One Last Diagnosis

Journey had another set of chest x-rays today.  They revealed that she has developed viral pneumonia.  Although it sounds bad, they pretty much told us that it is to be expected and that her treatment will remain the same.  Her lungs apparently looked cloudy but didn't have any major spots on them.  This is apparently a good thing! We are still praying that we can reduce and eliminate her need for oxygen soon.  We want our baby girl all better.  Until then...we will be hanging out at the hospital.  

We are really trying to maintain a thankful attitude for several reasons.  We have insurance.  Demetrius' class that was schedule for this week was cancelled.  She is not in ICU.  She is not having to be suctioned.  Her IV was taken out tonight.  She is eating and sleeping well.  She is smiling and playing.  She is getting better!

On the Mend

Raise your hand if you want to go home soon!

I've had some sad days but I'm starting to smile and become playful again!

Our daily visit from Dad and Brother.

The place we've called home.

Aren't I beautiful even in this hospital gown?

Getting our "hopes" up...

Yesterday was a great day for Journey.  She came off oxygen and we were set to go home this morning as long as she maintain her levels throughout the night.  At about 7pm they dropped again and wouldn't come back up without them turning on her oxygen...so that meant we would be staying the night again (night #4).  

We tried again this morning to take her off but had to put her back on again right away.  At about 10am we took her off again and she was good for almost 5 hours before her levels dropped AGAIN! One of the nurses told me this afternoon that most babies her age will stay about a week in the hospital with RSV.  She even said most of them have to stay in the NICU so we are very thankful to have Journey here in the room with us (me :0)  

The good news is that she is improving and that she is just needing a small amount of oxygen. She is nursing again and is starting to give us a glimpse of her old self.  We even got a little smile out of her late yesterday.  I've taken a few pictures of her to post once I get a chance.  

Jayden is doing fine hanging out with Demetrius.  I've been able to visit with him for a little while each day but he is in heaven having daddy all to himself.  He seems to be feeling all better so we are thankful for that!

Keep you posted...

Sick Baby

Jayden and Journey came down with the RSV virus and we have had a difficult time the last few days.  Jayden starting getting cold-like symptoms almost two weeks ago and several days later Journey started to have a little cough.   Since Jayden has never really been sick or needed antibiotics I was certain it was just the common cold and they would feel better in a few days.  Not the case! On Tuesday I decided to take them to the doctor because Jayden was very congested and I wanted him to look at a rash on Journey's face and neck.  I fully anticipated him telling me I jumped the gun and they were just fine.  But he said Jayden had Brochiolitis and prescribed some medicine for him and also some ointment for Journey's neck and face.  He wanted us to watch Journey closely to make sure she didn't start having chest congestion as well.  

By Thursday night Journey was so pitiful we knew we would have to take her to the doctor to get some medicine.  After a nearly restless night I took her to the doctor only to find out that she needed to go to the hospital! Yikes...the hospital confirmed that she has RSV, which also caused Brochiolitis.  So, we have been here at Florida Hospital East for  2 1/2 days and we will be spending our third night here tonight.  She has been receiving breathing treatments, IV fluids and oxygen around the clock and has gotten SO MUCH BETTER!! We are so thankful for our friends and family for praying for our sweet girl.  She really struggled just to breathe for a couple of days and now she is sleeping peacefully.  I will say that my heart was broken for her as I watched her struggle to breath.  It was so hard to see her even get an IV and being suctioned.  She was pretty much awake and being "bothered" by the medical staff for 16 hours straight! 

Please pray for Journey that she will start eating regularly again and that she wouldn't be scared every time someone touches her.  She is really jumpy and gets really upset anytime I try to pick her up or love on her because she thinks someone is about to shove a tube down her nasal cavity or poke her with a needle.   I was able to feed her today and she has maintained her oxygen levels for the past 4 hours on room air! If she continues to maintain them tonight they will probably send us home tomorrow.  

Fun Times

This is what I would look like without much hair! Funny, funny and funny!

My mom always does crazy stuff to my hair when I'm in the bathtub. This day it was a pony tail. We had fun looking in the mirror and laughing.

Am I sweet or what? Oh, and I'm also sleeping 7-8 hours without waking up at night. My parents are so proud!

Sometimes I fall asleep in my swing during the day. Aren't my pj's cute?

Christmas 2008

My sister Angie also come to visit with her friend Amy.  They got Dad this super cool autographed Tampa Bay t-shirt (and football).  We had fun hanging out with them on Christmas Day.

If you will notice he prefers to hold his feet up and let someone push him as opposed to him doing the work himself! Gotta love this kid.

Sweet picture of mom and Ang.

Love this girl's smile! Her whole face scrunches up and her eyes get all squinty.  She is such a joy.

Riding brother's pony.

More Christmas Pics

It's hard to believe he's old enough for his first bike!

And his first "pet" pony!

Old enough for chores? Definitely.

Sharing Christmas bows with "Shish" aka "Nyearn."  These are his two names for Sister and Journey.

This is so much fun!

Christmas with Family

GG and T (Demetrius' mom and sister) spent 5 days here with us.  They brought lots of toys from "Santa" and loved on the kiddos so much.  Thanks for everything mom and sis!

We are so thankful that our families spent another Christmas together.  We are even more thankful that they all traveled from afar to spend it at our house! 
My mom, dad and Nanny were also here for 5 days.  They cooked some amazing food and spoiled the kids as well.  Jayden is copying Nanny's knee exercises every day.  He is such a copycat.  

Nanny loving on Journey and Pop-pop working on a puzzle with Jayden (thanks Grandad for the books and puzzles).  Jayden and Pop spent a lot of time together doing "guy stuff."

Check-ups

We took Jayden and Journey to their checkups last week (his 18mth/her 2mth).  Jayden weighed 24lbs 14oz (34th percentile) and was 33 in. (67th percentile).  Baby Journey was 14lbs 2oz (98th percentile) and 24 inches (94th percentile)! Both of them had 3 shots, which made for an interesting few minutes.  They recovered pretty well and later that day welcomed both of our families into town.  We have spent the last 3 Christmases together and it is such a great thing! More Christmas pics to come...

Growing Up Too Fast

Journey seems to be growing up so fast. I have really allowed myself to enjoy her newborn days and I'm glad because they are dwindling away. I feel it noteworthy to mention that she is wearing a size 6 mth outfit that my friend Morgan gave her (pic above)! And the outfit in the picture below is 3-6mths, which is the size she is consistently wearing. Shane and LaJuan's twins wore the outfit in the picture below less than 2 months ago (they are 9 months old by the way). Needless to say she is growing in every way.

Leaving on a jet plane...

We thought it was noteworthy to blog about Jayden's 20th airplane ride (and Journey's 1st). We have taken several trips since Jayden was born, which we calculated as 20 actual take-offs and landings.

Friends

We were able to visit lots of friends while in Mobile.  I loved this pic of Jennifer and Journey

.

Jayden and Olivia back at it again~these two locked lips with little persuasion. They are almost the exact same size now and even their hair color is similar.

 

Jayden was able to play with Abby too! They were really sweet together.  We are trying to teach Jayden to be gentle with girls...I think he's catching on.  Abby was so sweet and seriously charming. Abby's parents have a blog and we have a link on our page.  Check it out, you will be encouraged! 

I'm in love with this picture.  Abby has such an endearing look on her face.  She is such a cute and sweet spirited little miracle

!

Hudson and Jayden with the "deer in the headlights" look on their faces.  Do they look like trouble or what?  We played at Matt and Morgan's just before we played with Abby.  Let's just say that there wasn't a lot of "gentle" playing going on, which of course we loved!

A Visit to Little Donald (aka D3)

While we were in Mobile we were able to meet Demetrius' cousin Christy's baby boy Donald III.  This little man is a fighter...adorable too.  We didn't get a picture of him because we didn't want to wake him up before it was time to eat!  He is almost 4.5 lbs and should be coming home really soon!  Little Donald was born at 23.5 weeks gestation and he has been growing strong by the grace of God.  Below is a picture of Christy with Journey.  The picture above was taken in the waiting room. 

First Smile on Camera

We were finally able to capture Journey smiling! She mostly smiles and laughs in her sleep but she does occasionally smile back at us.  My mom caught this grin on camera.  She took a million pictures of the kiddos, which is why she wasn't in any of the slide show pics! We had such a great time visiting family and friends.

Journey's Baptism

We were back home in Mobile this past week for Journey's baptism.  We are so thankful that God has blessed us with this little girl! We pray that she will come to know Him and love Him.