Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

It may come as no surprise that we are not sending Christmas cards this year as we have been a bit busy the past five weeks.  That doesn't mean that I can't fire off a holiday missive, or a double negative!  Veterans of this Christmas letter know that I go through the year in excruciating detail, so to the letter!
We ushered in the new year at a hotel in downtown St. Paul.  It was so cold on New Year's Day that it was painful.  Then less than three weeks later, we were in Austin for a KU-UT basketball game and it was in the high 70s and sunny.  This is when Anders' love for the University of Texas was born.  A couple weeks later, we returned to the Hill Country for Anders' Christmas present, a trip to Sea World in San Antonio.

February was also a sad month as Anna's beloved grandma, Joyce Vivian (Ytterboe) Lokken, passed away after a long illness.  She flew back for the funeral.  We found out around that time that Anna's grandpa, Dennis Arthur Lokken, had terminal cancer.  We had hoped to drive up in March and see him during Spring Break, but Anders got sick and a blizzard swept across Minnesota.

Brad made his yearly trip down in April.  Anders and I took him to Galveston for some island fun, then on the way back we got caught in some Nightly News Flooding, flooding so bad that the areas through which we drove ended up on the nightly news.  The Chapel Guild chose me in April to be the speaker for Faculty Chapel.  The Class of '13 then chose me in May to be their Baccalaureate speaker.  St. John's gave me an endowed chair in history in May as well, but I could not be at the banquet to enjoy receiving this honor as I was home proving that one does not die if one's stomach and bowel are evacuating their contents at the same time!  Yes, the stomach flu swept through the Peterson home on Mother's Day weekend.  Anders kept a running tally of the hurling, 11 times between the 3 of us if you are interested.  Also in May our landlord kicked us out, but we found a better place to live so it was another blessing in disguise.

The cancer moved quickly and took Dennis at the end of May.  All three of us flew up for the funeral in June.  I booked a day later because I wasn't sure if I could miss the AP reading without owing them money for a plane ticket, but I found out I was off the hook, so I booked the next day.  We departed on a Saturday, driving up to Bush Airport to catch our flight.  Anna and Anders got through security, but the TSA agent would not let me through.  I couldn't believe it.  I have a remarkably easy time with security lines.  Anna's the one who always gets waylaid, probably because she looks like a Democrat.  The agent told me I could not proceed because me ticket was for Hobby Airport not Bush Airport!  Not being used to living in a place that has two airports, and in a hurry to book, I did not notice which airport, I just tried to make sure I was on the same airline as them, American, which might be the only airline that flies into both airports.  I muttered a few words to Anna and then sprinted in the other direction.  I found a cab to Hobby, hopped the plane, then was reunited with my family four hours later in Dallas at which point we got on the same flight.  For the way back, I used Anders to charm the gate agent so that we could all be on the same flight home to Houston.

The funeral was lovely.  It's impressive when a funeral for an 85 year old can fill a church to the point that it's bursting.  Anders was great.  Anna explained to him that everyone would be sad and that it was his job to cheer them up.  He grabbed his grandma Dorene's hand unprompted and escorted her to the front of the church with the family.  There were Lions, and teachers, and Norwegians, and the living members of one of the first basketball teams he coached almost 60 years ago!  We even saw a guy who looked just like Dennis, it was like seeing a ghost...  eerie.
 
I took a group of students to Eastern Europe in the middle of June then we returned home at the end of June for our usual month plus stay.  We visited my family in Kansas, my mom in Iowa, and Anna's parents in Minnesota.  Anna and I made our yearly trip to Grand Marais, MN for the three best days of summer.  I attended my 15 year class reunion and Nordic Dancers' reunion as well as a wedding in June of a friend from high school that had so many former classmates that it was more like the class reunion than was the official one.

Somehow during our horrible May, Anna managed to get pregnant, which we discovered in July.  We then headed back down to Texas in August to prepare.  We joked about having another preemie, but we took many precautions against it.  Anna visited a high risk OBGYN during the late summer and fall along with her regular doctor.  We learned in September that we were having a boy, which Anders had predicted.  Anders wanted to name him Anaranjado, Spanish for "orange," Anders' favorite color.

So Anna began another year at Armstrong Elementary, I at St. John's, Anders at Kids R Kids, and we waited.  Anders was moved up from pre-K to Kindergarten because he reads and does a lot of math.  It's been a good lesson in maturity, with low stakes--Anders calls it "Kindergarten" because it's kinda like kindergarten or kinda-garten.  Anders also began Sunday School this fall, and briefly joined the children's choir until it conflicted with nap time on Sunday afternoon.  We officially joined St. Martin's Lutheran Church in Sugar Land.  They have been great to us over these past five weeks.

We also had a last hurrah little vacation to the Hill Country in September.  We managed to time it on the only cool September weekend I remember in our three years in Texas.  We visited Austin where Anders and I attended the K-State v. UT football game while Anna relaxed.  Then the next day we drove down to Sea World to get more use out of our season pass.

October brought cooler weather and Anders' Halloween costume as "Jack-o-Letters," a jackolantern of letters.  Greg and Dorene flew down to watch Anders trick or treat.  Little did they know that they'd be returning so soon.

Then November 18th came...I can see why Garfield hates Mondays.  Anna left school around 1 pm with "indigestion."  She did not really believe it was indigestion, but she also did not think it could be happening again.  I finished messing with Texas aka teaching the Texas Revolution my way, when I checked my phone, which I don't usually do right after class.  When I heard how calm Anna was in her message, I knew something was really wrong.  I remember leaving school that day, walked toward the bus stop, wondering when I would return and in what state I would return.  The rest of it you can read about in greater detail on this blog, I've rambled enough.

The last five weeks have been a blessing in disguise.  We have seen the kindness and generosity of our friends, colleagues, and church over that time.  We have also been shown the love of our visiting family.  Henrik Arthur has been a steady traveler, so much so that he was transferred two days ago to a less intense, closer NICU, with free parking!  While we feel loved and cared for, there will be no Magnus Olaf Peterson because he would be born at 24 weeks 2 days, and weigh 1 lb 3 1/2 oz.  We are retired from childbirth and further children.  Our family of four (plus Trudy Goodshoes) is set.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Anna and the Peterson Boys: Anders, Henrik, and Jon.

SXSW

I don't know how many absence forms I've signed for students who were planning to attend the South By Southwest music festival in Austin, which is actually North by Northwest from us in Houston.  The process has begun to move Henrik to a hospital much closer to us and also much less busy--Memorial Hermann Southwest.  We hope Henrik will be transferred by the end of next week.  This move is big for us since on January 6 both of us will be back to work for the first time since Henrik was born.  It's about 11 miles from our house rather than 21 miles, and there are not 10 hospitals, a major university, the prime city park, and two former Superbowl sites all within spitting distance.  We'll have only one traffic bottle neck to get through rather than 3-4 bottlenecks.
Anna held Henrik today.  His weight was up to 2lbs. 6 oz, so for the first time, Henrik weighs more than did Anders when he was born.  Henrik is now eating 20 mils.  His breathing is still going well, and he has gained weight for two straight days.  We continually remark about how much more mellow this time in the NICU is than was last time.  Don't get me wrong, it's still an intensive care unit, but it's all just more routine this time.
Anders lost treats yesterday because he was not well behaved, but he has done much better today thus far, and he earned back his treats.  He also napped today for over two hours.  Anders has also expanded the size of the fake school that he attends with his stuffed animals.  Some animals have "student" names, and names that come from stories that he reads, so those stuffed animals have two names.  It's very confusing to keep everyone straight!
Speaking of animals, Trudy gave us quite a scare this morning.  We were already up at 5:45 since the CEO of our house, Anders, was awake and not respecting the rule that we sleep until 7 am on the weekends.  I was up with Anders having breakfast, while Anna was trying to get some more winks when we heard the most ungodly whine coming from outside.  Anna bolted out of bed and ran into the kitchen, thinking Anders was in trouble.  I immediately thought Trudy was in the garage and wanted to get out.  What I found was Trudy stuck in a tree in the backyard.  No, she had not gone too high,  Rather, she was very low on the tree, almost to the ground but not fully.  I thought she had found a possum or some similar varmint back there.  It turns out that she had caught her claw on a chair that was in that tree for some reason.  So I lifted her up, Trudy scurried away, and has spent most of the rest of the day inside on the green couch, which can be problematic since that is also the sight of Anders' pretend school.
Today was a rain out for the most part, but then about an hour before sundown blue skies pushed in and we had a beautiful sunset here on the first day of winter.  One of the best things about living in Texas is that the default sky is "sunny."  Winter in Texas is by far my favorite season.
Tomorrow Anders has Christmas Pageant Practice for his Sheep role.  He also might wander over the Children's Choir to sing "We Three Kings."  I think the main reason non-parents go to the Christmas Pageant church service is to see four year olds wander around the front of the church.  I don't think Anders will disappoint...
I would proofread, but Anders is standing next to me, singing gibberish in my ear so I cannot think.

Christmas Partying

Today was a day full of Christmas cheer.  I put on my domestic apron and put together three fruit trays for Anders' class Christmas party.  Anders liked having me there for lunch.  We bickered a bit during craft time, no more than when at home, but we didn't pretend that we sign Kumbaya to each other either.  I had forgotten how much I used to hate crafting.  It's only gotten worse as an adult as my large, clumsy fingers can't do much with those tiny Kindergarten sized craft pieces.  I think I'd rather try to help with high school math than help with a crafting project.  The kids did a Christmas song for the parents.  It was a disaster on Anders' part.  He did his own thing, then laid down on the job in the middle of the production, which would not have been such a big deal had he not been in the center of the number.  I wonder how much of that display was him acting out his misplaced feelings about Henrik and how much of it is being the youngest kid in the class.  Regardless, it will not be a Facebook masterpiece.
Then I drove in to see Henrik.  He remains steady.  Henrik is up to 20 mils on his feedings.  His Christmas photo is framed on the counter next to his isolette.  There is a professional photographer who takes their photos and gives the parents a free framed 5x7.  Christmas Carolers also sauntered into the NICU as I was holding Henrik.  There is also another baby in Henrik's row at the NICU.  This is another tiny baby in an isolette, so I think he will be there for a while like Henrik.  There have been a number of temporary babies that have cycled through, but this one will likely be his long term neighbor.  Henrik did another nice job on the hold, and I've become comfortable enough to put him back after a hold.  He still weighs 2 lbs 4 oz. 
Tonight we attended the St. John's Christmas Party.  Anders was looked after by some student babysitters at school.  He had fun this year and I did not receive a call to come by to reassure Anders as I did last year at this event, so that's real progress.  We ate and mingled outside at the Headmaster's house.  It will never get old to be at an outside event in December, but it does feel less weird than it did a couple years ago.  This is the best weather of the year!  I'm back in shorts and a t-shirt. 
Anders had a meltdown upon arriving home.  He thinks about Henrik all the time and for long stretches he is fine, such as over the course of the past week until last night.  Anders has had a couple of rough nights in a row, but he might follow that up with a great weekend.  Who knows?!  What I do know is that the hour that I hold Henrik, despite the NICU craziness, is the calmest, most peaceful hour of my day. 

1 month old or 30 weeks gestational age

I forgot to mention that Henrik was given the next size up in diapers because he was having large, blowout poops that were threatening to soil his isolette. Hence, if his diaper looks especially big, it's because of the volume that he is producing, which is quite healthy! 
Henrik reached 30 weeks gestational age and one month old today! 

Beginning of the Middle

Henrik remains 2lbs. 4oz.  The NNP said he will be on cpap for another week.  She would suggest that they dial down the machine to a setting of 4 from 5.  He's on 23% O2, so almost room air.  Their feeling was that Henrik is still a little too young and small to thrive on nasal canulas at this point.  He did a great job with me holding him as he never beeped once, not even an "84" reading.  There is really not much to say, Henrik's just steady as it goes. 
The nurses were complaining about their bad insurance, which they couldn't really get over since they work in a hospital.  I commiserated saying that our insurance got worse when we left Anna's union insurance for "open shop" Texas.  Henrik should qualify for Medicaid to makeup the difference according to our social worker.  It really doesn't make sense that unions get demonized since their entire mission is to help average workers live middle class lives.  I think about income inequality much more living in Texas than I ever did before moving here.  I see such fabulous wealth on a daily basis and if you look for it, you can see abject poverty.
We have returned to typical Winter Texas weather as it's 72 and sunny today.  I'm writing this post outside on the front porch, looking out at the changing leaves (it's still technically Autumn).
Anders gave himself a new middle name, "Boom," today as the wrote out the tag on his Christmas book exchange book.  Tomorrow is his class Christmas party.  I'll be making an appearance with my fruit plate among the Moms.  It's been since Ohio that I logged any serious Mom Time.
I got my hair cut today.  Fortunately, the fastidious barber was again working.  The haircut lasted a LONG time, in a good way!  She even had a second act by shaving my neck and ears.  You know you are getting old when 20% of the haircut revolves around getting the hair out of my ears.
Hasta Luego, computer's about to run out of juice... 

Punitive Poop

Henrik went back to the cpap yesterday.  He had a good 23 hours on Friday and Saturday, but his one bad hour was as the doctors were rounding on Saturday morning.  Susan was again his nurse yesterday and today.  She pleaded with the doctors to keep him on nasal canulas, but he was not ready to be consistent.  She said that he was looking particularly pale, which led to the doctors to measure his blood oxidation level.  They decided that he needed a blood transfusion, which he received last night.  Anna said his color was much better today.  She held him while I was with Anders.  Susan said that as they were putting Henrik back on cpap he was staring her in the eyes, then after he was rewired to the machine he had a giant messy diaper.  Later, after she stuck him with an IV for the blood transfusion, Henrik once again blew out his diaper.  So, Henrik is a pretty laid back guy, but if you mess with him, then he's a punitive pooper.  This is good information to have filed away come March.  We will of course make him mad often, but at least we will know what to expect.  So, Henrik communicates through either remaining saturated or desaturating, and dialing up a big diaper.  He's a very interesting guy to get to know. 
Speaking of interesting guys, Anders chose to be a sheep in the church Christmas pageant.  His other choices were angel or shepherd.  Anders was perhaps the youngest, and definitely the best behaved extra.  He kneeled behind the communion rail, which one of the directors saw, then called for the othe sheep to follow suit.  Of course, by that point Anders had stood up and was wandering away.  The practice was pretty short. The directors have a less is more philosophy, which is probably the best way of managing a gaggle of kids from 4 yrs. through high school.  Anders also took a three hour nap, which put everyone in a good mood this afternoon. 
Anders attended his friend Riya's 3rd birthday party last night.  Santa showed up with the Mrs.  All the kids went crazy, except Anders who kept decorating his cookies.  Santa maintained a steady din of excitement around him.  He electrified the kitchen with his stop there, but Anders saw an Advent Calendar and went after it, not even seeing Santa around him.  As Santa was leaving Anders could not have cared less because Anders was pounding out his repurposed Christmas Carols.  Anders likes to make up his own words to your Christmas favorites and belt them out.  For example, Anders never sings "The Twelve Days of Christmas" with the same words twice. 
Anna goes back to work for a week before break tomorrow.  Henrik will have been out four weeks tomorrow as well. In some ways, I cannot believe it's been four weeks, but in other ways it feels like four years.  My hair is getting thinner, and my beard grayer.  I'll be on the day shift with Henrik this week.  It's supposed to be more seasonal this week with highs in the 60s and 70s.  While I've enjoyed the highs in the 30s, 40s, and 50s, I'm ready for a few warm days.  We still haven't cooked in a long time and probably won't have to this week--thanks everyone!!!

Back to the Casino

Henrik is breathing through nasal canulas!!!  His nurse, Susan, persuaded the doctors to give it a try.  This is the same nurse who has furtively worked with Henrik to help him breath by taking off the cpap to massage his face, with the intended side effect of seeing if he could breath on his own for a while; he could. 
We went in this afternoon.  I had not seen Henrik since Monday, so I thought at first glimpse that he was on Casino Breathing, but thought I was seeing things until Nurse Susan announced the good news to us!  He did quite well and seemed much more comfortable on the canulas than the cpap.  Anders was the same way.  Henrik desaturated only at the very end when he wanted to eat.  It was so nice and calm, and he took the change in stride. 
I'm not sure about all of the items that Henrik will have to check off his list in order to get transferred to a special care nursery in Sugar Land, which would spare us the traffic, congestion, and expensive parking of the TMC, but I know he has to be able to self-regulate his body temperature, which I believe happens between 3 and 4 pounds, I think closer to four pounds.  When he can self-regulate then he'll be out of the isolette.  The insurance paid for a transfer last time, so I hope they will again, but we had union insurance last time. 
Henrik's fast progress has been remarkable.  If he can be in Sugar Land by the time that we are both back at work on January 6, that would be a huge weight off our minds. 
We can see that Henrik and Anders look like different babies now that the cpap is gone.  They really did look eerily similar while he was on the cpap.  We thought that we had access to a fold in time that allowed us to return to 2009 whenever we visited Henrik.  Now we can see, and we do agree that Henrik looks more like me than did Anders at this age.  Anders continues to look more like Anna than me.  Yet, the Peterson Brothers look more like each other than anyone else, but they are not time warp twins anymore. 
Tonight as Anders was on the toilet talking to me he said, "Everything is different in Vietnam. They have different manners." 
I thought I was talking to Walter Sobchak.  I felt like saying, "What has anything got to do with Vietnam?!" 
One of Anders' friends, the only one who moved with him from the Transition Room (3 yr olds) to Kindergarten, is moving away next week.  Anders said he made her mad today when he learned the news.  We could tell it was tough for him since he was telling us about it, since he doesn't usually share those things with us.  Distancing himself from Addison in that manner reminded me of how I was especially mean to my friend Luke in 7th grade before he moved away.  Moving away is so hard on both those leaving and those left behind. 
I hate to end on that note, so the weather remains pretty sweet.  I am always thankful for any day without vicious heat or stifling humidity. 

calm

I left a rather sour impression after my last post.  I don’t really have much to say, other than things are looking up.  Anna has had sufficiently whelmed nurses the past couple days.  Jumpsuit Man has not resurfaced (or Jumpsuit Woman).  It would appear that putting on a jumpsuit is akin to a license permitting dickish behavior.  Anyway… Henrik is down to a setting of 4 on the cpap, once he is at 2 he can go to nasal canulas.  The nurse yesterday gave Henrik a little facial massage where the cpap rests and he did fine for the time he was off of machines.  I asked Anna if he looked any less like Anders when she could see his whole face, nope, still the doppelganger.  The short of it is that Captain Henrik of the Texas Navy is doing quite well.  Yes, there was a Texas Navy, most of their engagements were with Mexico, and the old vestiges I’ve found are Texas Navy Drinking Team shirts in skuzzy Galveston souvenir shops.  Ah, how I love Galveston…  I can’t even say the word Galveston without getting a smile on my face.  I’ve probably said this before, but it’s like Key West, Athens (OH), and Gary Indiana had a child and made Galveston.  One day of school left, then reading day tomorrow, then a final exam on Tuesday, then I’m done til January! 

A Case of the Mondays

Yesterday we had a day filled with the ennui of Act 2 of the preemie drama.  After Friday’s great news, Anna and I have slowly deflated, letting out some of the extreme tension we have been feeling.  Anna felt suddenly nauseous yesterday, so she took a nap rather than go in and expose Henrik.  After her nap, she felt fine, which makes us think that it may be a psychosomatic reaction. 

I went in to see Henrik after work.  It was one of those days.  It was 45 degrees, heavy mist, and a traffic snarl in the Medical Center.  When I arrived at the NICU, the two nurses on duty were in jump suits.  Jumpsuit Man marched over to tell me that Henrik’s nurse had stepped away, but would be back soon.  These two were part of the NICU Travel Team that goes out to the babies where they are and tries to bring them back.  He may be fine at that job, but his bedside manner was zero.  He was brusk and rough.  When our nurse came back, she was a bit overwhelmed by the situation.  I don’t know why there were not more real nurses there, but if I get my hands on one of those satisfaction surveys that Anna always receives, I’ll give them a piece of my mind. 

I asked the nurse if I could hold Henrik, but she said that I would have to wait since it was 5:45 pm, the policy is that you hold for an hour, but another policy is that you can’t be there during shift change at 6:30 pm.  I was there at 5:30, but she was not.  I was taking in the off-putting performance of Jumpsuit Man.  I told her that I was there at 5:30, but she was not there, and that I could not wait until 6:30 to start because I had another son to read bedtime stories.  To her credit, she relented and let me hold.  She might have seen my eyes turning red or my ears starting to smoke, I don’t know, but she made the right call.  What I’ve come to understand implicitly since the adrenaline began to abate on Friday is that we did not start over at 0 days when Henrik arrived on Nov. 18.  We started at 97, and now are at 119.  I felt like I was battling with Pizza Nurse all over again. 

The good thing is that Henrik finally hit 2 lbs yesterday, but he still looks like a Frogman with his long arms and legs, loose skin, and the cpap, which looks like scuba gear.

Pulling out a computer to write is a good way to get your own seat on the bus.  It’s 36, wet, and windy this morning.  I’ve never seen two sustained cold snaps so close together and so early in the winter season.  At least we don’t have ice fog like they had at the Baylor-Texas game in Waco last weekend. Talking about the weather calms me, like Anders doing a letters puzzle.  Anders finished a meal last week and asked, “Is this satisfactory?”  That more syllables than years for Anders!   

No Brain Bleeds!

On Thanksgiving morning we received a call from the neonatal nurse practicioner saying that Henrik might have a brain bleed, but the scan was inconclusive so they'd be doing another scan in a week.  To a certain extent this news violated Memorial Hermann's "we call all the time, not just when the news is bad."  This policy seemed good and reasonable because Minneapolis only called when the news was bad.  So we studied Henrik for the next week, like a conspiracy theorist would study the Zapruder Film, for signs of a brain bleed.  We learned more about brain bleeds and understood that level 1 or 2 brain bleeds are not that bad, while level 3 and 4 bleeds are not good.  We girded ourselves even though he looked fine. 
In the meantime, Henrik was extubated in a manner that last much longer and proved more successful than Anders' dalliance with extubation, but we could not enjoy this accomplishment because in our quiet moments two words flashed across our minds, "BRAIN BLEED....BRAIN BLEED...BRAIN BLEED..." 
Then on Thursday night we received news that the preliminary read of the scan said no bleed, but the radiologist had not seen it yet.  Then yesterday afternoon, Anna texted me "NO BLEED!!!"  I deflated onto the table in the library at school.  My next move was to head downstairs to the bathroom for what felt like the first time in a week.  I felt like I was breathing for the first time since Henrik arrived almost three weeks ago.  We didn't realize just how much stress we were carrying around until a goodly amount of it left.  I felt lighter, and not just the weight I've lost on the Henrik Stress Diet. 
We are leaving the overwhelmingly stressful first act of the preemie hospital stay.  It's the shortest of the three acts, but also the most intense and fraught with danger.  The second act is breathing and growing for the transfer to the special care nursery in Sugar Land.  We may be further into Act II than we thought as I received word today that Henrik might move to nasal cannulas, or "casino breathing" as we call it, early next week!  Henrik is on room air today and a level 5 setting on the c-pap, at setting 2 he moves to cannulas.  The breathing is amazing and a bit disorientating (in a good way) with its speed considering the pokey nature of Anders' progress. 
I held Henrik today for the first time since Sunday and saw him for the first time since Tuesday.  It's hard being away and the guilt is crushing, so today felt great.  Henrik had one deep desaturation where the nurse had to come and rouse him, but it's explainable because he had just finished eating and he had burrowed deep into my chest hair. 
It's legitimately cold here today with high temperatures in the high 30s and windchills this morning at 15-20 degrees.  I don't think it froze this morning, but our neighbor's orange tree might be in trouble tonight.  We came close to a  record high temperature early this week in the low 80s and now we might set the record for the lowest high temperature ever on Pearl Harbor Day. 
We also have had amazing support from friends, colleagues, and church.  We have meals in our fridge for a week with more on the way today!  The outpouring of concern, love, and prayers has been overwhelming.  Thank you all. 

Second Hand News

Henrik went to C-Pap breathing yesterday!  Anna and Dorene arrived as the transition was happening.  Anna did not hold Henrik yesterday because it was too much for him.  Aside from being extubated and breathing more independently, the most encouraging aspect for me was to hear from Anna just how mad Henrik was about it.  He was yelling, paused, and then started yelling again as if to say, "One more thing!....Blah...."  Henrik appeared to be squeaking a bit and almost crying.  One of my concerns is the potential, if tiny, brain bleed and I worried about how that might manifest itself.  His spirited reaction to extubation allayed many of my concerns.  He is much more laid back as a rule than Anders, but it's good to hear him acting like the Wild Man his older brother was at least in this instance.
Dorene was going through her wallet looking for something, and she found a note her dad had made for her after Anders was born.  Anna and I had asked Dennis Arthur Lokken how to say "wild man" in Norwegian.  On the note, he wrote it out, then as an aside at the bottom he wrote that "Anders means D.A.L. in Norwegian."  She found that note also on the same day that Henrik's birth certificate and social security card arrived, the first piece of mail ever received by Henrik Arthur.  I was thinking about Dennis after I picked up the mail, and before I heard Dorene's story.  I had this image of him saying to me, "Hey, I really like the middle name Arthur--what was wrong with Dennis?" 
On an unrelated note, Anna and I finished "Breaking Bad" last night.  Wow!  It was amazing. I love the small role Houston has in the show.  I don't want to spoil anything in case you are working your way through it.  We started last summer and I felt it was imperative that we finish soon because I did not think I could avoid the spoiler much longer.  I loved the song choices in the last episode of Marty Robbins' "El Paso," and "Baby Blue" by Badfinger.  I also loved the use of "Oh Sherry" by Steve Perry in the 3rd to last episode. 

Sunday Recap

I held Henrik again yesterday.  Each time we have held him it has been a bit easier than the last time.  He had one moderate desaturation and one big one yesterday, but for the most part he self-corrected.  He is wiggly and handsy enough to make his presence known, but not so much as to burn extra pounds.  Henrik is off of his supplemental nutrition and on only 12cc of Anna’s breast milk.  His weight is up to 1lb 15 oz.  He has been gaining an oz or two per day, so me might be 2lbs on the 2^nd.  His 2^nd brain scan is scheduled for Thursday.  I guess brain bleeds are common for babies born this early, and our friend Deepa’s daughter Anya (born at 24 weeks) had one and she is fine today, if overly concerned about lice.  Anya and Anders are both careful preemies, for Anders his excessive concern is about “Stranger-Danger.”  It’s good to be concerned and vigilant, but his level of nuance and pointed questioning on this issue is akin to New Orleans DA Jim Garrison delving into the Warren Commission Report.  Now, Anya has Anders concerned about lice as well. 

Deepa, a medical doctor, says that so much of the brain has yet to develop that brain bleeds, while serious, are not proportional to having one in a fully developed brain.  Moreover, even level 1 or 2 bleeds are just monitored, and the spot on his X-Ray is inconclusively a brain bleed at this point.  The point of being repetitive is that my feeling is that Henrik is fine.  He tracks, responds, and seems to want to initiate conversation.  When I mentioned during my first visit yesterday that Anders was coming later he opened his eyes and did a little Henrik Shimmy (not to be confused with the Anders Shake, and hey, Anna, I didn’t say that he Rik Rolled, so that’s progress!).  Henrik can be sort of like the Headmaster in Rushmore until Anders is mentioned, all calm and sedate, then you mention Mr. A and H is all “Fischer!”  Henrik just conserves his energy for eating and growing.  He seems more mellow and self-contained than Anders.  While Anders would like for everyone to hold him, Henrik often seems ready to go back in the isolette.  It’s as though he’s saying, “Go! Leave! You’ve stayed your hour!” He wants to get back to ruling his home. 

Per CDC guidelines, yesterday was Anders last day to visit Henrik until the end of flu season or Henrik goes home, whichever comes first.  I imagine Henrik will be home first since flu seasons probably runs through March, even though Houston is in full bloom by mid February it’s a national declaration.  Anders will be okay with this notion owing to his love of rules.  I think Henrik will miss seeing Anders, however.  He was saturating at 100%, beeping off in the good direction, and generally showing every sign of his excitement at seeing Anders.  Anna took a picture of the brothers shaking hands, which she put on her Facebook. 

Grandma Update:  After Grandma Ingrid’s knitting adventure in the nation’s most poorly designed airport for the post 9-11 world, her plane from Houston to St. Louis on Southwest failed mechanically, so everyone had to get off and she spend last night in the Airport Marriot (on SWA’s dime, I hope).  She’ll try again from Hobby today….  Grandma Dorene turns 60 today!  Happy Birthday!  Anders loves celebrating birthdays and round numbers so he’s excited, especially since he had hoped to but did not get to celebrate with Grandpa on his 60^th in February. 

Well, I’m passing the Summit, now Joel Osteen’s mega church, which means I’m almost at work.  Til Tuesday…