Thursday, December 18, 2008

The boys...

This is what I found when I came home from work on Halloween...
Hanging around after dinner (I think Ben is two months old in this picture.)
This picture was taken after Ben's first shoulder ride ended in spit up all over his dad's head! It was kind of comical, and Ben hasn't gotten another ride since.
Ben and Daddy at four months old... he loves to sit up (even though he needs help.)
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Sunday, December 7, 2008

Baptism

These are a few pictures from Ben's Baptism on December 7th at St. Andrew's. He was very well behaved (which was surprising for that time of day!)

He wore a baptismal gown made by grandma Diane and his cap was part of Corey's baptismal outfit knitted by his great-aunt (Ben's great-great aunt!!!)

With his Godparent's... Maggie (Laura's cousin, and one of our bridesmaids) and her husband Leo Wehseler.

With his Grandparents - what a great bunch of people! He spends quite a bit of time with grandmas since they babysit while mom is at work.


Ben was also very intent on watching Deacon Mike throughout the baptism... which was kind of cool!

Baptism Continued...

Here is where he was officially "baptised" by the water. He didn't even cry!

His ears are being blessed by the oil... look how blue his eyes are.

With Deacon Mike Koechler...

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Friday, October 31, 2008

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Two months...

It is hard to believe that it has been eight weeks already... time flies when you are having fun (and even when you aren't!) Ben had his two month appointment today - he is now 9 lbs. 6 oz. - up three pounds from just two weeks ago! He is also 21 in. long. He is doing well and aside from an umbilical hernia and a little eczema - all is normal. His pediatrician said that 95% of umbilical hernias close on their own, so we shall wait and see. He is quickly outgrowing his newborn clothes... and if he keeps up at this rate, will be out of his 0-3 month clothes soon. (...and there are still so many onsies he has never worn...) Ben is now usually awake for a couple hours at a time 3-4 times a day, but still likes to eat every two hours at night! He is following lights and likes to look at us. I went back to work part time a few weeks ago, leaving Ben to spend quality time with his grandmas!
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Friday, August 15, 2008

Here is Ben under the Bili lights and before he got out of his incubator. Monday he was able to maintain his temp on his own, and he has been in a big boy bed ever since.
He still has the feeding tube in his nose, but he has started to feed well enough on his own to count them. We are hoping to make it 24 hours of no tube feedings by tomorrow morning so we can finally go home! The last two pictures are without his feeding tube because he pulled it out. We have to bundle him up tight since he managed to pull it three different times, and doesn't like it to have put back in. Hopefully tomorrow it will be out for good and then he can comfort himself by putting his hands where ever he wants! In most of his Ultrasound pictures he has had his hands by his face, and when left to do what he wants, that is usually where they are. He appears to be very easy going, and doesn't cry much... we shall see if that stays true when he gets home!

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Thursday, August 7, 2008

Benjamin "Ben" Oeltjenbruns

Benjamin James Oeltjenbruns
August 6, 2008 at 11:28pm
5 lbs. 3oz. 18 1/2 inches long

Ben is breathing on his own, after a short scare at the beginning. He has a feeding tube until he can prove that he can eat on his own and maintain weight, as well as an IV to help with hydration. He is also in an isolet that will have the temperature slowly turned down to also prove that he can maintain his body temperature. Once those things are done, Ben can come home. We are able to take him out for up to an hour at a time, and he has a good suck on his pacifier. (The trick will be whether he can feed and breath at the same time.) He appears to have Corey's hair line and nose... as well as really big feet! We were pleasantly surprised to find dark hair on the top of his head, since we were both bald. It will be at least 4 days, but could be up to two weeks before he is ready to come home. He has already graduated from some of the tubes/monitors that he had on last night, and they were hoping that by tonight if his breathing held up they could start to put pajamas on him. These pictures were all taken before the feeding tube was put in his nose. On behalf of Corey, Ben and I... we want to thank everyone for all of their prayers, we know that this has made a difference!









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Saturday, August 2, 2008

Here comes baby...

 


So I am really behind on this blogsite. With so much to do at home, it seems like a never ending battle to keep up. This Ultrasound pic is from last Friday, when baby was about 4 lbs 14 oz. Tuesday brought contractions and a visit to the hospital... with two days of bedrest. Friday morning, my water broke... and we have been hanging out at the hospital since. Corey finally went home this afternoon to take care of some things and is coming back tonight. I have gotten two steroid shots, as well as two different antibiotics to prevent infections. If I don't go on my own, they will induce on Wednesday. Baby will spend about two weeks in the NICU depending on how well baby is doing. So far things are looking good and pretty stable. Baby seems to be doing fine, and we are just playing the waiting game. We've got the cell phone with, and as long as things aren't happening... we are pretty much just hanging out. (I will try to be much better about posting the final picture when it does happen!!!)
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Friday, February 1, 2008

First Comes Love...

then comes marriage... then comes the baby and the baby carriage...

 
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Here comes "Baby O", well not for a few months anyways (however, the pictures have begun!) We had our first appointment today and consequently our first Ultra Sound (the next one of many is at 16 weeks). In case you aren't an expert at picking things out (welcome to the club!)... here are a few pointers. The black area is the water (see the baby is natural born SWIMMER!!!) The two white areas would represent the "Yolk sac" on the right, and baby on left. In this picture the Baby's heart is not visible, but we were able to watch it beat on the Ultra Sound. We have been assured there is not a second baby hiding anywhere in there (Corey asked, I think he was secretly hoping for a 2-for-1 deal!) This means we will be headed back to Minnesota earlier than previously planned, in March instead of May... and hope to be home for Holy Week. Official "due date" would be September 20th. As of today, things are going normal and mom/baby are doing fine. Oh, Dad is doing great also!

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Wildwood Park

With a little time off we headed to Wildwood Park today to check it out. I think we will be spending more time there when the weather gets nice. It has a very long trail with several stops that are designed to help with ones workout. Pull-ups, Sit-ups, balance, stretching, etc. It looks kind of neat. This park was covered with MOSS, and had very large ferns as well as trees. Even the leaves are much bigger than what we are used to.
 

 

 

 
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Christmas

It is hard to believe that only a week ago we were in Minnesota, hanging out with family and friends... in the snow. Here the grass is green and the temp between 30-45 (we have even worn shorts out!) It was a great trip and we consider ourselves blessed to have been able to see so many while we were at home. Among those was not only our adorable neice Marina, but her baby brother Antonio Edwardo Amigon who was born on December 29th! It was pretty exciting and we are grateful to be able to welcome another life into this world. My laptop has been acting up lately so I am not sure if the difficulties with pictures on the blogsite are me or something else. I admit I have also been a little lax at adding posts (partially because of the computer and partially due to my previous work schedule). We have decided to stay in Puyallup Washington for 8 weeks (at least) and then off to California until May. I will begin working 12 hour nights this Monday (from 7pm-7:30 am). I work 3 shifts a week, leaving 4 off to see things... which we are excited for since we have not had the chance to do much of that yet. I will attempt to be better at keeping this updated (and adding more pics if my computer can handle it.) Our bodies have started to adjust to Minnesota time, so we have been going to bed early for us... it should be interesting trying to stay awake all Monday night. I am also going back adding in a few posts for November and December (some kind individuals reminded me on our trip back home that I was slacking... so if you are interested you can go back and see what we did!)

 


 


 
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