How our Nice Room got its name. When we moved into this house it was the first time that we had a formal living room and a separate family room for watching TV. One day I was mad about how messy the formal living room was and tried to explain to Panda, who was 5 years old at the time, that this was our nice room, that we keep nice all of the time.
After that, every time I called it the living room, Panda would correct me and remind me that it wasn’t our living room, it was our Nice Room!
The sad thing is that with 6 boys, our Nice Room is a nice room in name only.
-Zookeeper 2
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Fuff-a-lo
We were at the school today and saw a statue of a Buffalo. Cub1 pointed it out to and I told him to say “Hi Buffalo.” He said “Hi Fuff-a-lo” I love toddler speak!
Zookeeper 2
Zookeeper 2
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Hurricane
I would like to tell you about our Hurricane.
We have a Hurricane that lives in our house. Cub1 is our Hurricane. He likes to make sandboxes out of hot chocolate, flour, oatmeal, and lots of other things with great textures. He also likes to wear my lipstick, well, for that matter, all of my makeup. He also likes to help. For example, there was a fly in our Nice Room. Cub1 wanted to help us by killing the fly. Cub1 found a wrench. The fly landed on the window. Cub1 tried to hit the fly with the wrench. The fly survived…the window did not.
-Zookeeper 2
We have a Hurricane that lives in our house. Cub1 is our Hurricane. He likes to make sandboxes out of hot chocolate, flour, oatmeal, and lots of other things with great textures. He also likes to wear my lipstick, well, for that matter, all of my makeup. He also likes to help. For example, there was a fly in our Nice Room. Cub1 wanted to help us by killing the fly. Cub1 found a wrench. The fly landed on the window. Cub1 tried to hit the fly with the wrench. The fly survived…the window did not.
-Zookeeper 2
Warning
Tiger has his drivers permit. This is a warning that you may not want to be on the roads. He is actually doing pretty good with his driving, however, I don’t think Penguin shares my confidence. The first time Tiger drove Penguin started shouting, “We’re gonna die!” It didn’t help that Tiger drove up on the curb.
-Zookeeper 2
-Zookeeper 2
Friday, November 13, 2009
Let Me Explain This To You Mom
Today as we passed a local hotel it reminded me of something that had happened a couple of years ago. The view of this hotel is partially blocked by an overpass. One day as we were driving over the overpass I suddenly noticed a building being built on this location. I was extra surprised because the building was two stories tall and this was the first time I had noticed it.
I commented to the kids, “Oh my goodness, I wonder what they are building.”
Penguin, wanting to be helpful replied, “I know, it’s a building!”
A few months later we passed by the Health Department. A new building was going up very close to the Health Department. I wondered if it was a new Health Department, an addition to the Health Department or something entirely different.
Every time we drove past this new building I would comment, “I sure wish I knew what they were building.”
As the building reached 2 or 3 stories high Penguin decided to be helpful and explain it to me. He said, “Maybe it’s a building, Maybe it’s a house. Maybe it’s a playground.”
Zookeeper 2
I commented to the kids, “Oh my goodness, I wonder what they are building.”
Penguin, wanting to be helpful replied, “I know, it’s a building!”
A few months later we passed by the Health Department. A new building was going up very close to the Health Department. I wondered if it was a new Health Department, an addition to the Health Department or something entirely different.
Every time we drove past this new building I would comment, “I sure wish I knew what they were building.”
As the building reached 2 or 3 stories high Penguin decided to be helpful and explain it to me. He said, “Maybe it’s a building, Maybe it’s a house. Maybe it’s a playground.”
Zookeeper 2
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Cardiology
Yesterday Cub2 had an appointment with the Pediatric Cardiology Dept. First he had an echocardiogram.. I was worried because it turned out that it was time for him to eat right at the beginning of his appointment. He did great though, either laying there or dozing during most of the appointment.
After the echocardiogram he had an EKG. Then we got to meet with the Cardiologist. It was all good news except for one small thing. The Blood Vessel going into the Aorta is a little big. They don’t know if that is because Cub2 is a little small and the vessel is the right size for his age, or if the vessel is a little big. There are other syndromes where this is common, but not Deletion 22. We have to take him back in 3 years to have him checked. They will look to see if it is growing at a normal rate or a rapid rate.
I hope that I got this right since I’m not a science person or a doctor person.
When they put the stickers on him for the EKG there were so many stickers that you could hardly see our little Cub. Then when he was hooked up for the EKG he looked like a little robot!
-Zookeeper 2
After the echocardiogram he had an EKG. Then we got to meet with the Cardiologist. It was all good news except for one small thing. The Blood Vessel going into the Aorta is a little big. They don’t know if that is because Cub2 is a little small and the vessel is the right size for his age, or if the vessel is a little big. There are other syndromes where this is common, but not Deletion 22. We have to take him back in 3 years to have him checked. They will look to see if it is growing at a normal rate or a rapid rate.
I hope that I got this right since I’m not a science person or a doctor person.
When they put the stickers on him for the EKG there were so many stickers that you could hardly see our little Cub. Then when he was hooked up for the EKG he looked like a little robot!
-Zookeeper 2
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Hero
You can probably imagine that since this Zoo is full of boys and not girls, the Twilight bug has not exactly bit here. This morning at breakfast I was teasing Panda about the Twilight movie that is coming out. I asked him if he wants me to through him a Twilight Party. Panda said “no, but Elephant does.”
Elephant said, “Panda, if you don’t like it, I don’t like it!”
-Zookeeper 2
Elephant said, “Panda, if you don’t like it, I don’t like it!”
-Zookeeper 2
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Cub2's Baby Blessing
We are looking forward to Cub2's baby blessing. For any of you who would like to attend, it will be on November 29. The Sunday after Thanksgiving. We will be having a pot-luck dinner afterwards for out-of-towners. Contact us for time and location.
Play
Our family is having a new adventure. Tiger is in the High School play this fall. I won't say the name of the play because it has a swear word in it. A clue to the name is "Darn" Yankees.
They needed some little kids in the paly, so Tiger volunteered Penguin. When Elephent and I went to drop off Penguin, Elephent got recruited. Now half of our Zoo Animals are in the High School Play!
Tiger has a part and lots of costume changes.
Penguin has a couple of lines. He gets to say, "I'm a Detroit Tiger" and in a song he gets to sing, "You can open any door" with Elepant.
Elephant gets to say "What about our costumes?" and "No" when they tell him to put his sign down, and the door part with Penguin.
This play is consuming our lives. Between Cub2's doctor appointments and play practices, I feel like I am always running here or there.
-Zookeeper 2
They needed some little kids in the paly, so Tiger volunteered Penguin. When Elephent and I went to drop off Penguin, Elephent got recruited. Now half of our Zoo Animals are in the High School Play!
Tiger has a part and lots of costume changes.
Penguin has a couple of lines. He gets to say, "I'm a Detroit Tiger" and in a song he gets to sing, "You can open any door" with Elepant.
Elephant gets to say "What about our costumes?" and "No" when they tell him to put his sign down, and the door part with Penguin.
This play is consuming our lives. Between Cub2's doctor appointments and play practices, I feel like I am always running here or there.
-Zookeeper 2
Friday, November 6, 2009
Garbage Trucks
After watching the garbage truck dump our garbage today I over heard Cup 1 saying "Good by Garbage Truck. I-luf-you." He tells me that he "lufs" me too. I guess that means I rate up high with the garbage truck!
-Zookeeper 2
-Zookeeper 2
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Haberman Feeder
A friend found this website that explains in more detail the Haberman Feeder that we use.
http://www.selfexpressions.com/habermanfeeder.html
http://www.selfexpressions.com/habermanfeeder.html
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Deletion 22
We just found out that Cub2 has Deletion 22. Here is a website that can give you more info if you are interested.
http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=22q112deletionsyndrome
If I am understanding this correctly it means that he is missing part of his 22 Chromosome. We have an appointment with the Genetics doctor in a couple of weeks, so hopefully we will learn more then. For now, I am feeling a little overwhelmed.
-Zoo Keeper2
http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=22q112deletionsyndrome
If I am understanding this correctly it means that he is missing part of his 22 Chromosome. We have an appointment with the Genetics doctor in a couple of weeks, so hopefully we will learn more then. For now, I am feeling a little overwhelmed.
-Zoo Keeper2
Monday, November 2, 2009
Photos of Big Brothers meeting Cub2
Cub 2: sleeping on Birthday.
Elephant holding Cub2
Cub1 with Cub2
Panda with Cub2
Penguin with Cub2
Tiger with Cub2
Cub 2 Update
Cub 2 was born in September 2009. We were so glad that our last little one was finally here. (No one was happier than Mom aka. Zookeeper 2).
We were quite surprised when Cub 2 had a little bit of trouble nursing after he was born. Okay, actually a lot of trouble since he didn’t nurse at all. Zookeeper 2 had nursed all 5 big brothers for a year each and just figured Cub 2 would figure it out soon. 16 hours after birth he still had not nursed successfully, so we decided to give him a bottle, however, he had almost no success with the bottle either. It took him half an hour to drink half an ounce.
That night while Zookeeper 2 was sleeping, a very smart and very concerned nurse got very determined and started looking in Cub 2’s mouth. She thought she saw a cleft palate but had to wait for the next nurse to come on duty to help hold his mouth open and shine a light in at the same time. Ta-dah. They saw it! When the pediatrician on call came to check on him that morning they told her about their discovery.
When Cub 2 was about 30 hours old the nurses provide Mom with The Haberman feeder
and she was finally able to hold her baby in her arms and feed him for the first time. He looked at her with a look that said “Thank you Mom. There is something good about life after all.”
The day Cub 2 came home from the hospital he had an appointment with our family pediatrician. He was concerned with how little Cut 2 was eating and started monitoring his weight. He also referred us to the closest children’s hospital and gave us the contact information for the ENT.
We met with the ENT when Cub 2 was 15 days old. He was informative and helpful. He was concerned that it was taking Cub 2 so long to eat. It took him 1-1 ½ hours to eat 1-2 oz. of formula. He set up an appointment with a feeding specialist. He was concerned that Cub 2’s lower jaw is quite small. He listed several different things that this could be a sign of. He said that he wanted us to meet with an Ophthalmologist and a Geneticist.
We met with the feeding specialist two days later. She suggested that we switch to a Pigeon Nipple. She also suggested that we feed him for only half an hour, every two hours.
We tried the Pigeon Nipple for two days, but found many frustrations with this nipple. First of all it created a lot of fatigue in our hands. Second of all it leaks really bad, the nipple collapses a lot and the care and usage of the nipple are a lot more complicated than the Haberman Feeder. In the end, we went back to the Haberman, but continued the new feeding schedule of eating for ½ an hour ever 2 hours. The new feeding schedule became the miracle that made things better. Over time he started eating more and more during his half hour. They explained to us that he was burning too many calories when he took so long to eat. This left him too tired to eat, which made him doze off when he was supposed to be eating, which made his feedings take longer. When we held his feedings to half an hour, he wasn’t burning so many calories eating, so that he had more energy to eat at the next feeding, making it so that he could eat more! Now (Nov. 1, 2009) he is drinking 4 oz. in 20-30 minutes every 2-4 hours!
In October he had his appointment with the Ophthalmologist. The Ophthalmologist was able to determine that he has no problems with his eye sight at this time and he does not have Stickler’s Syndrome.
Later in October he had his appointment with Genetics. We found out that he does have Robin Anomaly or Pierre Robin Sequence (pronounced “Roban”). The Genetics Doctor now wants us to meet with a Cardiologist. The Geneticists also said something about Chromosome 22 and they are testing Cub 2 for that. We should get the result for that back in a couple of weeks.
We were quite surprised when Cub 2 had a little bit of trouble nursing after he was born. Okay, actually a lot of trouble since he didn’t nurse at all. Zookeeper 2 had nursed all 5 big brothers for a year each and just figured Cub 2 would figure it out soon. 16 hours after birth he still had not nursed successfully, so we decided to give him a bottle, however, he had almost no success with the bottle either. It took him half an hour to drink half an ounce.
That night while Zookeeper 2 was sleeping, a very smart and very concerned nurse got very determined and started looking in Cub 2’s mouth. She thought she saw a cleft palate but had to wait for the next nurse to come on duty to help hold his mouth open and shine a light in at the same time. Ta-dah. They saw it! When the pediatrician on call came to check on him that morning they told her about their discovery.
When Cub 2 was about 30 hours old the nurses provide Mom with The Haberman feeder
and she was finally able to hold her baby in her arms and feed him for the first time. He looked at her with a look that said “Thank you Mom. There is something good about life after all.”
The day Cub 2 came home from the hospital he had an appointment with our family pediatrician. He was concerned with how little Cut 2 was eating and started monitoring his weight. He also referred us to the closest children’s hospital and gave us the contact information for the ENT.
We met with the ENT when Cub 2 was 15 days old. He was informative and helpful. He was concerned that it was taking Cub 2 so long to eat. It took him 1-1 ½ hours to eat 1-2 oz. of formula. He set up an appointment with a feeding specialist. He was concerned that Cub 2’s lower jaw is quite small. He listed several different things that this could be a sign of. He said that he wanted us to meet with an Ophthalmologist and a Geneticist.
We met with the feeding specialist two days later. She suggested that we switch to a Pigeon Nipple. She also suggested that we feed him for only half an hour, every two hours.
We tried the Pigeon Nipple for two days, but found many frustrations with this nipple. First of all it created a lot of fatigue in our hands. Second of all it leaks really bad, the nipple collapses a lot and the care and usage of the nipple are a lot more complicated than the Haberman Feeder. In the end, we went back to the Haberman, but continued the new feeding schedule of eating for ½ an hour ever 2 hours. The new feeding schedule became the miracle that made things better. Over time he started eating more and more during his half hour. They explained to us that he was burning too many calories when he took so long to eat. This left him too tired to eat, which made him doze off when he was supposed to be eating, which made his feedings take longer. When we held his feedings to half an hour, he wasn’t burning so many calories eating, so that he had more energy to eat at the next feeding, making it so that he could eat more! Now (Nov. 1, 2009) he is drinking 4 oz. in 20-30 minutes every 2-4 hours!
In October he had his appointment with the Ophthalmologist. The Ophthalmologist was able to determine that he has no problems with his eye sight at this time and he does not have Stickler’s Syndrome.
Later in October he had his appointment with Genetics. We found out that he does have Robin Anomaly or Pierre Robin Sequence (pronounced “Roban”). The Genetics Doctor now wants us to meet with a Cardiologist. The Geneticists also said something about Chromosome 22 and they are testing Cub 2 for that. We should get the result for that back in a couple of weeks.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)