Thanks and Giving

Last week, the Dream Weavers were invited to an event celebrating the achievements of numerous blood donors associated with the Oklahoma Blood Institute.  They gave out awards for chapters, locations, drives, and individuals who went above and beyond to make OBI successful this past year in their efforts to save lives.  We were honored to be invited, and even more honored that our Finn was a special guest at the event!

The nigh started with introductions, and then a nice dinner presented by Oakwood Country Club in Enid.  After dinner was well underway, the presentations began.  When it was time for our area, Finn was introduced, and Britt and I got to take the podium and briefly tell our story of how 6 blood transfusions saved Finn's life during his 84 day NICU stay.  We are so grateful for the organization, the blood drives, the staff, and especially the donors!  One of the most special moments of the evening is when we got to meet one of the specific donors whose blood literally saved his life!  Her name was Kristi, and she sat at our table for dinner.  We really enjoyed chatting with her and getting to know her better.  Finn, who is usually very stranger averse, took right to her and charmed her!  He was a little rambunctious during dinner, but he was the hit of the party!

April 2012

August 2013

The Key Note speaker for the night was a young man named Tyler who lost a leg and had NUMEROUS injuries from a grain elevator accident in 2011.  He had 96 units of blood during his extended hospital stays and various surgeries.  He has made it his life  goal to donate back all 96 units.  IF he donated every time he was able, it would take 15 years.  he has a good start!  We were incredibly blessed by his talk, and were honored to meet him!  He is an OSU Cowboy, as well, so he is a GREAT role model for Finn!

For being a part of this incredible night, Finn received a giant gift basket!  It had a Mike Gundy signed football, a cute little outfit, a bath set, gift card for a photo session, candy, cards, and a HUGE teddy bear made out of OBI Bedlam Blood Bash t-shirts!  It is bigger than he is - and we will cherish it always!

Last week we also celebrated Britt's 49th birthday!  He has been legendary since 1964, and we love him so very very much!  We showered him with "As Seen on TV" gifts, and took him to eat at  Fuzzy's!  What a great day!

Back to school shopping is almost complete, and enrollment verifications are half done.  School starts in 2 weeks!  WHERE has the summer gone?!?

10 months and going strong

Today, Finn Ricker Weaver is officially 10 months old.  I am not sure how much he weighs, but we would guess between 16 and 17 pounds.  And he is TALL!  He is like Jake was at this age, all arms and torso.  LONG and skinny!  And he is such a joy!  He smiles and giggles all the time.  We are so glad that he is doing so well, and we know we are blessed to have such a wonderful outcome!

Finn is siting up unassisted – has even made it from laying down to sitting up once, has 2 bottom teeth, just transferred over to his 9 month clothing this weekend, and as soon as we run out of size 2 diapers in the house we will break out the size 3’s.  I think he could stand to change over now, but I have to see those last 20 or so diapers not get used!  He can get up on his hands and knees, but doesn’t stay there long.  He has rocked back and forth a few times, so crawling is not too far off!  He can stand up when holding on to something, too.  He LOVES to laugh and laugh and laugh!  Just in the last day or so he has added that “ga” sound to his cooing, too.  He is really doing so well!  We don’t know how much he weighs exactly or how long he is, but based on his recent patterns, I would say he is about 16-17 pounds and at least 27” long.

This week we were presented with a precious gift for Finn, too.  A young lady named Payton is 11 years old and she and her cousins make quilts for sick kids in hospitals.  She saw the article about Finn in this summer’s OBI newsletter, and she chose to make his an OSU themed quilt.  The final product was delivered to us this week, and I snapped a picture of Finn enjoying it.

Here is the text of the letter Payton wrote to send with the quilt:

7/13/12
Dear Weaver Family,
I read about Finn's story in the OBI Pulse flyer. I decided that I wanted to make him a quilt.

My Memaw loves sewing and wanted to teach us grandkids how to quilt. It started as a one week a year during spring break and we called it Kuzin Kamp. Now it includes 20 of us all year long.

Last summer we decided to make blankets for sick children and most of them go to St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa. I was told that Finn's room was OSU so I hope he likes his quilt.

We have a Kuzin Kamp facebook page if you want to send us a picture of Finn and his blanket.

Sincerely,
Payton
11 yrs.

And I will leave you today with the infectious laugh of our 10 month old miracle.  God is GOOD!

A letter to Finn at 9 months old

Dear Finn,

Well, an app on my iPhone just beeped and alerted me that you are 9 months old today.  How in the world did that happen?  Especially since I am pretty sure I just brought you home like a month ago!  But, the calendar doesn’t lie, and you are, in fact, ¾ of a year old today.  Luckily for us, your adjusted age will only be 6 months tomorrow.  I can totally live with that a lot better.  The app also told me that separation anxiety peaks around 9 months old.  I wonder how the adjusted age thing plays into that…

You are such a joy!  A very smiley baby!  Everyone loves to see you smile, and you are so friendly you will share that smile with just about anyone!  Daddy and Nana are your favorites to smile at, but you will share with me and your siblings, too!  Your dad and I have a million pictures of that infectious smile on our phones and camera!  Let’s see, you are still in 3-6 month clothing – although the one piece pajamas are starting to get a little too short, wearing size 2 diapers, you can roll front to back with no problem and you try back to front every once in a while, you can sit for about 2 seconds on your own, and YOU HAVE YOUR FIRST TOOTH!  It just popped through the gums yesterday!  I am going to miss those precious toothless grins!  Just another indicator that you are in growing into a Big Boy!

You go see your pediatrician next week for your regular 9 month checkup, and we also have a hearing screening scheduled for that day – just routine since you were a NICU baby!  I am pretty sure you can hear just fine since you have all the noise of a 6 person home around you!  You got to enjoy your first 4th of July fireworks display last night, and you were in awe!  Just sat in my lap and stared at the beautiful lights in the sky!

And your local celebrity streak continues!  The Oklahoma Blood Institute once again used your miracle status as a call to action for people to donate blood, and to show how that act can literally change a life!  You are the cover boy for this summer’s OBI newsletter – and we couldn’t be more proud.  You are showing off that precious smile again!

I love you, my little peanut!  I can’t wait to find out how much you’ve grown when we weigh you and measure you next week.  You change every day, and I am so blessed to be a part of this miracle.  You have changed our entire family for the better, and I am appreciating every moment we get to grow and stretch with you.  Thank you for being my son, and for teaching us all so many important lessons.

Love,

Mom

Half a Year

Dear Finn,

In the hustle and bustle of a family of six, you turned six months old a few days ago.  Last Thursday, to be exact!  Your Daddy was home that day with you, and we were still trying to get your child care situation worked out since I went back to work.  (Not really BACK to work so much as I got a new job, but I am not home with you all the time now – I sure miss it!)  I have a silly tradition of taking my kid’s pictures on the monthly recurrence of the date they were born.  I did it with your older twin sisters, with Jake, and with you.  Those first few pictures are some of the most precious pictures I have ever taken, and I hope as a family we always remember that time and how far we have come as a family.

As for you, you are a fighter!  And still completely unpredictable!  You eat when you want to, sleep when you want to, and never do the same thing twice!  We have a better pattern going than we did for a while, and you only wake up once in the night, eat, and go right back to sleep, but the days are hit or miss!  You have good, fun, smiley days, and long, hard, crying days.  Still have colic most evenings, and still break my heart when I can’t make you feel better.  In the past few days, you have mastered grabbing at things, and my long hair seems to be the number one target.  We have gotten a few toys in your hands as well, but your muscle control isn’t the best yet, and you often end up banging yourself in the head with things!  ;)  Your doctors, SoonerStart child development specialist, and all the books say you need to do tummy time as often as possible.  That’s all fine and dandy, but you are not so much of a fan!  You still don’t lift your head up off the floor, and you don’t use your arms to help hold yourself up.  You do, however, plant your forehead firmly on the floor, and scoot (right, left, right) with your legs to move yourself forward.  While this is good, we really need you to hold your head up, buddy!  You are getting there, though.  When I hold you up over my head looking down at me, you support your head then, so we know it’s coming.  You also like to sit looking forward some.  Your head still wobbles and bobbles, but you can catch it and correct it yourself!  SUCH a strong boy!

This past weekend was Easter weekend.  You made your big public debut all over the place!  Saturday morning we took family pictures on the OSU campus, then Saturday night we went to Enid to Grandpa Jake and Grandma Mary’s church to see Grandpa sing in the Easter pageant.  You were a bit fussy, so you and I spent the first part outside, but we got to see the 2^nd half of it!  Then on Sunday you went to LifeChurch for the very first time!  You made some people cry, and our campus pastor said seeing you made his whole weekend!  LOTS of people were excited and thrilled to see you and to finally get to meet you!  Seems like we have come full circle since this was also the anniversary of Uncle Brian’s death.  That’s the event that started this whole roller coaster ride.  Seems fitting somehow…

On Monday, our SoonerStart worker came and played with you, you helped me take Stella to the vet, then we had another GREAT appointment with your pediatrician!  You weighed in at 12 pounds 4 ounces and were 24 inches long.  Good Growing, Little Man!  She also released you from all your tethers!  No more monitor – even at night!  That was the last thing we were waiting on.  Now, I am sad to tell you we still have a surgery coming up to take care of your hernia, but we’ll worry about that when the time comes.  For now, just rejoice with us that you are a FREE BABY!  I love being able to pick you up in the morning and snuggle you and catch your first smiles of the day without tripping over wires or accidentally setting off the alarms!  Such a great way to start the day!  You got 2 shots and one oral vaccine, and you woke up Tuesday morning with a bit of a fever, but one dose of fever reducer and you were good for the rest of the day - even made it to pick up Lara from dance to go to Emma's volleyball practice where we ended up talking March of Dimes with 3 other preemie parents.  Such a trooper!

Tuesday was a day of resting, because on Wednesday, you had ANOTHER big adventure!  Daddy and I both had half a day off work to take you back down to see our friends at Mercy.   

But this time, there was a camera crew there to see you, too!  We had been asked by the Oklahoma Blood Institute people to tell your story on camera to help promote the Mathis Brothers Furniture / KOCO Channel 5 blood drive that is happening this coming weekend.  You did SO GOOD!  You fell asleep while Daddy and I were talking to the camera, but you sure are sweet when you are sleeping, so the camera loved you like that!  We got to visit with a few of our favorite Mercy staff members as well, so it was a GREAT trip!  We got the word later that afternoon that the piece would air on television THAT NIGHT!  It was fun calling, texting and posting to facebook for everyone to tune in or set their DVR’s!  Unfortunately, the DVR at our house didn’t record for some reason!  We got home from t-ball practice for Jake and church/LifeGroup for the rest of us, and it wasn’t there.  We got to see it at Nana's house on Thursday, but it wasn't QUITE the same!

So, this past 6 months has definitely been the most eventful 6 months of MY life, and probably yours, too!  I have learned so much, leaned on others so much, and listened to God so much.  Thank you, Finn Ricker Weaver, for being the instrument to teach me those lessons.  I am so lucky to be your Mommy.  Here are the pictures of you on the 5^th of the last 6 months.  You have come so far!  I think we all have.  And we have you to thank for it.  We all love you so much!  Keep getting stronger and stronger and stronger! Love, Mom

Birth - October 5, 2011 - 1 lb 14 oz

1 month - November 5, 2011 - 2 lbs 2 oz

2 months - December 5, 2011 - 4 lbs 6 oz

3 months - January 5, 2012 - 7 lbs

4 months - February 5, 2012 - 9 lbs 6 oz

5 months - March 5, 2012 - 10 lbs 10 oz

6 months - April 5, 2012 - 12 lbs 4 oz

Been BUSY!

I hinted at the end of my last post that I had a fun little adventure coming up the next day!  We sure did!  Not only did Daddy stay home on Thursday to get caught up around the house and to rest a little bit, but he also had Friday off.  But it was not as relaxing.  We were all 6 up and out of the house by 8am.  The 3 big kids off to school, and Britt, Finn and I off for our adventure.

This was Finn’s first trip that wasn’t to a doctor’s office or my mom’s house for a couple of hours.  We were off to Enid, America!  Finn (and therefore Britt and I) had been invited to “speak” at the Oklahoma Blood Institute staff meeting this month!  They love for blood product recipients to come and show them what all their hard work translates to.  While I knew I was speaking, and basically what I should cover, I really had no idea what to expect!  We made the trip in slightly over an hour, and Finn did really well in the car.  Once there, we were introduced to the crowd gathered in a small conference room, and I got to tell our miracle story – that included 6 blood transfusions!  The audience was GREAT, and my friend who invited us to speak even had a few pictures she stole from facebook in a slide show for me to use along with my talk!  What a nice surprise!  The audience was so receptive – ooh’d and ahh’d in all the right places – and they were SO EAGER to meet Finn when I was done.  Britt had been out in the hall with him, and it was like winning an academy award when we showed our sweet boy off to the folks in that room.  They were so impressed by his fight and his triumph!  I really enjoy public speaking, and they asked some excellent questions, so the whole experience really quite enjoyable!

Finn, Daddy and Mommy @OBI in Enid

A bonus to being in Enid – a trip to the in-laws!  We spent a few hours with them where they got to feed and love on Finn, and they even took us to lunch at the new gourmet hot dog place in town. That was Finn’s first trip out in public, and first trip to a restaurant!  He is back on quarantine for now…  The break from reality and getting out of the house made for an enjoyable day.  But, we had to hurry back to Stillwater to switch cars and get me on the road south to Oklahoma City!  I had another engagement to go to!

I met my sweet friend Jenny at First Church of the Nazarene in Bethany, OK for a Girls Night Live event featuring Mandisa and Laura Story.  If you go back to the blog entries around the time of my brother’s death, you can see songs posted on entries by both of these amazing ladies!  I have been a Mandisa fan since she was on season 5 of American Idol, and I love following her antics on facebook and twitter.  She is truly an inspiration.  Lucky for Jenny and I, we had early entry passes, and we got seats on the FRONT row!  It really was a great concert and a wonderful time of fellowship, singing, and dancing.  It was over a bit earlier than I anticipated, so I was back in Stillwater pretty early –just in time to get home to my sweet baby Finn who had just fallen asleep after what I hear was a VERY ROUGH evening!  He got off schedule and I suppose a bit overstimulated, and he had a hard time recovering.  But super dad handled it perfectly!

Jenny and I at Girls Night Live!

Saturday was fun as well.  That morning, after my husband shaved off his seasonal beard, the hair on his head, and his standard goatee and mustache (I was mortified, but am getting used to it), we ran some errands as a family, taking turns staying in the car with Finn.  After lunch, it was a GIRLS DAY as the twins, my mom and I went treasure hunting around Stillwater. We found some fun treasures, got some fun ideas, and enjoyed each other’s company.  Sunday was church and a lazy Sunday afternoon, getting the last few things ready for the girls’ “State Night” at school tomorrow night.  I can’t wait to tell all about that – it sounds like they are really going to have a good time and put on a neat presentation.   It was a fun weekend all around!  Now,back to quiet days at home with my baby for the week.  I think we both need it!

All Babies Cry

Some babies cry A LOT!  FRW would trend toward the latter category, I would say.  Wikipedia defines infantile colic as a condition of a healthy baby in which it shows periods of intense, unexplained fussing/crying lasting more than 3 hours a day, more than 3 days a week for more than 3 week.  I’m not sure we’ve been dealing with it for 3 weeks yet, but 3 hours 3 days a week qualifies.  Some days less, but it’s still there.  “They” also say it is usually in the early evening, and Finn’s tends to be from about 8pm to about 11pm.  But I’m calling it colic.  Emma has THE WORST COLIC EVER, so I am an experienced mom, and I know what this is.  It’s colic.  And it’s so frustrating for us all!  I also know it will end as abruptly as it as started, so we will survive.  In the meantime, my heart breaks daily as my sweet baby cries and cries for no evident reason.  Poor little dude!

In the meantime, another week has gone by.  Jake’s Power Rangers party was changed to a Star Wars party at the last minute since I couldn’t find party supplies locally, and it was a GREAT time at the Oklahoma Wondertorium!   We had never been there, and it was so fun and the kids and adults all loved it!  Jake got loved on by so many people, and his room is now full of fun new toys to keep him busy.  Also, the RSV shot situation has been resolved.  Last Friday, I got the 2 phone calls that got that ball rolling, then on Monday I was informed the medication was overnighted tome to show up on Tuesday, as well as the name and number of our home health nurse.  The meds arrived at 1:30 on Tuesday, and the nurse got here about 4:00 to administer the shot.  It was about 4 days late, but we are approved for the next few doses so it won’t be so hard next time!  My dog is still gone, and I am still sad about it.  Britt found us the PERFECT puppy on Craigslist earlier this week, but it was spoken for before we could get ahold of them, so the search continues.  And I am still jobless.  I am happy to be here at home for the time being, and I am determined to enjoy it.  I still feel like a puppet on a string in this area of my life, but it is what it is, and God’s plan will prevail.  I just need to be patient and prayerful and the answers will come!

Our big excitement of the week was the follow up article the O’Colly did on Finn and the OBI blood drive.  I was contacted about the possibility late last week, then this week a photographer came to the house on Monday, then a reporter interviewed Britt and I separately (due to the home health nurse and RSV shot) on Tuesday. On Thursday morning, the front page of the Daily O’Collegian featured a HUGE picture of me and sweet Baby Finn! 

CLICK HERE for the link to the article.  I think they did a really good job.  Donating blood is a simple thing to do and it can affect lives on so many levels.  We are so grateful for all the strangers who have helped us out along the way.  Whether praying for us, supporting us financially, and especially those who donate blood regularly to provide for needs of people that need that kind of support.  If it were not for the generosity of other people, Finn might not be here with us today!

As of the nurse visit on Tuesday, Finn weighed 8 pounds, 14 ounces and was just over 20 inches in length.  He is growing so quickly these days!  He will be 4 months old on Sunday, and his adjusted age is 4 weeks.  It seems like we just came home a few days ago, but he has been home 1 month and 6 days.  In the past week, he has started to sleep a little longer during the night.  We used to feed him 3 times overnight, and we are down to 2 – or just one depending on how the schedule goes during the day, and how early we need to get up the next morning.  THIS is a major milestone for me, as I really need my sleep! LOL!  He still eats every 3 hours during the day, and still sleeps A LOT during the day as well.  My mom and my sister-in-love are thrilled that they have both gotten to see him with his eyes open for more than a few seconds at a time lately!  He finally enjoys his swing, and he likes to lie under his play gym and watch the things hanging above his head.  He is still on supplemental oxygen at ¾ Liter for 24 hours a day, as well as the heart/apnea monitor.  I am REALLY hoping to change some of these statistics when we go for his 4 month visit to the pediatrician on Tuesday. This is my prayer request!  We NEED to start weaning the oxygen as he keeps pulling the cannula out of his nose, and I am SO OVER the heart monitor that only goes off with false alarms.  UGH!

The other project I am working on now is for the 4^th grade STATE NIGHT at Emma and Lara’s school coming up in a few weeks.  Each student is assigned a state, and they have to do a report on the state as a famous person from that state – as well as a report on that person. The person reports were due last week, so now we are working on the STATE part – as well as costumes.  They are supposed to dress up as that person for the presentation on State Night.  Lara has the state of Nebraska, and the famous person she chose was Swoosie Kurtz.   This costume will be pretty easy.  Lara has the perfect looks for this character, so we just need a “red carpet” dress, and perhaps an award to carry.  Emma has the state of New York.  Her “person” she chose is Stefani Germanotta.  Lady Gaga.  Yeah, we had to ask the teacher if that would be acceptable. It was, so now I am on a costume hunt!  I got a dress that I think will work perfectly.  Now for a wig, some shoes and other accessories. WHEW!  I can’t wait to see how this turns out for both of them!  They are pretty excited!

First, the good news

The good news is, Britt and I, as well as the rest of our family, are so incredibly blessed, and we know we owe our Lord all the glory for that!  Over the weekend, we were loved on and showered by some amazing friends.  Finn has a whole new host of new things he needs, things we wanted him to have, and things others wanted him to have – all given with love!  One guest even blessed and surprised Emma, Lara and Jake by bringing some fun trinkets for them as well!  I want to thank the AMAZING ladies of LTC, along with my dear, “old” friends Rachael and Tara for making it a super awesome party, and for everyone who came and made our day special!  (The opening picture is of the cake, the diaper cake, and the painting we were presented with!)  Looks like I will have some thank you notes to write over the next few days…

And the GREAT news is, Finn is doing SO WELL! He now weighs 3 pounds 2 ounces, and he is just over 16 inches long.  (I guess this is an “up” on the roller coaster ride…)  When I walked into my son's room mid-morning today, all the pumps were turned OFF! No IV's (fluids, meds or otherwise) and the PICC line is gone from his arm! Hallelujah!  He looks so FREE!  Like he could just TAKE OFF!  I took advantage of the freedom he must be feeling to partake in some Kangaroo care this afternoon, too.  I held him for almost 3 hours, and he tolerated it SO WELL!  So much better than he ever has.  Plus, during the 3 “hands on” times I was there for, he didn’t ”de-sat” (decreases in his oxygen saturation levels) the way he normally does!  Early this afternoon (while I was holding, in fact) the rate on his respirator was turned down to 31 (from 33 – it was in the 40’s last week), and the oxygen percentage was turned down to 58% (down 65% earlier today, and down from 70% just a few days ago).  SO EXCITING!  They had been weaning him off the phentanyl (opiate sedative) very very slowly, and they introduced oral morphine yesterday to take its place.  He tolerated that well, so that was the last IV medication he was on, so they discontinued that last night, and pulled the PICC line this morning!  He has not had morphine since 5:00pm yesterday, and he is actually doing better OFF the sedation meds!  (Maybe that was holding him back all along?  He was just too comfortable to work hard?  Just a thought… We’ll never know…)   Here’s to a few more days of an up-swing and more weaning from the respirator!  Here is a picture of him sucking his thumb (his new favorite pastime) while I held him this afternoon:

Some more great news?  The Oklahoma Blood Institute is hosting a blood drive at OSU this week!  It is the Bedlam Blood Drive and it is a little friendly competition between Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma to see who can collect the most donated blood.  We are encouraging everyone we know to donate, and you can donate for Finn!! If you are on campus, you can donate between the hours of 10-5 today thru Friday. Kerr Drummond North Dining Room or the OBI bloodmobiles parked on Athletic Street. Get a free t-shirt, get entered into the drawing for Bedlam tickets and tell them you are donating for Finn Weaver!  Finn and Mom even got a little SHOUT OUT in the Daily O’Collegian today.  (Click the link to read it!)  Rumor has it, there will be a full length feature story on Finn Weaver coming up later this week!

And, for some super fun news?  My Oklahoma State University COWBOY Football team is 10 – 0, and is ranked #2 in the nation!  We won our game this past weekend by a margin of 60 points, which led to a 40% discount on all clothing in the Student Store today!  I made the obligatory trip to the Student Union this morning – arrived at 8:02, shopped till about 8:20, finally paid and left about 9:15!!!  WHEW! Britt said he walked over about 4:00pm, and the lines were UNBELIEVABLE, so he left!  It’s a GREAT time to be a COWBOY!  GO POKES!