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It is truly amazing to think how quickly time has passed. Tomorrow Ainsley will be 4 wks. How is that possible?

She's currently weighing in at 2lbs 5 oz and our big event for the day will be removing her ventilator. I think the plan is to put her first onto the CPAP. Not gonna lie, not a fan of the PAP-Mask. it looks dreadfully uncomfortable. But I get the whole thing about small steps. So, out with the tube, on with the mask. Sounds like a plan. They've spent the last day or so prepping her for this, with various treatments to reduce swelling in the airway so that she can breath more comfortably once the tube is removed. she's started wanting to suck her fingers and the pacifier, so I'm sure she will be thrilled to have one less thing in her mouth.

Her feedings have been increased to 11cc/3 hrs and they anticipate having her on full feeds next week. I understand that's somewhere around 15/17 cc's and i almost can't imagine her little belly being able to hold it all. However, now they use the pump to feed over a longer period of time, whereas before we would hold the syringe of milk in the tube and let gravity move it through. When she was under 1cc's it didn't take long at all. LOL

She's filling out and looks bigger for sure.

Ainsley on the ventilator

Getting ready for the move to CPAP with the foam "helmet" used to attach it.

CPAP has just been attached ... look at that sweet little double chin. Who'd have thought you'd find a double chin on a 2.5 lb baby. ha..ha

And finally ... getting to hold her. Never an easy task getting her out of the isolette, but so worth it when you get to snuggle her for a couple of hours. :)

Father's Day

Jon had a little early Father's Day treat in that he was finally able to hold Ainsley for the first time on June 18th, celebrating her 3rd week ... it was a special time for both of them as he held her for nearly 2 hours. They call it a "kangaroo hold" where you hold the baby skin to skin. It's so sweet when we get to hold her.

Moving Right Along ...

So, the song that I hear in my head right now ... the Muppets.

Movin' right along in search of good times and good news,
With good friends you can't lose,
This could become a habit!

I guess it's the "Movin' right along" part that seems to have the ring of relevance. Folks will ask how Ainsley is doing and it seems so uninteresting to say, "She's hangin' in there" or, "She's pluggin along", but really, that's all there is to say. For us, the more mundane the day, the better, but it seems pretty lack-luster when I pass along those reports.

Thursday, I arrived at the hospital and had a little more excitement then I'd anticipated. First, let me say this. On the way in that morning, I was talking to a friend and had just got done telling her how I'd finally gotten past where I kinda dread walking the last 10 feet around the corner to her room. You never know who or what you'd find once you got there. More often then not, the rooms quiet, occasionally the nurse is with her, but usually, especially lately, it's quiet when I arrive. Thursday morning I guess I jinxed it. ha..ha I walked into the room to see her nurse holding her in the isolette, gently bouncing her to calm her. To my surprise, she was wearing the nasal cannula. To my astonishment, it was because that little bugger had pulled out her vent tube. Ugh. They'd intended weening her off the ventilator, but she beat them to it. unfortunately, it before they would have the opportunity to help the swelling in her throat/vocal chords go down, so she had a tougher time breathing. After an hour or so, they determined it was best to re-intubate. Needless to say, the morning was much more eventful then we'd anticipated. Go figure.

Friday was a great day. Jonathan got to hold Ainsley for the first time that evening. I'd been lucky enough to hold her twice, but here she is, three weeks old, and Jon finally got to hold her. He made up for it though, holding her for two hours. :) It was pretty great.

Saturday morning, Jon headed up to Ainsley and I would join him later. Aunt Meredith hung out with the boys doing crafts and running around. As always, they had a great time. Meanwhile, Ron and Janet came up from Tucson and spent some time with us. I was able to hold her again that day - joyful since it's been two weeks since I'd held her last.

Overall, things are progressing slowly but surely. Her pneumonia has improved and her xrays have looked much better. Her feeds have increased daily and where she had started at 1cc of breast milk/6 hrs, she is now increased to 8cc/3 hrs. Right now the goals are for her to ween off the ventilator and gain weight. she's currently 2lbs. Sounds small, but that's a gain of 9 ounces and hey, that's more than 1/3 of her birth weight. Not too shabby. ha..ha...

Zoo Day

Ainsley had done well yesterday, so I thought the boys and I would take the morning and do something fun together. So, we were off to the zoo. Brilliant. The Zoo. In June. It was 84 by 8:30. No surprise that the summer hours are 7am - 2pm. We managed to survive 2 hours. OK, I managed. The boys were unphased. (Now that I think about it, it may account for the fact that I've been yawning all day and actually took a snooze at the hospital.) Anyway, we had a good time - The boys had their maps and Ian led the way based on the key things he wanted to see. Giraffes, Flamingos, Monkeys and Elephants. We also saw the reptiles (which did not please Campbell. He makes no apologies for his fear of snakes.) The Amphibians, the Zebras, Prairie Dogs, the otter-free otter exhibit, camels, orangatuns, and other stuff that I can't recall after my heat stroke. The boys each got an "I touched a stingray" t-shirt. Not because they touched a sting-ray, but because they were 50% off. LOL.

In spite of the warm temperatures, it was a fun morning and I'm glad we were able to do something fun together. Next time we'll get there when they open and bring our swim suits for the splash pad! ;)

Look at that snowcone - good bang for your buck. Maybe next time we'll share ..

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Even though Campbell insisted he could eat his snowcone without dripping on his shirt, I opted to just take it off. Proved to be my best move of the morning. His belly was coated in cherry syrup.

The Monkey villiage is always a good time.


The boys at the Flamingo's. Campbell started with a cheesy smile and when I suggested a less chessy smile,

this is what I got. ha..ha..

The Flamingos. This is what I learned about flamingos. They dont' have feathers on their legs so to keep them warm, they pull one close to their body. Never know, that tidbitcould come in handy some day.

The boys at the Prairie Dog exhibit.

Week Two Comes to a Close

So, to recap the last several days ... it's been good, bad, rotten, better, stable .... in other words, lots of fun.

Monday: When I got to the hospital, she was on the C-Pap mask, by midday back to conventional ventilator and later back to the oscillating ventilator.

Tuesday: Diagnosis of pneumonia that morning, rough day for both of us. OK, probably worse for her, but I was a mess. I had my two week postpartum checkup that afternoon. Of course, since Dr Schwartz wasn't my primary OB, her medical assistant and I have never crossed paths. We've already established in earlier posts that I was more than slightly emotional. We got into the room and she started with her questions. 1. "How tall are you?" 2. "Are you nursing?". And with that, I burst into tears and apologies. Poor woman.

Had a lovely visit with Dr Schwartz. incision healing very well and looks great. Am really quite pleased with the whole thing. I told her that the C-Section was an easier recovery than the boys' deliveries. Seriously, it was easier to recover from the surgery than an episiotomy. Sure, it hurts to cough for a few days, and there are greater risks, etc... but the alternative means your best friends for the first weak or so will be a sitz bath, a can of solarcaine, a jar of Tucks and a squirt bottle of warm water. (OK, no comments about it being better for the baby, etc ... we're not talking medical preference, this is strictly post delivery rehab, here) Anyway, she reminded me not to recommend voluntary c-sections to my friends. So, please note: After delivering 3 babies; one without epidural, one with epidural, and one c-section, I preferred the last. But I take no official position on the topic. LOL)

Wednesday: Her x-rays were unchanged for the most part and it was really a day of recovery. She remained fairly quiet, just working to heal her little body.

Thursday: More or the same. I was at the hospital in the morning and Jonathan came as well. It was nice to have him there again. Later that afternoon, I left to pick up the boys to spend some time with them. I picked them up from Mimi's and we headed back to the house for a couple of days. Meanwhile, Jon was able to spend time with Ainsley. It was really great to spend some time with the boys after being apart from them for so long. I'd seen them when they'd come to the hospital, but it wasn't the same.

Friday: Jonathan spent the day with Ainsley and I spent the day with the boys. Her status was slowly improving each day. It was great.

Saturday: More of the same. The boys and I eventually made our way back up to Phoenix. Our first stop was to Ainsley and Jonathan for a visit. She was still making progress. Still on the oscillator, but the most important thing is that her lungs were able to rest while her body fights off the pneumonia. Later, Jon would have to head back to Florence, I would return to the hospital and the boys found themselves with Aunt Meredith at the movies. She took them to see Shrek 3. They love, love, love going to the "big theater". They were quick to report that they had been very good! ha..ha..

Sunday: They moved her back to the conventional ventilator. She had a good day, was doing well on the regular vent. Sunday afternoon we also had a quick visit from old friend Holly Glenn Carter who was in town for a day. It hard to believe we've been friends since 1984. Where does the time go?

And here we are ... The end of our second week. Hard to believe she's more than two weeks old. Amazing how time can fly and stand still at the same time.

Two Boys and a Girl

The boys have been so excited about their little sister. They've been here to see her twice. The first time was a bit kooky. They have to have their temperatures taken before they can come in to the NICU. The kids have their temps taken all the time and it's no big deal. However, in this day of ear probes, our kids haven't seen a "traditional" thermometer and to say they freaked out, is an understatement.

Ian was convinced it was a needle and would hurt. He'd just recently had blood drawn for his allergy testing and was no fan of needles. Campbell was not thrilled, but finally figured it out and did it under his tongue. Mimi and I took Campbell to see Ainsley while Jon and Ian worked through the temperature check.

Campbell was so sweet as he sat on the chair and looked in on his little sister for the first time. I wasn't sure how they would feel when seeing her attached to the many tubes and wires. But, true to the innocence of childhood, they saw right past it all. Campbell looked into the isolette and said "She's tiny" Then paused and said "She's beautiful". It was such pure, unsolicited love. Just made my heart swell. We stayed for just a few minutes so she wouldn't be disturbed and made our way back out to the lobby.

Meanwhile, Jon and Ian had worked through their difficulties. He was finally able to get a reading under his arm, but it was no easy task. In the end he was so proud of himself. I was proud of him to because he was so genuinely scared. He wanted to see his sister so badly and knew he would have to be brave to do it. Jon took him in and I waited with Mom and Campbell. I wish I could have been there to see his first reaction. He's been so anxious to meet his little sister. He'd hoped for a sister this time and and when we got the ultra sound confirmation it was a girl, he said "Yea, I got what I wanted!!" He's been planning her August arrival, knowing that she would be coming around his birthday. Guess it was a bit confusing that she arrived so early ... still has to wait a few months for his birthday to get here. Life can be cruel when you're 4 going on 5. ;)

After we left the NICU we went back up to my room to visit for a few minutes before they left. Ian came to me and said "I'm glad your baby is out of your tummy now, Mom." It was cute.

They've since come to visit two more times. Each time, they're so excited... they love to see her eyes open and hands move "Mom, she waved at me!", "Mom, she's looking at me".... each action she does thrills them. I hope that continues when she steals their toys, or pulls their hair.