Fifteen and Sixteen weeks old

Actual: Fifteen weeks (December 16th - 22nd)
Corrected: Two weeks
Weight: 6 pounds 14 ounces (December 20th)

Evan had another balloon dilation this week. He sounded so good before the appointment that Andrew and I were secretly hoping the ENT doctor would take a look and say "All better!" While this didn't happen, Evan's airway was a lot more open than previous procedures. This means the scar tissue is healing! Unfortunately, as they had to bag him (to help with breathing) a lot during the procedure, his stomach filled with air and he had a hard time breathing when he started waking up. He ended up intubated until about 4 pm. It was so hard to see him intubated again. I knew it was only for a little while, but it was still difficult. Since the PICU census was low, we were on the side with private rooms. This was nice, but suuuuuper chilly. I actually got a full night's sleep since the night nurse did all the feedings and diaper changes. I guess if Evan's in the hospital I should let the nurses do their jobs! :) Since Evan's throat looked so much better, the doctor scheduled the next procedure for four weeks out. Four weeks! I think Andrew and I are going to be a wreck weeks 3-4... stay tuned.

The following day we were discharged in the morning and went straight to the eye doctor next door. Evan's left eye is looking great. The right eye still has some scar tissue that isn't going away. It had been a few weeks since the doctor saw any changes so he wanted us to go to see another eye specialist in Rochester for a second opinion. Thankfully she was able to fit us in the next day (Thursday). Evan was a champ on his first road trip to Rochester. He was pretty unimpressed and slept the whole time. The specialist in Rochester would be the doctor that would perform the surgery on Evan's eye should it progress. After a quick peak, she said that we would just monitor it for now. The next month is crucial since Evan is now full term and the eyes are forming all their connections. I guess Andrew and I will just be on pins and needles until then.

Evan's physical therapy and occupational therapy through the Early Intervention program also started this week. He slept through both appointments. Whoops. At this stage, PT and OT will have a little bit of cross over

Hot dog! Got my dino. I am all set for hangin' out.

Evan is filling the sling out more.
Still never too early to teach him the importance of Toolbelt Thursday.

Geesh, finish up with the pictures! I have snuggling to do!

I don't always pee in my bath, but when I do, I'm serious about it.

So you're telling me because I'm cute, I don't have to be good!?

You're planning on taking HOW many pictures!?

This is as good a time as any to practice my Thriller moves.

Seriously Gma, what's with shoving me into things?!
Baskets, a stocking... what's next?!

Excuse me! This hat is waaay too big.

This is what a pile of snuggles looks like.

Actual: Sixteen weeks (December 23rd - 29th)
Corrected: Three weeks
Weight: 7 pounds 7 ounces (December 27th)

We were back at the eye doctor on Monday. It had been just 3 days so we weren't expecting too much change. We were able to go to Gma and Grampa's house for a nice visit. Evan also got to snuggle with his other Grandma for the first time. He christened her by sliming her nice scarf. Oh well, good thing he's cute!

It felt weird not being with my family on Christmas Eve. It's the first time in my life I haven't been at my Grandparent's. Andrew, Evan and I enjoyed a nice night at the house. Evan opened up his Christmas Eve present - An Otis Christmas. It's a cute little story about a tractor that saves the day (and new baby horse!) Evan was a good little listener.

Evan enjoyed his new books from Santa and us. He got a few little toys, but nothing that he can't play with just yet. Andrew also got him set for Opening Day of Baseball - Evan has 3 new Yankee's onzies to wear. Hopefully they don't let him down again this year...

Christmas Day was spent with Evan's other Grandma (Andrew's mom). Evan was a little more awake for this visit.

I'll wake up in juuuust a second Grandma.

Ugh, working from home is boring Daddy!

My Christmas Eve present you say?
How the heck am I supposed to break into this thing?!

OMGosh! Is Otis going to make it in time? Keep reading Daddy!

Hi Momma. Why can't we just hang out like this?
I don't really feel like turning my head. I've done it once. Meh.

Go to sleep? But why? I wanna see this "Santa" everyone's been talking about.

Um 'scuse me. This Christmas morning snuggle isn't working for me.
There's a dog ear in my line of vision.

I still don't get it. A fat man breaks into our house, steals cookies and milk and leaves presents?
I'd rather just keep the creeper out and drink my milk thank you.

Ermergerd Uncle Owey! What did you put on my head?!

Well, if the crown fits, might as well rule the kingdom.
First order of business... anointing a royal baby holder. I no longer want to sleep in my bassinet.

Hey Layla. How about helping your brother out.
You distract Momma and Daddy and I'll do tricks while they're not looking.

Fourteen weeks 2-7 days old

Well I was hoping to post every Sunday, but Evan is my kryptonite. I just can't say no to him when he wants to cuddle!

We had a very good week. We had another follow up appointment with the eye doctor. Evan's eyes continue to heal. Hopefully we will be off the weekly appointments sooner rather than later.

Evan remains a quiet baby!! So far, his trachea seems to be responding to the latest balloon procedure. He does go back tomorrow morning (we have to be at the hospital at 6 am) for another bronchoscopy to see how it looks. Andrew and I know that the airway is more open than ever before.

We went to the lung clinic today. The lung clinic was overseeing the bradycardia/apnea monitor. All of the data was downloaded and reviewed. I'm happy to report that there were no true alarms that went off! Andrew and I were confident that Evan was behaving, but it's nice to have the confirmation. Evan will continue to use the monitor for a little longer, but it's okay to only hook him up to it when we're not in the room with him or we're all sleeping. Wee! More sling time!! (Evan is in the sling as I type this).

In sad news, our hamster Nugget passed away this weekend. I'm glad Evan and I talked to her on Friday and gave her treats. She was a fun little hamster with an even better story. :)

And now, what you've been waiting for:

Mmmm, don't stop Uncle Owey!

Well you gave me milk, so I guess I should trust you.

Hey! This is my bed! Who let these squatters in!?

Hm. Bath time again. Even with peeing on momma yesterday
I still had to get a bath today. Time to rethink my plan of attack.

Oh this towel is so comfy! Maybe bath time isn't so bad!

Hangin' with Daddy. I think he's pretty great.

So comfy with Uncle Owey that I passed right out in a funny position!

Oh I love this tree! I love the lights!!

Fa la la la la... just make sure you don't give Santa any of my milk.
You can give him something else. Like whiskey.

Fourteen weeks 1 day old

Evan's due date was on the 8th so he the confusion about his age has started. Until he is about 2 years old, he will have an actual and corrected age. His actual age is 14 weeks while his corrected age is 1 day. Just in the limited amount of time that we've been out in the public, people are confused when I say, "Yeah! He's 14 weeks old." You can see the wheels in their heads as they try to figure it out since the baby before them does not look like a typical 14 week old baby.

Evan has had a flurry of appointments. (Hence my lack of updates - I foolishly thought I would have a little more time once he was home. Ha! Now my time is spent snuggling Evan. I actually almost argued with Andrew today when he got home from work and wanted to cuddle with his son. Whoops. Guess I gotta tone down my possessiveness...)

Today we saw surgery and cardiology. Surgery was just to check up on the hernia site. It feels like Evan had hernia surgery forever ago. Thankfully he is healing nicely.

The cardiologist was also positive. While Evan does have a slight murmur, it's only a 1 on a scale of 0-6 (6 being bad). Evan should grow out of the PFO and the pulmonary valve stenosis (which may actually be the murmur it's so faint it's hard to tell).

Evan was a champ in his car seat today. Every time he is in it he seems to like it more. I have to say that I am also more comfortable with him in it too. He's a little bigger now so I can actually see his face in the rearview mirror!

Evan's breathing remains quiet! We do have another balloon procedure scheduled for next Tuesday. Again, we're hoping that Evan will just have the procedures a few times and it will correct the problem.

Last night was a good night for Mr. Pants. He has had his days and nights mixed up since he came home from the hospital. It's actually kind of nice being awake with him at 3 in the morning. (Now that he's here, the house is a balmy 71 degrees all the time! Wee!) Andrew and I take turns and sleep in shifts since Evan likes to party all night long. Last night he did sleep for a good stretch though. It is nice to know that he's acting like a typical full term baby though! Hopefully we'll get his times sorted out soon so Andrew and I don't have to turn into vampires!

Finally - Evan Picture Overload:

"So is this what the third trimester feels like!?"
Evan helping decorate.
He was not very helpful since he slept the whole time.

"I hate you! I hate you all! Get me outta here!"
MacDonald tradition - put the baby in the basket. Evan's uncle Owen was just as thrilled.

"Zzzz"
Proud Daddy!

"Stretch it out!"
Morning yoga.

"Pffffftttt"

"Don't bring me problems, bring me solutions."

Thirteen weeks 3 days old

Evan has had quite the adventurous few days.

Friday - we were discharged (again)! Evan was so excited to be home he wanted to stay up all night. I think he was afraid he was going to miss out on something.

Saturday - We tried out the baby wearing sling that his Canadian cousin sent. I think he loved it! I'm still learning how to tuck him in, but I do think we're both going to love using it. Since he's on a monitor, we are a little tethered and can't go too far, but it's still fun to use.

Sunday was Evan's 3 month birthday! He celebrated with a marathon snuggle with his Gma while I decorated the tree.

Monday brought us back to the pediatrician for a baseline appointment. He was starting to get noisy again, but he had an appointment with the ENT doctor the next day so we weren't too concerned. The pediatrician appointment went really well and we were back home with enough time for Andrew to go to work for the afternoon. I accomplished my goal of doing the dishes. :) Oh, and snuggling Evan of course!

When Andrew got home from work, Evan was noisier than he was during the day. We called the ENT doctor and asked if Evan could be scoped the next morning instead of just having a check up. We managed to land a 6:30 am procedure time. Around 9 pm, it was apparent that Evan was really starting to work harder to breathe. We decided to take him to the emergency room just as a precaution. We knew that we would be up all night worrying about him anyway. By the time we got to the ER, his breathing was back to quiet. After he was hooked up to the pulse ox, we saw perfect stats. Oh well, Andrew and I were still relieved we brought him in. Since he was having the procedure the next morning, we were moved to the Hematology and Oncology floor for the evening. Since Evan couldn't eat after midnight, he was super cranky. I stayed at the hospital with him but was pretty tired since Andrew and I were sleeping in 3 hour shifts all weekend. Thankfully, Evan's wonderful nurse took him out of the room for a few hours so I could get a little bit of sleep. She brought him back into the room about 5:30 am and Evan slept until the procedure at about 8 am. Woot!

The ENT doctor showed us pictures of Evan's trachea after the procedure. He said that it was a good thing Evan came in when he did as the trachea had narrowed again. It wasn't as bad as the first time, but it was getting there. We will come back in another 2 weeks to repeat the procedure (unless Evan starts to get noisy again). We stayed the night in the PICU and were discharged this morning around 9:30 am. Evan and I are hanging out while Andrew heads to work.

The scar tissue in the trachea is thin enough that the ENT doctor is hopeful that a few balloon therapy procedures will remedy the situation. If this most recent procedure doesn't last very long (the first procedure lasted for about 10 days), then we may have to look at other options. For now, we'll plan on Evan going back in 2 weeks to repeat the procedure though.

I'll have to post some pictures later, but Mr. Pants is tipping the scales at 5 pounds 5 ounces!!! He's a giant! :)