"Should be Home Soon" Tuesday

Sorry for the delayed post from yesterday, but as Annie gets closer to coming home, my life is exponentially getting busier. I also kind of kept a secret yesterday. Our pediatrician, Dr. Schaffer called (he goes to check on Angelina every day) and said that we are probably going to see her coming home pretty soon. I didn't want to tell anyone, because although he is a doctor and probably knows these kind of things, he is not the doctor that has the ability to make it happen.

Well today, when I was there for Annie's 11 am bottlefeeding, I talked to Dr. DeGuzman (neonatologist). She has the ability to make it happen. She said Angelina "should be coming home soon."

So I asked, how long is soon? And she said.....probably a week or two!! YAY Annie! Almost home! It's so close, I can almost taste it!

Annie was a little sluggish today on her 11 am bottlefeed, but it is to be expected. She likes to sleep till noon like her mommy always did. :)

At her 2:00 pm feeding, I made an appointment with the lactaction consultant, Juanita. Juanita came and helped Annie latch on to try a nutritive breastfeed. She did pretty well and was able to latch on and have a pretty good rhythm. She didn't get a lot of milk and we had to supplement her, but it was a great first try. We are going to do it again tomorrow at the same time. Hopefully by the time she is discharged, she will be able to go home being able to breastfeed at least once a day.

When I was leaving the hospital, I also got a call from a lady that is going to inspect our carseat to make sure it is installed properly before Annie goes home. That is scheduled for tomorrow. It's not her carseat challenge yet, but it's another step in the right direction.

Oh...also Annie had another eye exam. Annie does not have ROP, but will have to get it checked by the opthamologist again in 2 weeks. :)

Love,
Andrea

**Update: Annie finished her 5 pm bottle in 15 minutes.

Weight Update

Annie weighed 3 lb 12.8 oz last night. She also finished her 11pm feeding in 17 minutes and her 5 am feeding in 20 minutes, both times with the normal nipple. Great job Annie!

Moving Monday

Today was a pretty busy day. I started out being there with Annie's OT, Angela, for her 11 am bottlefeeding. They tried her on a new regular nipple instead of the special Haberman bottle that she has been using. She has a really tough time at the 11 am feeding. She is always very sleepy and took a long time to finish. Angela didn't feel comfortable with switching her to the other nipple, but said that I could come back at 5 pm and try the yellow nipple again (otherwise we would try tomorrow). So, of course I went home and ran some more Annie related errands...and decided to come back up at 5 pm.

At 5 p.m., Annie was awake, alert and ready to eat. I put the regular bottle in her mouth and she finished it in 17 minutes! WOW! She was wide awake and even decided to stay awake for a little while to keep me company before zonking out and going back to sleep.

After shift change (at 6:30), I went back in to see Annie at 8:00 to do a non-nutritive breastfeed. She did okay, but after about a third of an ounce, she was too tired and fell asleep.

The doctor ordered to try a nutritive breastfeed in lieu of an additional bottlefeed, so I should be meeting with a lactation consultant tomorrow to try and breastfeed. Hope it goes well.

Also, our nurse Elizabeth gave me the okay to sign up for Infant CPR. For all parents taking home a preemie from the NICU, they are required to be certified in CPR. It is free of charge to the parents of the baby. So I called and scheduled and we are going to be taking it on Thursday. I had just been CPR certified prior to going into the hospital, but since John has to take it, I am going to take it as a refresher course. YAY! One step closer!

Andrea

Happy 6 Week Birthday, Annie!

Today, Angelina is six weeks old. YAY Annie! Happy Birthday!

**Weight Update**

Annie weighed 3 lbs. 12.1 oz tonight. Another ounce! Only four ounces to 4 lbs!!!!! YAY!

Sweetie Pie Sunday

Well today Mommy and Daddy came to visit me after church and so Daddy could feed me my bottle at 11 a.m. Daddy did the whole thing by himself, I am so proud of him. He did a great job I finished all of it in about 25 minutes and I even gave him a couple good burps! Dr. Gee was the neonatologist on rounds and I heard him tell Mommy that I was "doing great!" Everyone is so proud of me. After the bottlefeeding, Daddy and Mommy held me and cuddled with me. It was so much fun. We talked and laughed and cuddled until Daddy and Mommy had to leave. They told me that they were going to Babies R Us to get the rest of the things they needed to get ready for me! I understood, because ready or not here I come. My nurse, Amanda, said that it's probably a good idea that Mommy and Daddy get ready because I am "on the road home!" YAY! So, they left and spent several hours getting things and then several more hours setting up my room. See you soon Mommy and Daddy!

Later on that day, my mommy called to tell me she loved me and to find out about my 5 pm feeding. It was a new time for me so Mommy was a little nervous. I told Amanda to tell Mommy not to worry because I finished in 17 minutes! Boy, I was hungry! Amanda let her know that Mary would be my nurse again tonight and Mommy was happy!

Mommy called again at about 11:45 p.m. to check and see how I did on my 11 p.m. bottlefeeding and I took it in 25 minutes. I'm finishing all of them in under 30 minutes which is really good since I just went to 3 on Saturday and am already up to 4 on Sunday! Wonder when I'll make 5!

Won't be long before I'm home, Mommy and Daddy!

Every Other Feeding!!

Dr. Gee increased Annie to 4 bottles a day. That's every other feeding!!!!! Hooray for Annie! She is also up to 35 mL per feeding.

Annie's Race to the Finish

Mommy went up tonight and gave Annie her 8 pm feeding (and found our nurse, Mary, weighing her). She was nice and alert and ready to eat! She finished with several good burps in about 25 minutes!! YAY Annie!! Eat, eat, eat, our hungry girl.

**Weight Update**

Angelina weighs 3 lbs. 11.1 oz tonight. Another TWO ounces!! What a chunky monkey!

Pop-a-riffic Saturday

Today, Daddy came to work with one of my OTs, Lydia, to get better at bottlefeeding me. He works every day so we are lucky that our occupational therapists work on Saturdays. Daddy asked me to be good so that we could tell Mommy how well I did. So, Lydia told me to give Daddy a good grade. I give him an A+! It was my BEST bottlefeeding yet! I only took about 20 minutes. And I think he did even better than Mommy (but sshhh don't tell her that!)

Pops came with Daddy so that he could hold me after Daddy finished feeding me. Looks like I'm 3 for 3 with my grandparents and this crying thing. Pops started tearing up before Daddy handed me over to him to hold me! I usually only cry when I am hungry or want to be held. But, Pops didn't look like he was hungry. I guess he wanted me to hold him! I did. While I was holding him, he started crying more so I just looked at him and talked to him. We had a great time and I can't wait to see him again. Love you, Pops! See you again soon!

Love,

Annie

P.S. Pops, your mustache tickles.

3 Bottles A Day!

Annie has been increased to 3 bottles daily. YAY Annie!

**Weight Update**

Annie weighed 3 lbs. 9.1 oz! Our little growing girl gained another ounce!

Daddy's Duties

Tonight, Daddy, Mommy, Nana AND Pops came to see me! I am SO LOVED.

Daddy hasn't been able to be at my bottlefeedings because it's during the day and he works.... So tonight, Mommy helped Daddy bottlefeed me for the first time. He did such a great job!

They had increased me from 31 mL to 33 mL, so we already had more in the bottle than usual and they always put a little extra in there in case I'm super hungry. Tonight, I had 2 extra mL.

I really wanted to do well since it was Daddy's first time. I knew he was nervous, so before we started I gave him a nice pep talk. I said, "Daddy, I think you can, I think you can!" (I remembered this from when he read me The Little Engine that Could). It must have worked because he did a super job. With only a little help from Mommy, I finished 34 mL in about 25-30 minutes. YAY ME!

Mommy switched out with Nana and Pops and let them come in to see my Daddy feeding me and loving on me. I knew it must be an extra special occasion, because the paparazzi's cameras were flashing everywhere. It's a tough life continuing my celebrity status. :) I was in a good mood tonight and decided to give them a little treat. I flashed them a beautiful smile while I was cuddling with my Daddy. It was the cutest smile yet. Check me out!

Love,

Annie

Oh, Happy Day

Annie finished her bottle again in 20 minutes at 11 am! YAY! She also did a non nutritive breastfeed and we had great Mommy and me time. We are going to start that once a day every day. She's is just doing so well! When Mommy left at 2:45, Nana and Pops were outside of the NICU waiting to visit Annie. Mommy stopped and talk to them for a while and then they came in to see me! I was sleeping the whole time, but I promise I was so excited!

Oh, My little sweet thing

So Mommy went up again to do Annie's second bottlefeed of the day. She was sleeping, so she had to try and wake her up with a wet washcloth to the face. It didn't work. Mommy got her out of the isolette and let her wake up a little and then started. Annie finished the whole bottle, 32 ml (there was one mL extra)! YAY! 2 bottles down today!

After that, she was awake and wouldn't go back to sleep. Mommy waited and waited for her to go to sleep, but it wasn't happening. No wonder she is sleeping all day every day! She was upset when she had to go back into the isolette, she still wanted to cuddle. It made Mommy sad and she couldn't leave Annie's side until she was happy and sleeping. It took a long time until she finally relaxed enough to almost be asleep.

What a Busy Day!

Today, Annie finished her bottle in 20 minutes so she was increased to 2 bottles a day!!! YAY! She did so wonderfully!! We are so proud of her.

Also, we did the non-nutritive breastfeeding and it went well. We are scheduled to meet with another lactation consultant tomorrow during her 2 pm feeding. Yay, more practice.

Sorry for such a short post. It was an extremely exhausting day. I was so excited for her that I wore myself out.

Love,
Andrea

Thursday Weight Update

Annie weighed 3 lbs. 8.1 oz, so she lost 0.5 oz. She had just had a big poopy diaper and a very busy day, so I'm sure she will make up for it as soon as she is used to her bottle feedings! :)

Andrea

Hey, Somebody Put Some Pants on that Kid!

Daddy and Mommy came to visit me tonight. When they came in, I was wearing my first t-shirt! It was a little big, but Mommy and Daddy loved to see me in clothes for the first time. (Ssshhh...don't tell, but Mommy took the t-shirt home :))




Then Mommy did skin to skin with me. We had a lot of fun cuddling. I like it when Daddy talks to me and especially when he makes Mommy laugh. I try to look at her sometimes when she's holding me. It makes my head look all wrinkly. I'm always really alert when Mommy or Daddy hold me at first.



Soon after, I usually can't hold my eyelids open anymore. I always want to keep looking at Daddy, but no matter how hard I try to stay awake, I just can't. So I just give in and nap in the most comfortable place in the world.





When Mommy and Daddy put me back in the isolette, Mommy changed my diaper and started to put on some cute clothes she brought me (Oh my goodness, that hospital shirt was on me for hours, so not chic). Aunt Monique gave me a really cute pink-trimmed white onesie with a pink bow. Mommy was afraid that I would be too big for it before I was able to wear clothes, but it fit me perfectly!





Almost ready.........................................................................(see below!)

G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S!