Sunday, Sunday

We stayed at the hospital late last night in order to do the 11:00 p.m. feeding, and we woke up in time to do the 8:00 a.m. feeding this morning.  Of course, in between those times, Courtney pumped and took meds.

We woke up to a lot full of bicyclers this morning in front of the Ronald McDonald House.  They were having a charity ride today.  Ronald was even there.  The house is very nice, and we are quite thankful for a close place to stay.  You can see it here:  Ronald McDonald House Orlando. 

 All went well last night for Tennyson.  And, she ate well this morning.  Courtney got in some kangaroo care while watching church stream from the computer.  After a doughnut break to the cafeteria, we are back at it again.  So, today will pretty much be a repeat every three hours, except we'll try to squeeze some NFL in also!

Saturday Night Update

Tennyson continues to eat well.  Unfortunately, she has had a couple bradycardias (dropped heart rate) after eating.  Thus, it looks like they want to observe her for at least three days with no bradycardias.  So, not sure exactly when we will be discharged.  Until then, we just keep taking fun pics and enjoying loving visitors.

Dinner Time (every three hours)

Tennyson continues to grow and eat.  She just started the bottle on Wednesday with only 2 ml.  That was gone in 2 secs.  Then, they bumped her up by 2 ml every other feeding.  Yesterday (Friday) was the first trial run for nursing.  Of course, she was a pro and slurped it down.  We weigh her before and after nursing to make sure she is getting enough.  Then, after nursing, she gets a bottle in case she is still hungry.  Last night, she put about 30 ml down, and during the night, she sucked down 40 ml from the bottle (while mom and dad caught up on sleep).  Everyone seems to believe she will be leaving soon.  We'll see!  Courtney is officially discharged from the hospital, and we are staying at a fantastic Ronald McDonald House. 

Pic of the Day & Update

All continues to move along well.  Tennyson is eating more and more each feeding.  Courtney will be discharged tomorrow, at which point, we will stay at the Ronald McDonald House next to the hospital.  Enjoy a couple pics from today -- with and without hat. 



New Routines

Miss Tennyson made great gains today. She is off the c-pap machine; she tasted her first lunch today; she moved to Level 2 (a good move); and she practiced nursing just a bit. She now gets fed every 3 hours. Thus, Courtney (seen below) wanders the hall to Tennyson's room, feeds her, pumps, and tries to rest until the next feeding. Good times!

Moving Ahead

Tennyson is progressing well. She ditched the c-pap machine today before noon, and then she had her first lunch of momma-milk via bottle at noon. Courtney snagged her for some kangaroo care time (skin to skin) before her next feeding. Her stats are all looking good, so they will move her to a crib and clothes this afternoon. Her next job is to maintain her body temperature while in the crib.

First Bath

Miss Tennyson had her first bath tonight. That gave her the opportunity to shed her c-pap mask for a few minutes . . . and for us to get some face time. She was not thrilled with the wet rub down, and she turned as red as a lobster during the bath. However, she seemed to like her hair shampooed and combed. Typical girl!

Introducing . . . Miss Tennyson

The best laid schemes of mice and men / Go oft awry -- Robert Burns.

Originally, a c-section was planned for Thursday, the 23rd of September. This gave Mark time to file leave paperwork, find a plane flight, and get to Orlando. However, Courtney called Monday morning and said plans were laid to deliver our baby tomorrow (Tuesday). She had an amniocentesis that morning, and all signs pointed to GO. Mark quickly perused the airline options and found a flight leaving Lubbock that afternoon. However, given the time to drive to Lubbock, the time difference, and the one hour early airline policy, that meant Mark would have to leave in two hours.

Thus, he rushed to get his leave paperwork signed. Then, he returned to book a flight. Three options were available. When Mark tried to book the first option, "this flight is no longer available." Second option -- "this flight is no longer available." Same for option number three. Now what? Option 4 -- another city! Fortunately, a later flight was available. And, when Mark went to the book the flight -- "system is currently down. Try again later" Ugh! So, Mark called the airline and booked the flight that way.

Then, he rushed home, packed, and headed out the door. He arrived in Orlando at 11:30 p.m. When he arrived, he found out the amnio test had not come back yet, but they expected to know by 4:00 a.m. A pillow was found by 1:00 a.m. When Courtney called at 4:00, the results were in, but the doctor had not seen them yet. However, the nurses did not expect the c-section to happen. Then, the hospital called and said "go time." So, up at 4:00 and out the door.

Prep time happened from 5:30 to 7:30, and all were in the Operating Room by 7:30. Three wonderful mentors/friends of Courtney arrived and were there to cheer on the arrival of Tennyson. They all got to watch the delivery through a window. Mark got to watch the baby be pulled from the belly, and Tennyson entered the world looking like a plump purple skittle. She was immediately whisked away to the NICU, and she was put on a c-pap machine. Other than a little extra help breathing, she seems to be doing great.

The tale of the tape:
Tennyson Hope Taylor
5 pounds, .5 oz.
18 3/4 inches
Born at 7:58 a.m.

Mom and baby are both doing well. Courtney has already heaved herself out of bed, ventured to the NICU to visit Tennyson (she would have crawled if necessary), pumped, eaten some food, and sneaked in a nap.

We look forward to adding to our picture collection, and you can get a sneak peak from the pics below. Thanks for all the well wishes and support.

Bubbles

Grandma is in town to watch the girls while Mark heads to Florida to meet Miss Tennyson. So, we made a little trip to Walmart to buy some fun games. Among those games was Bubbles! We bought a package of 27 wands and a big ol' bottle of bubbles. That should keep them entertained for a few minutes. Of course, Olivia showed how she didn't need a wand; she just used her hands!

Next post should be of new baby pics! Stay tuned.

I Go Out Walking

Last night, I walked around a corner to find a wandering two year old sporting her pajamas and a stylish sun hat. The problem? It was 10:30 at night! The toddler was put in bed at 7:00.




When confronted, she just looked at me. "What are you doing?" I asked.



"I was just checking on Olivia."



"Did you wake her up?"



"I kissed her."

"Go back to bed," I said as best I could with a straight face. Fortunately she slept in the next day and only woke up at sunrise.

Precious Moments

It was a tough day for a toddler trying to assert her independence.

The target: the babysitter.
The objective: make sure not to obey no matter the consequences.
The war front: a toy that needed to be picked up

Mark received a phone call this afternoon from a befuddled babysitter. She explained that Katelee had been in "time out" for about 30 minutes now, but she would still not "give in." The babysitter had asked her to pick up a toy, but Katelee defiantly said "no." Thus, she earned a time out until she could pick up the toy. A logical kid would have picked up the toy. Katelee, on the other hand, decided to make her stand. Thus, she just cried (without tears) for 30 minutes. Unsure of how to counter this effective maneuver, the babysitter finally called a life line. Of course, Katelee sensed reinforcements and a change in strategy was coming, so she promptly became quiet at that point.

This scenario actually played out (but not quite to the same extent) three times with the babysitter. Then, it occurred again when dad got home.

Sensing it was a tough day for the tiny toddler, Mark put her to bed a bit early. Then, he climbed into bed with her and rubbed her back and sang her some songs. After about 20 minutes, Katelee rolled over, threw her arm over Mark's neck, and said "I love you so much."

Feeling that special father-daughter bond, Mark replied, "I love you so much too."

Katelee's responded: "Whew, you have some stinky breath." "And your teeth are yellow." (never mind that it is dark and she can't see my teeth)

Oh well, maybe I'll have better luck with my other daughter. So, Mark headed to Olivia's room to tuck her in and sing her a song. Just sing me a lullaby she requested. After a rendition of "Baby Mine," Olivia offered: "not bad for getting it wrong."

Good night girls.

Ready for School

Olivia showing her Missouri spirit in New Mexico.

A Study of Comparisons

The girls enjoyed another day with the new babysitter. Granted, they are testing their boundaries. Katelee, when given a command to pick up toys says: "why don't you pick them up." Meanwhile, Olivia says: "I don't have to because you aren't my mom and you don't live here." Fortunately, the babysitter doesn't put up with that kind of nonsense!

A Study of Comparisons

1. Supervised fun -- building a fort and enjoying a cold hose.

2. Unsupervised fun -- crushing all the dixie cups and putting them in the sink while dad talks to mom on the phone.

Enjoying parenthood.

Rainbows & Ballerinas

Olivia Makes the Paper

All Dressed Up and . . .

The girls decided to wear their butterfly shirts today for church. Fortunately, they had different colored head bands so we could tell them apart from each other. We stopped by BK for lunch and enjoyed it on our back porch (except for the pesky flies).

One Week Down

After a week of acclimating to New Mexico, the house seems to be settling just a bit. Furniture seems to be finding a home. Of course, all the furniture has been warned not to get too comfortable where it is sitting because it will likely be moved once Courtney arrives home. Olivia is becoming more accustomed to the idea of school. And, in true education fashion, she has learned the value of the weekend too -- "NO SCHOOL!" Katelee has had a couple babysitters, and she will get another one this week. Yet, she seems to be managing it well (minus the first minute of Mark leaving). Even the cats seem to be enjoying their new surroundings. Grass is a new thing, and it seems they like it! There are just two things missing -- MOMMA & Tennyson. All in good time though.

On the Road to Home

Mark left Florida last week for Missouri to pick up the girls. The trip was relatively uneventful, which is good considering the truck was packed with a dog and two cats. He had the great pleasure of stopping in Nashville to have dinner with his good friend, Meghan. The friend is actually married to Matthew Perryman Jones, a great musician. Check him out on Facebook. Eventually, he made it to Missouri and got to visit with family and pick up the girls. Then, he loaded the truck up with one dog, two cats, two girls, and couple more suitcases. What could go wrong? Actually, the first eight hours went very well. There were a few lessons learned though.

1. DVD players are a wonderful blessing that make the time go much quicker. I’m certain the covered wagons would have crossed the prairie faster if their kids would have had DVDs to watch.

2. Two cats, two girls, one dog: the frequency of stops will be determined by the weakest bladder.

3. Kids have their traveling limits. Eight hours seemed to be ours.

4. A new day does not set the clock back to zero traveling hours. The previous day’s eight hours carry over. Thus, the girls’ traveling limit starts earlier the next day.

5. A good dinner with a good friend makes a long trip tolerable.

6. Cats cannot howl for a continuous eight hours. They only last about two.

7. Unlike a dog, evidently a cat will poop in its kennel. Kids think that is funny.

We did stop eventually in Shamrock, TX. This gave us time to swim, eat, and sleep. Then, the next day, we made the last few hours to New Mexico. We stopped by the realtor's office, picked up our keys, and went to see our new house.

THE GIRLS POSE IN FRONT OF THEIR NEW HOME

Once we got inside, Mark filmed the girls exploring the rooms. The cats and dog did the same. We unloaded our stuff, registered Olivia in Kindergarten, went to get dinner, and then set up camp -- a bedroom floor. One night on the floor was enough; then we checked into base lodging for a few nights.

The next morning was Olivia's first day of school! Thanks to her mother and her grandmother carefully pre-arranging all the aesthetic details (clothes, hair, etc.), how could a dad screw up? She was excited to go! So, we walked to school, backpack loaded.

OLIVIA MEETS HER TEACHER -- MS. DAVIS

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Katelee entertains herself in a big, empty house. She has a babysitter while dad works.

After school, Olivia gives Courtney an update of the activities via Skype.

Olivia has already met one friend -- a boy -- who she says she will marry. She has also already learned the value of the weekend. "Is today Friday?" she asks. Yes. "Good, tomorrow is Saturday, and we don't have school." Amen!

On the Move . . . Or, Sitting Still

Nothing is happening very quickly!

As we wrap up our final days in Orlando, Courtney continues to rest and Tennyson continues to grow. Saturday the 21st will mark Week 31 for Tennyson, which also means 3 more weeks of bed rest for Courtney. Although Courtney continues to expierience contractions, they don't seem to be affecting Tennyson as much. Her heart rate generally looks pretty good.

Meanwhile, back at the house, everything is packed into boxes. Yet, the truck won't arrive until Monday to load it all. Then, Mark will hit the road to pick up the girls and head to our new home. We are looking forward to getting settled again in our new place. We'll miss seeing all the fun sites of Florida -- alligators, Mickey Mouse, and strange moths.