It's a no go

Well, Henry was supposed to have the VCUG done today, but I got a call very early this morning telling me they were having equipment problems and would have to reschedule.  Ugh.  I really enjoyed stressing out about how to time feedings, getting Aubrey to school and us to the appointment.  I especially loved getting up at 5:30am to ensure it all happened.  The good news is I get to do it all again tomorrow!  So, the test will now be at 8am Tuesday.  The worst part is I have to give him the antibiotics for another day.  His poor little stomach is literally sick of them!  Oh well.  this will soon be behind us. 

Showing off

One Month Old!

It's hard to believe Henry has been here for a month already. The time is definitely going by fast this time around.  Of course, it does seem like forever since I've slept for any long period or left the house for more than a few minutes.  Henry continues to be a joy and falls asleep easily, which is such a blessing.  He is a little fussy right now when he is awake and likes to be held, but I don't mind the cuddle time.  I also think the antibiotics are contributing to his mood, so I'll be thankful when we are done with them on Monday.  He is more alert now and I think a smile is in the near future.  Aubrey has been doing better the last few days.  She is a different person when we get out of the house and do something.  The logistics are tricky right now, but I'm making an effort to get out and about a little more each week so Aubrey doesn't go crazy.

Big sister and little brother

A short walk in the hot Texas sun

Playtime

I thought I would post a few photos of Aubrey.  We have to be creative right now with playtime since we are somewhat homebound.  These pictures cracked me up.  She wanted to wear her "pack-pack" and spray water outside.  This provided a good 2 mins of entertainment.  I'm not sure how we filled the rest of the day.  Let's just say it was a long one!   Henry didn't nap well yesterday and was up more than normal last night too.  Poor Aubrey is still on edge and I'm starting to think it's mainly the terrible twos.  Good times!

Update on Henry

Henry is doing well and is slowly getting back into his routine after a few hiccups.  Who can blame him for being a little out of sorts?  We returned to the Dr. today to follow-up.  No results yet from the renal ultrasound, but I expect it will be normal. Our Dr. is recommending that we have the VCUG test done.  "A children's voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG) is an x-ray examination of a child's bladder and lower urinary tract that uses a special form of x-ray called fluoroscopy and a contrast material." Ugh.  I was hoping to avoid it, but I understand it's important to be cautious considering his age.  We scheduled the test for next Monday.  He is taking antibiotics in case he does have a UTI, and we want to have the test done while he's on the medicine in case more bacteria accidently gets introduced as a result of the procedure.  I still feel pretty sure this whole thing is related to the virus and nothing more serious, but I trust the Dr. and he feels it's the right thing to do.  So, there you have it.

We're all still a little tired and the house is a mess, but otherwise, things are going well.  After seeing some truly sick children at the hospital, I feel blessed that we are all in relatively good health.

Feeling better

Home, again!

We finally made it home today around 3pm.  They did the ultrasound before we left, but we won't know the results until I follow-up with his pediatrician early next week.  He will then schedule the other test, if we need it.  I'll keep you posted.  Sorry for the short one, but Henry is out of sorts and I'm ready for bed!

Still here

It's 11:30am, and Henry and I are still at the hospital.  Brian has gone to retrieve Aubrey from Alice and Tony Sessi where she has spent the last two nights (THANK YOU!!!)  So, here is the latest...

Henry's spinal fluid and blood cultures showed no bacterial growth.  YEAH.  However, his urine culture showed some growth.  More than likely this is related to the enterovirus, but they have to make sure it's not a UTI.  UTIs can be dangerous for newborns since they are less likely to contain the infection within the urinary tract. The attending Dr. here is recommending a course of antibiotics that we can administer at home.  Additionally, she wants to have a renal ultrasound done here today.  So, we'll be lucky to get out of here by 6pm.  UGH.  Also, she wants to have another test done on Monday that involves injecting dye with a catheter to make sure he's anatomically OK.  Please excuse my lack of medical knowledge!  I'm just not sure that's really necessary since it really seems like the virus is causing all these issues.  Anyway, she is going to consult with our pediatrician, which makes me feel better.  So, as long as they can get this sonogram done, we should be home today.  Thanks again for you thoughts and prayers!

Poor Little Man

Just a quick note to let you all know that we are at Children's Hospital with Henry.  He came down with a fever on Weds night/Thurs morning, and unfortunately, that's an automatic hospital visit for a baby under 28 days.  We have been here since early yesterday and will hopefully be heading home tomorrow.  They ran a bunch of tests and had to do a spinal tap, which was just horrible to watch.  They discovered he has meningitis, but luckily, it looks like the viral kind and not the more serious bacterial meningitis.  He tested positive for the Enterovirus, which can cause viral meningitis, which is why we are pretty sure it's nothing more serious.  Anyway, I will write more about the experience later.  He's doing really well considering what he's been through, and I'm just really tired.  We're thankful it doesn't seem to be anything more serious, although they are giving him antibiotics just in case.  Hopefully the cultures will come back in the a.m. and we'll be out of here!  

His poor little arm is strapped to a board to keep the IV in place

Warming up to brother

Henry is 3 weeks old today and Aubrey is finally starting to warm up to the idea of having him around.  That doesn't mean she is a big fan of mom and dad, and the tantrums are more frequent, but at least she likes having a brother... sort of.  She did tell me yesterday that she wants him to go back into my belly, which is amusing considering she gets very excited to go wake him up and doesn't want him to nap.  You would think she would notice that when he naps, she has me to herself.

It's been a long hot week here and we're all suffering from cabin fever.  We have managed a short walk, a trip to the book store (to get some books on discipline :)) and we went out to lunch today, which thankfully, was uneventful (other than dining next to Mac Brown, the head football coach of the Texas Longhorns!) Pretty exciting stuff.  Baby steps!  

My "big helper" and chubby check little man

Quote of the Day

A father's day treat for daddy involved giving Henry his first bottle.  As a result, I needed to pump while he was being fed.  Aubrey said she wanted to help me.  She held the pump for me.  A little while later, she ran into the other room and yelled to daddy...

"I helped mommy be a cow!"

Need I say more

A long week

Sorry I haven't posted many photos this week.  It's been a long one.  Brian started his internship, so we were minus a set of hands.  That in and of itself wouldn't have been bad, but it seems like everything happened at once.  Brian's car has some major issues, and Mr. Fix-it was determined to do the work himself.  Needless to say, the car is still in the garage!  Thanks to the Sedberrys for loaning us their extra car, or it would have been a real challenge to get everyone around this week.  

Although Henry is doing well, sleep is still hit or miss.  He slept from about 10pm to 4:30am the other night, but as a result, didn't get enough feedings in yesterday and was up every 3 hours last night.  I would have been grateful for that one night of sleep, but Aubrey was up off and on that same night and was extremely upset.  She was a mess all day yesterday and was running a fever.  I ended up taking her to the Dr. since it would be very dangerous for Henry to get a fever at this age.  We're not exactly sure what caused her fever.  It may be Monday before we get the lab results back.  Poor thing was miserable and didn't sleep well again last night.  The fever is better today, so I'm hoping it was just a little virus that has peaked and is passing.  On top of that, my mom had a terrible migraine yesterday and had trouble with her medicine, so it took a while for her to get relief.  

My mom left this morning and we're trying to get some rest and stay well.  Brian is elbow deep in his car engine, Aubrey should be napping but isn't since she slept in this morning, and Henry is asleep for just a little longer.  So, I gave up on napping and decided to share my saga!  Ha.  Here are a few pics from the week. 

Not a happy camper

Henry loved hanging out on GiGi's shoulder

Aubrey is showing off her dancing skills

Little cowboy

Like father like son

Henry's 2 week check-up

Our visit to the Dr. today went well.  I was shocked to see how much Henry has grown.  Henry now weighs 8 lbs 9.5 oz! That's about 1 lb more than his birth weight.  Aubrey was so small for so long, I just didn't think it was possible to gain that much weight in 2 weeks.  I'm sure the nurse thought I was nuts when I tried to tell her she didn't read the scale correctly.  The Dr. assured me that it is possible and in fact, he should be gaining an ounce a day.  He also measured 21 inches.  Now, it is doubtful he grew a whole 2 inches in 2 weeks.  He has always seemed long, so more than likely, they didn't stretch him out enough to get a good reading at the hospital.

Anyway, he is thriving and I'm thrilled!  The Dr. gave me permission to just let him tell me when he's ready to eat, rather than waking him up to feed him.  I've been nursing about every 3 hours during the day and then having to set an alarm to get up and feed him at night.  He rarely wakes up at the 3 hour mark during the day,and at night, it's 5 hours between feeding when I wake him. So... tonight we'll see how long he can really go!  YEAH.  

I'll try to get more photos posted soon.  All in all, we are doing amazingly well.  Aubrey is still adjusting, and with GiGi leaving on Saturday, I'm sure life will get interesting.  However, Henry is so relaxed and is making this transition to 2 kids so much easier than I would have thought!

She knows her ABC's

A fun weekend

We've had a great weekend here at the Baumhover house.  Friday, Alice Sessi came by to meet Mr. Henry and to visit with GiGi and the rest of us.  She was so sweet to bring some food and the cutest monogramed gifts!  Thanks Alice.  Aubrey just loves "Mia" and was very happy to spend some time with her.  We're lucky that my friend Anna will share her mom with us!  

Alice and Henry

Henry enjoys tummy time much more than his big sis did.  I thought this was the sweetest photo of him with his eyes wide open.

GiGi spent Saturday morning with Aubrey and they had such a big time!  They ended up going to the children's museum and then Chick-fil-a for lunch.  They had a balloon artist there and Aubrey had him make Elmo for her.  Here she is hanging out with daddy after he returned from a grueling day of taking the CFA exam. 

Heartbreaking...

So I know Aubrey is having a hard time, but it's been difficult to imagine what she is really feeling inside.  Today, she let me know!  After her nap, I was nursing Henry on the couch.  First she tried to climb up on the boppy pillow with him.  Then she said something like... "no mommy, don't feed him anymore."  Then... the clincher.  In a very soft voice she looked at me and said... "I want my mommy back.  GiGi, let me have my mommy back."  Ugh.  My heart just broke and I couldn't help but start crying.  To her, her mommy isn't the same and she wants me back the way I used to be.  I tried with all my might to hold back the tears because I didn't want to upset her, but it was impossible.  Sometimes she is too smart for her own good!  She really gets what is happening. 

So, after Henry finished eating, I left him with GiGi and took Aubrey to the park for some mommy time.  I think it really helped and she loved having me to herself.  I realize how important it is for me to spend some one on one time with her right now.  Hopefully, she will start to get used to the idea of sharing mommy soon!

Planting flowers

Aubrey is having the best time playing with GiGi. The three of us girls made a quick trip yesterday to the nursery to buy some flowers for our otherwise bland front porch. Aubrey picked out the colors and spent some time planting the flowers today after school. She is excited that she has a job... watering the flowers everyday.

Thanks Jeny for the "A" shirt.  Aubrey loves it!

Henry slept through it all

Our first week as a family of four

I can't believe it has been a week since Mr. Henry joined our family. Besides the lack of sleep, we're all doing well. I can't complain at all about Henry. He seems very content to sleep and eat and rarely cries unless he truly needs something. He prefers to be swaddled like a little burrito most of the time and can often put himself to sleep in the crib without our help. He is such a joy to have around and we feel complete as a family. I'm sure he will "wake up" one day soon, but I'm relishing this time of peace!

Aubrey is taking it all in stride. She seems better with each day and really loves Henry. She gets a little out of sorts when someone comes by to visit. I think she senses that they are here to see Henry and gets a little jealous. Today she left the room when a friend was over and was quiet for a little too long... so we knew something was up. Brian went to check on her and found that she had climbed into Henry's crib and was sucking on his pacifier. She keeps saying "I'm a baby now." So, she is a textbook case of a child reverting when a new sibling arrives.

My mom is still here and will stay through the end of next week. That will be a huge help since Brian starts his internship on Monday. After that, I'll be flying solo... so our blog may suffer for a while!

Here are a few more photos of the little man and his sis.

The burrito

Getting ready to take Henry on his first walk.  Aubrey has a "skateboard" attachment and gets to stand and ride. 

My dear friend from high school and college, Lisa, is in town from Louisiana and brought a yummy dinner by last night with her youngest of three boys, Lane. It's amazing all the life changes we have been through together!

Hanging out with Henry

Trying to hold big sister's hand

Precious moments

Sweet little baby feet

Granddad and Henry

Aubrey and her brother

Henry's first visit to the doctor

We just returned from Henry's first check-up and he's doing great.  He is gaining weight, but hasn't quite caught up to his birth weight.  I'm sure he'll get there soon.  He's nursing really well and is very efficient when he isn't too sleepy.  His days and nights are still mixed up, but he did give us a little more rest last night.  Well, he gave his daddy a little more rest.  I still seem to find sleep elusive.  I must say that the second baby is easier in many ways, even if having 2 children is more than double the work.  i am definitely more confident, and I'm trying to appreciate every moment... knowing he will grow so fast.  

Aubrey is up and down.  She really loves Henry and is genuinely concerned when he cries.  She seems to be taking all of her frustration out on us for this "change."  I think once things settle down, she'll be just fine.  Brian and I picked her up from school today after Henry's appointment and she was very excited it was mommy who came in to get her.  It was our first car ride as a family and she loved sitting next to Henry.  All in all, we are doing great.   Here are a few photos from the last few days.

First sponge bath at home

Pink is the new blue!  He doesn't seem to mind big sister's hand me downs.

Father and son

Checking on little brother