My Baby Boy

Today my sweet Owen turns 3! I can't even believe it has been 3 years since my life completely changed. Where does the time go? God blessed me with a wonderful, sweet, funny, caring little boy and I am so proud to be his mother. So today I will celebrate the wonderfulness that is Owen and I thought I would share some of that wonderfulness with all of you. Here are some pictures of my baby throughout the last 3 years.

Tonight we are taking him to his favorite restaurant where he will dine on his favorite french fries and eat all the ice cream and cake he desires. You're only 3 once, right? So happy birthday, Owen William Muhs! My life is so much better with you in it.

We would also like to wish Uncle Jay a happy birthday as well. My wonderful uncle, who has suffered a severe lack of attention on his birthday ever since Owen decided to come on the same day but never complains about it. Well, not too much. :) We love you so much and hope you have a wonderful day today!

Kidsfest

Last weekend we took on the daunting task of taking BOTH of our children to Kidsfest in Des Moines. It's in a building on the state fairgrounds and has lots of different fun activities for kids to do. Owen had a ball and Cam did great, though Cody and I were a bit stressed! But all in all, it was a good day and we're glad we went. We even decided to go out to lunch afterward. It was our first time going out to eat as a foursome and I am happy to say it was a great success.

They had lots of different air things like this giant slide. There was also a bounce house and a big, long train with obstacles on the inside of it. Every time Owen got in one he would look out at us and say, "I'm in! I'm in!" This is him climbing all by himself up to the big slide.

What goes up, must come down!

Here he is driving race cars with Daddy. The hardest part of the whole day was trying to teach Owen to wait in line for things. We tried to explain to him that he had to share everything with all the other little boys and girls there and had to be patient. So every time he got in line he'd say, "I have to be patient." But, of course, he rarely was. :)

He was so excited to meet Clifford!

And since Cameron seems to be a little underrepresented on the blog lately, I thought I would share a few recent pics of him.

This is me trying to catch a picture of Cameron smiling. He is doing it a lot more lately but it is still hard to catch. Check out my silly big boy in the background.

Snoozin' in the swing. I am so glad we finally decided to get this out! We were hestitant because we thought Owen would bother him or try to sit in it himself but he has just been great with it.

And lastly, my adorable boys. I am so blessed.

That's all for now. Big happenings tomorrow so stayed tuned!

Ugh!

Well, I've been trying numerous times for the last 2 days to get some pictures up but for some reason it's not working for me. I hope it is only temporary! I figured I would share a quick update on Cameron since I can't post any pictures.

We have had 3 or 4 physical therapy appointments. We went last Thursday and the therapist said he has improved so much that she didn't really think we needed to come on a regular basis. So she sent us off and said to do the exercises with him at home and come back on March 19th. Wouldn't you know that the little booger started tilting his head the other way the very next day! I haven't called her about it as she is only there Mondays and Thursdays and I forgot to call her yesterday! I have just been trying to stretch both sides of his neck and hope that it helps and that this doesn't turn into some sort of permanent muscle problem. I do think, though, that the fact that he is tilting it both ways would probably rule out any sort of vision problem, though I suppose I can't say that for certain. Other than that, he is doing great. He is sleeping longer stretches at night and getting into more of a routine, so we are thankful for that. He is just turning into an easy-going little guy just like his big brother. We finally got the swing out and he really likes sleeping in it during the day. That has allowed me a lot more free time to get things done around the house, whereas before I was having to hold him for a good part of the day. He has also started smiling at us, which is so much fun.

Owen is doing great as well. He loves being a big brother and is still a great little helper. He has transitioned to his big boy room, though it's not fully decorated yet. I think it bothers me more than it bothers him! He loves it and I will post pictures and stories of it as soon as good 'ol blogger allows.

We are gearing up for our Easter trip to Murphysboro where Cameron will be baptized and we will celebrate Owen's birthday. We are so excited to introduce Cam to all of our family and friends at home! The best part is that Cody has agreed to let me stay for a week with the boys and then he will meet my mom half-way and pick us up. We can't wait! Stay tuned for lots and lots of pictures!

Snow Fun

It finally got warm enough a few weekends ago for Cody and Owen to get out and play in the snow. Owen was so excited and loved every minute of it! And my wonderful husband actually thought to bring the camera and take a few shots since I had to stay home with Cameron and didn't get to get in on all the fun.

Most of the time they went down together but Cody said Owen went down a few times by himself and loved it.

A little snowman for a little guy. Cody said the snow just wasn't good for building a snowman so this was the best they could do. At least it made Owen happy!

He came home all wet because Cody couldn't get him out of this puddle. He would have jumped in it all day had Cody let him! Cody said he was not very happy when he finally made him leave!

We still have snow on the ground and are hoping that it melts before June! Every time we warm up and get rid of it we get a new wave a couple of days later! But we are surviving.

Cameron has had 2 physical therapy sessions so far and will go again tomorrow. The therapist would like to see him twice a week for a while, but says that she is already seeing a lot of improvement with him. A vision problem has not officially been ruled out but he is tracking things much better now and I can tell that he sees things. So I don't really think it's a vision problem, or if it is, it is just a matter of not completely seeing rather than seeing nothing at all. Since we are going twice a week I have to take Owen with me. Thankfully the therapist has 4 children herself, one being almost 3 like Owen so she has a lot of patience with him. I brought some snacks and a few toys for him the last time (his first time) but it didn't work as well as I'd hoped so I am going to have to add a few more things to my bag of tricks tomorrow! We'll keep you posted!

Damn that Cameron Diaz!

Ever since Cameron was born, there have been a few people who see his name and call him "her" or "she." Even though some of them are actually looking at him and see him dressed in boy clothes, they still call him a girl! A nurse did it again today on the phone when she saw that his name was Cameron. I decided that Cameron Diaz is really to blame for all of this. She not only has a boy's name but she spells it the boy way. So now, not only am I annoyed with her for her long legs, her plump cheeks, her big smile, and the fact that she was once romantically linked to one Mr. JT (come on, he's a hottie! am I right, ladies?), I am annoyed that she has made people think my son is girl. I guess it is a burden my son will carry for the rest of his life. ;)

In other news, Cam went to the doctor for his 2 month check-up yesterday. Ah, what a challenge that was! We have decided to stick with a pediatrician for Cam rather than a family doc like we did for Owen. Since there is only 1 pediatrictian in our town, we decided to stay with one we met in the hospital in Des Moines. Hence, it's a 45 minute trip one-way to the doctor. So rather than Cody take a half-day from work to stay home with Owen I decided I could brave it all by myself. Though I'm not saying, "What was I thinking?!?!" and I will probably do it again, it still was a bit stressful. Our appt. was at 1pm and we didn't leave the office until 2:45pm. That's a long time to keep a toddler entertained. But he did pretty well until he almost got trapped in an elevator on our way to the parking garage. Thankfully, I pulled him through the doors just in time!

Anyway, we got some good news and some not-so-good news for Cam. Good news is that he weighs 9lbs. 8oz! I couldn't believe it! Though he's still just 19 1/2" long. Looks like we might have another Shorty Cardwell on our hands! The bad news is that he seems to have some neck issues in that it is always tilted to the right. The doctor thinks it could be something called torticollis, which has to do with his neck muscles. The only thing is that he doesn't always do it and the doctor felt his neck muscles and didn't feel like they were very tight, which is a symptom. So she was also concerned that it could be something with his vision. He doesn't track objects like a 2 month old should, but this could be because he was 4 weeks early. I put a toy in front of him last night and moved it and he tracked it very well, better than I've ever seen him do it. So I'm not really sure what to think. The doctor wants us to do some physical therapy and see if that helps so we have our first appt. this afternoon. We'll see what she says and then check back with the doctor in a month and re-evaluate things. I'm praying it's something that can be easily corrected and that it's nothing serious with his vision but really, I guess only time will tell. I hate that my poor little guy has been through so much in his short little life, but I know things could be much worse for us so I am counting my blessings every day! We'll keep you posted!

Cade and the Ladies

Well, after a horrible trip, Beth, Auntie Gaye, and Cade finally made it here last Tuesday afternoon. They were scheduled to be here on Monday night but they got as far as Iowa City (an hour from here) and the roads were HORRIBLE. They inched along, taking 3 hours to go the next 17 miles and then finally decided to stop and spend the night in a hotel. I-80 was still bad the next morning so we had to re-route them and it took them ANOTHER three hours to get here. We were so happy when they finally made it!

We had a great time visiting with them, though, like always, it was too short. They stayed until Saturday and we just hung out here playing with our boys as it was too cold to venture out anywhere. I got a few pictures but not a whole lot. It was just too crazy! And the only picture I got of Auntie Gaye was of her sleeping with Cam, which she informed me I was not allowed to post it on the blog. Beth got a few more than I did so you can go to her blog to check those out if you'd like.

Cade was so cute peeking at Baby Cam. He would say, "Shhh!!!" and point to the baby.


Every time we tried to take a picture of the two boys Cade would look at Owen instead of looking at the camera!


Playing with the Fridge DJ--Cade loved this thing and danced to it all week long. He is quite the little dancer!

Cade doing his "work!"

Auntie Beth and her three boys.

Thanks for braving the winter and visiting with us, guys! We had a great time and can't wait to see you again!

Two Months?!?! Already?

I can't believe that Cameron is 2 months old today! Time flies when you're running on no sleep! ;) Actually, things haven't been too bad. He is really only waking up twice a night and it seems that every couple of nights he is going even longer between feedings. So I am hopeful that within in the next few weeks we might be down to just 1 feeding a night. Cody has been so helpful in getting up at night with him (something I didn't require when Owen was a baby) so that I can get a good chunk of sleep and that has just done wonders for me. However, Cam has been eating like a little piggy during the day so that has kept me quite busy. We're both still tired and trying to get the hang of this whole family of four thing but it's getting a little easier every day. Hence, the lack of blogging lately! Auntie Gaye, Beth, and Cade are here visiting right now and watching the boys for me so I could finally get some new pictures up!

First time in the tub

All my boys lounging

My dino boys--Owen had so much fun taking these pictures. He was so excited to have Baby Cameron lying down beside him.

Cameron is growing like a weed and I'm pretty sure by the time we head to his 2-month well-check next week he will be well over 8 lbs. Aside from some annoying congestion that we can't get rid of, he seems to be very healthy. And Owen is just a wonderful big brother. He dotes on Cameron at every chance and is a great little helper to me. He is always kissing on Cameron and telling him how "handsome" he is. It is just too cute!

Hopefully I won't be away for such a long stretch again and can post some pictures of our visit with Cade and the ladies. We are having a great time together and will be so sad to see them go on Saturday. Stay tuned!

Home Never Felt So Good

We were scheduled to get out of the hospital last night after Cameron got his last dose of antibiotic at around 9pm. But then the doctor came in yesterday morning and said she talked to the pharmacist and he was actually getting is last dose at 1pm and we would be able to leave after that! It was so nice to finally hear some good news for a change! So we made it home around 4pm yesterday. Auntie Gaye took some pictures of our homecoming for us.

I don't know who was happier, me or Owen! He is still in shock that I am home. When he woke up this morning he didn't even come looking for me and then I called for him and he said, "It's Mommy!!!" He just couldn't believe that Mommy was here in the morning with him.

It was so nice to sleep in my own bed again. Here's what Cam and I have been sleeping in for the last 9 nights:

Doesn't he look so tiny?!?!

And this was a couch that folded out into a small bed that I slept on. They had a nice recliner that my mom and Cody slept on.

And here I am cuddling with my 2 boys. Ah, life is good again.

Cam had a great first night at home, waking up 3 times in the night to nurse and going right back to sleep each time. Thank you again for all your continued prayers and support. I think we are the perfect example of the power of prayer!

Our Little Trooper

Mom and Auntie Gaye got here yesterday afternoon, which has been a tremendous help to us. Auntie Gaye brought her laptop and the hospital has wireless internet in the rooms so I'm sitting here right now looking at my little angel and thought I would give everyone and update and post a few pictures.

Even in a hospital bed and hooked up to IVs, he's still as adorable as ever! Things have been going pretty well, save for a few hurdles that we've had to jump but Cameron seems to be leaping right over them all. I'm amazed at all this little guy has put up with in the last few days. He is just taking it all in stride. He had to have his 3rd ultrasound yesterday--this time of his spine. The doctor noticed that he has what they call a sacral (not sure how to spell it) dimple, which is at the base of the spine and very common. But it is good to check it out to make sure everything is ok and thankfully, she said his spine looks beautiful! The lesion he has is healing very well and the antibiotics seem to be working. The only bad thing is that we lost his IV site tonight. The nurse noticed that his blanket was wet and his head was swollen and filled with fluid. So they had to put in a new IV. The worst part was ripping the tape off his head but he made it through with most of his hair still in tact. They had some NICU nurses come up to insert the new line and they did it beautifully on the first try. The only bad part about it is that he has to wear an IV board that is the length of his entire arm so he can't bend it all or even get it into his sleeper. He doesn't seem to be bothered by it though. Of course, he is awfully tired from all the screaming he did earlier. He's been sleeping pretty soundly for about an hour and a half. Here are a few pictures that I've taken in the last few days.

He looks so tiny in this huge crib they have him in!

This was right after they put the PICC line in and he was still very sleepy from the sedation. This is before the horror we had to endure with all the blood loss.

Here he is with his little "hat" over his IV line in his head.

This was tonight right before they put the new line in. It was so nice to hold him for a bit without any tubes attached to him!

And here he is resting peacefully tonight with his new IV. I'm praying we don't have a lot of issues with the board in the next few days! We are just praying that this IV will get us through the next 3 days and we don't have to go through inserting another one.

Cody stayed with me last night but headed home tonight as he's not feeling well. Owen is having a great time with Grandma and Auntie Gaye, though he has a yucky cold that has prevented him from being able to visit Baby Cameron. I got to go home today and spend a few hours with him which was so nice. The doctor seemed pretty confident this morning that we will be able to go home on Monday, so we are cautiously optimistic. We cannot thank everyone enough for all the prayers and support we have received. We have such wonderful friends both here in Iowa and far away that have done so much for us in the past few days. We just couldn't have made it this far without it all. I know it was the many prayers being said for us that got us through each and every hurdle and I thank you all so much.

Where to begin...

I realize that I have been absent from the blog world for quite some time and I'm sorry to say that it hasn't been for a happier reason. I'm not even sure where to start as it is all a very long story so I guess I will just stick to the important information and leave it at that. Due to a couple of reasons that I won't go into, we had to take Cameron to the Pediatric Emergency Room in Des Moines on Saturday. Thinking we were going to be there for a few hours, maybe be admitted for a day at the most, we were told after a few hours that his white cell count was sky high, he had an infection and would have to be admitted for 48 hours. This, of course, was after they had poked and prodded him quite a bit, which was very hard as a parent to watch. They hooked him up to an IV and started giving him antibiotics as soon as we got to his room. He seemed to be doing well, never even having a fever, and still nursing like a little champ. So we were told that we would hopefully be able to take him home on Monday afternoon/evening. This was after even more poking and tests were done. On Monday morning the doctor came in and said that the culture came back positive for MRSA, a type of staph infection that is very resistant to antibiotics. She said that there was only one antibiotic that we could use that could be given orally and if that didn't work, we would have to try another, which could only be given intraveneously, meaning a longer hospital stay. Unfortunately, the results came back that the MRSA was resistant to the oral antibiotic and we would have to stay another 7-10 days to receive the full treatment of antibiotics. I was devasted but assured that it wasn't as threatening as it sounded and, thankfully, only showing up in his urine and not in his blood or spinal fluid. So I prepared myself for a long stay. Then yesterday we opted to insert what is called a PICC line. It is just a better IV and can be used for a longer period of time than a regular IV. It can also be used to draw blood, lessening the times he would have to be poked. Things went well when they put it in and then once he got back up to his room it started bleeding at the site. It continued to bleed for two and a half hours. They could not get it to stop. They called a NICU nurse up and she stood there putting pressure on his arm the entire time trying to get it to stop. His arm turned purple and is swollen but it did finally stop. There is still no real cause for the long term bleeding but we are all just very thanful it stopped. Unfortunately, they had to remove the PICC line so it was really all for nothing. In turn, he ended up losing quite a bit of blood so they had to do a transfusion in the middle of the night last night. It went well and his hemoglobin levels are back to where they should be. He is now at the hospital with an IV in his head because that was the only place they could find a good vein. He seems to have survived it all well, save for the pain in his arm. We are praying that no other complications ensue, the antibiotics will work and we will be able to take him home sometime next week. It has been hard on all of us as Cody has had to be at home with Owen and I have had to be 45 minutes away at the hospital with Cameron. I came home this afternoon for a bit to spend some time with Owen and Cody went to be with Cameron. I'll head back tonight and thankfully, my wonderful mother (who has already gone above and beyond the call of a mother) and my wonderful aunt are coming tomorrow to stay for a few days and help us out.

I can't even begin to say how scary all of this has been for us. I am still in shock that it is happening and I am praying constantly everyday that Cameron will make it through all this without any long-lasting effects and that we will soon be a family again. My biggest reason for posting this is to ask all of you to do the same. Please keep us and our brave little guy in your prayers. I will try to update when I can or have Beth do so for me.

Pictures Galore!

I feel bad because I took so many more pictures of Owen when he was born. Chalk it up to the second child getting the shaft....;) I have managed to take a few in the last few days that I thought I would share.

Brotherly love...Owen just adores Cam! Every morning when he wakes up the first thing he says is, "Go see Baby Cameron?" He is so cute the way he says his name, too. He always called him Baby Camera before he was born so Cody tried very hard to get him to say Cameron. So now Owen says, "Cam-er-on," very distinctly. Then he always wants to hug him and says, "He's so cute! He's my baby brother! I take care of him!" I still can't get over the difference in their size. Look at their hands!

Just like his big brother, Cameron got his thumb in his mouth shortly after he was born. I haven't used a pacifier with him because I'm still trying to get him to nurse really well, so he finds his thumb and he is absolutely content.

He has been spending a lot more time with his eyes open in the last few days. He is really starting to look more like a baby boy than just a squishy newborn.

Grandma and Cam relaxing

And finally, a family picture! I have been so tired and/or achy in the last 2 weeks that I just couldn't get it together to get a picture of the 4 of us. But we were finally able to do it tonight. I still can't believe we are a family of 4 now!

Cameron went to the doctor on Friday and things are going pretty well. He is now 5 lbs. 6 oz, gaining 7 oz. in just one week. The doctor was please to see that but would still like to see him nurse better and gain a little more weight before his circumcision. They didn't do it in the hospital because he was so small. Since they usually sleep a lot afterward, the doctor wants to be sure that he is a good nurser and has a little weight in his reserve should he lose some. So we head back this Friday to see how much he's gained and we will go from there. The nursing is going okay but I think it would be going much better if he weren't so congested. He started getting congested when he was 5 days old and he has been stopped up off and on ever since. The doctor thinks it is just a combination of the weather and that fact that he is so small so hopefully it will clear up in the next couple of weeks. I'm praying hard for that one because he just sounds so miserable when he can't breathe very well. And it kills me that I can't do much for him! We do saline drops but that's about all and they don't help as much as I would like!