Baby Makoa

How cute is this?  He already loves the camera…

We started Chinese New Year out with a bang by paying a visit to Makoa’s Pediatric Endocrinologist.  Her office is very close to my work, in fact, I was able to walk and drop off paperwork to her last week.  We drove down there on Monday with Makoa and spent a good hour talking with her about the other kids she is treating as well as what suggestions she has for us regarding treatment.  In consulting with Dr. Jain (our Endocrinologist) and Dr. Miller (PWS expert if Florida), we’ve established a course of action that we all feel will give Makoa the best chance for a normal life.

We definitely have the ball rolling in terms of treatment for him.  We’ve already had a visit from the case worker and physical therapist who both evaluated Makoa.  We continue to have our weekly appointments with our Pediatrician and I’m happy to report that Makoa is up to 6lbs 12oz.  We’ve been given instructions to make sure there is lots of stimulation around him which is obviously not a problem in this house.

Yes, Makoa is actually in the swing. Between Sammy and Nainoa, there is no shortage of noise and stimulation for the little man.

He’s looking great!

Today was absolutely wonderful.  It’s really the first chance we’ve had to spend time together as a family, and we really made the most of it.  We started off early by going to Kaialani’s softball practice.  I continue to be amazed her.  We had multiple dad’s label her as the “stud” and very thankful that she was on the team.  They asked what we’ve done to develop her skills and when we told them “nothing”, they had a hard time believing that she’s really that good.  Of course, Kaia has a way of making us laugh.  As soon as she was done with practice, she said:  ”Ugh!  I’m so hot, I want to get out of these sweats and throw on a sun-dress!”  An athlete and fashion diva?  We are truly blessed!

After her practice, I took both of the kids to Play It Again Sports to get Kaia a new bat and bag.  We picked up some lunch on the way back and brought it back to Tiff who was hanging out with Makoa and giving him a bath. We ate lunch an watched a little bit of the olympics and then I got to do something I haven’t done in months… take a nap. I laid down with Nainoa and slept for over two hours.  It was absolutely wonderful.

After we woke up from naps, we all went up to the “top-of-the-hill” and hit some golf balls.  Between baseball and golf, Nainoa has a future in one of the sports.  Just look at his form!

Kaia got in on the action and both kids flipped the “competitive switch” and were trying to out-hit each other.  I’m not sure who won, but I can tell you that both Tiff and I are the biggest winners.

As for Makoa, things seem to be looking up.  He is now 6lbs 10oz and eating 80 cc’s a feeding.  How do we know this?  Well, we paid a trip to the pediatrician this morning because he had a really “goopy” eye, with all kinds of green stuff pouring out.  He wouldn’t be a Breeden without having an eye infection, so the Doctor prescribed some Vigamox as a remedy.  Between that and Aquafor, we really need to buy some stock in these companies.  Sometimes I feel like we are single handedly keeping them in business.

We are definitely having our ups-and-downs as both a couple and as a family.  Now that I’m back at work and driving over an hour each way, Tiffany has been left to carry the majority of the weight on her shoulders.  Obviously, I would love to be there for every appointment and every little step that Makoa takes, but I simply can’t.  Professionally, I’m in the most amazing situation of my life.  I’ve been given a great deal of responsibility of managing, not only my US team, but people in three other countries as well.  It’s a delicate balance between work and home-life, and I’m really trying to help Tiff out whenever I am home.

I have decided that since tomorrow is the official start of the Chinese New Year, we are going to get 2010 started at the same time.  It has been an interesting January and February thus far and I’m looking forward to what the rest of the year brings.  We have an appointment with the pediatric endocrinologist on Monday to discuss the next steps for Makoa.  We are looking forward to getting the next chapter in our journey started, so I say to all of you:  ”kung hei fat choi”.

Good news… Nainoa is back with us and feeling much better. So much so that he decided to try and top his sister with his on-camera skills. He needs a little work with holding the camera, but I think he did a pretty good job.

Nainoa is such a sweet boy and I have no doubt he is going to be a fantastic older brother.

Makoa had his first appointment with his new pediatrician today which went very well, Tiffany really liked her. The little man remained around the same weight, punching in at 6lbs 5oz which is fine because that means he’s not losing any weight. I have a feeling we are going to become well known around the doctors office. She wants to make sure we are properly monitoring Makoa’s weight so she wants to see him each week.

Tiffany and I are both a little tired today and it has nothing to do with Makoa, he was absolutely perfect last night. Nainoa was not feeling well and was up every hour which made for a very long evening. We thought at first it was pink-eye, but when he started throwing-up this afternoon we thought it would be a good idea to get him in to see the doctor and out-of-the-house. Apparently it’s just the 24 hour flu, but nevertheless Grammy whisked him off to her house for the night just to be safe. So once again, we’re missing one at home.

I think we have a new on-air personality developing with Kaialani. She decided to take the camera and shoot some footage herself. Here is the result…

I apologize for the late post, but it’s 11:30 and I just got home. Part of being the provider for you family means staying late sometimes in order to meet deadlines. On the positive side, the usual 1.5 hour drive home took a mere 20 minutes. You have to love L.A. traffic!

Makoa is adjusting well to his new life with the rest of the Breeden ohana. I imagine it’s quite peaceful without alarms going off and have tubes and pads attached to him. Then again, there is a new type of “noise” with his big brother that he must get used to. Speaking of Nainoa, he was kind enough to make us remember that he shouldn’t be overlooked as he revealed a pretty sweet case of pink-eye this morning. Oh the joys of parenthood, never a dull moment, and definitely never a break! That’s just fine for this party-of-five though.

I hope to have some additional updates and videos to post up tomorrow. Until then, thank you and goodnight!

It’s only appropriate that we get to bring Makoa home on God’s day.  Exactly one month and two days after Makoa entered the NICU at Torrance Memorial, he has joined our family at our home in Glendale.  It has been extremely difficult and challenging, but unbelievably rewarding at the same time.  I feel like the richest man in the world today, not only for the many fruits of life that God has bestowed on my family, but merely sitting on the couch at with Makoa on my chest.  We are truly blessed!

I would like to say a special thank you to Stacey, Julie, Liz, Amanda, and the rest of the NICU nursing staff for their amazing support of our family.  Also the doctors at Torrance Memorial for always looking out for Makoa and really caring about his progress.  Most of all, I’d like to thank all of you whom have been praying for us, offering to help,and supporting us throughout.  It’s above and beyond anything we could have ever expected and while I hope to repay the favor someday, for now I simply say thank you from the bottom of my heart.

We took a bunch of videos today so I thought we’d cut the chatter and just let you watch and share in our joy.  We are very aware that there will still be challenges ahead, but we are ready to take them head-on.  I will continue to update this blog regularly so please check back often.

This is Stacey.  She’s just the best!

The Breeden Ohana together at last!

It’s official…  Makoa is home with us.  I can’t begin to describe the immense feelings of joy both Tiffany and I have right now.  There is much to be done at the house so I will make this brief, but I wanted to thank each and every one of you for your thoughts, prayers, and support.  Here is a picture of Makoa snuggled up in his new hangout spot gearing up for the big game today.

All I can say is that for the first time in one month and one day, Makoa is tube-free! I didn’t even get to see him today, but from talking with Tiffany, it has been his best day so far. Once his feeding tube came out, he was on-fire, chowing down his bottles. He passed his last big test which was checking him in his car-seat to make sure he could handle it. He passed.

I wish I could do more to help Tiffany. She has been an absolute vision in how she is handling this and taking control of the situation. She has lived at the hospital since yesterday, and God willing, we will all be untied at home as a family sometime tomorrow. I pray that everything goes smoothly tonight and we are able to be discharged with speediness tomorrow. In the meantime, please enjoy these two pictures of Makoa without the feeding tube in. He looks so good!