Michael and Jennifer Create a Family

I just thought I would share some cute moments from the last week. Enjoy!

Precious Daddy time...

Mommy's little champ weighed in at 9 lbs 11 oz today! Go Aiden!

I don't know about other babies, but for our first few months together Aiden did not like to have his diaper changed. He wiggled and kicked and groaned about it... Until I put a mobile over his changing table. Oh my, that mobile is wonderful! He loves it! Now when we lay him down to change his diaper, he stares at the animals, talks to them, and laughs. It is so cute, and it makes changing his diaper such an enjoyable experience!

The other day Aiden was in his swing and we realized that his head fits into the newborn protector/support. Here is a look back at how much he has grown in the last 2 months. He is growing so fast! Too fast for my taste - before I know it he will be walking... and then off to school... and then graduating... and then married... but I digress

January 22

February 8

February 28

March 25

Snuggling with the kitty...

Snuggling with daddy...

We have been having such beautiful spring weather here the past few days and Aiden and I have been trying to make the most of it by spending time swinging in the backyard swing.

I think he looks like his Grandpa preparing to go outside to the garden in this ball cap...

Now if we could only have that Hawaii weather last through the summer :)

Aiden and I have been attending the "New Moms" group that the hospital sponsors every week. I look forward to weighing him to see how much he has grown and chatting with the other new moms. However, last week when I weighed him he had actually lost an oz, which was very alarming, so we made an appointment to see his pediatrician. His pediatrician, Dr. Binder, did 2 things:

1. He switched Aiden to a completely bottle fed diet. He did this so that we could monitor his intake and so that he would expend as few calories as possible trying to feed. Dr Binder had diagnosed Aiden with laryngomalacia at his 2 week check-up, and we had a feeling that this condition was causing him to utilize too much energy trying to breast feed. In laryngomalacia the support structure of the larynx is not fully developed and collapses when Aiden breathes inward. This means that he has to work extra hard to try to breathe and eat. You can tell that he struggles because he sounds like he is snoring or whistling (depending on his position) when he breathes. We also went to see an ear, nose and throat specialist who confirmed the diagnosis by sticking a little camera down Aiden's nose and into his throat to examine the larynx. Aiden did not like this one bit, but he was very brave!

2. Supplemented each feeding with additional formula, for added calories.

I must say that the results were amazing! Aiden started this diet on a Thursday and by Monday he had gained 1 lb and 1 oz! Unbelievable! It took 7 weeks for him to gain 2.5 lbs and 4 days on the new diet to gain 1 lb! We were literally watching him grow before our eyes.

Here is a picture of him the day he started the new diet...

And here he is with his new fuller cheeks a few days later...

At last check he was 8 lbs 4oz. I am so excited by his weight gain! I feel like we are making so much progress in the right direction.

One of the things that I learned from this experience is that one size does NOT fit all! I had been doing what I thought, and what I read in almost every book out there, was the best thing for my baby - just hang in there with the breastfeeding because it is what is best. Aiden and I were really struggling and there were so many days that I wanted to quit, but I tried to stick it out because I thought that I was doing what was best for him. It turns out that I should have listened to my gut telling me that this was not working for us. In our case, he needed to be bottle fed. That does not mean that I don't give him breastmilk or that I don't believe that breast milk is wonderful for him. But rather, that we could not follow the traditional breastfeeding route - and that is ok!

Michael recent celebrated his 32nd birthday! Happy Birthday Daddy! While Michael was at work that day, Aiden and I had a wonderful time making him a cake...

Aiden just needed a little help from me with the frosting...

Daddy loved it!

Michael wanted to golf for his birthday, so over the weekend we all went. Aiden slept through his first golfing experience...

But Michael had fun anyway!

We are always laughing at the funny faces Aiden makes! He is hilarious! Here are a few samples.

Since Grandma left a few weeks ago the amount of picture taking has dropped dramatically. While she was here she was helping to keep us feed, make sure the house was in order, we had clean clothes, and that Aiden's milestones were captured. Thanks Grandma!!! Since she left we have been learning how to do all of these things by ourselves, one by one, while still taking good care of Aiden (his feeding need is a full time job in and of itself!). At this point I feel pretty confident that we are doing a good job of keeping the house up (cleaning bottles, laundry, preparing meals, etc), so now I need to focus on taking more pictures!

I have managed to capture a few memorable moments in the last few weeks though...

Aiden has started to stay awake more during the day, so to stimulate his senses we got him an activity center. His favorite part is the round mirror off to the right.

And here he is looking "Toadily Cute" in the swing...

I was even able to capture another smile (He has smiled a few times while awake lately too, but I haven't been able to get a picture of one of those). Oh, he is going to be a little heartbreaker :)

Aiden sometimes smiles while he is sleeping. He can smile a full smile and a half smile, using only one cheek. IT IS THE CUTEST THING!!!! These smiles are among the things that make all of the sleep deprivation, spit up, and messy diapers worth it! I have been trying to get a picture of this for weeks. Sometimes I don't have a camera near by, and sometimes I end up with 20 pictures, all missing the smile by a few seconds. But today I finally captured the moment!

A smile to melt your heart...

Now that Aiden is a couple of weeks old, we has started to be able to stay awake for short durations of time following a feeding and before a nap. During those "play" times, we have been working on strengthening his neck muscles doing what the books call "Tummy Time". We put a blanket on the floor, put him on his tummy, and let him practice moving his head up and around. So far he can move it from side to side a few times in 10-15 minutes, but he can't lift it straight up yet (yet!).

It is hard to tell how small Aiden is when just looking at a picture of him alone. Here are a couple pictures that have a reference and help to illustrate how little he is.

When he was first born:

Leaving the hospital in the car seat...

This one is dark, because I took it on my iPhone (without a flash), but it really shows how tiny he looks in Daddy's arms...

At a couple weeks old:

In the swing...

His face in reference to my hand (while he is being burped)...

Time is going by so fast, so before I get too behind in the blog, let me update you with what has been going on.

Our days are spent pretty much just feeding and sleeping. We tried to stick to the schedule they put us on when he was in the NICU (feeding at 12, 3, 6, and 9), but I discovered that allowing him to sleep 4 hours at a time if he wanted to was really great for Michael and I. So now, we are on the feeding every 2-4 hours schedule, which makes feeding times less predictable, but allows for more sleep (sometimes!). However, when you consider that feedings take anywhere from 30-90 minutes, you can see why there is not much time for anything else.

We do manage to squeeze in bath time though. I love it when he smells fresh and clean, and I have discovered that all of his protesting to being exposed to the air causes him to become more tired and fall asleep more easily. We need to make this part of a bedtime routine, but lets just tackle one thing at a time...a routine is on my wish list right now.

Because Aiden has to be kept warm all the time, he has to stay swaddled up in blankets. But when we unswaddle him to change his diaper or feed him, he loves to stretch and wiggle all over the place. I call him my Wiggly-Squiggly Boy!

Here are a couple of pictures of him from around the house...

On Monday, January 11 I went to a non-baby related doctor, and as part of the normal process they took my blood pressure. It was 154/92!!! That is extremly high for me. I am usually down in the 100/55 range. So, this concerned me a lot, to say the least. For the rest of the night I continued to take my blood pressure (I had bought a cuff a few months earlier because I was worried about developing pre-eclampsia, based on prior work I had done with a patient who acquired hemispatial neglect as a result of a pre-eclampsia induced stroke), and read about the possible options on the internet. I knew I needed to call the doctor, and I knew that if I went to the doctor, that he would either put me on bed rest or send me to the hospital. So the next morning I went into work to wrap up a few things, hand over the status of my projects to others, etc. and then at 1:30 I went to the doctor. In the doctors office my BP was 160 something over 90 something - still very high, so they sent me to the hospital for more testing. My blood pressure continued to stay high, so they ordered a 12 hour urine test and a ultrasound by a specialist. They found protein in my urine (indicating pre-eclampsia) and the specialist found that the baby was measuring about 2 weeks behind in his growth, with his belly measuring 4 weeks behind. She concluded that the placenta was not functioning properly and that they needed to get him out so that they could feed and nourish him properly. This decision meant that we were going to have a baby 5 weeks early!

On the evening of Wednesday, January 13 I was transfered to labor and delivery to start the induction. I know now that the baby already knew it was time to come out, because he had already dropped, I was dilated, and contracting every 2-3 minutes. I slept through the night, and at 6:30 am I was given pitocin to start active labor. The combination of the baby being ready, already having contractions, and the pitocin, lead to a VERY fast labor. He was coming so quickly that we had to hold back and wait for the doctor to arrive (since I really wanted my doctor to deliver him).

Baby Aiden was born at 10:34 am, January 14, 2010. He was 4 lbs 6.5 oz, and 18.5 inches long.

We were allowed to hold him for a few minutes, and I was crying to hard that I could barely see him through the tears. Oh my gosh, we have a baby!

He was then taken to the NICU for testing. Here he is the first time we were able to go see him.

He stayed in the NICU for one day, and was released when they felt confident that he was able to breathe on his own, was digesting food, and could regulate his temperature. We were instructed that we had to keep him very warm and continue to monitor his temp frequently because he still was not fully able to do it himself.

Here he is when he was able to come stay with us in my recovery room. Notice the size of the pacifier and the size of his head:)

We were able to take him home from the hospital on Saturday, January 16. He looks SO tiny in the car seat...

Throughout my entire pregnancy I had a very small belly bump. I thought it was big, considering how much it restricted my movement and hurt my feet and my back, but in reality, it was not as big as it felt. I cannot tell you how many times people said, "wow, you are so small for being X weeks/months", or "you have the smallest X month belly I have ever seen".

Here is my belly at 33 weeks. This is the last belly shot I have (because we all know what was to follow soon after this was taken...)

We had two wonderful baby showers in two days. One on Sunday, December 13, with my girlfriends, and one on Monday, December 14 at work. Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures from the shower with my girlfriends, so you will just have to take my word for it when I say it was wonderful!

Shower #1:

Ruth and Mary took me to Empire Cafe (which I love!) for brunch, and we had a wonderful time! I had their french toast with fruit on top, which was scrumptious (and healthy, I think). We spent several hours talking about baby stuff, which was tremendously helpful to me since they have both done this before, and fun too. And these girls spoiled us with gifts! I left stocked with outfits, diapers, bath supplies, a boppy, and so much more! Thank you ladies for a wonderful time and for all of your generous gifts! We really appreciate it!

Shower #2:

Some of the ladies from the office, Lena, Vicky, Aniko, and Jen R., threw a joint shower for Sherry and I (we were due two weeks apart...more on that in another post!). A lot of folks turned out, and we had a great time playing games that Lena prepared, eating, and opening presents. Here are a few snapshots.

The set up...

A side-by-side of my belly and Sherry's belly...

Opening gifts...

Thank you very much to everyone who came to celebrate with us, and for all of the wonderful, generous gifts!!!

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. It was our first Christmas in our new home. My mom came to celebrate with us, since I am not supposed to travel (7 weeks until my due date!).

The day started with the opening of presents. Even though the baby is not here yet, he was still spoiled by Santa (a sign of things to come, maybe?).

Santa even brought Paris a present. She was so excited to see it come out of the gift bag, and then the rest of the time we were opening presents she investigated all the gift bags to see if any more were for her. It was really cute!

Michael LOVED his new golf bag!

After we opened presents, Michael cooked us a wonderful Christmas meal (I only helped a little). We had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, asparagus, salad, and cornbread. It was delicious!

(Our wee ones were waiting in the wings for something to fall from the table!)