Baby Grace

Philosophy: if God has a face, surely it is that of a child, and if there is a place called heaven, it must smell like a baby, and if we do live forever, it must be in the pure joy of a child's innocent laughter, and if we have lived before, then the arrival of your baby feels like reconciling with the most important spirit you've ever loved or will love, in the eyes of baby, we feel all the fragility and all of the magic of the universe and beyond...
...your heart and your soul belong to them the first time they ever grasp your pinky finger, your world is expanded by their every gesture, their every breath, you wish you were younger, you wish you could live forever, you wish for those precious moments to never end.

Loving this website

www.londonmoms.ca

Really great online classified ads, chat forums, events for babies....all kinds of good stuff for parents.

Poop Patrol

The poop patrol has ended this morning with a huge bang. How can something that big come out of someone so little? Great job Pa!

Ewwww.

Our first ped visit

After about 3 hours worth of packing, organizing and redressing, we made it out the door to our Pediatrician appointment. Sha handled the trip well and
I have to give a big shout out to single mothers because I have no idea how I could do this alone. Pa has figured out all of the oxygen and has promised me that he will NOT "Tim Taylorize" the tanks and machines. He has also promised that if anything breaks, he will not fix it himself...Red Green!

The ped doctor was great and had a student in learning today. When we arrived, the IMG (International Medical Graduate) said, "so your the Nancy." I remember you from emails! Ha Ha. Peds is such a small community and word sure travels fast.

Sha also visited his first restaurant today with us and slept through the entire experience. He does attract quite and audience...and a bunch of "he is so little!" and all I can think of is that he is so big!

He is lovin' on Auntie right now who is over to give Sha a bottle. Pa is out at Timmies getting some drinks because we have become addicts since our stay in London. Now it is a 40 minute round trip for the Timmie's experience. Uncle Kabooblah is home from London tonight as well.

Lots of gifts and lots of sleep (surprisingly!).

We received a gift of a diaper wipe warmer from a certain Dr. C. I have learned that it is more for parents than for babies. Last night Sha threw up on me at 3am and it was SWEET to have a warm wipe to clean myself up with! Luxury.

Tonya, thank you so much for your offer of clothes for Sha. We can surely use them as he is growing so darn fast! xoxo

I think I'm pretty darn good at this job of Mommy.

Ma

The man who moved mountains

he had a vision

and in that vision

he sailed uncharted seas,

flying through cloudless skies

he had a vision

if superman could move moutains

maybe he could move people,

he did more

he had a vision

that we could all

have x-ray vision if

we learned to see

possibilities rather than

impossibilities

he had a vision

that medicine could inspire miracles

and miracles could inspire each of us

to do better, to be better

he had a vision

that few could have imagined

and no one thought possible

until one mind

one heart

one voice

stood taller than all the rest

and said

we can do more,

follow me

and we did

see you all at the finish line....

believe in miracles

christopher reeve

1952-2004

Home sweet Home

Our first day at home

We all survived!

Jer is catching up on some much needed rest. Sha got cuddled for most of the day. I unpacked and purged and nested. Our house is starting to come together. Tons and tons of laundry. Auntie gave me a final ride back to Joe's to pick up my vehicle. Our neighbour, so sweetly, dropped by with some mac and cheese for dinner....my fav.

All in all, not a bad start.

Ma

We are home!

Life can send little signals to help you to straighten out your priorities...

This time life rented out a billboard and put the faces of all of our friends, old and new, family and coworkers on it. And we get the message. Time is short, the little things are the most important and love can make all of the difference.

How can someone so little, who has only been at home for 12 hours, have so much stuff?

We are so lucky! Sha is HOME!!!!

Ma and Pa

Day 115 of Life - October 11th

Today:

- is the 209th posting on the blog
- is day 115 of life
- Sha's actual age is 16 weeks and 3 days
- Sha's corrected age is 2 weeks and 2 days
- is the day the Booblah family finally got to go home

That's right, people... Little Sha got to see his real home today, just when he was likely starting to think that he lived at the hospital!!!

The Home Oxygen people came and installed all of his gear this morning and taught Pa how to use everything. Then Pa came back into London to pick up the family. Ma spent most of the morning running around collecting Sha's medications...

He was discharged on Tri-vi-sol (vitamins), Fer-in-sol (iron supplement) and Aldactazide (the diuretic). He will have many follow-up appointments in London, with his paediatrician (general care), the Low-Flow Clinic (to monitor his oxygen requirements) and the Developmental Follow-up Clinic (to monitor his growth and development). So, although Ma, Pa and Sha are at home, they will have to make many trips back to town.

After packing up the truck, which took quite awhile, the trip was fairly uneventful. The Home Oxygen people came back to check Sha's progress after the drive. I'm happy to report that his oxygen saturation was at 97%, so he fared quite well.

Since then, the little Turkey has slept in his basinet, except when he's eating. So, he seems to be settling in nicely!

Pa is now napping, preparing for the early morning feeds and Ma is nesting...which most women do later on in pregnancy, but Ma didn't have the chance, so she's doing it now!

The Booblah family are going to take the next 2 weeks to establish a routine and bond as a family. So, for the next 2 weeks, no phone calls or visitors please. After that time, please call before visiting, to make sure that timing is good.

As for the blog, I will continue to update, but not on a daily basis. Ma will also post periodically. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their love and support through this long journey. Till next time...

Since there wasn't anything new to report...

Day 114 of Life - October 10th

The little one did last 4 hours last night between feeds, but he didn't handle the increase in volume very well and kept throwing up on everyone. So, they have decreased his volume and things have improved.

Other than that, nothing new to report...another slow news day!

Day 113 of Life - October 9th

Happy Turkey day to you all. Not too much to report on the little one today. They have increased the volume of each feed and hope that he will be able to go for 4 hours between his night feeds. This will be a test, as we know how much the little one loves his food!

And in spirit of the holiday, the little Turkey now weighs 3226 g (7.112 lb). Gobble, gobble!!!

Pa is officially done work for the next month and so both he and Ma are at the hospital caring for little Sha. It's now time for some quality family bonding for the Booblah family.

Day 112 of Life - October 8th

Ma is back at the hospital, well-rested and ready to go! Pa on the other hand...

At 10:00 last night, the little Turkey pulled his oxygen tubes out of his nostrils...which he does quite often!!! Pa put them back in, but then spent the rest of the night worrying that he would do it again...so Pa was awake ALL night. When Ma showed up at the hospital this afternoon, he was very happy to see her! Even though he was completely exhausted, Pa still managed to mix enough formula for today and tomorrow, so that Ma doesn't have to do it. Pa is now at home catching up on some much-deserved rest.

The little man continues to orally feed and isn't having any problems (knock on wood). He enjoyed his quality time with his daddy and they spent a lot of time talking about how much they both missed mommy! Apparently, Pa also took some creative pictures, which I should have on Tuesday. Other than that, the Turkey sleeps, eats, looks adorable, sleeps, eats, looks adorable, etc.

Ma is starting another treatment for thrush (the infection that both her and Sha have been fighting), but as of yet, the little one does not have to start another treatment. Also, because everything happens at once, part of Ma's breast pump broke, likely from frequent sterilization (which is absolutely necessary). Unfortunately, the hospital pharmacy is closed until Tuesday and Ma can't find anywhere else to buy a replacement part...which means that she's going to be hand-pumping and it will also take twice as long as the electric pump. Good thing she caught up on her sleep last night!!!