A letter to Forrest at One Year

Dear Forrest,

I really wanted to be one of those mothers who wrote everything down and had scrapbook pages of everything so that you would have memories all organized and neat when you got older. I am starting to see that it is not a very easy thing to do. I am lucky to get things written in your baby book. I have lots of pictures of you and if you count the fact that IPhoto organizes them they are some what in order. I have only really written down the story of your birth. The one thing I do have going for me is I have an excellent memory.

I can not believe you are already one. People always said that the time would fly and I would say "Oh I know", but I really didn't. You can't possibly know until you have a child of your own. One day you have this tiny baby in your arms and the next day that same baby is crawling faster than you can catch.

Forrest you came into this world so quickly and so tiny. It was the scariest thing I have ever experienced. Even now as I write this I get choked up thinking about everything you went through in those first several weeks of life. You were a fighter from the very beginning, pulling out your own ventilator your very first day of life, determined to breath on your own. I think the nurses in the NICU went through more medical tape trying to keep your feeding tube in because you were determined to keep that out too. You were so fragile yet so strong.

I look at you today and don't even see that tiny baby. I see a boy who is curious about everything. I see a boy who still has a determination...to do things by himself. I see a boy who by any medical textbook should be developmentally behind, but is so close to walking and babbles my ear off everyday that no one would ever know that he was 2 pounds 9 ounces when he was born.

Forrest, you have overcome so much in your young life already. God has had His hand on you from the moment you were born. I can't wait to see what amazing things you are going to do with your life. I am so thankful to be a part of it.

I love the way you wave at everything...people, animals and even the trees. I love watching you grin so big when you see our dogs. You love your dogs. I love coming in your room in the morning to get you out of your crib and having you stand up and smile so big at me. I love how excited you get when Yo Gabba Gabba comes on. I love watching you grow up and I am so thankful I get to stay home with you and experience everything with you.

I love you so much Forrest John Gritton. Happy One Year Birthday.

10 months old

I can not believe that today Forrest is ten months old. It doesn't even seem possible. Everyone says that the time will go fast but until you actually experience it you really don't understand exactly what it is like. In two months our baby boy will be one.

It is so fun to watch his personality start to come out. He loves music and will start to "dance" anytime he hears any type of music. He loves the dogs and especially likes it when anyone says Daisy's name. He laughs hysterically at it...we aren't really sure why at this point.

He is basically eating almost all adult food along with his normal bottles during the day. He loves waffles for breakfast with some cut up bananas and he loves shredded cheese with whatever he is having for dinner.

He is drinking out of a sippy cup at each of his meals. He loves his water and loves being a big boy with his cup.

No crawling yet but believe me...Mommy is quite content to have him just sit and play with his toys for now because I know as soon as he figures it out there will be no stopping him.

Tubes are in...

So, yesterday Forrest had his tubes put in his ears. The procedure went great and was very quick. He was a little out of sorts in the recovery room which the nurse says is normal since they are only out for such a short amount of time.

Today he has been pretty cranky. I think he still is not feeling too great and is also working on some new teeth. He is pretty clingy and really just wants to sleep or be held.

Hopefully tomorrow he will get back to his normal happy self.

I did take some cute pictures of him while we were getting ready for the surgery. I will get those posted in the next day or two.

Going to try this again...

So obviously I have not been the best at keeping this blog up. Taking care of Forrest keeps me very busy. :) I am going to try really hard to do a better job of posting what is going on with him and keeping pictures on here, since a lot people don't get to see the ones that I put on Facebook.

Forrest turned nine months old on August 27th. I still can't believe it. I took him to his nine month appointment today and he weighed 18 pounds and was 27 inches long. He is no longer charted on the preemie chart but is compared to all other nine month olds even though he is a preemie. So compared to other nine month olds he is in the 12% for weight and 10% for height. His head still comes in at the 55%...but we know that is just because he is REALLY smart. :)

He is rolling over both ways. He is sitting up on his own pretty well. He has two teeth already and is working on a third. The doctor was especially impressed with the fact that he is already picking up food and feeding himself since this is more of a nine month skill that she would not expect him to have yet.

He really is doing fantastic. If you saw him out you would never know everything that he went through nine months ago. It is amazing.

The only issue we are having is re-occurring ear infections in the right ear. This is due to a narrowing ear canal probably from being a preemie. I have scheduled an appointment with an ENT for next week but we are probably looking at having to put tubes in his ear.

Here is a picture of him that I took on the day he turned nine months old. :)

So much this last month...

I am so sorry that I haven't been posting this last month. We have just been so busy. Right after Forrest turned 4 months he got his first ear infection. He did fine but I didn't discover anything was wrong until after the pediatrician's office had closed so we had to go to urgent care. After 10 days of anti-biotics he was MUCH better.

We have also started going to a Gymboree class. We can go as often as we want at either one of their locations. We are really excited about this because they work on a lot of developmental things in the classes which will be great in helping him to catch up. It is also a great place for me to meet some other moms.

The biggest accomplishment this last month is that about 3 weeks ago he started sleeping through the night. I feed him and put him to bed around 7pm and then at 10:30pm I feed him again before I go to bed. He will then sleep until 7am or 8am. It is great! The only problem is that he is not much of a napper. It is very rare that he will nap for more than 30-45 minutes. I guess I would rather have him sleep through the night than nap though.

As you can see from the pictures he has turned into a very smiley boy. He is also extremely talkative. He seems to always have a lot to say. We are trying to figure out where he gets this from. ;)

Aunt Abby was in town last week. She stayed with us a few days and we had a blast. Forrest loves his Aunt Abby. She also took about a million pictures so as soon as I get them I will share.

Forrest got to go to two big family parties the weekend of April 16th. My grandfather turned 87 and we had a great dinner for his birthday. Forrest did great at the party for his namesake. It was the first time some of the family had met him and his first visit to the country club. He loved looking at all the lights. It was really funny. The next night we went out to my Aunt and Uncle's house to celebrate my Uncle's 65th birthday. Forrest loved it and had fun playing with and talking to all his second cousins. At one point all five of them were sitting around him and he was smiling and talking to them.

I just can't believe he is 5 months old. It seems like the time has gone by so fast. It seems like forever ago that we were sitting in the NICU wondering when we would ever get to take him home. We have finally reached the point where he has been home longer than the time he was in the NICU. He is completely healthy and is gaining weight really well. As of today he is 12 pounds and about 22 inches long. We are so thankful for everything God has done in his life and in ours as well.

Look Who's Five Months Old

4 months old

He's Getting Bigger...

I took Forrest to his 4 month doctor appointment last Friday. He did great with everything..even getting his shots. He is now 9 pounds 2 ounces and 21 inches long. This puts him in the 25% on the preemie chart for both height and weight. His head is now 15 1/2 inches in diameter which puts his head in the 75% on the preemie chart. Obviously he is going to be VERY smart. :)

Little Late...

Forrest wanted to say Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone...but I am just now getting it posted. :)

Look Who Has Started To Smile...

Getting so big...

This afternoon, after taking a walk outside in the beautiful weather, Forrest took a nap in his swing. He looked so cozy that I couldn't help but take a few pictures. His face is starting to look so much fuller than before. I can't believe how quickly he is getting so big.

3 months old

Look who is three months old! He is weighing in at 7 pounds and is 19.5 inches long.

Here are some previous pictures so you can compare.

Doing Great

Forrest's surgery on Friday went really well. We had to stay in the hospital overnight so they could monitor him, but we were released around 10:30am the next morning. He has been a little uncomfortable and cranky but that is to be expected. I have been able to keep him as comfortable as possible with Tylenol.

The cool thing is that they didn't even use stitches on the outside. He has stitches that will dissolve on the inside and a steri-stripe on the outside that will fall off on its own in about 2-3 weeks. This makes everything a lot easier.

Thanks for praying for our little guy.

Forrest's Next Battle

I don't remember if I ever told everyone that while he was in the NICU they found what they thought was just retained fluid in his groin area. They set up an appointment for him to go see a urologist to make sure the fluid was absorbing correctly. I took Forrest to the appointment today and it turns out that it is not fluid, but a hernia that needs to be repaired.

The doctor should be how to push the hernia back up into the correct place when I find that it is out. Unfortunately it is not something we can wait to fix. Sooo, he is scheduled to have surgery next Friday at Children's Mercy Hospital.

Usually it would be an outpatient surgery, but since he is so young he will have to stay overnight to be observed after the surgery. Needless to say, I am nervous about our tiny baby having surgery. I know this is common, especially in boys, and even more common for a baby born as small as he was but it is still surgery.

Please pray for Forrest, that he will be strong during the surgery and that he will be in as little pain as possible. Please also pray for the surgeon as he prepares to operate on our precious baby boy.

I will keep everyone updated as we get closer to the surgery and after it is over.

Forrest's Photo Shoot

My sister took a lot of pictures of Forrest when she was in town a couple weeks ago. They are so good. I can't wait to have prints made of them.
Here is her website where you can go look at them. Just go to the Order Online option at the bottom of her home page and then choose Forrest 1/10.

www.dragonflyphotodesign.com

Here is one of the pictures she took. I love it!

Look Who Came To Visit

We just had a great weekend with my sister Abby. She flew in Friday afternoon to meet Forrest for the first time. She got to stay until Tuesday afternoon, but it was still too short of a visit. Little Forrest LOVED his Aunt Abby. I am pretty sure the feeling was mutual.

Here is Aunt Abby and her new little nephew...





Aunt Abby also made something to put up in Forrest's room. Doesn't it look great?



We already miss Aunt Abby and can't wait to see her again.

A boy and his dog...

Everything is continuing to go really well with Forrest. He is starting to get on a schedule and is starting to sleep better at night in between feedings. He is awake more during the day, which is a lot of fun. He has a few toys that he loves to stare at when he is awake.

We are really excited about Aunt Abby coming to visit on Friday. I am sure that Forrest will be spoiled by the time she leaves. :)

So yesterday Forrest and I went to his room to play on the floor a little bit (his tummy time). About two or three minutes after we went in there Daisy came in to check out what we were doing. She very gently laid down next to him. I grabbed some pictures of it because it was so cute.


Daisy and Forrest hanging out..



Forrest wide awake...


Forrest having a staring contest with the panda...

Getting Settled...

Forrest has been doing really well since coming home last week. Slowly he has gotten to meet his grandparents and a few friends. Last Friday he had to go to the doctor for a weight check and his 2 month shots. In the two days that we had been gone from the NICU he had gained 2 ounces. His weight on Friday, January 22nd was 5 pounds 8 ounces. He also was 17 3/4 inches long. I can't wait to take him back on February 16th to see how much more he has gained.
He has been getting used to his new surroundings. The first few nights he slept well at night and then all of the sudden on the third night he decided he would rather be awake and crying. He seems to have some gas/colic at night from around 11pm - 1am. I talked to the doctor and she said that this is normal and not to be too concerned. I have been using some gas drops every once in awhile and that seems to help some. Then all of the sudden last night he slept well again. So he is a little bit of a mystery still. :) He does however sleep the best in his swing so we are kind of going with it for now so that Mommy and Daddy can get some sleep.
I am working to get him on some kind of schedule during the day. It seems to be working some and I know that as he gets older it will get even better.
We go back to have blood work done next Friday and then back to the doctor on February 16th for his next RSV antibody shot. Other than that he just goes for his four month check up in March.
Thanks so much for continuing to pray for our little guy. He is truly a miracle and I am in awe at how God has already worked in his little life.

He's Home!

I am very sorry that there have not been any updates in the last week. Things started to get so crazy as we got closer to bringing Forrest home. On Friday last week I started driving back and forth to the hospital for almost every feeding. He had started to really do well with nursing so it seemed like the best thing to do for him. By Sunday morning, the NICU nurses had found a room for me to board in so that all I had to do was walk from my room to the NICU to feed him. This made things so much easier for me but it meant that I really didn't leave the hospital much. By Sunday evening several of the nurses told me they thought he would be going home soon, but I tried not to get my hopes up. But when I went in to feed him on Monday at noon, they told me I could take him back to the room with me and he could board out there with me as much as I wanted. I didn't know what to say or think. It seemed so weird the very first time I pushed his little crib down the hallway of the hospital to my room. It seemed as if I was doing something wrong. He had never left the NICU. By Monday night, they had scheduled his circumcision for the next day and we were getting him ready to get his RSV Antibody shot. He was circumcised on Tuesday morning and when I went back with him to the NICU where he was monitored after that his nurse Patty said he would be going home the next day. Needless to say, we were both thrilled. We left the hospital Wednesday around noon...after lots of goodbyes to all of our favorite nurses both Tuesday night (night shift) and Wednesday morning. Forrest got dressed up for everyone in his onesie with a tie on it. By 12:30pm we were home and introducing him to the dogs. Also,Garrison got to see his brother for the first time last night and kept saying how tiny he was. :)
Forrest did well his first night now. He slept all night except when he got up everything three hours to eat, but every time he went right back to sleep. He seems to be adjusting well to his home and honestly nothing phases him. The dogs can bark, we can grind coffee and the hairdryer can be on and he just keeps sleeping...something good that came out of being in a noisy NICU for almost eight weeks.
Here are some pictures from the last two days as we left the hospital and got home. Hope you enjoy them and again, thank you for all of your prayers for little Forrest. Please continue to pray that he gains weight as he should and stays healthy now that he is home with us.

The pictures are all out of order but I hope you like them.


Samson...his new personal guard dog.

The dogs were very sweet with him...love to smell his head.

Mr. Fancy Pants getting ready to leave the hospital.

His full outfit...his shirt was made for him by Aunt Abby.

Forrest and I the night before being discharged...he's is obviously tired of pictures.

Forrest's new room...

Nana Karen comes to visit...

Daddy and Forrest right after we got home...

Daisy checking him out...both dogs love to smell his head.

Doing Much Better...

Forrest has gotten much better over the last few days. They decided that he had a viral infection in his intestines. They have been taking x-rays every day to determine whether it is getting better or not. Yesterday it started to look better so they decided that he could start feedings again today. He had 3-4 feedings today and he took 10 cc's each time. For now, we are feeding him by bottle so that they do not have to put the feeding tube back in. This has been working great so far. We are still working on the breastfeeding but not pushing it too hard right now.

He is still being watched and will continue to have x-rays daily until they are sure that everything is 100% back to normal. The good news is that since the blood transfusion his hemoglobin has been way up and is no longer a concern.

He does have a new midline (IV) in since he needs nutrition in addition to the milk he is getting. In addition, they have left the IV in his foot just in case it is needed for anything else. Our hope is that he will not need these two IV's for very long.

We have also been so fortunate with the nurses at Shawnee Mission in the NICU. They have all been so nice to us. I have had several nurses come and find me when they hear I am there just to tell me they have been thinking about us and were concerned to hear about Forrest. He definitely has a fan base with the nurses....already the ladies man. Honestly the nurses make things a lot easier and are never too busy to answer my questions or explain things to me.

Please pray that the feedings continue and that is intestines will cooperate and not flair up again. Please also pray for us as we continue to deal with our crazy schedule and me having to be up at the NICU so much. Thank you so much for all of your kind words, emails and calls. I am so sorry that I haven't been able to answer everyone, but please know that it all means so much to us.

A Bump in the Road

Forrest was doing so well yesterday. We got him to take a bottle during two consecutive feedings. We were finally feeling like the road was coming to an end, but then we got a call around 8pm last night. Forrest has an infection that seems to be in his intestines. They immediately put his case back with the neo-doctor. He received two IV's. One for antibiotics and the other for a blood transfusion. His hemoglobin got really low last night and so the transfusion was necessary for him to fight this infection properly. They have stopped all feedings and have put a tube down his throat to help him get rid of any residual in his stomach. His vitals are good. He isn't having any trouble breathing. He is more upset that he doesn't get to eat. :)
We are waiting for the blood culture to come back to let us know what kind of infection we are dealing with. So far the nurses say he could be on antibiotics anywhere from 7-14 days. They also are not speculating when feedings will start back up and when they do how slow he will have to take it.
Please pray for our little guy. He has come so far over the last six weeks. Please pray that this infection is nothing more than a quick bump in the road. Pray for peace for him because right now he is easily agitated since he is hungry. As soon as I know more I will post an update.

Six Weeks Old

What a difference six weeks makes... It has been six weeks since Forrest was born. The day he was born he weighed 2 pounds 9.3 ounces and was 14.5 inches long. Today he is almost 5 pounds and around 16.5 inches long. In some ways it seems like yesterday that David and I were in the hospital hoping he would not arrive too early, but in a lot of ways it seems like that was so long ago. It's hard to believe that we have been going back and forth between home and the NICU for the last six weeks. We have been so blessed to have had such wonderful nurses...many of whom have become great friends to me. We are very close to having our little boy home and then our lives will be a totally different kind of crazy...but I know we are both looking forward to that day.


Here is Forrest at 2 days old...


Here is Forrest today at 6 weeks old...

Big Boy Crib

Forrest is now in a "big boy" crib. Now that he can regulate his body temperature so well he has been moved to a normal infant crib at the hospital. It's basically the crib he would have been in from the beginning had he been born on time.
He is still getting fed 40 cc's every feeding and we are still working on breastfeeding. The pediatrician did call yesterday and say that she thinks he will pick up the breastfeeding all of the sudden in about 7 -10 days and then he will be ready to come home! She thinks about 2 more weeks and he will be out of there. We are so excited to get our boy home.
Here are some new pictures of him...


Taken this morning (1/7)...isn't he looking big?


Forrest in his new big boy crib


Forrest sitting on Mommy's lap...


Forrest with his new hat from Nana Carol


Forrest in his crib for the first time...

1/4/10 Update

Forrest is gaining weight like a champ. He weighed in last night at 4 pounds 8.4 ounces. He is now 4 1/2 pounds. He starting to even look a little chunky compared to what he had been. :)
He is completely off of the caffeine that they have all preemies on to help them regulate their heart rate. As the nurses say...."he gave up caffeine for New Year's". He is up to receiving 40 cc's of milk at every feeding and tolerating this really well. His hemoglobin remains slightly low but they are just going to continue to give him an iron supplement every day. He also has been moved to the lesser of the two NICU's. The one where he has been at SM Hospital is for more intensive cases and babies that need constant care. Then across the hall is the NICU where it is just babies that need some attention. We knew he would get moved eventually as he got bigger and stronger and we received the call the other day that he had been moved. :) The big news is that the neo-doctor has passed his case over to his normal pediatrician as of this morning. We are definitely starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
The main thing right now is for him to figure out how to eat on his own. He is still having trouble with this which is somewhat frustrating for me. We are working with the lactation consultants and nurses to try and help him figure it out. They assure me this is normal for his gestational age and that it will come.
Thanks for checking in and I will try to have new pictures to post really soon.

Forrest's Room

My friend Kim came over today to help me finish up painting Forrest's room. David had painted the room the blue color that I picked out, but I wanted to paint some brown polka dots too. Kim had done the same thing in her little girls room so I asked her if she would help me.
It turned out really cute. Thanks Kim!