Released

Charles was released from the hospital with a feeding tube. He would not eat so to help him gain his strength he had to have the tube to be released. We were home for about 6 days when Charles decided to pull out the tube, the Dr thought that he was more alert and stronger so we could keep it out. Charles has been working with his OT on feeding and has been making progress on the amount he has been taking. Unfortunately I had to take him to the Dr today because he had an ingrown toe nail that was infected so they had to put him on antibiotics. While we were there he was weighed and has lost weight if we do not see a great improvement in his weight by Thursday they are putting the feeding tube back in. Charles is working so hard to eat that he is burning more calories than taking in. Please continue to keep him in your prayers.
On a positive side he is starting to smile which has been great to see he has become stronger and his PT is very proud of him. He is really starting to come around and his personality is coming out.

We wanted to thank all of you for praying for us during this time. Charles had his MRI which showed no cysts!!!! All the Drs were amazed and could not figure out where they went or why they were no longer there. Charlie and I knew that only God could take them away and He did. What an answer to prayer and a testimony to all medical staff involved as we told them everyone had been praying for Charles. Unfortunately during the MRI Charles stopped breathing and had to be intubated and rushed to the intensive care unit where he stayed for 3 hours before he was able to breathe on his own and before they let us see him. We were released Saturday but had to take Charles back to Children's Hospital Sunday as he was not eating and was having trouble breathing. He was re-admitted into the hospital and is on oxygen and iv fluids still. They are hoping that he will continue to get stronger so they can do some other tests which require him to be back to his normal self. Please continue to keep us in your prayers and the medical staff as they treat him.

One Of Those Days

Have you ever had one of those days where you are driving down the rode and suddenly a song comes on and all of a sudden you are crying. Today I had one of those days. Charles and I were on the way to another appointment this week. He has had one everyday since last week. It has been hard taking him and watching many different Drs pick and prod at him. The update is that Charles is going for an MRI on Friday, April 3. He will have to stay the night at Children's Hospital because they have to sedate him for the MRI. Charles' feeding issues have not improved and he seems to have gotten weak and sleepy which they are not sure right now why. The Physical Therapist has begun to work with him on strengthening his muscles through positioning and movements. We are hoping that it will help get him on track to where he is supposed to be. Tomorrow we meet with an ENT who will look at his tongue and throat to see if there is anything wrong that could be affecting his feeding. Sitting there in traffic I thought about how exhausted Charlie and I are and how Hannah is still not sleeping well. So everything added up and I had a moment when I heard a song. It said "It wont be like this for long..." It is on the play list here on the blog. But it made me think of how things seem hard right now but soon Charlie and I will look back and realize how fast the kids have grown. It makes me cherish these times where things seem so hard and when were so tired. Because just like this song I now have a different perspective on the challenges that we are currently facing. Please continue to pray for all of us, especially Charles during this time.

Goodbyes Are Hard

Sue and Truitt left today. Sue has been here for 3 weeks helping us out and playing with her grandchildren. Hannah finally learned to say Sue Sue during this visit. It will be sad for her especially as she has gotten very close to her. We continually feel very blessed to have had family reach out and help us. I am not sure what we would have done with out them all. Since the summer we have had family taking turns coming out to Seattle to help us and it will be strange to be on our own. I wished we lived closer to family as it would be nice for Hannah and Charles and mom and dad too. As I am writing I am tearing up as it has been great to have everyone here and now sad to finally say good bye to everyone for a while.
We will now be getting into our own routine and I am hoping that Hannah will adjust well with it. We are going to continue to have a babysitter come half days to help with the kids and take Hannah out to playgroups and activities. This is so I can rest and spend time with Charles. We have been very busy with appointments as the kids have been sick. I took Charles to the Dr. on Friday and it turns out he has bronchiolitis. He had trouble breathing and was very congested which was affecting sleeping and eating the two things he does the most. We have been working very hard to getting him on a a routine and keep him awake a lot more during the day which has payed off while he is not sick to being able to sleep 5 hours through the night. This is very good for being 6 weeks old. We are very proud of him. I will be taking Charles for an ultrasound on Tuesday. As many of you know when he was inside of me they found a cyst in him. The Dr wanted to wait till he was a month old to do an ultrasound to see what it could be. It is right near his spine so they are hoping it is not anything to serious. Please pray for Charles and our family during this time. Other than that he is doing well. We are still working with the Occupational Therapist in hopes that he will begin to eat faster and take more ounces during a feeding. Hannah is talking so much. She is talking in sentences and understanding so much. She loves copying people, posing for pictures, saying cheese and the hokey pokey is her favorite dance right now! When ever I feel down or stressed her smile cheers me up and reminds me of how blessed I am to be a parent and a wife. God has truly blessed me with a great family and I would not trade it for anything.

Truitt and Sue with the kids

I Love Sue Sue!

CHEESE!!!!!!

Dad Multitasking

Sue Sue helping me eat my bedtime snack!

We Had Pictures Taken!!

Where has the time gone?

Wow where did the time go... Charles is a month old and is getting so big. The past month has been busy, crazy, and fun. We had Nanny and Jakob here for the first 4 weeks. They were so helpful and we miss them so much. Especially Hannah she really misses her uncle she still calls out his name through out the day. The day my mom flew out Sue flew in to help and come see the kids. She has been here helping with Hannah, the baby and doing what ever she can to help out. We really appreciate how much family has helped us since I was pregnant. They both have given up weeks of their lives and have come here to be part of our busy lives.

So what have we been up to and how is everyone, is a question we have been getting a lot. I am still recovery not 100% yet but getting there with every day. Hannah has really been so helpful and loves her brother, she loves to go get diapers and swaddle her baby dolls too, she even burps them. Her sleeping still has not been that great so tomorrow Hannah and I will meet with a sleep specialist to see if there is anything that we can do to help or if there are any underlining causes. Charles is doing very well with sleeping maybe to well, we have been having trouble getting him to eat. It has been very tiring as it was taking him an hour sometimes longer to eat just 2.5 ounces. After 30 minutes of eating they burn more calories than they take in so we were getting very concerned plus exhausted. The Dr. referred us to a Occupational Therapist who works with feeding issues. She has been great with him and has been working with him for the past week. We already are seeing improvements. We are able to feed him in 30 minutes now. Dad, well he is doing great working very hard for our family plus once he gets home he pitches right in to what ever needs to be done. I could not have asked for a better father for the kids, he continually gives and gives even when he is exhausted.

Here are some picture updates of everyone. Hope you all enjoy!

Family Time!!

Hannah taking one of her first peaks at the baby

Nanny holding Charles

Proud uncle Jakob

Daddy loves holding me!

Nanny's first moments with me after a long flight into Seattle!

Baby Charles Is Here!!

Charles Truitt Martin IV was born on Monday, January 26, 2009 at 1:53 p.m. He weighed 6 pounds 1 oz and was 18 inches long. He took us by surprise as he was born four weeks early. Rachel was not doing well but thankfully had a regular Dr appointment that day and when she went in she was in active labor. She was sent across the street to the hospital and they all waited for Dad to arrive and Rachel had a cesarean. Everything went smoothly and Charles was sent to neonatal for six hours to be monitored. He was doing well so they allowed us to keep him in the room with us. We went home on Wednesday and have all been recovering and getting into our new routine. Hannah is doing really well. She has become quite the helper. She already loves her baby brother so much and looks out for him. Rachel's mom is here and will be helping us for the next couple of weeks which is very helpful for us all. She has been juggling taking care of Hannah, the baby and making meals. I am not sure what we would do with out her. Please continue to pray for us all during this new transition.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Christmas At The Martins

Christmas flew by this year. Charlie had two weeks off which was very nice as we were able to spend some time together as a family. His parents and sister flew to Seattle this year since I was unable to travel due to the pregnancy. It was an adventure for everyone to get here because of the weather but they all made it safely. It was a Christmas of sitting around on the floor with pillows and blankets since our furniture did not come and was delayed because of the snow. It was a good Christmas and Hannah had fun this year because she actually knew how to open gifts. It was great to have everyone here and we were sad to see Truitt and Mary Katherine leave. Sue has stayed behind to help us out. We were glad that she extended her stay as she is a big help. My health is still up and down with the pregnancy so for her to be able to spend time with Hannah and help around the house while I rest is very helpful to us all. Here are some pictures of Christmas.

Showing Su Su what I bought for her

Dancing with my snowman

My Auntie MK

Helping Pop unwrap his present

Pop's Hat

Truitt and Sue (Charlie's Parents) arrived late afternoon on Sunday. It was a journey for them as we had severe winter warnings and about 7 inches of snow that had come. Truitt was wearing this hat when he arrived and Hannah loved it so much she had to keep putting it on! Just wanted everyone to see the cute picture of her. Hope everyone is staying safe and warm just like Hannah!

Merry Christmas!

We did not end up getting a Christmas card out this year with being so busy. But wanted to share this picture of Hannah. We are very excited for this upcoming Christmas and Hannah is very excited too. She loves the Christmas tree and all the lights. We have all been very busy and are very thankful for a great year. Hannah has taught us so much this year and we are lucky to have such an amazing daughter. She is caring and loves to help us no matter what it is. I myself feel very lucky. I have a wonderful husband who works very hard and does so much for our family. He is such a good husband to me and father to Hannah. We are all counting down the eight weeks left before our little bundle of joy comes into this world. All of us busy preparing and teaching Hannah all about babies, to prepare her for her little brothers arrival. Along with that we have been unpacking again. Yes again because we finally bought a house. Many of you know we sold our Condo back in June and have been waiting to find the perfect house. Just when we thought we would stop searching God brought us to a brand new house in Issaquah, WA. It was everything we were looking for and more. Charlie's office is just five minutes away so that has been a real treat for him not having to go far to the office. We have been in the house for almost two weeks and are unpacking and trying to settle in our new home. It is great to finally be done moving for a while and to be able to unpack and have our home when the baby comes. It feels like such a wonderful gift to have gotten this house just in time for Christmas. We are all excited to begin to make memories in this house. We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Thank-you to all who have been supporting us and praying for us during this busy time.

"What"

Our little girl is growing up so fast! She loves to do everything Charlie and I do and say. She has become quite the little helper too. Last night we realized how much she loves to say things like us and copy things we do. Yesterday all day long she would put her hands on her hips and say "what". In response to things we would say to her. Charlie and I discovered that we always say that as a response to things. She quickly picked up on it and is continuing to say it and repeat different words we say. Also she has become quite the ice addict. Yes that is me teaching her that one, having horrible heart burn and crunching on ice chips. Through out the day she takes a cup over to the fridge dispenser and says "ice?" She loves to suck on the little bits like mom. At first I would just put my cup away and say its all gone but then she realized that if it is all gone we need more and would want to help to get more ice for both of us. It reminds us how we have to be very careful in what we do and say because we have someone always watching us and looking up to us as parents. It made me think about the song "O Be Careful, Little Eyes" One part says,

O be careful little mouth what you say
O be careful little mouth what you say
There's a Father up above
And He's looking down in love
So, be careful little mouth what you say.

I remember my parents teaching us this song and singing it growing up. Sometimes we forget about things like this, but having a child has reminded me that not only is our Heavenly Father looking down but my little girl is looking up to us and we want to be a good example to her.

"Poopy In The Potty"

Today was a big day for Hannah. We have been trying to get Hannah interested in going to the bathroom on her potty chair. We first had it in the living room so she could sit on it with clothes and get used to it, we then moved it to the bathroom this week and have been letting her sit on it when ever she wants. Today was a busy day of her wanting to sit on it. Finally this afternoon she sat on it and went poopy. She then got up and said "uh oh" repeatedly. She thought she had done something wrong. We all praised her for going poopy in the potty but she just kept saying "uh oh". What a big girl she has become. I am hoping this will keep up and maybe we can have her potty trained in the next couple of months.

I Can Dress Myself!!

I know it ends up around my head and on my body!

Maybe if I just put it on my head it will work.Ok, this is confusing, how do I get it over my head!
"Hannah let me help you" daddy said and her pouty face came out and she was just sad!

Hannah is miss independent! She likes to do everything herself. She has perfected the pouty face to try and get her way.

Su Su (charlie's mom) has been here for a week and has been a great help. Hannah is still having ear problems and we had to take her back to the Dr on Friday. Her right ear drum burst and she has an infection in the left still. So she is on another round of meds to see if we can get it better. Thankfully we have help because she is extra fussy! The Dr also took her off of all dairy products because she thinks she has an allergy to it. We are on a Soy trial for three weeks to see if it makes a difference. The baby is doing great. I had an appointment yesterday and they said his heart rate was good and he looks great. Thank you to everyone who has been thinking about us and praying for us.

Halloween

Hannah was a ladybug for Halloween. We went to a church event called Fallapallooza. Hannah had so much fun watching all the kids in their different costumes. She was a bit young to do many of the things there but they had an area set up for toddlers with slides and toys that she loved. Dad even helped her bounce on an inflatable bouncer they had. She was so worn out by the end that she fell asleep. It was so fun to see her all dressed up. She is growing up! She is talking a lot more now and is looking more and more like a little girl not my little baby she once was. Here are some pictures of the night.