February update....

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Well, the past week has been a blur! We came home on the 18th, PawPaw's 81st birthday. So, we had a little party for him at the house and a little welcome home dinner for Samuel with PawPaw, Buddy and Pops. Then, on Friday, I took Samuel to Dr. Huie for his follow-up visit. He was back to birthweight and doing fantastic. Dr. Huie told me I could take him out some, just to be careful... that being said. I decided not to miss another of PawPaw's birthday parties, like last year. So, we suprised everyone by coming to the party in Anniston...(half way for the Atlanta part of the family and the Alabama part). We all love PawPaw so much and love to get to see each other on this annual celebration! We had such a good time. Then on Sunday, Mimi, Poppa, Aunt Amanda and Uncle Josh came to meet baby Samuel. We enjoyed them so much. Between all of this, we got some candid shots of the kids loving on thier new baby. Sara Kate thinks he is hers and wants to carry him around and squeeze him and love on him... it is just priceless. Jason is a little more timid, but loves to kiss him and look at him and talk about him. Neither seem to be jelous and both are doing so well with him.

Tuesday, I decided to be brave and take the kids to Chick-fil-A for a change of scenery.... it was a disaster. When we got there, we got our food and sat down. Jason was so excited about playing that he began eating so he could. Samuel was starving and crying so I was giving him a bottle and setting out the other's food... all of a sudden, Jason got a funny look on his face and began vomiting, all over the table and his shirt... So, I stop feeding Samuel to clean him up and strip him (of course, I had no change of clothes for Jason). Sara Kate decided she was finished and started trying to climb out and Samuel started crying for more bottle... so then I get the bottle going again and Jason is melting down because now I can't let him go play in case he is sick (though, I really think he just gagged on too much). Then Samuel spits up all over himself and now, I am done. SO, I pack them up and head to the van. On the way, Sara Kate finds the red button on my key chain and sets off my car alarm... so, needless to say, we won't be going anywhere alone for a while.... if I had gone anywhere but Chick-fil-A I would likely still be there cleaning up and crying, but the staff was just so helpful and kind that I survived and now am just laughing at the whole story. Great baby book story for sure!

Baby Samuel is HOME!!!! He has done so well and finally, we brought him home today. His bilirubin stayed down and he moved to a crib yesterday. He has maintained his temp and is eating like a line-backer. He is only 1 oz. to his birthweight! Today is also PawPaw's 81st birthday, so the family is coming over for a welcome home/birthday party. More updates to come from that! Thank you all again for your prayers and support. They are so appreciated and still so needed!!!

Monday update on Samuel

We made great progress today!!! Baby Samuel's bilirubin came down to 12.4 this morning and the moved him to a crib with a bili blanket, which is awesome. They told me I could try to breastfeed him today when I came so I was so excited. When Steven got home from work, we went to visit. He was waiting for us because it was past time for him to eat. He was so alert and so hungry.... or so I thought. Not long after I started feeding him, he snuggled up and fell asleep... So sweet. To wake him up to keep him eating, I handed him to Daddy for some special loving and some pictures. Then it was back to feeding.... I fought for an hour to keep him awake to eat, but enjoyed every minute of it. When it was time to leave, they were getting ready to check another bilirubin level. I called at bedtime and it is down to 9!!! If it continues to go down by in the morning and he continues to eat well, they will give us a discharge plan tomorrow!!! Baby Samuel has been dubbed "Sammy the Bull" by a dear friend... I think it fits. He has been a trojan. Here are some of the pictures of the sweet time with Daddy.... Thank you again for all of your prayers and concern... it is working!

Update on Baby Samuel

So far, we have made great progress. As of yesterday, the blood cultures remained negative. That is great news and that means no more antibiotics. He has been eating very well and his breathing has remained normal. The only thing we are waiting on is his bilirubin to come down. It peaked yesterday at 16.5 and they have had him on 3 bili lights. Today it was down to 14, which is promising. They are going to recheck it tonight and if it continues to go down, begin removing the lights one at a time. Then, the only thing we will be waiting on is for him to graduate to a crib from the warming table where they will make sure he can maintain his body temperature. He hasn't had to up until this point, so they want to be sure. So, all that means that maybe mid-week we can bring him home, but it just depends on him.

We finally got to hold him some today and I am just in love. They have been limiting us to keep him on those lights. I can't wait to get him and just hold him and keep him!

I am doing better, still weak from a pretty low hematocrit, but improving daily. I am just so thankful for all the care and expertise I have and am getting from St. V and that everything seems to get better every day. Thanks for all the prayers and calls, please don't stop praying!!!

Love, Kate

Introducing Samuel Robert Allen

Samuel Robert Allen was born at 1:19 pm on Tuesday, February 10th, 2009 at a whopping 8 lbs 14oz and 21 inches long.

I spoke with Kate and Steven numerous times on Tuesday and everything seemed to go very smoothly during the labor process. However, after baby Samuel was born, things took a turn for the worse for Kate. She began hemorrhaging as a piece of placenta or membrane broke off inside of her. After much clotting, they got Kate stabilized and stopped the clotting/bleeding process. Thank heavens for those wonderful doctors and nurses at St. Vincent's!

Kate became stable around 5:00 pm on Tuesday. Although exhausted, she had very high spirits. Since she had such a tramatic day, she decided to send Baby Samuel to the nursery to get some rest.

Wednesday, February 11th
In the early morning on Wednesday, the nurses brought Baby Samuel into the room and explained to Kate that his breathing was significantly fast. They wanted to draw some blood. After the blood was drawn, they decided to keep Baby Samuel in NICU until he resumed a normal breathing pattern. At one point, he was breathing as much as 110 times per minute. They also refrained him from eating so that there was no chance that he would aspirate. He was hooked up on glucose to help with his sugar levels. They determined that his white blood count is elevated. At one point, they were concerned about his heart but luckily, a cardiologist came and his heart checked out to be normal for an infant. He remained in the NICU overnight where his breathing slowed down but still remained faster than normal. Kate visited the ICU every time the doors were open.

Thursday, Feburary 12th
Samuel remains in the NICU. Today, they placed a feeding tube down his throat to provide him with some nutrients. His bilirubin count has risen so they decided to also place him on a "bili" bed. However, his breathing has become a little more stable. At this point, they are thinking that pneumonia has set in and started some antibiotics today. According to my conversation with Kate a few minutes ago, they are going to keep Samuel anywhere from 3 to 7 days to continue giving him the antibiotics. We are praying that Baby Samuel will come home on Saturday. More than likely, Kate will be released tomorrow, February 13th.

Although Kate and Samuel have had several bumps in the road, we are all VERY thankful for the support and care that they have received from the staff at St. V's and from all of Kate's friends and loved ones. Please continue to pray for this precious family and Samuel's quick recovery.

With much love,
Aunt Katie

Loss of my Best Friend....

For those of you who know me well, you know what a heart I have for animals. Well, Sunday, I lost my first child, my best friend, my Scout. She was twelve years old and I have had her all that time. I picked her out when she was a week old and have loved her dearly ever since. She has been through so much with me and has always greeted me with love, a smile and a "full body wag". She quit eating on Wednesday and then Friday morning, we think she had a small stroke. I took her immediatley to the vet and he said she either had a really bad pneumonia or wide-spread cancer. With the stroke and normal bloodwork, I feared it was the latter. We took her home on antibiotics for pneumonia to see if that would work. She laid around some, but for the most part, she wanted to play and be normal... all except for not eating, not even her favorite, scrambled eggs. When I got home from work on Sunday afternoon, she was outside playing and seemed fine. Then, as I got ready to put the kids in the shower, she looked at me like she couldn't see me. Then, when I came to the kitchen after bathing the kids, she was gone.
My heart breaks so many times a day when I think of her. I miss every little thing. I am thankful the Lord took her before I went to the hospital to deliver Samuel, I believe He showed her mercy and that she didn't suffer much. I hope someday I will see her again. I hope she is playing in sprinklers, chasing squeaky toys and eating her fill of scrambled eggs. She was the best dog a girl could have. I love you my Scoutie.


Scout 12/06/97 - 02/01/09

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January 2009

So, I guess I will have to post a month at a time, or at least that.... Here is our January.
We started off with putting Jason in his "Big Boy" Bed, which went much better than I ever thought it would. Only 2-4 nights of getting scared or unsure and he was fine... the kicker, for him, I think, was that Sara Kate ended up in his crib in the room with him because her room is so hard to keep warm. So, he really didn't have a choice. Plus, he wasn't alone in the room, which helped. So, now they are roomies. That is going great unless one wakes up early or mid-nap... but you can't have EVERYTHING, right?
We have spent a lot of time indoors due to fluctuating weather and a very pregnant and tired Mommie so the other pictures are some of those times. We play dress up alot and the newest rave is the batman, 'pulk' (hulk) and storm trooper masks. As you can see, we all join in. We also went to Chuck-E-Cheese and rode the horse pretty much the whole time. Wonder where they get that from :) Sara Kate discovered oatmeal for breakfast and Jason discovered "oink-milks" cookies (that's Jason-ese for oatmeal). Buddy came and took me shopping for baby Samuel and then came back to the house to see the kids. She and Jason had a ball building a tent between the crib and his big boy bed. We went to our friend Richie's birthday party and Jason bowled for the first time. He really enjoyed that and would cheer and clap as soon as he rolled the ball, he didn't seem to care if he hit any pens or not. We finally opened the present that Steven's great Uncle Marvin and Aunt Joan sent the kids... It was a box full of prizes, the hit being the choo-choo train!!! Jason LOVES it. They also got clothes and books and a puzzle. What a sweet wonderful gift!!! At bedtime, our new routine is to get in Daddy's chair and watch Horton Hears a Who. Aunt Katie and Uncle Matt gave them the movie for Christmas and they LOVE it. So, that is January at the Allen house.
We are still watchfully waiting for baby Samuel to debut and will try to keep you updated.

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