Schiedler.Com

Baby will be here!!!!! {Maybe....}
4:00Am Jen's Alarm
4:15Am Greg's Alarm(Backup)
5:04Am Phone call from Silverton Hospital. (No room at the Inn call us at 10:00Am to see if we have a bed available)
5:31Am Starbucks Greg's White Chocolate Mocha
and Jen's Vanilla Bean Frappuccino® Blended Crème & Chocolate Old Fashioned donut.
Like we could go back to bed NOT!
12:00pm arrive @ Silverton Hospital
The room is ready @ 2:00Pm Induction begins!

About 9:00Pm it is discovered the Greyson has a condition that is called Bladder Exstrophy.(Click here for details).

Greyson will have to be transported via the Panda Transport Team of OHSU/Doernbecher NICC.

11:30Pm Greyson gets his first Chauffeured car ride in the Panda Transport Team Ambulance (Greyson'sGrandma Bette would like the fact that Greyson had a Panda Bear go with him for his first ride) The Bear is visiable in the picture below. You can see the White Head and Black Ears wearing a red shirt. Just below the Right corner of the White Box on top held by the Red strap.).
He was to have his first ride home via one of Oregon Rental Services's limousines. AKA one of dad's limo's.

Greg....

12:45 Am We are informed that Greyson has arrived @ Doernbecher Childrens Hospital an to expect a call in about an hour after arrival with the first Children's Hospital's On-Call Pediatrician.

2:35 Am phone call from the Pediatric Urologist with the initial confirmation of Greyson's defect. He pelvis is twisted, and they are going to do a lateral incision and put the bladder back where it needs to be. And to do some reconstructive surgery on the head of his penis. And we were told that it would be a long surgery. And we should expect a 2nd call at 7:30ish this morning.

7:56 Am web-site update.

9:30 Am Dr Hudson called with the initial evaluation. Surgery is scheduled for today at 1:00 PM and depending on if they can do re-construction of the Penis, surgery could take up to 10 Hours. From what I'm told they will make a lateral incision and adjust/close the pelvis, and then place the bladder in the pelvis. It is unknown as of this moment if any re-construction can be done with this surgery.
Post surgery we are looking at 5-6 weeks in the OHSU/Doernbecher NICU. I guess the next 5-6 days Greyson will be heavily sedated and that they will shunt each Kidney and place a cathader in the bladder.
12:00 & 12:19Pm the Anethistist called. She is from Germany and could pronounce my last name correctly. She has a noticable German accent and sounds like she has Greyson's best interest(s) in mind.

3:35 Pm Greyson's surgery starts

6:00 Pm Jen is discharged from Silverton Hospital.
6:30 Pm In the process of unpacking the Envoy. I about lost it having to place items in the nursery knowing that Jen has delivered and we are both back home witout our son. It is a terrible feeling to know that at this moment there is nothing that I can do but wait for news about the surgery in progress.

7:00 Pm Greyson is still in surgery and the orthapedic surgeon has started his phase of the surgery. Greyson so far is doing well.

9:00 Pm Dr. Tucker the Orthapedic Surgeon called with an update. Dr Tucker has finished what they are calling closue of the pelvis. The Pelvis forms a ring of bone that the hips attach to. In Greyson's case the front of the pelvis was not closed. Ie. it looked more like a C and needed to become an O. So I'm told that the hips are not in a perfect alignment per normal being a bit forward and Greyson's are going to be more centered. Currently there are Two Pediatric Urologis working on their portion of the surgery. After this phase is complete Dr Tucker will have to cast Greyson's feet to imobolize him to allow him to heal. This is hard to absorbe being a new father and hearing about what my newborn son of just slightly over 25 hours into his life is having to endure. Jen and I will be traveling to Portland tomorrow to visit Greyson in the hospital and take up Jen's Breast Milk for him.

11:00 Pm Greyson is out of surgery! And at this point is doing fantastic. Everything about Greyson is perect minus his defect. He will remain sedated & inibated(breathing tube) for the immediate future. This is to insure that he remains perfectly still and give his pelvis a chance to heal/fuse to protect all the work that has been done so far. I guess that he has a blue cast with a bar between the knees. Jen and I will be meeting with Dr. Hudson later tomorrow and go over the before and after pictures.

Greg.

Well this isn't quite how I thought being a new mom was going to be. But since I believe God only gives you what you can handle I know we will get through this. I have a beautiful son and am so thankful to have him in my life. My husband is my strength. He was so loving and strong during the labor and delivery and has been even more so since we found out Greyson had this problem. Greg is such a wonderful and loving man and I am truly blessed to have him in my life.

The birth experience is something that I have trouble putting into words. It hurt and was scary but once I could push and knew that my son would enter the world soon things calmed for me. Sharing the experience with my husband and mom seemed so right. And I'm glad Christopher was there recording the moment for us. Given the outcome of Greysons condition and the fact that he was transferred to Portland I'm so glad Christopher took the pics and the video so that I have something to look at while I'm waiting to bring Greyson home.

We will be going to visit our handsome son later today. My milk is starting to come in and we have almost 8 oz to take to him. We will post more later on the visit.

I want to thank all of our friends and family for the thougthful, loving notes and calls they have given us. It helps to know that we have people who care so much about us and our son. This is a tough time, but we are survivors and will get through this. I'm trying to respond to all the calls and emails but it is taking me some time. Please bare with me and know that I will respond as soon as I'm able. Please feel free to call us or email us. Don't worry about saying the wrong thing or that you are bothering us.

A special thank you to my Mom, Lana, her husband John, my sister Mindy and nephew Bryce and Christopher. Your being there for the birth of our son and sharing all that has gone on means more then we can say. You are special to us.

Jen & I went to visit Greyson late on the 7th. Greyson has 7 pumps into various IV's. We got to see the night nurse get ready to re-fill(aka replace) two of the pumps. Jen and I also got to give Greyson a back rub as he was turned the 15% to prevent bed sores. We also learned that he may get his ventalator removed on Saturday and that he was not receiving any added oxygen via the ventalotor. We met the ventalation tech and also saw the nurse suction some crud from his throat/lungs. He may also start receiving some of Jen's Colostrum.

We talked to Dorene one of Greyson's day nurses this morning. The doctors are going to gradually reduce the sedation medication so that the breathing tube will be able to come out in the next couple of days. She told us that Greyson is already less sedated then he was when she saw him last Friday. There is a tight balance between keeping him resting enough to not move, reduce the meds enough to be able to remove the tube. Greyson is going to get his first breast milk today. I'm excited about that since I'm pumping every 2 hours during the day and every 4 at night. I'm the newest Dairy Queen in Salem! We will be visiting our handsome, sweet son later tonight.

Greyson is getting 5 cc's of milk every 3 hours. His swelling has gone way down so much so that his feet look like they are shrinking into his casts. He flinched a couple of times and tried to open his eyes a little when Greg was talking to him. He briefly held my finger. He is looking more like a baby then he was. Our son is sooooo cute!

Greyson was more awake tonight. He tried to open is eyes when his Daddy was talking to him. He held my pinky and moved his arms a couple of times. They have been cutting his sedation meds in half each day so he will come awake slowly. His color is great and his incisions on his hips are healing well. He wiggles his toes on his own now not just when Greg tickles them. He is off the lippids (fat) so that is one less pump on the IV. Yay!

My little man is off all his IV meds! All he is getting through the IV is fluids and once he is up to full breastmilk feedings that IV will go away too. Dorene was trying to get him to use a bottle when I got there today. He sucked a little then decided that it was less work to take the feeding trough the tube. I was able to try feeding him a bottle again before I left but he was to sleepy. Maybe tomorrow will be better. Greyson got his first bath today. Doreen and another nurse gave him a spundge bath. Turns out his hair isn't as dark as we thought now that it is clean! The bath helped get some of the scaley skin off too. He is only getting Tylenol for pain and his daily antibiotic and a little Mehtedone now. He tried to open his eyes but just didn't quite do it while I was there. Greyson did respond to my voice and my touch today. He moved his head toward me and hung on to my finger.

Dr. Hudson called today to give us an update. He is thrilled with Greyson's progress. Most of his urine is going through the bladder tube now so his kidney tubes should come out this week. The doctors will be discussing a goal date for Greyson to go home tomorrow or Tuesday. I'm thinking it will be in 2-3 weeks. He may come home with his cast on but we aren't sure yet. Things are moving right along and life is good!

Greyson opened his eyes for us tonight. They are such a pretty shade of blue! He looked much more comnfortable tonight. The last IV is out and his right kidney line is out. Nurse Daniella was going to give him a bath and put him in a t-shirt. He still has the O2 in his nose but the amount has gone down. He is on full breastmilk of 2 oz. They tried the bottle but he was still to tired to suck on it much so the milk is going through the tube into his tummy. He pooped while we were there so we got to learn how to change his diaper under the cast

The best news is that Greyson may get to come home the week of Oct. 31st! So keep your fingers crossed. We will learn more over the next week

Greyson actually opened his eyes when I had the camera with me today. They cut his Methadone from 3x a day to 2x a day so he is awake much more. He cooed and smiled at me. I got to attempt to feed him his bottle today but I didn't do it as well as the nurses and he cried and drooled on his chin. He doesn't make much noise when he cries because his throat is probably still sore from the breathing tube. He is eating 70 cc's of milk which is a little over 2 oz. I was able to help change his diaper and wipe up spit up today. He follows my voice and movements with his eyes. Greyson is handsome and just too cute for words.....but I guess I'm prejudice.

October 25, 2005
Photo Gallery

I got to hold my son for the first time since the day he was born!!!!! He x-rays look great as the bones are fusing back together. We can now hold Greyson and put him in a carseat to practice sitting. They can also lay him on his side. The ocupational therapist visted with Greyson and I to see how he was eating. She showed me some techniques to use to encourage him to suck more. She also gave us some exercises to do with a promise of more for use at home. We need to build Greyson's muscle tone in his shoulders, chest and back. We tried to breastfeed for the first time. Greyson throw the same fit he does when he gets his bottle, but did latch on. He managed a few good sucks before he went to sleep. It was a long 40 minutes for us but he has the instincts to do what he is supposed to do. It was a long tiring but rewarding day for Mom and Son!

The best news is that Greyson will come home the beginning of next week minus the cast! Dr. Hudson will also cap his bladder cathater so Greyson will be peeing in his diaper just like all little boys. We will go back to vist the doctors a week or two after that for ultra sound on his kidneys and bladder and if all is well the cathater will come out. Then we play the waiting game for the next surgery in 6-9 months.

Gresyon and I worked with the occupational therapist Michelle today. We tried sitting up for the first time. We sat Greyson up a little more every few minutes so he could get used to it and not get dizzy. He tolerated it just fine and sat with me for 45 minutes. The picture was taken just after he barfed all over me for the first time. I have been puke labeled by my son! We tried breastfeeding again and he latched on in between throwing a fit. He throws the same fit at the bottle so I don't take it to personal. He hasn't figured out the corelation of the sucking equeals food and a full tummy. He'll figure it out eventually. Grandma Bette and Daddy came to visit while I was there. Greyson was actually awake for Grandma this time. The nurses keep telling us what a sweetheart he is and how mellow. I think he is just about the best thing there is!

Greyson got his casts off today! He weighs in at 8 lbs 15 oz and is moving his pudgy little legs just fine. His skin is pealing but other then that there don't seem to be any issues with having the casts. He was supposed to come home today but developed a bacterial infection in his urine sample so that was put on hold. This is a common occurance for babies in the hospital and he most likely got it through the belly button tube that goes to his bladder. After consulting with the Infectious Disease doctor at the Center for Disease Control who said he didn't think Greyson needed treatment since he doesn't show signs of being sick it was decided to go ahead and give him IV anti-biotics tonight. Tomorrow they will inject dye into his kidneys and bladder to see if they are healed from his surgery. If they are then his bladder tube will come out. Yeah! Then he will get a 2nd round of anti-biotics tomorrow night and go home Wed. Dr. Hudson wants to be aggresive just to make sure Greyson comes home safe and healthy. I certainly appreciate that and am thankful he thinks that way, but the Mom in me was totally disappointed to not take her baby home today. I finally lost it at the NICU and cried on the nurses shoulders. Guess even Mom's can't be stoic all the time. The advantage to all of this is that he will come home without the bladder tube. If by some chance he isn't healed then it will be 7-10 days of anti-biotics through the IV before he can come home.

Now the fun stuff. Dorene gave him a major scrub down after the casts came off. His hair got washed too. Greyson was not impressed with all the cleaning and throw a fit. Then I got there with his pumpkin costume and we changed his clothes. He threw another fit, but at least looked really cute doing it. We did the photo opp thing and several nurses came over to check him out. He is a popular guy at the NICU.

I was in the car on the way to Portland talking to Greg on the cell phone when the hospital called him and said we could take Greyson home today. So I turned around and went back home. I had to get the going home bag and Greg. Of course we were expecting this to happen on Wed so we weren't prepared for the sudden change. Greg had to run to Albany to return a limo and get another car. I was finishing up the last couple of things around the house.

We got to the NICU at 5pm in time for Greg to finish feeding Greyson. Christopher and Maria joined us so Christopher could take the official "Bust the Kid out of Jail" pictures. I got to changed Greyson's diaper and outfit. He threw a huge fit over that as he always does. The boy doesn't like to be naked. We figured out how to put him in the carseat, gathered all the bags of stuff Greyson was sent home with and off we went. It took both of us to figure out the carseat base since the lady that was supposed to come out and show us and check it wasn't there. It ain't rocket sceince but it's darned close! I sat in the back with Greyson and home we went.

Greg and I looked at each other and agreed that we couldn't believe they let us leave with this poor defensless child. Are they crazy??

Greyson came home with his feeding tube, Tylenol and some anti-biotics. His test came out great so they took out his bladder tube in the afternoon. Everyone thinks he is doing just fine and didn't need to be in the NICU anymore. We go back to see the urologist and orthpedist in 2 weeks and our pediatritian in a week. And Greyson didn't inherit cataracts like his Mom and Grandma Lana....woohoo!

We also learned that our friends the Johnson's had their little boy on Halloween. We consider these babies to be cousin's through ballooning and can't wait for them to meet. Congrats to Nic and Krysti!