Life

Life has been a bit crazy the last 2 months. Heres a peek at whats going on in the Lyman house.

The last 4 weeks I have been having some issues with pain in my arms. It got bad enough that I went to the doctor (I never go to the doctor!). He did some blood work and some tests and came back baffled. Blood work showed something was going on but didn't point to anything specific. So I ended up going in for an MRI last week. I was sure I had something out of wack in my neck but the MRI came back and everything looked okay. My doctor reffered me to a neurologist and told me to get an appointment as soon as I could since basically he has no idea whats going on....just what we need....more doctor bills!



This little munchkin's personality has been blooming. She talks tons and her eyes just sparkle. She is also into EVERYTHING! This is her new favorite spot in the house. Yes, that is the top shelf of my pantry....

She also decided she was old enough to wear makeup.


Crystal became an official Saftey Patrol officer at school. She was so excited and proud. She has been eyeing that belt and badge all year and now wears it all day, even when she is at home.


Rooker turned 8 and became a Cub Scout. He is loving it!


And this little guy is growing like a weed! He is up to 4 lbs 13 oz. and it goes up every day. They actually cut back his calories because they have been so impressed with his growth. Today they also tried again to give him a taste of milk on his binki and he actually tolerated it really well. They will test him a few more times but it is a big improvement. Hopefully he will be trying out a bottle by the end of the week. The end is almost in sight!


I owe a HUGE HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who has watched my kids for me while I have ran to and from the hospital and doctor visits. I am blessed with many great people in my life!

Posted in: on Monday, January 31, 2011 at at 9:46 PM 2 comments  

Growing!

Well I figured its about time to do another update on this adorable little boy. I can't beleive he is already 20 days old! I have had a really hard time getting good pictures of Renz. Trying to take them through the isolet bed and no flash allowed just doesn't work out well. The nurses in the NICU take pictures and put them on a dvd so before I do an update here are a few early pics of him.


Here is his isolet bed and all the gadgets that help take care of him.


This picture was taken about 2 hours after he was born. It was the first time I was able to see, hear and hold my son. They wheeled my bed into the NICU and I was able to prop myself up and reach in and hold his little foot.


Look at this kid now! I went in on Sunday night and found him dressed in a sleeper. Its the first time I had seen him in clothes and it was adorable. Renz continues to do really well. There have been a few minor bumps but nothing serious. As the feeding amounts increased he started having some really bad reflux. They were able to start him on medication and it seems to be under control for the most part. About the same time his oxygen saturation levels started to drop. They ended up having to put him back on the nasal cannual.
He absolutley hates having things stuck in his nose and will constantly claw at them and pull the cannual out of his nose and down into his mouth. Makes me laugh because in this picture you can see all the tape that they stuck on his little face in an attempt to keep him from pulling it out. Hopefully he will be able to get completly off the oxygen again soon!



Despite the reflux and oxygen issues he has grown tons this last week. After birth he had dropped to 2lbs 13oz. As of yesterday (1/18/11) he was up to 3lbs 11oz. He is definatley growing and changing!

Yes, it is hard. I miss being able to see and hold this sweet little boy everyday and being a real mom for him. Its also hard shuffling my other kids around on the days I do get to go in to see him. But the time seems to be going by quickly and soon we will be able to be a normal family again!

Things I am looking forward to in the not so distant future:

bottle feeding
an open crip
swaddle bath
coming home!



Posted in: on Wednesday, January 19, 2011 at at 8:12 AM 2 comments  

Renz Update

It's been almost one week since little Renz made his grand entrance into this world! He is doing so well. Ever since he was delivered we have received only good news.

I was able to hold him during his first feeding the day after he was born. He ate 3 milliliters (less than a teaspoon). He is now up to 14 milliliters. Yesterday they were able to take out the IV and remove the oxygen cannula so he is now breathing completely on his own.


He is also regulating his own temperature really well. They actually had to turn off the humidity in his dome because he was staying too warm. If he can continue to keep up on his temp he will be able to come out of the covered bed. At my 20 week ultra sound, I was diagnosed with Single Umbilical Artery (SUA). A normal umbilical cord has 1 vein and 2 arteries. With SUA, one artery is missing. One of the more common complications with SUA is kiddney development. Tuesday they did the renal ultrasound and found that everything was normal and healthy.



He can suck on his binky and enjoys having his hands near his mouth. Developmentally those are really great signs and will hopefully help him when it comes time to try out a bottle. He also loves to grab stuff. He is constantly grabbing a hold of his cables and cords.


At this point I am able to hold him once a day for an hour while he eats. I also take his temperature and change his tiny diaper. He has started to gain weight again. He started at 3 lbs 2 oz but had dropped down to 2 lbs 13 oz by Tuesday. Today he is back up to 3 lbs 1 oz.

There is no better feeling than seeing him improve and get stronger each day. Honestly he just melts my heart.

fyi-I did 2 posts today, just in case you missed it :)

Posted in: on Thursday, January 6, 2011 at at 5:11 PM 4 comments  

Renz???

People keep asking me where the name Renz comes from. So here you get to have a little Durfee family history lesson. (My mother would be so proud!)

Lorenzo "Renz" Durfee was my great-grandfather. I learned about Grandpa Renz for the first time while typing up some histories for my mom. I really loved the name and I am excited that I had another little boy I could pass it on to.

Here are some interesting things about baby Renz's namesake:

*He was born August 31, 1865

*He was small in stature, 5 ft. 4 in. tall, chest size 36, and wore size 5 ½ shoe.

*He had grey eyes and brown hair.

*In 1893 he served a mission to Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia.

*He served as Bishop in the Almo Ward

*In the late 1920’s Renz and his boys started to build a new home on the ranch. He was injured while getting logs from the near by hills and sustained a chest injury. He was taken to Ogden for surgery but was never well after that. Cancer developed in the opening to his stomach, and he died March 23, 1935 at age 67.

Now you know. : )

Posted in: on at at 5:08 PM 0 comments  

Tiny Miracle

Renz Ransom Lyman
7:25 AM December 31, 2010
3lbs 2 oz
15 3/4 inches

Renz Ransom Lyman decided to make an unexpected early appearance. Here is his birth story.
Midnight December 18th my water broke. I was admitted to the hospital and hopeful of a long uneventful 6 week stay. Things seemed to be going as planned....but things can change rather quickly. 4pm Thursday, December 30th Sadie came to visit and bring me more goodies. :) While we were visiting I started having a few irregular contractions. By 5:00 I was having regular contractions every 5 mins. I called Mark and told him to come in. I was afraid that the baby would come. The nurses hooked me up to the monitor and the contractions continued evey 5 mins until about 9:30 that night. By 10:00 they had stopped completely. The baby seemed to be doing fine still. The resident on call came and checked me and I wasn't dialated or effaced at all.
I went to bed and slept all night. Mark left around midnight.

5:00 AM Friday morning I woke up and new something wasn't right. I called the nurse and again they hooked me up to the monitors. I started having contractions every 5 mins just like the night before. After about 30 mins on the monitor the nurse unhooked me and left. She paged the resident and said she would be back. Very quickly the contractions got much much worse. I sat in the rocking chair and just rocked back and forth trying to make it through each one. I called Mark and told him to come. It seemed that the doctor would never come! Finally my CNA came in just to check my temp. She looked and me and asked if I was okay. All I could say was "no". She left and returned quickly with the nurse and resident. As soon as the resident saw me she told me I needed to get down to labor and delivery. It was around 6:15 AM when she checked me again and found I was dialated to a 5 and 90% effaced. The baby was coming and seemed to be coming fast. They began to prep for the c-section. Because of so many prior c-sections and fear of a lenghty surgery, they did both a spinal tap and an epidural. Mark still wasn't there. I think that was the worst part, not having someone to hold on to through it all. All of the doctors and nurses were just the on call staff. I really felt very alone and scared...in addition to a lot of pain. About 7:00AM I was in surgery. Probably 15 mins later Mark walked in and grabbed my hand. Such relief! I would not have made it with out him. 7:25AM they told us we had another boy. It was really very strange. They baby didn't make a sound and they didn't show him to us at all. They rushed him straight to the NICU. I think the surgery lasted over an hour and a half. It seemed like forever! About the time I was sure I couldn't stand it any more they told me they were finished. It was a rough surgery. Lots and lots of scar tissue.


After about 2 hours in recovery (my temp and blood pressure were low) they pushed my bed into the NICU so I could see my baby for the first time. I was able to reach in and hold his tiny foot. I was releived to find that he was doing really well. He seems to be a strong, healthy little boy in spite of being 10 weeks early. For that I am very very grateful! The nurses in the NICU are amazing. I can't imagine working with such tiny fragile patients. Today they showed me how to change his diaper and check his temperature. I was also able to hold him while they fed him for the first time. I am still very nervous around him. I feel like I will break him. It is like having my first baby all over again. He will be staying with the NICU until his due date (March 12th). Its possible he will come home earlier but that is the date they told us to plan on. I appreciate all the love and prayers of family and freinds and am thankful for all the help we have recieved during these past weeks!

Posted in: on Saturday, January 1, 2011 at at 6:39 PM 3 comments  

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