It's the most wonderful time

We had a fantastic Christmas!

A nice relaxing day at home.
I got food poisoning Christmas Eve....no one eat sonic tater-tots.

Lincoln and his great grandma




Christmas Eve dinner...chicken enchilladas

He looks like a little old man santa

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Back to work

I headed back to work today for the first time in nine weeks. I haven't had that much time off since I was 16. I knew I was in trouble when I went to Wal-mart this morning and almost started crying half way through because I left Lincoln home with Will. Can you blame me?


I worked a whole 4 hours and then Kellie asked if I wanted to go home....I couldn't resist.

I almost forgot about this!

Christmas Tree Oh Christmas Tree

We had lots of fun decorating our tree this year, especially knowing we are going to be home to enjoy it. This is the first year we have spent Christmas at home, and we are pretty excited! This time last year we were getting ready for our trip to Europe. I love Christmas!

2 months

Lincoln had his 2 month check up today with the pediatrician, everything looks great! Since the last visit two weeks ago he has gained 1 pound! So he has been gaining an ounce a day, which is typical baby weight gain. What a relief! I have been stressing like crazy.
His heart sounds good, his wounds are healing well, and we went down on his meds. Poor Lincoln also had to get all of his vaccinations today, one of which was synagis a medication to protect babies from RSV. Since Lincoln was born with a heart defect he qualifies for this very expensive medication. Each shot is $2500 and he needs 5 doses! Can you beleive that? Thank goodness for medicaid.

I'm in love

I have a hard time getting anything done. Not because Lincoln is a hard baby but because he is so hard to put down.

He has my ears

Who does Lincoln look like? When the doctor handed him to me my first thought was "I just gave birth to me". The cuter he gets the more I think he looks more like Will...I was not a cute baby.

(Forgive the picture quality, it's the only baby picture we have of Will)

What should I be doing while Lincoln is taking a nap? Laundry, dishes, calling doctors about bills. But instead I am taking pictures of my ears and posting them on our blog. I didn't take a picture of Will's ear because unfortunately there is no question about it, Lincoln has my ears.





What do you think? Does Lincoln look more like me or Will?

Let it snow

It's funny, I was just talking to Will the other day about how everything looks so dry and ugly after all the leaves fall off the trees. That's why God made winter, to make it beautiful again. I opened my front door to this.
I didn't notice the white little dog sitting on my porch; it scared me half to death when he started to run away.
Will just finished the second to last project for his class. He has been working on it non-stop for the last five days. I occasionally placed Lincoln in his arms to ensure that he gets some daddy bonding time.
Lincoln had to have a holter monitor on for 24 hours due to some PVC's (premature ventricular contraction) in his heart rate. We should get the results in a few days.

At his last pediatrician visit he weighed 7 pounds 15 ounces, up only an ounce from the previous visit. Other than not gaining weight he is doing great. He eats between 2-3 ounces occasionally takes 4. We love this little guy so much!

Letter to Lincoln

As I was looking back through my journals I found a letter I wrote for Lincoln.

Dear Lincoln,
I can't believe how much I would have taken for granted. I don't want to forget how it felt to have my heart ache to hold you. So I'm making you some promises to help me remember.

I promise to remind you everyday just how special you are.
I promise to embrace every moment we have together.
I promise to remember how I WANTED to change your diapers.
I promise to remember how hearing your cry was music to our ears.
I promise that someday, somehow I will find a way to show you how much you are loved.
I promise to teach you the power of prayer.
I promise you will know the complete and perfect love our Heavenly Father has for you.
I promise that your dad loves you more than life itself. He will be your ultimate role model.
I promise that miracles happen. You are a miracle.
I promise to be a good example.
I promise to love you unconditionally.
I promise to teach you to stay positive.

You are so loved


Love,
Mom

Rewind

Rewind to the plane ride home. The plane ride itself was great, Lincoln slept the whole time. Getting to the plane was the nerve racking part. We asked about bypassing security to limit the proximity of Lincoln to other possible parasite carriers. They sent us to the family line, full of little kids and old people. After what felt like hours, but was actually minutes, we made it to our gate. Will placed our bags on the two seats on each side of us so no one could sit anywhere close to Lincoln.
After we got settled on the plane I breathed a sigh of relief, and asked Will to bust out the chocolate. As we were eating I noticed a small piece of brown substance on Lincolns blanket. Will picked it up and looked at it.

ME: That might be poo.
WILL: No its chocolate, why would it be poo?
ME: Well I just....
He stuck it in his mouth as I was trying to explain that I had just changed Lincoln, and his poo looked very similar to the substance on the blanket.
WILL: It's chocolate
ME: *Laughing uncontrollably*

Happy Thanksgiving

So grateful for...

These two

Will has been such a good support through all of this, and such a great dad. He spent the last 6 weeks taking care of me and protecting little Lincoln. I am so grateful that I had him by my side, I know that I couldn't have done it with out him. Especially how involved he was in Lincolns care at the hospital. He always knew what medications Lincoln was on, the dosage, and what their purpose was. If he didn't, he spent the night doing research, so he could ensure Lincoln was getting the best care possible. All the nurses joked around saying that by the time we left Will would have his undergrad in cardiology. He did everything possible to make my life easier. Whether it be washing my pumping equipment out, running down to fill my water bottles because I refused to drink California water, running upstairs countless times because I forgot something in our room, handling the headache of figuring out insurance, or taking care of me while I was sick, he was willing to do anything and everything on my behalf.

I am so grateful for Lincoln. 30 years ago I wouldn't be holding him in my arms right now. I can't imagine my life without him. He is such a sweet baby.

I am grateful to be home.
I am grateful for the Gospel and the peace it brings to my life.
And I am grateful for all the prayers that were said in our behalf.
Thank you.

Notice anything different?

We took out the tube! I went to the pediatrician on Monday, and he said that as soon as Lincoln was taking 50ml of the 60 by mouth then he would take out the feeding tube. At the time Lincoln had not been making much progress and would cry every time he had to swallow. I mentioned that the tube seemed like it was irritating him and the Doctor said "It might be uncomfortable but it doesn't hurt." In my book, pain and discomfort are one in the same for infants. It's not painful to have a poopy diaper but they sure let you know if they have one.

So after much thought, Will and I just pulled the tube out ourselves last night. Before you think we are neglectful parents, hear me out. We came to the conclusion that the tube was causing inflammation in his throat which was making it hard to swallow. So we started him on ibuprofen yesterday to help with the possible swelling and just fed him everything through his tube the next two feedings to avoid him having to swallow and further irritate it. When we pulled the tube we discovered dried milk up the entire tube and a hard green thing Will described as similar to a rose thorn right around the section that would have been in his throat. I refused to touch it. Lincoln has taken the five bottles since then like a champ. He even requested the last two after two hours instead of the usual three. Hopefully the tube is gone for good. If he isn't gaining wait by his next appointment they may make us put it back in.

We are all adjusting well to being home. Today I was trying to get Lincoln to take a nap, thinking of all the things I was going to do once he was asleep, showering being one of them. Once he was asleep I had a hard time wanting to put him down. I just held him in my arms and couldn't stop staring. He is such a sweetheart! We love him so much and he has brought great joy into our lives.

250 pictures later

It was interesting to look back on the 250 pictures we have in a folder titled Lincoln. Number one is a picture of me before we left for the hospital, completely oblivious to the journey on which we were about to embark. It is hard to believe that we are really home, I keep waiting to wake up in a hospital room with Lincoln on all sorts of monitors and IV's attached to him. Instead I wake up to the most beautiful sight in the world, my cordless, perfectly healthy baby. It's hard to express such an enormous amount of gratitude. Gratitude for the journey, the lessons learned, the prayers answered, the surgeons, and all of the family, friends, and ward members that gave us so much love and support. I am especially grateful for Will, who has been and always will be my rock. Not only has our marriage been strengthened by this experience but it was strengthened in preparation for it. Henry B. Eyring gave a talk in the October LDS General conference "Our Perfect Example" that stood out to me. He spoke on bettering ourselves and becoming more like the Savior.

"First, I give counsel to husbands and wives. Pray for the love which allows you to see the good in your companion. Pray for the love that makes weaknesses and mistakes seem small. Pray for the love to make your companion’s joy your own. Pray for the love to want to lessen the load and soften the sorrows of your companion."-Henry B. Eyring

I had been making an extra effort to do just that, and it has made all the difference. I am grateful for that extra preparation I received. It is humbling to look back and see all of the things that prepared us.


Lincoln waiting anxiously for the doctors final word.
Leaving the hospital.
For some reason Lincoln likes taking the bottle like this.

Lincoln playing air guitar.

Home

We are home.
And extremely grateful to be here.
And Exhausted.
More to come tomorrow.