And then he was NINE MONTHS OLD!!!

Seamus is looking at Uncle Jack like they are having a very serious conversation. Can you believe this is the same kid as the one in the NICU pictures?
Jack did a great job at his kindergarten graduation program - he was a snake - and a total ham!Jack had his first swim meet yesterday. This is the pre-race photo. Can you guess which one belongs to me and Mark?

Getting ready for his second race of the day. He looks so grown up to me. It's hard to realize how fast the time goes with my little men... Life is good in the Slaughter Family. Summer is officially here and everyone is busy. Mark lost his job with Wells Fargo at the end of January. Even though the economy is good here, jobs are hard to come by. Apparently the whole country knows this is a good place to live, so job applicants aren't just competing locally for Dallas jobs, they're competing nationally. Making lemons into lemonade, Mark should have his degree completed this fall and then he'll start working on alternative certification and look for a teaching job. In the meantime, Jack loves telling Mark he's not a grown up since he's still in college and Mark is making the most out of having the summer with the boys.

Jack and Bobby are both finishing up their t-ball seasons and getting ready for summer basketball. They both just finished two weeks of swim lessons at the Y and Jack (as you can see above) just started his first season of swim team at the Knights of Columbus Pool. Can you believe there are 250 kids on his team???

I am plugging away selling houses in East Dallas. Fortunately, I am having my best year yet, so we are all thankful for the blessing of being busy. Drop us a note - we would love to hear from you!

4 Months Have Really Flown!

The Moose had his four month check up today. He is growing like a weed - in fact, he's the fattest baby we've had. On the percentiles, he is at the 50th for weight and the 75th for height. Those numbers are not adjusted for his premie status, so he's really catching up quickly. Way to grow Seamus!

Jack and Bobby both went back to school today after the Christmas break. Thank goodness! I think we were all ready to get back into a routine. We did have a very nice Christmas though.



Christmas Eve was celebrated with all of the Paradises at my mom's house. Scott even flew in from San Diego, so it was nice to have the whole gang in one place. Bobby and his little cousin Piera (Mitch's daughter) got a kick out of turning the Christmas tins into their personal drum set. It was a hoot!

The big gift for the boys was a Wii. Jack is a Wii bowling junkie. In fact his player rating has climbed higher than Mark's. He's even decided he wants a bowling party for his sixth birthday next month.

My Mom reminded me recently what a great catch Mark is - two jobs (Wells Fargo and radio), still supports me when needed in real estate, taking classes at CMU to finish his degree, coaches Jack's basketball team, spends quality time with Bobby, and takes turns getting up with Seamus. I think I've decided to hang onto this guy!


The real estate business is off to a great start this year, with three closings currently scheduled for January. We are lucky to live and work in Dallas.

Hope you all are well too - send us your updates!

Free at Last

Seamus got to come home much earlier than anyone anticipated. We spent one night in the Special Care Nursery and then they sent us on our way. Check out his car seat - we had to go shopping for one that went as low as four pounds and he is still swallowed by it!


Gramma Sara made Seamus some beautiful crocheted hats that fit perfectly.



We had a pretty quiet weekend, just kind of trying to integrate the newest Slaughter into our household. Jack and Bobby are in love with their baby brother!



Bobby had his first solo playdate with his friend Max. He had a great time and it was so nice of Max's mom to come over here to pick up Bobby and give me a little break on our first day home. There is nothing like a newborn to make your other baby look like a big boy...

Seamus had his first bath at home today. We think he cleans up pretty good - what do you think?

We head to our pediatrician tomorrow for his first appointment. Hopefully we'll get a little more direction as far as how much we can get out with him. We know we'll have to be very vigilant, but hopefully we won't have to be shut ins for the winter.

We'll keep you posted...

Maybe Baby?

Has it really been six days since my last post??? Time has flown since I was released from the hospital. The days (and nights) are a blur of 2 hours of sleep at a time, pumping, eating, being driven back and forth to the hospital, returning calls when I can, and fitting in poor Jack and Bobby in the remaining available minutes. Notice my sweet husband didn't even make that list...

The Neonatologist calls Seamus an "overachiever". He started bottle feeding on Monday and never looked back. He now only has the most basic monitors, but no more breathing tubes, feeding tubes, or IV.


They moved us to the Special Care Nursery late last night. It is such an amazing facility. Parents can room in (which we both did last night) and get a little more hands on practice with their baby before taking them home. Feeding a premie is scary stuff, but we are starting to feel more confident about it.

Today has turned into a whirlwind of activity. They have started us on the "going home checklist" and they are hoping we will have it all checked off today and BRING OUR BOY HOME TONIGHT!!!!


Of course we are thrilled and terrified at the same time. If I thought life changed when I came home from the hospital, I am sure it is nothing compared to how things will be different when Seamus comes home. One of our biggest challenges will be limiting his exposure as he will be particularly susceptible to respiratory illness and flu/RSV season are just around the corner. We are asking your forgiveness is advance if you find we are being overly protective - we just don't want to take any chances.

Thank you all for your support and prayers - they have clearly worked. Maybe now they can change to prayers of Thanksgiving (followed by a Please Lord, let them be good at this...)

As soon as we have a chance we'll send another update...

Seamus "Batman" Slaughter

I am home now. It's been about 28 hours and whoa - what a transition. It took me a little while to get used to hospital noises and it turns out I need a little while to re-acclimate to Jack and Bobby volume too. So far it's pretty much pump, eat, drink, sleep, and get to the hospital as much as I can. Just that much is wearing me out.

Seamus had another big day yesterday. He got off of all of the breathing apparatus. He is going solo now and breathing on his own. On the other hand, he had to go on the bilirubin lights yesterday because he was getting to jaundiced. I understand this happens in almost 80% of premie babies, so it's not alarming. The bummer of it is that we just got to hold him for the first time on Friday and as long as he is on the lights, we can only take him out for ten minutes a day for holding time. I hope it won't be too much longer because I think we all benefit from that direct contact.

While he's on the lights, Seamus has to wear this foam face mask to protect his eyes. Thus, Mark's new name for him - Batman. Check out the photo and see for yourself.

It was tough coming home from the hospital yesterday with all the discomfort of a recent c-section and hospital stay, but no baby to welcome home with it. We know he's in the best place and we have so much to be grateful for, but it's tough emotionally.

Today was our first chance to try and juggle a bit and it went well. We made it up to the hospital three times today between the two of us, with no additional child care for Jack and Bobby and only one ride for me. We did have dinner delivery from Ranee Zatopek and grocery shopping by my Mom though, which were both a huge help.


Some families with children in the NICU live far away and can only make it up there occassionally. I can't imagine how awful that would be, but it helps me remember to be grateful we live so close to Presby. We feel guilty and sad that we spend a total of less than two hours a day with him, but we're much luckier than most.

For those of you still looking for a way to help out, this week it's all about helping us get to the hospital. From now until Seamus comes home, we'll welcome anyone that wants to come watch Jack and Bobby from 7pm - 8:15pm so we can spend a little quality time together with Seamus. Of course you're welcome to bring your own kids over too.

Also, I need rides to the hospital T,W, &TH. There are two times available - Drop off at Presby by 10:10 and pick up by 11:10 or drop off by 1:10 and pick up by 2:10. Drivers won't be able to come into the NICU, but you can hang out on the Presby campus or run an errand and come back - whichever works better for you. I would also welcome one way drivers if you can't do both. If I find a sitter for Bobby on Friday, I'll be looking for a couple of rides that day too. Just e-mail me if you want to help out with any of these.

Keep up the prayers,
kps

Thank You - Neighbors, Friends, Family, Community, Everyone...

As I am coming around to feeling like a normal person again, I have been reflecting on the last few weeks and I am so humbled and grateful for the generous support and seemingly limitless offers of help we have been given. It's just so reassuring to feel like we're covered by our community. I know that Seamus's arrival would have been a bigger struggle without your help and that Jack and Bobby have been better off because of the efforts of all of our supporters.

Here is a quick run down of a starter list of people who have already blessed our family with their kindness:

Marlene' Neathery, Kay Wheeler, Nana, Wendy Lucas, Kathy Jensen, Lynn Daniel, Jadi Oliver, and Republic Title- for dinner delivery while I was on bedrest and in the hospital.

Dayna Sisk, Kelly Ramirez, Jennifer Arthur, and Uncle Jack - for picking up kids and bringing them home from school, soccer practice, etc...

Marybeth Bossart, Linda Lomonaco, Uncle Jack, Kathy Jensen, Jadi Oliver, Uncle Mitch, and Aunt Jenn - for coming over and watching Jack and Bobby at our house - allowing them to stay in their own environment and keep things "normal".

St. Mark's MDO - for being flexible and allowing Bobby to stay in the program while we have been in limbo for the last few weeks.

Mitch & Jenn, Rachel Young, Jennifer Arthur, Jack, and Kelly - for meaningful and helpful hospital visits.

Amie Parsons - for dropping a pressure free, handwritten note of encouragement at the NICU.

Grandma and Papa, Movin 107.5, and the Wells Fargo Team - for flower deliveries to the hospital.

Uncle Scott - for monitoring the medical files from all the way in California.

Sherri Baer and the Admin Team at Virginia Cook and Erin Willis at Republic Title- for making sure my closings and my clients were covered during that first week of bedrest.

And of course, my MOM for stepping up daily to take care of my kids, my house, and most of all ME - especially when I hit the wall yesterday.

If I have omitted someone on this initial list - please forgive me. My written thank you list has suffered a little since Tuesday, but I will get back up to speed here soon and I am sure I will be remembering someone...

I know so many more of you volunteered and really want to help, and don't worry - there will still be lots of opportunities over the next few weeks. I'll probably do a post sometime tomorrow with a list of small things we'll need and you can opt in if one of them works for you.

Each of you gets a claim in the healthy arrival of Seamus William Slaughter and we will be forever grateful. Our family will work hard to "pay it back" over the next many years.

From the bottom of our hearts - we thank you.

Seamus's Big Day

What a great day it has been for Seamus!

Mark came up this morning and we were both there for his 10:30 am feeding. It was a lucky thing as we unexpectedly got to be there when they removed the large breathing apparatus he has had and replaced it with a much smaller canula. You can actually see is face now and I have to say he is a CUTIE! Those circle stickers you see on his face are only about an inch in diameter.

Also big for us - Mark and I each got to hold him for the first time today. Ahhhhh.... What a precious thing I took for granted before.

We are starting to figure out a bit of a routine. Seamus gets fed through his feeding tube every three hours, starting at 1:30 in the morning and going aroung the clock. I pump an hour before his feeding time and then either send the breast milk over or deliver it in person and hold him while it goes in the tube.

Once I check out tomorrow, we'll have to figure out how to work it all out with driving, childcare, work, etc. For all of you who have previous experience with this - bring on the advice. We would love to benefit from your wisdom.

Seamus got to meet his big brother Jack today. The NICU staff was so gracious about it. Jack's not old enough to enter the NICU, but they hooked Seamus up to portable monitors and an oxygen tank and brought him to the front desk and held him in front of the window for Jack to see his newest baby brother. It was another emotional moment for Mark and I.