Mariah gets presents too!

Carissa came to visit us before we were discharged from the hospital and brought Mariah presents, since Landon was getting all kinds of attention. It was so sweet of her to think about my little pickle. She brought her a Mrs. Potato head and Elmo slippers. When Mariah put on the slippers she wanted pictures taken and would say, "Elmo cheese!" it was so cute.
Today Landon is doing well. He had his IV taken out about 3:00 this afternoon. The doctor says that his tummy is capable of handling the amount of fluid he needs to stay hydrated. By midnight he will be taking 42cc at every feeding. He is super alert for a little 35 week baby, and has been waking up for most of his feedings.
His billi level went from 11.9 to 11.6 overnight. They are keeping him under the lights the rest of today and tomorrow and will recheck his levels Saturday morning.
We are so blessed by his progress and pray that he will be home soon.

So … we have a name … Landon James Perez. It took us forever to name this poor kiddo. His birth certificate was signed just 10 minutes before we were discharged. It was so hard to leave the hospital without a carseat in our hands.

The update:
Landon is making progress. He is taking to the breast very well especially for a 35 week old. They started his feeds at 3cc and slowly increased by 3cc every other feeding. He got up to 21cc and a nurse asked if I would like to breastfeed and weigh him before and after to see how much he was getting. I was super so excited and so we gave it a shot. The first feed he took 32cc, the second time he took 28cc, and the 3rd time he took just 10cc (this one was at 9:00pm, I think he was pooped out by this point). The doctors were impressed by his progress and have decided to wean him off the IV fluids, since his tummy can tolerate enough fluid to keep him hydrated.
He is a little jaundice and was placed under lights this morning. I keep telling him that orange is not is color, hopefully he will listen. We will check his levels again in the morning and determine whether he needs the lights for another day.

Mariah was able to see him yesterday through the window. She waved and blew kisses, and said "aww, baby sad, hug baby." It will be interesting to see what happens when he is able to come home.

Everyone has been asking for updates on our new addition. I figured this would be the easiest way give updates.
From the beginning:
Friday April 24th I went to an Ob appointment. My doctor put me on moderate bed rest and recommended that I try to take it as easy as possible. She indicated that she thought this little bug was going to come early but hoped to keep him cookin for atleast 2 more weeks. Saturday morning and began having random contractions. By lunch time they were beginning to be more uncomfortable. I called my mom who was in Utah at the time, buying a prom dress for my sister. For 5 hours she tried to convince me to call the doctor. Finally I did and they had me come in. Upon arrival (6:00pm or so) my contractions were 3 minutes apart and was dilated between 4-5cm. I was given 3 doses of terbutaline and an IV bolus over the course of a couple of hours hoping to stop labor. About 5 hours later my contractions were beginning to come more sporadically. The IV bolus made for a full bladder and constant trips to the bathroom. During one bathroom break about 12:20am my water broke. Over the next 7-8 hours the docs decided to leave the bugger in hoping to give him time for his lungs to mature. Originally they thought they would wait about 48 hours, but at 9am they decided to induce labor with pitocin. I was still waiting for my mom to return from Utah, desperately hoping she would make it back in time.
The pitocin was started around 10:00am, my mom showed up about 11:00am. Throughout the beginning of labor I worked on a powerpoint presentation for a class presentation on Monday.
Labor progressed slowly. Took about 4 hours to dilate to 6 cm. 6cm to birth was quick with a total of just over 30 mins. Our baby boy arrived at 2:58pm and was doing well. He weighed it at 4lbs 13 oz and 18.5 inches long. We were able to spend some time in the delivery room with him before they decided to take him to the special care nursery. He began showing signs of respiratory distress. In the NICU he was given 25% oxygen through tent ventilation. They slowly weaned him down to room air over the course of 3 hours. He was able to remain off O2 all night and spent most of his time sleeping.

4th of July!!!

I am sorry I am terrible at doing this. Why would I create a thing in which I am responsible to write on .. when I hate writing. Ahh .. such is life.
Forth of July was wonderful. I tried to have Mariah all prepped a day in advance. Her outfit was laid out, new earrings put in, and of course the little one received her first manicure and pedicure from Mom. I didn't attempt to do this while she was awake. To say the least I took advantage of her while she was sound asleep.
The day started off at a church breakfast. Of course the event I forgot to bring the camera too. Mario showed off his skills as a chef making omelets to order. Pancakes, sausage, and bacon were severed as well. He had a line for almost 2 hours straight. By far the most popular food station. Mariah enjoyed playing at the park and chasing around all the bigger kids, who were not interested her.
Later that afternoon we met up with family and friends in Loveland. Mario attempted to fly the kite, but with merely the tree tops moving in the wind, the kite didn't take off. After much aggravation he finally gave up. I think the best part was watching him run back and forth, hoping to catch some air. Thank goodness the grass stains on his pants, from tripping over his own feet, came out easily.
Mariah enjoyed her first snow cone, cherry flavored. To Moms surprise it didn't end up all over her. Thank goodness (I am obsessed with keeping a clean child).
Until the fireworks, we played at the park. Mariah loves the swings. I am so excited to move to a home with a backyard. The first thing I want to purchase is a swing set (well .. maybe another kitchen table first).

Into the Wind

Mario and I bought a kite at small store in the pearl street mall. Of course we had to take the kite out for a test drive. I think the last time I fly a kite was when I was pretty little. I remember having a cheap plastic Barbie kite - like something you would find for 99 cents at Wal-mart. Mario had no recollection of ever flying a kite, but assumed somewhere along the way he probably had. So really having no idea what we were doing, we set out for some fun.
Kite flying turned out to be much easier then I imagined. First shot and the kite was off the ground. We managed to keep it in the air the entire time, with no nose dives into trees or telephone wires.
Mariah sat on the ground in complete awe for about 5 minutes, with her pointer finger aimed at the sky. She attempted to help daddy hold the line, but soon realized that it wasn't much fun sharing, she wanted to hold it all by herself. Mario suggested that next time we get something much larger; He needs more of a challenge!

Off to Pearl Street Mall

Mario had Friday off last week so we took the day to go out and have some fun. We went to the pearl street mall in down town Boulder. It is like a combination of the 16th street mall, and walking through the main street in Estes Park. Tons and tons of hippie shops -- although you have to remember this is boulder we are talking about.
We spent the afternoon looking at the stores and the nick knacks. Although I enjoy the walking this isn't really my thing. I hate small objects designed to create clutter around the house. We did end up buying one thing. A KITE!!! I am super excited. I haven't flown a kite since I was little. And better yet the thing is huge - like 6 feet huge. So hopefully sometime this week on a day that Mario has off, we can go out and test this thing.
In the middle of the shopping area they had several small fountains. I let loose (I don’t do this often) and allowed for Mariah to get wet and go play in the water with the other kids. It was so funny to watch her, one fountain would pop up and she would run over and wait by it till the water came rushing up again.
We watched several street performers. Although we didn't get there early enough to see some of the really neat performers, there were lots of musicians. Gentleman playing guitars and flutes at the same time. It was a lot of fun to watch. They even had a baby grand piano brought out the center of the square, and had someone playing and singing. Lots of people gathered to sing along. Mariah enjoyed dancing to the music.
We also got word on the house that afternoon. The bank countered our offer, but it was still within our budget so we accepted. The inspection is set for Wednesday morning!!! I am so impatient and wish these next few days would go by a little more quickly. To celebrate we joined up with a friend and ventured off to the cheesecake factory. Jamie (my sister in law) raves about the place. I am not sure whether I ordered something that isn't so good or not, but I certainly wasn't impressed. So I figure I will give them another shot, but next time Jamie and Ryan are coming with, this way no error can be made regarding my food choice.

I am so sorry that it took me so long to get this posted. Mariah awoke to Mario and I singing happy birthday. The morning began with breakfast prepared by daddy of sausage and eggs ... and a bottle of course. Mario's parents, sister, Tiffany Dixon, and Danny Sims joined us for a day of fun. Off to the zoo we went. Mariah enjoyed the fish and the giraffes most of all. Probably because these animals moved the most, making them easy for spotting. Halfway through the zoo trip we had to stop for an ice-cream cone and revive our bodies. We took Mariah into a bird cage where we were able to fee parrots nectar. When the cup o nectar was given to Mariah to hold, she crumpled it in her hand, bringing an end to the feeding of parrots.
Next came the petting zoo. There were goats, birds, and a giant turtle all for petting. Mariah chased the turtle all around the perimeter. He was perfect for chasing .. she could keep up with him!
After the zoo we all met up at Chukie Cheeses for pizza and fun. Little did we know they no longer have ball pits (our whole reason for going there). Most of the tokens were used by us older kids, only a handful Mariah used. Together we won enough tickets to buy Mariah a present. She ended up with a pink rubber ball with spiky appendages.
The day ended with the birthday cake. By this time of the Mariah was done and ready for bed. She didn't enjoy getting dirty very much.
On Saturday the 14th we had the birthday party hosted by the Perez family. We had piñatas, a pool, slip N slide, cake, and of course enough food to feed most of Colorado. Ausencio (Mario’s Dad) even made a pickle shaped piñata in honor of Mariah (pickle is her nickname). This time the cake was more fun to play in.
I still for the life of me can not believe she is a year old. I no longer need to keep track of my age, as long as Mariah is getting older, I know I am too.