Here's hoping you had a fantastic birthday!
We love and miss you all!
Love,
Scott, Nina, James, Maggie, and Mojo
Wednesday, August 4, 2021
Happy birthday!
Here's hoping you had a fantastic birthday!
We love and miss you all!
Love,
Scott, Nina, James, Maggie, and Mojo
Thursday, April 18, 2013
The Best Nest
We have a robin building its nest in the window sill of our bedroom. I think I will let it stay so we can watch the eggs and baby birds over the next few months. This should be fun!
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Keira, the author
Keira is so very proud of the 23-page book she wrote and illustrated entitled "On the Way to Grampa's and Granma's Haus." She wrote the story and sketched the pictures on Thursday, illustrated it on Friday, edited Friday night and Saturday, then put the finishing touches on her illustrations Saturday night.
She's already planning her next book which will be about our trip to Disneyworld.
This was a good end to her Spring Break.
She's already planning her next book which will be about our trip to Disneyworld.
This was a good end to her Spring Break.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
An angel was born...
Dear Friends and Family,
I know now what it means "to write to you with a heavy heart."
Two weeks ago today, at our 20-week ultrasound, we received the devastating news that the baby had several developmental problems that were likely not compatible with sustained life outside the womb. The following Monday that diagnosis was confirmed. After discussing our options with the doctor, a difficult decision was reached with consideration of what was best for the health of Lanette, the baby, and our family.
On Tuesday, June 12th, an angel was sent up to heaven. Ava Katherine McDowell was born sleeping at 8:54 pm that evening. We both spent some time with Ava to say our goodbyes to her before the nurse carried her away. She was tiny and fragile, but beautiful and very much loved by her mother, father, sister and brother.
In Keira's card to baby Ava, she put our feelings into words simply and beautifully: "You were going to be a great baby. We were so excited for you to be born. You will be a wonderful angel and be with God and Jesus up in Heaven."
Sent from my iPhone
I know now what it means "to write to you with a heavy heart."
Two weeks ago today, at our 20-week ultrasound, we received the devastating news that the baby had several developmental problems that were likely not compatible with sustained life outside the womb. The following Monday that diagnosis was confirmed. After discussing our options with the doctor, a difficult decision was reached with consideration of what was best for the health of Lanette, the baby, and our family.
On Tuesday, June 12th, an angel was sent up to heaven. Ava Katherine McDowell was born sleeping at 8:54 pm that evening. We both spent some time with Ava to say our goodbyes to her before the nurse carried her away. She was tiny and fragile, but beautiful and very much loved by her mother, father, sister and brother.
In Keira's card to baby Ava, she put our feelings into words simply and beautifully: "You were going to be a great baby. We were so excited for you to be born. You will be a wonderful angel and be with God and Jesus up in Heaven."
During this time, we continue to take much joy and comfort in the two miracles of life we have already been given, Keira Elizabeth and Ian William. We are so very thankful to have them as a constant reminder that we truly are so very blessed. We are grateful for every minute we have with them.
We are thankful for the thoughts and prayers we received these past two weeks from the few friends and family with whom we shared this painful news. As we continue to grieve and move to find a new normal in our life, please continue to hold us in your thoughts and prayers.
With love from our family to yours,
Lanette and Ryan
P.S. Please share this news with any friends or family we may have missed.
Sent from my iPhone
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Say what?! Exciting news?!
Ryan and I have some exciting news to share: Baby #3 is on the way and should be arriving sometime before October 17, 2012 (hopefully not too long before then!). I'll be 13 weeks along tomorrow.
So far, so good...for the most part. Most importantly: Baby is healthy and growing just fine. Unfortunately, this pregnancy has been a bit more eventful in the first trimester than my first two with 3 weeks of spotting early on and low progesterone levels which required a progesterone supplement until 11 weeks. So we have been pretty wary of sharing the news until now. But this past Friday, the 12-week ultrasound showed that everything appears to be developing as it should and the risk of several chromosomal defects is pretty low.
After receiving that good news, things moved pretty quickly. We shared the news with Keira and Ian on Friday night. Keira is so excited and Ian couldn't care less of course. Then before we even had a chance to celebrate and share the news with our extended family and friends, my cerclage surgery was scheduled for...yesterday!
Yesterday, I went to the hospital for surgery to have a cervical cerclage (purse string stitch in cervix) placed to help keep baby in utero as long as possible. This cerclage is a preventative one, not emergency, meaning that my cervix has not yet shortened, but is expected to in the future (given its history). However, this cerclage placement turned out to be much more difficult than the one placed during my 2nd pregnancy so I was in a significant amount of pain afterward as the spinal wore off. I asked to be admitted to the hospital overnight until I knew that the pain medication would work to reduce the pain to a more tolerable level. That occurred late last night so I was released home this afternoon and I am now at home recovering this week. Ryan's mom and dad are helping out this week with the kids.
Due to my history of preterm delivery, modified bedrest will be starting shortly. Possibly next week due to the difficulty with the cerclage, but hopefully not for another three weeks. The doctors believe they were able to place a good stitch and feel that, together with bedrest, we have a good chance to get this baby to full term.
Ryan and I were well aware of the likely hardships we would face during a pregnancy when we decided we wanted to try for a third child. We thought long; we thought hard; we did some soul searching; we did some Internet searching; and we both agreed that it is so worth it. When you get to the other end of the pregnancy and hold that tiny baby in your arms then see that baby grow into the little persons that we have before us now in Keira, at age 4, and in Ian, at age 2...it is oh so worth it.
Believe me when I say that the 8 weeks I spent in hospital on bedrest keeping Ian in utero was a bargain compared to the amount of joy and love Ian has brought to our family and to our lives.
We are hoping for the same great bargain this pregnancy. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.
So far, so good...for the most part. Most importantly: Baby is healthy and growing just fine. Unfortunately, this pregnancy has been a bit more eventful in the first trimester than my first two with 3 weeks of spotting early on and low progesterone levels which required a progesterone supplement until 11 weeks. So we have been pretty wary of sharing the news until now. But this past Friday, the 12-week ultrasound showed that everything appears to be developing as it should and the risk of several chromosomal defects is pretty low.
After receiving that good news, things moved pretty quickly. We shared the news with Keira and Ian on Friday night. Keira is so excited and Ian couldn't care less of course. Then before we even had a chance to celebrate and share the news with our extended family and friends, my cerclage surgery was scheduled for...yesterday!
Yesterday, I went to the hospital for surgery to have a cervical cerclage (purse string stitch in cervix) placed to help keep baby in utero as long as possible. This cerclage is a preventative one, not emergency, meaning that my cervix has not yet shortened, but is expected to in the future (given its history). However, this cerclage placement turned out to be much more difficult than the one placed during my 2nd pregnancy so I was in a significant amount of pain afterward as the spinal wore off. I asked to be admitted to the hospital overnight until I knew that the pain medication would work to reduce the pain to a more tolerable level. That occurred late last night so I was released home this afternoon and I am now at home recovering this week. Ryan's mom and dad are helping out this week with the kids.
Due to my history of preterm delivery, modified bedrest will be starting shortly. Possibly next week due to the difficulty with the cerclage, but hopefully not for another three weeks. The doctors believe they were able to place a good stitch and feel that, together with bedrest, we have a good chance to get this baby to full term.
Ryan and I were well aware of the likely hardships we would face during a pregnancy when we decided we wanted to try for a third child. We thought long; we thought hard; we did some soul searching; we did some Internet searching; and we both agreed that it is so worth it. When you get to the other end of the pregnancy and hold that tiny baby in your arms then see that baby grow into the little persons that we have before us now in Keira, at age 4, and in Ian, at age 2...it is oh so worth it.
Believe me when I say that the 8 weeks I spent in hospital on bedrest keeping Ian in utero was a bargain compared to the amount of joy and love Ian has brought to our family and to our lives.
We are hoping for the same great bargain this pregnancy. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
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Love You Grandma Mother's Day 5x7 folded card
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Sunday, May 30, 2010
Sisterly love
Conversation with Keira tonight:
K: "Who that? (upon seeing me hang up telephone)
Me: "Grandma Janet."
K: "Nana see my baby?"
Me: "Which baby?"
K: "Ian."
Yes, there is no question that she LOVES her baby brother.
Sent from my iPhone
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Ian is 4 months old!
Happy 4 months old, little I-man! Ian is four months old today. He has come a long way in the four months since he arrived almost 8 weeks premature!
A Growing Boy!
Ian is doing well and growing so big, so fast! His 4-month well checkup isn't until June 2nd, but last Thursday, he had a follow-up visit at the pediatrician's office for his 2nd ear infection. He had his first ear infections (both ears) in late April, and another one in his right ear just two weeks later. So he has been to the pediatrician's office three times since his 2-month well checkup. His weight was at each visit was as follows:
Fri. 4/23 (3 mos. old): 12 lbs. 11 oz.
Thu. 5/6 (3-1/2 mos. old): 13 lbs. 10 oz.
Thu. 5/20 (almost 4 mos. old): 14 lbs. 6 oz.
To put this in perspective, Keira weighed 14 lbs. at her 4-month well checkup, so he weighs more at 4 months old than she did and he was born weighing almost 1-1/2 lbs. less than her. How awesome!
Milestones
Here is a list of some of the things he has been up to over the past two months:
Another easy baby!
Ian is still just a really good and easy-going baby! He sleeps and eats well and has really become more active in the past month. He makes such wonderfully curious expressions when he looks at you - moving his mouth and scrunching his eyebrows down as if he's really trying to figure you out. I call him my little cuddler as he loves to be held and fall asleep in my arms. He still is not a big cry baby. He has a cute little cry that he saves for when he is hungry or when he is tired. Generally if he is crying and I know he shouldn't be hungry, he will likely fall asleep within a few minutes of soothing or holding him tightly. He does great going to sleep at night. Often times, I will feed him and change his diaper and clothing, then rock him in my arms for a little bit until he looks sleepy. I can then lay him in his crib and he will fall asleep within a few minutes. He is consistently sleeping a stretch of 8-9 hours each night. Once we moved him to his own crib at 11 weeks old, it only took about a week for him to sleep through the night.
While awake during the day, Ian enjoys laying on my legs to look up at me and smile and coo. He loves to grab my fingers and will actually tug at my fingers to pull himself with my assistance to a sitting position then sit and look around. He also likes me to hold him upright on my lap as he "stands" and will bounce a little bit. He really enjoys playing on his baby gym mat. He kicks his feet, moves his arms, looks at the toys and coos at them. Sometimes I catch him looking at himself in the mirror and making funny expressions. Other times he will play on the mat until he wears himself out and falls asleep. He's not such a big fan of tummy time but we are working on that little by little. He likes his big sister Keira and will smile and coo at her. Sometimes he does cry when she is around but it's generally because she is trying to give him too many hugs and kisses or smothers him a little too much. Today I sat him in his Bumbo seat for the first time and he did really well sitting upright and holding his head up. He was still shaky holding it up, but he could do it and didn't slump over like Keira did the first time I put her in it!
Ryan and I both agree that Ian is as easy-going a baby as Keira was, but is different in many ways:
Ian is definitely a keeper :)
A Growing Boy!
Ian is doing well and growing so big, so fast! His 4-month well checkup isn't until June 2nd, but last Thursday, he had a follow-up visit at the pediatrician's office for his 2nd ear infection. He had his first ear infections (both ears) in late April, and another one in his right ear just two weeks later. So he has been to the pediatrician's office three times since his 2-month well checkup. His weight was at each visit was as follows:
Fri. 4/23 (3 mos. old): 12 lbs. 11 oz.
Thu. 5/6 (3-1/2 mos. old): 13 lbs. 10 oz.
Thu. 5/20 (almost 4 mos. old): 14 lbs. 6 oz.
To put this in perspective, Keira weighed 14 lbs. at her 4-month well checkup, so he weighs more at 4 months old than she did and he was born weighing almost 1-1/2 lbs. less than her. How awesome!
Milestones
Here is a list of some of the things he has been up to over the past two months:
- Mon. 3/29: First Boston Market lunch with my friend Ellen (he became a Laddie who lunches with the "Ladies who Lunch") - Keira and I have been meeting Ellen for lunch at BoMa almost every week since K was born. Ian has joined in on the fun!
- Mon. 4/5: Batting at objects in gym
- Sat 4/10: First real smile (to Mommy)
- Sun. 4/11: Cooing
- Thu. 4/15: Slept in crib for first time
- Fri. 4/23: Sick, ped office: double ear infections, weighed 12 lbs. 11 oz.
- Fri. 4/23 to Mon. 4/26: Trip to NJ to visit Papa and Nana Janet, and meet Aunt Kelly, Uncle Adrian, and Cousin Andy
- Sun. 4/25: 3 mos. old!
- Sat. 5/1: Slept through the night 9:00 pm to 6:30 am
- Sat. 5/1: Began wearing clothing size "3-6 months"
- Sun. 5/2: Slept 10 hours 9:45 pm to 7:45 am
- Thu. 5/6: Sick, ped office: right ear fully infected, weighed 13 lbs. 10 oz.
- Sat. 5/8: Socially smiling often
- Sat. 5/15: Nana Pam arrives for week-long visit! We enjoyed her visit immensely!!
- Sat. 5/15: Moves into size 2 diapers
- Wed. 5/19: Discovered his hands, bringing them up to his mouth when hungry
- Thu. 5/20: Follow up visit for ear infection, fluid still there but pus gone, weighed 14 lbs. 6 oz.
- Fri. 5/21: Kicking up a storm when laying down on back
- Tue. 5/25: 4 mos. old! Sat in Bumbo and holds his head up pretty well, starting to "talk" while playing on gym mat
Another easy baby!
Ian is still just a really good and easy-going baby! He sleeps and eats well and has really become more active in the past month. He makes such wonderfully curious expressions when he looks at you - moving his mouth and scrunching his eyebrows down as if he's really trying to figure you out. I call him my little cuddler as he loves to be held and fall asleep in my arms. He still is not a big cry baby. He has a cute little cry that he saves for when he is hungry or when he is tired. Generally if he is crying and I know he shouldn't be hungry, he will likely fall asleep within a few minutes of soothing or holding him tightly. He does great going to sleep at night. Often times, I will feed him and change his diaper and clothing, then rock him in my arms for a little bit until he looks sleepy. I can then lay him in his crib and he will fall asleep within a few minutes. He is consistently sleeping a stretch of 8-9 hours each night. Once we moved him to his own crib at 11 weeks old, it only took about a week for him to sleep through the night.
While awake during the day, Ian enjoys laying on my legs to look up at me and smile and coo. He loves to grab my fingers and will actually tug at my fingers to pull himself with my assistance to a sitting position then sit and look around. He also likes me to hold him upright on my lap as he "stands" and will bounce a little bit. He really enjoys playing on his baby gym mat. He kicks his feet, moves his arms, looks at the toys and coos at them. Sometimes I catch him looking at himself in the mirror and making funny expressions. Other times he will play on the mat until he wears himself out and falls asleep. He's not such a big fan of tummy time but we are working on that little by little. He likes his big sister Keira and will smile and coo at her. Sometimes he does cry when she is around but it's generally because she is trying to give him too many hugs and kisses or smothers him a little too much. Today I sat him in his Bumbo seat for the first time and he did really well sitting upright and holding his head up. He was still shaky holding it up, but he could do it and didn't slump over like Keira did the first time I put her in it!
Ryan and I both agree that Ian is as easy-going a baby as Keira was, but is different in many ways:
- He likes his swing and bouncy seat more than Keira did.
- He wants to stand on our laps (even though he's not old enough to be holding his own weight yet) while Keira didn't want to do that even at 10 or 11 months old!
- He is very active with his legs and we stopped swaddling him when we put him in his own room whereas Keira loved to be swaddled until she was six months old and started turning over onto her tummy at night.
- He is very easy to put to sleep at night but isn't as easy to get to sleep for a nap in the afternoon unless he is in your arms, whereas Keira would sleep well both in her crib and in the Pack 'n Play.
Ian is definitely a keeper :)
Princess Keira?
This morning, I told Keira that we are going out to lunch today and will see her friends Gabby and Rory. She indicated that she wanted to wear the flower barrette that Gabby gave her (from their trip to Hawaii). After I put the barrette in her hair, she put her arms in the air and declared, "I princess!"
I guess my ruse of telling her that I need to comb her hair and put in bows so she will look like a princess is working far better than I thought :)
Sent from my iPhone
I guess my ruse of telling her that I need to comb her hair and put in bows so she will look like a princess is working far better than I thought :)
Sent from my iPhone
"I need eyeglasses"
On Sunday night when I was putting Keira to bed, she was reading a story to herself and told me "I need eyeglasses." I explained to her that her eyes are special and don't need glasses yet to read books like Mommy, Daddy, Nana Pam, Nana Janet, and Papa. That explanation appears to be sufficient as she continued reading "The New Baby" book to her doll Betsy.
I guess eyeglasses are cool when everyone you look up to has them and you don't. She felt kind of left out. So cute!
Sent from my iPhone
I guess eyeglasses are cool when everyone you look up to has them and you don't. She felt kind of left out. So cute!
Sent from my iPhone
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Keira sings her ABC's
Click HERE for a video of Keira singing her ABC's. She can sing it by herself but this video was much cuter than the one by herself (you will see why...just watch). [Note: You must log in to Facebook to watch]
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Happy Mother's Day 2010
I had a wonderful Mother's Day today. I was greeted this morning at the base of the stairs by Keira running to me with a Mother's Day card that she helped Daddy pick out and saying "I love you, Mommy!" Ryan cooked my favorite breakfast: waffles with strawberries and whipped cream! After I had a morning nap, we walked to our neighborhood playground, then went to lunch at Dogfish Head Alehouse. We came home for naptime and I had a two-hour nap on the couch with Ian, my little cuddler while Keira slept in her room. For dinner, Ryan made us spaghetti and meatballs (homemade!) and did all the dishes (he always does!). After Keira went to bed, Ryan and I enjoyed looking through the pictures that I've taken since April that I finally downloaded from my Nikon. So look for more pictures to come soon!
Here are several pictures from this morning's walk to the playground of Keira playing and Ian snoozing!
Ryan, thank you for a wonderful Mother's Day and being such a great father which helps make it so easy for me to be a good mother!
Keira and Ian, thank you for being the best children for which a mother could hope and for bringing such joy to my life every single day. It is an honor to be called "Mommy" by you.
Here are several pictures from this morning's walk to the playground of Keira playing and Ian snoozing!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Change of Blog Name!
The blog name has been changed from "Keira Elizabeth" to "Mom Mom Speaks". I thought this was appropriate since we now have little Ian here to join in the antics!
Ian is 2 months old!
Two months ago today, Ian was born! He was due just 8 days ago. For being born 7-1/2 weeks ago, he is doing really, really well.
Ian had a visit to the pediatrician today for his 2-month well visit. He had several vaccines administered (including Synagis to help prevent RSV) via two shots in the thigh and one orally. Tonight, he is a bit fussy when awake, but is sleeping a lot. A couple of weeks ago, he started having tears when he cries really hard so he teared up today when he got his shots and cried as hard as I have seen him cry yet. Poor baby!
Growth Statistics
Today at 2 months old:
- Weight: 10 lb. 8 oz. (23rd percentile)
- Length: 22 in. (18th percentile)
- Head circumference: 39 cm. (28th percentile)
Last checkup at 1 month old (2/25):
- Weight: 7 lb. 10 oz. (7th percentile)
- Length: 20-1/2 in. (15th percentile)
- Head circumference: ? (25th percentile)
At NICU discharge (2/17):
- Weight: 6 lb. 15 oz.
At birth (1/25):
- Weight: 5 lb. 11 oz.
- Length: 19 in.
- Head circumference: 33 cm.
Feeding
Ian gained almost 3 lbs in 1 month! At his 1-month well visit, he had only just started breastfeeding one or two full feedings per day and was on bottles of breastmilk or preemie formula for the rest of his feedings. A few weeks ago, we had progressed to him taking all of his daytime feedings via nursing and doing two preemie formula bottles and an expressed milk bottle through the night. Last week (7 weeks old), we stopped the two formula bottles and I began nursing him for those feedings so we were down to one bottle of expressed milk at 3 am. Until that time, Ryan and I were sharing the nighttime duties with me taking the 9 pm and 12 midnight feedings and pumping at 3 am, and Ryan taking the 3 am and 6 am feedings. As of Monday (8 weeks old), he is now taking all of his feedings via nursing. No more bottles and no more breast pumping for me! I made a trip to the hospital with the kids yesterday to return the breast pump that I had been renting. That means I get more time back in my day: 20 min. x 4-6 pumpings per day, 30 min. x 2 washing and drying bottles and breast pump flanges.
Ian loves nursing! When he gets hungry, he is known to try to nurse on my chin or neck when I have him upright against my shoulder or try to nurse Daddy's shirt. Because my milk production has been so good, I only have Ian nurse from one side each feeding and just alternate sides throughout the day (I did this with Keira too). Even so, he will often overeat at a feeding and then experiences what Ryan termed "Exorcist spitup" if we have a difficult time burping him. An "Exorcist spitup" episode is spitup which is expelled from the body with such force as to fly through the air more than a foot or two and with a volume that coats the surrounding area (or person). I experienced one such episode the other night and it startled me so much that I screamed loud enough for Ryan to hear me upstairs from our bedroom. Due to this episode, my shirt and jeans required changing, Ian's outfit, blanket, and burp cloth required changing, and cleaning of the carpet and couch was required. A good burping is definitely required with him!
Ryan and I both think we each possibly experienced a "spell" while feeding him during his first week at home, but since then nothing has happened to concern us in that regard.
Sleeping
Up until now, we have been waking Ian up every 3 hours for feedings. Because Ian is growing so well, we can now let him sleep and awake on his own for feedings. Ryan was getting pretty cranky with having to wake during the night to feed him, so he has been doing much better this week now that I am exclusively breastfeeding Ian, but that now means that I am getting up more often during the night now that I am taking the 6 am feeding too. So being able to let Ian sleep as long as he wants will be very nice for me! Even a stretch of 4-5 hours would be helpful. He is still sleeping in his mini-crib in our room, but we will be moving him into his room probably in the next month or so. We moved Keira into her room right before she turned two months old, but since Ian is still "younger" than she was, gestationally speaking, we are going to delay that move a little longer for him.
Wakefulness
Ian is still sleeping quite a bit, but he usually has a couple hour stretch of alert time during the day and then again in the evening. Now that he is no longer taking any bottles, he is sleeping better during the night since he doesn't have as much gas in his tummy to keep him awake (which means we get to sleep better too!).
Milestones
Because Ian is a preemie, many of his milestones will come later than the average child. He is holding up his head quite well when up on my shoulder or laying on his stomach, he will follow a close object with his eyes, and he startles in response to loud noises. He is not socially smiling or cooing yet. The doctor said that by nine months old Ian will likely have caught up and will no longer have much of a delay, if any, in when he meets his developmental milestones. At the end of July, we have an appointment at the hospital to have him evaluated to see where he stands developmental and see if any additional evaluations or "help" would benefit him.
Concerns
Because Ian sleeps on his back and LOVES to turn his head to the right when he sleeps, his head is getting a little flat on that one side. This is only of concern cosmetically because as a boy with short hair, a flat spot on his head would be much more noticeable than if he was a girl. His neck muscles are fine at this point, his turning his head is just a preference that he has. If his head does not round out, he would get a helmet to help reshape his head which obviously we would like to prevent. Soooo...we need to work on getting him to turn his head to the left when he is sleeping and give him as much time on his tummy (and therefore his head off the mattress) as possible. When he is sleeping, I have been trying to get him to turn to the left by propping a blanket under his back to get him to go to the left and I also turn his head to the left whenever I can. Also I have him sleep on my chest a couple times during the day. His "flat head" was the only concern the doctor had with his growth so far!
Disposition
Overall, Ian is a really good baby. He does have some times when he cries, but it's usually due to hunger or a gassy tummy. He is very expressive and makes such cute faces while he sleeps and smiles a lot when sleeping (he must be having some good dreams about nursing!). When falling asleep, he grunts and groans A LOT and sometimes for quite a long time. He just makes all sorts of grunting noises while sleeping or stretching. The doctor even laughed about it today. Ian really seems to calm down quickly when he is in my arms and loves to sleep on my chest or next to me on the bed while I watch TV. When he is awake, he will spend a lot of time looking at me and gets his little mouth moving like he is ready to eat (one track mind!). He took a pacifier more often during the first week or so after coming home from the NICU, but doesn't really take it much now. I really only use it for emergency situations (like post-vaccinations today when leaving the doctor's office or a middle of the night crying jag when nothing else is working).
I'm excited to see him becoming more alert and interactive over the next month! And hopefully sleeping longer and longer stretches during the night time hours. Now that I'm getting some more time to relax, I will get some pictures of him up, just not tonight!
Ian had a visit to the pediatrician today for his 2-month well visit. He had several vaccines administered (including Synagis to help prevent RSV) via two shots in the thigh and one orally. Tonight, he is a bit fussy when awake, but is sleeping a lot. A couple of weeks ago, he started having tears when he cries really hard so he teared up today when he got his shots and cried as hard as I have seen him cry yet. Poor baby!
Growth Statistics
Today at 2 months old:
- Weight: 10 lb. 8 oz. (23rd percentile)
- Length: 22 in. (18th percentile)
- Head circumference: 39 cm. (28th percentile)
Last checkup at 1 month old (2/25):
- Weight: 7 lb. 10 oz. (7th percentile)
- Length: 20-1/2 in. (15th percentile)
- Head circumference: ? (25th percentile)
At NICU discharge (2/17):
- Weight: 6 lb. 15 oz.
At birth (1/25):
- Weight: 5 lb. 11 oz.
- Length: 19 in.
- Head circumference: 33 cm.
Feeding
Ian gained almost 3 lbs in 1 month! At his 1-month well visit, he had only just started breastfeeding one or two full feedings per day and was on bottles of breastmilk or preemie formula for the rest of his feedings. A few weeks ago, we had progressed to him taking all of his daytime feedings via nursing and doing two preemie formula bottles and an expressed milk bottle through the night. Last week (7 weeks old), we stopped the two formula bottles and I began nursing him for those feedings so we were down to one bottle of expressed milk at 3 am. Until that time, Ryan and I were sharing the nighttime duties with me taking the 9 pm and 12 midnight feedings and pumping at 3 am, and Ryan taking the 3 am and 6 am feedings. As of Monday (8 weeks old), he is now taking all of his feedings via nursing. No more bottles and no more breast pumping for me! I made a trip to the hospital with the kids yesterday to return the breast pump that I had been renting. That means I get more time back in my day: 20 min. x 4-6 pumpings per day, 30 min. x 2 washing and drying bottles and breast pump flanges.
Ian loves nursing! When he gets hungry, he is known to try to nurse on my chin or neck when I have him upright against my shoulder or try to nurse Daddy's shirt. Because my milk production has been so good, I only have Ian nurse from one side each feeding and just alternate sides throughout the day (I did this with Keira too). Even so, he will often overeat at a feeding and then experiences what Ryan termed "Exorcist spitup" if we have a difficult time burping him. An "Exorcist spitup" episode is spitup which is expelled from the body with such force as to fly through the air more than a foot or two and with a volume that coats the surrounding area (or person). I experienced one such episode the other night and it startled me so much that I screamed loud enough for Ryan to hear me upstairs from our bedroom. Due to this episode, my shirt and jeans required changing, Ian's outfit, blanket, and burp cloth required changing, and cleaning of the carpet and couch was required. A good burping is definitely required with him!
Ryan and I both think we each possibly experienced a "spell" while feeding him during his first week at home, but since then nothing has happened to concern us in that regard.
Sleeping
Up until now, we have been waking Ian up every 3 hours for feedings. Because Ian is growing so well, we can now let him sleep and awake on his own for feedings. Ryan was getting pretty cranky with having to wake during the night to feed him, so he has been doing much better this week now that I am exclusively breastfeeding Ian, but that now means that I am getting up more often during the night now that I am taking the 6 am feeding too. So being able to let Ian sleep as long as he wants will be very nice for me! Even a stretch of 4-5 hours would be helpful. He is still sleeping in his mini-crib in our room, but we will be moving him into his room probably in the next month or so. We moved Keira into her room right before she turned two months old, but since Ian is still "younger" than she was, gestationally speaking, we are going to delay that move a little longer for him.
Wakefulness
Ian is still sleeping quite a bit, but he usually has a couple hour stretch of alert time during the day and then again in the evening. Now that he is no longer taking any bottles, he is sleeping better during the night since he doesn't have as much gas in his tummy to keep him awake (which means we get to sleep better too!).
Milestones
Because Ian is a preemie, many of his milestones will come later than the average child. He is holding up his head quite well when up on my shoulder or laying on his stomach, he will follow a close object with his eyes, and he startles in response to loud noises. He is not socially smiling or cooing yet. The doctor said that by nine months old Ian will likely have caught up and will no longer have much of a delay, if any, in when he meets his developmental milestones. At the end of July, we have an appointment at the hospital to have him evaluated to see where he stands developmental and see if any additional evaluations or "help" would benefit him.
Concerns
Because Ian sleeps on his back and LOVES to turn his head to the right when he sleeps, his head is getting a little flat on that one side. This is only of concern cosmetically because as a boy with short hair, a flat spot on his head would be much more noticeable than if he was a girl. His neck muscles are fine at this point, his turning his head is just a preference that he has. If his head does not round out, he would get a helmet to help reshape his head which obviously we would like to prevent. Soooo...we need to work on getting him to turn his head to the left when he is sleeping and give him as much time on his tummy (and therefore his head off the mattress) as possible. When he is sleeping, I have been trying to get him to turn to the left by propping a blanket under his back to get him to go to the left and I also turn his head to the left whenever I can. Also I have him sleep on my chest a couple times during the day. His "flat head" was the only concern the doctor had with his growth so far!
Disposition
Overall, Ian is a really good baby. He does have some times when he cries, but it's usually due to hunger or a gassy tummy. He is very expressive and makes such cute faces while he sleeps and smiles a lot when sleeping (he must be having some good dreams about nursing!). When falling asleep, he grunts and groans A LOT and sometimes for quite a long time. He just makes all sorts of grunting noises while sleeping or stretching. The doctor even laughed about it today. Ian really seems to calm down quickly when he is in my arms and loves to sleep on my chest or next to me on the bed while I watch TV. When he is awake, he will spend a lot of time looking at me and gets his little mouth moving like he is ready to eat (one track mind!). He took a pacifier more often during the first week or so after coming home from the NICU, but doesn't really take it much now. I really only use it for emergency situations (like post-vaccinations today when leaving the doctor's office or a middle of the night crying jag when nothing else is working).
I'm excited to see him becoming more alert and interactive over the next month! And hopefully sleeping longer and longer stretches during the night time hours. Now that I'm getting some more time to relax, I will get some pictures of him up, just not tonight!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
3 weeks 2 days - Ian is home!
We brought Ian home from the hospital this evening! Today he reached 36 weeks gestation and it is one month from the day he was due. If you remember, 36 weeks and 2/17 was my long-term goal to make it to while on bedrest. It turned out to be a milestone of a different kind: homecoming!
On Monday, he was circumcised and Tuesday he passed his car seat challenge so the only thing holding him back was continuing to succeed at bottle feeding and going spell-free for 5-7 days or so. Since Thursday, he has been taking all of his feedings by bottle and doing better each day with them. His last spell was around 10 pm last Friday. I got a call from the neonatalogist yesterday afternoon at about 4 o'clock and he said that we could take Ian home today assuming that he tolerated his feedings through this morning and did not have any more spells. He would get his Synagis shot (to help fight against RSV) yesterday afternoon or this morning. I called this morning and Ian was still doing well so we could take him home!
Ryan and I dropped Keira off at a friend's house about 3 pm and we got to the hospital around 3:45 pm. We spent about 30-40 minutes talking with the nurse regarding his discharge instructions, gathering up his things, and putting him in his carseat (a longer process than I remembered since he is so tiny!). We picked up Keira a little after 5 pm and got home by 5:30 pm.
Keira was very excited to see Ian in the car and kept talking to him and calling out "Baby Ian." When we got home, she immediately wanted him out of the car seat so she could hold him. She has been talking about holding him and helping me change his diaper all week. "Me hold Ian. Me help Mommy change Ian's diaper." So I got Ian out of his car seat and brought him and Keira into the family room so that she could hold him. She sat down on the sofa and I put him in her arms and Ryan helped her to hold him. She had the biggest smile on her face! All night she was very interested in what "Baby Ian" was doing (mostly laying in the Pack 'n Play). When I fed him at 6 pm, she was right next to us the entire time and watching him try to nurse then drink milk from the bottle. While he was drinking his bottle, she kept trying to hug him (read: crush him!) and give him LOTS of love. I don't think things could have gone better, she seemed so excited to have "Baby Ian" home.
Tomorrow I will take Ian to see the pediatrician while Ryan stays home with Keira during her nap.
A new adventure has officially begun...life as parents of two and big sister to baby Ian. We couldn't be happier to have Ian home!
(Okay, time to go to bed as he will be eating again shortly...I'm tired just thinking about it.)
On Monday, he was circumcised and Tuesday he passed his car seat challenge so the only thing holding him back was continuing to succeed at bottle feeding and going spell-free for 5-7 days or so. Since Thursday, he has been taking all of his feedings by bottle and doing better each day with them. His last spell was around 10 pm last Friday. I got a call from the neonatalogist yesterday afternoon at about 4 o'clock and he said that we could take Ian home today assuming that he tolerated his feedings through this morning and did not have any more spells. He would get his Synagis shot (to help fight against RSV) yesterday afternoon or this morning. I called this morning and Ian was still doing well so we could take him home!
Ryan and I dropped Keira off at a friend's house about 3 pm and we got to the hospital around 3:45 pm. We spent about 30-40 minutes talking with the nurse regarding his discharge instructions, gathering up his things, and putting him in his carseat (a longer process than I remembered since he is so tiny!). We picked up Keira a little after 5 pm and got home by 5:30 pm.
Keira was very excited to see Ian in the car and kept talking to him and calling out "Baby Ian." When we got home, she immediately wanted him out of the car seat so she could hold him. She has been talking about holding him and helping me change his diaper all week. "Me hold Ian. Me help Mommy change Ian's diaper." So I got Ian out of his car seat and brought him and Keira into the family room so that she could hold him. She sat down on the sofa and I put him in her arms and Ryan helped her to hold him. She had the biggest smile on her face! All night she was very interested in what "Baby Ian" was doing (mostly laying in the Pack 'n Play). When I fed him at 6 pm, she was right next to us the entire time and watching him try to nurse then drink milk from the bottle. While he was drinking his bottle, she kept trying to hug him (read: crush him!) and give him LOTS of love. I don't think things could have gone better, she seemed so excited to have "Baby Ian" home.
Tomorrow I will take Ian to see the pediatrician while Ryan stays home with Keira during her nap.
A new adventure has officially begun...life as parents of two and big sister to baby Ian. We couldn't be happier to have Ian home!
(Okay, time to go to bed as he will be eating again shortly...I'm tired just thinking about it.)
Monday, February 15, 2010
3 weeks old - Bottle feeding champion
Ian is three weeks old today!
The past week has been a good one for Ian! I was able to visit him on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, then Ryan and Invisited him on Saturday and Sunday, and again I visited him this morning.
Last night his weight was up to 6 lbs. 12 oz. So he is over one pound up from his birthweight!
I was able to give nursing a go with Ian starting last Tuesday and have attempted it each visit except for yesterday. Each time has gone better than I expected as I really didn't think he would do much, but each time he has been very eager to latch on and has even done some sucking. It will probably be a while before he really receives much of a feeding from the breast but I will keep trying with him.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, Ian continued to improve his bottle feedings. He drank his first full feeding by bottle on Wednesday. On Thursday, he took five if his eight feedings by the bottle. Also that evening, he pulled out his feeding tube ("I don't need no stinking feeding tube!") and the nurse told me that they were not going to replace it unless he did not complete his feedings by bottle. Well, he still doesn't have a feeding tube four days later and has been drinking from the bottle like a champ! He is getting better at drinking from the bottle every day. Today he took the bottle quite well and showed big improvement from just two days ago.
With the increased bottle feedings, Ian has experienced a few spells of bradycardia and O2 desaturations. He had one each on Wed and Thur and two on Fri. All of these were during or after a feeding so he has had a bit of trouble coordinating his sucking, swallowing and breathing. He has not had anymore spells since Friday night so we are hopeful that he has gotten the hang of bottle feeding and will not have anymore so he can come home.
Since he is now doing all feedings by bottle, these spells are the only issue keeping him from coming home. The doctors usually want 5-7 spell-free days. That means he could be released sometime after Wednesday of this week if all continues to go well. Ryan and I of course are not rushing this as we want to make sure Ian is ready to come home.
This afternoon Ian was circumcised and did well during and after the procedure. I brought his car seat to the hospital this morning so that it will be there when the doctor says he is ready to go home. He has to pass the car seat challenge test before he can be discharged (he is put in his car seat for 90 minutes and the nurses monitor that he does not experience any apnea, bradycardia or O2 desats while in the car seat). On Sunday afternoon Ryan and I attended an Infant CPR class that is required before Ian is discharged. It's a good sign that many if the pre-discharge items are being completed or are ready to be completed.
Today Grandma Janet left for home with Grandpa Gary as there was a snowstorm coming through NJ tonight and tomorrow. They were originally not going to leave until tomorrow. They will be back to stay for a week or so once Ian comes home. In the meantime, I am now "back to work" caring for Keira full-time. I should be able to see Ian either during the day when a friend watches Keira or at night when Ryan is home from work. Today I started nesting and cleaned countertops, cabinets and clothes. I'm exhausted now! I must keep in mind that I am only three weeks out from over two months of strict bedrest. I tend to forget that little fact until the evening hours hit and my muscles begin to ache.
Tomorrow I get to take Keira to ballet class which should be fun! Afterward I will drop Keira off at a friend's house and go visit Ian for a little bit. It's harder juggling the two kids already but should hopefully be better once Ian is home (okay then there will be new but good difficulties!). I can't wait until he comes home!
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Monday, February 8, 2010
2 weeks old - Improved bottle feeding?!?
Ian is two weeks old today!
Due to a huge snowstorm which dumped 20 inches on us over Friday and Saturday, Ryan and I were unable to visit Ian since Thursday night. Thankfully the snowplow plowed our street this morning at about 10 am so I was able to drive to the hospital to visit him this afternoon. I spent several hours with him and got to hold him, change his diaper, take his temperature, feed him a bottle, and just take in his cuteness!
Ian is currently taking a total 50 cc's of breastmilk at each feeding. Until today he continued to show very little interest in bottle feeding so he is only being offered a bottle at every other feeding. Today he did better though: he took 10 cc's at 9:30 am, 29 cc's from me at 3:30 pm, and 15 cc's at the 9:30 pm feeding! The doctor has ordered that he can try breastfeeding 1-2 times each day so tomorrow when I visit, I will meet with the lactation consultant to try breastfeeding him. It will likely take a while to get him to actually do anything, but we will at least be getting started!
Speaking of feeding, he has gained weight very well the past two days. When he was moved to the Intermediate Care Nursery on Wednesday night, Ian lost weight the first few days, but as of tonight is up to 2710 grams which is 5 lbs. 15 oz.
This morning his billirubin level was down to 7.8 which is down from 9.1 two days ago. That is great because as it goes down, he should become less sleepy and more awake during his hands-on time which should hopefully help with increasing his interest in tge bottle.
Before today he just wasn't showing any interest in the bottle and was sleepy in general. Today during my visit, he woke right up when I started changing his diaper. He stretched his arms and legs out and opened his eyes up to see what was going on. While I fed him his bottle, he was quite alert and sucked for about 18 minutes while I fed him. This was much improved from the time I attemped to feed him a bottle last week as he started falling asleep after less than 10 minutes.
I enjoyed my visit with Ian so much today! While holding him, I just enjoyed watching him sleep and talking to him so he heard my voice. He makes all sorts of faces and was smiling a lot while sleeping. I was able to get a couple shots on camera and posted one picture to facebook. He was awake for a long time while I fed him his bottle and even after I put him back into his crib to get the rest of his feeding through the NG tube. As he got to the end of his feeding, he seemed a little restless so I gave him his pacifier and he just sucked and sucked on it and rather quickly fell asleep. I sang him a lullaby then left him to make my way home while it was still light out.
I plan to visit him tomorrow before the next snowstorm hits that afternoon. The forecast is for another 10-20 inches of snow which means we may not get out again until Friday. Not the best winter for us to suddenly get a ton of snow!
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Wednesday, February 3, 2010
9 Days Old - Movin' on up!
Ian had a big day today!
Highlights of the day include:
- He was taken off all IV fluids and his IV was removed. Poor baby cried when it was removed, but I was there to comfort him. (He sounds like a chipmunk when he cries)
- Because he is maintaining his body temperature so well, he was moved to an open crib and out of the isolette.
- At two feedings, he drank a little breastmilk from a bottle! One bottle was fed to him by me and I loved it. He only drank about 5 cc's each time, but it is a good first step toward bottle feeding. His respiratory rate is staying mostly in the lower double digits now so he should be getting tries at the bottle more and more now.
- Because his IV was removed and he's in an open crib, he graduated from the NICU into the Intermediate Care Nursery! This means he is considered a Feeder-Grower and only needs to work on learning to bottle feed and breastfeed.
As I said, it was a big day for him! Ryan and I were so happy to see his IV come out as it means the only wires on him now are the NG feeding tube, the leads monitoring his heartrate and respiratory rate, and the Pulse Ox which monitors his O2 saturation level. And having him moved out of the NICU feels good too that he is on his way to coming home soon.
He was wearing his first clothes tonight which is the hospital long-sleeved t-shirts. Tomorrow we can bring him some clothes from home to wear since he no longer has an IV!
Our one concern remains whether he will continue to have apnea spells. He has not had one since Monday night which is good. We will just have to see whether he has anymore.
This morning Ian weighed 2580 grams so he is now only 10 grams below his birthweight.
He is getting 45 cc's at every feeding now and can take 10-15 cc's by mouth if he is up for it. When feeding by bottle, we can try for up to 20 minutes but more than that time period and we are to stop as they don't want him expending too much energy. He took the 5 cc's from me in less than 10 minutes but then fell asleep so he got the remaining 40 cc's via the feeding tube.
His billirubin level was 9.3 this morning which is up a little from yesterday but still within normal levels. If it should getabove normal levels again, then he will have to go back under the lights. Hopefully he will be okay though.
During tonight's visit, Ryan changed Ian's diaper and took his temperature. His nurse then checked his vitals, removed his IV as it was not working, and then checked his blood sugar. His blood sugar was 80 which was fine so he did not need IV fluids and hence no new IV! I then got to feed him a bottle and hold him for a while. When I was done holding him, it was time for transport up to his new home in the Intermediate Care Nursery. We made sure that he was comfortable in his new home (he slept through the move!) before heading home.
New adventures for me: I have figured out how to pump under a nursing cover while Ryan drives us to or from the hospital. That saves us about 30 minutes since we don't have to wait for me to do that either at home or at the hospital. Now if we can just not get in an accident so I don't have to explain why I'm so exposed to the world! Tonight I was successful at pumping in the car ride home while eating a Frosty, but I don't know that I will try that again!
Last night I changed my pumping schedule to every 3 hours from every 2-1/2 hours. That made a huge difference in just one day! I felt more refreshed when I woke up this morning and just felt better throughout the day not having to "make milk for Ian" so often.
I better head to bed! It is almost time to pump again! Oops...
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Tuesday, February 2, 2010
1 week old - Monday Feb 1st!
Ian is one week old today! His gestational age is 33 weeks 5 days. Thankfully, he is doing well thus far in the NICU. The past week has flown by in a bit of a blur.
High points this week: off C-PAP, off nasal cannula, up to 35 cc's every 3 hours via feeding tube and tolerating well, net weight loss of only 3 oz., infection concern gone, off phototherapy lights, maintaining body temperature in isolette on his own.
This morning, Ian weighed 2500 grams which is 5 lbs. 8 oz. (he weighed 2590 at birth or 5 lbs. 11 oz.) He was down to 2450 grams on Saturday morning, but gained weight the past 2 days!
He is now up to 35 cc's of breastmilk every 3 hours through his NG feeding tube. Thirty-five cc's is a little over an ounce. I'm still pumping every 2-1/2 hours and now getting about 33 oz. per damorEau more than he is eating so he has a good supply in the freezer at the NICU since I bring the milk in frozen every day. I'm going to call the NICU lactation consultants tomorrow to see if I need to continue that frequency or if I can back off to every 3 hours as it is very tiring! It currently means pump for 20 minutes then sleep for 2 hours.
By Saturday morning Ian's bloodwork came back looking good so it doesn't look like he has an infection anymore (if he ever did). That means they are discontinuing his IV antibiotics (ampicillin) tomorrow and should also be discontinuing his TPN IV nutrients then as well. That will mean he can be IV free at least for now.
On Saturday, Ian was taken off the nasal cannula and is still off of it! So he is totally breathing on his own with room air without any help inflating his lungs. His O2 saturation levels have remained at 99-100% and his respiratory rate did not increase by too much so he has stayed off the cannula.
His respiratory rate has been decreasing every day since Thursday which is good. Once it is consistently in the lower double digits, he should be able to start bottle feeding. His nurses have tried it once last night and this morning, but his RR increases and it is too much for him to handle attempting both breathing and sucking from a bottle right now. They will keep trying and see how he does. Eventually it is supposed to click. I'm hoping it will soon!
On Saturday night, they discontinued the bottom phototherapy lights and yesterday they discontinued the top lights. They will continue to check his billirubin leeks so we may see the lights again, bit hebisbhapoy to have them off for now. He doesn't have to wear the sunglasses nowbwhile in his isolette.
Today we found out that he is maintaining his own body temperature within his isolette! The isolette is kept at room temperature and there is no heat being added to help him stay warm. That means he could be moving to a crib in the next week or so.
I'm looming forward to what the next week may bring! It seems as though he has already made a lot of progress thus far. Bottle feeding and breast feeding will likely be the biggest challenges he faces. Hopefully he is up for the challenge and will progress well. I'm hoping his RR will stay in the lower double digits in the next few days so he can move onto that next step with success.
Concerns for now: apnea. He has had five apnea episodes since birth, three of which were in his first two days while on C-PAP. However he also had one on the 28th and one tonight. We are hopeful that he will outgrow these and that they will not occur for much longer. I guess the good thing about tonight's episode was that he did not require stimulation to come out of it, he remembered to breathe again on his own.
Anyway, it's been a great first week! He is becoming more alert every day and is opening his eyes and looking around at the world.
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Friday, January 29, 2010
NICU Visitation and Estimated Length of Stay
I forgot to mention in my last post some information about Ian's NICU
stay.
stay.
Visitation policy - Parents of the patients are the only visitors
allowed in the NICU at this time due to flu season precautions. Ryan
and I are allowed to visit 24/7 unless we are ill, then depending upon
the severity of the illness we may be restricted from visiting for a
period of time (a cold would just warrant wearing a facemask while
visiting).
Estimated length of stay - At this point in time, we have been told by
the neonatalogist assigned to Ian to expect his being in the NICU
until his due date plus or minus two weeks (due date being March17th).
They are very vague at this time because Ian is the one in charge of
his destiny. Only as he progresses through the milestones that he
needs to hit before discharge (maintaining body temperature, feeding
on his own to maintain weight growth by bottle feeding and
breastfeeding, breathing on his own, etc.) will we get a better sense
of when he is closer to coming home. It will likely be sometime in the
next 2-1/2 to 9 weeks. Hopefuly on the shorter end of that!
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