snoshi.com - holding the internet hostage since 2000 http://snoshi.com snoshi.com - holding the internet hostage since 2000 http://backend.userland.com/rss http://mybloggie.mywebland.com/?v=2.1.6 yes ... i'm busy! http://snoshi.com/index.php?mode=viewid&post_id=334 28 Jan 2010 04:57:53 pm GMT -4 photo blog http://snoshi.com/index.php?mode=viewid&post_id=334 yes ... i've been crazy busy lately (the last month and a half) ...but i finally took the time to upload some slideshows to youtube (www.youtube.com/TheSnoshi1) ...below you'll find a sample of my wedding work ... the quality is lacking a bit until it finishes processing ...but then you can select the 480p version for best results. I put up a couple slideshows and video montages of Emmett also ... i'll get around to posting the shots here and updating the last 2 weeks of our "maternity" series. <3 s/s/e yes ... i've been crazy busy lately (the last month and a half) ...but i finally took the time to upload some slideshows to youtube (www.youtube.com/TheSnoshi1) ...below you'll find a sample of my wedding work ... the quality is lacking a bit until it finishes processing ...but then you can select the 480p version for best results. I put up a couple slideshows and video montages of Emmett also ... i'll get around to posting the shots here and updating the last 2 weeks of our "maternity" series. ]]> http://snoshi.com/index.php?mode=viewid&post_id=334 WEEK 37 - home sweet home http://snoshi.com/index.php?mode=viewid&post_id=333 29 Nov 2009 06:40:50 pm GMT -4 snoshi's blog http://snoshi.com/index.php?mode=viewid&post_id=333 [img]http://www.snoshi.com/files/WK_37_MG_9923_blog.jpg[/img]our first week at home ...ahhh. there's a different kind of sleepless night now. the first night we brought little dude home we all sat in the livingroom staring at each other. emmett in his basinette and steph and i lurking over top of him like staring at fish in a bowl. at night we left the bathroom light on across the hall so we could see if he was breathing ... i hear every parent goes through this but it's been exceptionally difficult to get used to at home for us after the monitors in the NICU. we'll relax eventually ...but we're so nervous right now that it's the best thing for us. plus he's cute so staring at him all night long isn't that hard heheh. we both didn't know what to make of all his little noises ...lots of grunts / groans / peeps and pops ...and farts. oh man ...they are the funniest thing ever... such a tiny little body makes such huge fart noises. steph said she could have confused some of them for adult flatulence. i'm already proud of the boy for many reasons, but he's learned to play the fart game ...we're going to have a lot of fun together for sure. we pull him out of the basinette for tummy time on the clifford rug that ashley got steph for a baby shower present. it's very bright and he seems to enjoy the colors vs the carpet. i've been practising my baby carrying skills by walking 'doc' (courtesy of rob ...citing the back to the future reference) around the house and introducing him to the places around him. he doesn't seem to care very much ...but enjoys the cuddle time by falling asleep while i'm talking about the laundry room. it had been almost a week when we took him out of the house for the first time ... doctors appointment. things went well...our doctor joked with us about seeing us 2 years ago to talk about sterilization ...only to now be taking care of our baby. she was happy with his state and weight and told us to continue to do what we're doing. we always question if we're doing the right things ...emmett seems to tell us when we're groovin' right along with him. he's such a little cutie ... his head control is far better than i would have imagined at his age and all things considered with him being really early... he's pretty steady when he's laying on my chest. he can easily lift his head up and focus on me for a second or two and then flop his head back down on my chest ...he can do it a few times before he gets frustrated trying to see me and just lays his head back and tilts his neck on my chest to stare at the hairy guy. he's got a great grip too... he can full strength grip my finger for a good 30 seconds before he gets tired ...and he pulls my finger towards his mouth while steph's changing him and i'm on guard for the flying pee ...i have to remind him that i have no boobs and that my finger will not benefit him in any way. "these aren't the boobs you're looking for ...move along" ...the jedi mind trick works on my little dude. so cool. visitors have been steady of course, and we appreciate everyone calling and/or writing before coming by ... ya just never know when the boobs will be out so be mindful should you walk in unprepared hehehe. steph's tired ... a sign she's doin' a great job of bein' a mom. [img]http://www.snoshi.com/files/WK_37_MG_9923_blog.jpg[/img]our first week at home ...ahhh. there's a different kind of sleepless night now. the first night we brought little dude home we all sat in the livingroom staring at each other. emmett in his basinette and steph and i lurking over top of him like staring at fish in a bowl. at night we left the bathroom light on across the hall so we could see if he was breathing ... i hear every parent goes through this but it's been exceptionally difficult to get used to at home for us after the monitors in the NICU. we'll relax eventually ...but we're so nervous right now that it's the best thing for us. plus he's cute so staring at him all night long isn't that hard heheh. we both didn't know what to make of all his little noises ...lots of grunts / groans / peeps and pops ...and farts. oh man ...they are the funniest thing ever... such a tiny little body makes such huge fart noises. steph said she could have confused some of them for adult flatulence. i'm already proud of the boy for many reasons, but he's learned to play the fart game ...we're going to have a lot of fun together for sure. we pull him out of the basinette for tummy time on the clifford rug that ashley got steph for a baby shower present. it's very bright and he seems to enjoy the colors vs the carpet. i've been practising my baby carrying skills by walking 'doc' (courtesy of rob ...citing the back to the future reference) around the house and introducing him to the places around him. he doesn't seem to care very much ...but enjoys the cuddle time by falling asleep while i'm talking about the laundry room. it had been almost a week when we took him out of the house for the first time ... doctors appointment. things went well...our doctor joked with us about seeing us 2 years ago to talk about sterilization ...only to now be taking care of our baby. she was happy with his state and weight and told us to continue to do what we're doing. we always question if we're doing the right things ...emmett seems to tell us when we're groovin' right along with him. he's such a little cutie ... his head control is far better than i would have imagined at his age and all things considered with him being really early... he's pretty steady when he's laying on my chest. he can easily lift his head up and focus on me for a second or two and then flop his head back down on my chest ...he can do it a few times before he gets frustrated trying to see me and just lays his head back and tilts his neck on my chest to stare at the hairy guy. he's got a great grip too... he can full strength grip my finger for a good 30 seconds before he gets tired ...and he pulls my finger towards his mouth while steph's changing him and i'm on guard for the flying pee ...i have to remind him that i have no boobs and that my finger will not benefit him in any way. "these aren't the boobs you're looking for ...move along" ...the jedi mind trick works on my little dude. so cool. visitors have been steady of course, and we appreciate everyone calling and/or writing before coming by ... ya just never know when the boobs will be out so be mindful should you walk in unprepared hehehe. steph's tired ... a sign she's doin' a great job of bein' a mom....

]]> http://snoshi.com/index.php?mode=viewid&post_id=333 WEEK 36 - homeward bound?! http://snoshi.com/index.php?mode=viewid&post_id=332 21 Nov 2009 03:04:34 am GMT -4 photo blog http://snoshi.com/index.php?mode=viewid&post_id=332 [img]http://www.snoshi.com/files/WK_36_MG_9859_blog.jpg[/img]During the weekend of 35-36 we'd talked about trying Little E in a crib again on Monday ...and sure enough, when we arrived on Monday morning our nurse had taken him from the isolete and snuck him into a crib overnight.  Not only that but they'd removed the isolete too ... we were pretty sure they'd only do that if they're sure the baby will hold temperature.  We were guessing that 2000g would be his magic number and it was.  We were excited to see him dressed and ready for school when we arrived.  Dona used the disposable camera we left with the nurses and shot a few pics for us... Can't wait to see them. The few days before everyone had been constantly reinforcing us telling us what practical ppl we are and that Emmett was very lucky to have us with our patience and understanding as well as our 'common sense' approach to how we were going about our time in the NICU.  one of our nurses cuddled and sang to Emmett while she was overnight feeding him before we went to 24 hr feeds.  she's been a nurse for a very long time she said, and our Emmett was the first Emmett she'd taken care of.  She was super to all 3 of us.  We're gonna miss these ppl ... They've had such a huge impact on both of us and how we think about being parents.  soaking up all those years of experience and education was a delight for us. ...do de doo ... next day .... word came down that we'd be getting a room on Connell 7 ...so Steff could do round the clock feeding... Exciting!!!!  Not only because she'd be feeding 27/7 on demand, but because Connell 7 is also the old prisoner ward ...the day before we stayed there our nurse told us it used to be used for prisoners who required hospital stays. verrrrry cool i thought. we arrived and saw individual cell-style rooms with locking doors... You enter the area from a little unmarked door with a key and walk in to a ward of rooms with solid doors.  You can see minor renovations that took place creating a family area at the reception entrance ... and at the end of the hallway there's an entrance into the procedure rooms ... all nicely locked away from eachother.  It was pretty cool up there but it gave Steff the willies... it looked like it was painted in the 70's and left that way. I went home to do laundry / clean and eat with the cats.   The KGH auxillary provide coffee/tea and cookies for the short term guests ... everyone from cancer clinic families to ppl like us waiting to have their child's parole issued.  It was sure better than nothing ... we've stayed in creepier places (like the camper in Omeemee that we rented for a wedding .... What a shithole... I ended up sleeping in the bed of a truck that night instead, but i did get pretty drunk so i'm not sure really sure what caused me to sleep in the truck ..the shithole cabin or the booze.) we both thought fondly of being there on Connell 7 though despite the accommodations, cause we knew we were a step closer to bringing Emmett home.      After two days of 24hr feedings they decided that we were in line for the 'care by parent' room ... Which is the LAST step before being released on warrant expiry.   As soon as the previous family was out and the room was cleaned we were in and wheeled Emmett in for a family night. They wheeled in the rickety old cot from the pediatric ward and threw me some sheets ... ahhh almost done in baby prison. it was worth every second to get to sleep near him and listen to the little spurts and noises he makes all night. being close by when he was feeding without having to be gowned up like he was a lab experiment was the best. we knew we were almost home but we wouldn't let ourselves get our hopes up until he'd passed his morning cell inspection. So I'm layin' in a cot on the floor of a private hospital room much like the one I was in just over a year ago myself right now ... and tomorrow we'll get to take him home to be our very own best present ever. I put my shoes in the bathroom but it's still all I can smell in the room. poor kid ...at least Steff's used to it The best part about leaving (other than actually getting to take Em home) was in the morning before we left when the med student from the NICU came over to do a vital sign check and final exam before giving us our walking papers ...Emmett promptly projectile-squirt-shat all over his bed, narrowly missing med student's hands as he pulled them away faster than if the boy was on fire. it was definitely a projectile squirt shit that i'll never forget hearing or seeing the aftermath of. We stood in the entranceway to the NICU and a bunch of the nurses took turns coming out to say goodbye and goodluck. We gave them the card that I made that had a list of all our nurses names and something personal written to and about them from the perspective of Emmett during his hospital stay. we had more than 25 different nurses throughout our stay and managed to keep track of them all hehehe. You'll pardon me for not posting this til well after he's been home a few days ... we wanted some private time alone with our new little family A projected 10 week stay turned in to 6 weeks ... I like those numbers ... welcome home little dude. sure glad you made it. let's see how much sleep we get now... not that we were getting much before. [img]http://www.snoshi.com/files/WK_36_MG_9859_blog.jpg[/img]During the weekend of 35-36 we'd talked about trying Little E in a crib again on Monday ...and sure enough, when we arrived on Monday morning our nurse had taken him from the isolete and snuck him into a crib overnight.  Not only that but they'd removed the isolete too ... we were pretty sure they'd only do that if they're sure the baby will hold temperature.  We were guessing that 2000g would be his magic number and it was.  We were excited to see him dressed and ready for school when we arrived.  Dona used the disposable camera we left with the nurses and shot a few pics for us... Can't wait to see them. The few days before everyone had been constantly reinforcing us telling us what practical ppl we are and that Emmett was very lucky to have us with our patience and understanding as well as our 'common sense' approach to how we were going about our time in the NICU.  one of our nurses cuddled and sang to Emmett while she was overnight feeding him before we went to 24 hr feeds.  she's been a nurse for a very long time she said, and our Emmett was the first Emmett she'd taken care of.  She was super to all 3 of us.  We're gonna miss these ppl ... They've had such a huge impact on both of us and how we think about being parents.  soaking up all those years of experience and education was a delight for us. ...do de doo ... next day .... word came down that we'd be getting a room on Connell 7 ...so Steff could do round the clock feeding... Exciting!!!!  Not only because she'd be feeding 27/7 on demand, but because Connell 7 is also the old prisoner ward ...the day before we stayed there our nurse told us it used to be used for prisoners who required hospital stays. verrrrry cool i thought. we arrived and saw individual cell-style rooms with locking doors... You enter the area from a little unmarked door with a key and walk in to a ward of rooms with solid doors.  You can see minor renovations that took place creating a family area at the reception entrance ... and at the end of the hallway there's an entrance into the procedure rooms ... all nicely locked away from eachother.  It was pretty cool up there but it gave Steff the willies... it looked like it was painted in the 70's and left that way. I went home to do laundry / clean and eat with the cats.   The KGH auxillary provide coffee/tea and cookies for the short term guests ... everyone from cancer clinic families to ppl like us waiting to have their child's parole issued.  It was sure better than nothing ... we've stayed in creepier places (like the camper in Omeemee that we rented for a wedding .... What a shithole... I ended up sleeping in the bed of a truck that night instead, but i did get pretty drunk so i'm not sure really sure what caused me to sleep in the truck ..the shithole cabin or the booze.) we both thought fondly of being there on Connell 7 though despite the accommodations, cause we knew we were a step closer to bringing Emmett home.      After two days of 24hr feedings they decided that we were in line for the 'care by parent' room ... Which is the LAST step before being released on warrant expiry.   As soon as the previous family was out and the room was cleaned we were in and wheeled Emmett in for a family night. They wheeled in the rickety old cot from the pediatric ward and threw me some sheets ... ahhh almost done in baby prison. it was worth every second to get to sleep near him and listen to the little spurts and noises he makes all night. being close by when he was feeding without having to be gowned up like he was a lab experiment was the best. we knew we were almost home but we wouldn't let ourselves get our hopes up until he'd passed his morning cell inspection. So I'm layin' in a cot on the floor of a private hospital room much like the one I was in just over a year ago myself right now ... and tomorrow we'll get to take him home to be our very own best present ever. I put my shoes in the bathroom but it's still all I can smell in the room. poor kid ...at least Steff's used to it The best part about leaving (other than actually getting to take Em home) was in the morning before we left when the med student from the NICU came over to do a vital sign check and final exam before giving us our walking papers ...Emmett promptly projectile-squirt-shat all over his bed, narrowly missing med student's hands as he pulled them away faster than if the boy was on fire. it was definitely a projectile squirt shit that i'll never forget hearing or seeing the aftermath of. We stood in the entranceway to the NICU and a bunch of the nurses took turns coming out to say goodbye and goodluck. We gave them the card that I made that had a list of all our nurses names and something personal written to and about them from the perspective of Emmett during his hospital stay. we had more than 25 different nurses throughout our stay and managed to keep track of them all hehehe. You'll pardon me for not posting this til well after he's been home a few days ... we wanted some private time alone with our new little family A projected 10 week stay turned in to 6 weeks ... I like those numbers ... welcome home little dude. sure glad you made it. let's see how much sleep we get now... not that we were getting much before....

]]> http://snoshi.com/index.php?mode=viewid&post_id=332 WEEK 35 - another lockdown ... http://snoshi.com/index.php?mode=viewid&post_id=331 14 Nov 2009 07:17:29 am GMT -4 snoshi's blog http://snoshi.com/index.php?mode=viewid&post_id=331 [img]http://www.snoshi.com/files/WK_35_MG_9825_blog.jpg[/img]After a few days of gowns/masks and gloves the boy finally got to see our faces again!  Although there is a baby in isolation in our pod in the unit, there's another nurse assigned to him.  We're still spooked about infections as visitations have been allowed again. For how long, who knows. The one thing that kinda irks me about the cleanliness of the hospital is the public area wahrooms. Everything else here is so perfectly clean all the time...except the washroom.  I walked into the Davies wing bathroom near the cafe and turned into the walled area surrounding the urinal and found myself face to face with a pile of shit nuggets floating in a browny-yellow soup.  After almost puking I turned to head out and heard a voice from the stall say "isn't that fucking disgusting ...". I agreed with the mystery voice and left ...as I walked away I thought that person might have been the culprit... the next day the urinal had a plastic bag over it (clear bag mind you it was see through) .... It was a week before it was cleaned up properly.  I've shit in some of the most disgusting places during my pre-show ritual shit ...but i tell ya that washroom was the worst. probably the pale pink paint color ... I started using the staff washroom right next to it which was, mysteriously enough, always spotlessly clean and ready for my urine. Emmett had his feet and hand prints done on Monday ...i'll have to find a frame for them in the collection of frames that's taking up a good chunk of his closet these days. To prove that you can never predict what will happen in the NICU we arrived Tuesday night to see a sign on the door indicating that visitation was once again limited to parents only.  what a relief ...even though it means we have to glove/gown/mask again whenever we want to open his toaster oven, at least now we can rest assured that everyone coming in is screened by the unit clerk on entry ... On Wednesday our nurse suggested another attempt at putting him into an open crib to see if he's able to maintain his temperature on his own. Although his baby toaster oven does not have the humidity on, there is still temperature control in effect to lessen his workload while he's growing.  Later that night his temp was still holding but when we came back in the morning he was back in the isolete as his temp had dropped from 37 to 36.2 in a span of 6 hours.  Back to the drawing board ...I think were pushing him a bit but he'll get used to us challenging him :) So we'll wait a few more days and try it again .... He's up to 1905g (4lbs 3oz) and breast feeding 3 times a day so we're still on a very positive course ...we (his care team and parents) do not consider this a setback. As strange as things are they can always get stranger ... my boss turned in his resignation on Tuesday and work called to ask if I was able to come in on my schedule and help get things cleaned up and on track.  So, sick leave was short lived ...but the cause of the majority of my work related stress is now gone.  I can't say anything really bad about the guy but he was a bit hard to take most times.  Nothing was ever good enough or done right for him.  I did learn a lot from him and am kinda sorry to see him go... I wouldn't be able to do what I do without his experience ... I think I just do it with a bit more empathy. I'll be back on stage with Jay Harris and The Transceivers at The Mansion on Nov 28 with our old friend Justin Bird and that Matt Hanlon character I used to play with in Betablokka. It's been a long time since we shared a stage ... I'm rather giddy looking forward to seeing him play again and hearing some of those songs i love.  It's been a while since I've seen Justin too .... He's such an amazing performer on stage and his voice is unstoppable.  he's one of those truely amazing showman who pulls out all the stops when he plays ... I remember being on stage when I was playing with him and never knowing what to expect ...always fun.  I'm not sure if mike perlin is on bass or not ... but that's always a treat to watch too.  Hope to see everyone out for a Kung-Fu party as Jay phrased it. that's about all I can remember this week. oh ..my friend Patti had her baby on Friday the 13th ... spooky. We saw her in her room ...her husband heard us calling into the NICU from the phone in the hallway and stopped us to share their story. congrats mike and patti... [img]http://www.snoshi.com/files/WK_35_MG_9825_blog.jpg[/img]After a few days of gowns/masks and gloves the boy finally got to see our faces again!  Although there is a baby in isolation in our pod in the unit, there's another nurse assigned to him.  We're still spooked about infections as visitations have been allowed again. For how long, who knows. The one thing that kinda irks me about the cleanliness of the hospital is the public area wahrooms. Everything else here is so perfectly clean all the time...except the washroom.  I walked into the Davies wing bathroom near the cafe and turned into the walled area surrounding the urinal and found myself face to face with a pile of shit nuggets floating in a browny-yellow soup.  After almost puking I turned to head out and heard a voice from the stall say "isn't that fucking disgusting ...". I agreed with the mystery voice and left ...as I walked away I thought that person might have been the culprit... the next day the urinal had a plastic bag over it (clear bag mind you it was see through) .... It was a week before it was cleaned up properly.  I've shit in some of the most disgusting places during my pre-show ritual shit ...but i tell ya that washroom was the worst. probably the pale pink paint color ... I started using the staff washroom right next to it which was, mysteriously enough, always spotlessly clean and ready for my urine. Emmett had his feet and hand prints done on Monday ...i'll have to find a frame for them in the collection of frames that's taking up a good chunk of his closet these days. To prove that you can never predict what will happen in the NICU we arrived Tuesday night to see a sign on the door indicating that visitation was once again limited to parents only.  what a relief ...even though it means we have to glove/gown/mask again whenever we want to open his toaster oven, at least now we can rest assured that everyone coming in is screened by the unit clerk on entry ... On Wednesday our nurse suggested another attempt at putting him into an open crib to see if he's able to maintain his temperature on his own. Although his baby toaster oven does not have the humidity on, there is still temperature control in effect to lessen his workload while he's growing.  Later that night his temp was still holding but when we came back in the morning he was back in the isolete as his temp had dropped from 37 to 36.2 in a span of 6 hours.  Back to the drawing board ...I think were pushing him a bit but he'll get used to us challenging him :) So we'll wait a few more days and try it again .... He's up to 1905g (4lbs 3oz) and breast feeding 3 times a day so we're still on a very positive course ...we (his care team and parents) do not consider this a setback. As strange as things are they can always get stranger ... my boss turned in his resignation on Tuesday and work called to ask if I was able to come in on my schedule and help get things cleaned up and on track.  So, sick leave was short lived ...but the cause of the majority of my work related stress is now gone.  I can't say anything really bad about the guy but he was a bit hard to take most times.  Nothing was ever good enough or done right for him.  I did learn a lot from him and am kinda sorry to see him go... I wouldn't be able to do what I do without his experience ... I think I just do it with a bit more empathy. I'll be back on stage with Jay Harris and The Transceivers at The Mansion on Nov 28 with our old friend Justin Bird and that Matt Hanlon character I used to play with in Betablokka. It's been a long time since we shared a stage ... I'm rather giddy looking forward to seeing him play again and hearing some of those songs i love.  It's been a while since I've seen Justin too .... He's such an amazing performer on stage and his voice is unstoppable.  he's one of those truely amazing showman who pulls out all the stops when he plays ... I remember being on stage when I was playing with him and never knowing what to expect ...always fun.  I'm not sure if mike perlin is on bass or not ... but that's always a treat to watch too.  Hope to see everyone out for a Kung-Fu party as Jay phrased it. that's about all I can remember this week. oh ..my friend Patti had her baby on Friday the 13th ... spooky. We saw her in her room ...her husband heard us calling into the NICU from the phone in the hallway and stopped us to share their story. congrats mike and patti......

]]> http://snoshi.com/index.php?mode=viewid&post_id=331 WEEK 34 - lock down http://snoshi.com/index.php?mode=viewid&post_id=330 07 Nov 2009 10:10:11 pm GMT -4 snoshi's blog http://snoshi.com/index.php?mode=viewid&post_id=330 [img]http://www.snoshi.com/files/WK_34_MG_9740_blog.jpg[/img]The pic above is from before lockdown... we had him out for a little snuggle... NICU is on lockdown in light of the H1N1 pandemic flu season that Fox News would have us believe was the plague finally being unleashed ... gowns and masks and gloves are now mandatory for all contact in the unit, nurses and parents.  Previously it was only required for nurses to wear a gown when they handled the little man or when we had him out ...now it's all the time and a mask/gloves too. I've seen a few parents entering the unit without washing their hands and it pisses me off.  At least the wankers weren't in our pod in the unit.  on top of that we overheard some idiot attempting to tell his wife how to breastfeed ...the nurses had a field-day telling him to back off unless he had mammory glands... pretty sure he couldn't figure it out ... The dumbasses that were behind us recently had to be reminded that their cellphone camera was still a cellphone and and to be turned off while in the unit.  Guess they couldn't read the 72 point font sign on the door beside the phone to call in to enter the ward. The Little E has moved forward to partial breast feeding ... the nurses are always impressed with his progress ... and encouraging during setbacks.  I know i say this in almost every blog but the nurses are awesome here.   So needless to say we've informed everyone that visits are now unavailable ... our parents are crushed ... but we have the best interests of ALL the babies in the unit in mind, not just ours.  We are planning a quiet welcome home celebration when he gets released from baby jail ... Be prepared to be sanitized by a shovel of lye on entry to our house.  We're not germ freaks, but the little dude will be in a precarious state for a while. We took the infant CPR course this week.  It was a great CPR refresher for both of us ..never having done an infant before. At least I felt safe holding the plastic baby.  Steph banged her baby's head on the table while we were practising the flip for choking... it was kinda funny. While we were waiting for the course to start the unit clerk (Trish ... she rocks) told me that I had a visitor "a friend from work" ... I thought it might have been my boss whose son went into the ICU last week with a serious pre-existing condition combined with H1N1 ... But it turned out to be a VERY annoying client that we all don't really like from my office... he wanted to tell me that God was looking after our little guy and that we should pray together ...while fuming inside from the inconsiderate interruption by some Jesus Freak that I don't know other than by work related phone calls, I calmly stated that I wasn't a religious person and that I was busy taking care of Emmett and had to go.  Just showing up at the hospital unannounced when he doesn't even know me almost set me off.  Jesus uses email too, I'm sure. our friends know me better than to just show up here or at our house unannounced, let alone the hospital! I told trish that I didn't have any friends from work and that we weren't expecting visitors at all for that matter ... She nodded and smiled that empathetic smile.    After nearly a month in the NICU the nurses (ahem ...Jessica) finally encouraged (re: berated) me to change a poopy diaper ... I've done my fair share of the pee diapers but on the best of days my stomach is weak ... So this is a real milestone for both of us ...he didn't even fuss with me when I put his monitor leads bck on.  We do our best to be included in everything that's happening here ... We're bathing, feeding, changing, cuddling and learning preemie care from the best there is here.  We started playing music for the little monkey quietly on the iPod during his evening feed ... He seems to really enjoy Derek's old demo of 'the longer you leave it' and 'grassfire' by that Jay Harris fella ... I have to remind myself to ask some more friends to send me acoustic versions of some songs that I really love that they've written.  there's this song about a train station in Copenhagen that I'd like to have an acoustic version of ...guess I should call that one in. ...so on we go to week 35...  Emmett was one month old today.  kinda hard to believe ... time flies but stands still at the same time. [img]http://www.snoshi.com/files/WK_34_MG_9740_blog.jpg[/img]The pic above is from before lockdown... we had him out for a little snuggle... NICU is on lockdown in light of the H1N1 pandemic flu season that Fox News would have us believe was the plague finally being unleashed ... gowns and masks and gloves are now mandatory for all contact in the unit, nurses and parents.  Previously it was only required for nurses to wear a gown when they handled the little man or when we had him out ...now it's all the time and a mask/gloves too. I've seen a few parents entering the unit without washing their hands and it pisses me off.  At least the wankers weren't in our pod in the unit.  on top of that we overheard some idiot attempting to tell his wife how to breastfeed ...the nurses had a field-day telling him to back off unless he had mammory glands... pretty sure he couldn't figure it out ... The dumbasses that were behind us recently had to be reminded that their cellphone camera was still a cellphone and and to be turned off while in the unit.  Guess they couldn't read the 72 point font sign on the door beside the phone to call in to enter the ward. The Little E has moved forward to partial breast feeding ... the nurses are always impressed with his progress ... and encouraging during setbacks.  I know i say this in almost every blog but the nurses are awesome here.   So needless to say we've informed everyone that visits are now unavailable ... our parents are crushed ... but we have the best interests of ALL the babies in the unit in mind, not just ours.  We are planning a quiet welcome home celebration when he gets released from baby jail ... Be prepared to be sanitized by a shovel of lye on entry to our house.  We're not germ freaks, but the little dude will be in a precarious state for a while. We took the infant CPR course this week.  It was a great CPR refresher for both of us ..never having done an infant before. At least I felt safe holding the plastic baby.  Steph banged her baby's head on the table while we were practising the flip for choking... it was kinda funny. While we were waiting for the course to start the unit clerk (Trish ... she rocks) told me that I had a visitor "a friend from work" ... I thought it might have been my boss whose son went into the ICU last week with a serious pre-existing condition combined with H1N1 ... But it turned out to be a VERY annoying client that we all don't really like from my office... he wanted to tell me that God was looking after our little guy and that we should pray together ...while fuming inside from the inconsiderate interruption by some Jesus Freak that I don't know other than by work related phone calls, I calmly stated that I wasn't a religious person and that I was busy taking care of Emmett and had to go.  Just showing up at the hospital unannounced when he doesn't even know me almost set me off.  Jesus uses email too, I'm sure. our friends know me better than to just show up here or at our house unannounced, let alone the hospital! I told trish that I didn't have any friends from work and that we weren't expecting visitors at all for that matter ... She nodded and smiled that empathetic smile.    After nearly a month in the NICU the nurses (ahem ...Jessica) finally encouraged (re: berated) me to change a poopy diaper ... I've done my fair share of the pee diapers but on the best of days my stomach is weak ... So this is a real milestone for both of us ...he didn't even fuss with me when I put his monitor leads bck on.  We do our best to be included in everything that's happening here ... We're bathing, feeding, changing, cuddling and learning preemie care from the best there is here.  We started playing music for the little monkey quietly on the iPod during his evening feed ... He seems to really enjoy Derek's old demo of 'the longer you leave it' and 'grassfire' by that Jay Harris fella ... I have to remind myself to ask some more friends to send me acoustic versions of some songs that I really love that they've written.  there's this song about a train station in Copenhagen that I'd like to have an acoustic version of ...guess I should call that one in. ...so on we go to week 35...  Emmett was one month old today.  kinda hard to believe ... time flies but stands still at the same time....

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