Happy Summer!  We have been really busy lately with the boys so far.  At the end of May, we spent the weekend at the beach (yes with a 7 week old and a 2-1/2 year old!).  Our good friend The Crotty’s were visiting from Indiana and had a time share.  We had such a great time even though the weather wasn’t cooperating.  It felt like spring but at least Damon had his first beach trip.  He didn’t get out of the frontpack that Daddy was wearing because it was too cold and windy.  We also visited the Mission at San Juan Capistrano and it was beautifully landscaped!  The girls also snuck away for a pedicure.    We already miss you Tara, Neil, Samantha & Caden.  Josh’s parents also visited and met their new grandson.  We celebrated Father’s Day early with the California & Arkansas grandparents at Lake Gregory.  The guys didn’t do well fishing but we all had fun and both boys did so well.  It was really nice showing Josh’s parents our new house and church.  I also got spoiled with some good southern cookin’ and my Arkansas mom even made a casserole to freeze for later.  What a treat!  We also saw Uncle John and Aunt Gayle since they all drove together to California.  Next, we visited with Josh’s cousin Chad and his girls.  We had a lot of fun watching the Lakers win it all (!!!) at Shawn & Jenny’s house.  Right before we left our house Branson said he was visiting his cousins.  It was so cute!  He had such a great time playing with all the boys and Leah.  My good friend Xenia is also visiting from Illinois and came over yesterday with her daughter Lili to meet Damon.  It was good seeing her as well.  So, that is our summer so far.  We still have swim lesssons to go but had to reschedule after Branson hurt his nose.  Thank you everyone for your concern about Branson.  We’ve appreciated all of the calls, emails, and texts.  Today his nose is looking better.  The bruise is turning green and he hasn’t gotten black eyes yet.  We are keeping medicine and band-aids on it.  Yesterday he woke up from nap and it was bleeding again.  …I’m looking forward to it slowing down a bit. 

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We had a big scare with Branson in the middle of the night.  I had just gone to bed and heard a cry then a loud BANG.  I ran to Branson’s room to find him crouching on the ground and crying.  It didn’t sound like he was in pain so I thought he just had a bad dream.  I lifted him up and set him on his bed and his nose was bleeding a lot.  I called for Josh, got the tissues, then realized that he was starting to bruise.  There was a line across the top of his nose and as I was talking to Josh it was getting really swollen.  I grabbed the insurance card, blanket, sippy cup, and Josh took him to the emergency room at about midnight.  The doctor looked at him and luckily his nose was not broken.  We had to wake him up throughout the night to make sure he didn’t have a concussion and try to ice it (even though he hates it).  After sleeping in this morning, he seems to be pretty much back to normal.  He insisted that I put medicine on the scrapes and cover it with a Spiderman band-aid.  He was so brave and barely cried in the emergency room.  We’d like to thank our friend Chris Berry for stopping by the hospital to give Josh some company and make sure Branson was okay; that was very nice of you!   A couple of hours later, Branson came home with a bagful of goodies and he played with them all day.  So, he is okay!!!!

Earlier that day as we were watching the Lakers WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP, Branson was screaming “Lakers win – Kobe wins!”  I was so proud! 

Damon had his two month check-up today.  He is now 12 lbs. 9 oz. (50 percentile), 22 inches long (15 percentile), and has a 15-1/2 inch head circumference (50 percentile).  Basically, he is average except for his height which is a little shorter than the average two month old.  He did really good with his shots and barely cried.  He is getting a lot of rolls on his thighs and arms!  He still has very blue eyes and his hair is getting a little lighter with a slight auburn tint to it.  Most people say he looks like mommy especially when I was a baby. 

We welcomed yet another Galindo family member in the month of May.  My sister Candace had her baby girl Gabriella Diane today at 12:20 p.m.  She was 6 lbs 4 oz and 20 1/4 inches long.  Wardo, Candace, and BIG sis Alyssa are all excited and home with the baby.  We can’t wait to meet our niece this summer when they visit from Detroit. 

It has been a month already since we welcomed our second son.  Time has been going by so fast.  At his last appointment, Damon already weighed 9 lbs 7 oz.  He has definitely caught up with his weight and isn’t considered premature at all.  He is already holding his head up for a few seconds at a time.  He is also more alert and responds to our voices.  We both think Damon looks more like mommy (of course since he’s named after daddy!), what do you think?! 

Damon had his two week check up today and he is now 7 lbs 6 oz and 20 1/2 inches long.  The doctor said that he is doing really well and growing just like a normal baby who came home right after birth.  He is now sleeping more at night and more alert during the day.  He is such a good baby and isn’t bothered with Branson running by or screaming – or both.

We were blessed with a few visitors lately.  Grammie Tess drove from Las Vegas to meet Damon and spend time with Branson.  Great Grandpa and Grandma Galindo also made the trip from Utah to visit us.  We also had Aunt Bibiana for part of the week from Chicago who was a HUGE help.  Thank you so much Bibiana!  I tried to get her to stay but it didn’t work.    Great Grandpa & Grandma Romeyn, Uncle Jeff, Aunt Pam, Cousin Kevin and our friend Tracie also visited.  We have been blessed with people from the MOMS Club, our church and Jeff & Pam bringing us dinner.  We are now trying to get adjusted to one more person in the house and getting used to Daddy going back to work.  Enjoy the pictures!

Our son was released from the NICU this afternoon and he is finally home!  We had to sign a lot of forms and watch CPR / carseat videos.  Tia Sandra helped us entertain Branson at the hospital since he insisted he came with us.  He proudly wore his “big brother” shirt and even wore the shirt to bed.  It was such a great feeling to have our family together – finally.  (pictures to come)  Damon came home one day sooner than expected and is doing very well.  Thank you for all of your prayers. 

We visited Damon at the hospital two times today and both times he had improved from the last time we had seen him.  In the morning I was able to breastfeed him for the first time.  He is now officially off of his iv and looks more like a normal baby without all of the tubes on his body.  He is almost eating 2 ounces, which is what a baby should be eating.  They are expecting to move him to the other side of the NICU (the almost healthy/less risk side) by late tonight; this is the first step to him going home.  I also spoke with the doctor who surprised me and said he would probably be going home Wednesday afternoon instead of Thursday if he keeps responding like he has been.  We are hoping for the best and just want him home with us.

Our son was born Thursday April 9th 3-1/2 weeks before his due date.  My water broke early morning and we ended up doing an emergency c-section due to bleeding.  I spent three days in the hospital and came home April 12th, Easter morning.  The baby has been in the NICU due to an undeveloped lung, fluid in the lungs, and trouble breathing.  He is supposed to come home on Thursday.  We had an amazing visit with him about a half an hour ago.  I fed him from a bottle for the first time, he is also off of oxygen.  They are increasing the amount of breast milk and decreasing the iv for every feeding.  We just need his breathing to slow down and then he can come home.  As soon as we got out of the car tonight Branson said “I want to see baby Damon” - he is starting to realize who this baby is.  Branson got to officially “meet” his brother for the first time through the window at the NICU tonight.  He is not allowed in the NICU unit so it has been tough to explain that to him.  Please keep us in your prayers and we will keep you updated with his condition.

Damon Joshua MacPeek

April 9, 2009  3:47 pm

6 lbs 14 oz  19″ long

We had a dr appt on Thursday with our new doctor.  Because of a problem with our insurance, I was forced to switch doctors this late in the pregnancy.  We aren’t happy about it but cannot change it so that is that.  The appt took forever and they refused to let Branson into the appt which bothered me… hopefully we won’t have to go to many more appts.  Everything looked fine with the baby and the doctor was able to find the heartbeat immediately.  She did run extra tests because I am starting to experience mid to low back pain.  Hopefully everything will come back okay.  I am beginning to slow wayyyy down and get very tired by the early evening.  We went on our last mini vacation before baby to Big Bear this weekend and stayed at my grandparent’s cabin.  It was really nice to get away for a bit and relax.  I beat Josh in the card game Phase Ten!!!  I am packing the hospital bag today and we are “officially ready” for the baby to arrive.  I would prefer he wait a couple of weeks, but we’ll see what schedule he is on.  We actually had our first “false labor” early this morning.  It only lasted about an hour then went away.

We gave Branson the choice of sleeping in his pack n play or the big boy bed at the cabin and he chose the big bed.  He only got up once, right after I put him down and slept until 6:30 the next morning.  We bought him a mattress today so he is officially out of the crib.  He seems excited about it and we keep telling him that the baby will be in a crib not him.  I can’t believe he is so grown up already – when did that happen?!