Our little cutie

This was the only one we could get with him sort of smiling.

Camera is kaput

Our camera is broken. Sorry there have been no pictures for a little while. I have a hunch that one of Santa's elves is delivering a camera very very soon, for which McKay's grandparents will be very happy.

We took McKay into JC Pennys today for his 2 month photo shoot. Although we couldn't get him to smile real well, we think his pictures are darling. I should be able to post some on here in a few days when they get uploaded.

About half way through the photos, McKay was crying. I talked the photographer in to letting me take some with me holding him (normally 10 extra bucks to have another person) for free. So that was nice. Can't wait to get them!!

Twinkle in his eye

2 Months Old

Today was shot day and weigh-in day.
Weight: 10 lbs. (20th percentile)
Height: 21 3/4 inches (20th percentile)
Head: 38 1/2 cm (25th percentile)
Our little guy has gone from skin and bones to rolls on his thighs!
Smiley pics coming in the next post!

Happy Birthday Kimball dear

LAST YEAR...

We were in Peru last year on Kimball's birthday. (Quite the birthday, huh?)

THIS YEAR...

This year we didn't travel out of the country for the occasion, but we did enjoy a steak dinner together! Happy 27th Birthday to my fabulous husband!

Thanksgiving

We enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving in Enterprise with Kimball's family. They sure know how to make a great Thanksgiving dinner! This is McKay with his great grandma and grandpa Twitchell.

McKay, Luke, and Joshua. Luke is 9 months old. Joshua is 1 month old.

McKay and Luke. It was fun to see what McKay will be doing 7 months from now.

Grandma Twitchell loved holding McKay. She held him for a long time that day!

Constipation

It stinks!

Well, I guess not really because when the baby is constipated, there is no poop! :(

This makes me sad and makes for an unhappy baby.

After trying some things that the pediatrician's nurse recommended that didn't work, McKay will now be getting a teaspoon of perscription lactulose a day. Hope it works.

Anyone ever tried this? Anyone have advice for a constipated 5 week old?

I think McKay is wishing that he could still be in the womb. Life was easier then (for both of us) Ha Ha.

One month old

McKay is one month old now, which is hard to believe! My how time flies. He really loves to look at our faces and is so close to smiling. Hopefully the next post will have some smiley pictures in it. We don't know exactly how much he weighs, but we're pretty sure that he is still smaller than most newborns. He looks bigger each day to us, though!

Grandma Holt made him this darling hat. We use it every time we go outside.

This is his "missionary haircut." Doesn't he fit the part?

He has graduated from the pink bucket that they give you in the hospital to this snazzy bathtub

McKay's baby quilt

McKay will never be able to say that I didn't sew him something. :) Over the summer, I worked on piecing together this quilt for him. Mom and Grandma quilted it, and it looks GREAT!! I am so happy/proud of myself because this is a NEW thing for me (I am not great at sewing). The fact that I could even put something together like this is a big accomplishment for me. Thanks to Kimball's mom for encouraging me along in the sewing department!

More blessing pictures

Just one quick funny story...I bought McKay's blessing outfit weeks ago in preparation (you know, trying to get everything done before the arrival of the baby). Well, I bought the newborn size because I knew we would be blessing him when he was only a month old. So then, after he was born, my mom and I tried it on him. It was HUGE! My mom and I just busted up laughing because it totally drowned him. We even considered taking it back for the preemie size. Instead, my mom worked her sewing magic and sewed in some elastic in the back so that it wouldn't be as big. Still, it was big, but he looked so cute in it!

Blessing

McKay was blessed on Sunday, November 8th. I fell more in love with him and his daddy that day!
The classic four generations shot. Thanks to grandma who flew from Seattle to come!
Kimball's wonderful parents who keep up with 46 grandkids (hope that number is correct!)

We had quite a few family members come to Logan for McKay's blessing on Sunday. It is so neat to be supported by family, especially when it requires a lot of effort for people to travel. With so many people, I don't think anyone got enough time to hold McKay, but he sure loved having everyone here. He slept right through it pretty much.

A cute boy

We love McKay! It is so great to have a baby in the home. It really puts in perspective the hussle and bussle of life when you have a kiddo that just wants to sleep and eat all day!

Happy Halloween

Well, Halloween this year was uneventful. No crazy costumes from the Holt family this time. I did give out candy to the trick-or-treaters while Kimball worked, but that was about it. We did get around to carving our pumpkin. This is one of my favorite fall time activities. Thanks Kimball!

Holt Grandparents

A blurry picture up above, but I wanted to show off the cute hat that Mom Holt made for McKay. She made the perfect size for him.


Kimball's parents stopped by for a visit, and we really enjoyed seeing them. They were so thrilled to see little McKay. Mom Holt flew out to Ohio the day after visiting us to visit another new grandson. Joshua (new cousin) was a little bigger than McKay at birth: 8 lbs. 13 oz. Congrats to James & Danika!

Some things I wish I had...

After working with newborns at Primary's and having one of my own now, oh how I wish I had:

*an endless supply of diapers from the storage room (HA!)
*a hot water tap to warm bottles
*a blanket warmer
*saline bullets (don't need them yet...but what happens when he gets a cold??) I will probably wish I had suction set-up too in a few months. :)

I am making it sound like life is just rough. It's not. The truth is that nurses are just spoiled in the hospital! :)

Some pictures

Grandma Thacker (my mom) has been such a help to us! She has gotten less sleep than we have just because she has been so good to help in the nights.
I love this one. Thanks to my sister-in-law, JaNeece, for sending some preemie clothes, which I didn't even think I would need.

I am happy to be his mom. Every day gets better! Today he was 5 lbs. 10 oz. at the doctor. Yay! He is growing!

First Visitors

Our cousins, Matthew & Rebekah Bingham and Kiersten Nash, came to visit us. It was so nice to see them. McKay enjoyed a peaceful slumber during their visit. :)

Today is a better day

Thanks for all the prayers and concern! McKay had his one week check-up today and his growth is in the 3rd percentile...wahoo! The doctor is very happy about that and says that he is doing just great. When you compare it to how he was doing, he is just thriving!

I have been taken off bed rest, but my pressures are still pretty high, so I am "taking it easy" says my doctor. Thank goodness my mom is here because I am not able to help as much as most new moms that don't feel as sick.

All in all, things are looking better. McKay's hair is looking more and more red and everyone comments that he will be a red head. He is darling!

Cutie

Sorry this one is sideways, but it shows him in the NICU with his feeding tube.
His second bath in the hospital. He really loves baths.
Wrapped in the blanket great grandma Hatch made him.
Peace at last! McKay is a very content little guy--a much needed blessing with all that is going on with Shelley. We love McKay!

Home

Good news: we are both home. Bad news: I am still on bed rest until further notice. My pressures are still very high. Hopefully with a new medication, Procardia, I will be able to improve. The past few days have been absolutely the most trying time of my life because I have been SO sick. The magnesium they put you on at the hospital to prevent seizures puts you in one of the most darkest feelings--lethargic, woozy, hot flashy, nauseated. I pretty much wanted to die.

Luckily, I have one of the best husbands and moms in the world. Kimball and mom are helping me out a ton! I literally can't do anything except try to feed the baby and when that is too stressful, then I pump and they feed him my breast milk through a bottle.

We will post more pictures soon. I am the one that has always posted on this blog, hence the reason why it is not being kept up very well now. You will all just have to be patient. :)

Thanks to all friends and family members who have sent very thoughtful phone messages, emails, text messages, etc. I am receiving them. It is just hard to reply to everyone. Thanks for the family fasts. I know that it is your prayers that helped McKay recover so quickly from his glucose problems in the NICU.

I better rest. Thanks to everyone and know that things will get better.

Shelley is very ill

McKay is totally improved and ready to be discharged. Shelley, however, took a turn for the worse last night. She was discharged yesterday, then readmitted to the ER last night with a blood pressure of 174/107 and severe tremors.

She has been put on a magnesium IV drip to prevent seizures. The magnesium makes her feel very sick and lethargic. It is hard for her to feed or even hold McKay. Kimball is being a great dad! Shelley's mom is here helping out.

Please pray for Shelley, Kimball, and McKay!!

Day #3 in NICU

Good news is McKay is doing much better! His glucose levels are stabilizing in the 60-70 range, so they are slowly weaning down his IV. The IV glucose will be done today, but then they continue to check his levels often and feed him so that he can keep it up. The NG tube is out (thanks to the little guy's long fingernails). For all you nurses--that is the worst when they pull their own tube out, huh? Luckily, they haven't had to put it back down because he is getting enough through bottle feeding and some breast feeding...yay!

He is a totally new babe from yesterday morning. His progress is so much like the gospel. In the gospel, we have to look at people from where they have come from, NOT from where they are. I think we can always give people more credit! It's true with McKay too. It is so awesome that he will even drink from a bottle today, when yesterday morning, he wouldn't even suck on a pacifier.

Things are looking up. I will be discharged to a "hotel stay" room here in the hospital so that I can go to NICU and feed him. McKay could be discharged Sunday or Monday if all goes well. I saw one of my nursing school friends in the NICU last night. Jana (can't remember her married name) is a NICU nurse here in Logan and we graduated with each other. She was such a welcome site since we know very few people up here. The nurses here are wonderful.

For the Holt clan, the nurses put up signs on McKay's crib with tractors, barns, and trucks. They asked us, "what do you think of when you think of McKay?" Kimball said, "John Deere tractors." So the next time we went, there were some pictures up. Very cute. More pictures to come later of McKay. It is exhausting to pump, feed, never sleep, and then also remember to take pictures. I am getting there....slowly. :)

Update on McKay

I just had to add this picture of right after delivery to give proof of how small this little guy really is! Update for today: his blood glucose levels are still up and down, even with the IV glucose going in. They put an NG (naso gastric) tube down his nose to give him some formula (mixed with whatever I pump) to increase his weight, his glucose, and hopefully a desire to suck on something. He has not had the energy or desire to suck on even a pacifier yet, so we are hoping that giving him more energy will help in that department.

For those of you who really want to know the medical stuff: they want his blood glucose level to be above 50. It was 28 when he went to NICU after delivery (common in small babies, but still that is really low). For the past 24 hours, his levels have been all over the place. They gave him a bolus last night, which put his level at 163. Then slowly, he has come back down without them changing anything. But, we don't want him to keep dropping. We really want him to stabilize somewhere above 50. The last one was 60, which is good because we have now been able to slightly decrease his IV rate and try breast/bottle feeding again. The NG tube will stay in place to give him whatever he doesn't take through breast or bottle.

We are cheering this little champ on. We know he can do it!! The nurses in this NICU have been fabulous so far...I had my doubts coming from Primary's. I just have to tell myself that McKay isn't sick enough to be in Primary's, so it is a good thing we aren't there. :)

McKay Alan Holt

McKay Alan Holt

Born October 14th, 2009 at 8:53 am
5 lbs. 2 oz. 19 inches long
Cutest hair ever!
Mom is doing great. Baby is in NICU getting IV glucose for low blood glucose levels and NG tube feeds because he does not have the energy to eat. We think he is the sweetest thing and hope to see improvements with his blood glucose levels soon.
For those who don't know, I was induced one week early due to my blood pressure going too high. With him measuring small for about a month in the womb, they have been watching things pretty close. My doctor felt it was important to get the baby out pronto when my BP started rising. He didn't like the pitocin very much during labor. His heart rate would decelerate, but all of our heart rates made up for it in acceleration!! :) He came out just fine, and I am still trying to get my blood pressures down (which can take a while with PIH--pregnancy induced hypertension, which is not eclampsia or toxemia).

A day in the life of Kimball

Cows are the most curious creatures. They loved having their pictures taken. :)
This is a Jersey cow

This is the milking barn. Two guys milk together. It takes about 7 hours to milk all the cows (twice a day). Luckily, Kimball only works once a day, but some of the guys he works with do double shifts!!

Kimball deserves a post for multiple reasons, but mainly because he is winning the bread day in and day out by milking cows. He has really enjoyed learning about dairy farming through the Utah State Dairy Management program. He landed a pretty good job at a dairy in Benson, which is west of Logan. Most importantly, he has learned why he is glad he got an education so that come spring he will no longer be milking, but will help manage a dairy. Yay!! Thanks for working, Kimball. And thanks to everyone for buying milk to help out the dairy farmers.