Winter: We Can't Be Too Careful

Elliot got out of the hospital New Year's Eve and we tried to salvage what we could of our holidays. It took Elliot another week to get back his appetite and stop having diarrhea. Like I said before it is a nasty virus.

The whole family took new diligence in keeping our homes a "germ free" zone. We cleaned for days and wiped down every surface. We also started a strict regimen of hand sanitizer and hand washing. Our family goes to all this trouble because none of us can bare to see Elliot sick again. We also started another winter of partial seclusion. It is hard to keep E completely inside. he loves to go out. So when we go out we take precautions. he has a floppy seat for highchairs and shopping carts. After wiping everything down thoroughly we put the floppy seat over the highchair or shopping cart. This way Elliot doesn't come in contact with anyone else's germs. Drastic you ask? Are we paranoid?

NO! Not at all and if you are the parent of a preemie you cannot be too careful either!

In spite of our best efforts E came down with another virus this week. We don't know where it came from for sure. We think it might have been Grandpa who came down sick the day after E's Sunday dinner visit with Grandma and Grandpa. Nobody felt sick that day or thought E was in any danger. But the next day Grandpa was sick with a different intestinal virus! Two days later Elliot started throwing up again. This time we went right to the after hours clinic and saw his regular team of pediatricians. It turned out he had a massive ear infection and got a big does of antibiotics in the form of a shot. Poor Baby! The only reason we still think he got it from Grandpa is that he also experienced some pressure in his ears as part of his symptoms. Who knows for sure?

We have learned that even if we do all that is possible to stop the spread of germs in our family and protect E he will still get some germs and in reality germs are good so his immune system can start to build up and protect him. But Preemies are different. Some germs are very bad for their tiny bodies. So I offer a few suggestions that might help protect your tiny bundle through the winter. This is not an exhaustive list and maybe you can add a few of your own. So here goes:

• Wash your hands and use antibacterial hand sanitizers.
• Keep your house clean - especially the bathrooms and kitchen and places your baby plays and crawls.
• Get all necessary vaccinations - flu, rota virus, RSV etc.
• Carry your own stroller or a floppy seat to cover public seats for your baby.
  
• Wash the Floppy Seat often.
• Don't let anyone who is sick be around your baby. If they are family or for some other reason you cannot help being in the same room ask the sick person to wear a mask.
• Keep sick family members confined to one room and practice hand washing in and out of the room. (This is what the hospital does!)
• Use a sign on your carrier and stroller that says "Wash you hands before touching mine!"

Milestones of Marvelous Matters!

Elliot is now 18 months old! He is also about 15 pounds - still so tiny for his age - but he has a big spirit! We marvel at all he has been through and how well he is doing in spite of all that has happened to him. He is learning sign language from a video series called "Baby Signing Times" the link is on my website. He knows mama, daddy, grandpa, dog, fish, eat, please, more, cracker, milk, and all done.

He started crawling at about 15 months! Now the fun begins!! He has learned to cruise the furniture and to walk holding our hands. Just about Christmas time before he got sick he learned to climb up the stairs - oh boy!

He still struggles with eating and cannot each anything with more texture than stage 2 baby food. The one exception is graham crackers...he loves his graham crackers!!! In February he will see a specialist to help him to start eating real foods. We are looking forward to that and hopeful that he will progress in this area. We'll keep you posted.

So that is what is new with us...what is new with you??? Post your baby's milestones here.

Things I Will Always Remember...

As I think about the new year I cannot help but look back. Even though it has been more than a year since Elliot was in the NICU these time of reflection always take me back there. I am glad I hope I will always remember -

The NICU can be described in one word "Rollercoaster!" And it is one wild ride. One moment your baby is wonderful and everything is right with the world and the next moment you are holding your breath out of shear terror at something completely unexpected.

We are told that our NICU experience was somewhat mild. I believe that...but I also know it was a wild ride nevertheless. Elliot was born 10 weeks premature weighing in at 1 lb. 12 oz. He was severely IUGR. The cord, his lifeline, was faulty and he was not getting what he needed to grow. This defect was discovered at 25 weeks and the doctors opted to keep him in, because they said, in was better than out even with a faulty cord. So we waited and watched. And when the cord was about to give out altogether Elliot was born by C-section on June 9, 2005.

The first time I saw him, 8 hours after he was born, he looked like this. As his grandmother it was all I could do to keep my face calm and my voice even. My daughter was watching my every move, searching me for any sign of fear. My first thought was "How can anything so tiny possible survive?" But the words that came out of my mouth were reassuring and calming as if someone else had said them. I am convinced now that it was not me speaking but the Spirit telling my daughter and son-in-law that their baby would be ok. I had an over whelming sense of peace that day. It was a peace I would need over the next 10 weeks to help my daughter cope with the NICU.

Over the next 10 weeks we watched his every move. How much he breathed, how much he ate, how much he weighed. All of those things went up and down and up and down. It is hard to recall all the things that happened in the NICU but there are some things I will never forget. I know my list is different from my daughters list and even different from your own, so please feel free to add to the list

I Will Always Remember...
• the first time I saw Elliot and all of his blonde hair
• wanting to cry, but needing to be strong
• the worry on my daughters face
• how many times she asked me, "Is he going to be ok?"
• how we waited to see him for 8 hours so my daughter could get out of bed and walk herself to the nursery after a C-section
• marveling at how brave my little girl was and how fast she was going to grow up
• seeing my sweet daughter hold her baby for the first time
• Elliot's wrist was so small his daddy's wedding ring was a bracelet
• being able to see right through his skin
• the first time we changed his diaper and he had no tushy
• seeing his tiny diapers and then realizing they were too big for him
• all the wires coming out of everything; hands, feet, heart, head and belly button
• his first cry - we saw him cry but no sound could come out - it was a silent cry
• driving an hour each way to the hospital 3 times a week so my daughter could get to her baby and praying all the way there and all the way home
• the first time I got to hold him and thinking I was holding air in a blanket
• the constant beeping of the monitors
• being startled awake in the middle of the night with my daughter in tears on the other end
• the A's and B's scared me half to death
• and then I got use to them
• and then they eventually went away
• washing my hands until they were raw and praying it was enough
• wondering if the NICU nurses were really angels in disguise
• wanting to know why a baby would fight so hard to live
• watching my daughter learn to care for her fragile baby
• dressing Elliot in clothes for the first time
• seeing more wires coming out of him than were there yesterday
• seeing all the wires dissappear
• seeing him smile at his Mommy
• the first time I held him and it felt like I was actually holding something
• seeing how brave my daughter could really be
• watching him learn to eat
• giving him a bath
• being told he could go home
• the dissappointment we felt when he couldn't go home yet
• how happy we were when he could REALLY go home!!