Friday, Finn would have been at a gestational age of 30 weeks (one of my goals), and that night was also Walkaround (no "S" at the end) for the OSU Homecoming celebration. After a quick trip to the City late that afternoon with my mom to peek in on Mr. Finn and to drop Emma and Lara off at a friend's house for a carnival and sleepover, it was time to celebrate the OSU Cowboys being 3rd in the nation, and America's Greatest Homecoming!!! My mom and I were sure happy to see Finn! His hair is getting SO LONG! And it had been almost 2 weeks since she had seen him, so of course she thought he had grown! The twins opted out of Homecoming this year to hang with their friend at her school carnival, so when Mom and I got back to Stillwater, the boys (Grandpa, Britt and Jake) were ready to hit the Greek Neighborhood and see the HUGE house decorations! One of my favorite family traditions. It was fun to have Jake just by himself and to see how he reacted, and we all talked about how great it will be next year when Finn gets to join us! We left Walkaround about 9, and went to Mexico Joe's to grab some dinner. We even sat on the patio (Emma and Lara would be jealous), since they had the heaters on! Such a fun night!
Saturday morning we were up BRIGHT and EARLY for the OSU Homecoming "Sea of Orange" Parade! Again this year, we sat at the front of the parade route in order to take advantage of all the candy being thrown, and to be one of the first people OUT of the parade area when it was over - we had a BABY to go see! The parade was really fun this year! Smaller than some years, but the weather was pretty good! Some years we FREEZE, and this year, while it was cold when we got there, it was a nice day for a parade! We left Stillwater about 11 to go pick up Emma and Lara from their friend's house and to see Mr. Finn. When we got to his room in the NICU at Mercy, one of his neonatologists, his nurse, and several other people at his suite-mate's isolette were in his room. ALL of the overhead florescent lights were on (this is odd - it is usually pretty dark in there), and, it was QUIET! The doctor looked at me and said I looked scared. I said, "No, not scared, just confused!" It was quiet - too quiet! And then I figured it out! The oscillator (while still at his bedside) was off! No more "Chugga Chugga Chugga!" When she saw me staring at the machines (the traditional ventilator was right beside the old oscillator) she said "Oh! Yes! We just finished switching him over!" Britt and I were THRILLED to say the least! We were a bit concerned about the lights and the extra people, but we learned that they were in the room for Finn's suite-mate, not for Finn, so it was less confusing, then. He was doing great with the new machinery, and after all the kids got a chance to love on him, we decided to go to lunch at Mutt's! (You have to check it out if you are down that way), then get the kids haircuts. Lara even decided to (finally) cut off her super long hair -and it was long enough to donate to Locks of Love:
We ended the trip by going back up to the hospital where Britt and I took one last look at our boy, but we didn't stay long and didn't let the kids go back in as they were doing some work on Finn's suite-mate and we didn't want to be noisy or in the way! We listened to the OSU game on the way back home, and even caught the last part at Nana and Grandpa's house before calling it a night and heading home. What a GREAT day!
Sunday was a more lazy day. I was WORN OUT from the last 2 days! Emma and Lara cleaned their room with directions from Britt, while Jake and I ran some errands. We checked on Finn, and he was doing well. They had to turn up a couple of settings on the ventilator, but that was to be expected, and overall doing OK. He got his 3rd blood transfusion today as well. Later, I took a nap while the girls finished their room and Britt took Jake to a Halloween carnival on campus. We got ourselves together for 5 o'clock church at LifeChurch, then went to Sunnybrook for a Halloween festival there! Another check on Finn - nothing had changed, he had tolerated the transfusion well and was back on regular feedings - and we all went to bed tired, but grateful for a fun weekend!. A great ending to a great weekend!
So, here it is Monday. I was hoping to take a quick trip to get back down to see Baby Finn today, but with the price of gas, Jake's classroom Halloween Party this afternoon, Trick-or-Treating, and chores I want to get done around here, there's just no way. So, WITHOUT FAIL, I will be going to OKC tomorrow!!!!! And I'll stay for awhile this time. I need to be with my baby! Plus, I am hoping since he is back on the regular ventilator, I will get to hold him and Kangaroo him again! That is my prayer for today! That he continues to get back on track with the new machine, and that I can Kangaroo with him this week!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
