Tummy Time

Joseph tolerates tummy time much better when propped up a bit on the "boppy". The girls can't get enough of him and like to take part in all of his daily activities. I had to ask them to give him some extra room today as they both kept inching closer and closer to his face till all three of their sweet little heads were nearly touching!

Big sister Olivia helped with a diaper change today. I don't think she'll be volunteering for many more of those. She's incredibly grossed out by baby "output". She was mortified today when she saw Joey spit up, alarming me to the fact that "he threw up on your leg"!

3rd week with Joseph

That's right, we're in our third week with the new baby! Time really flies. Tonight, as Joey held my finger, I got a little teary thinking that his little hands will never again be as little as they are today. He is a sweet baby.

Do you see him counting the three weeks for me on his right hand as I snap the picture?

Easy weekend

Uncle Seth and Jenney with the kiddos.

Seth and Jenney joined us on Sunday for family time and dinner. We enjoyed having them here, as always, and the girls couldn't get enough of them. The two of them have probably never played so many games of chutes and ladders or ponyville in their entire lives. Olivia wept when they left...she's very sensitive. We can't wait to see them again.

Olivia takes Lewey and Louise to church.

Lewey and Louise are two paper people that cousin Logan sent to live with us until April. They enjoyed attending Sunday service with Olivia and Matt and have now made their debut on a blog!

Caught the girls holding hands as they watch their new movie.

This was just too cute for words!

Joseph sleeping peacefully sans "the swaddle".

Happy 4th Birthday Olivia!

Today was Olivia's 4th birthday! She was SOOOOO excited for her birthday. She got to stay home with mommy all day and bake cupcakes and a cake for her special day!

Click here for the most recent pics!

2 weeks already?

This little guy has had quite an eventful first two weeks! Joseph is such a joy, along with his big sisters. We've been so incredibly blessed. (prayers of thanksgiving today)

This is for Lance

A couple months ago some friends and family participated in my college football bowl pick 'em tournament. For a small fee you could try your hand at picking the winners of the 36 college bowl games. The person with the most points wins. Very simple. This year my friend Lance won the tournament (barely right?). I have been slacking a little bit in getting him his cash winnings and have been trying to come up with a trophy of sorts. Well, today was the day that I finally got it done. So without further ado, on behalf of the 1st annual Ruden Bowl Pick 'Em Tournament I present Lance McConnell with the championship trophy:

Notice that it's a bowl.....with picks....witty I know

Congratulations Lance

PS: Lance, let me know how you would like the trophy delivered.  If you're going to be in Ames sometime you can swing by and pick it up.  Or I can mail it.

Cleanin' Up

Joseph received his very first home bath this weekend.  He didn't mind it too much.  Here is some video of the experience.

Sweethearts

It has been more than Valentine's Day weekend for this couple of sweethearts. Today marks the 12th anniversary of our first date. A dozen years ago tonight Ab and I were off to the TWIRP (The Woman Is Required to Pay) dance at our high school. It seems like a lifetime ago but I can still remember it like it was yesterday. (Maybe I can even scrounge up some pics from that fateful night!) We are going to celebrate by snuggling in and watching the movie "Fireproof."

Happy -belated- Valentine's Day

Here are the Ruden children...so lovable.

Olivia's new dollhouse. It's taller than her! Thanks Grandma Lola!

(For reference on how enormous this dollhouse is)

Every day gets a little better for our little guy and the girls seem to be adjusting well to our newest member. Gifts, treats, balloons,and gigantic dollhouses seem to help:) We took Joseph out of the bili-lights yesterday at 1pm and he finally got a bath at home. I'll try to get video of that uploaded soon. He's been waking on his own and eat like a normal, healthy baby! I'm looking forward to our checkup next Tuesday-another weight check and labs...hopefully to be the last!

Time for Mommy to take a nap.

Yummy In My Tummy

We have tried to encourage the girls to eat foods by telling them that it is "yummy in your tummy...delicious!" So they have caught on and taken it upon themselves to tell us about the food. Here is Sylvia letting us know about last night's supper.

Recovering

Joseph has been struggling to get over his jaundice since we left the hospital, which has led to a lot of sleep and not much eating.  He was not gaining weight enough so he was outfitted with a light belt that he wears most of the time to help him overcome his jaundice. Since wearing the belt he has shown improvement and has been waking on his own to feed, which is great. Everyday we are a little bit closer to normal.

Like my light belt?

I'm a pretty bright kid.

Catchin' some rays with my cool light belt.

How's my tan?

You can check out the newest pics here and here.

Home Sweet Home

Do you like my go home outfit?

Here I am in my new room!

Pink socks? Aww man!

More pics from the last week can be found here.

We are finally home today!! How awesome! Mom and Joe are safe and sound right where they belong..home. We are going to enjoy our time together today as a family and try to get back on track! Thanks for all of your kind words, prayers, and help over the last week. We are so blessed to have so many people to care for us! Now we can't wait to get a few visitors so you all can meet Joseph!

Some sort of normal...

Another visit from Matt and the girls brought me much joy again tonight, especially because we were joined by our newest member! Olivia got to hold her brother, which completely thrilled her and Sylvia couldn't have cared less. She had the most fun washing her hands several times and playing with her princess dollies. Father and son even snuggled...what a beautiful sight!

After tomorrow, you can find this happy family adjusting to life at the main residence:)

Happy Sunday: Day #5

We, Joey and I, had a good night here at MGMC. I brought him to my room every three hours for feedings, which he is doing great with! His bilirubin level is better today, so the jaundice if fading. Joey will stay under the bili-lights until this afternoon, then he'll be able to just hang out with me or in his regular basinet. I can't believe it's actually happening:) His IV was taken out this morning after his "baby boy surgery" and he's off the monitor when he comes out of the NICU now. What a difference a few days makes:) We're sticking to the plan for discharge home tomorrow...and giddy just thinking of it!!

Return of the Mac (Back in Mac)

After many months away, I have returned to the mac world!! This time I am determined to master it! I got my macbook this evening and I am having some fun. Fortunately, my sister got her macbook today too! We have been iChatting up a storm. So if you're on iChat add me (mjruden@mac.com) and we can chat now!

Lunch with the fam

Matt brought the girls by for a bit this morning and we all had lunch together in the cafeteria. It was absolutely blissful!! I couldn't imagine wanting to be anywhere else in the world. The girls were bubbly and thoroughly enjoyed their pizza and ice cream:) We even laughed when Daddy spilled his soda! While Matt was visiting Jojo, they sang songs with me, colored, and "stickered" in their princess books.

I can't wait to get home with them!

Olivia can write her name now! We think her new skill is quite impressive:)

Phototherapy

Joey's liking his new bed. Don't let the head-wrap alarm you, it's just protecting his eyes while under the lights. He's been getting out every 3 or so hours for feedings and snuggle time:)

Yellow Baby

What a beautiful day I see outside my hospital room window...looks like spring! I hope everyone has a chance to get out and enjoy some of the winter relief.

The pediatrician just stopped by and updated me on the progress, so you're next to hear what's up. Around 2:00am, Joey's respiratory rate seemed to settle into a lower trend, which is exactly what we were waiting for. She now feels comfortable stopping his antibiotics, as all the labs and entire "clinical picture" are holding steady with no signs of infection. She was just a little disappointed that she can't let him hang out here with me quite yet because his jaundice is worsening. It's not to a worrisome point, but since we're here anyways, she thought we should go ahead with phototherapy through today instead of chasing the bilirubin (lab that goes up with jaundice) as we prepare to go home. She anticipated us heading home with Joey on Monday or Tuesday, barring any further complications.

Today will be a busy day with frequent nursing sessions in the NICU. Mommy thinks Joey will be very hungry today...since that's the only reason they'll let him out from under his bili-lights:)

Keep lifting us up with your prayers. God is good!!!

Joseph in Action

Here are the first videos of Joe from the NICU.

Friday Update

I wish I had more good news, but all is just about the same. I've been officially discharged from the hospital, but I am able to stay in my room here until Joey can leave with me. The blood pressure elevation and low platelet counts that ailed me prior to baby's delivery have resolved. Now we just need to get Mr. J straightened out. He's not taking any steps backwards...in that he's still off supplemental oxygen, but he's still breathing too fast so he'll stay on his antibiotics indefinitely for now. Once his breathing does settle down, we'll attempt some feedings. He hasn't had anything orally since his first hour of life but the nurses and doctors assure me that he'll become "interested" in eating when he's feeling better. I was able to hold him skin to skin in the NICU for a short period of time today and I'm wanting to get some more cuddle time with him later. After all, he needs to learn who his mommy is, right?

All your well wishes, correspondence, offerings to help, and prayers are keeping us afloat right now and we thank you all tremendously. As soon as Joey's well enough to share with everyone, we'll be happy to "pass him around"...like we're used to with our brand new babies:)

Pictures from the Hospital

I uploaded all of the pictures that we've taken at the hospital the last couple days. Click here to view them.

An Unexpected Visit

Well, I FINALLY got to hold Joe last night before I left the hospital, I was very happy about that. Today, however, the girls were able to finally meet their brother. Joe was well enough to make an appearance in Ab's hospital room and hang out with us for about 10 minutes. What a great surprise! Olivia was very excited and happy to meet her brother. Sylvia was less than thrilled. She will come around in time!

The happy parents

Joe had his first bath.

Mommy's keeping an eye out.

Sylvia gets her first look at lil bro.

Olivia's excited to meet Joe.

Our Tough Little Man

What an incredibly long day!! It seems like Joseph was born three days ago! I am home from the hospital now and Abbey is ready for a good night's sleep and I am too. Joe made some great progress today so things are looking up. He became less dependent on the oxygen throughout the day so that is a good sign. We will know more from the preliminary results of his labs tomorrow. We are hoping that there is no sign of infection in his lung. If all goes well, we should have everyone home Friday. Thank you all so much for your prayers and well wishes. The Lord has blessed us so much with so many of you that care for us. Keep them coming!

P.S. You know it's a long day when your 2 year old puts herself to bed!

Trip to the NICU

Guess 37 weeks was a bit earlier than Mr. J wanted to arrive, so his transition breathing is not settling down. (we hope that's all it is) He's requiring a bit of supplemental oxygen and he's gotten his first dose of radiation with a chest xray this morning. They've also drawn blood for a battery of lab tests to make certain that he doesn't have any infection brewing. Joey is holding his own temp now, which was a concern right at first, and we raised his blood sugar right back up to normal with a little "mama milk". Since that short, 15 minute nursing session, I haven't gotten to hold him again, so I'm missing my baby terribly! Please pray that everything straightens out for our little guy soon. God has already blessed us soooooo much and we know He can turn this around in the blink of an eye:)

Welcome to the World Joseph Patrick!

The Lord blessed us with Joseph Patrick Ruden on Wednesday, February 4th at 3:11 am and weighed in at 7 lb 5 oz and measured 20 1/2 inches long. Mom and baby are doing well and we couldn't be more excited to finally have our little man here!

After Ab received the Cervidil her contractions increased in intensity throughout the evening. By midnight she was quite uncomfortable. The doctor broke her water at 2:30 am when she was dilated to 4 cm. Less than an hour later Joe was here! Ab did a fantastic job, I'm so proud of her! It is now 4:00 am and I am quite tired (though I did manage to sneak in an hour of sleep) so I will sign off for now....more to come as usual!

Hey there little man!

It's GO TIME! ...almost

The results are in and it was time to make a decision.  Do we induce today or tomorrow?? After some discussion we decided it would be best to induce tomorrow.  We felt it would be better to give baby J one more day in the womb and give labor a chance to maybe start naturally (or with some minor assistance from Cervidil).  Best case scenario is she goes into labor on her own tonight sometime. Otherwise, the doctor will induce tomorrow morning and get things going. Please put Abbey and baby J in your prayers tonight as they prepare for the birth.  I will keep you posted!

Go Time?

Well, here we are again. Same situation as a few weeks ago. We are even in the same room! Ab's blood pressure was high again today and her platelets were low. Chances are good that we will be inducing her labor sometime so at least we won't be leaving empty handed this time! So here we sit waiting on lab results. This time Ab has her sudoku books and I brought the computer! I will post more when we know more!

It's official, her belly is bigger than Texas.

Last belly pic ever....