Happy Birthday!

I can't believe it's been TWO years!!  Those two years went by so fast, yet SO. SLOW. at the same time.

Happy birthday to my warrior!!  Here's to the next year, and all the new stuff you'll learn!  (like eating, let's get that taken care of eh?)

New tricks

 This is one of this therapy toys.  I know, rough life right?  He loves it right now!  It's like his throne.  He climbs up and down all day long.

Throws his feet on both sides of it, and has even almost mastered some movement with it!

And uses it as a jungle gym.  Yeah, I'm only slightly worried about him pushing away from something, and falling and cracking his head open.  yeah. . .only slightly. . .

RSV strikes Martin

We spent Feb 4th-11th hospitalized with RSV and pneumonia.  Dang, it sucked!!  That RSV is NO JOKE people.  Be careful with your little ones.

We didn't qualify for the synagis RSV shot this year, since Martin's been off of O2 since June.  I wonder if it would have made a difference if we HAD received the shot.  However, this was our 1st real sickness this season, so we've been pretty lucky!

The first few days were pretty rough.  He had been tired and lethargic at home, and starting coughing the day before we went in.  They had him on 6L O2 in the ER.  SIX people!!!  That's a LOT of flow.  And his retractions were HORRIBLE.  Now, he always retracts when he breathes, you can see his skin kind of being sucked in through his ribs when he breathes.  That's just how he is.

Anyway, we spent a few days laying on the bed, just cuddling because Martin had NO energy.  They had him hooked up to an IV and the standard monitors, and we fed him through his tube like normal.

 After a few days, he started to get some energy back.  Just a little bit though, still didn't want to do much except for cuddle and play on dads computer. And the raging fever!  For about 4 days (at LEAST that long) he had to get Tylenol every 4 hours to drop it below 100degs.

Since RSV can be fairly contagious, every time a nurse, resp. therapist, Dr, or whoever came into the room, they were decked out in a disposable gown, mask, and gloves.  Every time Martin saw those yellow masks, he would just start crying, knowing something he wouldn't like was going to happen.  Poor kid, that dang suction machine was NOT his friend (as necessary as it was!)

The high flow helped--only 4L though.  Still more than when he was in the NICU, but really.  I thought we were done with that dang machine!  That's about when I started to get worried, because Martin is a bit of an O2 junkie. . .

Thankfully though, he hit that corner and started getting better fairly quick.  And weaning him off the O2 happened quick too!  Within 24 hours, he went from 4L high flow, to 1/2L regular flow.  It was AMAZING.  And we came home on 1/4L and had him weaned off completely in 2 days!  I couldn't believe it.

And even better, he didn't loose his desire to eat!  (what little there is!)

For now though, we're shutting him away for the season, and letting his system recover and build up a little bit more.  RSV is just hitting here, since the season has been so mild and I do NOT want to end up in the hospital again!

Hair Cut

 Well we did it.  After Matt's consistent pestering that martin's hair was too long, and he didn't want a son with a mullet, we cut his hair.  Now his fauxhawk isn't as obvious.

It did end up looking nice, although Martin would try to convince you otherwise.  He hated every minute of it.  Dad buzzed the back for him, and I attempted to trim the top without cutting my finger.

So my baby boy, looks more like a little boy now.  Expect that his hair is still pretty thin, so he looks a tiny bit bald.

Wordless Wednesday

Martin Update

I've been neglecting blogs lately.  All of them!  It's too hot to focus on writing things.  That's the excuse I'm going for. :)

However, in talking with my sister the other day, she mentioned her sisters-in-law asked why I haven't updated Martin's blog in a while.  I felt guilty, and reminded that people DO read my blogs.

It's official folks, we're O2-free!!  We turned everything back to the provider earlier in the week.  And he's doing awesome!

We've gotten a few other internal problems sorted out as well, which makes for a HAPPY Martin.  Which is way better than the "I haven't pooped in days and it hurts!" Martin, which we saw much too often.

We're now ready for the trip out to see Grandma Llewellyn, only a year later.  Everyone but me and Martin got to go last September, and see all the cool sites--like the Statue of Liberty.

These two have been getting along wonderfully!  Only Martin is starting to get a bit mobile. . .not crawling or scooting (he's starting to get that one figured out) but he spins around on his bum, and can almost (purposefully) move in directions besides a circle.  Tryn's in trouble when that happens, because Martin is a true brother already--taking everything that is 'hers'.

Martin's working on TWO molars right now.  He's got a LOT of teeth, which is great!  8 in the front--the top 4, and bottom 4, and two molars on his right side.  Now we're anxiously awaiting the other two to come in, because he's NOT liking this process (and it's wearing down mom as well!)

And here he is today!  You can't see it, but he's sitting in a PILE of toys.  He's a grab and toss boy.  Picks up a toy with 1 hand, shakes it (sometimes) passes it to the other hands, and tosses it over his shoulder.  If I keep a bucket on each side of him, he'll put it in the bucket, which helps the mess.  Then he'll pick up the bucket and dump it.

Yeah, he's a boy. :)

Making Martin's Food

My grandparents recently gifted us with an AMAZING gift.  A Blendtec blender.  The kings of blenders!!  (although some might say the VitaMix is the king) Want to watch it blend up glow sticks?  yeah, that was pretty cool to watch.


Ever since we started the blenderized food diet for Martin, everyone has been so supportive.  It was a choice we didn't make lightly, we put a lot of thought and research into this concept.  We started slow, with baby food mixed with milk.  Then we added baby cereals to the mix, and then oils.  Then I borrowed my brothers magic bullet, and I actually blended up cooked pasta, tuna, fruits!!  It was amazing, and so much fun.  Who would have thought I'd actually care how many calories things have??  Not me!

So I start out by deciding what Martin needs that day.  I usually base that off what he had yesterday--fruits/veggies, protiens, etc.  I like to vary it up.  If he had a mix with fruits yesterday, then I'll make a mix with veggies.  I'm trying to get back into the habit of making 2 mixes--a fruit mix, and veggies mix, that will last over two days.  Then he gets 2 meals of fruits, and 2 meals of veggies usually. 

Once I decide what he's getting, I count the calories.  If they're low, I sometimes alter what he's getting, picking another veggie that has a high calorie count.  He needs at least 1000calories a day, otherwise he just doesn't gain weight.  But he needs it to be low volume so he'll keep it down!!  That's the hard part.

Here's today's recipe
1 avocado--350calories
1 pear--95calories
3oz of tofu--70calories
1 cup cheerios--150calories
1 cup milk--150calories
3tsp milk fortifier--70calories
2Tbsp oil--240calories
probiotic powder

The total calories came to be  1125, which is awesome!  Maybe Martin can get some chub. 

Threw everything in the blender, and turned it on!!  It runs for about 1 minute or less usually, and then I pulse it a few times, to make sure everything's blended up good.  It usually is fine.

Transfer it to another container.  Yay nalgene!  I usually use a mason jar, but I didn't have any clean ones!  This mix made about 26oz, which is more than martin can handle usually, so we'll end up adding the leftovers to his nighttime milk. 

Then I add hot water, and a bit of soap.  Run the blender again, and it's clean and ready for the next item!

And that's how I make Martin's food.  Thank you grandma and grandpa!!  I already love this blender, and it's on the "if the house catches on fire, I'll grab. . ." list :)