It's Thursday

Hi!

1st of all, you'd be amazed at how much trouble I get in if I haven't updated in a few days... Quit worrying; all's well in the Sheppard household!

For starters, our little monkey is doing great. He's 15 lbs before he poops, and just seems to be growing bigger every day. He's been coughing some, but it's not a congestion cough, it's more of a reflux cough. We've been giving him gripe water, and that helps, and now we're trialing out a tiny bit of apple cider vinegar (yummy) before eating to help keep his belly settled. It actually works, with the only drawback being his pee smells like a distillery.

Other than the reflux, Dax is doing great. We've still been able to stay low on his oxygen and we've made it through 3 months of the dreaded cold/flu/RSV season with NO ILLNESSES. That's pretty close to being a miracle considering all the crud that's been floating around... Just 2 more months to go, and then he can emerge from his bubble and actually get to meet you all...

As for new fun things, Daxton has discovered the world is much more awesome when he looks at it propped up on his elbows. There are apparently many things that can only be seen from three inches up... He's continuing to work on sitting up, but still thinks rolling over is a ridiculous waste of time... Not sure where he gets this stubborn streak from...

His PT came to see him this week after a two-week vacation and was very happy with his progress even though he tried to be lazy... He forgot Yum-Yum doesn't allow lazy! And his early intervention therapist continues to be amazed by him... She says she sees new big things every week, and she just wants to take him out for show and tell... Ooooof course she does. He's pretty awesome.

As far as me and Mr. Peanut, or The Fetus Formerly Known As Sheniqua, I saw my OB today and I passed my exam with flying colors. He thinks the bleeding I had last weekend was not a sign of something major, probably just a bit of the placenta moving to the edge of the cervix, and that is not major or dangerous. He continued to reiterate that this is a normal problem, and that he is positive this pregnancy will be a normal one, but he has made the high risk referral for me so we can try to be extra sure. I'll follow up with high risk on the 19th...

While he was poking around I told him the ultrasound from the weekend looked an awful lot like a boy... and he goes on to tell me how it's too early to tell and you can't be sure this early yadda yadda yadda... So I pulled out the "smoking gun" picture, and he looked at it for a minute, looked back at me, and said, "I'll be d#%!@, that's a boy." He'll soon learn too, as many have before him, that I AM ALMOST ALWAYS RIGHT. It's a gift, and a curse... (Just ask my husband :)

And, I am very excited to report, despite all the fruit roll ups, popsickles, slushies, french fries, rice crispy treats, ice cream, cheeseburgers, milk shakes, and mashed potatoes, I only put on 2 lbs this month. I'm afraid 1 lb of that went north of my tummy, and the other lb went south of it, but that's not really that important, right?

And just to update on our buddies, Kinsley is home and doing great... Prayers of thanks for that! Baby Payton had to go back on the vent a few days ago for a bit of a vacation, as she was just wearing out too much on the cannula. Please pray she can get her strength back and build up those lungs once more. Please also pray for guidance for the docs as they choose her course of treatment.

Kinsley's mom and I went to Baby Drayke's memorial service and it was beautiful, and served as a harsh reminder for me of how precious and delicate life really is... We take so much for granted... If you take nothing else from his story, please hug your kids a little tighter, and tell them you love them one extra time...

And, finally, Kimberly is finally home after a week in the hospital and a week in inpatient therapy to work on getting some normalcy back. She's still exhibiting some cognitive issues, but luckily they are improving slowly. Her dad did finally tell her that Rob died, and then we spent about 3 days helpng her rehash and mourn each time she forgot, and then remembered again. It was a heart-wreching experience for all of us, and I can't even imagine what it was like for Kimberly. Her memory is steadily improving, though, and we're hoping she'll eventually be back to her old self again, minus one nasty aneurism... Please continue to keep her in your prayers.

Oh, and on a happier note, we put in a bid on an awesome house this week, and the family accepted our offer. We have to wait to see if their bank will accept the deal though, because the house is a short sale and the family is very close to foreclosing... So keep your fingers crossed! Of all the many, many, many houses we've looked through, this is the house that made Shep and I feel all warm and fuzzy inside... I'm sure we won't feel that way once we start paying the mortgage or the electric bill, but I'll conveniently brush that aside for now...

So off to bed now. We love you all and thanks again for everything. Hope you have a great weekend!