Never a dull moment...

So you know things never stay too calm for too long around here... Last night I started having some bleeding issues and had to go spend a little quality time in the ER. They tried for 20 minutes to find a heartbeat... Or it could have been five minutes, who knows, it was an extremely long time however long it was, and were never able to locate it. Finally got an ultrasound and Sheniqua was perfect and my cervix looks good. I'll follow up with my OB on Monday to see what's going on.

So, for the exciting news, while the tech was checking Sheniqua out, Sheniqua repeatedly and unabashedly flashed us with what appears to be the biggest penis you have ever seen on a 3 inch baby... It's early, but apparently sometimes with that type of ultrasound you can tell this early...

So we're guessing if Sheniqua is a boy, she's probably not black either, which means we're back in the wimpy white boy boat again. This kids getting on my nerves already!

Oh well, here's the smoking gun... If you can't find it, I'm not pointing it out!

Love y'all!

Another Update

Hello,

First of all, thanks for all the prayers for Baby Drayke. He became an angel at 8:55 last night. I wish I had thought of it earlier, but hindsight is 20/20, right? Their blog site is http://www.draykecrom.blogspot.com/ if you'd like to leave the family some words of encouragement.

Drayke was several weeks younger than Dax, but their beds were very close for several months. When I think of him, I remember how we used to laugh and joke that Drayke and Dax would communicate via "poop" signals and their alarms, because it seemed when one of their alarms went off, the other's did also. It was always a competition between those two. We will never forget him.

As far as our other tiny friends, Kinsley's doing better. They're still in the hospital, but will hopefully be home in a day or so. She's a tough little bird!

And speaking of strong women, Little Payton is doing amazing! She's on the nasal cannula now and got her first drink of milk today. You know, it seems like soometimes these babies just need to hear "you can't do it" before they kick it into overdrive. What an amazing baby.

Thanks again for the ongoing prayers for them both!

So the Daxton update for today is that we went to the pediatrician today for our 9-month well baby checkup... And of course the pediatrician said he has made "amazing" progress. We should change his middle name to amazing... Wonder if that would give him a big head?

Pediatrician comments:
His weight gain is PERFECT.
His lungs are CLEAR. There are no snap, crackles, or pops. Unreal.
His visual tracking is much, much, much improved.
His hand and arm strength... Much improved.
He is no longer anemic and now off his iron... 1 med down, 6 to go!
And of course, he sat up for her for a few seconds and she was very excited to see it... He really showed off...

This was my and his nurse's 2nd favorite doctor's appointment so far, second ony to the ENT because he was so ridiculously good-looking... But I digress... :)

Soooo, that's our news... Love y'all! Keep on prayin!

PS-Here's a little clip of Dax sitting up, alllllll by himself, playing his piano. Looks like all the baby Mozart is paying off!

Baby Drayke

Hi all,
A sad post tonight. Drayke's mom just posted on her blog that they will be taking Drayke off life support tonight. Please say prayers for their family, and also for the children and families that will receive his organs, that those babies can benefit and live long healthy lives due to that precious gift.

Thanks so much.

Update and another soap box

Hello,
I have an update from Kinsley. She's doing better today! Her fever is gone, and they've stopped the antibiotics. They're keeping her oxygen set between 2 and 2.5 liters, and her oxygen saturations are staying in the 80's most of the time. They no longer think it's pneumonia... They think it's something viral instead. Kinsley's mom said she was smiling and interacting this morning and acting more like herself... They'll stay at Vandy til Kinsley's oxygen needs are back to normal, but right now they're still waiting for a room. She thanks you for the prayers and, of course, keep them coming!

And Payton's doing great! She's still on CPAP and is doing great with it. Her mom says they're going to wait a few days before trying the cannula, and they'll also try her first bottle soon, too! What a miracle baby!

And no update for Baby Drayke. Please keep on praying for him and his family, along with all these other sick babies, too.

As far as Daxton's weekly update, he's doing fantastic! He's 14lbs 7.5oz and 24 inches long as of tonight. His voice has really started to get louder over the past couple of weeks, and today Shep swears he heard a "dada." I think it was wishful thinking... I know Dax's 1st words will be "Feed me woman! I'm starving!"

And he decided he could sit up this week! Only about 30 seconds or so at a time, but it's a start. He's also this week stopped doing the "J-Lo booty" as we call it, where he sticks his booty out as far as he can when you try to make him stand. He'll now stand almost completely upright for a minute or so if you hold his hands. He's such a big boy!

One thing we're seeing more of as he gets older, and especially when he's tired, is "bobble-head baby." Sometimes when he's holding his head up it wobbles excessively, like he's nodding yes rapidly over and over. I'm not sure how much is head control and how much is cerebellum, but we're keeping an eye on it. It's definitely nothing major in the grand scheme of things.

As far as his oxygen, he's staying between .2-ish to .9-ish and doing great. When we're able to get his pulse oxometer to behave, we almost never hear his alarms at night... Sometimes it's hard to get them to behave, though...

Oh, and I have a quick soapbox... Kinsley's mom mentioned to a doctor yesterday that Daxton is a 23-weeker, and the doctor was quick to tell her that "23-weekers don't live." I've been told that by multiple sources over the past 10 months, with lots of implications that I "must have had my dates wrong." This, of course, has never set well with me, as I can tell you all of the important dates involved, and probably more details about one of those dates than you would care to know. There are hospitals who will only attempt to save 24-weekers and older because "23-weekers are not viable and don't look like Dax." The hospital where Dax was born believes every baby deserves a chance and will try to save any baby that is big enough to intubate, because every baby DOES deserve a chance. They've saved 22 weekers and 23 weekers, and, God bless them, tried their best on my 21 weeker. (There are two 21-weekers known to date that have survived at hospitals around the globe, and at least one of those had a due date verified by in-vitro.) My point is, you can't always assume that what you know is all there is, because new, wonderful things are happening every day. My son is one of those wonderful things. So, ye medical professionals, don't discredit him and everything he's been through just because you've never seen it before!

So I guess that's all our news! Love you all, and thanks for all the continued prayers for us and our friends. You guys make all the difference!

Kins Update

Hi all,

Please keep those prayers rolling in for Kinsley... They are still in Vandy ER because there are no rooms available. Kinsley has pneumonia, and they are treating her with antibiotics, steriods, and breathing treatments every 2 hours. She's been running a fever since yesterday. Her liter flow is set on 2.5; that's the highest it's been in a long time. Her oxygen saturations are not great. Please pray for quick healing of those lungs!

Will keep you posted...

Oh, no, just also heard that Baby Drayke appears to be going into congestive heart failure due to a viral infection. Please also keep him and his family in your prayers. That baby has been through so much!

Kinsley

Hi all! Add another prayer request... Baby Kinsley, Dax's girlfriend, is on her way to Vandy. She's had a stomach bug that's now affecting her respiratory system... Hopefully not too serious, but it's never good when a preemie gets sick, especially when it's respiratory. Y'all please send up lots of prayers for her!

Thanks, and love y'all!

Quick post...

Okay, not about us this time... (Dax is doing great!) Just had two quick prayer requests...

1.) Baby Payton is still on CPAP! She's never made it this long off the vent! She's restless, and she needs to calm so she can use her energy for breathing. If she can stay on CPAP a little longer, and the docs are able to lower her pressures, she can go to a nasal cannula this weekend hopefully, which is much less irritating for babies... Sooooo, prayers of thanks, and prayers of calm, and prayers of strength for those tiny lungs of hers!

2.) Kimberly is recooping at this time, and will likely remain in the hospital a few more days. She is still disoriented and confused about a lot of things. The doctors expect she will clear up well over the next few days, but we're concerned about her emotional status, as she has no memory of her boyfriend dying three months ago and keeps looking for him. We're praying for her to not have to relive the stress of losing her boyfriend again when her memory returns, but aren't really sure what to expect. Please pray for peace and healing for Kimberly over the next few days.

Thanks, all. Love ya!

Just showing off... We've finally figured out peek-a-boo!

ENT Update

Hi all,

Promised you an update... And it's a pretty good one! The ENT looked at Daxton's ears and noted he has fluid, so he's scheduled us to come back at the beginning of March to check again. If there is still fluid at that time, then he will piggy-back in on Dax's cardiac cath later that month to put tubes in Dax's ears. That should eliminate the need to re-sedate Daxton to do it later. Luckily the ENT and the cath guy seem to be buddies, so maybe they can plan out the procedure over some beers ;)

As far as the vocal chords, the doc stuck a scope down Dax's nose and into his throat to peek, and he determined that the left vocal chord is completely paralyzed at this point in time. Although that in itself is not good news, there is good news attached. First of all, it is possible that the damaged nerve will regenerate itself given time, although we won't know for sure if it will for another year or so. The other good news is that Dax's right vocal chord works great, so even if the left one does not regenerate, Dax should be able to compensate for the left one and in a few years no one will be able to tell that he has any problems with it.

So, good news!

Also, please send up lots of extra prayers tonight... The doctor is going to try Baby Payton on CPAP again tomorrow... She just has to make it this time! Please pray for her lungs to be strong, and her body to be calm!

Love you all!

Hi

Hello all,

So it's been a few days since my last update. Been pretty boring around here I suppose... We had a good weekend and continued to be able to turn down the oxygen to .2 or .3 at times... Don't tell anybody, but he was satting so well one time even after we turned the machine as low as it would go, so I unplugged the tubing to see what would happen... And he kept satting 99%... Until he realized there was no air blowing in his nose and he woke from his nap raising cane and we subsequently plugged him back up with great speed :) It was his first successful room air trial, even if it only lasted for 20 seconds! (His sats never dropped under 97%, btw!)

His Grandma Mills came to dote on him for a couple of days and they got some good bonding time. He liked her much better after he pooped. She does have that effect on people ;)

Monday morning Dax decided to start acting like... Dax... and started dropping his sats at times. He had to turn his oxygen up to about 1.5 liters to keep him happy. I was terrified, as that's the first thing he does when he's getting an infection, but he stabilized there and tonight we've been able to turn him back down to normal levels. He's sleeping right now with his O's set on .3, and he's satting 100%. I suppose he just wanted to give us something to stew about. He does like to keep us jumping!

He's been a little fussy the last two days, so his nurse has worked extra hard to spoil him as much as possible. I had so much fun tonight holding him and watching him smile, then laying him down and he screams immediately. Pick him back up, and he smiles... Lay him back down, and he screams. It was funny for about 5 minutes, and then I had to pee. At that point, it ceased to be so funny!

So we have our ENT appointment tomorrow to check Daxton's hearing and his vocal chords. His hearing is obviously fine, if not a little selective (a genetic condition he inherited from his father), but I'm nervous and not sure what to expect about the vocal chords. I'll update as soon as I get a chance...

That's all of our news! As for our buddies, prayers of praise for Baby Payton who is doing great, and they're hoping to try CPAP again this week... Pray her lungs can handle it! Prayers of praise and continued healing for Baby Drayke who had his trach and g-tube surgery last week and can hopefully get well enough to go home soon! Prayers of thanks and continued healing for Baby Rosemary who had her trach surgery also, and is planning on going home in a couple of months. And, of course, please continue to pray for all of our friends and the other sick babies out there... They're the most innocent little creatures, but they go through so much...

Oh, and just heard from my friend Kimberly's brain surgery today. (She's a grown-up.) The benign cyst they went in to remove turned out to be an aneurism... They're very thankful to have caught it and are confident the surgery went very well. Please send up prayers of healing for her, also!

Thanks! And, love y'all!

Friday's appointments

Hullo,

So today was awesome! We had pulmonology first, and the nurse and doctor both seemed to be very pleasantly surprised at how well Daxton's lungs sounded. They both commented that they would have never thought two months ago that he would be doing so well, and in such a short amount of time. The doctor went on to say that, though he and the cardiologist had talked about him completing a bronchoscopy (to look at Dax's airway) at the same time Daxton's cardiac cath is completed in March, that he feels there will be no need to do so as long as Dax continues to do as well as he is doing. (This surprised me, as it seems most everyone wants to run as many tests as possible... Dax has had every test but the bronchoscopy and a pap smear!)

So that was very good news :)

Left there for neurodevelopmental clinic... Dax had on his sleepy pants and didn't over-perform by any means, but he got to see a lot of his old friends and got "oooohhhh-ed" and "aaaaahhhhhh-ed" over a little. The clinic felt Dax is making progress, and that's good, and they feel he's getting all the services he could need and they're happy with that. They did chart his growth, and, guess what? Our little man is right smack dab in the middle of average as far as his height and weight for his adjusted age, and that is fantastic news... It wasn't too long ago he was only at the 25th percentile...

Oh, and the geneticist stopped by clinic to see us and saved us a trip to her office... She was also pleasantly surprised at how well he is doing, and again reiterated how Dax has no chance of having that genetic syndrome the neurologist from Tuesday wants so badly for us to have.

(I'm still fuming about that ^%#&$#!*&... Oh, nevermind. Deep breath, Mollie. Deep breath...)

I have to step back at times and try to look at Daxton, not as a mommy, but as an outsider, and try to make sure I'm not ignoring issues some of these doctors want so badly for him to have... And I almost always feel that if they would take an hour to spend with Daxton and see what he can really do instead of focusing on what they feel he cannot do... Then we run into doctors who have been following him, like the geneticist, who actually look at the patient, and they remind you that there ARE doctors who DO see the big picture and CAN see past charts and tests... Doctors that will look at the child and say, "You know what, I don't care if the test says he can't do it... He's doing it right now!" And Daxton seems to have a tendency to do just that... He likes to do what they say he can't or won't (great right now, probably not so much when he's walking and talking...) We know there are issues, we're not denying that, but come on now, just look at him!

So that's that. We did hear "Oh my goodness, you're so chubby!" a lot at Centennial today from all Dax's old NICU friends. That's all well and good, but some of the were looking at me at the time. Grrrrr. ;)

Looks like naptime at the Sheppard household... Hopefully for all of us! Love you all, and have a great weekend!

BTW, he's on about .3 liters of flow on his oxygen right now, satting 100%. (That's the lowest he's EVER been! HOLY CRAP!!!) He spent 12 hours on .6 yesterday with his sats staying above 94%. We're getting there!!! (Not too bad for a kid who had a doc say about 2 months ago that she'd never seen lungs that bad breathe without a ventilator... :) My stubborn, rotten, amazing little stinker. Gotta love him!)

Tuesday's appointment

Hello everyone,

We've had a pretty good week this week! We had our two doctor's appointment's on Tuesday... Neurology went about as I had expected... Daxton=his MRI and his chart and not the actual wonder boy sitting in front of him. The neurologist was a little more optimistic than he was at our last visit, and he does not want to see us again for 4 more months. Dax may have to go in completing triathalons and doing calculus before this doc will bat an eye... So we'll see.

(If I was a less tactful person, I'd spend a while talking about what a $%$ the &*)%... Oh wait, I'm losing my train of thought. I AM a tactful person, I AM a tactful person...)

The cardioogy appointment was next, and it went GREAT! Dax's echo looked fantastic! The doc says our next step is to complete the cardiac cath so she can determine what the next phase of Dax's treatment will be. The cath scares me, as Dax is doing so well right now, and the cath will require rehospitalization and intubation, and we all know how much Dax and I both enjoy the ventilator. I spoke with his cardiologist this afternoon, and she talked with the cath guy today and we're shooting for early March. I'm hoping that gives us enough time to grow lots of lung tissue so Dax will be able to extubate quickly after the procedure.

In between those appointments, we got to go visit with one of our adopted families, and we had a great time. (Aunt Nat made us breakfast, and fed me homemade rice crispy treats. We love her so much!) The PT came to see him there, and Dax performed very well. It was a long day, but a good day!

(Other than that %^&%$ &**^...... Whoops. Sorry.)

So tomorrow we have the pulmonologist, geneticist, and neurodevelopmental clinic. I'll update you on those sometime this weekend.

Hope you're all doing well! Love ya!

Thanks, Jerrica!

Had to post the picture Kinsley's mom drew for Dax's homecoming present. She's an amazing artist!

Weekly update as we try not to puke ;)

Hello,

I'm currently completely immobilized, as I have a little chubster who is prone to puking lying spread eagle across my lap and I'm not moving until I have no choice. He was starving this morning and went through 3 jars of food before he finally gave up, and I'm fully anticipating a blow-out soon. So I sit, and I wait. I sure wish Shaniqua would relocate somewhere further away from my bladder!

We had a good week. Daxton's PT and early interventionist remain extremely happy with his progress. The PT is really looking forward to our visit with the neurologist on Tuesday... She feels that he'll have no choice but to be amazed by Dax's progress. I'm a little more skeptical; not at his progress but at the neurologist's potential to be pleased or optimistic. He seems to be a "worst-case scenario" type of doctor... But we'll see. I was wrong before... Once... :)

We also have visits with his cardiologist and his pulmonologist next week. Looking forward to getting another echo... My gut says it will look a little better. She will probably increase Dax's dose of his viagra and digoxin due to his increase in weight, and will hopefully change the viagra administration schedule from every 6 hours to every 8. How many of you have to set your alarms to wake up twice at night to go give your kid viagra? I didn't think so ;D

I doubt the pulmo will make any changes until we get further through the winter... And I'm perfectly okay with that! We're in no hurry to get him off his O, and Daxton still really likes it!

Dax has continued to spit up from time to time this week, and he has great aim for a kid with no peripheral vision, I must say. :) The pediatrician wants us to keep an eye on it but is not prescribing meds right now. I really liked her before, but now I like her even more. As much as I don't want him puking I really respect her views on the risks and benefits of medicating once you factor in side effects, until we know he really needs it. He doesn't appear to be aspirating... We're actually having to crank down his oxygen more frequently now.

Dax had another playdate with his girlfriend yesterday and I think they're both playing hard to get. They appeared to be activelyignoring each other the majority of the time. There was a competition once to see who could raise the biggest stink, and I say it ended in a draw. Kinsley can cry much, MUCH louder, but Dax's alarms last longer. So they both win.

Regarding Dax's cry... It's getting gradually louder over time, and he's learning to make more and more noise when he talks to us. We have an appointment with an ENT in 2 weeks to look at his vocal chords and see if they were damaged during his time on the ventilator. Hopefully if there is damage, it's something he can outgrow over time without requiring any surgery. I'm optimistic since he's making more noises, but I can also envision him being the toddler in the stroller that growls like a 70-year-old cigar smoker. Whatever happens, he'll be adorable :)

He's still sacked out and there's been no up-chucking, so I guess I can get up now. Might go change my shirt, as it's currently green bean and peach and applesauce flavored. Yum :)

Love you all, and thanks again for all your continued prayers and support. Please continue to pray for Dax, especially his lungs, and pray his appointments go well this week. Please pray for our little peanut as she continues to grow and develop. Please continue to pray for Kinsley, Rosemary, Landon, Matthew, and McKenzye to be healthy and continue to grow. Please pray for Baby Drayke as he will hopefully getting a trach and g-tube this week. Please also send up prayers for Payton this week, as she is doing amazingly well and the doctors are attempting to iron out a plan to get her home sooner. Please also add Babies Mary Farris, Ryan, Crystal, and Courtney, some other babies I've met over the past few months who are now home but have crossed over many, many obstacles to get there. And finally, please add my friend Laura and her peanut. Laura has had two very tiny NICU babies and is now 19 weeks pregnant with her third. She's attempting to avoid the NICU at all costs this time, and I'm sure she'd appreciate all the prayers you guys can send off in their behalf.

So that's all for now. Love you all!

OB Appointment

HOLY CRAP IT'S TRIPLETS!

Gotcha :) Okay, so it's just one, and she's perfect and beautiful and right on target. We have an official due date of August 1o, and the doc's betting we make it. Just to be cautious, he will be referring us after our next check-up to the high-risk OB who delivered Dax and Aubrie and we'll see what they say there.

When the nurse took us back she looked at my belly and asked if there was a doctor sending over paperwork... for this pregnancy... and I told her no, we were only 1o weeks. I think she thought I was a little off... But she wouldn't be the first!

I knew we liked this doc when he told me he might need a Valium after our visit. I guess I have that effect on doctors ;D

At any rate, that's all our news! Love you all!

A short, but not so short, update

Hi all! Short post tonight, as Kinsley's mom tells me I write too much and no one with a baby at home has time to read it.

We just weighed and measured Dax tonight, and he is now 13lbs, 15oz, and he's 24.5 inches long. He's getting so big! Or we thought, at least, until we saw him next to his girlfriend... She's long and lean, like a preemie supermodel on oxygen. And an adorable double chin :)

He's reaching some new milestones that are very cute, like reaching up and pinching his daddy's lips shut when he talks too much. (You know, that thing I've been wanting to do for years...) He's switching objects from hand-to-hand well, and has been known to hang his favorite teething rings on his g-tube so he can get to it more easily later.

He also continues to do well with his oxygen. We still have to turn him up for a while from time to time if he's fussy or for whatever reason just not satting well, but in general we're able to keep him on 1 liter or less of flow. I think he's sitting on about .9 liters now and is doing fine with it. just don't tell him!

He's had some tummy issues the past two days, and as we scrub the puke out of our hair, yet again, we hope whatever it is is almost over. He's been on a banana and sweet potato and applesauce diet this afternoon, and he's kept that all down, so hopefully he's feeling better. This all started after he had his first taste of chicken yesterday morning, and although he really appeared to enjoy it at the time, maybe he didn't so much after all.... Guess we'll try that one again later... Much later!

As for me, I'm fat and hungry, and I think I may already have a 3-lb baby in there. I finally have my doctor's appointment on Thursday, and I'm hoping he'll go ahead and do a head count while I'm there. I'm 10 weeks preggo today, so we need to know if it is twins so they can go ahead and schedule a cerclage... the procedure where they stitch shut your cervix. I'm hoping they'll just go ahead and sew shut that entire area, because I can guarantee NO ONE will be needing it anymore. Please send your condolences to my husband ;D

At any rate, if you have any guesses about how many babies and/or the sex of the babies, go ahead and get your votes in now.

I had a crazy dream the other night that ended with mom and I discovering it was only 1 baby, and it was a girl. But I did eat 9 fruit roll ups right before bed that night...

And finally, just got a message from Payton's mom. Looks like Payton is hanging tight and continuing to beat the odds. Thanks everyone for the prayers, and keep them coming!

Also got an update from Rosemary's mom the other day... She's hanging in there, too, and they're hoping to get a trach soon so Rosemary can finally go home. Please continue to keep them in your prayers, too!

And of course, please continue to remember Baby Kinsley, Baby Drayke, Baby Landon, Baby Matthew, and Baby McKenzye, too. All little fighters, and all little miracle babies.

Okay, so this post didn't end up that short after all, but I've never been known as the strong, silent type I suppose. But I'll shut up now and head to bed. It's my night to get up and I should sleep while I can.

Love you all!

Update and a Soap Box

Happy Saturday!
So here we are again... Shep's at work and it's just me and the boy hanging out... He's once again in his exer-saucer watching Hoodwinked, but I am off my mashed potato and banana slushee kick and am trying to be a little more productive. We'll see! Dax's girlfriend is coming over to visit this afternoon so I really should get busy... The house is a mess and Dax is still hanging out in his pampers.

I just wanted to stop in and give you guys an update, and thank you for all the prayers for my friends. There's good news! The mass in Kimberly's brain is benign, and surgery is scheduled for the 20th. She'll be at St. Thomas for 3 days and then hopefully will be able to go home. We're all so thankful it's not more serious!

And Baby Payton is doing really well. They've been able to wean some of her settings and she's handling it. She must have heard the doctors say she wouldn't make it, so she kicked it into overdrive. Rumor has it she's just as hardheaded and oppositional as Dax was/is. That's a really good thing sometimes!

I was reminded as my friends entered these tough times of how insensitive some people can be when your life is falling apart, and often they do so without even meaning to. Kimberly and I sit around at times and laugh about some of the things people say in the interest of trying to make you feel better, like when people tell me how lucky I am that only one of my twins survived or how I should try harder to stay pregnant longer this time or how God took Kimberly's boyfriend because He felt like she should be stronger and how lucky she is she doesn't have to clean up after a man anymore. So as my friends are surviving yet another difficult phase in both of their journeys, and I hear a whole new set of crazy things people say and do, I feel compelled to remind everyone to evaluate your statements, actions, and motives prior to attempting to help someone who is in such a sensitive and potentially devastating place... An extra second of thought might lead you to reword that statement or discontinue that action that would cause more harm than good...

Sorry, had to take a second to sit on my soap box. I do that from time to time. You should get used to it.

While I'm thinking about it, I'm reminded of something strange that has happened. A year ago I was newly pregnant with Dax and Aubrie, right? From the second everyone found out we were pregnant, especially once people found out it was twins, we were inundated with people telling us the most awful, terrible pregnancy horror stories. I swear, people would say, "Oh my goodness! You're pregnant with twins? My friend just lost both her twins..." or "I was pregnant with twins once and I had the first one at 4 months and the second one was born disabled and still lives at home with me when he's not in jail..." or "Oh my friend had twins but one of them died in the womb and now the other twin has teeth growing on her stomach..." I was sitting with Kimberly telling her one day about all the crazy things people say, and she didn't believe me, but minutes later a man walks up and says, "You're having twins?! Wow. My friend got pregnant with 5 babies, and they all died." I just looked at her and laughed. I think she believed me after that. (Those are all true stories, I promise!) So, fast forward to a year later, and we have our very own scary pregnancy story, and nobody will tell us any scary stories anymore. I guess they feel like they can't top the one we lived this past year, so they just let it rest. People are funny.

But I can't wait until I get old and crotchety and start running down new young moms and say, "Oh, you're pregnant? Let me tell you a story..." But I'll wait until I get old and crotchety. Or maybe just crotchety.

Yay! A new year!

Happy New Year everyone! Hope you all had a fun and safe night. We were all tucked in our beds snugly at midnight last night, but apparently Dax is on Mountain Time, as he woke up and started partying at 1 instead. Admittedly it wasn't a very fun party...

So here we are on New Year's Day, and I'm in my baby-cereal covered jammies curled up on the couch, and eating mashed potatoes from a big plastic bowl. Daxton's over in his exer-saucer moving all the unattached toys to the floor and watching Hoodwinked, his AND his dad's favorite movie. His nurse is off today and Shep's at work, so it's just us, and we're having a lazy morning. It's pretty fun :)

Everything has been pretty easy with Mr. Daxton lately, knock on lots of wood. We had no therapies or appointments this week, and ever since we found out about teething tablets (thanks Aunt Wee Wee!) things have been a little quieter around here. He actually slept through the night 2 nights ago, although his alarms did not, but hey, it's a start!

His oxygen needs are remaining stable, and he's doing well with eating, pooping, and peeing. Really, really well with pooping, actually. REALLY well:) Thank heavens for the diaper genie!

In really exciting news, he's now back in size 2 diapers, which is the size he was in pre- hernia surgery:) Our big boy is growing up!

I spoke with his pediatrician the other day and she's putting him back on 24-calorie formula, because he's putting on weight very slowly. You walk a thin line with chronic lung babies... Too much weight too fast, and they outgrow their lungs, but too little weight too slow, and the lungs aren't growing optimally. Hopefully this little boost will help him bulk up a little for the winter...

I've been thinking all morning about our past year, about the year to come, and how unpredictable life really is. Just a year ago I was pregnant with our twins and terrified about the prospect of trying to take care of two babies... Wondering if we'd be able to handle it. Of course, we all know how hectic our year ended up being, and I now feel pretty confident we can handle just about anything life throws at us. We just wish life would stop throwing such crazy stuff at us!

(That being said, we took the plunge yesterday and put a bid on a new house, because we don't have enough things going on right now and thought moving would spice things up. Please pray that everything works out for the best with this... We're really excited, and it's the deal of a lifetime! We'll keep you posted...)

We've lived the last few months just knowing that 2009 had to be better, because 2008 seemed to be a hard year for everyone we know. So many people have died, so many people have had sick babies, so many people have been sick... Surely 2009 will be better! And yet already two our friends are being tested... Our friend Kimberly, the one who's boyfriend of 8 years died 2 months ago in a car accident, discovered yesterday she has a mass in her brain. She will find out more as more tests are run, but please pray the mass is benign and can be easily treated.

Also, I spoke with Baby Payton's mom this morning, and it appears Payton's doctors are not expecting her to live. Please pray that Payton will turn things around and show the doctors what she is capable of, and also pray for the healing of her eyes and lungs.

So I guess that's our news. I'm hoping for a nap now, for both me and the baby, and maybe that will happen:) Sheniqua's been using up all my energy lately and I'm pooped. Plus with all that partying we did last night...

So we hope you're all well, and we love you, and hope you all have a wonderful new year. Please keep Daxton, Kimberly, Payton and her mom, and Sheniqua all in your prayers, and thanks so much for all that you do!

Love you,
The Sheppards

PS-If anyone knows where I can get a banana slushee, please let me know! Been craving one for days!