Can You Believe It?

Posted in April 2009

Oh, so tired.

Love to have my hair washed.

Not so much about washing the rest of the body.

Isaac says, "Mom... pop!"

Can you believe it? Two weeks ago, Eli was born! Can you believe it? We have been home 1 week! Time is starting to fly by. And our boys are growing up.

Isaac has been such a great help. He gets the wipes out when Eli needs a change, this morning he held the bottle while Eli ate, and for some reason Isaac drags the car seat over to us whenever Eli gets fussy. Last Thursday I showed Isaac Eli's surgery scar, and Isaac became really concerned, "Be-be E-i, owie. Oh no..." And all that day, and the next day, whenever Eli cried Isaac would tell us that "Be-be E-i, owie, owie, owie." I have always known that Isaac has a tender heart, but I am now starting to realize how deep his little two-year old emotions go.

Eli is doing really well. He just eats, sleeps, poops, burps and then gets the hic-ups. The hic-ups are hard on him because of his surgery. Well, so is yawning and sneezing, but the hic-ups are the worst. Though I think the pain is getting better. He is not crying as hard when he gets them. The nights are getting better too. Last night he had two four hour sleep stretches. Matt and I woke up this morning brand new people!

Matt started spring semester last week, and is all caught up on the homework and assignments that he missed last week. He is taking Spanish 101, and already our house is starting to sound like we are south of the border. In high school Matt was a great Spanish student. He studied more Spanish, and learned more words than any other student in his class. In fact his teacher called him "Bad Sancho" because he would talk down to people in Spanish, and only he and his teacher knew what he was saying!

I, Shannon, am doing well. Labor and delivery were not bad at all. Which my mom calls a tender mercy from the Lord. And I agree. I had a lot of walking and sitting and walking to do the first week after Eli was born (going between hospitals and such). Adjusting to two kids is not near as hard as adjusting to being a first time mother. I am really enjoying all the little moments with the boys.

A special thanks to all those who have sent messages of support, have stopped by, have sent gifts and food. We really appreciate everything that everyone has done for us.

Also, thanks to my parents and Matt's parents. Yall have done so much for us, and we could not of done this with out you.

And a "shout out" to the Ronald McDonald House, University of Utah Hospital, and Primary Children's Medical Center. Each facility is amazing. For those who may not know, the Ronald McDonald House is a place for families that have sick kids who do not have a place to stay within 50 miles of the medical center. The food is free, the laundry facilities are free, and is only 15 dollars a night. Each house is run off of charity, and is supported through the local community. A totally awesome place, which Matt and I will be forever grateful. University of Utah Hospital was a great place to deliver. They really looked after me, and were way supportive of our situation. Thanks to Dr. Byrne, you rock all socks. And of coursePrimary Children's Medical Center. Wow! From the nurses, to the doctors, to the social works and hospitality aid, WOW! To the PICU and SCU nurses, yall are amazing. Do not know how you do what you do. Every moment we knew our little Eli was in great hands. The doctors, yall are also amazing. Thank you for making us feel that Eli was a person who had feelings and a future, and that our situation was important (and that it was okay if I cried). Dr. A.K. from Oklahoma, next time we come Matt is bringing a Boise State scrub hat for you!

Home At Last!

Posted in April 2009

Yesterday we were discharged from Primary Children's Medical Center. Yes! It was just me, Matt, and Eli on the road (my dad had taken Isaac to Rexburg a few days before) and it felt awesome to take full responsibility of our child. We made it back to Rexburg around dinner last night. Isaac was so happy to see us, and we were so happy to see him! Isaac seems so big now, physically and intellectually. We now realize that we have a real toddler, not a baby. Last night with Eli was a bit of an eye opening experience for us. We have forgotten what it is like to have a little newborn. Even though he slept for four hours straight, Matt and I woke up every hour. And we are tired! But, we are just so happy to be home, and have our family together. Eliis doing really well, though he still needs to be on oxygen (his heart is still adjusting to the surgery). We have a tank oxygen that we take with us where ever we go, and he could be on oxygen up to 3 months. We are set up with a home nursing agency that will come from time to time to check Eli's saturation levels. Our next appointment with the pediatric cardiologist at Primary Children's is in 2 weeks, so we will go from there.

PA Band Surgery

Posted in April 2009

Picture Pefect: Eli one day after surgery

Isaac call's Eli, "Bebe E-i"

Our son resting.

Eli still on the breathing tube, and under anesthetics

Eli two hours after surgery.

Eli's surgery took place on Friday morning. It went really well. Me, Matt, and my dad were expecting to have to wait in the general surgery waiting area for a few hours, but it ended up being about 2 1/2 hours. To keep my mind busy I--Shannon--watched "My Best Friends Wedding" on the area's TV. After we were told that everything went really well we were able to go and see Eli an hour later. There seemed to be more tubes than I had thought that there would be, but he looked like he was in good hands.

Around 6pm they took Eli off of the ventilator. That was a bit of a scary moment. He didn't want to breath very much on his own. He would take a deep breath, then wait--which seemed like forever--till he took another breath. Again, he was in good hands, 5 people were watching and monitoring this for a while.

Friday night turned out to be one of the hardest in my mothering life. Because his breathing was not great they could not give him a lot of pain relievers. Watching my newborn baby boy moan in pain just killed me! However around mid-night he started to improve, and a full dose of morphine was administered.

Eli is now doing just wonderful. The urine catheter , neck line, groin line, and breathing tube are all gone. It was actually all taken out before I got to the hospital Saturday morning. Still not sure when we will be discharged, but hopefully soon. I am ready to take him home!

Eli has Arrived!

Posted in April 2009

Eli was born in April

Weight:7 lbs 6 oz
Height: 20 inches


Eli's delivery was a scheduled delivery at the University of Utah. We drove down from Rexburg, Idaho Friday, and stayed the weekend with Matt's Aunt Angie (thank you so much!). My parents and sister flew in from Alabama on Saturday, and Matt's parent's and sister arrived on Sunday. We spent the Easter Sunday with family and good food, then Matt and I left for the hospital around 7pm.

WARNING: labor details, but not too detailed.
After getting my body in order, the induction started around 1am Monday morning. Because I hadn't been sleeping well over the weekend I was on some sleep medication, so i don't really remember when the labor "officially" started.
At 7am I was at a two, and the contractions were not so bad. They wanted to break my water (which causes the contractions to get harder and faster) so before doing so I got an epidural. But then afterward they decided not to break my water...
So by 10am, still a 2. Labor still going well, and not really in any pain. My water was then broken, and two hours later I was at a four.
Because they could tell Eli was in some stress they had a hunch that i was going to be pushing soon. They checked me around 1pm, and I was at a 10+2! You see, no one was around when I got this news. I had sent Matt out to eat, cause I thought it was going to be some time. And I told my parents and Matt's parents that they should leave also. I was a bit nervous all by myself!
I was told not to "sneeze, cough, or throw up" or the baby might just come. So while everyone was trying to find Matt and the doctor, I concentrated on not doing anything! They did get a hold of Matt--who when got the call had to throw most of his lunch way. And the doctor soon arrived.
I pushed through 3 contractions, and BAM! Eli was here! They let Matt cut the cord, and I was able to hold him for almost a minute.
NOTICE: labor details are over.

An hour later they brought Eli by before taking him to Primary Children's. It was a very sweet moment to see him, and all the family that were around were able to see him. Matt and I both looked at each and were like "Holy Smokes, we are a family of four!"
Matt went with the flight team, and a few hours later I was able to go and see him.

Eli is doing really really well. The doctors have looked at his heart through ultrasound, and there are no new surprises. We still haven't had a conversation about what that means with surgeries, but that is coming up.

I cannot believe that he has dark hair! But Matt was not surprised. Since the beginning of this pregnancy he has said, "Well, Isaac look like you (Shannon) with blonde hair, and Eli will look like me (Matt) with dark hair." And I think he is right