Who does Hailey look like?

If you click on the picture you can see it in full size!

Hailey's cute sleep habit

No doubt, whenever I check on Hailey while she sleeps, she always sleeps like this!! Arms always above her head or by her face! Too cute!

Pretty in Pink

Hailey's First Doctor's Appointment

We got in a little early (was supposed to be Thursday). She weighs 7lb 2ozs! And is now 19.25 inches! She's a growing girl. We basically just got advice. We really like her pediatrician. She's great! She said Hailey looks good and seems to be doing very well! Her next appointment is in 10 days!

Hailey's Online Birth Announcement

Here is the online birth announcement I created. I will also be sending out a different one in the mail soon!!

Mom's mini photo shoot

My mini photo shoot! I am no professional but these are adorable!! =)

Hailey is home!

Hailey came home last night! We are so excited. She is on the apnea monitor and so far no alarms! I have to admit it does give us a little piece of mind!! She slept great last night. she never woke us up but we did wake her for feeding time! She seems very comfortable at home! She has become just a great eater! Such a relief since eating is what kept her in the NICU for so long. She hasn't taken to breast feeding just yet. She is used to the bottle nipple and doesn't see my breast as a food source. I am going to keep at it but at least she is eating my breast milk from the bottle right now!

The neonatalogist (her doctor at the NICU) recommended that we limit visitors (actually he said no visitors but to limit them since parents usually do not listen) but to definitely not have school age visitors at this time. School just started and there are a lot of germs going around plus RSV season starts in October. We were bummed about this since Hailey has so many cousins waiting to meet her but if she were to come down with RSV, it can be deadly and she would end up in the hospital again. We do not want to risk this at all. Also anyone who is sick, getting over being sick or thinks they are getting sick should wait until they are 100% before visiting! I am not sure how long the school age kids restriction needs to be. Hailey has her first pediatrician appointment next week so we will talk to her then. I think I read of a RSV vaccine. We will see! I'll keep you all posted!

Update on me!

I saw my OB today for my follow up appointment. We discussed possible reasons for my water breaking early. As you all know, I had excess fluid and Hailey was big for her age. This causes my uterus to be larger than my actual gestation which could have caused the rupture. Other causes could be that I produce thin membranes which caused the rupture or she was just ready to come out for various medical reasons. He told me I have a 40% chance of another premature delivery with my next pregnancy.

If with my 2nd pregnancy he notices I am going back down the same path of producing excess fluid I will have to have more restrictions regarding my activity level. So that's really about it. He was amazed at how much I swelled during my pregnancy and how all of my weight gain was due to water retention. baby, fluid, placenta, etc. According to his scale I had gained 35lbs during pregnancy and have lost 40lbs since birth. Holy water retention!! I guess that's what happens when my feet double in size from the swelling! HA!

Hailey is coming home!! .....With some conditions!

Hailey is coming home! The sleep study (which is called a pneumogram I found out not necogram...hey I was close!) machine is not in still. The hospital informed our insurance since this is the only reason she hasn't been released yet. They decided that she is to be sent home on an apnea monitor until the pneumogram is administered. Once the pneumogram machine is in she is to go back for the test.

The apnea monitor only alarms when she stops breathing and is different from the monitors she's on now. If she passes the pneumogram then she does not have to remain on the monitor and can go home as usual. If she fails then she will have to continue to be on the apnea monitor at home until her pediatrician decides she's ready to be off of it. So cross your fingers she passes! The nurses seem to think she will.

This is so great that she gets to come home and wait instead of waiting at the hospital! We are thrilled. If the apnea monitor is delivered tonight then we are to stay overnight at the hospital with her in a room to learn how to use it and we will go home in the morning, If the apnea monitor comes tomorrow morning then we are to stay at the hospital until about 4pm then we go home.

Hailey is 4 weeks old!

She is now eating all her feeds from a bottle and the feeding tube has been removed! The doctors have a concern about her blood oxygen saturation and heart rate going down randomly (this is called a d-sat & brady) while she eats however. This happens at least once a feeding. She is undergoing a sleep study (there is a technical term, neco-gram or something like that) where she is on special monitors for 12 hours and determine a possible cause. We are currently waiting for this to begin. A special team comes in and they are backed up but Hailey is #2 on the list.

She now weighs 6lb 12oz! She is 1 pound above her birth weight! She went through the car seat test and passed! This is where they put her in a car seat for 90 minutes and make sure her vitals are good.

She's very close to coming home. We are just waiting for the green light from the doctors. Hopefully they are able to get to the bottom of her d-sats and bradys during feeding time. We are unsure if this is just something she will grow out of but we do know that it is common for preemies to have these issues.

When Hailey comes home.....

We are still unsure of exactly when this will be but we really feel she is getting close! When this day comes, Randy and I are asking that visitors still be kept at a minimum. Please do not come over unannounced. We will need to coordinate so there are not too many people here at once. Hailey will need some time to adjust to her new environment and we want to make this transition as easy as possible for her (and us too)!

Her pediatrician will be seeing her within a week of her release and its very possible we will be given strict rules regarding visitors, outings, etc. We plan on strictly following doctor's orders. Being a preemie puts her at greater risk of catching viruses including RSV. RSV season is approaching and we would hate for her to end up back in the hospital for catching something. While we are not usually the type to freak out about germs and such, if the doctor requires or recommends limited holding or washing hands before touching or limited touching then we will follow instructions. It's hard to view her as a preemie since she is such a healthy size and never had respiratory problems but we have to remember that she is a preemie.

Thank you for all your love and support and concern over Hailey's progress. We appreciate everything everyone has done for us! Hopefully we will be announcing her arrival home very soon!

Hailey is almost 4 weeks old!

Hailey has been doing very good! She is now eating her bottles completely, and her feedings are 3 out of 4. She is also now 6lbs 10.4oz!

They discovered she is a bit anemic and is on Epogen shots to help her boost the making of red blood cells. Hopefully these shots do the trick otherwise she may have to have a blood transfusion. Although the doctors are optimistic that it wont have to go that far! Her diaper rash is gone but she tends to get a little red from time to time. Also her eye is getting so much better!

She is doing great! She's so alert and makes the cutest faces & expressions!

Hailey is doing great!

Hailey is a little over 3 weeks old now. She also weighs 6lb 5.8oz! Yesterday she had a great bottle feed day. She actually took the whole 53cc for me twice!! I am hoping she continues on this upward trend!

Randy and I started doing a few days ago what the NICU calls Kangaroo Care. This is skin to skin contact where she is in her diapers and we are shirtless and she lays on our chest. It is supposed to be stress relieving for parents and baby. And it also helps baby regulate her temperature, increase weight gain, shorten hospital stays, longer periods of sleep, decrease their crying, have longer periods of alertness, and earlier hospital discharge.

New Updates!

Hailey has been improving over the past 2 days. She is beginning to take her feedings well. Her cc was increased to 53cc. She is taking the entire bottle for the nurses and took 50cc from Randy last night. She is now 6lbs 4.9oz! And her rash is basically gone!

We noticed that she had a goopy eye last week. They ran some tests and it came back that she has a mild infection. She is given antibiotic ointment on her eyes for the next few days. Because of this, visitors are being limited. She gets a lot of visitors and a concern has been expressed about that. Her eye seems to be getting better already but for now visitors will be kept at a minimum. I have a feeling she will not be there much longer. Visiting her at home is much better than visiting her there anyway!!

Some pictures!

Little Angel


Sleeping like Daddy
Taylor and me
Grannie
Uncle Jeff, we share a birthday!
Great Grandma Betty