TTN

So I know that I have been away longer than my goal of getting a post a week on here. I don't want to have excuses for it, but things have been...hectic.

Cody Corippo

My son Cody was born on February 26, 2011 at 1:03 pm. He was 20 inches long and 8 pounds 3 ounces and incredible. I am still amazed that I can fall instantaneously in love. Those that don't believe in love at first sight haven't had a child yet. He stole my heart just like his older brother did two years earlier.
Then there was a problem. He wasn't breathing...how do you say this...the right way. He had grunting going on and muscle contractions. Through my new found love I didn't think anything of it. The nurses kept fussing over him and I kept hovering over him in awe of what God had delivered to my family.

Cody with all of his monitor cables and the IV

Working hard to be ready to come home

Long story shortened considerably...The nurses took him away to observe and monitor his oxygen levels. They told us that he was breathing too fast and might still have some of the pre-birth fluid in his lungs. One of the reasons could have been that he was delivered extremely quickly and didn't have it all squeezed out in the birth canal. Cody was in observation for about 24 hours. The pediatrician then decided that he needed specialized treatment at a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, closest being in Santa Rosa.
We then saw our new little angel placed into an isolette and loaded into a medical helicopter. He was then separated from us during his flight to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. His 12 minute flight took us an hour in the car. One of the longest hours of my life. It was reassuring to know that my brother in law, Cody's uncle, was able to take his engine company to the hospital and meet him at the hospital door.
Once we arrived and met with the neonatalogist he assured us that Cody was going to be fine. He was convinced that Cody was experiencing TTN or Transient Tachypnea of the Newborn. It happens in about 1% of all newborns and they have to work harder to clear the excess fluid from their lungs. The doctor reassured us that a few days with oxygen and maybe some pressurized air into his lungs and he would be perfectly normal.

Taking our lil man home

It took five days for our little man to be returned to us. Five long days of living in and out of the hospital and suitcases and a huge weight hovering over your heart and shoulders. In the end he is a perfectly normal little boy that will have no effects from this experience.We also were educated on the type of care and work the NICU's around the country are doing to kids that might otherwise not make it. Our little man was the Big Boy and about 4 times as big as some of the patients in the unit with us. The people taking care of these children  are extremely gifted and should be recognized as the heroes that they are.

Robby loving up on his new little bro

I do have to thank all of the people that helped us get through this. All of the ICN nurses and doctors at Santa Rosa Memorial, the nurses that work in the Labor/Delivery Unit at UVMC, Todd Pelletier from REACH, but above anyone else all our friends and family for giving us unbelievable amounts of love and support. A special recognition should go to my monster in law who always goes above and beyond, but this time was a saint sent from God. She put her entire life on hold and catered to our every need, in addition to ensuring the our older son Robby was taken care of. Robby and his Papa spent most of the week together on what can only be described as a vacation for Robby.
There was another incident that I will soon post on my other blog, Adventure Wannabe, about the fight in the parking lot. It was just the twist of the knife in that week from hell.
Hope to talk to you soon.

IED's, Infant Exploding Devices

So I was about to pack it in and close out this blog. I mentioned it in front of a couple of guys and work and was really surprised to hear that they were both following and thought that I should get back to it.

That was enough of a kick in the ass to get me thinking about it, and here I am.

So I was sitting on the couch trying to decide what i should write about to get back on the horse and inspiration exploded right next to me.

Robby was sitting next to me on the couch with a full sippy cup of juice. Actually it was a bit of juice and a lot of water. As we were sitting there, Robby watching toons on the tv and I was going over topics to write about in my head, the sippy cup came apart in Robby's mouth and it's contents flew all over the place. I jumped and yelled in surprise, which scared my son and had him screaming at the top of his lungs. So there we are. I'm screaming like a little girl jumping off the couch and he is standing soaked in juice crying in fear. Isn't being a parent fun!! So I picked him up and calmed him as I changed his clothes. It is incredible how fast kids can recover. He was playing a laughing within two minutes. It also reaffirms that I love being the person that can bring a smile back to his face.

Not soon after Robby got a fever. He was really hot and then when Dani and I were trying to give him some Infant Tylenol he turned into my chest and BAM!!! Hot Wet and Stinky! I got hit with a vomit bomb. My poor little boy and I were covered in his stomach contents, I was surprised again and he was screaming with tears streaming down his face. Sound familiar?? This time Dani had to deal with clean up, which luckly consisted only of our clothes and a towel, while Robby and I washed up in a shower. Again the silver lining was that I was able to put a smile back on my kids face after such a horrible experience.

Another example of yin yang in my journey of being a parent.