Toolin' Up Tuesday

Seems that recently, my Toolin' Up Tuesday posts have been online tools. This one is no different. Remember that TV show, PeeWee's playhouse? Remember the "picturephone"? If not, see a video clip here, don't worry, it's clean! Well, check this service out... it's just like the picturephone (except without the tin can!) Last winter, we were introduced to Skype. It is a FREE online phone service with web cam abilities. My sister in law gave us a web cam and told us about Skype. Because she travels the world and is only visiting a few times a year, she wanted us to be able to share Addyson with her where ever she found herself living at the time. It has been a great way for us to keep in touch, although we don't do it as often now as she is currently living halfway across the globe and the time difference is tricky. Many computers now come with a web cam, either as a seperate piece or built in. You can sign up for a Skype account and reconnect with friends and family. Perfect for those with little ones or for those who prefer face to face conversations. Try it, you'll be hooked!

Read about the tools other bloggers are talking about at Toolin' Up Tuesday over at LifeAsMOM.

Toolin' Up Tuesday

Last week was fun - guest hosting for fishmama over at Life as MOM.

This week, I'm posting a day late because I was unable to use the internet yesterday - I had a field trip for work to Arthur, IL. It was a long day, but I got to visit Carstin Brands factory where they make cultured marble, solid surface, quartz, and granite counter-tops.

I'm back now and hoping that it's ok that I'm posting late.

The tool that I find very useful for sharing photos is Walgreens Photo. I can upload digital images from my computer/camera to the photo storage on the Walgreen's site. From this site, I can place an order to be printed and mailed to me or I can pick up from a local Walgreens in as little as 1 hour. The best part about this site is I can select prints and have them printed at the local Walgreen's near my parent's house. Mom can pick up photos on her way home from work. I can pay online or she can pay when she picks them up. You can also create a group so others can view your photos, add photos of their own, and order the ones they want. They offer many other photo gifts as well. We used their calendar product last year to create a custom calendar with photos of Addyson and her cousin Grace. We gave these as Christmas gifts to grandparents and great grandparents. We plan to do it again this year. I will be waiting for a Walgreen's coupon to come along, as this is the best way to make a customized, inexpensive, and well received Christmas gift.

Toolin' Up Tuesday

I was honored that Jessica over at Life as Mom asked me to host this week's version of Toolin' Up Tuesday. Stop on over to Life as Mom to see what I'm "baking" today and join in the fun. The Mr. Linky is not working over at Life As Mom, so leave a comment there with your post link.

Toolin' Up Tuesday

The tool I'd like to share today is an online tool. When my daughter was born 15 weeks premature in April 2007, we found ourselves in a very emotional and chaotic situation. Her life was very unstable and we were concerned with each minute to minute. Much of our family lives out of town but wanted to keep informed of her progress. The hospital, luckily, was only 15 minutes from our home. After a long day at the hospital, trying to digest each piece of information from the doctors and nurses, the last thing we wanted to do was call each person on our list and review all the details. We needed to eat, sleep, and get back to the hospital.

Our welcome packet at the hospital contained a brochure on a webpage called CaringBridge. It is a free service you can use online to set up a webpage for your child, yourself, or any loved one. We were able to set up a webpage for her, share the link with family and friends, and, in turn, keep each person updated without the hassle. The website allows you to share up to 12 photos, links to other sites of importance (we linked to medical sites that explained each issue Addyson was confronted with so others could read up and get more info), a welcome page with background info, a journal page to write updates as often as you wanted, and a guestbook page for each person visiting to write some encouraging words or to ask questions that they had.

Although Addyson is doing fairly well now, we continue to use her webpage to keep family involved in her life as she grows and learns new things. We still update with her medical issues, but for the most part, we love to share her accomplishments now. The nurses from the hospital still visit Addy's page and stay informed of her progress.

A few exceptional features I noted: Each visitor has the option of receiving an email when a new journal entry is posted so they can more easily remember to check back in. As a new mom who wasn't quite ready to share her 1 lb, 7.9 oz bundle of joy with the entire world, I had the option of setting a password to the webpage and monitoring who was privey to that password. Once the doctors said that we were hour to hour or day to day instead of minute to minute, I took the password off and shared her with whomever would listen.

Now we can look back at the journal entries to see what we were experiencing at each step of the journey. We can also look back at the guestbook entries to see who was checking in on Addy and she'll be able to see how many people were pulling for her.

I invite you to visit our daughter's webpage to see what it's all about. It's very easy to use, so don't worry if you don't know how to write html or use any web design software. I promise anyone can do it! If you or someone you know could benefit from this service, don't be afraid to use it. I have noticed that adults going through medical issues have used it and also men and women in the military also use it to stay connected to friends and family back home. CaringBridge.org

To see what kinds of Tools others are using, visit Toolin' Up Tuesday hosted by LifeAsMom.

Toolin' Up Tuesday

The tool we couldn't live without around here is the Zevex EnteraLite Infinity Enteral Feeding Pump. Since our daughter, Addyson takes no food by mouth, she recieves her nutrition through a g-tube. This tube was surgically placed in her stomach last November 2007. For a while, we tried bolus feedings, where you connect a syringe to the tube and let gravity do its thing. Addyson's stomach is very sensitive and couldn't handle the bolus feeds. We finally got the feeding pump. It allows us to change the settings and control the feedings more accurately. She receives about 5 ounces over the course of an hour, three times a day. She also receives about 19 ounces over the course of nine hours overnight. This allows her body to better tolerate the feedings so she can get the nutrients and calories that her body needs. One great accessory that we love is the Infinity Mini Backpack that came with the pump. It allows us to mix an entire 24 hours worth of formula at a time and stores it in this pack with ice packs to keep the formula fresh. It also holds the pump and tubing. This makes it much easier to travel out and about without worry. It also is much more discreet than pulling an IV pole around!

Learn what tools others use to get through the day at Toolin' Up Tuesday hosted by Life as a Mom.