Friday 23 Dec

First full day in the new house and I have to say the accommodations are a lot nicer than my little crib in Special Care - plus they don't make me have wires connected to me, so I can check out different parts of the house.  So far my favorite is right by the tree since I like to look at the lights.

I spent the morning and early afternoon with Dad while Mom went to the hospital to visit Ben (I told her to say hi for me but have no interest in going back there myself after finally getting out!).

In fact, for about an hour Dad put me in some sort of wrap where he could walk around and I was snuggled up in front of him.  I tried to stay awake and check out what was going on since there was so much new stuff to see, but have to admit that being swaddled up and moving around when Dad walked put me to sleep pretty quick.

And here's me with Mom later in the day after she came back.  That's my room we're in, with my crib off camera to the right.  I'll see if I can get Dad to take a picture of the whole room tomorrow so you can see it - I have a nice space of my own and then Ben has a separate crib on the other side of the room. 

In the afternoon Mom and Dad let me stay out in the living room instead of going back to my crib.  I think they wanted me to play a bit but I was more interested in looking at the lights again.

In the evening I had a bath - didn't run as smoothly as the ones at the hospital, but I'll cut them some slack, they're still learning - and fell asleep laying on Mom's shoulder.  It was a great day!

Thurs 22 Dec

Check this out:

Notice anything different?  Well, for starters the background is NOT the Special Care Nursery room but my house.  That's right, I'm HOME!!!

Let's start at the top.  Mom and Dad came by for most of the day today and for most of they day they did the usual stuff:  temperature...

...feeding...

...and holding me.

(really, who could ask for anything more, right?)

But when they started putting more clothes on me instead of just putting me back in my crib to sleep after my 5:30 feeding, I knew something was up.

(note my thoughtful expression as I try to figure it out)

I had just figured out that we must be going on a trip somewhere, which was why they were bundling me up (I know I haven't been outside the hospital, but it doesn't take a genius to watch the weather and realize it's cold out and I'd need extra clothes) - and that was when they shoved a paci in my mouth to keep me from talking!  I think they didn't want Ben to know what was going on since he still has to stay in our room in Special Care awhile longer.

Once they put a hat on me I knew I was right since it's always pretty warm in Special Care and I rarely need to wear a hat but they were pretty insistent this time.

Then they put me in that same special chair they sat me in for awhile yesterday....

... and next thing I knew I was in the back seat of the Forester on our way home.  We hit some traffic, and I remembered my training from Mom while me and Ben were still inside her that whenever the car has to stop we're supposed to yell "stupid Dallas traffic!"  Of course, I haven't quite figured out how to say all of that yet so I just cried whenever we came to a stop.

But before too long, Dad took me out of the car - still in that special chair - and brought me into another place.  It smelled a little different than either of the nurseries but I was too sleepy to look around and check it out very much.  I'll have more of a report on the new digs tomorrow when I've had a chance to check them out more.

All in all a pretty busy day for me.  I hope Ben does okay on his own without me to talk to him in our room tonight!

Oh, and I did get to try out Skype this evening to visit with my cousin Eli.  I showed him how to drink a bottle, but maybe I should try whatever he's doing since he's gotten a lot bigger than me!

Wednesday 21 Dec

Had a good night with Mom staying overnight with me, but then this morning we were supposed to have an appointment with the lactation nurse since Mom wanted to try feeding me and Ben at the same time again.  Well, I was nice and rested beforehand:

However, I woke up a little early since I was hungry.  So Mom did my temperature and diaper, and then held me while she was waiting for the nurse to come.

Well, I was doing fine and managed to hold off until my scheduled feeding time, and even a little later.  But when the nurse still hadn't shown up for our appointment by 15 minutes after my scheduled time - and I had already been hungry before it, I lost it and started crying uncontrollably.  I mean, I was trying to be patient but really how long am I supposed to be able to wait - I'm just a baby!

Unfortunately, by the time the nurse did show up I was so upset that I couldn't even try to latch on so Mom had to just feed me a bottle.  I can't wait till we go home and I can eat on my own schedule instead of having to work around the hospital schedule!

Also in the evening I had my car seat test, which is where they put me in the car seat for an hour and a half to make sure I could handle being upright without any bradys or apnea.  I of course passed with flying colors!

I think I'll have some big news tomorrow so make sure to check back then!
sdf

Tuesday 20 Dec

Quiet day.  Mom and Dad came by early today; Dad fed me my bottle while Mom breastfed Ben.  I managed to spit up a fair amount on Dad's shirt which I thought was pretty impressive since he had it well covered with a spitup cloth.  But I did finish the bottle.  The doctor said I gained some weight yesterday and they're hoping I keep it up through the week so that I can maybe go home late this week!

We swapped up for my 11:30 feeding, with Dad taking care of Ben while Mom breastfed me.  I'm getting better at that even though I still don't like it as much as the bottle.

Finally, we took what I know everyone's been waiting for:  family Christmas photos!  Here's the group one, as you can tell I at least knew to look at the camera while my brother was confused by the whole thing:

Dad also took some pictures of me in my Christmas outfit; for some bizarre reason Mom thought it would be cute if I had a hat on my feet.  I think it makes me look like a tadpole, but couldn't reach down that far to take it off, so was forced to wriggle my feet out of it one at a time.

Mom came back in the evening to feed me again and stay the night at the hospital.  Don't worry, I won't let her get much sleep - been saving up some noises all day to make tonight!

Monday 19 Dec

Hey everybody!  Basically another day of working on my eating and developing.  Still no more bradies but the doctor says I also need to finish all my feedings and be gaining weight every day before I can go home.

Had an ultrasound this morning to check on my PDA (the hole in my heart, not an electronic planner or inappropriate behavior LOL).  I was a little annoyed by it - came right in the middle of my feeding with Mom - but Dad gave me my paci and held my hand so I tried to stay calm and just get it over with.

After it was over I went back in my crib for a bit - and I'd like to point out that those wet spots on my outfit are from the ultrasound gel, hence not my fault:

Mom did some more breastfeeding with me at that feeding (my 11:30) then I had bottles the rest of the day.  I did well on my 2:30 feeding, finishing the whole thing (though needed to be burped a whole bunch of times, like every 5-8 ml!), and they upped my volume to 45 ml per feeding to try to get my weight up some more.

At my 5:30 feeding I was a little less successful, I think because I was still sleepy.  I ended up taking almost my whole feeding from a bottle, but it took me about 40 minutes to do so which Dad says is too long and I need to pick it up.

After that lengthy effort to eat I was pooped and went right back to sleep!

We'll see how things go overnight - they're trying me on a different bottle that's supposed to reduce the amount of air I take in which would help me sleep better.  Will report back tomorrow.

mid-December catch-up

(Editor's - i.e., Dad's - note:   due to finals-week-slash-end-of-semester-hecticness, was not able to post any of the kids' updates this past week and just now getting back to it now that grades are posted and graduation's over.  To get back on track I've asked them to keep their notes on the 14th-18th brief and do more of a summary/digest version.  But never fear, there'll still be pictures from each day even if not as much text.  Then I expect we'll be back to the usual once-daily entries from here till the next crisis)

Wednesday, Dec 14th

Okay, before anything else I just need to say:  I know Dad wanted us to keep these short, but I have to say I don't see why I should have to have less to say just because he's been busy - I mean, I've been keeping up with my logs on what's happening every day, it's hardly my fault that he didn't get around to posting them.  But whatever, I'll try to be concise, efficient, short, and to the point (ha ha! - get it?)

Not a whole lot to report on Wednesday anyhow other than my feedings.  Weight's up a bit to 4 lb. 15 oz. - still can't quite break that 5 pound mark...

As for the feedings, I'm getting pretty good at eating from the bottle.  I took a whole bottle at 8:30 a.m. from the nurse, then another whole one (in fact more than that, I only needed to eat 43 ml but I took 47!) from Dad at 11:30, eating the whole thing in under 15 minutes.  I'm doing good!

(Editor's note:  yes, she's eating well, but what she "forgot" to mention is that when I went to feed her she was crying like crazy, but following nursery procedure I had to do her temperature and diaper before feeding her, and while she had her diaper off she peed on her outfit, which meant we had to change her clothes, which made her even MORE angry and was literally *screaming* until I got the bottle in her mouth, which quieted her right down.  I'm hoping this isn't a trend that she's going to go crazy any time we have to do anything other than feed her when she's hungry...)

ANYHOW, after my feeding I took a nap - you might not believe it, but it's a lot of work sucking milk out of a bottle!

Mom came in the afternoon and she wanted to give me a bottle as well - not a bad deal when everyone who shows up wants to feed me! ;-)

I was still asleep when she took me out to get me ready for my bottle (worn out from not one, but TWO shots earlier - but I don't want to talk about that!), but recognized her voice and was happy to hear her.

Aren't I cute?  And if you think that one's cute, check out this yawn:

Eventually I woke up - well, at least enough to eat, which i can do with my eyes closed - and took my bottle like a pro.  The nurses and Mom and Dad all say I'm doing great and if I can keep it up hopefully I can go home soon.

Afterwards I had a nice little sit with Mom.

She put me to bed and I slept well for awhile, though I had one brady (which I will point out I recovered from nicely with only a teensy bit of help from the nurses)

Mom stayed overnight, and I didn't want her to feel left out of hearing my voice since Dad got to hear it earlier in the day, so I made sure to wake up and start crying half an hour before each of my scheduled overnight feedings.  I'm pretty sure she liked it since she came over to say hi to me each time I started up again.

Thursday, Dec 15th

Up another half ounce, to 4 lb. 15.5 oz.  Ugh!  I can taste that 5 pound mark, but just can't seem to quite get there.

Mom tried breastfeeding me this morning and was holding me in a different position for some reason but without much different of a result - I'm just not that interested in breastfeeding except when I'm wide awake, and if they want me to be wide awake then perhaps first thing in the morning is not the best option when I've been up partying (okay, fine, crying - happy now?) off and on all night.

I did a little better at the next feeding, where I was back in my normal breastfeeding position...

...and had a nice little visit with Mom after:

Mom left for a bit after that but came back with Dad for my 5:30 p.m. feeding.  I had had a brady while they were gone, which I wasn't going to tell them about since it reset my going-home clock (I have to go five whole days straight without a brady before they'll let me go home), but they saw it on my monitor so no such luck.  And the countdown begins again...

Friday, Dec 16th

Finally broke the five pound mark!!!  Now 5 pounds, 1 ounce!


So I've been taking most of my feedings via bottle or breastfeeding the past couple days, and decided I was ready to just do all of them that way.  So I took some action.  Notice anything different:

That's right, I pulled out my feeding tube this morning!  After I had pulled it the nurse said that as long as I was able to take all my feedings orally from here on (no sweat) and finish the amounts I needed each time (that's sometimes the hard part) they wouldn't put it back in!  So it's been great not having ANY tubes in me for the first time since, well, about 10 seconds after I was born!  And that's a big step toward going home, too.


I'm trying to get more on a regular schedule per Mom and Dad's request; when they showed up to feed me I was already in the process of waking up, though I was hiding inside my blanket since it was pretty bright out:

After giving me my bottle, Dad held me in a pseudo-kangaroo-style (but with shirt on) for about an hour.  It was really nice - I got good and comfy and slept like a log!

(you'll notice I still haven't quite worked out the "suck my thumb" thing yet, but I'm getting closer each day - actually got a couple fingers into my mouth this time!)

In the evening at my 8:30 feeding Mom breastfed me and I tried - I really did - but I could only take 18 ml.  Not sure why, but I just like the bottle better, I think it's easier to get the milk out and I can position myself better.  Anyhow, I still needed to take the rest of my feeding, and without the feeding tube I had to take it via bottle, which took a long time since I was already tuckered out from the breastfeeding.  You know what they need?  Some sort of automated bottle that puts the milk into you on its own but doesn't require a tube up your nose.  Someone should get on that.


Back to my feeding - it took a really long time, and Mom and Dad weren't too happy about that and said I needed to get faster before I came home, at least for the night time feedings.  I thought that was kind of mean so spit some of the milk back up to show them how I felt.  My point made, I tried to go back to sleep but was fussy and crying until Dad took me out and rocked me and sang me to sleep.

Looks peaceful, huh?  Not to worry, Dad stayed overnight and I made sure he got his fair share of crying overnight - whether because I was hungry, or needed to be changed, or just wanted to be held.  Gotta get him ready for when I come home, right?  He stayed through...

Saturday, Dec 17th

.... when he woke up with me in the morning but then had to go into work for some sort of thing (can you believe he's working on a Saturday?  Lame...) (Editor's note: it was SMU graduation, and I went to see a couple of my students get their diplomas).

So I took my usual bottle feeding (24 hours of no tube feedings now!) and went back to sleep.

Dad came back after his work thing and met Mom there.  He's getting good at bottle feeding me so did it again while Mom breastfed Ben (who for some bizarre reason actually prefers breastfeeding to the bottle, which is crazy since it's a lot more work)

After that it was time for a well-deserved nap!  And not much else to report from Saturday, pretty normal day.

Sunday, Dec. 18th

Well, I guess this is what I get for trying to "versatile."  So generally I've been taking my feedings from the bottle, but I'm supposed to be trying to get better at breastfeeding too so I can do either equally well.  And this morning I was awake when Mom and Dad came by for my 8:30 a.m. feeding, so I figured I'd be a good sport and give it a shot.


Tried for awhile, wasn't getting much, and I got so focused on trying to eat that I forgot to regulate my heartrate and had a brady - which means my going-home clock got reset again, and now the earliest I can come home is next Saturday!  So I was a little grumpy about that - we'll see if I'm so willing next time they want me to try something different when I have a solution that's working just peachy.

And for all that I only took 14 ml (!), so Dad had to finish feeding me with a bottle (which I took down like a pro, thank you very much!) while Mom breastfed Ben.

I do love my bottle!


After eating I was a little fussy so Dad held me, which turned out to not be the brightest idea on his part since I spit up on his shirt.  He put me back in my crib while he cleaned it up, but I didn't go back to sleep.

In fact, I stayed awake right through my next feeding (including a 40-minute test of my emergency broadcast system - I guess Dad didn't realize it was just a test, since he held me, rocked me, changed me, sang to me, and gave me my paci - remind me next time to be clearer about that so he doesn't worry so much).  Mom gave me a bottle that time and I did much better than I had done with the breastfeeding.

It was a busy day - and that was only the morning and early afternoon!  I went to sleep to get some much-needed rest.  Got a big week coming up, possibly even going home if I can avoid any bradies - wish me luck!

TTFN....