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WELCOME, GUEST |
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(3 members)
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niylnnrae @a…6 |
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MY LOVE, DAWXEN
SkNeal |
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| Category: Home | Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | | | | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
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DOCTOR APPTS
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Jul 30, 2010 12:55am (EST)
so we've had 3 dr. appts this week... all good visits too. monday, he had his eye appt... very very happy... both dawxen's eyes are mature. he'll have to get them checked again though in 3-4 months. yesterday, we did a follow up appt from friday, his 1st peds appt. it went well... nothing's changed really... all is still good... we met with yet another case manager, but one who works on base and is gonna do more for us, referral wise, and whatnot. today we had his pulmonary appt. all went well.  they turned his flow to room temp and his stats were good.. he was sitting between 97-99... basically high 90's.... but the dr. wants him to stay on it still just cause we started him on his albuterol last weekend cause of his coughing here and there and a little weezing. but she said that when he is up and awake, go ahead and turn off the o2 and just keep the apnea monitor on, but that it could also be turned off sometimes too when he's up and awake... i just can't wait for him to be off the o2 and the apnea monitor. even though it's for his own safety... the startling of the apnea monitor going off when he's got shallow breathing... sometimes is more scarier than it should be, even though i know he's doing good... just shallow breathes... dawxen doesn't mind the loud noise, but we do.. so another month of it left, i hope. so we'll follow up in a month with pulmonary.... overall, everything's going good still. still sets his own routine... it's almost pretty much set now, on when he wakes up and eat... they're usually about the same time every day... so i'm a little used to it.... okay, starting to get used to it. dawxen now weighs 6 lbs 1 oz... he lost 2 oz from yesterday's weigh in.. it's all the pooping he did this morning. he's gaining weight and eating good. i'm still doing good on pumping... i'm afraid though, that we'll eventually have to switch over to formula cause at this rate, not resting as much as i did while he was in NICU, it's definitely putting a toll on the production. but i'm not discouraged, i'm still gonna continue to pump and do what i have to, for dawxen.
well ladies, good night, i'm off to bed... get in those couple hours of sleep while he's asleep and before he wakes up to eat. i have NICU set for recording tonight on the DVR... love that show... gonna watch it tomorrow since it'll be a lazy day for us... we don't have to be anywhere, except possibly going to get the hubby from work... he comes back home tomorrow after being gone the whole week... good night friends.
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Posted by SkNeal | Comments: (1) | Permalink
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WHAT IF...
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Jul 27, 2010 10:24pm (EST)
so since dawxen came home last week, yes, it's been a week.... i've noticed that my milk supply has slightly decreased. i'm still pumping about every 3 hours or so... i've tried on and off breastfeeding with dawxen, but he just seems to not take to it... only sometimes. so anyways, i've been mainly pumping. while dawxen was in nicu, and i'd pump daily, i would get a good 4 to 7 oz. at least. well these past couple days i've only been able to pump and get about 3 oz... i don't know why my supply has decreased, i'm a little worried about it. i really don't wanna switch him to formula, not that there's anything wrong with formula.... but we will if we have too and if my supply is decreasing. do you ladies have any suggestions or reasons to why milk supply decreases? i read online that it could be a thyroid issue or something... and to get it checked out... so i think tomorrow i'm gonna call the lactation specialist and check with her.
so on another note, but still having to do with my supply... i got an email from the hubby yesterday to call our friend to check with her on my supply i have frozen, stored in their deep freezer. so i called her and asked her about my supply cause apparently they had a power outage couple nights ago and they didn't realize that the deep freezer hadn't come back on... i asked her if they were still good... and she said no it wasn't and that i shouldn't use any of it... cause for hours, the deep freezer didn't come back on... so of course, i was bummed... there goes all my hard work due to a power outage... 2 whole months worth, the deep freezer was almost full to the top too... that's a lot of milk that just went to waste... freaking power outage... and of course, makes matters worse is that we live in flordia... weather doesn't help at all either. so that was my bad news of the day. so we only have some at home, frozen in our freezer.. and with my supply on a temp decrease (hopefully it's just temporary), things couldn't go any worse. :[
now onto my baba, he's doing great!! such a wonderful baby!! i love him so much. dawxen had his eye appt yesterday and good news, both his eyes are mature!! thank god!! we will have to get them checked again in 3-4 months. but no more eye appts. he's got 2 more appts this week and one next week. i'm sure he'll have plenty more to come still, but i'm up for it... all for dawxen... he deserves nothing but the best and that's what he'll get. gave him a bath today and he absolutely loves his baths... he just sits there and lets me bathe him and he doesn't cry or fuss at all. and then of course as soon as i finish up with him, put his cannula back on and his leads, he's slowly falling asleep already. and by the time i put his leads on and zip his sleeper up, he's knocked out and still is. but he'll be up in an hour cause it'll be eating time. so we'll see how these leads hold up for him and his monitor... i hope they'll stick better and stay put better than the other leads.
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Posted by SkNeal | Comments: (5) | Permalink
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FIRST COUPLE OF DAYS
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Jul 25, 2010 08:57pm (EST)
just wanted to give a quick update before the lover and i start watching a movie while dawxen is asleep. since dawxen's been home, it's been great. he's been eating good, sleeping good, up when he wants.... gotta love it! i know i do, even at the times where i'm most tired and not wanting to get up or anything, i do it all because i know my little guy needs me. the hubby has been so great also, with all the help and is the perfect daddy to dawxen. dawxen's been eating about every 3-4 hours... roughly between 2.5 & 3 ounces.... he's been so good about the whole eating thing. he's such a good baby.... we've also been doing leg exercises with him to strengthen his lower body tone... and so far, he's been doing good... he's very strong, but his tone needs a bit more help, so we hope that the leg exercises will help in now and in the long run as well. dawxen sleeps very good... doesn't usually wake up crying or anything, just a few noises and grunts here and there, but that's about it. and i'm very thankful that he's not much of a crier, he hardly cries... and i love that. he had his 1st peds appt on friday and i must say, overall, everything went well... things are where they should be and we're gonna be following up in next week and the week after that as well. it's gonna be a tough couple of weeks cause babe will be gone this whole week for work and then home for the weekend and then the same thing the following weekend. so i love whenever we get time together as a family... sometimes i think i may want more than i can get, but i guess i'll just have to take what i can get... so i should stop complaining... or more like whining. but i know once we transfer out and he's done on the ship, things will be much better for him, for all of us as a family.
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Posted by SkNeal | Comments: (2) | Permalink
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WE'RE ALL HOME, DAWXEN TOO!!
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Jul 21, 2010 06:21pm (EST)
So as of last night, we are a complete family here at home. Dawxen is finally home and not going anywhere anytime soon, except to his many Dr.s appointments. He did good for the Monday night when we did the rooming in @ the hospital. He slept good, ate good. His apnea monitor went of a couple times from low heart rate, loose connection somewhere, but all in all, he did very well for us. So our first night home last night with him, he did very well too. His monitor beeped twice right before bed cause he was getting too comfy in his crib, he forgot to breath. But then all night, no beeps... yay!! He does very well for us. Though I noticed, Dawxen doesn't seem to like to sleep during the night after he eats... last night he was just wide awake... and then he'd sleep for a bit and he'd be up again. But when Raphael gets up in the morning and is about ready to leave for work, of course, Dawxen goes back to sleep and will sleep for 3-4 hours until he's hungry again. So it's gonna be some working on his night sleeping. Otherwise, he's been great since we've come home. Still being patient about the breastfeeding with him. He did good yesterday while we were at the hospital waiting to get discharged... and then all of a sudden, for him, it's like "I like it and then I don't" kind of feel. So he'll nurse just fine and then cry about it or move his head. But I'm being patient, I know he'll get it.
It feels real good to have our son finally home with us. We don't ever have to leave him in someone else's care anymore and we don't have to travel to see him everyday anymore. I'm so very thankful and blessed for everything we've been through & blessed with. For everything happens for a reason, we may not know why, but definitely, GOD knows why and that's all that matters. I love having Dawxen home.... it makes MOMMYHOOD feel so much more complete.
Our family... my precious Dawxen on discharge day.
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Posted by SkNeal | Comments: (0) | Permalink
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I'VE BEEN SO BUSY... WE'VE BEEN BUSY!!
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Jul 17, 2010 04:00pm (EST)
So for the past couple of days, Raphael & I have been so super busy. Him working.... Monday to Friday and all day on duty days. I been cleaning up the house, getting last minute things done. And of course, Dawxen, he's been busy too... eating a lot more by bottle now, his sucking coordination and tone has gotten so much better. Him holding & maintaining his own body temperature has gotten better too, and his breathing is getting better even though he's still on .1 liters @ 100% oxygen. He's come such a long, long way and we're both so very PROUD of our son.
So I didn't mention before, but when I called NICU Wednesday morning and I talked to his nurse, she gave me some really GOOD news. She told me that the Doctors were thinking about discharging him MONDAY!!!! I know, right, I was in total shock, happiness, nervousness, all mixed emotions. So since then, it's looking for real that our son is finally coming home with us!!!! Dawxen will be getting discharged on MONDAY!!!! So we've been cleaning up the apartment, buying last minute supplies for him, like preemie diapers, wipes, bath tub, hand sanitizer, you know, baby things. I also finished washing all his clothes, all his blankies, all his bedding (again for the 2nd time, 1st time was when we first got the crib and I couldn't wait to put his bedding on, so of course, me being super excited, I washed and did his bed). It's finally happening, the moment we've been waiting since he was born, it has finally come! He's been eating very, very well. Yesterday they started to wean his calories down from 24 to 22. And they are also giving him as much milk as he is willing to eat. So yesterday, for the most part, he ate a whole bottle at every feed. Just once, where he didn't want to eat his bottle & only took 17cc... but every other time, he took 60cc, once @ 50cc. He's eating so good!! So they're considering taking his feeding tube out since he's been eating well. =)
Dawxen will be coming home on the cannula still since he requires the help still and he will be coming home with an apnea monitor as well. He will also be continuing some of his medications & treatment, like his nebulizer treatment, iron, and some others and also some multi-vitamins. We have a big task on our hands and with Daddy working and helping when he can when he comes home from work, we're gonna be busy adjusting and learning together as a family. It's gonna be a challenge for us, but it's worth it and plus, Dawxen will finally be home. No more having to say bye to him as we leave the NICU, no more painful & heartbreaking goodbyes!!! He will be confined the the house until he gets stronger & healthier... not going anywhere unless it's to one of his appointments.
We have to get a few more things done today. We have to still go find him a diaper bag... haven't found one we both like, so gotta go look at a couple of places. We're gonna also take in the car seat when we go see Dawxen so that they can do the car seat test on him and hopefully, he'll pass it so that he can come home on Monday. Last minute loads of laundry. YAY laundry. =( And then tomorrow night, we're doing the "room in" overnight... first night as a family. See how we do with Dawxen before he actually gets discharged & if we feel comfortable taking care of him and all. So I will have to pack our things tonight... get his little outfits ready for him... pack his diaper bag... so it's a busy weekend for our little family!!
So ladies, I will update later.
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Posted by SkNeal | Comments: (2) | Permalink
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MY GOODNESS, IT'S BEEN AWHILE, HERE'S AN MAJOR UPDATE!!
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Jul 15, 2010 03:40pm (EST)
So, I know, I've been MIA for a month!!! I was so sad and miserable, not being able to get on the net. Our computer died on us & in the middle of my husband being gone. I was so upset. I couldn't even update on here or download any of Dawxen's pictures on the computer. So when my Raphael (my husband) came home... he tried to fix it, but it didn't work... so turns out we had to get a new computer. We finally just got one yesterday and yay!!! I not computer-less anymore and I LOVE IT!!! So, here I am, downloading all Dawxen's pictures from the past month & man, my baby has grown so big!!! He's such a big boy now.
Dawxen has been doing so great!!! We're so very proud of him and his accomplishments!!! He had an MRI about middle of last month... almost towards the end of the month, anyways, his results came back negative, we're so thankful for good results. Last month, we also started nursing together and I must say, for our very first time trying, he did so well. He latched on and sucked!!! It was like he was a pro! It was a success. We tried a couple more times afterwards as the days went... like any other preemie, he did good and then he didn't... he had his days with nursing. And then towards the end of June, the OT (occupational therapist) started bottle feeding with him.... his first bottle feed ever, he took the whole bottle! I was so ecstatic... I was very, very proud of Dawxen!! So the OT, whenever she was in, she'd work with Dawxen on his sucking coordination & tone and also a bit with his hip movements... a bit of exercise. And over the past month, his sucking coordination & tone as improved a whole lot, he's gotten so much better! He then also got an ultrasound of his liver, cause the dr. said his enzymes in his livers were too high. Turns out, everything is normal, but the ultrasound picked up something in his kidneys. Looked to be something metabolic... calcification. So a week later they re-did the ultrasound, still looked the same as the week before. They wanted to do a VCUG, which basically, insert a catheter, and then insert dye into his system & fill up his bladder and watch him pee & trace his urine system to make sure all is flowing correctly. That came back in good news. Dawxen hit the 4 lbs. mark at the beginning of June. Today, Dawxen is 5 lbs. 6 oz.!! My little booger has grown so much, Daddy was so happy & proud to see how much he grew since being gone for a month. Our son, he's been through so much & through it all, he's gotten stronger & healthier & better!!! He'll be able to come home very soon now!! And we cannot wait for his discharge home. During the course of the month, his bilirubin had gone up, so they gave him some meds for that also. And then he had gotten an "infiltration" in his right ankle from an iv... basically it's when fluids leak outside the vein.... and it then forms to look a burn bruise. A couple of days in, the burn had gotten smaller and then Dawxen, being his active self, the burn had open up. So with the silverdine ointment treatment they've been putting on it, they started to cover it up with gauze so that he won't rub it on anything else. And it's gotten better.... So relieved, not totally healed yet, but it's getting there.
So much has happened in the last month of me not being able to blog on Dawxen's progress, but it's okay, I am most of all just very thankful for all the good news that we've received and that everything has been wonderful... the good, the bad! I'll update again soon. So for the moment, here's some pictures of my little guy! I LOVE HIM OH SO MUCH!!
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Posted by SkNeal | Comments: (3) | Permalink
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GOOD NEWS
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Jun 16, 2010 12:30am (EST)
So I went to my postpartum check up this morning. All is looking good. Slowly finishing up my 1st period after having Dawxen. I got only good news. Nothing bad. Everything looked good. So no more doctors for me!! I can start my exercising and trying to lose some of this baby tummy. And I guess having this massive Florida heat wave everyday, sweating everyday, all day, will help me lose weight also... sheesh!! Can't stand summer days like these... way too hot for me! Always sweating, wearing clothes is so unbearable. Any time spent outside is unbearable. I'd rather stay home all day in the cool AC!! LOL I end up sticking to everything since I'm majorly sweating, and sometimes, it's literally just me sitting that I start to sweat!! Goodness!! But I do hope, I am able to lose some of this, if not, most of it. ... before my husband comes back home. That's my goal. So I have 4 weeks to do so.... starting tomorrow morning, hitting the gym? Treadmill?
After that, I went & got a few baby things for my niece, who is having a baby girl & she's due on July 18th. So I got her some things & of course, even though the hubby said to wait for him to do more baby shopping for Dawxen, I couldn't resist, I bought him 3 new body sleepers, the ones with footies. So cute!! So anyways, gotta send that out to them this week sometime. I love shopping for babies & now that I have my little monkey, I love shopping for him!
Then I went to see him afterwards. He's stable & doing great still. Found out his sodium is low, lower than what they like to see, so they have him on meds every 6 hrs today & that seems to be going good. The the Dr. also said that his liver is started to act up... his enzymes seems higher than what they like to see, so they started him on meds for that & also it'll help to make sure that his bellirubin doesn't come back. So he'll get more blood work done in the morning to check his levels. Other than that, he's doing as good as usual.
It also scared me too though, every time it happens I get scared. Dawxen was doing well & then all of a sudden out of nowhere, his heart rate dropped, all the way to 0... I was like OMG, c'mon love, what are you doing... "AAAHHHH!!" I know, right!! Like any MOM, I always freak out. Then his nurse came over and silenced the alarm & she's like he's fine, it's nothing. Then his heart rate came back up... WHEW!!! And then he had a desat while the other nurse was getting him ready to kangaroo. As soon as he was on me, no desats, he was sleeping good, like always. And then about 2 hrs after, he started desatting, letting me know, it's time MOM, time to go back into my bed. He's such a good baby! I love him. So he went back into his bed, I got to change is diaper & we all were asked to step out for awhile. Hardest thing for a Mom to go through, is to lose a child. My heart goes out to that Mom & her baby & her family. May GOD be with them.
So now I am home, the computer still acting up a bit, it works when it wants too... *sigh* To make dinner I go. Good night ladies!
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Posted by SkNeal | Comments: (1) | Permalink
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DAWXEN'S SUCH A TROOPER!
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Jun 15, 2010 02:00am (EST)
Dawxen is now back up on his feedings, 31cc/3 hrs. with calories of 27. He's been & still tolerating his feeds very well. Doing well as usual with kangaroo-ing. I love holding him!! He got a bath last night, got his head measured, got a full body measurement, & weighed. Dawxen's now 42.5 cm (16.7 in.) long. He's getting bigger & longer!! He's now 1576g (3 lbs. 8 oz.). He's doing very, very well. Always sleeping good too... and still sleeping good. Today I let him have a day's rest... but I called in for an update on him... as I always do when I don't go in. His nurse said he's doing great, sleeping great. No significant changes... all is well with my little monkey!!
I spent a couple of hours yesterday afternoon with him. I got to hold him also... and he did so well. No desats at all... he slept so, so well. He was up for a little bit, then he knocked out as soon as i started humming to him & singing to him. I love spending time with my little dude. He makes me so happy. He's still having good BM's also. I just can't wait for him to come home. I'm so super excited to finally be able to bring him when he's able to come home.... I pray everyday for his to continue breathing well on his own to overcome the oxygen/nasal cannula... so that he's able to come with us. But again, it's all on what he wants to do. We're on his terms.
Ended yesterday with a good day of relaxation at the beach with a friend & her almost 2 year old daughter. It was a good way to end the night... fun in some hot, hot Florida heat!! It's been way hot down here and I'm so not liking it & I'm so glad that Dawxen is not out in this heat... it's just waaayyyyyy too hot!!
So tomorrow is my 6 wks postpartum check up. It feels like it took forever to get here. I just hope it's all good news tomorrow... that no bad things come of it. I hope that there'll be nothing that will stand in my way, our way when we want to have another kid. I just pray for all good news, I hope it's not too much to ask for. God's been beyond wonderful to us, with all the blessings. So last week, Friday, I started bleeding again, what could have been my TOM, but I'm not sure... I have a feeling it was, but it's hard to differ, everything is so different now, after pregnancy. I'm still discharging though. Not red blood, but more like a light pink to brown. Could it still be left over tissue from the pregnancy? Not sure, I'm gonna ask my midwife tomorrow at my appt.
I've been so frustrated... the computer has been acting up these past couple of days and getting on here to post anything was so tough... I hate when things like this happen, especially when my husband is gone... something always has to break down or go wrong when he's gone. Gosh, sometimes I wish he was back home already. We still have 4 weeks... and I know he'll be home in no time. No hurry there. With being frustrated at the smallest things and feeling overly exerted... my husband did make my day. Spent most our weekend texting each other, while they were in port on their trip. I love it when I hear from him, he just makes everything better, even when he's far, he can just tell me to be calm & that all will be okay. My better half, what would I do without my boys.
I feel like I can't even catch up with my sleep. As much as I've gotten this pumping schedule down to the T... I feel at times like I don't get enough sleep. That not getting enough sleeps takes a toll on me, like not wanting to get up in the mornings... I just wanna curl up in bed & stay there. Everything seems too exhausting, but it's all for a good cause, my son. Everything I do now, exhausting or not, hard or not, it's all for Dawxen.
To leave you ladies, my dear friends, here's a picture of Dawxen, sleeping so good on mommy. Thanks ladies for all the wonderful and encouraging comments!
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Posted by SkNeal | Comments: (1) | Permalink
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MINOR CHANGES FOR DAWXEN'S FEEDINGS.
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Jun 13, 2010 01:16am (EST)
Today Dawxen is 33 weeks gestational. He's 1 month & 20 days old today. Oh, how time flies. Went to go see my love this afternoon. He's doing great. The on duty neonatalogist decided to up his calories from 24 to 27 and his feeding down to 28cc/3 hrs. from 31cc/3 hrs. until he gains weight again & then his feedings will go back up. So with that note, last night Dawxen's nurse told me he was running low on milk already... I was like, "really?!" So I had to stop by my friend's house today to invade her deep freezer where we're keeping his milk. I took 2 gallon size ziploc bags of MAY milk to the hospital for him. He should be fully stocked for the next couple of weeks until I have to bring in more. He's eating so well. When I got there, I wanted to hold him, and I did. But my time got cut short cause his nurse today came & put him back in his bed for his 3pm feeding... I wished she'd just let me hold him while he got his feeding like his other nurses do... but all the nurses are different I guess. And I like going at night to spend time with him better cause it's less noisy.
I'm so blessed to have such a good baby. Dawxen is so chilled & relaxed. He doesn't cry at all, except when he has a bad dream or is startled & when he was intubated. He's so relaxed when his nurse had to untangle his wires or change him. He gets fussy a little bit here and there when it comes to changing his diaper or getting his face cleaned, but then he eases up to it and just lays there, asleep. Mama loves that he's such a good listener and such a very, very good baby. I'm heavenly blessed. And he sleeps so well.
So we have yet to get him a diaper bag before he comes home, I think I might go get it next week. My husband & I saw one we liked at BABIES R US a couple of weeks ago. It's black & white and is perfect for the both of us, not too guy-ish & not too girlie. I'm not much of a girlie girl, so the diaper pick was a good touch. And we decided to get just one, that way we don't have to pack so much & do we really need two?... We don't think so. We also have yet to get him a bath tub and a few more things before he comes home. Just the little things left to get. He's got his crib, stroller, & car seat already. Those were the major things that he needed. More things will come.
I'm so exhausted, so off to bed I go... we'll see how long I sleep until it's time for me to get up and pump. Oh the joys of breast pumping. Good night Mamas!!
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Posted by SkNeal | Comments: (4) | Permalink
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