Bear Lake

We spent Pioneer Day (yes, Chris does get work off for it) at Bear Lake. It was kind of a last minute decision--a combination of day off from work and so needing a break from everything. The weather was beautiful and the beach was crowded, but OH so fun!Playing in the sand


He just could NOT keep those shorts up!

Kenzie was a mermaid
the artist
jaxon thought his footprints were really cool!

she actually did swim, but I didn't get a picture of it...she swam at about that same depth too!

I just LOVED this picture of Jayden with the marshmallows
kenzie and grandma splashing in the water
he was cold




please ignore the tan line

Kenzie and grandma collected a WHOLE lot of sea shells and they are really pretty cool. I guess mom set some good ones aside for you, laree!

It was a wonderful few hours...we ate dinner at a little restaraunt right off the beach. It was a great way to de-stress and have fun together!

I can't believe he's 2!

Yesterday was Jayden's birthday! I can't believe he's two already! He has recently discovered "Cars". So we went with a Cars' birthday cake! I think it turned out pretty well!So did Jayden...he kept eating the spectators (cars fruit snacks!)


his new shiny mcqueen
he also has an obsession with planes and helicopters...
we ended up taking a lot of videos, so no more pictures...and I can't post video clips...so sorry :(

Payton

Here are a few pictures of Payton taken this last Sunday. They moved him up to Logan on Wednesday (of last week). He's been doing pretty well. It's SO nice to have him up here so we can go and see him everyday. This week we are not starting anything new or changing anything. We are hoping to start feeding him the regular way next week. He pulled the feeding tube out of his mouth so they replaced it with a new one...in his nose. Last I heard, he weighed 3lbs 7.1 oz. So at least he's growing. This is a really slow process and it really is a bit of a struggle, but at least he's mostly healthy and no big issues...besides the apnea of course!


Mom got to hold him on Sunday!
This is the only way the kids can visit...through the windows. They had more fun smashing their noses on the window and drawing on the window than actually seeing the baby, but hopefully Jayden will get the idea that he has a baby brother. I asked him what he thought and he said, "cute"!


back in the isolette!

Happy Birthday, Chris!

In the midst of everything else going on right now, we did not forget Chris' birthday! It's just taken me a few minutes to post a few pictures. Chris' cake was actually Jaxon's idea. I couldn't think of anything fun to do with it and Jax suggested a light saber. Chris said it was the best cake EVER!
I know it's fuzzy, but it was better than all the other pictures.
The kids enjoying the glow sticks from aunt Katy!

YAY!!!

I just got off the phone with Payton's nurse in Ogden. He passed his eye exam this morning and they are getting everything together to send him up to Logan. She said he'd be there either today or tomorrow! YES! Our trips all the way to Ogden are OVER!

...and for Katy

Oh, the memories!

More on Payton

Chris and I were in Ogden on Saturday with the little fella and today I went down by myself. These days spent down there are exhausting (I know that's hard to believe, but they really are). Its been a struggle to keep up with everything and it's only been one week! We are hoping and praying that he can move up here tomorrow. He has an eye exam in the morning and that is one of the main determining factors. If things don't go well with that, he'll need laser eye surgery and they'll want to keep him in ogden for that (logan doesn't do the surgery). It would really make our life a lot easier if they could move him, but a lot depends on Logan Hospital and of course, the money issue.

Anyway. This is how Payton was sleeping when I got back from lunch today. It made me laugh, so I had to take a picture.I bathed him all by myself today...no nurse standing over my shoulder telling me what to do. And since he is off the IV and only has the feeding tube, he can now wear clothes. So we put this little outfit on him. Believe it or not, it was actually a little snug...his little itty bitty shoulders were too narrow to keep it on very well. These pictures were taken right before I left tonight.


He weighed 3 lbs and 1 oz this evening, but the loosing weight thing is normal for every baby and doctor showed me how he's right on schedule (a nice little graph thing that I'm sure only dad and cris could really read, but I pretended I was smart!). He's really doing awesome down there. he's up to full feeds and tolerating them just fine. I can hardly believe it's been a week since he surprised us all!

Payton Update

It has been hard to get to the computer this week....but now that it is Saturday, here is a little update. Payton is no longer on oxygen. He is breathing room air and doing a fantastic job at it. He still has the feeding tube and don't expect him to be eating from anything else for a few weeks at least. He also has an IV in his hand. It was in his head at one point, but that started turning red so they took it out. They also removed the line they had in the umbilical cord--that was giving him lipids and something else that basically gives him energy and some of the vitamins and minerals his body isn't making yet. They are now giving that to him through the IV in his hand. He was moved from the critical NICU to another room (mostly that means that he doesn't need a respiratory therapists anymore). I spoke with the nurse practitioner today about moving him up to Logan. There are a few requirements for that. First, he has to be 32 weeks (that will happen on tuesday). Second, he has to be up to full feeds (and tolerating them) and that should happen tonight or tomorrow. Third, Logan has to have a bed. Today they called and Logan is at half capacity, so it's very likely they'll have a bed on tuesday. Fourth is the cost. Someone has to pay to have him sent back to logan and since that isn't medically necessary, the cost with probably fall on Logan Hospital. They nurse said since his stay should be considerable, logan shouldn't have a problem paying. So basically, if the stars all line up perfectly, they will move him up here on tuesday!!!

Just FYI, chris and I asked the nurse today about the requirements to go home. He has to be able feed from either a bottle or breast and he has to be able to maintain his own body heat. I know that doesn't sound too bad, but they probably won't even try him with the breast feeding for 2 more weeks. There is no weight requirement...he just has to be doing well.

So here are some pictures we took today:Skin to skin--with his eyes OPEN!
hanging out with dad.
this might give you a better idea of just how small he is
this is him inside his isolette. they kind of tuck the babies up into a little ball and that's how they sleep and comfort them.

Thank you again for all your prayers. He is doing wonderfully!

Surprise!

Payton Rodney Anderson was born early Sunday morning...being 10 weeks early. For those interested in the "details". I started having contractions Friday night. I took the terbutaline (sp?) that I had and the contractions stopped and I went to bed. I felt pretty good all day Saturday. In the middle of the night I started having contractions again and then I thought my water broke. I got up to take care of everything and noticed some blood and had some really strong contractions. We hurried to the hospital where they put me in an observation room, meaning nothing in there to deliver the baby. I put on the gown and was standing there with Chris rubbing my back and my water broke. It was kind of a mad dash from there until he was born. The on call doctor luckily was there. She told me I'd have to be life flighted to Ogden since the nursery up here can't take babies younger than 32 weeks. So she checked me and I was completely dialated and a plus 2 (which means the baby was almost there already). Then things got really crazy. They started bringing everything in to do the delivery and then decided to move me to a different room. They got a hold of the pediatrician and we were waiting for him for a few minutes. They hurried and put in an IV with some antibiotics. Then kindly told me there was absolutely no time for any pain medication--if you know me, that is NOT a good thing AT ALL! Then his heart rate started dropping with the contractions. As he started to come out, the Dr. noticed that the cord had come down first and was in the way, it was getting pinched with every contraction and cutting off his Oxygen. He was born in about 10 minutes, put on my tummy to cut the cord and then handed over the the NICU nurses and the Pediatrician. He was born crying, so they just made sure everything was ok and then rushed him down to the NICU. About 1/2 hr. later they came back with the update. The life flight would be there in 45 mins to take him down to Ogden. They wheeled me up to the NICU to see him before he took off. We were able to go outside with him and watch the helicopter take off. The pilot was really nice. He overheard us talking about Jax and Kenzie possibly seeing the helicopter from grandmas if they went outside, so he purposely looped up and around her house for them. I went in to recovery and was there for a couple of hours. They released me at 1 pm (payton was born at 5:36am) so I could go down and be with the baby. Chris and I went down there and were there Sunday and Monday. Chris came home monday night and I stayed until tuesday night. The plan right now is for me (at least me) to go down every other day. My dad and laree have made a HUGE sacrifice and sent mom out here to help me for a while. Lisa and Jim were out here on vacation and took the kids for a day and a half. Payton is doing EXTREMELY well. He is on a feeding tube, but no ventilator anymore. He's back to birth weight--which is really good. He's down to only one thing stuck in him...just an IV. He's tolerating the breast milk really well. He sometimes forgets to breath which is really scary--especially if you're holding him when it happens. They are telling us to plan on an 8 week NICU stay. Hopefully they can send him back up to Logan. IF that is possible it could happen sometime next week. He's done really well, but he still has a long way to go. We are all kind of in a state of shock! We weren't expecting him for at least another 4-6 weeks at the earliest! He's a very cute little guy and we just LOVE him. Jax and Kenzie got to see him last night and they just LOVED him. Here are a few pics...they were taken with Chris' cell phone, since we didn't think we were having a baby when we went to the hospital, we didn't bring our camera.








Pictures just don't show you how small he REALLY is, but he is just a tiny little guy. We have appreciated all the offers for help as well as all the prayers. We have certainly felt the support of our families especially. We all continue to pray for him that he will be strong and not require any surgeries or have any lasting consequences from this.