Happy Halloween.

Happy Halloween! Love, The Dille Family

Coming Home.

Owen is finally home! I can't even express my relief and gratitude to have him here and healthy. It finally feels like he is ours. It was the strangest feeling to have Owen in the NICU and have to leave the hospital without him. It was a feeling of unattachment, like he wasn't really ours, and we went back to life as normal with just the three of us. Although the constant driving to the medical center was anything but normal for us. What really amazes me now, is the immediate attachment I feel now to finally have him here. I feel like he's really ours and am so happy to have his wonderful spirit in our home. Mike and I feel so blessed to have two boys and can't wait to see what the future has in store for our family of four. Again, thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has been to willing to help us these past two weeks and for all of your supportive comments and loving prayers for our family.

*At the end of this post is the video of Carter seeing Owen for the first time.*

Mike changing Owen into his take home outfit. Thanks April. :)The view from Owens corner in the NICU.

Our last walk down the long hallway of the NICU to the Elephant pod. We were thrilled to take him home and had to document the moment. Owen home in his crib Saturday night.

My mom holding Owen for the first time. She's been great and has been taking care of Carter for almost two weeks for us. Too cute... Mike went in to check on Carter and found him like this. Legs crossed through the crib. Don't worry after he took the picture he took Carters legs out.

Carter seeing Owen for the first time. Sat. 10/25.

Good Day.

Owen has had several good days in a row... the outcome?... He's coming home today!

Thursday 10/23- We went in early and were able to hold him and talk to him with him wide awake and alert for the first time. I was also able to nurse him for the first time and he took to it very well. They upped his feedings to nipple three times a day.

Friday 10/24- Owen was taken off of nasal cannula and was doing great at holding his oxygen levels at room air. Yesterday he also figured out the feeding thing, and began to take his bottles in 15 minutes instead of 30 and even drank an extra 20 cc in the morning. I knew he would turn out to be an eater like Carter. :) During the doctor rounds they told me the good news that we would be able to take him home tomorrow as long as everything continued to go well overnight.

Saturday 10/25- Called this morning and he is still doing great and they are planning to release him this afternoon. So I'm packing his bag and we're off to bring our baby home.

Thank you everyone for your kind wishes and prayers. We love you all and are grateful to have such wonderful friends and family who care about us!

Thursday, Hairdo with style. Owens first mohawk.

Friday, No tubes. We can actually see his beautiful face!

Level Two.

Yesterday Owen was moved down to the level two NICU. This is a good thing because level two means he's getting better. The bad part about this move, from my perspective, is that he no longer receives as much attention. Before in level three, it was one nurse to two babies, now there are four babies to one nurse. He still has the same team of doctors following him and luckily his new location is closer to the main entrance and he still has a spot in the corner making it easier for us to get to him and gives us more space while we're there to sit by him.

Last night he took his first bottle. We called the nurse at about 11:30 and found out that he had taken about 3/4 of his milk and the last quarter she gave to him through his feeding tube. She also gave our little guy a bath, which I was so grateful for. I'm only able to be with Owen for a few hours each day and I've been worried about how he's being taken care of and was so relieved to talk with a wonderful nurse who was being attentive and caring for him. This is a great achievement, unfortunately today when I was there he wouldn't take the bottle for me, so I'm hoping the nurse was able to get him to take the bottle tonight. He has to be able to take all of his feedings by bottle or nursing before he can come home. So we're moving in the right direction. He's still on the nasal cannula, no longer has an IV and is finally starting to get rid of his orange jaundice tint. So most likely we are looking at another week with him in the NICU.

Mike's parents went home tonight and my mom should be back tomorrow some time. Mike is also heading back to work. Other than that, we are just trucking along. Here are some pictures from the past few days.

First Week.

It's hard to believe that Owen will be one week tomorrow and at this time last week I was being admitted to the hospital to have him. (I started this post on Saturday and am finally finishing it Sunday night.) It's been a hard week for our family. Owen is still in the level 3 NICU and as of right now will most likely be at the very least another week. Thankfully my mom was here until Friday to help with Carter and Mikes parents just arrived this afternoon and will be here until Tuesday to help. So we have help which allows Mike and I to travel to the medical center each day to see Owen. Mike took this past week off of work and plans to go back on Wednesday.

Not knowing when Owen will be able to come home is the hardest part right now. It's hard to plan without knowing what to plan for and I am a planner. Part of me feels so lost this week, almost numb without him home. I know that I had a baby, but part of me feels like I'm still pregnant and should be nesting and accomplishing things, when in actuallity I need to be resting. But between pumping, spending time with Carter when I can, traveling back and forth and standing at Owens bedside, I've had very little time to just get off my feet and recover. I know that I have a lot to be grateful for, but right now I'm just sad and I think I need and have every right to just be sad and miss my new baby.

Owen has RDS. Although he was born only four weeks early, the doctors told us white males tend to do the worst in general. The nurses call them wimpy little white boys, although our little man was 8lbs 9 ozs. so he's definitely not little and we don't think he's wimpy at all. I found some information about RDS and thought it would be easier to post what it is below...

Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS)
What is it?
One of the most common and immediate problems facing premature infants is difficulty breathing. Although there are many causes of breathing difficulties in premature babies, the most common is called respiratory distress syndrome (RDS).
What causes it?
In RDS, the infant's immature lungs don't produce enough of an important substance called surfactant. Surfactant allows the inner surface of the lungs to expand properly when the infant makes the change from the womb to breathing air after birth.

Here's Owens progression in the NICU this last week.

Sunday 10/12- Owen was born at 9:15 a.m. and was transferred upstairs to the NICU. He was placed on CPAP (continuous positive air pressure) to help him breathe. Originally he was weighed and we were told he was 8 lbs, once upstairs he was weighed again and we were told he was really 8lbs. 9 ozs. Since I went through labor fighting off the stomach bug going around Houston and fighting a fever, I wasn't allowed to see Owen in the NICU for 24 hours. Mike spent a lot of time with him and took video to bring back to the room to share with me.

Monday 10/13- I got to hold Owen for the first time since he was placed in the NICU. Owens breathing was getting worse and his respiration's were still too high, should be less than 60 and his were up around the 90's per minute. Meaning he wasn't getting enough oxygen causing him to breathe faster and strain to get enough. They decided to put him on a ventilator, a tube down his throat, to control his breathing, and to administer surfactant. He received a double dose and was given morphine because he had such a hard time when they tried to put him on the ventilator.

Tuesday 10/14- More of the same, still on the ventilator and slowly improving. We spent time today sitting by Owen and talking with him and stroking his legs and arms. It's hard not to be able to just pick him up and hold him. The saddest thing about the ventilator is that when he cries you can't hear him. You just see him screaming with no sound. Completely breaks my heart.

Wednesday 10/15- Owen got his first bath and Mike and I were both able to hold him. Mike for the first time in the NICU. I was discharged from the hospital without Owen. Owen was taken off the ventilator and placed back on CPAP.

Thursday 10/16- Started to feed Owen through a feeding tube running into his stomach. He was taken off of the CPAP and onto a nasal cannula. A big step in the right direction.

Friday 10/17- Jaundice hit full force today and Owen at a number of 15.9 was placed under the fancy blue light all day. He also received his first hair cut. They had to place an IV in his head and therefor had to shave a section in the front off. The nurse was nice enough to save it for me. We came in today to find him snuggled on his tummy and resting. The nurse said he slept for four hours. He was so cute and content we sat by and just watched him sleep.

Saturday 10/18- Owen took a step back today and was placed back on the CPAP. This was pretty disappointing. I went into today hoping to try to nurse him, but because his respiration per minute was back at 90, they placed him back on CPAP. Good news, they've upped his feedings to almost 2 ounces every three hours but he's still only eating through the feeding tube. Tonight he was the most alert that we've every seen him. He actually opened his eyes for more than a second and looked around and at us. I was able to hold Owen again tonight, I cannot wait to bring our baby home. It always feels to wrong to leave the hospital without him. They also moved him out of the warming bed and into a normal crib because he's able to hold his own body temperature.

Sunday 10/19- This morning Owen was taken off CPAP and put back on the nasal cannula. For the most part he's been able to keep his respiration's per minute in a normal range. He also went back under the jaundice light because his bilirubin number went from 12 back up to 14.9. He was not as happy under the light today and was sure to tell us all about it when we got there. He was very vocal this afternoon. We attempted to bottle feed him this afternoon with no luck. After a few attempts he started to have a hard time breathing again and we had to stop. So he is still getting all of his food through the feeding tube. The plan is to try again tomorrow afternoon.

10-14 Owen on the ventilator

10/14 Mike and Owen

10/15 Owen trying to find his fingers.

10-15 Snuggling with mom after Owens first bath.

10/16 Eyes Open. Unfortunatly something happened with the flash and Mike's finger so the picture didn't turn out, but I still love it. Maybe I need to have Lynette fix it for me. :)10-15 Owen back on the CPAP. 10/15 Owen with the IV in his head and his new bald spot, or better yet one sided Dille peak. 10/17 Fake Baking at an early age under the jaundice light. This is the real color, no digital editing. 10/16 Spending time with mom.
10/19 After a not so successful attempt at bottle feeding. Enjoying the freedom of the nasal cannula. 10/19 A little more time under the light today. 10/18 War wounds and cute little feet.

Early Arrival.

Owen Dille (middle name still being decided)

Born Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008 at 9:15 a.m.

8 lbs. 9 ozs. 20.5 inches longOwen made an early arrival into our family at 36 weeks and 3 days to be exact. We're currently still in the hospital and Owen is in the NICU. His lungs still had fluid in them when he was born and he has had some problems breathing. We were able to hold him for a few minutes after he was born but then they took him upstairs to the NICU where he is recieving the extra help he needs to breathe. We aren't sure how long he will be there, he takes a few steps forward and then takes a few steps back, but for the most part he is improving and tonight he seems to be breathing easier. We're hopeful that we'll be able to bring him home later this week but only time will tell. We know this is just an obstacle that he will overcome and feel blessed to have delivered at a hospital with the facilities capable of caring for his needs.

Most likely I will be discharged tomorrow afternoon and will have to leave the hospital without Owen. My mom flew into town Sunday morning and is taking care of Carter for us so that Mike and I could both be at the hospital with him. It has been a whirlwind the last few days. Owen coming so soon was completely unexpected and I'm still feeling scattered and unsettled trying to take in all that has happened and deal with the postpartum hormones. I'll update tomorrow with more details about the labor and updates on Owen.

Here are a few pictures. Owen's beautiful, he's a big boy with tons of dark thick hair.

Daddy Time.

We love it when daddy comes home each day. Carter especially likes it when Mike gives him rides on his shoulders. He thinks it's hilarious and when Mike starts to bounce or run, Carter immediately grabs onto Mike's dille bumps (on his forehead, just above his eyebrows- all of the dille boys have these bumps, so we call them dille bumps) or sometimes he just grabs onto Mikes ears. Here are a few fun pictures from the other night. Each photo made me laugh, I really like Mikes facial expressions as Carter holds on for dear life. I liked them so much I decided to post all four and the video. I thought the video was adorable and gives you a great taste of Carter's personality these days.

Two Weeks.

Two weeks left and counting. Went in yesterday for my OB appointment and they officially moved up the induction date to Thurs. Oct. 23. So the plan is to check into the hospital the night before and have the baby the next day. Which is great. I'm starting to be uncomfortable all of the time and the need to be comfortable again is taking over my fear of labor. I guess this is my bodies way of telling me it's time to go. I just can't go into labor until my mom comes into town and that's not until the 20th or so. So looks like we're down to just two weeks.

(35 weeks pregnant, last Sunday night)

Life is beginning to get pretty hectic around here already. Mike seems to have taken on a lot of things and has a pretty big plate of things to accomplish. I can see the stress building already and it's only going to get deeper in two weeks with the new baby. Hopefully he'll be able to knock some of these "stresses" out this weekend and lighten his load a little. Work is starting to get busier and he still has two callings at church and is now speaking on Sunday. They called last night and wanted us both to speak, but Mike knew better to tell him that it would be too much for me right now. I have a hard enough time making it through Sunday with Carter these days, that there is just no way I could add speaking and still stay somewhat sane. Well, as sane as you can be this pregnant.

(Carter pretending to drive dads car. He climbed in the passenger side and up and over to play with the steering wheel. We're in trouble when he turns 16)

I believe Carter knows that there is a change coming. He wants to snuggle a lot more and always wants to sit in my lap. It's hard to believe how different life will be for all of us so soon. So I am trying to really enjoy the time I have with just him and I. Trying to take the time to just play with Carter. Today we went to the park with a playgroup from church. He had a blast. He loves to be outside right now. He just ran a muck and managed to only fall off the playground once. It was also a lot of fun for me to be outside at the park. It's funny to think that I am now one of the stay at home moms hanging out at the park with a child. I feel so lucky and blessed that Mike works so hard so I can have this opportunity to stay at home with our child. Although at times it is challenging and I think about throwing in the towel and going back to work, I'm truly grateful to be home.

Carters molars are coming in so nap times and bedtimes are a little tricky right now and involve a lot of Tylenol and baby orajel. He loves to brush his teeth and Mikes. Still loves nutrigrain bars and chasing the dogs around. Now he's mastered sneaking out of the doggy door, so we've had to keep it locked most of the afternoon. If not, one minute he's inside and the next he's outside running around in a onsie, barefoot, with his sippy cup in hand chasing the dogs. He's still not really talking, but he understands when we ask him to do things. He'll put things away (when he wants), bring specific objects to you if you ask, shut doors when asked, just to name a few. This is reassuring. I know that he gets it, he's just a little behind on talking.

Sorry about the long winded posts lately with not as many pictures. My plan is to turn our family blog into our family journal and get it published at the end of the year as a coffee table book. For this reason I know some of my posts may seem a bit random or a little boring. But bare with me, this is our life, our trials, our happiness, our disappointments, our hopes and our journey. Thanks for being a long for the ride. Hugs to you all!

Scheduled.

I went in yesterday for my 35 week ultrasound and a regular OB visit to check on our babies progress. Looks like he's a big guy just like Carter. Right now they are estimating that he is 6lbs. 5 oz. At 35 weeks Carter was 7 lbs. 1 oz, so comparatively the new baby is smaller. The kicker to this, is that his head is measuring three weeks ahead of schedule. His head is measuring 38 weeks and the rest of his measurements were around 36.5 weeks. Carter was always ahead of schedule in measurements as well.

So, as of right now I have been scheduled to be induced on Oct. 26, at about 38.5 weeks, but my doctor scheduled this and then told me he really doesn't want to wait that long and he wants me to go into labor sooner. So I'm thinking that he will push up the induction to the 23, which is just fine by me... I think. :) I'm feeling a little panicked right now thinking about how little time we have left. But being induced is what I wanted. We live in the suburbs of Houston and our hospital is in the medical center. I have this fear of going into labor during rush hour traffic with Mike at work. Having everything scheduled allows me to relax and not worry as much.

He also told me to walk more and hopefully that will put me into labor. Granted I am still working out at least 4 days a week. Walking more to me, means that I can go back to some of the gym classes I've been skipping. I'm really glad I've been able to keep working out. I feel so much healthier this pregnancy and have been able to keep my weight in much better control than last time. I actually feel like I still have some muscle tone left where as last pregnancy all I did was work and sitting at a cubicle all day did nothing for that. I'm still not dilated at all, which was a total shocker, because I have had so many Braxton hicks this last week, I thought for sure I would have started to dilate.

So now we're in the last three weeks. There's so much to do and the more I think about it, the more nervous and excited I get. It's hard to imagine there is another little person that will be joining our family. As I left the hospital yesterday I stopped by the nursery and just looking at the little babies swaddled in the generic white, pink and blue stripped blankets warmed my soul. It's hard to believe that in just three weeks he'll be here in our arms. Carter will be a big brother and Mike and I will be parents once again. We can't wait to meet you baby!