Crew's 6 month check up...

It didn't go very well.

First of all he's still wheezy.  We tried an albuterol treatment and the wheezing didn't improve.  It's been a little over 2 weeks...once he hits 3 weeks and is still wheezing he will need another appointment to come up with a different plan.  He should be done wheezing by then and has improved a TON from the last two weeks. And since he's sick we didn't do his shots.  I'll have to go back this next week to have them done.

The next thing is...he's physically delayed.  He will not put weight on his legs.  You pick him up and try to stand him and his legs to jello like and wants to sit.  He does do it every once in a while but it's never for longer than a second or two.  And he doesn't push himself up when he's on his stomach.  He will occasionally but is not consistent at it.  So the next step is physical therapy.  Boo.  The doc said it's fairly common and he's not too concerned about it - as long as we can get him caught up with PT.  I knew he was delayed but I was waiting for his wellness check before I questioned it.

But his stats are:

Height: 25.75 cm (50%)
Weight: 13 pounds 11 oz (10%)
Head Circ: 41.9 cm (5%)

His points on the scale are extremely linear, which means he's growing at the same rate! That's good news for our little guy!  He's little just like his brother...only Crew is a little smaller (but taller) than Cooper.

Overall, Crew is happy and healthy.  He's had a rough start to life and continues to have a few rough patches developing.  He will eventually catch up and will be jumping off furniture like his big brother!

Winter?

We have had a very mild winter so far. It's flurried a hand full of times and one day of accumulation (that was rained off over night). On January 4th the weather was in the 50's. I bundled Cooper up and let him play outside!! We eventually were too warm for our coats but we were still bundled up enough with a few layers and a hat.

 He's really into planes and he spotted one while we were out there!

 playing on his slide that a very generous friend gave to him.

 brave enough to go down it on his own!! 

 Playing peek a boo and trying to get mom to play in there.

I absolutely love this picture. His eyes are so pretty.

I just LOVE this little boy!

NICU

January 1st was my first day in the NICU.  It was very interesting to say the least! Much different than any other unit that I have been on.  My preceptor is the change nurse on the unit and gets pulled off for various reasons so I am able to do a lot of things on my own, which is nice. I like the constant routine: assessment, change diaper, feed - every three hours. The slightest changes in the assessment may mean something very important so I have to be very aware of what's happening with my baby and the "norm" for that infant. I'm learning a ton and have great support from other staff members!

So everything is going good so far. Overwhelming but enjoyable!

6 Months!!

It's hard to believe little Crew has been in our family for 6 months now! I still feel like we just brought him home! Here's a little update on our littlest man:

- he is a very serious little boy. It's hard to make him laugh. But when we do it's super cute!

- he can roll over from his tummy to his back. he HATES being on his tummy.

- his hair is dark and curly when wet.

- he's still a mommy's boy!! and he LOVES Cooper! 

- he loved his cereal the first few times. Now he makes faces like he's eating a lemon and blows raspberries with each bite. Now he screams whenever we try to feed him any type of foods. It's crazy and frustrating!

- he loves bath time!

- he sure is a talker. He babbles non stop all day long!

- continues to sleep through the night. We have never let him cry for more than a minute and doesn't need to be held to go to sleep. I can rock him over and over and it hasn't changed the way he goes down at night. It's AWESOME!!

- he's growing out of his 0-3 months clothes.

- likes TV... not the greatest thing ever.

- he loves to play with my face and grab at my glasses.

- he's starting to try and hold his own bottle.

- refuses to stand on his legs. he'll kick against things and put weight on his legs occasionally but really could care less. The docs aren't worried.

I could go on forever and ever about our little boy! He's growing at the same pace, which is much slower than Cooper. Most days it's hard for me to understand that he's his own person and that nothing is wrong with him. He most definitely is his own little person and NOTHING like his older brother!! We sure do love having his sweet spirit in our home. Happy 6 months bud!!

27!

Brady celebrated his 27th birthday this year!! It's been our 9th birthday together and by far the most boring night ever. As tradition I made him his favorite - chicken cordon bleu with mashed potatoes and his favorite confetti cake. We put Cooper and Crew down to bed and enjoyed a nice, quiet dinner just the two of us. As for presents...he ordered another suite from his brother in law.  Hopefully it'll be coming in the next week or two!

 the famous meal

I did make him a birthday banner and a card from the boys. He really appreciated the homemade cards :)

New Year's Eve 2010

We went to Logan, Utah to visit Brady's best friend/cousin and his cute little family! We were only there for a few hours but we had fun visiting and meeting Beckett for the first time.  

When we left for Utah that morning we noticed Crew was starting to sound sick.  Poor little guy had a runny nose and goopy eyes!  I was afraid it was pink eye but it ended up just being a bad head cold.  It cleared up in a day or two. That night we were all exhausted and were in bed by 9! I had to work on the first (my first day in NICU) so I needed to get enough sleep.  It was a great way to bring in the New Year!

Christmas 2010

This year we headed to Rexburg for Christmas!  We headed over there on Saturday morning and planned to leave on the Monday after Christmas. The boys did great during the ride and it was nice to spend the holiday with family.  On the ride we noticed Cooper was starting to get a runny nose and cough really bad.  Christmas Eve night was HORRIBLE and the only person who got sleep that night was Crew.  We ended up leaving for home on Christmas day so Cooper would rest.  Overall we were spoiled and had a great Christmas!!

 Santa came and brought us LOTS of gifts!

 Cooper opening presents

 Crews turn!

 the boys at Grandma and Grandpa Ellis'

looking at his new car!

We're still here!

Life has been busy. Since the last post we've celebrated Christmas, New Years and Brady's 27th birthday! I started orienting to the NICU, which requires a TON of studying and tests - not including the full time work hours. The boys are loving life and happy most of the time. Crew will be 6 months old this month and Cooper turns 2 next! So until I have more "free" time to blog every special event here are a few pictures of the boys playing:

Cooper likes to build towers as high as he can. He must use every block before he claps with excitement!

 Crew is more serious than Cooper ever was. It's hard to get a good laugh out of this guy. But when we do his eyes squint and he has the deepest little chuckle!

 Here is a tender moment. Crew is very much a mama's boy and often cries if I'm around for me to show him attention. But this night he was perfectly content playing with daddy.

I really do love my boys! They are all very different and keep me on my toes!! There's never a dull moment in our home.