Slackers

So we were slackers and couldn't get on the blog last night. Apologies to any one wanting an update, but we were exhausted and needed to call it an early evening.

Yesterday and today have been good. Claire got a sponge bath yesterday, which was much fun. Let's just say warm water and no diaper make for an adventure. The baby tub was quite handy, even if it wasn't full of water! Claire also managed to lose most (but not quite all) of her umbilical chord stump (come on, you know that's exciting news). Some of our across the street neighbors stopped by with a cute outfit and some books for Claire, which was very sweet...but not as sweet as the cookies they brought, which were very tasty.

Today has been pretty uneventful, though we did go see the nurse practitioner for our 2 week appointment. Claire has put on a solid 3.5 ounces since Monday, now weighing in at 6 lbs. 3.5 ounces, which is very exciting. The nurse practitioner said that she looks wonderful and that it is clear that Claire has figured out how to eat! After our appointment, we went to the baby store and got Claire a sling so we can start going on longer walks (the stroller is just too bumpy).

Here are a couple of cute pictures...one of her bath and another of Oscar demanding attention from Valerie...surprisingly he actually fits on the Boppie pillow!

Another good day

It was another good day of eating and sleeping, with some good awake time observing toys. We have not had any breathing episodes (the monitor has gone off a few times, but always because the leads have fallen off, so all false alarms), and we feel that her weight gain is continuing (the newborn diapers are seeming smaller every day). Probably the most exciting event was dad's trip to the grocery store...not only did he manage to find everything on the grocery list, but he ran into two Real Salt Lake players (the local MLS soccer team to which we have season tickets)...it was exciting for dad anyway! Claire also had a short visit from her neighbor Lasero, who brought Valerie a bounty of fresh tomatoes from his garden.

Vinnie gave Claire's feet a few good sniffs this evening while dad was burping Claire, and then proceeded to confuse a baby rattle with a dog toy. The confusion was short lived, as Vinnie quickly realized that it was a rattle, and not a squeaky toy. We suspect this confusion over toys may continue.

While not the most exciting of days, mom and dad are observing lots of new things during Claire's awake time, though it is a little hard to put into words exactly how she moves her eyes and seems more alert and observant. We are also excited that her eating and weight gain are going so well. After all, we are still more than two weeks before her due date, so knowing that she has the outside world figured out is a big relief. And as I have just typed that it was not an exciting day, we just got our first giggle! Of course, by the time dad got the camcorder ready for follow-on giggling, Claire was sound asleep.

And now for the battle of the "little girls." Until very recently, Bella held that title, but she now has stiff competition from Claire as the following photo demonstrates! The second photo is a close up...which may help you appreciate how busy Claire has been with her hands (good luck getting a photo of her without a hand over her face).

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New trick

Claire has discovered that if she makes cute baby noises in the middle of the night, mom and dad jump up and give her attention. A very neat trick...fun for babies with the wonderful side effect of depriving everyone of sleep! She was also pretty demanding of food last night, so I think we are still on track with weight gain, but mom is paying a heavier toll on sleep deprivation as a result.

During the day, Claire got to watch her mobile (with lots of sharp contrasting colors that help her vision develop), and mom played with a fun turtle rattle while Claire watched with great interest. Dad came home from work a little early to show off the cool stuff his co-workers gave Claire, and Claire allowed everyone a short nap before dinner.

All in all, another good day. And while we are excited about her weight gain, we think a little perspective is in order. Claire still has a ways to go to catch up to Walter!

Big news...

What's big, you ask? Claire is! We had our first doctor's appointment today, and she weighed in at a whopping 6 lbs. That included the weight of her diaper, so she is probably a little below that, but she is in the neighborhood of her birth weight, which is very exciting. The doctor said that Claire was making good progress, and didn't have any concerns about her. She did ask if Claire was a breech baby because she always tries to curl her legs up, which is apparently common among breech babies. Every nurse who saw her for the first time asked the same thing...it is pretty funny. Check out the picture below for a demonstration.

There wasn't a lot of activity today...dad spent some time at work and mom tried to get some rest while the house cleaner paid us a much needed (and appreciated) visit. We did have a small flurry of visitors this evening as we were getting Claire ready for bed...their timing was quite perfect. Sumie and Aaron stopped by just to check out little Claire, and as they were leaving, Emily and Tigi were out for a walk and we invited them in. Vinnie was glad to see Tigi (for those who don't know, Tigi is a greyhound who lives around the corner). Tigi was pretty funny with her ears getting very perky every time Claire made a noise...we tried to capture a picture, but didn't have any luck. While our own pets have been oblivious to Claire, Tigi was most intrigued.

Sorry not to have more to report, but Claire is doing her job of eating and sleeping, which is all we can ask of her, even it is not terribly exciting. But she is still a little cutie, as the picture below clearly demonstrates!

Another "exciting" day...

And by "exciting" we mean eating, sleeping, and dirty diapers. Claire continues to eat well, and we can't wait to get her on the scale tomorrow at her first post-discharge doctor's appointment. We made it through the night the same as we did last night...dad let mom get some sleep and bottle-fed Claire once, and then mom took over for the middle of the night feedings.

We started off our day by trying to get Vinnie a little more back into his routine...he got to go with me to the park and walk with all of his greyhound buddies, while mom and Claire stayed home. Dad had a nice long nap during the afternoon, and then uncle Neal came over for a visit. Our friends John and Christina also came by briefly. After a dinner-time feeding, we took another stroller adventure (a whopping 6 blocks this time) with Vinnie, and Claire seemed to enjoy taking in the world.

So not a lot to report, but hope you enjoy another cute photo, which shows that Claire definitely knows how to relax! No matter how we swaddle her, she always manages to get her hands out, and always seems to have at least one over her head.

Hungry Hippo

So it was not the most exciting of days. We all took things kind of easy after our busy day of firsts. Dad got to give Claire a bottle for the first time late last night so mom could get some sleep. Claire ate like a champ and then decided it was time for a milk bath...drink, drink, drink, drool!

After a couple more feedings, Claire let us know that she wanted to be held, and not left in her fancy new bassinet. So she got a few good hours on mom's chest into the morning. It was a pretty quiet morning, with Grandmother Lana calling to check in and then mom and dad got some napping in. Grandmother Karen came over for a visit, and then Claire decided it was time to eat. And then she decided it was time to eat again. And again. Any concerns we may have had about keeping her on at least a 3 hour feeding schedule have long disappeared...Claire has figured out how to tell us she is hungry, and she is not shy about it! She does not do much crying, but just gets really active and makes lots of cute baby noises.

We did a little tummy time, which the nurses said was good for her neck and shoulder muscle development. Then we watched our first soccer game (Claire has been very bad luck for Real Salt Lake, but we won't hold that against her).

So all in all a good day. Hope you enjoy a couple more cute Claire pictures. One is just after a feeding relaxing in dad's arms...Claire loves to throw her arms up...even wiggling them out of her blankets in her bassinet. The other picture is from Claire's tummy time...note that Vinnie is completely oblivious, though Timmy is intrigued by the leads to her heart monitor.

Many Firsts

So it was a very exciting day, and Claire had many exciting firsts. We started off like any other day, feeding and changing. We weighed in at 5 lbs. 10.8 ounces, having put on a solid 30 grams, which is a great sign that we are on track with weight gain. Then it was time to dress, but the dressing was a little different because we were putting on our "going home" outfit that Grandmother Karen bought for Claire. Isn't she beautiful:

Then it was time to get in the car seat and head home. That is when we got to go on our first car ride, pulled into the driveway, had the sun hit our skin for the first time, and walked into the house for the first time. We got set up in the bassinet in the living room and we were ready for our first nap at home. We had a good day of sleeping and feeding. And most importantly, mom and dad were able to take their first nap in the same room since Claire was born (as wonderful as the Special Care Nursery nurses were, there weren't a lot of comfortable places for the parents).

We had our first encounter with kitties (all of whom were pretty oblivious to the baby) and Vinnie (who is convinced the car seat is going to attack him, so he runs to the other room every time it enters the living room). Grandpa Matt came over to say hi, and went and got us some tasty dinner. And then we tried our first adventure in the stroller (at Vinnie's insistence). We only went around the block because some overprotective parents didn't want to overstimulate Claire, and she went right back to sleep after her brief adventure. Here is a shot of our first stroller adventure:
So it has been quite the day of firsts. Many of the firsts are not the most exciting events, but they offer mom and dad quite the perspective on a lot of little things we take for granted, like having a car, being able to afford a cute stroller, and having a wonderfully comfortable house with lots of sweet four legged critters. And did I mention how exciting it is to have our beautiful little girl home? WOO HOO!!!

HOME!!!

Just a quick update to let everyone know that Claire has come home! We were discharged at about 10am and headed home. She did really well on her ride home...she worked on a binky (pacifier) the whole way and has settled in to her new setting nicely. We'll try and post more info later, but wanted to report the exciting news!

Good progress!

Claire has made beautiful progress overnight and during the day. She was bottled fed over night (with mom's milk that had been pumped) and was allowed to eat all she wanted. When she was fed through the tube, they never did more than 40mL at a time...with the bottle, she did considerably more. In her first bottle feed she did 45 mL and in her second she did 62mL. She came down into the 50s after that, but it gave us confidence that her breastfeeding sessions have been healthy and that her tummy is getting very full (we obviously can't measure what she gets while breastfeeding, so the bottle feeds help give us a clue). Given her success, her feeding tube was removed. And the really exciting news: Claire gained 25 grams since yesterday (which is just shy of 0.9 ounces), so she seems to have turned the corner from losing to gaining. She now weighs in at 5 lbs, 9.8 ounces.

The doctor is still saying that tomorrow will be the big day (assuming no mishaps overnight). So we've been busy getting ready. I went out and bought a co-sleeper/bassinet so we can have her in our room...we thought we would move her crib in, but it is too big to fit through the door and I am way too tired to take it apart and put it back together. And who wants to disassemble a crib when you could hang out with an adorable baby!

Claire continues to breastfeed well, and I was lucky enough to get a little cat nap with her in the recliner after one of her meals. I usually get to burp her after feedings, and Valerie was good enough to give up the recliner for a few hours so dad and Claire could do a little snoozing together. She is allowed some tummy time as long as someone is alert and watching her, so with Valerie's watchful eye, we got in some zzz's.

In preparation for going home, Claire has had a big day. Her hearing was tested and she passed. She got a Hepatitis B vaccine, which she was not happy about, though she didn't fuss for too long. She also passed her car seat test with flying colors (she is required to sit in the car seat for 90 minutes with all of her vitals monitored and no issues, which she did after her 5pm feeding). Valerie and I had to watch a CPR video and a "don't shake the baby" video. While not the most inspiring topics and telling us things we mostly know already, it does help to have a little confidence that we know what to do (and what not to do) and haven't overlooked anything. The nurses have been walking us through some checklists of educational items and making sure we don't have any questions before we go home. Again, we aren't learning knew stuff, but it is nice to know that we have educated ourselves.

Given the busy day, we've been a bit off with the cameras, but here are a few shots of our nap and her car seat test. Hope you enjoy them as much as we are enjoying her.

Hiccup!

That's a hiccup literally, not figuratively. Check out the new video and you will understand!

Claire continues to make wonderful progress. When we walked in this morning, we were greeted by a Claire "burrito" (i.e., all bundled up) in the nursery's swing! Her nurse had put her in the swing for a few minutes while she changed her out of the photo therapy bed (with a light in the bottom) because she is no longer jaundiced!

She had a few breathing episodes, but she corrected them all on her own, which is exactly what she needs to do to go home. In talking through things with the doctor, he mentioned a specific day for her going home (assuming no setbacks in the meantime): Friday. Having him get specific (instead of vague references to a "couple of days") is a great sign as far as we are concerned. We are thinking of getting a movement sensor for her crib for peace of mind...they can pick up breathing, so if she stops the alarm will go off and alert us of the problem if we are asleep.

We have been a little frustrated with her eating today, as she does not remain interested for as long as she did yesterday. The nurses said that it could just be that she is getting more in a shorter period of time as she gets the hang of feeding, but it is still a little stressful that she is not eating for as long. But she has begun to gain weight...only 5 grams, but that is a great sign that her feeding is going well. Tonight she will stop receiving her milk through a tube and will eat with a bottle. We hope that she takes in more food that way and continues her weight gain.

So that's today's update. Hope you are able to view the video below...this is from this afternoon after a feeding. If you like cute hiccuping babies, this is the video for you.

Video!

So this is a bit of an experiment with the video camera...hopefully it works. This is about one minute long and Claire makes lots of cute noises towards the end so turn up the volume! It is from a couple of days ago when she just had her IVs out (hence the cotton ball on her head and the band aid on her hand, but those are long gone).

Claire is doing well today. She is under a photo therapy lamp to treat a mild case of jaundice, which is very, very common in newborns. She was just barely over the line for whether she needed the photo therapy. She had another breathing episode last night, and avoiding those is now the key to her going home. Thursday is the best case scenario for going home, but the episodes have all been at night, so we won't have a good sense of timing til the morning. All of her lab work points towards acid reflux/lung closing as the cause of the episodes...no signs of infection. If it happens again, we may give the antacid a try to see if that helps avoid the issue.

She continues to eat like a champ, which is very good. Valerie and I are now convinced that we are parents due to our overwhelming excitement about Claire's poo...I know, too much information, but knowing that her digestive system is working properly is pretty exciting stuff.

Hope the video works! Here it is:

Still making progress...

So Claire has become an all-star at nursing in the last 24 hours, and is no longer receiving supplemental formula/milk through a tube...it is all from breastfeeding, which means she is making great progress.

Valerie and I went home and caught about 6 hours sleep last night. Apparently Claire had two episodes with her breathing while we were gone where her oxygen levels dropped a little low. One she corrected on her own, and the other required the nurse's help. This is apparently something that is common in all newborns, but has caused the pediatrician to want to observe her a little longer. Babies get acid reflux and shut off their lungs to protect them from the acid, which causes the oxygen to drop. If it continues, they may give Claire an antacid to see if that allows her to avoid the problem. They are also monitoring her for jaundice (which is common in all newborns, but a little more prevalent in premature babies) and for infection. So far all of her lab work has come back negative, but the doctor wants to err on the safe side.

So we won't get to take her home for a few more days, but we will have confidence that she is good and strong once we do. The doctor and nurses are all very impressed by her progress with breastfeeding, and we are really excited that she no longer needs to supplement with formula. Here are a few photos we snapped last night after a feeding. As you may be able to tell, she has us wrapped around her little finger!

Lots of a good news...a little frustrating news.

We just met with the pediatrician, and had a lot of good news, but a little frustrating news. Claire is making wonderful progress, but it looks like she is stuck in the hospital for a few more days (not going home tomorrow). In a nutshell, although she is progressing, they want to make sure she is not going to have any problems at all when she goes home, so they want to keep an eye on her for a little longer. Claire had a wonderful latch this morning, and even managed to produce from Valerie's breast...it only took her a couple of good suckles, while the breast pump takes at least 15 minutes to get anything...pretty amazing if you ask me. We were hoping for one of those latches yesterday, which might have gotten us closer to home, but we'll take it today. So we have to sit and wait more, but we are still making wonderful progress.

On the good news side, Claire has been maintaining her temperature wonderfully...even after changing her and feeding her and being outside of the warm blankets for several minutes, her temperature is right where it is supposed to be. Her bloodsugars are also right where they are supposed to be. So two-thirds of the "going home" puzzle is in place, just need a little more progress on the feeding side and we'll be on our way.

Valerie is probably going to be discharged today, and we may do a "hotel stay" (basically a hospital room, but no nurses or meals for Valerie), but the nurses said that it wouldn't be much better than going home since we only live 5 minutes away, so I suspect we will head home between feedings to get rest and get things ready for Claire.

And have I mentioned how wonderful Claire's nurses have been? Valerie has had good nurses too, but I have been really impressed with the Special Care nurses...very patient with a pushy father who has lots of questions and who has not had much sleep! We know Claire is in good hands, and our favorite nurse is on the job today, so we feel good taking some time away to make sure we are ready for Claire when she comes home (let's just say we planned on using most of the last month to get ready, so we have a little work to do).

Many thanks for every one's emails and thoughts. We'll keep you posted as we get more information.

Surprise!

So at 9:30am on Friday August 15, 2008, someone decided to give Valerie a good kick...from the inside. Her water broke and we were off to the hospital. At 4:14pm, Claire Ann Stormont introduced herself to the world! Yes, she is 4 weeks early, but she was quite determined. Valerie progressed naturally and began pushing a little after 3pm. We had a wonderful nurse, our midwife was with us for most of the labor, and our doula was as well. Valerie was amazing, and no hormones or pain medication was needed. The nurse commented to other nurses several times that Valerie pushed as though she had an epidural...all I have to say is that she was awesome.

Claire weighed in at 5 lbs. 15 oz and is 20 inches long, which is a wonderful size for how early she is. We had some early worries about her blood sugar being low, which is quite common for an early baby (they store a lot of energy in the last month, so she didn't have that advantage). But we have had her on a dextrose IV and her blood sugars have been very good. Over the course of today (Saturday), we have been working to get more forumula into her and back off of the IV a little. Once we have confidence she can maintain her blood sugar without the IV, we should be ready to head home. Right now, we hope for her to be able to go home on Monday.

She was on a heater yesterday, and today we turned it off and she has been maintaining her temperature wonderfully all day...no need for the heater any more, which is a very good sign that she is doing well despite being early. We have had increasing success as the day has gone on with her eating...the first attempt was a little bumpy, the second better, and we just had a really great feeding frenzy!

Claire is in good hands with the Special Care Nursery nurses, and we are going to try and get a little rest so that we are ready for her when we go home. We are really excited, and Claire has been super cute and super sweet. We could not be happier with her progress. We were obviously caught off guard, so we didn't have our camera with us, but we got some images after the birth with a disposable camera that Valerie's mom brought us, so hopefully we can get those posted soon. We do have a few cell phone pictures that aren't great quality, but they show what a beautiful little girl Claire is! Here they are (all of the wires in the last picture look a little scary, but they are just for monitoring to make sure she stays on course):