Our Family Circus

Umma's World ended on a high note with a happy post and I'm glad about that. And since Jayden now refers to me as 'Grandma' almost as much as he calls me 'Umma', and since Mia calls me 'Grandma', and I have no idea what Sophie, Eòghan, or 'Baby Ray' will be calling me, I thought it was time to retire Umma's World. Also I've read that starting a new blog could solve some of the blogger problems I've been having. I hope that's true.

So if any of you are interested in following the antics of my family you can find us here at Our Family Circus.

Home Sweet Home

Finally Eóghan is home where he belongs! And it feels so good!

"Hey! What's going on? Who's the new kid?!"

Brotherly Love

And this is my niece, Erin:




Katie asked Erin to be Godmother to Eóghan, and Erin is the one who favored the Gaelic spelling of Eóghan (instead of spelling it as Owen). She also told us that he was going to be born on September 24 ~ and he was! I think these two have a special connection.


I probably won't be posting for awhile, and when I do it will be on a new blog. I'll be back to give you the address soon. In the meantime I will visit as often as I can.

Thanking you all for all your kindness, your support, and your prayers. I am so grateful.
Love,
Eileen

Let There Be Light

Ray went to the hospital to visit our little man after work today because unfortunately Eóghan still isn't able to come home. He's jaundiced and needs photo therapy.
Katie and Ray said Eóghan was mad, he did not like being on his stomach, and he did not like having the goggles on or having his head wrapped, but as soon as the light was switched on, he stopped crying, and he settled down for a nice nap:

Don't get too comfortable there.
Hurry Home, Little Man!
You have a host of friends and family anxiously awaiting your homecoming!

GOOD NEWS!

Eóghan is doing very well! He is still in the NICU but no more spitting up blood and his tests have come back positive! The stomach pump was removed and he was put on a special newborn formula (because he kept spitting up and it's very important that he keep fluids down in order to keep the bilirubin count down). He's still a little jaundiced, so they are trying to get him to drink as much as possible and still giving him IV fluids, but if the next blood test comes back okay, and we can assure the hospital that he will be seeing his own pediatrician tomorrow, Eóghan can come home! (I'm waiting for a call back from the doctor now).

So I'm still hoping and praying!

And just look at this big boy picking his head up off his Mommy's shoulder already, trying to get a look at the world around him!

Ray sent me these from his phone. Ray works just a few blocks from the hospital so lucky Grandpa got to see him on his lunch hour!

(He looks like he's saying, "Hey, who is that?")

("Oh, it's you, Paw. Hi, Paw!")

Thank you, everyone, for all your good thoughts, well wishes, and all your prayers. I appreciate it so much!

Oh! And a few people asked about Eóghan's name, it's pronounced like Owen, but it's spelled with the Gaelic spelling. And, no, it's not a family name (at least not that I know of!), it's just a name that Katie liked (and I've always liked the name Owen too!), and it was my niece Erin that was rooting for the Irish spelling! I actually like it, I think it's unique.
Eóghan's middle name is Harry, and that is for Ray's Dad.

Thanks again, everyone!
Love,
Eileen

A Prayer For Eóghan Harry

This strong little man who has been eating, voiding, and moving his bowels so well is now having a little trouble. He was vomiting blood so he's been transferred to the NICU, where he is having his stomach pumped, deprived of any food by mouth, his only nutrition is IV fluids, and he is not very happy. But even so, he is easily soothed by a little song or poem, a stroke of the head, and lots of loving, and he calms right down and goes back to sleep:



Look at this BIG BOY! And he's a fighter! Pulling out all his tubes!


I sang him my little "Grandma's Baby" song and told him how much his Grandma loves him, and I think he understood:

(Is that not a smile?!! Yes, I do believe Eóghan smiled at me!)


I love baby's profiles.
And I ask you ~ is this not one of the sweetest profiles?



Initial tests and an x-ray show no blockage, so that's a very good sign. Now they are in the process of emptying his stomach, and sometime over the next twenty-four hours they will re-introduce "food" (which I think will make Eóghan very happy!), and we'll see what happens.



If you could remember to say a prayer for Eóghan we'd appreciate it.

Meet Eóghan Harry

Eóghan Harry arrived Saturday, September 24 at 5:44 PM weighing eight pounds and thirteen ounces, and twenty-one inches long! (He hardly fits into the newborn diapers!)

His Mommy went to her doctor's appointment at noon and she was told that she was half-way through already and to get herself to the hospital (Kate had been having contractions on and off all week, and Friday night & Saturday morning they were getting stronger and coming faster). Ray drove them to the hospital in Manhattan, and I was kept up-to-date on the progress through texts from Katie and phone calls from Ray. And finally the call that he was here! And then the first phone picture from Katie:






But that was not enough for Jayden, Ellie, and myself ~ we were anxious to meet Eóghan in person! So Ray drove from Manhattan, picked us up, and drove back downtown. And then we were a very happy group!

Ellie and Eóghan

A very tired, but very happy Mommy with her two boys

Jayden always finds ways to occupy himself, here he found some gloves and I think he's playing mad scientist!

But I think he had more fun getting to know his new baby brother!





Look at the cute little hats the hospital gives to the babies:




A new little life.
Thank You, God!

Sophie/Frankenstein

Katie and Sophie were playing "Frankenstein" over and over again, but, of course, when Ray tried to record it Sophie wasn't cooperating. Finally, she decided to do it once more (but once she stepped on something on the table her only interest was in what happened to be left on Ellie's plate!):