Welcome Home, Layla!

We were able to take Layla home last night!! A nurse had called around 11am and asked if we knew that our daughter was being discharged that day...we had not known! The doctor had called us the day before and had said that if she continued to take her feedings in full, she'd probably be able to go home in the next couple of days. We had tried to not get our hopes up--especially when she had to have 5 mL tube fed at her 3pm feeding on Wednesday. So we had some idea that her release would be soon, but we weren't positive.

It was a busy day yesterday compared to normal doing all the final discharge activities. The "Transition to Home" class was yesterday (only offered a couple of times a month, so I had signed up awhile ago) which was good timing, I also had to meet with the discharge nurse, the doctor had to do a final evulation, Layla had to pass her car seat test (the car seat is officially for babies 5 lbs and above, but they are safer than car beds, so they want babies about 4 1/2 lbs and above to use a car seat), she had to get her hospital pic taken, and we had to have someone help us properly put in our car seat base (oh, and a final stop at the cafeteria for ice cream and cookies:-) ). So after that we are home and getting adjusted to life with Layla!

The nursery was ready for her...

Taking her car seat "test" (she just had to sit in it and still be able to breath okay)

This was taken while they were doing her hospital picture--hopefully the hospital pic turns out a bit better!!

Almost time to leave!

I'm ready for my ride home!

Last pic at the hospital!

Home at last and the first time Layla gets to meet big brother, Elvis...

3 Weeks Old!

Layla was 3 weeks old already yesterday! She got moved to yet another room! They opened a new neonatal nursery in a different part of the hospital for babies that are low maintenance (like her--just working on feeding or temperature issues). Last winter the Neonatal Unit was very full so they hope that this new nursery will help open up some space in the regular Neonatal Unit for in the future when their baby count is high again (the past few months have been much slower than normal for them). On her 3 week birthday she weighed 4 lbs 7 oz--an entire pound more than her lowest weight!

Her new room...

We are getting anxious to get her home! Her new nursery is even more crowded than the old one and kind of a pain because it is kind of far away from the Neonatal Unit. I'm a little concerned about how we'll be at waking up with her every few hours. I've been pumping every 3 hours--even during the night--well, we've had issues with Joe setting the alarm to PM instead of AM or Joe just turning off the alarm in his sleep (and I sleep so sound that I never hear it). A couple of nights ago when the alarm went off, Joe told me it was time to go pump and I apparently told him that I already had pumped! I must have been dreaming about pumping:). Hopefully I wake up for Layla a little bit better than that!!

Little Squeeker

Layla always got the hiccups when I was pregnant with her at least 2 - 3 times per day. Well, now she still seems to get them a few times each day. We think her little squeeks are quite cute. The other day in her nursery her and her neighbor boy both had them at the same time and they kept going back and forth squeeking. Here she is during one of her many times with hiccups...



Layla weighed in tonight at 4 lbs 6 oz, so one more oz and she'll be an entire pound more than what she was at her lowest weight! She is also now 17" long (born at 16" inches). She is growing so quickly!!

Progress

Layla is still doing well. She is still making progress on her feedings by taking some through a tube and some through a bottle and it sill gaining weight. She now weighs 4 lbs 2 oz. It is a bit crowded now in her new room as the room is very tiny and she has two roomates.

Being on the intermediate side now we have seen lots of babies come and go so it gets us excited for when it will get to be us going home! It has been quite busy going back and forth to the hospital, so we can't wait to have her at home! They still can't tell us when she'll be coming home, but as long as she keeps making progress it hopefully won't be too much longer. Monday she will be 34 weeks gestational age and they had told us that they never send babies home before 34 weeks, so at least we have now made it to that point. Now she just needs to be able to increase the amount of feedings she takes through a bottle and then be able to maintain that for a bit! She also needs to continue to maintain a warm temperature outside of her isolet. Thanks again to everyone for all the cards, thoughts and prayers:-)

2 Weeks Old!

Layla is now 2 weeks old!! In the last 2 weeks she's experienced quite a few changes. She has gone from eating 6 mL per feeding to now 35 mL. She no longer needs an IV or to have her oxygen monitored...she has weighed as low as 3 lbs 7 oz and now weighs 3 lbs 15 oz. She is now in her 3rd room. She moved today from a large room in NIM (Neonatal Intermediate Care) to a smaller room with only 2 roomates. She also moved today out of her isolet and into a plastic "crib". If she can stay warm enough, she'll remain in the crib. If not, she will be moved back to her isolet.

She didn't know what to make of being in her new bed...


Her new room...

She likes her new outfit with "slippers" :-)

Bathing Beauty

Layla had her first bath today! It went better than we thought--she actually seemed to enjoy it! She has also gained some more weight--she's now 3 lbs 13 oz. Her bottle drinking has been about the same and she is still off her billi lights. Today they also started testing her to see if she can maintain a warm temperature on her own. Once she successfully can, she will move out of her isolet and into a plastic "crib" (more like a plastic tub). We noticed today that her eye was very mattery so she now has drops to hopefully fix her infection.

Bath time fun...

All warm and snuggly after bath time!

Back to Birth Weight!!!

First off ... sorry it has been a little bit since we last blogged.

Secondly (and most important) Layla's update.

Since our last blog Layla has continued to make progress. Her feedings are now up to 32mL and she has been nippling around 15-20mL every other feeding. Of course this depends on how sleepy she is. But overall her suck, swallow, breath pattern is continuing to develop very nicely. She now weighs 1700 grams (born at 1696)!!!! For those of you who don't speak grams ... it is 3lbs 11.8oz which was her birth weight. We are very proud of our little heavy weight!! She also lost her umbilical cord the other night making her belly look extra beautiful.

Her breathing has remained consistent except for a few forgetful moments when it drops sending off alarms. This really makes Mom and Dad's hearts race. She is still in her isolette to regulate her tempature and we think she may have to be Zorro again to get her pesky bilirubin to come down again. Oh well, whatever it takes to get her home.

These last 11 days have been a rollercoaster of emotions. It is truly amazing how immediately your life changes when you have a child. Your whole outlook revovles around them. However, today is Father's Day and I am going to enjoy my first Father's Day by her bedside ... the best gift ever!!!

Her a few pics:

Sleeping all snuggled up

Burp time

The Big Move

Layla moved rooms today! She moved from her room in the NICU to a room in NIM (Neonatal Intermediate). It is a move in the right direction, however, it doesn't really mean that she suddenly made lots of progress. The reason for her move was because she lost her "partner" in her old room in the NICU. Her "partner" went home today and therefore would have left just her to take care of for a nurse when normally each nurse in the NICU has 2 patients. In NIM, each nurse has 3 patients and someone in NIM also went home today so it was a good day to switch her. Patients in NIM are in similar situations to her--mainly working on feedings and issues like that until they are ready to go home. Her new room is much noisier which is quite annoying, but I think more so for us than for her! Here is her new homestead...



Her first real outfit...

Look at that pout!!

Daddy's Girl:)

Is there a baby in there??

She weighed in tonight at 1640, so she gained 50 grams! That means she's almost 3 lbs 10 oz. That seems like a lot to gain in one day so hopefully the nurse weighed her correctly. I guess we'll find out tomorrow night if she's suddenly back down to 3 lbs 8 oz! Her bili count was still low today too at 6.6 so she is still off the lights for right now. Thanks for checking in!

10 more grams!

Last night Layla weighed in at 1590 grams ... 10 more than the night before! Way to go honey!! She also took 18 out 30ml through her bottle a couple times yesterday. That really puts her out for the count and she hardly wakes up till her next feeding. Her bili count was down to 7 from 12 allowing her to no longer need her tanning light and be able to be all snuggled up in her cute blankets. She also started her first collection. She is collecting Pampers Points. She already has 4 (thanks to one of her friends in a bed next to her who gave her 3)! She is already making friends:-).

I don't think I ever thought being a Dad would be so cool. I can't wait for the end of the day when I can go up to the hospital and see her. Granted, I can't really do anything while I am there, but that doesn't matter. I could sit and stare at her for hours on end. She is so cute when she sleeps. Arms above her head, sticking out her tongue, leg twitches and so many more beautiful movements (can you tell I am excited!). I will try and grab a video of some of her and get it posted. 9 hrs to go!!

1 week old!

Can you believe it! Layla is a week old already! I know this is cliche but, "Wow, Time Flies". It has been amazing to see her progress in the last week. From being born till now she has increased her feedings from 6ml to 30ml plus 2 calorie packs per feeding. She has been removed from her IV, she no longer need antibiotics, and all her vitals have been doing very well. Praise God!! She is a little fighter.

Last night we also had more good news. Layla gained 10grams from the night before. It isn't much but at least it is the right direction. So she now weighs a staggering 1580 grams (around 3lbs 7.68oz). She was able to have some tummy time last night as she sun-bathed under her bili light.

Pray today that her bilirubin count comes down, and that she continues to feed her whole feedings without any complications. All of us in our family really appreciate all of the support we have been given. It means a a lot to us ... THANKS!

Back To Blogging

I think this is the first time that I (Mere) have blogged since having Layla. Joe always seemed to have a lot more time on his hands when we were staying in the hospital so he was always the one that updated it. I still don't have much time (I haven't been taking my computer to the hospital and the computer at the hospital wasn't letting me send emails today or blog), but wanted to quick update.

Joe went back to work today so it was just Layla and me all day:(. I'm not sad to spend time with Layla, but I miss having Joe around! I'm sure it was just as hard for him to not be with us all day! Layla still hasn't gained any weight (her weight was down just a tiny tiny amount tonight), so pray that she gains weight. Her bilirubin went up today so she may need to have the light back on as well as her Zorro mask tomorrow. Other than that she is doing very well. They removed here IV last night so at least she doesn't have her paddle anymore! She again took part of her feedings by bottle--she is now up to 1 oz per feeding and they are also adding a supplement now to each feeding as well to give her extra calories. She also had her feeding tube switched from her mouth to her nose. She had to be 32 weeks gestational age to have that and she was 32 weeks today! Here are some new pics...

Wow!

What a weekend! From having to leave Layla at the hospital, finding our dog, Elvis, had somehow escaped out of his kennel during the storm, and finding our house had no power (and no estimated restoration time) was not exactly what we had planned. Oh well.

You know how it sometimes it kind of feels like everything gets piled on at once! That is kind of what this weekend felt like, but then we realize how good we really have it yet. Our daughter is in the best hospital she can be in, mom and dad are both healthy and can visit her, we have a wonderful family (and church family) who are so supportive, wonderful friends, and not to mention all the other many blessings we have. It really is amazing what our Lord has given us.

Last night when we left Layla she was doing really well. She was feeding 27ml at a time (most through her feeding tube ... she gets really tired eating) and was sleeping very well in between feedings. She was off her bilirubin light when we got there!! However, she may have to go back on it for a day here and there. But it was so nice to snuggle her in a blankie and let her sleep soundly. They also said her IV may come out soon, which would be so nice for her little hand. At her weigh in she was 3lbs 7oz ... no change from the day before ... but no loss either.

All in all she is fighting like a champ. It is kind of funny because every nurse says that she has a lot of fight in her and she is extremely fiesty. However, I am not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing yet???

Thanks again for all your prayers and support. Please continue to pray she begins to gain weight, keeps breathing on her own, and that mommy and daddy can get good rest when they can:-)!

Keep Fighting!

Last night was hard for us as parents ... to leave her behind as we headed home:-(. However, we knew that she was in good hands and that we could go see her today. Still, it made for a long night and morning couldn't come quick enought to call up there and see how she was doing.

We called around 9am and at that time the nurse said her feedings went great last night! They feed her by bottle and not by the feeding tube! She also said that her feedings will probably go up to 24ml today .... GO LAYLA!!! We were also told that her bilirubin count had come down overnight. So hopefully she won't have to be Zorro for too much longer.

Thanks again for all the prayers and just continue to pray that she maintains good progress in all her development areas!!

Zorro!!

First off, thanks to everyone for your prayers and support. Layla is still continuing to take her feedings like a champ. She is drinking 12ml at a time and hopefully will be able to get bumped up to 18ml later today.

This morning when we got there we noticed she had a lamp over her. The nurse said this was to get rid of her bilirubin (yellow substance that the body makes as red blood cells are broken down. When it builds up in the body skin can turn yellow which is called jaundice). She has to wear little black Zorro glasses to protect her eyes from the light. She looks so cute. However, she has been a little stressed and her respitory rate has been high. This is because she has to be un-clothed and without a blanket over her, and she doesn't like that at all!!

They now put some other special cushy bedding under her that can form to her body creating a more secure area for her. Hopefully this will help her calm down and have her respitory rate come down. Overall she is doing very well and hopefully this will continue!! Please continue to pray that she keeps taking her feedings and continues to develop.

It was a good day!

All in all today was a great day!!! Layla did great with her 9pm feeding, once again prooving no need for a feeding tube. GO LAYLA!!! She has been sleeping great and is wiggling up a storm in her isolette. It is really funny to see her kick so much.

This evening we got to weigh her again and she was 3lbs 9oz. So she lost another ounce, however, the nurses are not to concerned because that is primarily water weight from when she was in utero. They now expect her to start gaining weight. We will now have to be more careful with how often we take her out of her isolette. The more she is in it the more she grows. By being out of her isolette she burns energy trying to stay warm. The nurses have been great and we are so thankful for the tremendous care they have given her.

Here are a few pics from today: