First Family Vacation- Florida

[*Insert huge sigh of relief here*]  We survived it.  Not only did we survive it, but we actually enjoyed it.  Blake and I were both so nervous about flying with Ryder, so there was a lot of anxiety leading up to the trip.

The trip was initially proposed by my friend Jill.  Her parents own a vacation home just outside of Naples, Florida (in a town called Bonita Springs).  Jill, Jess and I are all friends from Wash U.  Jess and I met on our freshman dorm floor and have been best friends ever since.  We lived together sophomore, junior and senior year.  Jill was the year above us, but we became close friends with her during our sophomore year.  While in college, we never would have imagined that we'd all end up with babies close in age.  In fact, I'm pretty sure that if someone would have asked us back when we were 21 years old, we all would have guessed that I'd pop a baby out first, with Jill and Jess to follow some time later.  But here we are almost ten years later, and we all have kiddos less than a year apart.  Jill's son Jake is just over 13 months old.  Ryder is 8.5 months old.  Jess's daugher Eve is 7.5 months old. 

Anyway, Jill suggested that we all vacation together at her parents' house in Florida with kids in tow.  We all immediately loved the idea, but I'm not sure that any of us initially thought that it would come to fruition.  Clearly, it did.  Jess's husband Graham was not able to make it (bummer!) but the rest of us all met in Naples on Wednesday, August 8th and stayed through Sunday.

On the way there, Ryder was such a good boy at the airport and during the flight.  We even had a nearly two hour delay, and he still hung out like a champ.  Although we did not purchase a separate seat for Ryder, we lucked out and the flight wasn't full.  The gate agent kindly shifted things around so that Blake and I could have an empty seat in our row.  Because of this great fortune, we were able to bring Ryder's car seat on to the plane.  Now don't get me wrong, I wouldn't say that the flight was flawless.  Ryder never slept at the airport or during the flight, which is crazy.  I suppose there was just too much excitement.  Because he didn't sleep, it was a little exhausing to keep him entertained.  However, he didn't cry or have any tantrums.  Once we arrived in Florida, we had an almost 2 hour drive from Ft. Lauderdale to Naples.  It wasn't ideal but the flights into Ft. Lauderdale were WAY less expensive than the flights into the closer airport.  Ryder actually cried a bunch during the drive.  He was way overtired.  It wasn't pleasant, but at least we didn't have to worry about him disrupting others. 

Ryder was such a doll-face during the trip.  We spent a lot of time in or by the pool, and Ryder loved it!  He had been good in the pool on the few occasions we had taken him at home, but he had always been slightly hesitant and a little tense.  I don't know if it was the cozy, warm pool temp in Florida that made the difference, but Ryder was completely relaxed and happy in the pool there.  He even splashed around.  Preciousness.  He took two naps daily like a good boy, played nicely with his two little friends and slept through the night in his pack-n-play without a problem.

It was so much fun to see Jake, Ryder and Eve together.  Even though Jake is less than 6 months older than Ryder and Eve, it's still a huge difference at this point in time.  Jake is  walking running around everywhere and into everything (as most 13 month olds are), but he was sweet to the "babies" and was mostly happy to share all of his toys.  Even though Eve is younger than Ryder, she is much more mobile than he is.  She crawls (albeit slowly) and can even pull herself to standing.  The tiny little princess (and I do mean TINY) is far more advanced than Ryder in that regard.  Although it was super entertaining and fun to watch all of the babies together, it was also somewhat frightening.  It was a glimpse into my near future: life with a mobile baby.  It's hard to picture Ryder running around the house, but the truth is that it won't be THAT long until Blake and I are faced with such a reality.  In all honestly, it kind of makes me want to permanently dress Ryder in some super-slippery footed pajamas so that he'll never have enough traction to crawl or walk.  Of course I wouldn't really do that... but the thought did cross my mind.


Another interesting discovery during the trip:  THE BABIES LOVED BLAKE.  Jake and Eve were both inexplicably attracted to and entertained by him.  He could elicit a smile from sweet little Eve at the drop of a hat, which is no easy feat.  It was crazy and hilarious how much Jake and Eve fancied Blake.  It was way cute.


We also even managed to slip in a bit of good, old-fashioned adult time during the trip.  I was able to laze on a pool float for a good hour and a half while the babies were all napping one day.  Also, we had ample grown-up time after the kiddos went to bed each night.  All 3 of them were down by 8pm each and every night (Ryder was usually first, since he can't seem to make it past 6:30 pm anymore).  We grilled out just about every night and ate dinner on the patio when the weather so permitted (there were thunder storms almost every evening while we were there but they were pretty short-lived).

On our final night in Naples, we ventured to the hot tub after dinner, glasses of wine/beer in hand, and chilled/chatted the night away until the wee hours of the night (as new parents in our late 20s and early 30s, "wee hours" actually means "around midnight").  Blake and Aaron even enjoyed Cuban cigars that Aaron had brought back from his recent trip to Bermuda.  We all pretended like we were childless college kids again without a care in the world (though in all likelihood we would have been drinking cheap beer and bad liquor in lieu of nice beer and wine back in our real college years).  Truth be told, if you were to pan out from the close-up shot of us all sitting in and around the hot tub drinking, you would have seen three high-tech baby monitors perched on a deck chair a few feet away.  Also, if you were to pan back in and turn up the volume, you would have heard that we spent a large portion of our time in the hot tub listening to Jess describe her dissertation topic (a comparison of immigrants and sense of identity in NYC and Madrid, or something along those lines) and discussing our vastly different experiences with conception of our children (ranging from Jess's "fertile myrtle," pregnant at the drop of a hat experience to my year+ struggle requiring medical intervention experience).  Not exactly the same types of things we would have discussed while boozing in a hot tub back in college.  Like I said, we were only pretending to be care-free, college kids.

The flight home with Ryder was verging on a nightmare.  But hey, he's an 8-month old.  If he had been perfect for both flights and the entire trip, no one would have believed me anyway.  The flight back to DFW was full, which meant no empty seat for Ryder.  He screamed.  A lot.  When he wasn't crying, he was fidgeting and throwing his body around in demonic fashion.  It was embarassing and stressful, just as one would imagine.  In the end, we survived it.  I'm sure Ryder was overtired and fresh out of the perfect-angel-juice he had been drinking for the several preceding days.  He did finally pass out for the last 20 minutes of the flight, only to be startled awake by the pilot's excessively loud announcement for the flight attendants to prepare for landing, which promptly sparked yet another screaming session from Ryder.

It was so wonderful to spend time and catch up with Jill and Jess.  It was also awesome to meet and spend time with their kiddos.  We plan/hope to make the trip to Naples a yearly tradition now, so here's to next year!  Now, you can enjoy some pictures:

Blake "baby-wearing" in style at the airport



Eve and Ryder

Ryder and Daddy taking a midday snooze

Eve and Ryder make really nice accessories.  Blake decked out in babies = uber-cuteness.

Ryder's first social bath.

This photo captures the moment right before Jake yanked off the wash-cloth in an obviously purposeful effort to expose Ryder's privates to the world (or at least to my camera).

Evidence of the size discrepancy.  Eve is one month younger but almost four pounds smaller (which says A LOT since Ryder hasn't broken the 10th percentile in weight yet).  As an interesting aside, Eve was born two weeks early... on Ryder's due date.  I get a kick out of telling Ryder that Eve "stole his birthday."

Serious baby.

The babies LOVED Blake.



Blake, Ryder, Jess and Eve

Background shot of Jill and Jake

Silly Blake

My boys.

Ryder chillaxin' in the pool

Goofy boys in goofy hats

Beautiful pic.  Especially awesome since Eve is stingy with smiles.

Ryder's first trip to the beach.

Besties.  Babies.  Beach.

Those are pool splashes (not tears).

It was difficult to catch all three in a photo (especially Jake since he is hard to wrangle in at this age).

 

The NICU Experience...

Originally, I planned to devote an entire detailed blog post recounting Ryder's experience in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Cook's Children's Hospital in Fort Worth.  I am no longer going to do so for two reasons.  First, almost 8 months have passed and the memories are no longer crystal clear (to say the least).  Thus, I won't be able to successfully relay many of the details.  But more importantly, I don't see any reason to re-hash such a low point in my life (and Ryder's life.  and Blake's life).  Ryder is a beautiful, healthy squishy baby now and the past is the past.  I believe I'm a stronger person because I survived that hellish week.  And I know my son is an awesome little fighter because he survived that hellish week.  And I know Blake is a kick-ass husband because he survived that hellish week AND emotionally supported a hormonal, wreck of a wife in the process.

Instead, I'll just provide some bulleted "highlights" and lowlights (with some added commentary of course, since we all know I'm incapable of brevity in my blogging) for the sake of memorializing some of the experience.  There are also pictures at the bottom of this post (for those of you who want to skip the commentary and head straight to the goods).

Lowlights:

    -Ryder was cath'ed 4 times in ER and 2 times (the next day) in NICU (I was irrationally afraid that they would do permanent damage to his poor little private parts by jamming a tube in there over and over again).  Apparently, he was so dehydrated, that even after a full bag of IV fluids, there was simply no pee-pee to be had.  I wish they could have made this determination after attempt #1 and waited a while before violating him again.
    -I was forced to watch while ER nurses performed a lumbar puncture (i.e. spinal tap) on Ryder soon after his arrival, which is a procedure known to be very painful. The experience was made worse when Ryder just laid there, flopped over the nurses arm, without budging or crying during the procedure. You KNOW your baby is sick when they stick him in the spine and he is too lethargic to even flinch...
   -Shortly after admission to NICU, nurse said Ryder may have stopped breathing overnight had we not brought him in when we did (to put it more bluntly, Ryder was on death's bed and may not have survived the night).  When underweight babies become dehydrated and can no longer maintain their body temperature, their organs (in particular, their respiratory systems) can shut down.
   -Nurses said that Ryder wouldn't have to get a feeding tube put in as long as we could get him to take a minimum of 50ml (slightly less than 2 ounces) at each feeding.  This is a very small amount.  Although it took some coaxing, for the first two days, all feedings were successful.  On day three, Ryder "failed" one of his feedings and the nurse inserted a feeding tube.  It was horrible and felt like such a set-back.  Luckily, Ryder pulled it out less than 24 hours later, and he never needed one again.
   -Ryder failed to gain weight for the first several days despite IV, tube feeds and successful bottle feeds (so frustrating!).
   -Nurse rushed in during a feeding and asks whether I was aware that Ryder had "Brady'ed" (this is NICU jargon, which is a short term for Bradycardia, and means that the baby stops breathing and his heartrate slows for at least 15 seconds). I felt like such a mommy-failure for not noticing that anything had happened.
   -Continuous breastfeeding/pumping disappointments (see prior blog post re: breastfeeding woes)
   -Disappointment that we had to cancel Ryder's Bris (the Jewish ceremony in which the circumcision is performed eight days after birth). More disappointment a few days later when I stepped away to grab a bite from the cafeteria (leaving my mom in the NICU room with Ryder), and during the 15 minutes that I stepped away, the surgeon came by to take Ryder away for his circumcision. I was upset that I didn't get to kiss him and say goodbye before his procedure.


Highlights:

     -Ryder was moved from his heated incubator to a "big boy crib" (day 4).
     -Tests results continually came back normal, confirming that Ryder was simply in the "failure to thrive" category rather than having some kind of underlying disease, disorder, etc. causing his issues.
     -The love and support of many of my friends and family memebers shined through, as we received phone calls, texts, care packages and visits.  I was so grateful for these gestures.  Nothing like a little trauma to find out who your true friends are.
     -Ryder finally gained weight (day 5 I think?)
     -Friends moved GGN (Girls Game Night) holiday party to Cook's Children's Hospital cafeteria (this was truly amazing, as the party was originally set to take place at a wine bar, and yet my sweet friends didn't feel right about celebrating without me.  Thus, they moved the party to the Cook's cafeteria, where we ate cafeteria food and bottled water instead of pizza and wine.)
     -Ryder got discharged, after a LONG week, and we got to parade him through the lobby to load him in our car.
  
Although the "lowlights" may technically outnumber the "highlights," the highlights outweighed the lowlights by far.  Also, I would be remiss if I did not mention how fortunate Blake and I felt, even while Ryder was in the NICU.  In our own little bubble, we felt that we were going through a truly traumatic and terrible experience.  Not that our experience should be downplayed, but the truth is that Ryder was probably the healthiest baby in the NICU.  He was merely a month premature and was categorized as a "failure to thrive" or a "feeder and grower."  Many of the babies in the NICU were truly suffering and/or struggling to survive.  A lot of those babies had been there for weeks or even months and others had months still ahead of them.  As difficult as the experience was, Blake and I took several opportunities to stop and recognize how lucky we were and how hard it must be for the parents whose babies stay in the NICU for weeks or months on end.  We also felt extremely fortunate that we lived close to the hospital and even luckier that Ryder was staying at the only hospital in the country where babies are given private NICU rooms and parents are allowed to stay overnight.  Most NICU parents aren't so lucky. If they live far away or aren't fortunate enough to have a facility like Cook's with private rooms and pull-out couches, then they are forced to leave their babies alone, which is unimaginable to me since I had the ability to stay by Ryder's side.  During the week that Ryder was in the NICU, I only left the hospital twice.  Both times,  I begrudgingly left (after much convincing) to go home and shower and get fresh clothes.  One time, my mom and Blake even talked me into taking a nap.  Neither time I was away for more than 3 hours.

This was at Ryder's pediatrician appointment less than 24 hours before we took him to the ER.  Although tiny, he looks pretty peaceful and healthy, right?  Even the doctor thought he looked okay.  Just goes to show how quickly things can turn.

Ryder in the Emergency Room.  Although it may appear that he was merely taking a snooze, this picture was shot moments after his lumbar puncture and repeated catheter insertions.  He was too lethargic to function.  Also, for size-reference purposes, the diaper that is obviously too big on him was a newborn size diaper. 

Ryder in his temperature-controlled isolette, once he was admitted to the NICU

Does this baby look sick to you?  No way!  What a cutie!

Ryder in his big-boy NICU crib, after he graduated from the isolette (once he proved he could maintain his temperature without extra help)

Day 3.  Dealing with a set-back: insertion of a feeding tube.

Ryder's digs during his week-long stay in the NICU.  It was spacious and nice (my pull-out bed/couch was behind the recliner that can be seen in the bottom left-hand corner).

Cook's Children's Hospital courtyard.  So cute!




The GGN Holiday "Party" in the Cook's cafeteria

Quick Ryder Update

I've been somewhat neglectful in my blogging responsibilities lately, by no fault of my own, but a quick update is warranted. 

Ryder is cutting his first tooth!   I first spotted something on Monday, but I wasn't sure.  It just looked like his bottom gum was a little swollen and funny-looking in one spot.  Tuesday night, he woke up crying twice during the middle of the night, and it took me a few mintues to console him.  This is pretty unheard of these days, as Ryder almost always sleeps for 12 uninterrupted hours now.  I wondered whether his bad night was teething-related.  On Wednesday morning, his teachers asked me at school if I had seen his tooth coming in.  My suspicions were validated!  Ryder is cutting tooth #1!  It is his bottom front left tooth (if you are facing him).  To his credit, he really hasn't been any worse for the wear.  He may be a little crankier in the evenings for bedtime, and he hasn't eaten his dinner solids as well for the past few days, but who knows if these things are even related.  For the most part, there have been minimal (or no) repurcussions from the teething.  However, I've been told that the more painful teeth come in a little later, so I'm going to remain cautiously optimistic regarding his current tolerance for teething.

My little baby boy is getting his first tooth!  Can't believe it.

This week, we introduced a third solids meal (lunch) because little dude has become very demanding.  He still loves solids and has started to exhibit jealousy (and impatience) when he sees the other kiddos in his class being fed in the high-chairs.  So, he gets three meals a day now... just like a real person ;)

A couple of weeks ago, we also introduced Ryder to meats.  By meats, I mean nasty, pureed, meat mixtures that come in the Gerber Organic baby food tubs.  He seems to like them pretty well.  And about a week ago, I started giving Ryder mum-mums.  He hadn't done so well with any form of non-pureed (i.e. chunky) solids when I had tried them before, but he picked up on the mum-mums pretty quickly.  Now he loves them and they have, in fact, become a priceless tool.  If Ryder is cranky and inconsolable (which happens sometimes as he is getting tired in the evenings), a mum-mum in hand is the quickest fix you've ever seen.  Immediate cessation of tears and tantrum.  Awesome.  The Halpern Home officially loves us some mum-mums.

I promise to get those 7 month pictures up soon along with some other fun pictures and videos.  Signing off for now.

7 Month Photos (and bonus video)

I am 7 months old! 

Bonus video: