The big move

Well, the big move happened last night. For the first time since arriving home, Elise spent the night in her own crib. Up until now, she had been sleeping in a Pack'n Play (a bassinet type of thing) next to our bed. I'm not sure who found the new sleeping arrangements the most difficult. Surprisingly, I slept fairly well-- only awaking (about every 2-3 hours) for her loud cries rather than Elise's little stretches and coos that she constantly makes. Jeff, on the other hand, reported that he didn't sleep all that great. He doesn't really remember waking up much from her cries but none-the-less didn't sleep all that sound. Elise probably cried a bit more than normal since Mommy didn't pick her up and pass off her pacifier everytime she moved. We'll see if she sleeps more soundly during the day!

In actuality, Elise wasn't that 'alone' during the night. Her nursery is right next door to our room- and we kept both of our doors open. We also have a digital video monitor that has night vision. I wonder if the military has equipment like us! Her every peep and movement could be watched if we so desired!

After a few more days, we'll get this new sleeping thing down pat! Well, at least Mom and Dad hopefully will! The dogs haven't gotten up in days. They realize that when we get up, it's usually not yet morning and isn't time for an early breakfast!

Check out our birth announcement in the Toledo Blade from January 20th-
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090120/LOG01/901200283/-1/LOG

Pediatrician Appointment

Now that we've been home for 5 days we've adjusted to our new schedule-- which isn't much of a schedule at all! The dogs have adjusted to Elise's little noises and aren't bothered too much by the new change. In fact, Brutus seems to enjoy following us around and enjoys napping next to Elise. Wherever she is, he isn't far behind. As for Garth, he can take her or leave her. I think Garth just enjoys having people home more often.

Our first pediatrician's appointment was yesterday. Elise has gained weight-- up to a whopping 5lbs! The NICU team had taught us to closely follow the amount of milk ingested so it was a concern of mine that she wasn't eating enough from nursing (even though she continues to get a bottle afterwards). Then again, don't all parents worry about this?!

Everything else is looking good as well-- height, weight, head circumference are all normal for her premature size. Dr. Kennedy seems to think that by 6-12 months she will catch up to her peers with her growth-- although developmentally she'll be 5 1/2 weeks behind.

We are also submitting pre-approval for the RSV vaccine. RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) is a respiratory virus that infects the lungs and breathing passages. Most healthy adults can be infected by coughing or direct contact but recover within 1 to 2 weeks. However, infection in newborns (especially small preemies) can be severe and would require hospitalization with a ventilator and even death (if untreated). Obviously, preemies have extra small breathing passages so any buildup of mucus (a symptom of RSV) could be life threatening. The vaccine would be administered once a month until the end of the season (March or April). By next year, she would be strong enough without it. Unfortunately it is quite expensive-- over $1000 a shot! Hopefully by our next appointment (in two weeks), we will know if we are covered. By keeping outings and contact with people to a minimum, along with frequent hand washing, we would drastically reduce our risk of exposure. Basically, Elise is on lock down!

We continue to run on little sleep- but I feel that I'm slowly adjusting to my new hours. Dr. Kennedy still wants us to wake and feed Elise every 3 hours during the day but we can let her sleep up to 4 hours at night-- if we are that lucky! We are truly blessed by our little, healthy girl that giving up some sleep is a labor of love! There is nothing like holding and snuggling with her-- just ask her Daddy!

Long night..

We made it through our first night! I have to admit it was a bit long and I almost wish that I was still in my college prime where I could stay up all night without too much difficulty! Elise stirred every 1.5 hrs in her bassinet, next to our bedside. Like any new parent, I swear she was waking up and needed a clean diaper and some food. After rolling out of bed, I soon discovered that she wasn't really that hungry... no surprise because in the NICU they had been feeding her every 3-4 hours. Maybe in a few days/weeks or years, we'll get a nice routine down! Until then, she may find herself moving next door to her nursery (which is a room I'd like to stay in!-- photos to come) so mom and dad can sleep a few hours in a row.

Jeff made it into work today while I'm spending my first day home as a mother. My game plan is to do a bit of napping and hopefully finish up on most of our thank-you notes. Sorry if you are still waiting on one! I assure you, they are coming!! I also have an appointment for a car seat check back at the hospital. Grandma Jane will be babysitting.

The dogs continue to be good 'big brothers'. They've been very gentle when they are around Elise. For those of you who know Brutus, you can appreciate this as he's normally a ball of energy. Of course they won't be spending any alone time with her in a room-- only supervised visitation.

We'll keep you updated on all the news from the home front-- including our lack of sleep!!!

Homecoming!

Two weeks from the day that Elise Paige Kaiser was born, she came home.
The day started out like any normal day in the NICU- bottle feeding, diaper changing, temperature taking and a bath. Elise had been taking more and more feedings by bottle. In fact, she had been eating by bottle for 48-hours straight (which was the final prerequisite for going home). We shouldn't have been surprised when the doctor came in at 1pm and announced that Elise would be heading home today- but we were! Another doctor had told us the previous day that Elise would most likely be released on Monday- so needless to say, we were a bit surprised!

Prior to her release today, we had a car seat 'test'. The test consisted of Elise sitting for two hours in her car seat without us removing her. The nurses were watching her vitals during the entire two hours- making sure that she would breathe without difficulty. Elise passed without any problems. If she had problems during the two-hours, the NICU staff would have recommended a different car seat- one in which she would lay down flat rather than sit up. Yesterday, Elise also had and passed a hearing test. No problems there!

After the car seat test, we ate a final bottle, got a new diaper and we hit the road. The ride home was definitely more eventful for us than Elise, who slept the entire 15-minute ride. I sat in the back while Jeff drove. We made it home safe and sound.

Jeff's parents had already arrived to our house to help with the introduction between Elise and our dogs. The dogs were waiting outside when we returned so we were able to bring Elise inside and unpack all of the thing we came home with. Once settled, Jeff brought Garth and Brutus inside. They were already familiar with her scent (from dirty laundry) so they weren't too impressed with her. The little sounds and coos did create some interest-- especially with Brutus. Probably within the next few days, they won't even care about her at all! There is just a lot of sniffing!

So, here we are...settling in for our first night home! Had we known yesterday, we would have napped a bit and rested up!!!!

Getting bigger

(Elise already had daddy wrapped around her finger!!)

Little Elise is starting to get the hang of eating. She has been gaining more weight ( today she is currently back up to her birth weight of 4lbs 12oz) steadily which is giving her more energy to take her bottled breast milk.....her ticket home! Yesterday, she almost finished two bottles but became too tired to finish. Last night alone, she finished two bottles without difficulty. Hopefully this is a sign of her continued improvement. She wants to eat but just can't always muster the energy. Luckily she has both mine and Jeff's eating genes so it's only a matter of time!!!

I still rely on rides to the hospital-- just a few more days and I'll be cleared to once again drive. I've been fortunate to have my in-laws and parents drive me around to the hospital and to get errands done. After work, Jeff joins me at Elise's bedside or a feeding or two before we head home for the night. These make for long days but we want to spend all of our time with our little girl.

Doing well...

The past several days have been spent at Elise's bedside. She has continued to gain weight (today 4lbs 8.25 oz) and more importantly, continued to amaze us. It's almost surreal to have her here but yet we can't imagine what it was like without her. We just want to bundle her up and take her home! She is still taking most of her feedings through her feeding tube (through her nose) and until she is bottle feeding 100% of the time, she'll stay in the NICU. Currently, she takes a bottle 1.5 out of 8 meals. We are assured that one day it will just 'click' and most likely, it'll take another good week or two. Until then, we just have to snuggle her at the hospital!

It is extra important to spend as much skin-on-skin contact with her as possible-- as this helps to regulate her body temperature, encourages bonding (she can hear your heartbeat and breathing), along with a host of other things that are important to her development. Plus, the yellow smock is something that looks good on both Jeff and myself!

Aunt Amy has also gotten to hold and give Elise a bottle. We plan to cut her off if she continues to brainwash Elise into thinking cats are better than dogs! We are onto you Aunt Amy! As for our dogs, we bring home dirty clothes and blankets for them to smell. Initially, the new smell was exciting and worth a zillion sniffs but today, the smells didn't bring too much excitement...looks like they are getting ready for her to come home too.

Elise Paige Kaiser...Surprise!!!!!

On Sunday, January 4th, Elise Paige Kaiser was born ... 4 pounds 12 ounces, 18 inches. What a surprise! My ob had me monitoring my fetal movements since the beginning of my third trimester.... a normal practice where I time how long it takes for me to feel the baby move 5 times. If I feel no movement in one hour, I am to call the doctor. After not feeling little Elise move in one hour, I called the doctor on call and she suggested that I head into the hospital and be hooked up to a fetal monitor. So, we were off to the hospital just to be 'checked out' and 'assured all was well'. We even started making plans as where to stop for dinner on the way home... plus we had to return a movie at the video rental store!

After arriving at the hospital, the doctor monitored the baby's heartbeat... which was slightly slower than the normal 152 that she had been in the past. Due to this, the doctor did an ultrasound, only to discover what I had already known, there was no movement. An IV was started and we were told that things were going to happen 'very quickly' and I was off for an emergency C-section. Jeff was handed scrubs to change into and I was whisked away to the operating room where an anesthesiologist was standing by for my spinal and the NICU team had been paged. I was prepped and Jeff was led into the room to a chair near my head to offer much needed support and love.

In a matter of minutes, Elise Paige Kaiser was brought into the world. She came out quickly and was rushed to the neighboring room just as fast- without a sound or any movement. Poor Jeff had witnessed our limp little girl being rushed next door to the NICU team. We waited a long time before an update, she was alive and breathing but needed to be moved to the neonatal intensive care unit as soon as she was stabilized. Later, we were told by my doctor, that had we waited until the following morning, little Elise would not have made it. I was moved to a recovery room before I had my first look at Elise. They brought her by in her incubator as they rushed her upstairs to the NICU and then I was moved to my room which would be home for the next four days. By this time, our parents had arrived and they were updated and relieved to find out that we were all alive and doing well.

The following day we spent the visiting with friends and family up in the NICU. My parents , brother (Kevin from Baltimore) and best friend (Sarah from Columbus) along with Jeff's parents, sister, and uncle had all come to visit. Visitors were limited to two at a time and had be present with either Jeff or myself. Little Elise spent all of the previous night and that Monday wearing a C-Pap machine which provided positive pressure oxygen to help her breathe. Even with the help, she still had problems remembering to breathe- a common problem with preemies because they have underdeveloped lungs. Her monitors kept going off which kept the nurses running to her incubator and stimulating her to breath. Luckily, she always rallied to breath on her own and evaded having being put on a breathing machine.

By Tuesday, Elise had been moved off the large and annoying C-Pap machine and was fitted with a more conservative nasal cannula. She also had not had a 'breathing episode' since the night before. A major improvement! She also had her first bottle.. a mere 5 cc of milk in addition to all the nourishment she was receiving from her IVs. While she spent most of her time warming in the incubator, Jeff and I spent all of our waking hours near her side if we weren't meeting with the my doctors, eating or pumping milk. The poor grandparents were not yet able to hold her as her IV was too small and fragile to allow her being passed around.


On Wednesday, Elise failed her bilirubin test. Bilirubin is broken down by the liver and excreted in the urine and feces. It is not uncommon for a newborn to have problems with jaundice. So, little Elise got to spend the day under her special blue light, naked- only allowed to come out for half hour intervals at feeding times. Because of the light, she had little velcro dot stickers placed on her temples that held her light blocking goggles. Just like spending a day in the sun, Elise was extra tired after this and only took a few bottles.


Thursday brought continued milestones and improvements for little Elise Paige. Even though she was still under her blue light, her IV had been removed and all nutrition was received via milk. More importantly, the grandparents could now hold her! My mother and Jeff's mother and father were all there that day for the big occasion. They had been dying to get their hands on their first grandchild! Unfortunately, my father would have to wait until the following day- as he was not coming back to Toledo until later that night, after I was to be discharged. It took all day for the doctor to finally make her rounds. I wasn't discharged until after 8pm. Our parents had planned a welcome home dinner- complete with decorations and pink themed desserts. Needless to say, we missed it but the leftovers were yummy!!







On Friday, my father finally was able to hold Elise. As far as he was concerned, Friday couldn't have come fast enough! Elise's doctor also discontinued the blue light over her incubator and she had passed enough blood sugar tests that her twice a day blood draw was no longer needed. Most importantly, her doctor discontinued the drug used to remind her to breathe. This drug takes five days to be removed from the body, so if within this time no further apnea episodes occur, Elise's lungs will be considered mature and strong.



Today we found Elise in her new bed! She no longer is in her incubator but rather a bassinet. Because of her new digs, she is now able to wear some of her own clothing even though most of it is a bit too large even with a bit of a weight gain (4 lbs 6 3/4 oz). Up until yesterday, she had been losing weight. Most newborns lose 10% of their initial birth weight before gaining. Soon she'll be filling out her newborn clothing. More updates to come!




It's hard to believe that just a mere week ago (January 3rd) , Jeff's sister (Amy) and mother (Jane) held our last baby shower at Brandywine Country Club in Maumee. The room was beautiful and obviously took a lot of planning and work to pull off! We had a wonderful brunch buffet that any pregnant or non-pregnant person would enjoy filled with pastries, quiches, fruit and a ton of crunchy bacon (my favorite!!). I'm sure Elise enjoyed the extra calories!
(Me, Jane, Aunt Betty, Amy, Nicole)
Jane and Amy made the cutest sugar cookies that matched our invitations and even matching candy bar wrappers. They also put pink and brown m&ms in Jeff's grandmother's tea cups to include her on our special day. But the sweetest thing of all were the diaper cake centerpieces on each of the three tables. They are almost too cute to disassemble. If we had only known that the next day Elise would be arriving to check out all of her wonderful shower gifts! Needless to say, our thank you notes are coming out a bit late!!