Well, we are on the final week of our visit to New York. Time with the family has been loads of fun! The kids have had a blast and it's been great that we have had a good long visit and the kids have been able to build relationships with the family here.
Next we are off to California to get all settled into our house and get involved with Faith Church!
Will write more later, Nate is one fussy baby today!
Friday, July 3, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
Changes are a Comin'
Well, it's a very busy season in the Snowden Household. But I had to take a little break and update you all on what has been happening in our lives, and what is happening now!
Let's start with Nate. He is now 3 months old, and 11lbs. He is the sweetest baby and always has a smile and loves to coo and tell you all sorts of stories. He is FINALLY sleeping a good solid 6 - 7 hrs a night (well, most nights) which has made my life so much easier! :) He is a joy to us all and I'm so thankful he is so healthy!
Faith and Sam enjoyed a trip to the dentist (well, Faith loved it, Sam not so much!) But Faith did have a bit of decay in her front teeth and had to go back for a filling. She was a trooper and did not cry a tear and sat so nice and still and the dentist was very impressed! She was just wondering after why her mouth was so "funny feeling mommy...I don't have lips" She is very excited about moving to California and can't wait to see her princess friends at Disneyland!
Sam is the typical 2 year old. We are going through the "terrific two's" and learning how to deal with our temper! He is a willing follower to Faith who loves to dress him up as a Princess all the time! Hopefully once Nate gets a bit bigger, he will want to do more macho stuff then playing Princess! But he is the cutie.
So the kids and I are off to NY to visit the Snowdens this Tuesday! Jake is off next Saturday to drive all our stuff to California and then join us in NY. We will return to Cali sometime in the first few weeks of June once our house is finished being renovated. So we had a nice family dinner the other night with my parents and my siblings...hopefully my family will all be able to visit us!! (hint hint!!)
Anyhow, off to pack again and get some more cleaning done! More to come!
Let's start with Nate. He is now 3 months old, and 11lbs. He is the sweetest baby and always has a smile and loves to coo and tell you all sorts of stories. He is FINALLY sleeping a good solid 6 - 7 hrs a night (well, most nights) which has made my life so much easier! :) He is a joy to us all and I'm so thankful he is so healthy!
Faith and Sam enjoyed a trip to the dentist (well, Faith loved it, Sam not so much!) But Faith did have a bit of decay in her front teeth and had to go back for a filling. She was a trooper and did not cry a tear and sat so nice and still and the dentist was very impressed! She was just wondering after why her mouth was so "funny feeling mommy...I don't have lips" She is very excited about moving to California and can't wait to see her princess friends at Disneyland!
Sam is the typical 2 year old. We are going through the "terrific two's" and learning how to deal with our temper! He is a willing follower to Faith who loves to dress him up as a Princess all the time! Hopefully once Nate gets a bit bigger, he will want to do more macho stuff then playing Princess! But he is the cutie.
So the kids and I are off to NY to visit the Snowdens this Tuesday! Jake is off next Saturday to drive all our stuff to California and then join us in NY. We will return to Cali sometime in the first few weeks of June once our house is finished being renovated. So we had a nice family dinner the other night with my parents and my siblings...hopefully my family will all be able to visit us!! (hint hint!!)
Anyhow, off to pack again and get some more cleaning done! More to come!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Faith turns 4!
So our little princess Faith turned 4 on March 6th. We had a great time with parties with the family and her little friends. This years theme was Tinkerbell, her new favorite. Can't wait to get her back to Disneyland so she can see Tinkerbell in the parade!
Faith with her Tinkerbell cake
She was also very fond of this barbie
And the Webkinz collection started. She was very excited to have webkinz like her cousins.
So she had a super fun 4th birthday weekend. I can't believe she is growing up so fast, but on the other hand I can't really remember life before she was in it.
Faith with her Tinkerbell cake
She was also very fond of this barbie
And the Webkinz collection started. She was very excited to have webkinz like her cousins.
Since we are moving back to California at the end of April, we did not want to get her a toy. (Just more packing for me!) So we decided to have a fun day at the Vancouver Aquarium. Faith had an amazing time, and loved all the different fish and other animals to check out.
Can you see her excitement?
Making friends with a giant goldfish
Making friends with a giant goldfish
So she had a super fun 4th birthday weekend. I can't believe she is growing up so fast, but on the other hand I can't really remember life before she was in it.
LOVE YOU FAITH! XO
Wow, it's been a while!
It's been a while since I have been on to do a blog. I guess adjusting to 3 kids has been keeping me busy.
Nate is doing so well. He's 2 months old now and is around 10lbs. He has the chubby cheeks now and the double chin. He is filling out nicely! He has also started to smile in the last few days. It melts my heart. I just find myself looking at him and being so thankful I have a healthy baby.
Our little chunky monkey!
The boys
My 3 Angels
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Nate update, Feb 11
Nate has been home a week tomorrow!
Now at 2 1/2 weeks old, Nate has got his weight up to 5lbs, 12oz! He's starting to fill out a bit, but is still in preemie clothes. I think he will be for a while, newborn still looks WAY too big for him to wear!
As for feedings, Nate is still going back and forth between nursing and bottle feeds. He has really got an appetite though, and is sometimes wanting more food after just an hour and a half. He's taking between 2 and 3 oz of bottle, so I'm assuming he's also getting that amount from nursing. So we are gradually replacing bottle feeds with nursing, and am hoping sometime next week he will be nursing all feeds.
The only thing that we really need to work on is getting his days and nights right. Now he is up about 2 hours during the night. Some of this time he will just lay in his bassinet and happily look around, but that gets old fast and he starts to protest a bit. I guess the NICU and all the action 24 hours a day did not help all that much. He has had one night where he just woke up to eat and was right back to sleep, so we are working on him staying awake more during the day.....it's making me pretty tired, so I'm hopeful this will get fixed soon. Any advice would be appreciated. I did not encounter this with the other kids. I always wondered what people were talking about being up half the night with their newborns...now I know!!
Well, that's the update for now. I hear Sam crying for Mom, so I must run!
xoxo
Now at 2 1/2 weeks old, Nate has got his weight up to 5lbs, 12oz! He's starting to fill out a bit, but is still in preemie clothes. I think he will be for a while, newborn still looks WAY too big for him to wear!
As for feedings, Nate is still going back and forth between nursing and bottle feeds. He has really got an appetite though, and is sometimes wanting more food after just an hour and a half. He's taking between 2 and 3 oz of bottle, so I'm assuming he's also getting that amount from nursing. So we are gradually replacing bottle feeds with nursing, and am hoping sometime next week he will be nursing all feeds.
The only thing that we really need to work on is getting his days and nights right. Now he is up about 2 hours during the night. Some of this time he will just lay in his bassinet and happily look around, but that gets old fast and he starts to protest a bit. I guess the NICU and all the action 24 hours a day did not help all that much. He has had one night where he just woke up to eat and was right back to sleep, so we are working on him staying awake more during the day.....it's making me pretty tired, so I'm hopeful this will get fixed soon. Any advice would be appreciated. I did not encounter this with the other kids. I always wondered what people were talking about being up half the night with their newborns...now I know!!
Well, that's the update for now. I hear Sam crying for Mom, so I must run!
xoxo
Friday, February 6, 2009
Nate is HOME!!!
So on Wednesday Nate had his feeding tube removed and we were told that if he took his bottles and gained weight over the next 48 hours, we could take him home on Friday.
Instead he increased his feedings on his own, chugged all his bottles and his weight gain was so good on Thursday he was discharged that day!!!!
So now we are HOME!!! And how wonderful it was to not have to get up and drag the family to the hospital this morning! It's 12:30pm and the kids are still in their PJ's (as they have requested) I think they just want to have a lazy play day at home...they have been troopers with all the back and forth and all that has been going on. They deserve a PJ day!
I just want to thank you all so much for all the prayers over Nate. The doctors at the hospital called him a star for how quicky he improved and got stronger. But we know it was God's hand on his little body that helped him the most! I just look at this child and am soooo thankful he is here and healthy. It was a long pregnancy and a surprise early arrival, but God was there the entire time. My faith has grown so much over these last 7 months, I have never seen the hand of God work so much in my life.
love you all!!!
Julie
Instead he increased his feedings on his own, chugged all his bottles and his weight gain was so good on Thursday he was discharged that day!!!!
So now we are HOME!!! And how wonderful it was to not have to get up and drag the family to the hospital this morning! It's 12:30pm and the kids are still in their PJ's (as they have requested) I think they just want to have a lazy play day at home...they have been troopers with all the back and forth and all that has been going on. They deserve a PJ day!
I just want to thank you all so much for all the prayers over Nate. The doctors at the hospital called him a star for how quicky he improved and got stronger. But we know it was God's hand on his little body that helped him the most! I just look at this child and am soooo thankful he is here and healthy. It was a long pregnancy and a surprise early arrival, but God was there the entire time. My faith has grown so much over these last 7 months, I have never seen the hand of God work so much in my life.
love you all!!!
Julie
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Nate Update, Feb 3/09
Yesterday Nate was taken out of the incubartor and is now in a cute little hospital crib! It was fun to put him a cute little (and I mean little) sleeper last night.
We went in this morning and he held his body temperature well overnight and gained a little weight. It is common for preemies to lose a bit of weight once out of the incubator since their bodies have to work harder to keep warm.
Yesterday I got to nurse him twice, and he did very well and only needed a little bit of bottle to top him up at the end. This morning he had a full feed from nursing, no bottle needed! He surprised all of us with how much he took in a short amount of time. He does a bottle feed in 30 - 40 minutes, and did a breastfeed of the same amount in 15 minutes. I think he prefers the momma feeds to the bottle feeds! :)
He is still a little on the lazy end with getting all of his daily bottles down, and is still using help from the tube. Although he is not as dependant on it as he was just a few days ago. We are really believing that he can start finishing all bottle feeds so we can get that tube out!! It sounds like once he is able to take in all feedings on his own, he will be able to come home. And we are really really looking forward to that day!!
We went in this morning and he held his body temperature well overnight and gained a little weight. It is common for preemies to lose a bit of weight once out of the incubator since their bodies have to work harder to keep warm.
Yesterday I got to nurse him twice, and he did very well and only needed a little bit of bottle to top him up at the end. This morning he had a full feed from nursing, no bottle needed! He surprised all of us with how much he took in a short amount of time. He does a bottle feed in 30 - 40 minutes, and did a breastfeed of the same amount in 15 minutes. I think he prefers the momma feeds to the bottle feeds! :)
He is still a little on the lazy end with getting all of his daily bottles down, and is still using help from the tube. Although he is not as dependant on it as he was just a few days ago. We are really believing that he can start finishing all bottle feeds so we can get that tube out!! It sounds like once he is able to take in all feedings on his own, he will be able to come home. And we are really really looking forward to that day!!
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Nate update, January 31st
Well, today our little Nate is one week old! The week has flown by! And over the last couple of days he's made some excellent progress.
On Thursday Nate finally passed his bloodwork to have the phototherapy lights taken off. His numbers went back up a bit on Friday, but not enough to put him back under the lights. He has more blood work being done today to monitor it.
Nate was able to finish a bottle on his own on Friday. He can usually only get through half a bottle, and the rest they need to put through his nose tube. So he hit a milestone yesterday by doing it on his own. It won't happen every time, but it is showing that he is getting stronger!!
And then on top of that, we had our first sucessful nursing session last night. He actually latched on and fed for about 10 minutes. Pretty good for his 3rd try at it! The nurses are saying "he's growing up" which makes us pretty happy! His feedings are being increased daily and he is handling it all very well.
Thanks again for all the prayers. We are seeing it daily in Nate's progress!
Here's a few more pics.....
Nate with his "shades" under the lights
Faith singing songs to her very attentive brother
Proud big brother!
She's very in love with Nate...
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Nate gets taken off the IV!!
Well Nate is doing just outstanding!
He had a really good night last night and was able to take in all of this feedings (some prior feedings were being skipped since he was digesting so slowly) His number 2's are coming at a regular pace now, more signs that his digestive system is working out the bumps. He was taken off his IV this morning. So now the only thing he has is his nose tube!
He is still under the lights for the jaundice. They are waiting to see the results of his blood work today, and if the numbers are good, he will be taken off. He is just right under where he needs to be, so he's close. If not today, they expect him off tomorrow. He hates the eye mask, so I know he will be happy to not have to wear that anymore!
How nice it is to see him with less and less stuff hooked up to him daily!! We had a great visit with him last night. He did really well with the bottle and he is getting a really strong suckle! He was very alert for our feeding (which was a first, he's usually so sleepy) and stayed awake for a while after the feeding and made very cute little faces at me. It's neat to see him react to all the songs we sing to him, and especially to the kids voices. He goes nuts when Faith sings, kicks like crazy!
So keep us in your prayers! Nate still has a ways to go, but we are very very excited about his progress so far!!
He had a really good night last night and was able to take in all of this feedings (some prior feedings were being skipped since he was digesting so slowly) His number 2's are coming at a regular pace now, more signs that his digestive system is working out the bumps. He was taken off his IV this morning. So now the only thing he has is his nose tube!
He is still under the lights for the jaundice. They are waiting to see the results of his blood work today, and if the numbers are good, he will be taken off. He is just right under where he needs to be, so he's close. If not today, they expect him off tomorrow. He hates the eye mask, so I know he will be happy to not have to wear that anymore!
How nice it is to see him with less and less stuff hooked up to him daily!! We had a great visit with him last night. He did really well with the bottle and he is getting a really strong suckle! He was very alert for our feeding (which was a first, he's usually so sleepy) and stayed awake for a while after the feeding and made very cute little faces at me. It's neat to see him react to all the songs we sing to him, and especially to the kids voices. He goes nuts when Faith sings, kicks like crazy!
So keep us in your prayers! Nate still has a ways to go, but we are very very excited about his progress so far!!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Pics of Nate
Here are some pics of baby Nate for you to enjoy!
Sam's first visit with his baby brother
Faith loves to sing to him. And he just loves it!
Sweet baby boy!
Sam's first visit with his baby brother
Faith loves to sing to him. And he just loves it!
Sweet baby boy!
Monday, January 26, 2009
Nathaniel Liam Arrives!
January 23rd, 5am: I wake up and find that my water had broken. I wake up Jake to let him know "it's time!!" He, of course does not believe me. I'm only 34 weeks along....so he convinces me to call the nurses hotline, and am told to head straight to emergency.
So we pack up the kids and head to the hospital. I am sent to L&D and it is confirmed that my water had in fact broken. At first they were hoping I would not lose too much fluid, and that it could repair itself and I could keep baby in there to cook a little longer. We were told that in the next 48 hours I would either go into labor, or the leaking would stop and my body would start to repair...through the day I just kept losing more and more fluid, and the contractions were not coming on. Finally at around 3pm it was determined that I had lost way too much fluid and that labor would need to be induced to get the baby out. Now we were at the point where he was better off out then in.
Unfortunately it was a busy day at the hospital, and a couple of emergencies pushed my induction back. Finally at 9pm, the Oxytosen was started. Contractions started right away, but took a couple of hours to really get going. Because Nate was so small, they were just expecting me to all of a sudden progress, so an epidural was not an option....unfortunately......I was not happy!!!!!
Anyhow, I seemed to be stuck at 3cm dilated for what seemed forever, then all of a sudden things started happening! At around 5cm, I was given some drug that made me almost pass out between contractions and seemed to take a bit of the edge off the pain...it only lasted for 30 minutes though, and when I asked for another dose, I was at 8cm, so it was too late for any more meds....I was once again not happy....but the great thing was that I was only around 2 contractions away from fully dilated and able to push! After 5 minutes of pushing, Nate made his arrival.
Now because Nate was 6 weeks early, he had to pretty much be taken out of the room right away. But he was breathing on his own, and they did let me have a very quick snuggle with him before taking him to NICU. Jake went along with Nate and I was just happy it was over.
So our wonderful, oh so cute and perfect Nathaniel Liam Snowden was born on January 24th at 4:24 am. He weighed 4lbs, 14oz, and to be honest I have no idea what his length was...but I will find out and let you know!
It's now January 26th, and Nate is doing very well. He is under the hot lights for 2 days for a mild case of jaundice, and he is having a bit of trouble getting his "number 2's" out. But he did get one out today, so he is making progress. I have been going in twice a day to give him bottles (his feedings are half through a tube, half bottle) and he has been taking the bottle really well.
They are hoping to increase his feedings, but he needs to get pooping more and digesting better before they can do that.
I will put some pics up soon! Thanks for all your prayers! Keep praying for our little Nate, that he just keeps making great progress, and that he will be home with us soon! Love you all!
So we pack up the kids and head to the hospital. I am sent to L&D and it is confirmed that my water had in fact broken. At first they were hoping I would not lose too much fluid, and that it could repair itself and I could keep baby in there to cook a little longer. We were told that in the next 48 hours I would either go into labor, or the leaking would stop and my body would start to repair...through the day I just kept losing more and more fluid, and the contractions were not coming on. Finally at around 3pm it was determined that I had lost way too much fluid and that labor would need to be induced to get the baby out. Now we were at the point where he was better off out then in.
Unfortunately it was a busy day at the hospital, and a couple of emergencies pushed my induction back. Finally at 9pm, the Oxytosen was started. Contractions started right away, but took a couple of hours to really get going. Because Nate was so small, they were just expecting me to all of a sudden progress, so an epidural was not an option....unfortunately......I was not happy!!!!!
Anyhow, I seemed to be stuck at 3cm dilated for what seemed forever, then all of a sudden things started happening! At around 5cm, I was given some drug that made me almost pass out between contractions and seemed to take a bit of the edge off the pain...it only lasted for 30 minutes though, and when I asked for another dose, I was at 8cm, so it was too late for any more meds....I was once again not happy....but the great thing was that I was only around 2 contractions away from fully dilated and able to push! After 5 minutes of pushing, Nate made his arrival.
Now because Nate was 6 weeks early, he had to pretty much be taken out of the room right away. But he was breathing on his own, and they did let me have a very quick snuggle with him before taking him to NICU. Jake went along with Nate and I was just happy it was over.
So our wonderful, oh so cute and perfect Nathaniel Liam Snowden was born on January 24th at 4:24 am. He weighed 4lbs, 14oz, and to be honest I have no idea what his length was...but I will find out and let you know!
It's now January 26th, and Nate is doing very well. He is under the hot lights for 2 days for a mild case of jaundice, and he is having a bit of trouble getting his "number 2's" out. But he did get one out today, so he is making progress. I have been going in twice a day to give him bottles (his feedings are half through a tube, half bottle) and he has been taking the bottle really well.
They are hoping to increase his feedings, but he needs to get pooping more and digesting better before they can do that.
I will put some pics up soon! Thanks for all your prayers! Keep praying for our little Nate, that he just keeps making great progress, and that he will be home with us soon! Love you all!
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