A fiasco wrapped in a huge blessing

Seems like a long time since I have posted here! I started a Facebook and I spend all of my time there reconnecting with old friends...but, this is the "online diary" that I will send to print someday, so I need to update our situation.
YAY!! Tanner is now 6 months old!!! That picture cracks me up since he looks chubbier than usual and also seems to be flashing a gang sign on purpose!
Well, Tanner will be starting at a new babysitter/daycare location beginning Monday (tomorrow). There is so much to say and so little that I should place on a public form of media such as this (not knowing who reads this and who would go as far as to print it out and show someone), but let's suffice it to say that this is definitely a blessing in disguise. Either Tobin or myself still bring up this situation and daycare switch almost every waking hour with much emotion, but time will heal all wounds. It is sudden and shocking to us as well (only happened last Friday), but as my sister, Melody, said last week, "You should be thankful that God forced your hand on this issue." That is soooo true, but it sure didn't seem like it at the time. I have zero appreciation and very little respect for the way it was handled, but God had a different plan for our family evidentally. We are switching to an "in-home" type setting with a woman that I really don't know, but I feel a peace about her and the whole situation. She will be watching her own 10.5 mo. old, another 14 month old, and 6 month old Tanner Jay! The logistics have not completely been worked out, but she will pick him up at my school/work in the morning and bring him back to me in the afternoon when she picks up her own children from middle school. This is a pet-free, smoke-free home and I really like the lady that has been willing to help us out in this situation. Her middle school-age kids are wonderful, smart, respectful kids, so that tells me a lot! We are going to their house today to meet the whole family and see where she lives. I have prayed and prayed about this and I really feel that this needed to happen, for my sake and Tanner's. He will be in a much safer environment in regards to bad weather (the other daycare was in a trailer) and also microbes. With Tanner being 7 weeks premature, he is more susceptible to RSV, the flu, and any other contact viral/bacterial illness. Not that I felt like he didn't receive great care while at the daycare, but it is bound to be a positive to have less babies, less stress/tension, more one-on-one, and less germs. All for the same price!
WHOOT!

Tanner also had his 6 month shots, a blood draw, and a flu shot this past week. I did much research and prayer over the flu shot in particular, but ended up allowing him to get one. Being in a new daycare situation with only three babies was a big factor in making me doubt the need for the flu shot. There is so much research and talk out there about the dangers of giving a baby his age this shot. After asking a few key questions, I had a better feeling about allowing him to receive the shot. I wanted to know if it had mercury, aluminum, or formaldehyde in it--all linked to horrible things. End result: this injection had NO mercury, no aluminum, and only trace amounts of formaldehyde, which is in all vaccinations and cannot be avoided. All three can be found in the adult version of the flu shot! SCARY!! The blood draw confirmed that Tanner has a a normal hemoglobin count and can be taken off the Poly-Vi-Sol vitamins with iron. He does have to begin vitamins with flouride now since he is 6 months old and teething. The poor lil' guy received 4 shots, a poke in the heel, and one oral vaccine all in one day! YUCKY! This made for one sleeeeepy boy at the end of the day!

Our Thanksgiving was busy, but wonderful, and I have a lot to soon post about that! My youngest sister, Tricia, had her baby on Friday --another sweet lil' boy to add to our family. Everyone is safe and well and they should all be going home today. Tobin and I put up a tree for the first time in this house. That was a magical time and it is all in Tanner's honor. He loves the lights! We have so very much to be thankful for and I thank the Lord everyday for our blessings. I hope everyone has a great upcoming week!

Cute boys

Last weekend for hunting? Probably not.

Well, I have heard it a couple of times, and I doubt I've heard it for the last time. Tanner and I just spent another weekend without Daddy. The deer woods have been calling a lot, but this was the first weekend for gun season, so that was not to be missed. Daddy loves his hobby! He loves his little boy too, so I included a few pics of them together. This was the first time that I didn't ask a family member to stay with me. I figured that I could sleep in a little, if Tanner cooperated, and it didn't involve a school day. I got lucky because Tanner slept for 8 hours and then woke up for a bottle. I fed him and put him back in his swaddle. Luckily, he went back to sleep for another two hours as did I!! WHooHooo!! We managed quite well, I might say! Mom and Dave brought over dinner on Friday night and watched Tanner while I did things around the house. I even got to run an errand all by myself. Then, Tanner spent about three hours at Grammie and Grandpa Elliott's house yesterday. That was wonderful because an old high school friend was in town. We met at Starbucks and were able to visit for that whole time! Tanner and I hung out all evening last night and this morning, so I didn't get much done during that time, but I loved on him a lot and that is always worth it. This afternoon, Mom and Dave are watching Tanner for about six hours! WOW! What will I do with myself!?

On the mend

Tanner is almost all better...no more nebulizer, no more humidfier, almost done with this round of antibiotics, and all signs of thrush are gone. He has been sleeping better through the night; and therefore, WE have been sleeping much better. I also decided to remove one of the four pumping times for our routine. I chose the middle of the night time slot! This has greatly improved the amount of REM sleep that Tobin and I get each night.

The seasons are definitely changing and our time outside has diminished. Tanner has begun to grow hair on his head again, but there is no where near enough to keep his lil' head warm, so he has become the king of many hats. Luckily he will keep them on. I receive many comments on them, but they are not necessarily a fashion statement. I just have to dress him warmly these days! There were many outfits that he never got to wear because the weather changed! We have still gone on a few strolls around the neighborhood, but for the most part, we have had to stay indoors. He LOVES the time outside, and it was a great way to get him to nap, but it has been too chilly and windy here lately. Plus, this may be the nervous 1st-time-mommy in me, but I am afraid of RSV season and what can be caught just by air-borne particles. I'm sure it is nothing compared to what he can catch, and has caught, at daycare, but with lung issues and a history of respiratory illness, I don't want to take any chances.
Speaking of that, we have been denied TWICE for the Synagis medicine for RSV. I appealed it once and then, due to my frustration, I handed it over to his pediatrician's nurse. She has been wonderful and very diligent, claiming that "it isn't over yet! I'm going to get him this medicine!!" I received a phone call that clearly stated, "As soon as you get the medicine in the mail, please give us a call so we can set up the appointment and get Tanner his monthly shots. A nurse will come to your home and administer these shots." Then, in the next voicemail, he was denied on the basis of only having one risk factor...excuse me? Don't even get me started! Way to get my hopes up and then shatter them! His risk factors are plenty (and were all checked on the form provided by them):

• gestational age of 33.3 weeks
• less than 6 months old at the beginning of respiratory illness season
• received 4 doses of surfactant while in the NICU to keep his lungs from collapsing
• was on a CPAP while in the NICU
• 20 days in the NICU due partly to respiratory/breathing issues
• attends daycare 5 days/week
• 2 dogs/2 cats in and out of the home
• on medication for acid reflux

So, his nurse has been wonderful and currently has phone calls out to several key people, including the higher ups at the insurance company as well as the provider of this drug. She feels confident that this is all a big misunderstanding, especially since the drug rep that visited her office said that Tanner should qualify on the basis of being 7 weeks early alone, no other risk factors needed. Too bad that guy doesn't make the final decisions because time is ticking and we are getting further and further into the season for illness. So glad that he is on the mend for now!

Tanner's 1st Halloween

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

(Click the play button, and then click full-screen. When finished, exit via the escape button on your keyboard.)

We experienced Halloween festivities for the whole month of October. Partially because I am very indecisive and couldn't decide which outfit he should wear and partly because he didn't really fit into any of them perfectly! I'm glad we did because Tanner must have gotten rotavirus or something a few days before Halloween. On Wednesday, I thought the symptoms (low-grade fever, spit up, diarrhea, gas, and massive drool) were related to teething, or just not getting a good burp out, but he continued to be sick both Thursday and Friday as previously posted. Halloween night was spent at home. I had planned on trick-or-treating family members, just to show off his cute lil' costume from Grammie. He looked soooo adorable as Disney's Koda Bear! But, as fate would have it, he needed to recuperate and just chill at home with mommy and daddy. He wasn't necessarily cranky, just tired and run down. Tobin fixed a delicious dinner and carved a jack-o'-lantern for us. Instead of sitting it on the front porch, he sat the jack-o-lantern on the back patio so WE could enjoy it. It was a very nice evening, so Tanner and I hung out on the back porch glider and rocked a lot. The jack-o-lantern must have captivated him, as he stared it a lot. He eventually crashed, quite early in the evening, and fell asleep in his "punkin-butt" pajamas!