Wrap Party!

Today was a Fun Friday! Drake's nurse and I were able to head out this morning with both Drake & Kennedy for their Helmet Wrap Party. We went to 360 Wrap in Dallas off of Stemmons Freeway. They did an amazing job & it was fun to be around some other babies/families (and a bit scary). I try very hard not to be paranoid, but another baby coughed and I hopped up with Kennedy like a bolt of lightning. Oh no,  germs...we steer clear! 

This afternoon I stepped out of my comfort zone once again; Drake, Kennedy & I accompanied Gran down to the square in McKinney and wheeled our stroller into 3 stores! I know they were safe & secure in their carseats attached to the stroller, but I was still nervous and apprehensive about being out in public. As scared as I was, it was such a fun feeling to actually be out and about with my babies like a regular mom! 10 & 1/2 months in the making...this was pretty cool! 

I realized the hard way that heading to Tyler at 5:00 on a Friday is not the best idea...traffic, traffic, traffic. The good news is that we made it home safely and both babies slept the majority of our trip. Drake woke up hungry when we were very close to the house. Luckily I had a bottle made in a cooler in the car so he was satisfied very quickly once we were home. Brian had a few plane issues...they had to actually deboard and reboard another plane. Oh well, better safe than sorry. A little later than expected, but it sure feels good to be home with our complete family! 

Busy, Busy, Busy

I think I have said this before, and I still believe it to be true, Drake is the busiest baby I know! He had two appointments on Monday, 4 today, 2 tomorrow, 3 Thursday and one on Friday. Wow! That's just this week...we have more scheduled next week. I am pleased to say that slowly but surely we are getting our baby boy back...post hospital stay. He is much more relaxed and almost back to sleeping through the night...almost. 

After their helmet wrap party on Friday, we will head home to Tyler. Brian will be flying back from Chicago on Friday evening to join us. Next week is a bit hectic for all of us. Brian and I will both head back to Dallas on Monday morning at 5am. This will put Brian in town for his work day, and I will arrive with the babies at Gran and Poppy's in time to feed babies and head to Drake's Hyperbaric treatments. Both babies have cranial appointments on Tuesday, probably Kennedy's last, and then Kennedy and I will head to Tyler. Her photo shoot with Brookshires is on Wednesday morning. Drake will be going to Hyperbaric with Gran & his At-Home nurse on Wednesday while Kennedy and I are in Tyler. She and I will be back on Wednesday night, and I will be with him for his appointments on Thursday. Then, Drake, Kennedy and I will head home to Tyler, because Drake has an OT and an SST appointment on Friday morning followed by an appointment with his dietitian on Saturday. 

Drake is getting much better about tolerating his helmet, and we are seeing some great progress with his head growth in the right areas. His neurologist will be impressed at our next visit! Drake's favorite thing is to be snuggled...which we all love! This is ironic because the doctors are all surprised based on everything that he has been through that he enjoys being held. 

Kennedy is at such s fun age. She is completely content sitting by herself in the floor playing with toys. Slowly but surely she is learning to share with her cousin, Jacob, when he visits. 

The Word of the Day is...

Dada...yes, that's Kennedy's word of the day! (That would be her 1st word, too :) I'm so glad Brian and I were both here to hear her sweet word! At first, we looked at each other and questioned ,"Did she just say Dada?" Brian said, "That's what I heard." As more time passed, she been saying it a lot. Now we just need to work on adding Mama to her vocabulary. Especially since we are coming up on Mother's Day, that would be a wonderful treat!

Drake's visit at the developmental doctor went well today. She said she is seeing slow improvement. It isn't much, but it is something! She said he is doing much better at this point than she would expect considering she saw him in the hospital early on. His visit with the chiropractor went better than expected on Thursday. He really enjoyed his visit and he was completely and totally relaxed the entire evening. We go back next week for a follow up visit. 

Brookshire's contacted me about Kennedy's big win! She has a photo shoot scheduled in Tyler on May 22nd. This will be a very much anticipated Mommy/Daughter day. Gran will accompany Drake and his At-Home nurse to Hyperbarics that day while I am with Kennedy. We are really looking forward to our special day together! 

And the Winner is...

Kennedy!!! I received an email from Brookshire's this morning letting us know that Kennedy is the winner of the Brookshire's Baby Photo Contest! We are beyond excited!!! I filled out and returned the necessary paperwork for Kennedy to receive her $10,000 savings bond! What a fantastic start to Kennedy's College Fund! A HUGE thank you to everyone who voted for our little darling!

Drake has big news for this week, too! He started back with his Hyperbaric Treatments, and he is off to a great start. He seems completely at ease when he is in the chamber. We had a follow-up with his pulmonologist today, post hospital discharge. His doctor thought he sounded good, and we will continue with his Flovent inhaler and his albuterol twice a day for another 4 weeks, and then we will be able to drop these medications down to "as needed." His next visit is scheduled for the end of July. Tomorrow afternoon after his Hyperbaric Treatments, we will be meeting with a chiropractor for cranial manipulation. I am interested to see how this appointment goes. This is in addition to his helmet from Cranial Technologies. Maybe between a combination of the two we will be able to better help Drake.

Kennedy is making such good progress with her helmet that we were told today she will be finished in one to two more weeks!

Who Needs Sleep?

Ever since Drake's latest hospital stay, his sleep schedule (and subsequently my sleep schedule) has been off. He is definitely not getting enough sleep for a little baby boy, and I am not getting enough sleep for a mom, either. I know it is going to take a few weeks to get back to our regular schedule, but I am ready for that right now. I did not realize how lucky we were (or at least we took it for granted) that both of our preemie twins slept soundly for a good 10-12hours each night. Oh, how I miss my sleep. Of course I never slept for the full time myself with Drake's feedings having to be changed during the night, breathing treatments, and his monitor alarming us at all hours, but I did get more than 3-4hours in a night, and I miss that.

This week has been challenging, and we have met it with many tears from Drake, mom & Gran. It is exhausting to not know what he needs and to try and comfort an inconsolable baby. When he is content, my heart is happy. And wouldn't you know it...Brian comes in and within a couple of minutes has him calm, cool and collected. Really?! I'm pretty sure I tried all of those techniques this week. Glad you are back, dad, and glad to have your helping hands.