Can the nasal-can!

Drum roll pleasssssssssse!

Kaz is off the O2!

Look at me, I'm nasal-can free! That's right people no more nasal-can. No more tape. No more ripping at his skin. No more boxing Kaz (he literally would go fisticuffs on ya when you tried to put his oxygen back on). No more lugging an oxygen machine from room-to-room. No more packing oxygen on the go. NO MO! How did this wonderful wonderfulness come about? Read on.

Dr. Visit

Let's tell the truth and shame the devil. We didn't always make Kaz wear his oxygen. Don't judge or panic, his pediatrician said it was ok in small doses. Well, the morning of Kaz's 3 month check-up (Friday August 7), his Oma and I gathered all his equipment, put him in his car seat and when I went to put his nasal-can on (because yes I had it off for the morning) he put up his dukes and I didn't have the energy or the heart to fight him.

So we strolled into his appointment with the oxygen tucked in his bag (just in case) ready for a scolding from the doc. The doc took it in stride, made a joke, scolded me a bit (ethical obligation I suppose) and left the room to get the most wonderful tool in the world. A pulse-ox machine. He wrapped the little sensor around Kaz's finger and after a few beeps the doc sang the most beautiful music to my ears, "This is a kid who is 100% oxygenated." I heard it but I didn't want to get my hopes up as to what it might mean...I was concentrating so hard on not getting my hopes up, I had ask the doc to repeat it. The lovely melody included a chorus of, "doesn't have to wear the oxygen anymore" and "Let's stop taking the diuretic and Potassium".

WHOA! Wait, you mean on top of not having to torture my son with jamming something up his nose I can also eliminate half the meds he's on? OH HAPPY DAY! The doc went on to make another joke that we'd be rolling into Children's Hospital without any oxygen and they would look at us and say, "What the heck are you doing here?"

FYI, Kaz is still wearing his monitor (his Oma thinks it might be a good idea to keep that one for the next 18 years or so...LOL...hmmm not a bad idea), you know just to make sure everything is copacetic. Maybe after the Childrens Hospital visit we can do away with this too. Can you feel it people? We are just a hop skip and a jump from "normalcy" (whatever that is), an unencumbered baby. Crazy wild good right? Be prepared for the next entry that discusses life without a monitor, or as I think I will title it, "Kaz Watch - I haven't slept in days."

Firsts:

Shopping: To celebrate our new found freedom we took our first jaunt to Target (Tarjae - okay). Baby needed new steppin out clothes. Moreover he needed clothes that fit because what we also discovered at his check-up is that he is now 10 lbs. 13.5 oz. No more newborn clothes for him.

Peacock Walk: We showed off our little family to the neighborhood when we took the dog out for his first walk with the baby. We didn't get very far but we did get and that's all that matters.

The Kitchen Sink:

Oma is now homa. She left on Sunday. It was really hard to see her go but she's got 2 grandbabies at home to love on and we have to learn how to keep on keepin' on on our own. Good thing she's just a phone call/skype/webcam away! Besides we will have something to really REALLY look forward to the next we/they visit. When will we visit? Probably not this winter. This winter will be a hard one. They expect the Swine-flu to be epic this winter so get vaccinated, and considering Kaz's "respiratory disease" the docs advice against venturing out this holiday season. So, maybe for someones 60th b-day in the spring we will board a big bird to the Midwest?

So, what were some of the highlights from Oma's long visit?

We watched a lot of Food Network where we marveled at Paula Deans butter obsession (come on she boiled lobster in butter - not butter mixed with wine or broth, just strait butter!); We made each other laugh silly with our impressions of Giada's smile talk; We both wanted to have dinner at the Barefoot Contessa's house. With all these cooking shows we were inspired to bake a yummi broccoli and goat cheese souffle for the first time in both our lives. Did I mention it was YUMMI?

• Aaron subjected her to A LOT of government cheese (you know, not the good stuff) movies (i.e. Superbad; Don't Mess With the Zohan; and The House Bunny - which we both made each other snort every time we said someones name like Ana Faris' character.)


• Although she protested, we made her watch Gordon Ramsey's Hells Kitchen and now she's searching him out on the BBCA. If you haven't watched it, you might be a donkey.


• The first time she held Kaz in the hospital and immediately wanted to bring him home. I am so glad she was there when we finally got to take that wheelchair ride.

Too many to mention so I should stop before I get really sappy. Okay, one more sappy moment...

• I'm so glad she was here and I for one will miss the joy in her face every morning when she opened her arms wide to cuddle Kaz good morning while she showered him with kisses. For some strange reason that was the best start to my day.

We are so grateful and yes we do realize how lucky we are that she could stay for so long. Thank you Mom, Momma, Oma, Arfma (Harley is still looking for you and he tried to sleep on "your" bed last night). I know it was really difficult for you to leave and for us to see you go but now it's time for us to go it alone like grown-ups. Hey I went to target by myself with Kaz for the first time...aren't you proud of me?