Thank heaven for 7 eleven

No I am not talking slurpees and hot dogs, Lorelei is now 7lbs and 11oz. She is growing so fast. Yesterday she turned two months old. I can't believe how fast time has gone by. She had her two month doctor appointment and got three shots and an oral vaccine. She was very upset about each one. I felt so bad for her. I am sure she must be very tired of getting stuck so much. Each day I am feeling more at ease about everything. Although there still are days that I get really worried about how she is going to develop and reach certain milestones. On those kinds of days I just think of how lucky we are to have her here with us. She has been doing really great. She loves to nurse, although she has major problems with gas and that gets her pretty worked up. She hates to have her diaper changed. Her cries during a diaper change pierce your ears. I think she just mostly hates my cold hands. The kids have been doing great with everything going on. They are such a help with the baby and sometimes around the house. My mom has been here this week. It has been really nice having her around. She has been a little to busy doing lots of laundry and cleaning. I would like to say that hopefully we are done with that soon, but as you all know it is a viscous cycle. For my birthday my mom and dad got us a new couch for our den. It is nice for my mom and other visitors because it pulls out to a queen bed. "Thanks, Mom and Dad!".

Today is my due date

Today, January 22, 2010 is or should I say was my due date. She is now a full term baby and she is already two months old. She is getting a head start in this world. Everything has been going good with us here. Papa went back home today so we will miss him dearly. Asher will miss the days spent pretending to drive papa's car and having papa take him out to ride his motorcycle. I will miss spending time with my dad and all the help he gave me with the kids and baby. Lorelei loved to sleep on his chest all day. I know she is missing that already. I needed him today when I was trying to take care of Asher and Lorelei, vacuum and clean up. Lorelei needs to be held. She know the second you try and put her down. Because she is so little it is harder to just let her cry. She gets so upset and starts to turn a little blue when she gets to screaming really hard. I thought from being in the NICU she would be more use to not being held. I think she found something good and now she wants it all the time. Tonight Grandma and Al are here for a visit as they travel through town. The kids are having lots of fun playing board games with grandma. Tomorrow my mom will be here to help out for a couple of weeks. I am really looking forward to that and getting some projects done around the house. Here is a cute picture of Asher and his baby sister. He is always telling Lorelei that he loves her and that she is his sister and she is soooo cute. I just love seeing all my kids together and so in love with each other.

Surgery

At our first doctors appointment three days after discharge from the NICU they discovered that Lorelei may have a hernia. We took her to see a surgeon the next day and she confirmed. She had surgery the next day where they repaired two inguinal hernias with ovaries and fallopian tubes protruding and an umbilical hernia. All went well and she got to come home the same day. Two days later she was spitting up a bit too much and hadn't had a stool in over 34 hours and had a temp of 100. We took her to the ER where we spent the next four hours. While we were there she let it all go in her diaper and her temp went down. The next day I missed the last step at the bottom of our stairs and hurt my ankle pretty bad. Luckily my ankle took all the damage and she didn't even notice the fall. I waited it out until the next day and even then it was still very painful. So last night my dad took me to the ER and we waited a couple hours. Good news is that there is no break, just a bad sprain. They wrapped it up, put on a splint and gave me crutches. The last couple of days have been really hard not being able to get around. I am ready for all this drama to end. Today Lorelei had her check up at the surgeons office. She said that everything looks like it is healing great. She is also getting big. She now weighs in at 6lbs 12oz. Hopefully this week will be uneventful. My birthday is next week and my friends and I are going out for brunch and a foot massage. Hopefully I will get half off the foot massage :). Lucky for me that the foot massage also includes back, arms, legs and head. (Although you have to say no to the head massage because they scratch your head like you have lice and then they stick their fingers in your ears, very strange, maybe in China that is OK but not here). I will try and put more pics up tomorrow. I really haven't been taking many of her. Every time I put her down to take one she gets upset and starts crying. She loves to be held. She also loves to sleep right next to me. It is great for nursing and sleeping at the same time. I did it with all the kids so I feel comfortable with it. Although some nights you just want to be able to roll around and not be stuck in one position. She seems like she is completely asleep and I put her in the co sleeper and she starts to cry. I always try to calm her with the pacifier or put my hand on her, but she won't stop crying. I end up having to take her out and put her next to me and she stops crying and goes back to sleep. That's alright, I think she deserves to be a little spoiled.

She's Home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After 42 days in the NICU Lorelei is home. Yesterday was the big day and the kids were so excited as were Jeff and I. Asher came running to us when we pulled up in the car. When he saw her in the car seat he started yelling "my baby Lorelie, baby in mommies tummy". He was so happy. Baylee and Riley could not wait to finally get to hold her. After they were done, Asher said "now it's my turn". I am so happy to have her finally here. Last night was a little rough due to her getting use to being home and many false alarms from the monitor. Today she is doing really great. It is a little hard getting use to a baby that has specific times and measurments for all her meds, hooking her up to a monitor if we leave the room and just having a baby that is so small. But I am sure we will get the hang of it. The cutest thing that she does right now is to suck her thumb. She must have picked that one up in the NICU.

Coming home later than sooner

Doctors decided that Lorelei will need to spend a couple more days in the NICU. Her pneumogram
test results came back abnormal so that means she is having many episodes of apnea. They are going to put her back on caffeine and she will be coming home on monitors. Maybe the monitors will let me sleep instead of stare at her all night. We are hoping that she will come home by Saturday. The kids were a little sad that she is not coming home today like she was supposed to but they are really understanding about it. They say that they just want her to be safe and better to come home. Asher said to me the other day, "momma, Lorelei come home in a little bit." He loves to see pictures of her. He yells out "Lorelei" every time he sees one.
Today Papa came back to attend my aunts husbands funeral. The kids were so happy to see him again. Asher yelled PAPA when he saw him and sat on his lap with the biggest smile on his face and he kept looking at his papa and giggling in excitement.

34 days old "look no tubes"

Our sweet little baby girl is off all her tubes. They took her NG tube out this morning. We can finally see her cute little face without anything in the way. Today the doctor said that she should be coming home sometime early next week. I am so excited and a little scared. The kids go back to school next week and that means getting everyone back on schedule, to and from school, homework, etc, etc... Although nothing can take away from the thrill of having her finally home. The best part about it is that the kids will finally get to meet her. I am so excited for them.

Lorelei 32 days old

Last night I went to see Lorelei around 10pm. To my great surprise she was off all her respiratory support. It was so nice to see her without something in her nose. She is just so cute. I stayed with her until about 1am. We had such a great time together. She did a huge poop, which is great for her and I got to feed her a bottle which she finished and wanted more. She is now on all breast milk (pumped). Hopefully soon I can try to breast feed her. Two days ago they moved her to a normal newborn bassinet. She can control her own temp and is doing great on her oxygen saturation. These are all great steps to coming home soon. I will post some new pics as soon as I have the time to download them from my camera.

Christmas Day

Here are a couple of pictures of all the excitement of Christmas day. Asher's favorite gift by far was his motorcycle from Nana and Papa. Everyday now he can't wait to get outside and ride. There is also a picture of Baylee and Riley after she opened a Kirby stuffed animal from Riley. Lets just say she was very, very happy. I think Riley got whiplash from all the love. They got so much great stuff this year. Lots of video games, UGG boots, Zhu Zhu pets and habitats, a watch, clothes, books, Legos, a camera, Webkinz, glow dome, remote control cars, etc, etc... But the best part of all was just having a great time together and knowing that someday soon our baby girl will come home.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to everyone. Hope you all had a wonderful day. We had such a great time. The kids were so excited to open their presents and play with all their new toys. I felt a little torn between being two places at once. In the late afternoon I got to visit Lorelei for a couple hours. We had a wonderful visit. I even got to feed her a bottle. That was a first for me. She did great. They have ordered her an occupational therapist to come next week to help her out with her feedings. Her belly is still having trouble with distending. Hopefully it will get better soon. I will post more pics of all the kids and the Christmas fun soon. Love you all.

The Night Before Christmas In The NICU

Twas the night before Christmas, and in each isolette
Little creatures were squirming and getting all set;
Machinery sat by their bedsides with care,
In hopes that good breathing skills soon would be there.

Day shifters were home all snug in their beds,
As visions of overtime danced in their heads;
While preemies on ventilators, and some on CPAP,
Had just settled down for a long winter's nap...

When out in the hall there arose such a clatter,
The residents woke up to see what was the matter.
Away from the sink I flew like a jet
To make sure all was well at my baby's isolette.

Some bilirubin lights with their powerful glow
Gave the luster of mid-day to babies below,
When, there before my wondering eyes, it would seem,
Was an oversized stroller and a medical team.
With a handful of needles with which they could stick you,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nicu.

More rapid than eagles his specialists came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:
"Now, Nurses! Now, Residents! Now, Neonatologists!
On, Social Workers! On, Respiratory and Occupational Therapists!
From the front of the unit! To the end of the hall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

Up to each baby's crib side they flew,
With the stroller full of toys, and St. Nicu too.
And then, in a twinkling, they stopped at each bed
And tucked in the babies and got them all fed.

As I looked at my baby, and was turning around,
Down our aisle St. Nicu came with a bound.
He was dressed in red scrubs, and I could instantly tell
That his clothes had an obvious hospital smell;
A bag of stuffed animals was flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.
A little red pen he held tight in his teeth,
And a stethoscope encircled his neck like a wreath.

He was chubby and plump, with a few extra pounds,
And I laughed when I saw him there doing his rounds.
A turn of his clipboard and a twist of his head
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;
He spoke few words, but came straight to my side,
And running down his face was a tear he had cried.

And laying his hand on the back of my head,
He gave me a nod, and slowly he said:
"Each night you come here you're aware of the danger,
But your baby is loved by the One in the manger."

Then the medical team gave a thumbs-up and smiled
And St. Nicu placed an animal next to my child.
But I heard him exclaim, as they rolled out of sight,
"Merry Christmas, tiny baby, and have a wonderful night!"

Nipples

Today they started nipple feeding Lorelei. She took really well to the bottle. They are trying it once a day for now. She did so great, I was so proud of her. She is now 5 pounds!!!!!!!!! If she does this well on the bottle they will let me try to give it to her myself. Then if it keeps going well and she absorbs her feeds, I can start breastfeeding.

22 Days old

Today Lorelei is 22 days old. She has been doing pretty well with her feeds although she is still having a little difficulties with some of them. She throws up a lot and has trouble having bowel movements on her own. There is still a lot of air in her belly and at times she seems really uncomfortable. Hopefully we will learn more when we see the doctor on duty tomorrow. Today I put on her baby sister tee shirt. I had to specially alter it so it could fit on her with her PICC line and all her leads and tubes. I also had to make it short sleeve. It feels a little weird cutting up brand new clothes, then trying to sew them back adding velcro. So far it has worked out for her. I will update tomorrow and let you know what the doctor is saying. Baylee, Riley and Asher are doing really well. They are having so much fun having all the grandparents around and they can't wait for Christmas. I can hardly believe it is only 5 days away. I have so much left to do.

18 days old

Just called the nurse on duty for Lorelei tonight and so far she is tolerating her feeds today. She gets fed through a feeding tube and they adjusted the flow to an all day slow feed. All her xrays and GI studies have come back normal, which is really great news. She is receiving so many xrays and so much care that they moved her to another room so it is easier to get the xray machine in and out. This room is so much better because it is a lot more quite and we don't feel so squished in there. Yesterday was not such a great day. They had her off food all day and night because they were getting back green residuals and she was throwing up bile. That is a really bad sign to see in babies of any age especially preemies. That is why the doctor held off her milk for a while and is now giving her this special digested formula and some antibiotics which have a good effect on intestine motility. So far it seems to be working. The doctor says that there are a couple of different tricks they can do to try and jump start her digestive tract. Lets hope this works out for her. I went in this morning to see her and she looked great. She had just had a bath and she was in the best of care with my two favorite nurses, Pedro and Lorelee. You can see why Lorelee likes our Lorelei. They are both really great and I felt good that she was being cared for by them. I can't wait to go see her tomorrow. I just hope and pray that these feedings do the trick. The kids at home seem to be doing good. I try to get home soon after they get out of school so we can have time together. My parents have been so helpful here at the house and with the kids. Asher can't wait to see them in the morning. Today Papa came to our Mommy and Me class. It was our last one for the year. We don't start up again until mid Feb. I know Asher is really going to miss it. Here are a couple of pictures I took of Lorelei yesterday.

Lorelei 16 days old

Today Lorelei is back on foods. They started her on another special type of formula that is already digested to make it easier on her intestines. Hopefully this will get everything going. This is such an important step for her I really hope she can do it. Hope you all enjoy the movie.

13 days old

Today was not such a great day for our little girl. She has been taken off breast milk again because her intestines are not functioning. It could be due to prematurity and or the loss of blood flow from the placental abruption and shock. Whatever the cause they are keeping a close eye on it with many x rays, blood tests and stopping all feedings besides her IV. I am so worried about her right now it makes me feel so sick. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers so she may make a turn around and fight this off. The nurses say that she still looks great with her color and her vitals so that is uplifting. I was able to hold her for about 3 hours today. If it wasn't for the fact that I felt like I was going to pass out due to hunger I would have stayed and held her all night. Hopefully tomorrow when I go check on her she will be doing better. I just want to bring her home to meet her family!!!!!!!!!!!!! We all love her so much.

2 Weeks Old

Today Lorelei is two weeks old. I went to the hospital this afternoon while Jeff was at work and my dad watched the kids. She was doing great while I was there. Her oxygen intake was the best ever so they put her level at room air. She is still getting a little help from the air pressure, but hopefully soon they can start weening that too. Her feedings are still not going so great. I need to call again tonight to see how the last feeding went. She is still getting lots of air in her belly and some residuals. If her intestines start to work better she would be feeling so much better. Tonight she was so alert. She was looking all around the room and at me. She is such a little cutie. I wish the kids could see her in person. I think it is so hard for them to just hear about her and see pictures. I know they are really wanting to finally meet her and hold her in their arms. Whenever Asher sees a picture of her he says "baby in mommies tummy". We say "that's Lorelei". He just says again "no, that's baby in mommy's tummy".

Lorelei

Today we got to hold our sweet girl again. For the last two days they haven't let us hold her because her tummy was not holding down the formula or breast milk. Last night they took her off all feedings to give it a rest. Tomorrow they are going to be doing more belly x rays to see what is going on. They said that she has been a little upset since they took away the milk. Hopefully tomorrow they will find nothing wrong and resume the feedings. Sometimes it is only a matter of maturity of the gut. I really hope that is all it is.
Yesterday we had quite a scare with Baylee. After being at the hospital during the day I got home in time to take the kids to their school to get the H1N1 vaccine. On our way to the car after they both got their shot, Baylee fell to her knees saying she felt sick and dizzy. I helped her back into the cafeteria where the nurses were. She looked terrible, she went sort of green to white and sweaty. She couldn't walk any more and laid on the floor. The nurses came over and put her on the bench with her feet up and called 911. I was so afraid for her. The paramedics, police, fire dept. all came of coarse. They ran all the tests on her and everything came out good, so in the end we declined transport. So it was either some reaction to the shot or just a reaction of being so scared inside about getting the shot. Either way she is better. I am not sure how I am ever going to convince her again about getting another shot anytime soon. She was so brave at the time. I was so proud of her. I think she was just internalizing it all.
So tomorrow Jeff is off and we can spend some time together with the kids and go and see Lorelei again. Keep her in your prayers about her x ray tomorrow and that she takes on to digesting milk soon.

10 Days Old

Today our sweet little girl is 10 days old. She has graduated to room B in the NICU. That means she is getting better. I got to hear her cry for the first time today. It was so nice to finally hear her. I also got to give her a bath. The only problem she is having right now is digesting the breast milk. They are going to give her some special type of formula to see if he tummy accepts it better. If it does they said they will gradually introduce the breast milk again. Hopefully she can take it again because we have a freezer full. Tomorrow I have my doctors appointment so I will hopefully find out more about why this all happened. Check back tomorrow for more good news.

9 days old

Lorelei keeps progressing everyday. She is already making us so proud of her. Today she was sleeping on her tummy to help with her breathing. She is still in the first room but hopefully tonight they will move her. She got a new hat made by the volunteers at the hospital. She looked so cute in it. She is still fed through a feeding tube but she is digesting more, so that is good news. I got to hold her again today so that was really nice. I wish I could stay there and hold her all night long. It is so hard to balance spending time with all the kids. They seem to be doing really well with everything going on. I know they would just love to see their sister in person. If only this H1N1 was over. The hospital won't allow anyone who is under 16 to even enter into the lobby. Jeff and I are going over in the morning to see her so hopefully tomorrow I will have some more good new.

Sweet Baby

Today was yet another great day. I feel like everyday there is going to be some sort of set back but Lorelei keeps up her fight. Every time they challenge her with something new she does great. Today Jeff and I went to see her and they had taken off her CPAP and replaced it with high flow nasal cannula. She is tolerating it well. They also removed the IV line from her head and took her off the prophylactic doses of antibiotics because all her test came back negative for infection. We will know next week if her brain bleed is any smaller, so keep good thoughts for that. Now for the best news of all, Daddy got to hold her for the first time. She made it even extra special for him by waking up and looking at us. This is the first time we have seen her awake. It was so amazing. Jeff is on cloud 9. Being able to hold your baby does so much good for the heart and soul. I hope it does the same for her. Before we left tonight the nurse put her in a new bed. Now she can sleep better because she is closed in instead of out on observation. I was feeling sort of sorry for her to be out like that 24 hours a day because the NICU is really noisy and bright. There are so many monitors beeping all the time, people talking, stuff being moved around. So now it makes me feel better to have her sleeping in someplace a little more serene. Pumping has been going great. All the doctors and nurses are suprised by all the milk I am producing. They have so much of mine in the freezer over there that I have to store some here at home now. She is starting to tolerate the milk in her gut a little better now, so that is also encouraging. That is all for now, lets hope for the good news to keep coming. Keep her in your thought and prayers.