Dec 31st

Here we are New Years Eve and I couldn't care less! Ha! I feel like I should want to go out and ring in the new year but I don't. Not even a little bit! I'm going to ring in the New Year with a couple of my favorite people, my hubby, my boy, and my brother. Wish more of my family could come over but that would mean driving home with the dumb ass drunks later and I'd rather they just stay home.

I'm pretty excited my brother, Mikey is in town for a few days. I think Kye's a fan too.

Anyway...Kye goes to get his Fluoroscopie on Monday. I'm almost positive his diaphragm isn't moving. I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure I'm not. I don't really know what to hope for, I guess acceptance and strength. He struggles to breath sometimes so I'd like them to fix it but, I don't want him to have surgery...ho hum. I'm actually not dwelling on it much. I know he's a strong little dude, he's been through the wringer already and he's healthy for the most part. Pesky diaphram, possible missing pec, maybe other minor infractions, hopefully not but I'm steeled for it...just small hurtles to get past. We can do it. So lets get together and say a word for the little guy, I know he's strong but a little prayer can't hurt.

Still Christmas...

Kye ate PEAS!!!!!!

December 25th

You begin to see Christmas decorations and advertisements around, say October. That’s when you begin to think about gifts, time off, family, menu plan, etc... Not that you do anything about it, you’ve got plenty of time! All of a sudden it’s next week. How does that happen!!?? Christmas seems to sneak up on you then in a flash it’s gone. Well here we are; hours, even days of anticipation, an explosion of ribbon and paper and its over. Everyone here has a Christmas hangover right now. No drink involved, just too much thought, to much too wrap, too much to cook, too much to clean, does so and so like their gift, what do I do with the fruit cake so and so gave me…

It’s all worth it for me. I love my family to pieces; I absolutely love buying gifts for them and my joy is seeing their faces when they open them. Unfortunately Kyes too young to LOVE what we got him. It’s a strange thing to unwrap the gift that you wrapped the night before. Another new mom observation. I can’t wait until his face lights up with delight when he sees what ‘Santa” brought him.

Christmas was a success and I’m sad to see it pass so quickly.

Actually….we get to do this again on Saturday! Yeahhhhhhhhhh

Here are Kyes first gifts for

Mom (Supermom)and Dad...

Thur Dec 24th

It's Christmas EVE!!

Looks like he's trying to blend in!

"Ha can ya see me?!"

Kye won't remember or even know whats going on but, we will! I'm so excited! Our tree is beautiful, Santa came by and dropped off some things, all his Grandparents will be here tomorrow, what more could one ask for? We had a great dinner tonight with family and friends and we're about to watch Miracle on 34th street, all is well.

I have to admit I can't wait to tell Kye about Santa. We can say what ever we want to and he'll believe us, this is gonna be awesome.

My dad told me (convinced me) that the signs in the mountains that read, "Watch for falling rock" were about an Indian named Falling Rock who was lost... Kye will know Falling Rock.:-)

Anyway, as far as Kye's health he's doing great. We're going to see another doctor about his pec muscle and chest muscle on that side. Our ped didn't seem worried so I'm not. We've been giving him a tablespoon of rice cereal at night which I'm hoping will help him gain weight faster. We tried with a spoon and he was not having any of it so we mix it into his bottle, so far so good!

Well Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Hi Uncle Ronzo! Welcome home.

Fri Dec 18. I dont have total access right now so... Kyes 12lbs and doing great. O2 is fine. More details later. Oh we can start feeding him solids!

Thur Dec 17

Awww The Boy napping!

Went to the PT today. We got good news and weird news... His little head is perfect (as expected!) Remember he was developing a flat spot as a result of lying on his left side so much in the hospital. Well Momma and Daddy fixed it! We just strapped his head to a board on one side then wrapped it real tight...I'm just play'n! ha

Anyway, he's doing great! He's not favoring any particular side, he's holding his head up as he should, and he's bringing his arms together in front of him..things he should be doing at his age (gestationally).

So now for the weird news. He MAY be missing a pec muscle. Yea seriously. My dad was missing his..it's NOT genetically passed though. Weird huh! It's not for sure. There's diffidently something up with his right pec muscle. It's not as full as the left side and a tendon from his arm to chest is tight. We'll see what the doctor says. Zeke's taking him in the morning. Just to the pediatrician though the pulmonologist is in January. He is struggling to breath still so much that the PT noticed so I'm pretty sure the diaphragm is not working. I think I haven't thought it was that bad because

Sunday Dec 13

"So, I heard your gonna try and steal Christmas. I know I'm little but, you better watch it..." "Oh please don't steal Christmas..it's gonna be my first! I'll share a bottle with ya..."

"This guy's full of hot air, completely harmless. I totally saved Christmas!"

"Your welcome..."

Wed dec 10th

Hi my name is Kye, I like to blow bubbles, take long naps in the afternoon and chat on my rattle phone…

This is the second week he’s been going to Grammy’s in the evening. Grammy’s enjoying the absolute crap out of having him there. It’s going to take some time to iron out a routine for Mom, Dad, and Grammy…and Kye. See Kye, like him Momma, does not like to be woke up. So when we go get him in the evenings we’re trying to figure out the best possible way to allow our little angel to sleep through the whole ordeal. Putting him in his car seat at bedtime seemed to work until we got him home and had to remove him from said car seat. A fit ensued, followed by a 11pm bottle, a very tired Daddy and resulting in a baby who, besides breakfast, slept most of the next day. So last night we tried his bed but Grammy said he wasn’t having any of it so in the swing he went, that seemed to work ok. We got him home and with a little effort got him into bed without major incident. He was a very restless baby throughout the night though…not sure if our half-waking him had anything to do with it or not. Anyway I’m anxious to see how he does if we put him to bed at Grammys. I think if he gets into a deep enough sleep before we get there he’ll stay asleep.

So far that’s the news around here…Oh wait they came and got the monitors yesterday! Oh happy day! His room looks like a baby’s room not a hospital room. It was comforting to have them but, I’m happy to see them go.

That’s it for now. Kye’s doing awesome. He has a doctors appointment next Friday so we’ll know his weight then….I think it’s around 12 pounds.

Friday Dec 4th

First thanksgiving!!!

He had two Thanksgivings this year and so he had two First bibs...but I can't find a picture of him wearing the one from Aunt Linda and Aunt Paulette! So sad because it's super uber cute!!! It's not on my camera. I don't know who's camera took the little Booger modeling it but, if your out there will you email it to me?? Boy does time swiftly slip by these days..(say 'swiftly slip' fast 5 times! ha funny stuff) Before I knew it 2 weeks past and I haven't posted anything! So here are a few pictures from Kye's Thanksgiving holiday. This one is hands down my favorite picture! Awww make you wanna kiss his chubby little cheeks doesn't it!! Daddy and I did just that today, he got one cheek and I got the other. We attacked them over and over again, Kye didn't know what hit'm! He loves his Grammy!!!

Look'n spiffy

Oh Grandpa I love you, now make that face again!!!

What better place to be then Grandma's shoulder....

My very own FAMILY! Who knew this would be so flipp'n awesome! My boys are the greatest..and right here...in this picture...at that particular moment, they both smell wonderful!!

Oh look'it . Sit'n on Daddy's lap...both of'm!
This boy is pimp'n!!

Not sure when this was but I like it so here it is..

All is well with our little Booger Butt. He's eating about 5oz at a time, he's sleeping from 8ish till 5-6am and poop'n like a champ. He weighs about 11.5 lbs I'd say. His next appointment it at the end of this month so we'll see for sure then. He's so much fun I can't even tell you. He's giggling and cooing, he believes he's saying really important things too, you can see it in his eyes! He just looks at you with those eyebrows furrowed, his eyes narrow slightly, one might even close a little, he cocks his head, puckers his lips and out comes 'ftioooooppbth' and a bubble or two! He's very proud of himself! His hands come together and a satisfied smile sweeps over his face, it's awesome!

Oh my Uncle David!!

Thur Nov 26, Thanksgiving

Thank you for you, my beautiful baby boy. We love you like nothing else in this world.

Wow, there are so many things to be thankful for in this situation. I wanted to say thanks to all my friends, family and every one out there who reads this blog. There were some days I could barely keep myself together and somehow writing this helped; you have no idea how much. My heart aches to look at early pictures of him. I don’t think we realized how fragile he really was in the beginning. I also wanted to express my gratitude for the nurses at the hospital, they are bordering on sainthood! We love you guys!! And of course the Powers that be for blessing us with this beautiful boy!

Can you believe how much he’s changed!?!?

My little man came into this world demanding attention and now he holds it with his charm. We are so grateful to have him in our lives…Your Momma and Daddy love you so much, Kye!

Sunday Nov 15

Daddy got to take Kye out on Saturday(for the first time by himself!)...it was for an RSV shot (upper respatory infection...dangerous for babies with lung issues) but, he made the best of it. They stopped by to see me at work and then went by the resturant. I told him to be sure to get a few pictures because it's their first trip out together...this is what we got.

I adore my husband! He cracks me up!! He admits he's not that great at the self photo thing!!! He did ok in the end.

Kye is 10.4 pounds. I wish the little booger would gain faster! He's gaining ok, about 10 oz in 2 1/2-3 weeks, I just worry about him getting enough. He's a happy little guy though. I mean he has his fits, as most of you know (he can throw an impressive fit!) but, as a whole he's a good baby. We have no problem putting him to bed (knock on wood) he'll lay there and play till he falls asleep. When he wakes up he'll usually play some before fussing to eat. He still has his stomach issues, you can actually hear his belly gurgling...poor kid. Hopefully he'll grow out of that soon enough.

Tue Nov 11

Here are a couple of pictures of our walk in Forest park. We decided late Sunday (A friend and I...and Kye's future best friend)to meet up and stroll around on a beautiful Monday afternoon. We planned to meet around 12-12:30ish. I'm fortunate that, said friend and I have planned many things together, including getting pregnant, because unlike getting pregnant together this plan didn't work out as smoothly as...well planned. It didn't seem like an adventure when we decided to go, didn't think we needed a schedule to follow in order to achieve the goal of a stroll. Well my friends let me tell you it took us about 4 hours to take a 20 minutes walk! Who knew! We both needed to eat, then the boy's needed to eat and poop and...I can't even tell you why it took us so long to actually get to the walk! For about half the time we were crammed in my little car tending to the kids! It's crazy how much time floats away when your trying to do something that used to be a very simple task. I'm so glad I had her to experience this with! If I try to explain to anyone (except a mom) how long it took and how tired I was after they'd think I was insane and very out of shape! I'm lucky to have a friend to share all of this with, it's truly priceless.

Oh and I thought this was adorable so I added it...

Sunday November 8 09

sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet boy!!!!!

Kye's doing great! He's gonna be a musician like his Uncle Mike and Uncle David! These tiny rattles are perfect for him...maybe we'll move him on to something a little bit cooler later! He loves to shake rattle and roll! He's laughing a lot now and holding onto things, as you can see here! I tried to get a video up but had trouble so, here's a pic.

Our new thing is tummy time. He's not a big fan so far! We're working on it though. I've talked to lots of mom's who are having the same issue. Since 'back to sleep' became the thing to do, kids don't get much time on their bellies. It's good for upper body development and neck strength...really pisses him off though!

When we went to the physical theripist, she said his little head has a slight flat spot on the left side. For so long we weren't able to lay him on his right (Doc said we can now but we're still leary). We've always rotated him, something we learned in the NICU to help head shape but not as much on his right; we're working on that too. We have another appointment with the pt in a few weeks to check progress. Babies heads are pretty pliable so it should even out by then.

It was so nice out that we went on our first stroller walk today! He loved it! I think the fresh air did him good.

Friday Oct 30th

Happy Halloweenie!!!!

Daddy and I went to the pumpkin patch with Kevin, Ninfa, and Beth last Sunday. Then we went to the pizzeria and carved them up. It was a blast! We decided to have a little fun with Booger butt. We couldn't let his first Halloween go by without his very own pumpkin could we! I mean, how much more adorable can you get?! Ya just can't stand it can you! Makes you wanna squeeze the pants right off of him doesn't it. Your making 'that' face right now aren't you? You know the one-eyebrows up, lips puckered, ooowww coming from said puckered lips. Can't really be helped with all this cuteness floating around! We had a ball playing with the boy and his pumpkin. He was good for about 15 minutes! Thats ok though it was like the red carpet with all the flashes going off so we got quite a few good pics. Not all on my camera though. If I get any that are unbelievable I'll post'm.

He's doing great otherwise. He's been off all the monitors for almost a full week now. Mom and Dad are sleeping just fine, thanks for asking! He was so good for such a long time before we took him off we're pretty comfortable.

'They' told us that it's good to have air circulating in the room, not directly on him and not to let it get to warm...So I have gotten up quite a few times to check the atmosphere in his room, obsessing about it when I lay down and then checking again. Ok I aim my phone at him every time I get up to make sure he's breathing too...sometimes I poke him to make him move. Whatever, you would to.

Here's a video I thought was uber cute! Yep, I'm force feeding you my tacky home videos!! Again UBER CUTENESS! It does get a touch long, the best part is in the beginning. I didn't know how to cut it down...hell to be honest I barely figured out how to get it posted!

Anyway this has been a busy week! Grandma Byrd and Aunt Doris were here spoiling the pants off the Boy! We miss you and LOVE you guys!!! Zeke and I went out to dinner and a movie...Zombieland...AWESOME btw. and we went to the pumpkin patch on Sunday with Ninfa, Kevin, and Beth.

Oh big news everybody...Kye is OFF the monitors!!! I spoke to the nurse (go between the dr and I) and I told her I'd be more comfortable if we could keep the monitors here in case we freak out so, we've got them for a couple of weeks. He's been doing great so I should be able to sleep tonight...doubtful though!

Friday Oct 23

Two weeks without o2!!

He had a heart rate drop last week and last night. I called the doctor to report how he's been, he requested I call so he can decide to keep or remove the monitors. Anyway, long story short, the drop is most likely due to his growth. As babies get bigger the heart rate slows, it's normal. His monitors are set for a faster beat. YEAAAA ANyway just wants to post something quickly. He's doing grandma Byrd and Aunt Doris are visiting this weekend, so exciting! Aunt Doris hasn't seen him in uhhh probably 5 pounds! The pic is a little blury but cute!

Happy 4 month birthday my sweet Boogie

Dr visit went well. Got some shots- he did fantastic! Still have tocall choo kang regarding the monitors..

Sunday Oct 18th

This is what ya call a milk hang over...

Kye has perfected the 'pouty face'!!!

Yeaaaaa we made it a week without oxygen!!! He's doing fantastic. His sat levels have been pretty consistent the entire week. A few dips here and there but thats to be expected, I mean when ya poop, if ya push, ya don't breath as deep. So, we'll see what the doc wants us to do.

He's been sleeping longer too. Sometimes 5 hours. It's weird because I have wished and prayed for this day yet, when he sleeps this long I end up checking on him every 10 min! My head begins to wonder if somethings wrong...I check to be sure he's breathing..sometimes I poke him if it's not abundantly clear. Is that wrong? ;-) He's been eating ABOUT an ounce for every hour he sleeps but, not always. That worries me. I guess if he's gaining weight it's fine. Oh btw he's 9.7 pounds! I forgot to mention that last week. He's like a REAL SIZED baby now!

He's talking so much too, He's a pretty charming little man. He's so expressive! He's also kicking his little feet, well usually just one at a time unless he's really excited. It's like he's riding a one peddled bike. Soo cute!

Tue Oct 13

The Boy's doing great! His lungs are more clear then his last xray, he's gaining weight and breathing on his own so, no surgery in his near future. It is still a possibility. His diaphragm is still elevated which means it's still not working properly. Since this was a still photo they can't tell if its moving or not. We've got another appointment in January to do a fluoroscopys; the 'video xray'. We'll be able to see if its fixing itself at that time and we'll go from there. Dr. Choo-Kang seems pretty happy with his progress. We have to call him next week and let him know how his sat levels are...if all is well he's going to order him off the monitoring. SCARY!!! I'm excited as much as I am nervous. Honestly he hasn't had any serious issues with breathing for sometime now, even before leaving the NICU. So, It'll be fine.

Oh we stopped by the NICU today to visit since we were there for our appointment. We got to see Karen, Rachael and another NICU momma. They were all impressed with how much he's grown. Ya know, I miss them. I DO NOT miss him being in the hospital in any way but, the women I met there were phenomenal. The other Momma and I have kept in touch, usually at 3 am when were both 'nursing'. She's such a sweet person, she has two babies there, one is going home tomorrow so send a few prayers her way. It's going to be tough I imagine, until they are both at home. NICU Parents are a tough lot though, it takes a hell of a lot to get us down.

I'm trying to get a video of Kye playing, it's the cutest thing EVER! Little turd shuts down the charm when I get the camera out. Or (lets be fair) I have the wrong setting, a finger in the way or not enough light... I'll keep trying though!

Oh AND Kye's best friend was born on the 11th! He's bigger then Kye already! We love you!!!!!

He's up playing and sating 98!! He's adorable but I can't wait till he falls asleep!

Sunday Oct 11

Look at that beautiful baby!

LOOK GUYS NO TUBE!!!

So far he's doin ok. I'd like him to sat a little higher. He's hanging out around 97/95, sometimes dipping to 91ish. If he stays below 95 we have to put it back on. Keep him in your thoughts. Tonight and tomorrow will be the true test...

Oh and by BTW his bestie, Parker, was born today at 10:10am.....YEAAAAAAAAAAA

Thur Oct 8

Grandma is here!!! She let Momma and Daddy sleep ALL NIGHT last night! We love LOVE LoVe her!!!

Kye's doing great. He's still at .01 and sating in the upper 90's-100. Cindy the nurse came by for her last visit Yesterday..I'll miss her. Besides being great with Kye she was fun to talk to. Anyway, He's about 8.9 pounds and 20 1/2 in long.

Well thats it, just wanted to post a few pictures and check in while I had a minute.

Sun Oct 4

Our little rock n roller is moving right along!

He's starting to interact with me more and more everyday. Unfortunately for me he's usually in the mood to play at 3am but, who could complain! I'm mesmerized by this beautiful boy of ours and I'm fascinated by just about everything he does! So lately, we've been making faces at one another and he tries really hard to coo and goo. It's so cute, he'll smile real big, strain a little, squint his eyes, turn his head slightly and lo and behold out comes the tiniest of squeaks! Damn cute, I tell ya, DAMN cute.

We turned his oxygen down to .01 today! So far so good, everybody do what you do to send positive Mo Jo his way!! If all goes well next Sunday we'll take him off of the oxygen! Exciting and scary all at the same time!! We'll be able to monitor him for awhile after...even if I have to lie to keep the machines! I believe thats the only way we'll get any sleep that first week!

Grandma and Grandpa came down this weekend. I had to work and Zeke manned the Garage sale so, we didn't really get to see them much...of course they weren't here to see us!!Kye absolutely LOVED having them! I'm pretty sure Grandma held him the entire time! He was pretty upset when they left. Sadly I didn't get any pictures of the visit to post but, Grandma will be back this week..I'll make up for it then!!

Uncle Zo came by also...oh I'm sorry...Dark Man came by. Uncle Zo thinks he's a super hero. I told him Kye can call him Dark Man only if he wears a cape when he see's him. I'm not putting it past him! lol

Anyway things are going good. Kye has reverted back to eating every 3 hours at night and napping for long stretches during the day...o-well sleep is way over rated!

Tue Sept 29

Man is it difficult to find time to do anything that's not baby related! I can't seem to get online as much as I thought I would. No matter what I do, when he sleeps theres a house to pick up, a phone call to make, a nap to be taken, a dog to feed, a shower to be taken, etc... I always think, "When I get caught up I'll sit down and post something." well it NEVER gets done!! Seriously, when one thing gets finished another thing takes it's place. When the house gets picked up, Kye wakes up and suddenly the house is covered in baby paraphernalia.Grandma Byrd even came to stay with us for the week and I still couldn't keep up! O-well baby smiles make it all worth it! I mean look at him! I could just eat him up!!!
So, I'll just post when I can. No more daily posts people, I can't do it, I'm not a super hero after all.......oh wait I kinda am ;-)








It's been wonderful having Grandma Byrd here. She's been a huge help and most importantly kyes gotten to know his great grandma... Not to mention mommas been able to take a few naps when the little bugger butt didn't see a need her to sleep at night. Grandma byrds been doing a little bit of
spoiling which Kyes has thoroughly enjoyed. It' was awesome to see my little man resting soundly
on grandma byrds shoulder and I don't think she minded either. She's given us lots of baby tips and changed many a diaper! He
finally initiated her the other day with one of his infamous poos! Well not the 'shoot across the room' type but pretty close!
Well, we love you grandma Byrd and we wish you'd stay for...ever?????



Kyes been doing great at home. A few belly issues here and there but nothing too crazy. The other night he was extra fussy so I called the
pediatrician exchange to find out if there was anything I could give him. Wow I will not make that mistake again! After answering questions
like 'Is he in severe abdominal pain, crying as he lifts his legs with
moments of relaxation as he puts his legs down?". To which I answered
" I don't think he's in severe abdominal pain. He is drawing his legs
up as he cries and not relaxing when he puts them down." this
nurse told me that a doctor should see him within an hour! At first I
freaked out then I looked at kye, I had answered so many questions that
he was sound asleep on daddy. I just wanted to know how to help him
poop for crying out loud! Anyway they had the doctor call me who told me I didn't need to go the the ER. I ended up calling one of our NICU nurses (who knows Kye) and she suggested Mylicon. It works wonders. Thanks Danielle.