Easter Bunny

Hi Everyone,

Not much to report - Ryan is doing well, he's army crawling but seems to favor going backwards right now. He is moving - we just need to get him going forward instead of reverse.

The nutritionist gave us some good advice and Ryan was up to 17lbs 8 oz. as of last week. He'll get weighed again tomorrow so we'll see how much he's gained since then.

Nothing much else going on - we visited the Easter Bunny today so enjoy the pic!

Snow Day

Hi Everyone,

Here are a few pictures from Ryan's first "real" snow day. We had a good time in the snow, though we didn't stay very long.

Ryan's health is muched improved and he's also cut another tooth. We're working on him drinking whole milk and increasing his caloric intake to gain weight. We go to the doctor Saturday for his 1 year shots (rescheduled since he's been sick for the past month!) so we'll know if it's been working or not.

That's all for now...enjoy the pics!

Sick Bay

Hi Everyone,

I know it's been a while since there's been an update and I apologize. See, I've become addicted to Facebook and find it easier to upload and update on Facebook than through the blog. I will try and be more attentive to the blog with more frequent updates.

Well, after a pretty healthy first year, Ryan has begun his second year catching everything under the sun. First, he battled the nasty stomach virus that has been making the rounds - and it made its rounds through the Graham household. As a result, Ryan now refuses to take a bottle, even though I had him on formula in a bottle during the afternoons for a good three weeks. I was preparing for my return to work and thought everything was squared away. So, Ryan started daycare a week after the stomach virus (he was supposed to start a week early to transition into it, but because of the stomach virus, he only went in for two days).

Ryan's adjusting to daycare and for the most part is really happy there. He has two buddies from the NICU - Furio and Autumn - and quite a few other friends he's made. Unfortunately, those friends like to share a lot - including germs.

As far as the bottle refusal, we went to the GI doctor and between the lack of bottle and several illnessess Ryan has not gained much weight. So, we're fortifying his "sippy cup" with whole milk and Carnation Instant breakfast. So far, we've tried the vanilla and he likes it so we'll see how that works. We go back in a month and we'll get a weight check then. The boy loves to eat, and pretty much eats anything we give him - he's just so energetic that he burns it all up.

Ryan has had a "cold" for about two weeks. Well, it started off as a cold, then turned into a viral infection, and now has turned into a sinus infection. Hopefully the antibiotics will clear all of this up and Ryan will be able to return to daycare next week happy and healthy.

As I mentioned, I've gone back to work after being home for over a year. It's been a difficult transition, and I can't quite say that I'm completely happy about it, especially since Ryan's been getting sick, but I know that once we really get back into the swing of things it will get a bit easier.

So, that's the latest - here are few pictures to enjoy!

Happy First Birthday Ryan!!!!!

Happy Birthday Ryan!!!!!!!!!

It's hard to believe that it's been a year since our precious baby boy came into the world - and what a year it's been. The first few months were like a roller coaster, and even when he came home it wasn't easy. Sometimes those days of monitors and bells and whistles are so far away, sometimes it feels like yesterday. We've gone from food from an IV to eating pieces of meatballs and chicken soup; from not being able to hold him to not being able to put him down; from sponge baths by the sink that were not so enjoyable to baths in the tub and having a blast; from heart monitors to baby monitors; from leaving him at night in the NICU to leaving him for the night at Grandmom's. Ryan has come soooooo far since the night he was born. Everyday we thank God that he blessed us with our miracle. This has been an amazing year for all of us - an unforgettable one, for sure!

We are looking forward to seeing what adventures Ryan's second year brings us!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year Everyone!

Well, 2008 is behind us and what a year it was. It all started with the surprise arrival of Ryan and though the year started off crazy and hectic and filled with uncertainties by years end everything has fallen into place and we're looking forward to a happy and healthy 2009.

Here are a few pictures from Christmas and Ryan enjoying his first short stack of pancakes!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Hi Everyone,

It's hard to believe that Christmas is right around the corner! We are looking forward to spending the holidays with friends and family and praying that everyone stays healthy - there are some nasty colds going around!

Ryan has started physical therapy (finally!) We were on the waiting list for early intervention but I didn't want to keep waiting, so I decided to go through our insurance and take him to an out patient facility. Since our insurance will only cover 60 days per condition, I wanted to take advantage of this now since I'm still home. I go back to work the last week in January and that is when the 60 days will be up so it actually works out perfectly. Two weeks into it, we finally got word that there is P.T. available in our area and Ryan had his first in-home visit yesterday and did really well. So, for now Ryan is receiving P.T. twice a week, once here at home and once at the rehab facility. However when I go back to work we will only go down to once a week. The 60 days will be up and it'll be too difficult to take him there and have a P.T. here at home.

Ryan is also receiving massage therapy that is going really well. The M.T. has taught me some infant massage that I give to Ryan at least once a day and she comes out once a week to really work on stretching and massage. And believe me, Ryan is definitely benefiting from all of these therapies!

We took Ryan to see Santa and he loved him! No crying baby photos here! We also had some professional Christmas done - so take a peek.

I probably won't post again until after Christmas so...

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy Kwanzaa!

Hey Santa!