Target Employee of the Month!

Awww just what I need after a long day at work... Daddy!!

Could someone PLEASE remove my name tag??? I'm off the clock!

Yes, Target DOES now offer employee's naptime in the lounge, thank you!

I have 7 more minutes please be quiet!!!!!!!

Sleeping but still hearing you!!!!

Heaven!

Absolutely the cutest and sweetest sleeping baby ever!!! On Daddy of course!

Come on, Mom! Aisle 3 needs more Snuggies stocked.... let's roll!!!

NOOOO... please don't make me go get carts AGAIN!!!!

tsk tsk tsk..... I told you that pyramid of Skittles would collapse and hurt someone!! You should've listened to me!!

ALWAYS pretend to listen in staff meetings!!

I WILL say this! This is the LAST day I am grooming the hamsters... do you SEE the scratches on my face???

Ok, for everyone confused by the nametag and photo captions, allow us to elaborate. Of course we shopped for new clothes, since Lincoln has grown out of everything he has and is into 3-6 months now... and we purchased the cutest brown khaki pants (with belt of course) and red shirt... the first thing our nurse Kim said was 'Oh my gosh! That's the Target uniform!" hahahaha... yes! She is right!! It hadn't occurred to us before but then at that moment we KNEW we had to have fun with it... soooo... Greg made Lincoln a specialized Target nametag today and we had sooo much fun taking pictures with him all dressed up for work! It's these little moments and days that help us see the fun and the good in our lives and downplay the negatives in the back of our minds. Lincoln clipped on his nametag and we took him for a ride in his red stroller (car) and of course he attracted lots of attention and LOVED every second of it.. he is such an attention-hog and soooo adorable!!

He is still at 2.5cc/hour of Pregestimil w/Pectin and receives Immodium, Lovenox shots daily, Flagyl... etc... we are trying to get the Lovenox stopped and switch back to Heparin or at least insert a port into his leg for it so he doesn't have to get a daily shot.. although the Lovenox itself is said to burn and be painful :( ... it doesn't make any sense to us at all why he is still on a blood thinner such as that but that is the Hematologist's call now... haven't even met that guy yet!

Linc is still doing well with everything else as far as we know.. they are pushing for a flu vaccine for him (not H1N1 as that vaccine is too scarce apparently, even for Children's hospital to acquire) and we are thinking about it... a little worried about agreeing to it because there have been no studies on the effects it may have on tiny infants such as Lincoln.. they told us he is very highly susceptible to the flu and other respiratory illnesses and they would have much more dramatic effects on him than they would healthy older children but it still concerns us... we have a day to research and I guess we will decide from there... he also gets his 4 month vaccinations this week... sooo much to worry about..but we will figure it out! He is growing and getting chunky! He is over 11lbs now.. not sure the exact weight since they weigh him tonight but eager to find out!

Linc and his adorable NICU neighbor!! Grandma Phyllis holding Lincoln... Awww... little Josie went home! Good for her and we wish her the best!

A little setback for Mr. Linky Dink...

Heyyyyy everyone! This is fun! My nurse Kim spoils me!!

Another picture Mom??? Really??

Attacking my favorite toy, Mr. Bee!

My neighbor set her alarms off again.. soooo annoying!

Sitting in my Bumbo or Bimbo as some have named it... Not sure if I like it yet!

Lincoln's feeds were stopped today because he wasn't doing so well tolerating them... but they were set to be restarted this evening at 2 cc's per hour.. Just can't seem to get over this hurdle but he's working on it. He is very active these days and is really starting to enjoy his toys and being entertained by his nurses! I finally had the opportunity to speak with his gastro doctor today... not such encouraging news from her but at least we know a little more. With such little intestine left it is to be expected that Linc will have his challenges with digestion etc... unfortunately he is not doing as well as they would like him to be doing... they said it will be a constant and difficult/complex challenge trying to feed him... he will stay dependent on TPN for quite some time.. maybe forever. Their hope is that as he grows his intestines could possibly grow and enable him to tolerate formula... so far no such luck. The only positive is that his body (liver/lungs) are processing the TPN without major damage... this has 'bought us some time' according to the doctor.. not totally sure how to interpret that comment but whatever... :( Apparently at this age most TPN dependent kids are encountering serious liver damage and have major issues from the TPN.. Linc has lucked out that he hasn't had those issues yet.... the doctor told us he may end up being a candidate for transplant but that would be the absolute last resort and that the sad truth is that those kids suffer soo much and often end up needing to be hospitalized for life after the transplant.. she said that she would NOT want to put a loved one through that... :( ... BUT, Linc is strong and he is functioning just fine on TPN so far... so this could just be one more thing that he proves the world wrong about... he is that 'little fighter' so they say! She also said that she does not want Lincoln moved to another unit during the flu season so he can stay protected in the NICU from all the nasty flu bugs going around... despite all this craziness he is a very happy and content baby... and we absolutely love and adore him!!!

Go Steelers!

Whoa! Why is that big scary raccoon sitting on me???

In my new cool outift!

Yeah, it's sunny in the NICU sometimes!!!!!!

They love me here!

Grandpa Phyllis holding me for the first time!

Yeah, we are Steelers fans.. me and Chubs!

Got my hat back!

hey Grandpa Rossman!! See my hat?? Goooo Steelers!

The stroller rides make me sleeeeepyl...

Get these glasses offffff me!!!!!!!!!

Lincoln is doing well! Still stuck at 2.5ml's/hour of formula but it's better than nothing! He is sooo spoiled by his nurses that he now expects to be constantly entertained! He is a lucky boy to be loved by sooo many and have such awesome nurses looking after him!! His aunts/uncles and friends miss him sooo much and we can't wait until the day that he can have visitors again! He is right on track with all the milestones... he's just perfect!! Greg had to visit the Dink alone today since I've come down with a sore throat and cold... praying it is gone by tomorrow so I can go see my Dink again!!! His last eye exam showed no changes so that is good.. no new test for a month! No news on when we get moved to the T4 unit... I guess when things calm down there and they are ready for the little guy we will move.... Thank you to everyone that thinks of us, and thanks for the cards, gift cards, prayers you've sent.. we appreciate them all sooooo much and are very grateful!

Lincoln and friends!

My shirt says 'Daddy Loves Me!!

Hi Mommy!

Cutest boy ever!!

Well, today was ALMOST moving day! When I arrived at the hospital today they said Lincoln was finally being moved to the T4 (gastro unit) today.. our nurse packed some of his stuff up (he has a TON...haha) and everyone was all ready... then word came back that it wasn't going to happen! Apparently there was some miscommunication somewhere because Dr. Balint wasn't ready for the Dink yet... she has a large number of patients that require too much attention and Linc wouldn't get all the attention he needs.. that is ok with us.. he is in a great area now and loved by sooo many nurses... he is spoiled and adorable and very loved in the NICU so we will wait it out a little longer!

The part that is hard for us is that he recognizes us and gets sooo excited when we visit him every day... it's such a great feeling to see how he responds to us and how happy he seems.. Greg couldn't make it today due to school and then homecoming stuff this evening so I called him from the NICU and put the phone up to Linc so he could talk to him... Lincoln was soooo happy when he heard his Daddy's voice! His eyes were huge and he was sooo excited!! That just really shows us how much he needs us and loves us... he was cooing 'talking' back to his daddy... broke my heart... we miss him soooo much and it gets worse every day... he is perfect.. he is the perfect little boy.. we are sooo lucky that he has made it through all the things he has and is still so perfect.

He is on 2cc's per hour of Progestimil with Pectin, TPN, Lipids, and a daily shot of something similar to Heparin but I forgot the name.. starts with an L... haha! He pulled my hair today.. and when I tried to clip his nails that proved to be impossible.. he is just too active.. gotta catch him sound asleep for that one!

Linc's big brother Cole has bronchitis... that was VERY unexpected!! He seemed fine with a little cough but I took him to the Doctor just to be sure and they actually thought he had pneumonia.. xrays showed it was not.. thank God.. he has an inhaler and an antibiotic to take but is doing fine... just scary...

This 3 hour ordeal in the Cadillac every single day is becoming quite irritating!! Can ANYONE other than US drive in Ohio?? Lol... seriously... we are on 36/37 every day for MILES upon MILES in Delaware and it is to be expected that someone in a 1991Buick will decide to drive in the passing lane the entire length reaching a max speed of 42 (in a 55 zone) while semi's block the other lane.. road rage has a whole new meaning for us now!! I scare Greg to death when I drive, and he scares me to death when HE drives..haha... not to mention the teenager on the cell phone weaving in and out of our lane and then slamming on the brakes to turn into the tanning salon, FROM THE WRONG LANE OF COURSE!!! I want to apply to be an honorary deputy, you know, like Shaq is.. lol so I can pull these people over and give a quick lesson in basic driving rules!!!

Oh, and did we mention the skunk is back?? same one.. yep.. he's back.. with a vengeance.. on these cool nights we love to sleep with our window open but apparently something startled the big guy because he sprayed our house AGAIN as we innocently slept and we've spent the last few days trying to eliminate it... and then he did it AGAIN... who can we call to relocate him?? seriously??

Off to work I go!! In my new stroller..being the 3rd charge nurse is tough but the benefits are great!!! Have you SEEN my nurses???

Tooooo cool for school!

Awwww... sooo sweet.. sleeping with my creepy Seahorse!

Not sure why Daddy looks like a criminal in this pic, but Hey I still love him!

That's better!

Wow Dad... why the face??? lol..

I'm sooo cute!

Go Bucks!

Here's the latest news on Mr. Linky Dink: he is back on Lasix because he has fluid in his lungs due to a 'cold' or whatever... this helps decrease the fluid building up in his little lungs.. he is officially off Heparin now, he WAS up to 5cc's per hour of Elecare through his g-tube but that was stopped a few days ago and the new plan is to switch him to Pregestimil formula and only at 2cc's per hour...huge setback with his feedings but not totally unexpected... with sooo little intestines left we knew this would be coming.. but he is doing great otherwise.. his liver is not severely damaged by the TPN yet so that is great! We just need to take this all one day at a time... he shows no signs of any developmental issues so that is WONDERFUL!! Who knows what the future holds but we are elated that he is meeting all of his milestones and is such an adorable sweet baby! We are trying to figure out how to manage life in Meeker with a precious baby in south Columbus.. but we will work it all out.. maybe a tiny apartment in Columbus as a middle ground for the winter... not sure how we will do all this but we know we will find a way..

On much more devastating news... my dear friend lost her 2 year old daughter yesterday to an unexpected/unknown illness.. our hearts ache for them... our prayers and thoughts are with the Frayer/Lerner family at this time.... as much as we have been through, we just cannot imagine the horrible pain they are in at this time..... please say a prayer for this wonderful family..