Home!

This post is long over due. We got to bring Calvin home almost two weeks ago on July 10th.



Calvin started eating really well for me while I was there during the day. So on July 7th Dave brought the camping trailer and set it up at the hospital so I could be there around the clock. He also decided to stay there with me for at least the first few days so that Hanna and Tucker could be there too.

On Monday Dave took one of the feedings. When he came back he pointed out that Calvin had to work so hard to get anything out of the nipple. So the next feeding I asked for a faster flow nipple. After that he did amazing. He would nurse for about half the feeding and then finish with a bottle. He was doing this every feeding.

Tuesday morning Ginger, Calvin's nurse practitioner, asked us if we wanted to go home the next day. Um, of course! So I headed home with Tucker and Hanna to get e few things ready and to grab our carseat. Dave took the next feeding. When I pulled in the driveway I saw that someone had come to our house and cleaned up our yard. We had pretty much let it go for about 2 months. it had been overtaken by 2 foot weeds everywhere. They mowed it, cleaned all the weeds off the ditch banks, wacked all the weeds in the flower beds, and washed the outside windows. Tears were rolling down my cheeks by the time I got in the house. We later found out it was our home teacher and his wife, and our Bishop. If there was anyone else they will not tell us who. If any of you read this, THANK YOU! It meant the world to me.

I got things ready for Calvin, grabbed the carseat, and headed back to he hospital. Thankfully my mom was able to come and get Hanna and Tucker and keep them overnight. We roomed in the hospital and got to keep Calvin with us all night. He had to sit in his carseat for 90 minutes without his oxygen or heart rate dropping. He passed. The next day we were discharged! It was so amazing to walk out of that hospital.









We finally got our family all together.


Hanna and Tucker finally got to meet their brother.

Calvin is doing wonderful since coming home. He is almost two months old. He came home weighing 4 lbs 7oz. He is now pushing 6 lbs. He is nursing exclusively. He is also awake more now, and it is so fun to see his eyes.









I want to thank everyone who helped us through this. We had amazing nurses, doctors, nurse practitioners, and all other medical caretakers. Our family members took amazing care of Hanna and Tucker while we spent time with Calvin at the hospital. We had ward members bringing us meals, visiting us, and taking care of our yard. We had more people than I can even count praying for us and sending so many encouraging and thoughtful messages. Thank you all, from the absolute bottom of our hearts. We could not have made it through without everyone of you!
- Posted by Brianna

Hanna's Princess Birthday

Hanna turned 4 on July 7th. She has been talking about her princess birthday for almost a year. With Calvin in the hospital I was not sure how we would pull it off, but somehow we had to make it work.


We did it!

We stayed up until about 2 am, the two nights before making the cake and wrapping presents. It turned out to be a great party for our little princess.



Kaylee, Hanna, and Raleigh
Dave came up with the idea to get all the little girls at the party princess dresses.






The party was at 1, and the sun made it hard to get good pictures.





















Hanna received a ton of princess and Barbie gifts. Thank you everyone!


Kaylee posed so cute for me




Then it was time for cake. Hanna loved her cake. Sadly I put down the camera to help serve cake and I didn't remember to get more pictures until after everyone was done.

After cake Dave saddled one of Mike's draft horses, Kate. I wanted a picture of Hanna riding in her princess dress.



She loved it, and now tells us she needs to ride Kate, her princess horse.

When she was done a few of us took turns on Kate.



Amy



My Dad



Me



Dave and Tucker

I missed getting pictures of Raleigh, Heath, and Jenna on the horse.

Hanna, we love you more than you will ever know. You are sweet, and kind. You are so smart! You have started to outwit me. You are BEAUTIFUL! Your
Dad and I are so thankful for you in our little family. You are a great big sister to your brothers, and they love you too.
Posted by Brianna

Tucker's 2nd Birthday

Tucker turned 2 on April 25th. I am finally getting around to putting it on the blog.

 I made his favorite breakfast-pancakes and bacon.

 These are the pj's that Tucker wore his first night home. He was our biggest baby at 5 lbs even.

We, of course, had to have a cowboy birthday.

 The money bags were filled with chocolate coins,

 Tucker was a master at ripping open his presents.

 Paden, Steven, Grandma, Grammie, and Grandpa

 Dave built this amazing rocking horse for Tucker.

 He LOVES it.

 Tucker loves cake, but he didn't make as big of a mess as last year, thank heaven. 

 Dave, Steve, and Papa

 After everyone left the party, Tucker broke in his horse.

This is the amazing quilt that Grammie made for Tucker,

We cannot get enough of this fun little boy, Tucker is active and crazy all the time. He speaks like he is four years old. He loves everything horses. He spends most of his days playing with toy horses, riding his rocking horse, reading horse books, or riding real horses. He loves to torture Hanna. Tucker man is all boy. He is the comic relief in our house. We love him like crazy, and are so blessed to have him in our family.

Calvin is doing so great!

Now that Calvin is over his tummy troubles, he is doing amazing. After he finished 10 days of intense antibiotics Calvin still had an area in his bowels that was severely dilated. They thought it was a blockage, but wanted to wait to see if it fixed itself. This was maddeningly frustrating for me. He could not progress at all while this was going on, the doctor that was on did not want to do anything invasive until he took a turn for the worse. I did not want to wait for him to get worse, especially when there was a test that would tell us what the problem was so we could take care of it.

On Tuesday morning last week a different doctor came on, and wanted to do the test right away. I was so relieved to finally get answers and not have to watch my baby be in limbo and be so sick. For the test they stuck a tube up his little bum and then pushed a contrast fluid through the tube into his bowels. They watch this fluid go through his bowels on monitor, similar to an ultrasound, to see if there is a true blockage. When they first started pushing the fluid it went everywhere. They had to pull the tube back out, readjust it, and change all the padding in the bed before they could try again. While they were changing the padding. I was holding Calvin above the bed. All the sudden, he filled my hand with a bunch of meconium. It was disgusting. Meconium is a baby's first poop and should be gone in a few days after birth. The radiologist told me that could have been the problem, and ran the test again just to be sure. It was the problem! No surgery, no trip to Utah in an ambulance, not even medication was needed anymore. I have never been so excited to be pooped on!

After that Calvin started flying through everything. He is 4 lbs 1 oz. He can now hold his own temperature and is out of the incubator. They are weening him of the oxygen, he is currently at 21% oxygen (room air) at 3/4 of a liter flow. So, he is only requiring a tiny bit of pressure on his lungs. He is getting enough nutrition through his feeding tube that he is off all IV fluid. I can feed him when he is awake and showing feeding cues. Last night he breastfed for the first time and took almost a whole feeding on his own. Today we get to bath him in an actual tub, and afterward I get to dress him for the first time. I am so excited.

I cannot thank you all enough for your thoughts, encouragement, and prayers. Calvin really is a little miracle baby. We are so in love with this tiny boy! Hopefully we are in the downhill side of this little adventure.










- Posted by Brianna