He's Growing Up!

Ayden got to wear his Pumas to his cardiologist appointment on Monday. The shoes are a tad bit big, but the kid really has some large feet, so it wasn't too crazy for him to have them on. Yes, he is only wearing a diaper and shoes & socks in this picture. He originally had on clothes as well, but he got too sweaty in them from the tortures of the appointment and the heat of sitting in the carseat. (At the hospital, I had to put a new feeding tube in his left nostril because his right cheek was raw from the tape... You read that correctly: I put the tube in. It's the second time I've had to endure the tears!) Our little guy sweats a great deal when he is upset or when he is too enclosed. Sorry, Ayden, you got that from your parentals AND their parentals!

Ayden seems to have grown primarily in two locations, his head and his Buddha belly. The next pictures were not focused on either of those; however, you can see his belly portruding in these shots.

Ayden is very comfortable at home. He easily rules the roost. We only think we are in charge.

Bryan is trying to figure out Ayden's fascination with the ceiling fan, and then they find each other...

I'll never forget the evening that we tested the apnea monitor in the hospital. I had received the monitor the week before Ayden's cardiac arrest in preparation for taking him home. Since it had been a month since I had gotten instructions on how it worked, Nicole, Ayden's night nurse, decided to assist me in putting the machine through a test run. I had heard nightmare stories about how often apnea monitors false alarm, so to determine the validity of the alarms, I wanted to hear them in conjunction with the hospital monitors. When Nicole turned the machine on, it made the most horrific noise, and when she tried to turn it off using the same button, the shrieking continued. She then grabbed for the plug, but the monitor has battery life, so it continue to howl at us. In the meantime, people are coming out of the other rooms to see what is going on, and nurses have begun to show up in Ayden's room. Ashley, another night nurse, swaddled up the machine and ran for the nurses' break room. Ashley was able to determine the "off" mechanism, and all was well. I laughed hysterically at Nicole that night, and I have many times chuckled about the event since then.

Luckily, Ayden's monitor shrills at home only when we turn it on! Hooking Ayden up to the apnea monitor is part of our evening ritual. He looks like he has major chest muscles when you get him swaddled.

Tomorrow Ayden goes to the pediatrician for his immunization shots. This vaccine process is very serious business for a hypoplast. He has to take Tylenol every four hours for 24 hours. If we notice any slight changes, he is to go immediately to the hospital. Did I mention that tomorrow is also my first day on my own with my Ayden Baby?!?!?