The Adventures of Drew

While this is FAR from a vacation, we have tried to do what we can to keep Drew entertained. Most of the time, if he just get some attention he does alright.

Last night we took him to the Diamondbacks game. The receptionist here gave us some tickets and wanted us to get out of here for awhile. We all had a great time! We'd watch for a few innings and then walk. Here is a picture of Drew playing in the St. Joe's Sandlot! There's just no escaping this place!!!!!



Drew managed to find a pair of glasses and try to play some baseball. The plaid shirt adds SO much!!



One afternoon we had a visit from Mickey Mouse and Goofy here at the hospital. Drew was in heaven! Here is a picture of Drew meeting Mickey...



When all else fails, Drew loves to just sit and watch his movies. He loves Mickey Mouse, Tigger and Pooh, Little Einsteins and Cars the best!

Drew Comforting His Baby Sister

On Saturday, after her breathing tube was removed, we got to lower her bed. Drew looked over and saw "Baby Addie" laying there and wanted to give her a high five! It was the cutest thing. Here he is letting her hold onto his finger.

Addie on ECMO

I know some of these pictures might be a little tough to see (I actually didn't get to close to her, so they aren't too graphic) but I wanted to make sure to get some pictures of her experience. This first picture is Addie on ECMO, again I didn't get too close!!



Here is the ECMO machine....it is a pretty crazy contraption!!! It is just a bunch of hoses that pump all kinds of blood through. So, for those of you who are lucky enough to have never seen an ECMO machine....here it is



Here's another view of Addie and all her machines. They are pretty overwhelming.



This is after the cannulas were removed. The doctors left her chest open overnight, so there wasn't so much stress on her heart at one time.

Addie's Second Surgery

Here's Addie right after her surgery. She was a little swollen, but all in all looked good.



Addie- Post Surgery: Day 2....wide eyed and looking fairly happy...finally she decided to take a short nap and I think she looks pretty peaceful.

Drew Counting

Addie and Her Bear

New Pictures

Hey Everyone! Here are a few pictures of Addie and Drew. We are all doing fine! Drew is growing SO fast and is really starting to love swimming. He's made it past the first step and will even kick around a little when we are holding him. Addie's doing well, but she has been throwing up a little, so we are watching that!

Peek-a-boo



Hangin out in the rain forest!


Look at my belly!



Drew feeding his friend Destinee "ice babies" at Addie's fundraiser on Saturday.

Brother and Sister

Here are some more pictures of Drew and Addie!!

Hi...How are you doing?



Who me? I didn't do it...promise!



Wanna fight?



Just Kidding! I'm happy now!



Cheese!!!!!!



Cheese?!?!



I love my baby sister!

WOW...It's been a while!

Looking back at the last post....I can't believe what a small thing Addison's "tanning bed" turned out to be! But, we made it through the last six weeks and might actually be coming home on Saturday! At any rate, it is SO nice to be in a hotel and not have to run to the hospital everyday. Drew seems to be loving it too! We've taken him swimming a few times (he even insisted on it yesterday when it was rainy and cold) Here are a few pictures of little surfer Drew!




...and after a hard day at the pool...

A Bit of a Rough Night.....

Well, we had a little bit of a scare yesterday, but everything has turned out to be okay for the time being. At about 4:45 we got the results from the blood tests that Addison had taken in the morning. The Dr. told us he needed to admit her to the hospital for Phototherapy within the hour. Her level (which causes the jaundice) was at 24.6 (with 0-1 being normal) . So we were off to the hospital where they put her under this light with only her diaper and funny looking glasses on. At about 10:00 p.m. they drew blood and tested her levels as well as her antibody level for Coombs Disease. At that time, her level was down to 16.7 (still pretty high) but luckily the antibody test came back negative. This morning they drew her blood once again and she was down to 10.7. The Dr. and the nurse both said they have never seen level drop that quickly. At any rate, we got to take her home about 10 a.m. and will continue to monitor her feeding closly and keep "sun therapy" going until Monday. Things look to be moving in the right direction though.
The nurses luckily let Drew come to the hospital last night and spend the night, so we didn't have to be away from him another night. He's just beginning to adjust a little to the changes and I really didn't want to just leave him for another night.
Here are some pictures of Addison's Phototherapy. She was pretty agitated most of the night, but managed to get a little bit of rest!





After they took her blood this morning, they let us hold her for about 10 minutes. Here is Drew starting to bond with his sister.

More Pictures

Things here are a bit crazy with 2 kids, but Drew seems to be getting used to having a baby sister. He isn't too interested in her, but he's warming up a bit. He's still going through some phases when he'll throw little fits, but hopefully he'll adjust! He still gets plenty of attention!
Addison went to the doctor today and she has a bit of jaundice which the Dr. was a bit concerned about. We took her in for some blood tests and are waiting for the results now. They will let us know what we need to do to treat it, but we are hoping treatment will be nothing more than spending some time in the sunlight. She's lost about 4 ounces since birth, but that's pretty typical. Other than that, she's doing pretty well, I'm sure she'll be growing in no time at all!

Here is Drew (The "Big" Brother) getting acquainted with his sister!

Welcome Baby Addison

Addison was born on Saturday, March 29th 2008 @ 10:54 a.m. She weighed 5 lbs 10 oz and was 17 3/4 inches long. She is doing well! Here are some pictures:

Drew- Riding (Well Sitting On) His Trike!

He wasn't blessed with very long legs!!!!!

Drew- Growing Up SOOOO Fast!

Hi Everyone!
Here are some current pictures of Drew! I can't believe how fast he's growing. He's been sick all weekend, for the first time in his life! Luckily, as you can see, he doesn't mind taking his temperature. He broke out with hives all over his body on Sunday....poor baby! They slowed him down a bit, but didn't stop him for sure. They are starting to clear up, so hopefully he'll be back to normal in a day or so. He's still waiting for his sister to come. Could be any day now....we'll keep you posted, but for now enjoy the pics: