every word that comes out of your mouth. Its not that the routine/protocol is that difficult, its just that its set up to be done EXACTLY the same way every time. That means you have to say exactly the right thing and do exactly the right thing and it can be overwhelming to try and keep it all straight during a feeding.

I started feeding klp Thursday where I thought I wouldn't start until Monday. SOOOO I'm thinking maybe that can cut a day or two off our stay...maybe MAYBE!! We'll see. As of now, the plan is to go home Thursday. It was much easier saying bye to Kory tonight when I know we're so close to being home.

We are ready for week 4!

Eating Camp Day 16

2009-10-07T21:36:00.004-05:00

Hello from Eating Camp! Things are moving right along. We have a few new things:

We dropped another bottle. We are now down to 2 a day. One a nap time one at bed time. They dropped it because he didn't need all those calories, but he does need the fluids, so I'm having to make sure and give him water/juice a few times a day to make up for the 8 oz. we lost with that bottle. We're supposed to do about 10 oz. a day outside of meals. This is fine, the trick is they don't want it to be too demanding for him to have to take that. They want to keep the demand and the "hard stuff" for his meal times. So, they don't want to struggle with bottles all day trying to get the fluids. Today I gave him just 2 oz. 5 times a day and that seemed to be ok. He will usually take that much without much difficulty so I don't feel like we're asking him to do too much. They just don't want him to be "working" in and out of meals and if I can keep up with it like I need to and remember to do it, the 2 oz. at a time should work fine.

He has gained 2 lbs. since we've been here!!

He is eating great, very little refusals, and his volume is good. The drinking is coming along. He is doing a good job opening his mouth and accepting it, he just has to get used to something coming out. He kind of bites at it and almost looks like a little bottle calf. Its kinda funny. He's learning and today's intake sheet showed that he took more like 20-30 mls each meal. Before today, he'd have at least 1 or 2 meals where he only took 10-15. We're getting there. That will just be a slow boat. BUT the biggest thing is he's not refusing it, so I'm thrilled about that. As these meal drinking numbers go up, we'll have to do less and less outside of meals.

I am now sitting in the room while they feed him. Probably Monday I will start feeding him while the watch and help me and that is the beginning of the end!

Speaking of the end, as of right now, our plan is to leave here and head home next Thursday!!! So that means we will be here about 4 weeks instead of 6!!! YIPPEEEEE!!! I guess there is a chance it could be sooner. I have already been trained on most of the protocol, so if I don't need 3 days worth of help from them then maybe we can cut another day off or something. We'll see. Another week doesn't sound bad.....unless its night time. Last night at 2 am with a restless non sleeping uncomfortable floppy squirmy 2 year old, a growing belly, a tiny bed, and way too bright lights out our window another week seemed like a LOOOOOOOOOONG time!!

Kory is actually coming Thursday after work to be here Friday so that he can watch and learn how this routine works. I don't want to be the only one that knows how to feed him and I don't really want to be the one to teach Kory. So he'll get to be here and watch the pros do it and have an extra long weekend here with us!!

My mom headed home today to get ready to go to my cousin's wedding in Florida. We were sad to see her leave! She will come back next Tuesday unless we go home sooner than Thursday. I have lots of reasons to be sad that she is gone and so does Kanyon, but I think Kanyon's biggest reason is because she will miss this:

klp loves to be outside and so they just walk 'round and 'round the outside of the hospital. I could do that with him, but I try to only go a lap or 2 at a time so as not to "over do it" so he's glad to have mom go much longer. She counts the laps and brought her pedometer back with her this week so she could count the miles she walks. She's getting exercise, he's happy outside. Its just perfect!

I usually walk the first lap with them, then head inside. They stop by the window every now and then to wave to me. Kanyon will be sad tomorrow when we can't do this. It sure does help the time pass when he gets restless inside.

Yesterday when I put him down for his nap, he was already asleep in my lap. This is how he stuck when I put him in his bed!!! So cute! He didn't stay like that long, but I did have time to snap a pic!

This was a long one...sorry! I am heading to bed in hopes of only waking up to roll my belly over!! I will be on my own here tomorrow so we're praying for a day of Kanyon's contentment playing and not forcing mommy to work too hard!! I think we can do it!

Eating Camp Weekend Update

2009-10-04T21:49:00.004-05:00

We had a good weekend. Kory made it here Saturday afternoon and we had a great time. Kanyon ate and drank pretty good this weekend (last weekend he didn't do as good) with the different people feeding him. I am hoping to touch base with the director by Tuesday at least to see about progress and going home. I think at the very longest we'll be here 2 more weeks.

I'll let the pictures give you a little peek into our weekend.

klp and KLP sharing a little beef jerky

Not to be irreverent, but sometimes we go play in the chapel. It has doors so he has room to roam but can't get away, no one is ever in there, klp likes the stained glass...... it's just a good place to play. It also has carpet which, as we all know, can cause klp to loose his britches.

I included this one because they have the same look on their face.

Phillips Pham self photo

As you've seen, Kory did a lot of carrying Kanyon around on his shoulders. I took a lot of pictures because I just think its so cute.

Not sure if this was klp overwhelmed with love for his daddy or if he was taking a rest, but either way it was pretty sweet.

Maybe a new favorite pic of my klp

Oh yeah, the chapel also has a piano too. Pretty fun.

This weekend update includes NO trips to the hospital. I'm feeling good. Here is my belly at 28 weeks and 5 days. I'm growing, but still don't think I'm as big as I was with the twins.

I had Kory bring us a couple of new toys from home and we sent a couple back with him that had lost their charm. klp was SOOOOOOOO happy to see Slinky Dog. By "see" I mean lick and spin.

YEAH FOR SLINKY DOG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (and one sock...that seems to be all we can keep on these days)

Thanks for keeping up with us. We realize that we have an incredible support system and we DO NOT take that for granted. We are so very thankful. Our church as a whole, small groups, ladies class, etc. have kept a steady flow of treats, snacks, and time passers this whole 2 weeks. Friends are keeping Kory fed while I'm gone, comments and prayers from ALL OVER, calls, emails, etc. have been non stop. I know that most people don't have the kind of encouragement and support we have and I wish they did. This place is full of people doing this alone. Thank you for making sure the Phillips Pham is NEVER alone!!!

Eating Camp Day 11

2009-10-02T21:59:00.002-05:00

Not much new to report today. Everything with eating and therapy is about the same. Kory has to work Sat. morning, so he'll be here in the afternoon. My mom/life saver is still here and will leave sometime tomorrow when Kory gets here.

As I type this belly is visibly wobbling all over the place. I am SOOO happy that baby is still in there. Speaking of, I'm in my 3rd trimester. I'm a first time 3rd trimester-er!!

This picture below shows a couple of things we've had fun with lately. For weeks I've been trying to get klp to stick his tongue out.....I know that will eventually be something he gets in trouble for, but I want him to learn new sounds, so I've been trying to get him to find his tongue. Well, he found it today. He sticks it out and wiggles it around. He can't quite find it on command, but when he remembers its there, he has a good ol' time with it.

The other thing is his "computer". He always wants to play with the lap top, so we found a toy in the play room that is computer-ish. Its actually a McDonald's cash register, but don't tell him that. He LOVES it!!

Cliff and Jacey Kerby and Deon came by this afternoon/evening to visit us and bring us yummy Mexican food from one of their fav places. The food was great and the company was EVEN BETTER. Thanks y'all!!!

I realize I look like I'm bending over like I'm in pain in this picture. Not sure why. I feel fine, I just don't know how to stand up and smile I guess.

Happy Weekend!

Eating Camp Day 9

2009-09-30T21:06:00.002-05:00

This post will be mostly pictures (as requested by a lonely Daddy at home), but I have a few small updates, then we'll get to the pics.

They have changed the drinking thing again! They have no decided to try to slowly do a sippy cup with no stopper and just let it drip into his mouth as long as he tolerates it and work our way up to sucking, etc. He seems to at least accept the cup without jumping back and trying to get away from it. We'll see. That will be the main WORK of this week and then we'll see how we go from there.

His eating volume is great. We'd be ready to drop another bottle from the calorie perspective, but we still need it for the fluids until he gets better at drinking.

Possibly the best news of the day is that we will NOT be here 6 weeks. It will probably be more like 4. I'll know more about it after this week of working on the sippy cup and we'll meet again early next week and make a plan for going home sometime in that 4th week probably. YESSSSSSS!!!

A bit of info I forgot to include in my Dr. appointment info is that when they did the ultrasound the measurements showed it to be approx. 2 lb. 10 oz!!!!!! Without even thinking I said, "thats huge!" when he told me that weight. I am excited about that. Keep growing little one!!

Ok...thats it for boring words.

klp wanted to type daddy an email. He ended up freezing the computer.

When we play on the bed I'll say, "Let's go night night" and he lays down and laughs! He thinks its so funny.

He wanted a taste of my Gushers. Can you tell he's a little gun shy but HAD to take a lick. Note:he will lick ANYTHING he just won't eat it.

Reluctantly sharing with mommy

yummy gushers!

Of course its fun when my mom is here. She brought this fun bath toy from her house and it was lots of fun.

One thing that has NOT been hard since we've been here is getting this boy to sleep. I usually have to keep him awake to finish his bottle before his nap and before bed. He's SOOO worn out.

Speaking of worn out, he's sleeping peacefully in his bed. He's slept pretty good the last few nights. Made it til 5 am in his bed then sleeps with me the last couple of hours. I can handle that!

Eating Camp Day 8

2009-09-29T21:53:00.002-05:00

Today was a better day. They have made another change in his drinking. He wasn't taking to the cup like they'd hoped he would so they decided to do something different. For right now, they're giving him milk or some "drink" with a spoon during his meals. In the mean time, they are going to go BACK to the Honey Bear but not have anything in it and work just on getting him to open his mouth and let the straw go in. Then we'll work our way up from there. I think this is a good move because now he can get more food. His volume was way up today because he wasn't wasting his time with the drinking trouble. They just want to be careful not to add any more aversion to drinking than he already has so they are backing up and going slow. I will meet with the team tomorrow to hopefully get an overall update on goals/plans/progress. 2 kids left today and both of them were only here 4 weeks. What if we only have to stay 4 weeks???!!!!! I'm not going to get my hopes up, but that would be so great.

I saw my Dr. today and everything went really good. He did a detailed ultrasound and the baby looked great and my cervix looked GREAT. Sorry I talk so much about my cervix on here. Its kind of a big deal right now. In fact, everything looked so good that he said he didn't think he needed to see me again for a month. I said, "ummm that makes me really nervous!" So he laughed and said that i can come back in 2 weeks. I am going to bed tonight feeling very good about things. We hit 28 weeks today, the baby is currently kicking like a crazy monster, and I got the all clear from the doc!! Thank you for your prayers...keep em comin!

Eating Camp Day 7

2009-09-28T22:08:00.002-05:00

I guess today you could say may have been Kanyon's first "off" day since we've been here. He was fussy for PT and didn't eat good at several of his meals. I think the main problem is that he doesn't like the drinking part and since they alternate bites and drinks, if he has a stand off with the drink then he's not eating as much......if that makes any sense. Not sure why he is not into drinking, but we really need him to pick that up. Its going to be hard to get much further with his food volume if he is spending so much time with the drinking. They do 3 bites, then a round of drinks (5 sips), 3 bites, a round of drinks, etc. for 25 min. I think he's spending a lot of time with the drinking so he's not getting as much food as he could. He's actually doing well with the bites as far as not refusing and stuff.

His runny nose stuff is gone and he isn't coughing anymore. He's taken a good nap and other than banging around on the bed rails every time he rolls over in his bed he's sleeping pretty good. That didn't even wake him up til about 6am. The rest of the night he would sleep right through it.

My mom is here and that has been nice. Not only do I have the much needed and appreciated help, but I have company too!

I'm headed to my Dr. here in Dallas tomorrow. Hopefully all will be well.

Eating Camp Weekend Update

2009-09-27T21:36:00.002-05:00

We had nice weekend with Kory here and were sad for him to leave this evening. He helped me get the room all regrouped and klp ready for bed and then hit the road. Kory stayed the night here at the hopsital with Kanyon Friday night and I went to Paul and Katie's house. It was a marvelous night of sleep for me and I think pretty much the opposite for Kory. klp was coughing some and I think that kept them both up. He's pretty much over that now and last night he slept cough free. Saturday we had and extra bit of fun when Kanyon's buddy from church Parker and his parents Steven and Amanda (and even his aunt that we didn't even know) came by to visit us. The brought Kanyon a tow truck that he is LOVING!! We are blessed with great friends who even though its only been a week will take the time to come visit us!
Thanks for coming by! We also got to see Cliff and Maggie this evening and LOVED that. She came all the way from California to see kanyon.....well, maybe not JUST to see Kanyon, but we loved seeing them.
Here is klp with Parker just before Parker left to go to his first Ranger game!

klp got to show KLP how cool his window was. KLP got to share some new songs on the ipod with klp!

As for therapy and such, they still stayed on the feeding schedule over the weekend, but we had no PT or OT. We will crank that back up tomorrow.

In other news, we did have a little bit of drama this weekend. I started having some back pain Saturday afternoon and was a little worried about it. When I was pregnant with the twins, I had back pain the night before I ended up in the hospital and that could've been the beginnings of labor, so I was a little nervous. We decided I should go get checked out, so we called in the troops. PAUL AND KATIE!! Paul came and stayed here with Kory so that if Kory needed to leave he could. It was getting close to Kanyon's bed time and I just wanted Kory there with him. Katie went with me to the hospital. We are literally one block away so it was a quick trip. If something was wrong, Kory was close and could get there fast. They monitored contractions and I didn't have any and was ready to go home and then a few started showing up on the computer (I felt nothing) so they gave me a shot of some medication to relax my uterus. I never had any more contractions and they even think the ones that I did have could've been irritation from other things they were doing to me. They did an FFN test (predicts if labor will start within 2 weeks) and it was negative, so that is good. I feel like I don't trust that, but they say its 99.9% accurate. They checked my cervix and it was good, so that was all good. They said I was having some tightening which was irritability probably from over doing it/not enough water, etc. By the time I left I felt pretty good about everything being OK. I just question myself and hope I will be able to know if something is wrong if something does go wrong. After all of that, Katie and I got to her house at 3am!! She was the best to be there with me for so long. I was glad I went and feel good that everything got checked out and OF COURSE SO thankful that I didn't have a baby last night. I'm nervous of course and probably will be but am praying for peace through the next few weeks. As far as bed rest, that isn't necessary yet. They said I can do "normal" activity just to put my feet up and take it easy when I can. They felt like it was OK for me to stay here at Eating camp especially if I had someone here to help me. So, my mom is going to come and spend most of the week and we'll just take it from there. I have an appointment with the high risk Dr. Tues. morning (or earlier if he wants to see me sooner) so I will be anxious to talk with him. In a lot of ways, being here may be better than being at home because there are times of the day that Kanyon isn't with me and I can just lay down and put my feet up. So, I feel good with my mom coming to help play with him and entertain him when he's not in therapy and I can make SURE I'm not over doing it. So, there we go. I am praying for peace of mind as well as the wisdom to know my body and know when/if I do need to go see a Dr. All things point to everything being fine, so I have to go with that and do everything I can to be healthy for this baby. Your prayers mean the world to us.

We're geared up and ready for Week 2!