Happy Simeon!!!

 He's doing so good, he's happy almost all the time

(for the first time ever)

 He went from this....

to this!!

Last weight he was 12 lbs 3 oz

Look how sweet he is....

Thank you for all your prayers,

Please keep them coming!

We are home!

Thank you again for all your prayers.

Simeon is eating great and getting chubby before our eyes.  (although, it might be the fluids they pumped into him at this point)  I am supplementing my breastmilk with formula and feeding him every 3 hours.
We will have a nurse coming daily to weigh him for the next 2 weeks, and then every other day after that and hopefully then weekly after that.  Weekly pediatrition appts and an appointment with his Urologist on September 5th.  He'll need some extra tests done that week, loooong tests, including one I hate, where they strap him to a table and insert dye into him and watch where the obstruction is in his ureter.  That test takes 50 minutes and he looks at me, screaming, like "why won't you pick me up mama?"

I think his urinary tract infection was probably there for quite a while, as today he has been laughing, giggling and smiling like crazy!!  He has never been a very smily baby.  Poor baby.  Who knows how long he's been feeling crappy.  Hopefully this is it, a blessing in disguise!

The nurses were wonderful, we even got to see some of the same ones we had when we were there in May for his lip surgery. 

We also found out he is anemic and so are supplementing with iron---yuck--He hates that bottle, drinks it sloooooowly...

Thank you again for your prayers, they mean the world to us. 
I'll try to post pictures later this week!

LIttle Sim

Thank you for all your prayers.

We are still at the hospital, Simeon is asleep and I slipped into the lounge to quick update you.

He's doing better.  They did not put a feeding tube in, but we are supplementing with formula in his milk.  (formula adds 4 calories per ounce, which is a lot to a tiny baby)

He ended up with a urinary tract infection, which is caused from his kidney hydronaphrosis (sp?).  He's gone through many, many tests and his ultrasound revealed an obstruction in his ureter again, either this obstruction caused the infection or the infection caused the obstruction.  This infection caused him to lose his appetite, causing him to lose over 2 pounds, and causing his electrolites to get all messed up, his little body just couldn't keep up.  His sodium level was very, very low, so low that if it were any lower, he'd be having seizures.  We are so blessed.  So blessed to have brought him in when we did.    His iron level is very low also, which is why he's such a whitey...but he is a red head too, so he won't exactly be soaking up the sun!  They started him on iron today.  He started an antibiotic yesterday afternoon and by evening he was eating much better and even laughed and giggled for me!!  (it's been over a week since we've seen that smile!)  The low iron is causing him to be very sleepy, almost weak.

He has an appointment with the urologist September 5th and they added a couple long tests to check out the blockage, to see if the antibiotic clears up the obstruction.  (praying for that)

We also need him to gain some weight!!  (praying for that)  I'm thinking they will keep us here til Saturday or Sunday.  (maybe I'm hoping it's not longer)  They want to see him at least back on the growth chart.

Thank you for all your prayers, they are keeping us up.  Please also pray for our family, as it is so very hard on my husband Tom and especially the little ones.

Mary Hannah has been staying at the hospital with me, and has been such a sweet blessing to me.  Jedi wants to stay tomorrow night.  (Rosie stayed with us in May, so it's the other kids turns)

Thank you again, I have to get back.  God bless you all.  Hopefully next week things will be back to normal (except the newly added ton of doctor appointments) and we can talk about much more exciting things, like The Pioneer Woman!!

**I forgot to add that on infants and elderly, urinary infections are hard to detect, as they do not often times have any symptoms, like the burning feeling while urinating or even a fever, Simeon had no signs, til he quit eating.  

Please Pray for Simeon!

We need to bring him into the hospital tonite.  He's not been eating, except an ounce or 2 once in a while and has lost 2 pounds, bringing him down to only 10 lbs.   They are going to put a feeding tube into him and do some lab work to see what's up.  He's a little lethargic, but no fever.

I'll post when we get out of the hospital. I'm assuming in a couple days....

Thank you for all your prayers.

The Pioneer Woman

 Have you caught this show on the Food Network?

It's great!

It's one of my favorites

(I have many favorites on that channel)

I DVR this one though

She always cooks things that I say,

"I'll have to make that, I can do that!"
She makes me want to have people over and cook what she cooks.
Then, I remember that I need to pump again...and realize that will have to wait a while.
She makes it look so easy, yet gives lots of tips for shortcuts.

Her life is interesting.

It's different.

I think that's what draws people in.

She has 2 great kitchens for petes sake!

2

I don't get that whole "lodge" thing, I mean,

How does she stock 2 kitchens?

How far away is the lodge from her home?

She drives there, so it must be kind of far...

I hope people like her show as much as I do.

She's natural, real and dorky.

She homeschools, she blogs, she loves taking pictures.

(of course she's much better at it all than me, but that's why it's fun to watch)

Thankful Thursday!

 Thankful I finally got time to  unload my pictures from July!

Thankful, I guess, that I finally joined Facebook,

 I think I'm the last person to finally join

I have no idea what I'm doing

and have mixed emotions about the whole thing.

I only joined because my 25 year (gasp!) class reunion is coming up

and

I want to see pictures of everyone!

They will be posting pictures on Facebook...no idea how to see those pictures

when they get there....but knew I had to join to see them.

Now every day, I have people suggesting friends, wanting to be friends,

friending me...well, it should be called "Friendbook"!

Some people I know, some people, I've never heard of

how does that happen?

I think I have enough things that take me away from God,

so I don't really need another thing

 Thankful, this sweet little guy, and his sweet little toesies,

always brings me back to God

In the middle of the night, when all is quiet, I hold him,

and cry tears of joy. 

Pure joy, that God would entrust this sweet baby to me.

Tears of sadness too, that he will endure so many surgeries in his young life.

 Thankful for shoes on the wrong feet

Thankful for painted toesies

 Thankful that the heat and intense humidity brings at least one good thing

and that's these beautiful curls!

 (I have no idea what Jedi is doing in this picture)

 Thankful for Lemonade stands....on hot days, and a mailman that buys a ton from them!

 Thankful for all these kiddos!!

 Thankful for sweet, yummy, soft toesies!!

Thankful I finally tried baby food and he liked it (kind of) 

 Thankful for my grandma!

She celebrated her 90th birthday this month!!

 My dad, in the middle, and his brother and sisters

He has one brother and one sister who are deceased

Totaling 7 sisters and 2 brothers

 Thankful my littlest brother finally got engaged....he and his fiance, Sarah

have been together for like...a really long time!!!

 Thankful Rosie turned 10 and she  picked this calorie free chocolate mocoa cheesecake for her cake!

 Thankful for this sweet baby.....praying his front thing goes into his mouth....

his top lip is supposed to press it in, slowly, but hopefully within a year so he can have his next surgery....

 Thankful for Simeon's godparents Jeff and Nicki and

the special day he had celebrating

"the Rite of bringing a Baptized child into the Church"

It was the 2nd part of his Baptism, since we baptized him in a

emergency like fashion at home....

 Thankful I've had time to play games with the kiddos this summer....

 Thankful she missed her eye....when standing on the Sit and Spin,

she spun out of control and hit the dresser.

Then came downstairs and told us to get rid of

the Sit and Spin because it was "too dangerous!"

 Thankful for cute piggy tails

 on cute little girls....

(yes, I buy Reeces Peanut Butter cereal for the kiddos--I know, bad mommy)

 Thankful for cookie making days....

 Go ahead and click on it for a close up

Can you taste them? 

Peanut butter oatmeal (gluten free)

 Thankful for blooming hydrangeas....adorning my counter and table every day!!

 Thankful for bedtime prayers...

Thankful Simeon is now 7 months!!

He's not sitting up yet on his own...but we are working on it!

(he's not the smileyest baby---he makes us really work for those smiles and when that camera is there, he's studying that black thing!)

No Clever Title

Ice cube maker broke

Water literally pouring out of the fridge

all over the floor

$300 to fix

Buying ice til we can get some ice cube trays

Ice cube trays with 6 kids?

Yep

Air conditioner broke

for 2 days

We are so spoiled

Computer broke

partly fixed

Hard to get back into blogging

after being away

How do I catch up?

Blog a little

blog a lot

Can't use Google Reader

Read a little

or

Read a lot?

Start fresh I guess!

Rosie is at camp

(put on by the Schoenstatt sisters)

We are missing her very much

Today is her 10th birthday

She'll be home tonite!

Simeon

Not even starting to be ready to crawl

(which is fine with me)

big mama baby

days full of kisses, kisses, kisses

Sweetie Pie

Potty trained!!

Poopie trained!!

I am woman, hear me roar!!!

(I trained another toddler!!)

It took a good 2 1/2 weeks total, start to finish

People who don't believe in miracles, have never potty trained a toddler!

Jedi

has new friend coming today to spend the day while his mama works

He's so very excited to have a friend

who also has 4 little sisters

and loves Legos!

Mary Hannah and Colette

changed bedrooms again

We've moved these girls like 3 times

I told them this is the last time

Tom told me it won't be the last time.

He's right.

We have them upstairs now with Sweetie Pie

and

Rosie

now has her own room

(for now)

Til we move them again.

My Grandma had her 90th birthday last week

90 years

She's a beautiful lady

She had a beautiful party...more on that later

Christine is on vacation

I  miss her calling me.....

I have 4 kids

waiting here for me

me

I gotta go!

I miss you too

and

"I'll be baaack"

(sorry for the Arnold quote, can anyone say that without saying it like him?)