Maddie Milestones

September 21, 2008

Homecoming DadAfter a long night in the hospital on a pull-out sofa without a mattress I proved I could care for a baby and Maddie was discharged at 2pm on Saturday and I brought her home. YAY! Jamie and I are so thrilled. New pictures on Flicr were taken seconds after we came through the door. She was still in her car seat in one of the pics in fact and looking super tiny!

Tiny Maddie, Huge Car SeatEverything is going very well. We're adjusting to our new life and taking care to give lots of attention to Jensen so he doesn't feel left out. I know it's so confusing for him and I don't want him to be sad or feel left out. I think things are going great overall but it is a little overwhelming having an infant home again. I'm already feeling sleep deprived because even the second time around I'm hopping up at every single sound and she makes A LOT of sounds! We will adjust quickly I'm sure and life with our completed little family will be wonderful! Homecoming Mom

Maddie was 4 lbs 6 oz at discharge. She is bfing 1X per day. We will gradually increase that. It will be a lot easier for her when she gets closer to full term. It was tough for Jensen too. She is doing great with her bottle the rest of the day. She's drinking close to 60 cc per feeding and her minimum when she left the hospital was 37 cc!

Now that Maddie has come home I will not be adding additional updates to this particular post. Thank you to those that have followed our little Maddie's progress in the hospital and again for all the prayers. It is all much appreciated!

September 18, 2008

Wow, the day has arrived. I guess we'll get the "final" word tomorrow but Maddie is going home on Saturday. We were asked to bring the car seat in today. Tomorrow night I have to spend the night in the Mother's Room (doesn't have a bed) to prove I can take care of her through the night then the next morning Maddie gets to go home. It's over!

Maddie is up to 4 lbs 6.9 oz. She is feeding well and did well with her breastfeeding today too. I'm really overwhelmed and a bit speechless. The reality of bringing her home has not sunk in yet.

Thank you again to everyone that has prayed for us. Things could have gone so much differently but our little Maddie is a very strong girl and she wasn't going to let a little thing like arriving early cause her any problems.

September 17, 2008

Best news first, nothing definite, a nurse told Jamie tonight that she thinks Maddie will be home by the weekend!!!!

Maddie took all but 1 of her feedings in the last day by mouth. If she takes her nighttime feeding by bottle too they're going to remove the feed tube. She is now allowed to eat "at will" whenever she wants and as much as she wants (with a minimum of 37 cc per feeding). I'll find out tomorrow how she did with that.

Her weight was up to 4 lbs 6.1 oz this morning. The nurse believes the doctor will order the car seat to come in tomorrow. I will explain that more after the order and I have been given directions. Basically they have to make sure she can sustain herself sitting in a car seat for 30 minutes.

YAY Maddie! A tentative countdown for her homecoming has begun!!!!

September 16, 2008

Another big day for Maddie. I can't say enough how excited we are that she is doing so well. Everyday is harder than the day before to leave her. Some of you may have read about that in my What Am I Forgetting post. Everyday she becomes more alert and aware of us.

On with the update, right? Maddie is up to 4 lbs 5 oz even. She is now allowed to be fed with the bottle all 8 feedings but will be fed through the feed tube when she's too tired. And, as if that wasn't enough, I took Maddie out of the isolette today for her feeding then when I put her back to bed I put her into the crib. Yay! Yep, that's right, finally at 1955 grams she's been moved to a crib.

Our bfing today went ok. Definitely not vigorous like yesterday but pretty good. She probably got a good amount because she worked at it for 20 to 25 min but she seemed sleepy so she just didn't get into a good rhythm. It was still better than the first day though. She seems more confident in what she's doing. I have to say though, I've noticed that her weight gains had decreased since we started bfing so I'm definitely concerned she's not getting enough during those feedings.

The nurse told me that I should not expect to be able to breastfeed her at all feedings when I bring her home. She said at first I should try every third feeding then when she does well I can increase it to every other feeding and eventually we will be totally on breastfeeding.

We still don't know exactly when she will be able to come home but the nurse today felt certain she would be home by October. I had asked because RSV/flu season runs October to May.

September 15, 2008

Maddie was at 1930 grams this morning and the nurse said it was a half an oz gain. I'm just thankful she is still gaining. There have been some big changes for Maddie causing her to burn a lot more calories. I'm actually relieved that they still have not moved her out of the isolette because that would mean she would have to do even more work.

Breast feeding went great today. I still had to use the shield but that's ok. I will keep trying every day without it but if she doesn't latch within a couple of minutes I will go ahead and put the shield on. The concern is that she would get used to the shield and never make the switch to without. That's the lactation people's concern, not mine. Jensen used one too and made the transition soon after we came home. I'm sure it will be fine.

She seemed much stronger in her feeding today. She had a great little pattern going of approximately 15 sucks then an 8 second pause before she was back for another 15 sucks. I counted at different points throughout the feeding and she really seemed to sustain that pattern for the whole feeding. Like she can count! LOL. I attempted to switch her to the other side when she started to get lazy thinking the first breast was empty but she was done. She was stretching and cooing and had no interest in latching back on. It was a great day!

September 14, 2008

Another great day for Maddie. She's up to 4 lbs 4 oz. She's over the 1900 mark for moving to the crib but the doctor did not order it today. My guess is that since her workload has been increased to 4 PO feedings including 1 at the breast that the doctor did not want her expending even more calories regulating her own temperature.

Maddie's attempt at breast feeding today was a total success. I was amazed at how well she did for her second day. I still had to use the breast shield. It's a very thin piece of rubber that lays over my nipple and the sucky part is much taller than my nipple. It stimulates the roof of her mouth and encourages her to suck. I will continue to try every day without it but I won't sweat it if we need it.

Maddie's feeding amount has been increased from 34 cc to 37 cc per feeding. There's no way to judge how much she gets when she breastfeeds but they watch her cues to see if she needs a supplemental feeding afterward. Today she nursed for 25 minutes and she had a great rhythm going. Her pauses in between were consistently about 10 seconds. She really did awesome and we're so excited about her progress.

September 13, 2008

Maddie Day 19Big news for Miss Maddie today! Jamie, Jensen, and I went together today as a family to the 11 am feeding. I was met at the door by the NICU nurse who asked me when I had last pumped. Something about the way she asked me kind of freaked me out. Was something wrong with my milk? It was very bizarre. I tried to remember when I had pumped and came up with sometime about 3 hours before. Yay, that was good news for us all. Maddie's doctor had ordered to increase Maddie's PO (per oral) feedings to every other feeding and one of those feedings gets to be an attempt at breast feeding. I was not expecting it for another week so I was sort of in shock. Wow, what do I do? LOL. I only breast fed Jensen for 13 months so I'm not that experienced. Yeah, that's sarcasm for those that don't know me well.

So, the bfing actually went pretty well. She's so little it's a lot to handle if you know what I mean. We put a shield over my nipple to make it more like the bottle nipple so she could wrap her tongue around it better. We tried the football hold for several minutes but then I told the lactation nurse that I was never successful in the football hold with Jensen and that the cradle hold was the most comfortable for us. We moved Maddie to the cradle hold and she latched on right away. She would suck for about 4-5 beats, swallow, then pause for about 6-7 beats. She repeated the pattern probably 10 times before she tired out. We put her right back in the isolette so we wouldn't expend any additional calories. It was a very successful beginning.

Maddie's weight is almost to the 1900 gram point. She's at 1870 and may reach the goal by tomorrow. She won't immediately be moved to the crib from the isolette. It takes an order from one of the doctors but there's no reason to hold her back. She's been doing so well. Gloria (one of the NICU nurses) thinks the amount she is fed per feeding will increase tomorrow as well.

It was certainly a good day!

September 12, 2008

Maddie with GrandpaMaddie was great today. I visited her for a PO feeding at 8am and again at 2pm. Jamie will see her at 11pm after he returns from a seminar in Indianapolis. Mom came in the morning and dad in the afternoon. The doctor made no changes to Maddie's feedings today which is great. She is holding her own at the 3 PO feedings a day and they are giving her time to adjust before increasing that.

I'm watching her weight in grams now since our next goal is 1900 grams. The 1900 gram mark means she gets to move out of the isolette to a regular crib and closer to coming home. Maddie was at 1795 grams yesterday and up to 1805 grams today. Here's a great conversion calculator that Chelle found. That's 3 lbs 15.66 oz so hopefully she's going to cross the 4 lb point at her next weigh in.

She gained less than she has been over the last few days but the increase from 1 PO feeding to 3 PO feedings so quickly means her body is burning more calories than it was before. When she has to do the work herself it burns calories. She's doing great though. Their goal is for her to complete her feedings in 30 minutes. She almost always does it in less than 10 minutes. She gets in a rhythm and just sucks it down! Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug! Go Girl!

September 11, 2008

Maddie Day 17Everyday is a good day for our lovely little Maddie! She's up to 3 lbs 15.3 oz. The doctor has already decided to move her up to 3 PO feedings per day out of 8 total feedings. She's still at 34 cc per feeding. We went today for our first feeding at 2pm. I'll be going again at 8pm. I was only planning for 2 feedings today because that's what they said yesterday. Maddie drank her 2pm feeding in 4 minutes but I'm going to call it 5 min just to be safe.

I also had another check-up today and my doctor is very happy with the way my incision looks now. The color is all normal now and I think I'm completely sealed at this point. She said I don't have to come back for a check-up until October so that's cool by me.

September 10, 2008

Maddie is doing so well with her weight gain. She's up to 3 lbs 13.9 oz. She's doing so well. I went to the morning visit with my mom. Maddie was fast asleep laying on her belly. She was so sweet and peaceful I didn't even consider getting her out of the isolette.

By the afternoon visit at 2pm Maddie had seen her doctor and we have more good news. Maddie was moved up to 34 cc per feeding and her bottle feedings are going to increase to 2 times per day. They split them 1 per 12 hour shift to give her rest between the bottle feedings. I think she's a lot stronger this time though and probably ready to go to 2 bottle feedings per day because today she took down her 34 cc in 10 minutes! Chug-a-lug little darling! Mommy is soooooo proud of you!!!!

September 9, 2008

Maddie weighed 3 lbs 12 oz and ate her 32 cc in 16 min. She looked peaceful and happy at both of my visits. On my second visit I got to change her outfit for the first time. Through the diaper changes I've started to get used to her smallness and felt more comfortable changing her clothes. There was very little to update because she's doing AWESOME!!!!

September 8, 2008

Jensen and MaddieMy mom and dad arrived today from Ohio and Chelle went home this morning. I wanted Chelle to get one more visit in so we went together at 8am then I went again at 2pm with my mom. I did her PO (per oral) feeding at 2pm and she was a piggie!!! She's up to 32cc per feeding (still every 3 hours). The nurse told me that the goal was to get her to finish the bottle in less than 30 minutes. That really wasn't a problem. She finished in 12 minutes! She attacked that bottle. That was really awesome.

We have no news on the EKG. It was faxed to the doctors office this morning but the ped cardiologist has not contacted or visited the NICU. I'm taking that as "no news is good news" and not worried about it. She looks wonderful every time I see her. Her color is a beautiful pink and she's usually pretty alert for our visits. She was very alert last night for Jamie and Chelle's 11 pm visit.

September 7, 2008

Maddie Day 13Maddie was soooooooo beautiful today. She was wearing a pink little onesie with a ruffled collar and a little bouquet of flowers on it. Very cute. She's definitely pretty in pink.

Bottle FeedingMaddie was up to 3 lbs 10 oz and they've increased her feeding from 27 cc per feeding to 30 cc. They have backed her back though from 3 bottle feedings a day back to 1 bottle feeding per day. I guess they sort of push first then see how they do. The bottle feedings have really tired her out and they don't want her expending that many calories so we're going back to 1 bottle feeding per day for a bit and the rest by feed tube. Chelle fed her today and she did awesome. She probably drank 25 cc before she slowed down but she did eventually drink it all herself so nothing had to be put through her feed tube.

When I took her temperature there was a little yellow sticker on her chest. I asked the nurse what it was and she said, "Oh, did they leave one there?" Then she told me that Madilynn had an EKG this morning. It was a little weird. It was almost as if she wasn't going to tell me. I asked her if anything else had changed and she said no. Regarding the EKG, Madilynn apparently has had 3 separate events where her heart raced from it's normal 150-160 bpm up to 250 and even 300 bpm. The events were all less than 15 seconds and I'm being told that the EKG is only a precaution. It will not be read until tomorrow so I will updated you then.

September 6, 2008

Jamie and I went together today at Maddie's 5pm feeding time but she had apparently been alert about a half hour before and was very insistent on sleeping. She opened her eyes for us a couple of times and gave us a couple of gassy smiles so we were happy. Momma and Papa are so proud of those precious little gassy smiles!

Even though she was sleepy we still needed to try to bottle feed her but she only drank 7cc and we had to let the rest go through the feed tube because we tried for close to 30 minutes and she just wasn't interested. She was a sleepy girl. Nothing wrong. Preemies sleep 15-22 hours per day. She had been alert earlier than her feeding time.

A definite high point of our trip was learning that she is up to 3 lbs 8 oz. She's doing super. Her feedings are still at 27cc every 3 hours with the fortifier added to my breast milk for more calories. It's not a significant amount but at her size every little bit helps!

September 5, 2008

After FeedingMaddie is feeding from a bottle now 2 times per day (once every 12 hours). The rest of her feedings are still being pushed through the feed tube in her nose. She does very well with the bottle feeding. I got to feed her today and she took more than half of her 27cc bm through the bottle before she slowed down. She stopped with about 8cc to go and we had to push that through her feed tube. I also got to change her diaper and take her temperature but the most frightening was lifting her to burp her. You mean you want me to whack her back???? Surely you jest! But no, they expected me to whack her back. OMG! Her weight stayed about the same at 3 lbs 6 oz and her color was great. She looks better every day. She was wearing a white onesie today with pink trim and a little dog. She was precious as always! They said I may get to try breastfeeding as early as next week.

September 4, 2008

Wow, it's a great day for a Maddie update. Actually, we both have good news today. Maddie is up to 3 lbs 7.7 oz. Her feeding tube has been moved from her mouth to her nose which is apparently much more comfortable. She would pull it out of her mouth all the time and they say she probably won't bother it here. She's also off of IV fluids entirely. YAY! They're going to add a fat fortifier to my breast milk to help her put on weight but she's really gaining pretty fast because she was at 3 lbs 1 oz at the start of the week.

Holding Maddie today was different than any other day so far. She really looked like she felt good. She seemed so content laying in my arms. I just held her and stared at her and told her about our day.

The rest of my staples were removed today and my doctor was very pleased with the reduction in inflammation around my incision since Tuesday so I don't need the other antibiotic. I feel much better AND I've lost 10 POUNDS just since Tuesday! I can tell I still have a lot of swelling but I may not have to wear Jamie's shoes much longer. They're starting to flop on my feet and I have ankles again! Wooo hoooo! I'm beginning to look like a girl again!

September 3, 2008

Big news for Maddie today! She had her first bottle feeding (of my bm of course). It's a huge step toward her going home. She eats every 3 hours and for one feeding a day she will start using a bottle. I'm not sure when they will begin to increase that or when I will be able to try bf'ing but I'm just so excited by this first step. The nurses said she did great and took the whole 25cc without any trouble.

Maddie is also receiving only a tiny bit of IV fluids at this point and they expect that to stop altogether in the next couple of days which means the PICC line will be removed. YAY!!!

September 2, 2008

A. Chelle Meets MaddieAunt Chelle (Jamie's sister) arrived yesterday so she got to hold Maddie this morning. Pictures will be posted later for the curious.

Maddie is doing very very well and there is very little to report. Her per feeding intake is being increased over the course of today to 25 cc's. She has taken very well to digesting my breast milk which brings me to another great point for the day. Yesterday we did not pick up one of my new antibiotics because the copay was $50 and we're cheap. I wanted to make sure with my doc that I really needed it. We saw my doc today (had half of my staples removed) and she said that as long as the culture that was collected yesterday (sorry TMI for some of you) at the ER comes back ok I won't have to have that antibiotic. Ok, so the point, that antibiotic was the one preventing Maddie from getting more of my bm soooooo, no more pump and dump. My baby girl gets to have more of my colostrum instead of pouring that liquid gold down the drain. YAY!!!!

Brother and Sister MeetJensen and Maddie met for the first time today. Tracey (one of the NICU nurses) held Maddie near Jensen and Chelle and I snapped a dozen pictures while Jensen stared at her in awe. I love this picture!

September 1, 2008

Well, apparently they're serious when they say you have to rest after having a baby. What-EH-vah! I had to go to the ER today. My incision was SWOLLEN and very red so we were worried about fluids. My ob office said to go so I obeyed. Note to self, going to the ER on Labor Day is not wise. I was there 2.5 hours before I saw anyone and was there a total of 4.5 hours just for an ultrasound and a new prescription. The outcome? YAY, I do not have a build up so I about had a party about that because before the ultrasound the doctor was throwing around phrases like "reopen you". Ugh!

YawnJamie dropped me off at the door at the ER (yes, you can laugh) and went to visit Maddie. They put him to work. Jamie fed her, changed her diaper, took her temperature, and dressed her. I was freaked out when I had to change her diaper last night. LOL. I get to go back at 8 to be part of her evening routine. I love holding her obviously but there's something really scary about lifting the legs of a 3 lb baby!

So aside from my momma drama the big news for today was that Maddie had the IV out of her head (!!!!) and she had clothes on. They put her in a pink and white onesie. Her feedings are up to 20 cc of my bm every 3 hours so she's increasing quickly because it was just 15 yesterday. Bad news on the bm front though, she can't have my bm while I'm on the new antibiotics so I have to pump and dump. Luckily I had already given them a ton so she should only have to be on formula for a day or two we hope. It's a special formula for preemies so the NICU nurses have assured us that it won't cause her any digestion problems. Jamie and I are really anti-formula but we're pro-feeding so you do what you have to do.

August 31, 2008

I overdid it today. Just the trip to the hospital was enough I guess for my second day home. My dad and I visited with Maddie this morning then I needed to get Jensen teething medication and decided to go to Kroger for salad fixins too. I was already sweaty and light headed just walking into the store. I ended up napping after lunch for 3.5 hours and I'm feeling much better now but intend to take it slower going forward.

Now the important part...Maddie is doing great. Dr. Hamdan took her off the light therapy for jaundice this morning so she now has a nice cover over the top of her isolette to block unwanted light and allow her to rest better. She is tolerating her feedings very well so her breast milk intake was increased and her iv liquids were decreased. She's breathing entirely on her own and does not even have the oxygen tubes anymore. They will only leave that terrible iv line in her head for a couple of days to make sure the PICC line sort of stabilizes. I guess they can migrate out of position and become useless.

Maddie has gained weight but is still below her birth weight. She's 3 lbs 3.? oz and was born at 3 lbs 5.5 oz so you can see she does not have far to go to get ahead and start getting some fat on her little butt! She has NOOOOO butt. LOL!

Jensen is having a rough time with sleep times but seems fine other than that. His appetite certainly hasn't suffered! I'm sure it's all so confusing for him. His routine has been demolished. I abandoned him for a week. I just don't know how you explain the concept of a baby sister to a 16 month old. He's doing great though and I'm just so happy to be home with him.

August 30, 2008

Dada Holds MaddieToday was a big and tiring day for Maddie and I. Most importantly Jamie and I both got to hold her today. It was the most amazing feeling to finally have her placed into my arms. I can't describe the joy I felt.

Next, Dr. Hamdan (one of the NICU pediatricians at Summit Medical Center) placed the PICC line this morning. Maddie had a very slight yellow tint last night so Dr. Campbell had her set up for jaundice prevention. When her morning test results came in the jaundice indicator numbers were within the normal range. This evening she has been moved to an incubator commonly referred to as an isolette and I'm not sure if jaundice treatment is continuing. When we called to check on her she was resting peacefully and we forgot to ask about that.

Why can't I just walk down the hall (or down the 5 floors as it were) to check on her? Because they released me today! YAY! My doc had said Sunday or Monday at the earliest but I have done very well with my recovery so far and have had very good blood pressure numbers so my doctor gave me the choice. Hmmm, hang out in the hospital eating crappy food with my butt hanging out of a nightgown all alone in a room on the cardiac floor (since I got the boot from the Labor and Delivery floor when they filled up on Thursday) or come home with my son, husband, and dad? Yeah, no brainer! I'm home.

The next few weeks are going to be tough with Maddie at the hospital but it could be so much worse. We are literally less than 1 mile from the hospital. It takes me more time to park my car than to get there. Of course I'm not allowed to drive for the next 2 weeks so I'm going to have to depend on help to visit Maddie but I think that's an obstacle we will easily overcome.

The bottom line: Maddie is doing fantastic. Please keep the prayers and well wishes coming as it is much appreciated and obviously working.