One Month Old

Little Miss *A*,

Today you are one month old. It hardly seems that you can be this old already. Maybe it's b/c you have only been home from the hospital for 2wks, so to me it feels as though you're only 2wks old. Earlier this week you had your 2wk home from the hospital post-partum check up for growth and development to make sure that you are staying on track. You weighed 6lbs15oz and was 18.75in at this appt. You are still my petite little preemie, and even on the preemie charts this only puts you in the 5th precentile for growth & development. I guess that would be why you are still in preemie sized clothing and why they are still a little big on you.

Since you have been home we have been allowed to let you sleep as long as you will sleep at night before waking and wanting a bottle. The longest that you have went has been 4hr15min straight. However, you have your days and nights super confused and when you wake for a bottle between 3-4am you want to stay awake until the sun rises. I blame this on you being in the NICU since they always would weigh, measure, bathe, and do your other vitals on night shift at the start of a new day (usually early morning hours)... thus you are confused. I'm hoping that as you get older we can change this.

You are still wanting to eat every 3hrs usually, except for your stretch at night but that is pretty close to 3hrs too. The amount that you take is still a struggle too. I know that as long as you take an 1 1/2 ounces (45ml's) per feeding right now that you will be alright your pediatrician says but that is the least amount that you should be taking. There are some feeding that you will take 2oz (60ml's) but that is a stretch. You are still on Simi*lac Neo*sure as you need the extra calories, but your pediatrician says that eventually you'll catch up and then you'll come off of that type of formula. Either way it doesn't bother me as long as you're staying on track and you don't end up back in the hospital for anything.

The past couple of days you have figured out what and where your hair is. I will catch you several times a day with your hand in the back of your head wide open feeling your hair. You get wide eyed with amazment when you do this, but I'm glad that you are learning and exploring already. Speaking of your hands (actually your thumbs), I think that if we would let you that you would be a thumb sucker. This is follwing in true fashion of your Aunt Blu who was a thumb sucker. I think that it is adorable that you are doing this, but I'm not sure how adorable it'll be in a year if you keep it up and we can't break you of the habit. So, we've been covering your hands with the flaps on your sleepers and listening to you whine while we rock you to sleep, b/c we refuse to give in to giving you back the pacifier.

Otherwise my sweet girl you are growing and developing and perfect in every way. You have cam into our crazy chaotic family and made it even crazier and more chaotic, but we wouldn't know what we would do without you, b/c you've made our lives complete! We love you more and more each day, and you are truly one of our greatest blessings.

Love-

Mama

1st Day of Pre-School

I can not believe that I now have a pre-schooler. Today was *B*'s 1st day of pre-school. He was so very excited to go. I know I hardly slept last night with all the anxiety for him for his first day. I felt like I was going to my first day of a new school year all over again like I did when I was school aged. He doesn't ride the bus, which is a curse (with a new baby and throwing off our schedules) and a blessing (I can monitor who he's in contact with and control things better in this out of my control situation), so I will be taking him back and forth to school.

Before leaving this morning I packed his lunch for school. It was such a surreal feeling. I asked him what he wanted and the night before we went grocery shopping and he had picked out something things for his lunch. For his lunch he chose a chicken nugget lunchable meal. I packed an extra drink (cap*ri sun juice) and a package of fruit snacks to go with it. After we were all already and breakfast (chocolate chip waffle) was ate, we headed out the door. But not before stopping to snap a couple photos to remember the big day.We pulled out and arrived at school at 8:45am. School starts at 9:00am, so we had plenty of time for him to settle into what was going to happen once we got there. Instantly he was hypered up about school, but slowly started to settle down once more and more kids started arriving and were upset. Once it was 9:00am the teacher had all the students line up single file and walk down to their classroom from the gym where they were waiting. He followed the directions so well, and I couldn't of been more proud. When we got down to the classroom the teacher had all the students sit and they started to work on their first art project of the class year. She had their names written on construction paper to which she outlined each letter with glue, and then they were to put different craft materials on the glue. He went straight to work.

I stayed with him for a little over an hour during which time he put together a puzzle, played with legos and a train, and got in trouble and sat in time out for throwing stuffed food toys in the classroom. After that the class was headed to the gym to burn off some steam, so I figured that was my time to make my grand exit. I told him "Good-bye" quickly with a kiss and a hug and out the door I went. He never cried, but once the school doors closed behind me I bawled like a baby. My first born, my baby... he's growing so fast and is now a BIG boy AND a pre-schooler... sniff, sniff... *sigh* time flies. Thank goodness school is over at 3pm today and he'll be home with me again. :)

And In the Blink Of An Eye... She's Here!!

This is my final belly pic that was taken from my pregnancy. It was taken on July 23th and I was exactly 37wks pregnant. Little did I know at the time that this would be the last belly pic or that in two days time when I went into my OB's office for my NST that things would change.On July 25th when I went for my NST appt I thought it would be an appt like any other. However upon arrival I already had that gut feeling that this would be the last full day that I would be pregnant. I had had a severe headache for 3 days & the end of the 23rd I started swelling and it didn't go down. I packed my hospital bag and headed to the OB. When I arrived my BP was taken and I peed in a cup. My protien dipstick was a +3 spill over & my BP was 194/90. I was hooked up to the NST monitor. After an hour on the monitor and a couple of contractions with very little movement other than vigorous distressed movement that made the Little Miss' heart rate drop my OB finally came in my room. He went over the NST strip printout & then checked me & did an u/s. I was 2cm dialated & she was weighing 5lbs15oz give or take a bit. He told me that things didn't look very well and it was in mine and her best interest for her to be outside of me rather than inside. He then instructed me to go straight to L&D to be admitted and for pitocin to be started.

I left his office in a haze. I called DH who was at work to let him know what was going on and that he need to get to the hospital ASAP. I drove around the hospital to the main entrance and went to L&D. I was admitted, blood work was drawn, & the IV with pitocin & magnesium sulfate for my high BP was started all by 5pm. DH finally arrived & the contractions were getting intense. I continued to contract regularly & be checked every couple of hours. At 9pm, I called- the nurse to tell her I couldn't handle the pain any longer and to see if I could be checked again so I could get my epidural. I was still only 2cm dialated & -2 station, but I was having trouble breathing through the contractions and was crying b/c they hurt so badly. The nurse decided to call my OB to see if he would allow pain medication in my IV, instead he told her to call the anesthesiologist for my epidural so that I could progress with dialation. At 9:30pm I received my epidural and I was pain-free and in heaven.

At midnight I was checked again and I was a stretchy 7cm almost an 8 and at a 0 station. I was comfortable, but I couldn't sleep. I kept getting the chills & shakes that you get when you receive and epidural so it was hard for me to sleep. Plus I was too excited to sleep knowing that it wouldn't be very long before I would be meeting my baby girl. At 3am I started to be able to feel my contractions again and I had the urge to push, so I called for the nurse. When she checked me she said that I was complete and had a bulging bag of water & told me absolutely do not push. She paged my OB. At 3:25am my OB had arrived and was checking me only to find the same thing as the nurse and he too instructed me not to push. At this point the bed was then broke down, everyone got into position & gowned up. At 3:41am my OB broke my bag of water, and told me when I felt my next contractions to push with full force. 2 contractions, 2 pushes, and 2 minutes later my daughter made her presence into the world.

I'd like to Welcome to the World my beautiful daughter Alianna Brooke!!

Born: July 26, 2011 at 3:43am

Weight: 5lbs5oz Height: 18.5in Apgars: 6 & 7

When she was born she had issues with her breathing and had to be rushed to the NICU. I never got to hold her, and only got to see her for about 30 seconds. She had to be put on a machine to help her breathe called a C-Pap to begin with, but after about 6hrs and still struggling to breathe with that she had to be intubated and put on a ventilator with steriod medicine dispersed in the oxygen for her lungs. It was determined that she had lung immaturity with what is known as "sticky lungs." After 24hrs of being on the ventilator she began breathing over it was again put back on C-Pap. A couple of days later she finally was down graded to a nasal cannula, only to end up back on C-Pap b/c it was thought that she had developed pneumonia. On Sunday, July 31st another chest x-ray was done for the pneumonia & her lab work came back and it was determined that it was only her lung sticking together again with the sticky lung. She was able to go back to nasal cannula that day, and by the next day she didn't even need that. She went into an incubator type isolette from a warming bed at this point and was breathing room air. At this time she was also being treated for jaundice, and had to be under a glow lamp.

At this point all she had been given in the way of food had been formula through a feeding tube in her mouth and then again in her nose, so the battle began. She had to learn how to eat on her own. How to suck, swallow, and breathe at the same time. She struggled with this, and started out at only 10cc's which is only 1/3 of an ounce of formula. This amount was well below the amount that she should be taking for her age and weight. Finally on August 8th she had mastered eating what she was supposed to (42cc's) in the 15-20 minute time frame she was alotted and was able to hold her body temperature outside of the isolette, and was allowed to finally go home. She was 13 days old, and from the very beginning God had a plan for when she would arrive in the world and how things would go. I say this b/c she was born on my deceased MIL's birthday, and came home my deceased best-friend's birthday.
She's 17 days old today and as of this past Wednesday she weighed 6lbs even at the pediatrician's office. I love being a mother of two, but it's been a huge transition and trying to split my time between the two (especially when she was in the hospital) has been my greatest challenge... but it's not one that I would change any part of for anything in the world.