Happy 1st Birthday Riley!!!

Yesterday was Riley's birthday. Wow, can't believe its already been a year. I still remember that night like it was yesterday - the craziest and most emotional night of our lives. The fragile little angel that entered our lives that night has turned into such an amazing little girl that continues to surprise us and make us smile more and more every day. Here's a look back at a few pictures from that night...

Pre-op...our awesome nurse John having Pam sign paperwork.

Proud Papa coming out of surgery...and scared out of my mind

Touching my baby for the first time.

So tiny!!!

The next morning, under the jaundice lights.

Big Birthday Bash

Riley has spent the last few weeks improving upon her newfound skills of crawling around and pulling up on things. We finally had to start baby-proofing the house - put up a babygate on the stairs, covers on the outlets, and bolted the new bookcases to the walls. She loves to follow Baxter and Mommy around, and watch out the front and back doors. She is also sleeping in her own room now, and doing pretty well with it. A few times this past week she has gotten up more often, but between teething and allergies I guess the fussiness is to be expected. Overall, she is sleeping through the night most of the time.

Last weekend we got our first professional family photos taken. Got them done at Portrait Innovations and were very happy with the results. Click on the "Family Photo" link to the right to see them all, I posted a few below. Riley cooperated long enough to get some real good ones taken!

This weekend (Memorial Day weekend) we had friends in town, and enjoyed a huge celebration on Saturday. Had quite the house (and back yard) full of people to join in celebrating Riley's 1st birthday. Pam's mom made an awesome cake, and Riley was very spoiled with presents. Thank you to everyone that came out! We also went to our pool on Sunday, Riley's first visit to the neighborhood pool. She did pretty well with the whole experience until her feet hit the water. She didn't seem to like the water, we are thinking it was the cold temperature. Other than that, she didn't mind the sun and all the people. I'm sure she'll get used to it as the summer goes on...

The awesome cake and cupcakes Pam's mom made.

Riley being very timid about eating her cupcake...

Riley playing with her big brother Baxter.

Unplugged and Mobile

Riley's had a big week. I think in the past 10 days or so she has grown about 3 months! Last week I think I mentioned she had started "army-crawling", moving around on her stomach pulling forward with her arms. She'll start out on all fours, then fall over onto her stomach to get moving. Then on Wednesday she actually started moving on all fours crawling for real. Now she's moving all over the place! Guess it's time to get a baby-gate and baby-proof the house. We're so excited that she hit this milestone before she turned 1. Now just hoping she can walk before baby #2 arrives in November

The other big news of the week came on Friday. Got the call back from Dr. Riva and Riley passed her 2nd sleep study! This means that for the first time since she was born, she is no longer on oxygen at night, and not plugged into a monitor. It's come just in time too, since she's all but outgrown the bassinet. Head-to-toe, I don't think she has more than another few inches before she's hitting both ends. The challenge now will be to wean her out of our room and into her crib at night - I think Riley will take to it fine, it's Pam that will have the harder time adjusting (haha).

Pam had her check-up with the OB this week too, and at 11 weeks she's still doing great. Baby is about 1.5" big, and heart rate was 170bpm (almost identical to Riley at that point). 9 days post-op for me now, and starting to get around pretty good (drastically better than I was in the photo below). Ditched the crutches by Wednesday, and slowly getting back to 100%. Have physical therapy once a week for the next 5 weeks, and by then hopefully will be back on the softball field.

Here's a short video of Riley showing off her new-found skill. She's getting faster and more coordinated every day!

Riley and me resting after knee surgery...

Riley and big brother Baxter

Riley standing in her crib...whining because she can't figure out how to sit back down

Riley crawling!

Happy Mother's Day!

It was this time last year (May 11th, the day after Mother's Day), that Pam's water unexpectedly broke at 24 weeks and this whirlwind adventure took off.  It's hard to believe it has been that long, and yet at the same time it does feel like it was forever ago.  We have been through so much over the past 12 months.  Although it's not something we wished for or would want to go through again, I am forever grateful to have someone as great as Pam to have had by my side throughout this.  She is an amazingly strong person, and has proven to be a wonderful mother to Riley.  Happy Mother's Day to Pam and all the other Mothers out there who don't always get the recognition they deserve.

We spent a weekend in Manhattan with my family, attending the KSU Open House and celebrating birthdays (Nikki, Eric, Landon, and Makena's are all within a month of each other).  We didn't end up making it to K-State's Spring Football Game, but had a blast hanging out at Nikki's instead.  We also got to spend some time with Pam's family a few times in April, as her brother John was home from Korea for a few weeks.  They took a trip to Botanica and had a nice photo shoot with Riley, Benjamin, and the rest of the family.

These past few days have been a little more hectic around here.  I had my knee surgery on Friday and have been laid up on the couch since then.  I know this isn't how Pam was wanting to spend her first official Mother's Day, waiting on me hand and foot, and for that I am even more grateful.  I've done my best to help watch Riley while she gets other tasks done, but unfortunately I can't help with much. 

Tonight my family will be coming over to celebrate Mother's Day.  We will get to break in the new BBQ grill, but I guess I'll have to let someone else do the cooking.  Pam's mom and sister have been out of town, so will have to celebrate with them later. 

Riley is really growing up lately.  She is a super-happy baby and loves to smile and laugh - especially at Baxter.  She is sitting up on her own very well, and has even started army crawling!  We are holding out hope she'll get a real crawl or two in before her birthday at the end of the month.  She is eating much better now, and loves to "gum" on cookies, carrots, and anything else we give her.  We have been working on waving "bye-bye" and clapping to "patty-cake" as well.  She seems to be getting the hang of it, and usually gets a giggle or two in when we play.  We should find out in the next few weeks if we can discontinue the night-time oxygen and unplug the monitor.  We will probably have to do another sleep study first, which should get scheduled sometime soon.  Her weight is holding steady at about 14lb 6oz.  Even though she is eating much better, she is also a lot more active and therefore burning more calories.  We will likely have to switch her to formula soon since Pam's milk supply is depleting from this new pregnancy.  Those hundreds of bottles of milk in the deep-freeze are surprisingly disappearing pretty fast.

With her birthday coming up in just a few weeks, we are working to finalize the plans for her party.  Looks like we'll have it Saturday, May 29th from 2pm-4pm, followed by our annual "Skach-a-Palooza" summer bash.  Everyone is welcome to attend, so please contact Pam if you can make it.

Here are a few photos from the past few weeks.  Again, click on the links to the right to see many more pictures.

April Showers Bring...Another Baby?

Another exciting week for us.  Last weekend my family came over for a BBQ after my mom and sister took her kids to the circus.  Took a walk after dinner and played at our neighborhood park.  Riley seemed to like the swing a little better this time.  Tuesday Pam's family came over for a BBQ as well.  Pam's brother, John, is home from Korea for a few weeks so they wanted to come hang out.  It was good to see him - he hadn't seen Riley since last September, she has grown a little since then!

Thursday was a busy day.  Started out with a doctors appointment for me - found out I will indeed need surgery on my knees.  Going under the knife on May 7th to get torn cartilage fixed in my right knee, and an inflamed plica band removed from my left knee.  I was hoping to avoid surgery, but at least this will hopefully end 10+ years of knee pain. 

Wednesday was Riley's upper GI, so after my appointment on Thursday we headed over to Dr. Nichols to get the results.  They couldn't see anything unusual, but at the same time Riley wasn't being too cooperative with drinking the Barium.  They had to feed her while taking the x-ray, so Pam couldn't be in there to help (since she is pregnant).  They said she drank enough for them to get a decent look.  So either there isn't a problem, or there could have been and she outgrew it (which is likely with a hiatal hernia).  She has been eating a lot better and spitting up less so that is possible.  Still would like to see her gaining more weight - she's currently at about 14lb 5oz.  Even though she is eating more now, she is also more active so is burning more calories.

Thursday afternoon we went to Pam's first OB appointment for baby #2.  Dr. Depew was a little shocked to see us again so soon!  Was able to hear the baby's heartbeat and see it on their mini-sonogram for the first time.  Baby was 0.80cm long, measured about 6 1/2 weeks he said.  Heartrate was at 127bpm, a little slower than Riley's first one (she was at 154bpm, but was also 7 1/2 weeks).  At this point, they are guessing the due date around December 4th.  Have sonogram pictures, but the scanner isn't hooked up right now so I'll have to post them later.  Dr. Depew said at this point he wasn't going to restrict us from doing anything and doesn't plan on it since we really don't know what caused the premature rupture with Riley.  Guess we'll just watch everything closely and play it by ear.

Spent this weekend working outside, got some yardwork done, finished my lattice-work under the deck, and cleaned out the garage.  Went to dinner at Pam's mom's house tonight.  Hope to get to see John a few more times before he leaves at the end of the month.  Next weekend we are headed to Manhattan to spend a few days with my sister's family, go to the K-State Spring Football game, and celebrate Makena and Landon's birthdays.

A few photos from the past two weeks (more are in the "Spring" album, click on the link to the right):

Oops! Here we go again...

Well folks, I guess the cat is finally out of the big.  After dropping some major hints around, I guess I should just announce it to the world - Riley is going to be a big sister!  Found out last week Pam is due with #2 around the end of November.  Pam had planned on telling me after her doctor's appointment on Thursday (April 1st), but I stumbled across something on the computer that I thought was an April Fools Joke (see Riley's shirt below).  Turns out it wasn't a joke!  Was quite the shocker to us both, as it certainly wasn't something we were planning or trying for - but we are very excited!  Assuming this one goes full term, the two kids will be 18 months apart - so we are going to have our hands full.  We surprised our parents on Sunday by hiding the shirt Pam made under a jacket and had them take the jacket off to stumble upon Riley's secret.  Needless to say, everyone was very surprised and excited. 

After all that we went through with Riley, we are expecting some extra restrictions and precautions during this pregnancy.  Not sure exactly what, but I would assume she'll be put on some physical limitations as time goes on, and probably more sonograms than normal to watch for the placenta previa (which we are pretty sure caused the amniotic rupture with Riley).  We go see the OB/GYN on April 15th, the same day as Riley's GI follow-up, and my appointment with the orthopedic surgeon about my knees - going to be a busy day!  Will post details after that with any news we get.

March Madness

Sorry for such a long delay, we've actually had a pretty busy month so lots to tell but haven't had the time to get on here.  Kind of ironic after my last post commented on how boring things were around here.  Spring break was a busy week for the whole family.  I got the opportunity to go to the opening rounds of the NCAA tournament in Oklahoma City, and while I was gone Riley got to have a few more "firsts."  First, Pam took her to the indoor pool at the YMCA with my mom, sister, and niece/nephew.  They had a blast, but Riley didn't enjoy it that much.  It was pretty crowded and VERY loud.  Now she seems to have developed a fear of water.  But I have no doubt that this summer she'll turn into a fish just like her cousins.  The next day they all went to the Sedgwick County Zoo.  This was the first time she got to sit upright in her stroller (rather than in the car-seat), and seemed to enjoy being able to look around.  She was pretty indifferent to all the animals, and at the petting zoo she actually passed out pretty quickly.  We'll have to make a regular thing of this, as I know by her love of dogs she'll really enjoy seeing all the bigger animals.

This past week was a little rougher on her.  We hit a few birthday parties last weekend, and as it turns out there were about 4 sick kids total we encountered.  Not sure who started it all, but we all had to endure the aftermath.  Riley came down with a high fever late Monday night and wouldn't sleep or eat for a few days.  Went to Dr. Nichols (pediatrician), and he said it was "just a cold" and she would get over it in a few days.  Fever was persistent but with lots of Tylenol and Motrin she was over it by Thursday.  Wednesday was my birthday, so Pam's mom came over to watch her while we went to dinner and a movie.  Unfortunately, I didn't get the present I was hoping for - as that was the day we were to hear back from Dr. Riva on the night-time oxygen.  We got the call, but she said we've got to go another 6-8 weeks with the oxygen at night.  She said during the sleep-study we did, her saturation dropped a few times down into the 70's, so she wasn't comfortable taking her all the way off yet.  Let's just hope she gets rid of it by her 1st birthday!

This weekend has been fun - celebrated Easter today with both sides of the family.  Didn't do a whole lot, but Riley got to wear her pretty Easter dress.  Took her to my parents' church for the first time and got to show her off to lots of people.  After dinner at Pam's mom's house we took a walk and played at their park a little bit.  She didn't really like the swings but smiled a little more on the slide.  Guess we'll have to try that again when she gets a little older.

She's starting to roll over more, and likes to rotate in circles while she is on the floor.  Does a lot of "grunting" which I guess is her form of talking.  She smiles up a storm and is starting to hold her arms out when you approach her so you'll pick her up.  There have been many times lately too where she has that attachment to mommy and daddy and cries for anyone else.  Always sucks when it is a close family member, but I know she'll grow out of it.  She still isn't a great eater, but does have her moments where she will suck the bottle down.  Isn't spitting up as much as before, seems like the reflux medicine and mylanta do the trick.  We are getting an upper GI done in a few weeks just to make sure she doesn't have a hiatal hernia.  It is something that has ran in my family (me, my dad, my uncle, my cousin...) so there is a chance that could be contributing to her problem.  Other than that she is developing very normally and has been a very happy baby.

I posted a lot more pictures in the "Spring" photo album to the right, but here are a few of the highlights:

Boring can be good!

I know it has been a month since I posted, but honestly not a lot has happened.  We are in the "boring" phase, as I call it.  Riley is exciting and fun to watch and play with, but nothing noteworthy to log in and type about.  The past month we have only had Riley on the oxygen at night, and even then missed a few nights.  It really bothers her when we tape the tubes to her head, so if we don't get them on her before her last feeding, then we don't want to wake her up putting them on.  However, with the monitor on her at night we've been assured that it isn't affecting her any.  We go back to see Dr. Riva next Monday and hopefully she'll give us the okay to take her off at night as well.  And depending on whether she lets us unhook the monitor, Riley will finally get to wear some of her zip-up outfits.  With the monitor on her foot, she's only been able to wear button-up or foot-less sleepers.

Last week, she weighed in at 14lb 2oz.  Weight gain has slowed down a bit this month, but her reflux and gagging has been become a bigger problem too.  Dr. Nichols put her on some medicine to help it, and it seems to be working.  She's also still on the calorie supplement to push the weight gain along too.  Rainbows is still coming out once a week, and they say she is doing really well.  She's eating lots of peas and sweet potatoes, and occasionally some rice cereal, to go with her milk.  Starting to read her some books, play with more toys, and get her interested in sippy cups.  She's rolling over really well from front-to-back, and every once in awhile back-to-front.

Last week Riley turned 9 months old.  NINE MONTHS!  Wow...can't believe it has been that long.  Doesn't it seem like just yesterday our life got turned upside down?  Its amazing how far she has come.  Looks like its time to start planning the 1-year birthday party.  I have a feeling its going to be a big one...

I've uploaded quite a few new pictures, so check out the Winter and Spring albums to the right (you do not have to be a Facebook member to view them).  Here are a few of the highlights:

I probably won't be posting as often as I used to, unless there's anything noteworthy to tell about.  But feel free to write, call, or stop by any time to check on our little miracle baby.  It is very reassuring to know how many people have followed her throughout this journey and sent their thoughts and prayers our direction.  During her time in the hospital, we were averaging almost 30 people every day on this site checking in on her.  We are very blessed to have such a wonderful support network guiding us through this tough time and now that we are at the end of the "tough" part of the journey, we are forever grateful for all that everyone has done.

Free at Last, Free at Last!

Today was a good day for Riley.  Started off with a visit to Dr. Nichols (pediatrician) for a weight check - she was 13lb 10oz.  Lost an ounce from last week, but still way up from last month.  In the afternoon, we had our checkup with Dr. Riva (pulmonary) - the doctor we had the unpleasant experience with last month.  She was pleased with Riley's weight gain and everything else, so she said we were free to turn off the oxygen during the day.  She wants us to continue to keep her on it at night, and wants us to spot check her oxygen saturation throughout the day, so we'll have to keep the wire on her foot all day, but thats a lot easier than having the tubes on her face and dragging around the oxygen tank.  Riley is now much more mobile and has a much prettier face!  We'll go back to her in a month, and as long as she doesn't back-track on her weight gain, or have problems with daytime saturation, we should be off the oxygen all together.  Immediately after that appointment, we headed over to Dr. Shah (neurologist) for her followup there.  He also was very pleased with her progress.  She has had no signs of any seizures since leaving the hospital, and her development seemed right on track.  He was so pleased, he said we didn't even need to schedule another appointment - unless Dr. Nichols or one of the OT/PT people see something that might indicate a neurological problem.  Both of these were obviously huge to us, and it really feels like we've had a monster weight lifted off our shoulders.

Yesterday, the Rainbows speech therapist was finally able to make it here to look into Riley's feeding issues.  She has shown signs of getting better, and at times eats very well, but still gags quite a bit and regurges a lot as well.  She had Pam make a few small changes to the way she gives the bottle, and also to how we do the solid foods.  Overall, it seems the main problem is reflux.  She called Dr. Nichols and today we have started her back on medication for the reflux.  Hopefully this will settle her tummy a bit and make all the feedings go a little smoother.

One more milestone, about an hour ago she rolled over on her own for the first time!  We had her on her tummy, and she pushed her elbows up and rolled to her left and onto her back.  Way to go Riley!

Riley and Mommy:

Riley and Baxter:

Riley with a clean face, no patches, and no oxygen tubes!!!

8 months old!!!

Today Riley is 8 months old.  I know I say it over and over again, but holy crap time has flown by.  I can't believe it has been that long since graced us with her presence.  She was just a little over 4 months old when she came home from the hospital, so that means here in another week or so she will have been home as long as she had been in the hospital.  Great news!

Pam has continued to take her into the pediatrician every week for weight checks.  The doctor wanted to do this to make sure her weight gain was significant and consistent, and to chart it all, so we won't have a repeat at Dr. Riva's office next week.  So far each week has brought good news.  As of last week's appt. she was up to 13lb 6oz!  This is a great jump from where she was 3 weeks ago.  On Thursday we had our follow-up with the Wesley Developmental clinic, not really sure what it was for since it is redundant with what Rainbows is doing.  They said she is doing great, is behind in a few small areas but nothing major and nothing to be concerned about.  Rainbows will be out again this Thursday to check on her as well.  The Dr. Riva appointment is a week from today, and also have our follow-up with Dr. Shah (neurologist) that day as well.  We are praying for great news from both.  Could be a really good day, or a really bad day... 

Last weekend we did end up making the trip up to Manhattan to see my sister, Nikki, and her family.  Took Baxter as well, made for a very fun trip.  Both Riley and Baxter did very well on their first road trip.  It was amazing the amount of stuff we had to take though just for a 3 day trip...filled up a minivan!  But we had a great time hanging out with Nikki, Eric, Landon, and Makena.  Got to see Makena's first basketball game, and I gotta say 6-7 year olds playing basketball is hilarious!  I was even able to score some last minute tickets to the KU/K-State basketball game on Saturday.  Wow, what a game!!  Since I should be going up there for work at least every other month, we may have to make this trip a regular thing until Pam goes back to work.  I think Nikki and family would enjoy that...or maybe not?  Haha

There's never a dull weekend in our lives, it seems like.  This weekend we'll have a house-full of people over on Sunday for the Super Bowl (or Skach-Bowl IX as we are calling it).  Everyone's invited, so let me know if you can make it!  Then we'll have those two big appointments next Tuesday, so I'll be sure to post updates after that...everyone please pray that I'll have good news to pass on.

For some reason, even with all the excitement of this weekend we didn't get any good pictures.  Nikki took some of Riley decked out in K-State gear to root on the Cats Saturday, so here's one of hers.  EMAW!