Quick Update

The early intervention team made a cameo this morning to get a baseline for Mikaila's development. Given her low birth weight, she automatically qualifies for this service through Schenectady County. Not surprisingly, Mikaila scored remarkably well in her evaluation. Although Mikaila is more than 3 months old, developmentally she is evaluated using 6/18, her due date, as her birth date. Again, no one that frequents this blog would be surprised to hear that Mikaila fared extraordinarily well for a baby of 12 days old. She has always been very advanced. However, we were very happy to learn that she compared favorably with the average 3-month old as well. They will continue to monitor her progress monthly in part to assuage our fears but mostly to catch any potential issues early.

My mom is now in town helping out. As you would suspect, she was in utter shock when she saw Mikaila again after 6 weeks or so. Mikaila has probably doubled her weight since then. She was in agreement that Mikaila's true cuteness can not be captured on film. We are giving her the crash course on Mikaila care. She will be here helping out for the remainder of the week so hopefully, Kim and I can get a little sleep. We are definitely on fumes.

Sorry for the delay

I have taken a bit of heat of late for my failure to post an update since Monday. Well, let's remedy that, shall we. Mikaila's oxygen requirements are fading by the day. Last night, when I returned from my long day in Pennsylvania, while holding Mikaila I took her off of oxygen for more than 90 minutes. She was in fact still satting in the mid-90's when I had to turn it on for her diaper change and bottle. She should be off of the oxygen completely in short order; perhaps in the next week or so.

We weighed Mikaila this evening; she posted a modest gain from Monday tipping the scales at roughly 6 lbs 10 ounces. Her weight gain is anything but predictible. She continues to be a voracious eater so I really have no explanation for her modest gains in the past few days.

Mikaila is on a different monitor now; one that tracks her oxygen saturation and heart rate through a probe that we attach to her foot. The chest probes are a thing of the past. Two wires down one (and one tube) to go. We have had problems with the new monitor as it often fails to pick up a signal. Mikaila will be satting in the high 90's and all of a sudden, the monitor will give off its brutally annoying sound. Fortunately, or unfortunately for us affected by the sound, it typically is indicative of nothing related to Mikaila. It simply doesn't work propperly. We get preciously little sleep as it is. We certainly don't need electronic monitors exascerbating our sleep deprivation. We're doing quite alright with that ourselves. The very strange man from the respiratory company stopped by today with a replacement cord. Let's hope the cord was the culprit.

That's about it for tonight. I really didn't sleep last night other than quick snoozes in between the monitor alarms so I might go up stairs for a quick nap. Kim will hopefully post a few pics later this evening.

I'm up so why not post an update

Well, it is 11:45pm and I have a ways to go before I am relieved of duty so I figured I would post an update on young Mikaila's progress. We had a routine visit today with her pediatrician, Dr. Miller. We are very fond of Dr. Miller. He has a very pleasant way about him and he comes highly recommended from friends of friends and the team at the NICU. Dr. Miller was quite pleased with Mikaila's development and did his best to assuage all of our recent, somewhat ill-advised fears; are her legs a bit bowlegged, stuff like that. She was weighed at her visit today in the buff after a timely and significant bowel movement. Mikaila tipped the scales at a robust 6 lbs 6 ounces. Keep in mind, this is an unofficial weight for our purposes but significant none the less as she has gained 18 1/2 ounces in the last 14 days.

Mikaila's gifts continue to pour in; just today, she received a very cool motion glider from my aunt Cheryl. She seems to really enjoy it. Last week we received a personalized book from some friends. Yes, Mikaila's name is actually integrated into the book. How cool. Frankly, I shouldn't name any of the gifts as we have survived by the good graces of the friends and family that had the kind of foresight we clearly lacked. We have purchased very little at this point. Other than her crib and an air purifier, I think all of the items we use to care for Mikaila have been gifts. Thanks to all.

I will name one other very cool gift. The Boyle clan led by Grandpa Mike made it their life's mission (at least for the day) to source and purchase the ultimate jogging stroller. Perhaps they are trying to tell me something? Well, they found it. A Jeep jogger with all of the amenities. I mean, all of the amenities. This thing has it all- 18 inch tires, a roll cage and a built in mp3 interface with integrated speakers. No, I'm not joking. This thing is bad ass. Pardon the profanity. Call it a shout out to the recently late great George Carlin. We have had to make modifications to accommodate Mikaila's stature (or lack there of) but it really works quite well. When I say modifications, I'm talking breaking out the sewing kit to temporarily shorten a strap, a blanket to sit on to raise her to the appropriate height etc. I can't wait to take her out on the bike trail later this summer. I can tell you, I need the exercise.

I'll leave it at that for now. Good night all.

6 lbs

Mikaila was 6 lbs when the visited nurse weighed her this morning. Her added girth now has her in new born diapers. Two milestones in one day. Pictures to follow later this evening.

Quick thought

Diane and Breida, your little contest of one-on-one begins once you have both submitted your guesses (by midnight tonight please) and ends on July 4th per Bill's comment of a week or go. So, keep in mind while formulating your guess that you have slightly more than 2 weeks. Diane, feel free to re-post a guess as I think you were under the impression the new contest ended July 2nd.

And the winner is...............

Ok, this will have to be quick as I am in holding Mikaila right now and will be in charge of her for the bulk of the overnight. At the final weigh in, Mikaila weighed...




Wait for it.......






















Wait for it............
















5 lbs 13 1/2 ounces.


So, we do not have a winner. We have a new contest per the ruling by Bill. Diane & Breida, please submit your guesses for a new final weigh in in two weeks. Look through the comments for detail on the tiebreaking contest.

Last Day!

Well, we have less than 24 hours to go in our little contest. Tomorrow night at about 8 will weigh Mikaila. Let's set the parameters; she will be weighed in the buff after a diaper change. To avoid excess wiggling, we will weigh her about an hour before her scheduled feed. We want a definitive number. When she wiggles, it is very difficult to get an accurate reading. That's about it. Good luck all.

2 days to go.

Quick update for now; we weighed Mikaila just a moment ago sans clothes and wires but with a diaper. For the record, when we weighed the diaper, it did not register. That implies that the diaper weighs less than 10 grams. With two days to go in the contest, Mikaila weighed 5 lbs 11 1/2 ounces. I don't know who has 5 lbs 14 ounces but whoever you are, you are in good shape. I may add to this post later this evening but for now her weight will have to hold you over.

OK, I checked the earlier post and here are the front-runners with odds attached. Feel free to place a friendly wager or two. If it gets interesting, the house may cover all bets although I may lay some of the action off to another book.

Odds
Breida 5 lbs 13 oz 3-1
Diane Levin 5 lbs 14 oz 2-1
Mike Boyle Sr. 5 lbs 14 1/2 oz 5-2
Davia Boyle 5 lbs 15 oz 4-1

Tuesday afternoon edit; Given my mother's comment I feel compelled to explain my post. I was just funnin' with the Bookie talk. Feel free to use these odds if you fancy a wager but we won't be covering any bets. I'm sure most of you (at least the healthy among you) have no idea what I was talking about. Don't worry; that's a good thing.

Happy Fathers Day!

Happy Fathers Day to my father, step-father, Kim's father, grandfather and all dads out there.

Four days to go

We in the Shareef household are absolutely exhausted and thus the lack of posts. Although we each have shifts, there is very little sleep happening. For example, I am on duty until 3am and then I get to go to sleep. Frankly, I'm pretty excited about it as I actually get a chance to go up to my bed; haven't done that in a while. Slight digression, did Tiger just one-hop from off the green on 17? Amazing. Digression over.

Mikaila is still taking oxygen although her room air trials are going well. I took her off the oxygen for 20 minutes today. Her sats stayed very strong for the first half of the trial and hovered around the mid-80's for the balance. Her feeds are going very well although reflux is still an issue. We weighed her this evening with her onzie on and she tipped the scale at 5 lbs 9 ounces. With four days to go in the contest those in the 5 lb 13 ounce range are looking pretty good.

Because of Mikaila's prematurity and low birth weight, she qualifies for several governmental programs. For example, both visiting nurses and early intervention made appearances in the last week or so. Both will be mainstays in the months that follow.

Kim had a list of things for me to cover but I can't think of any of them right now and she is taking her sleeping shift. I'll try to post tomorrow and cover the topics I missed.

To avoid further confusion

Bill, can you clarify your proposal as it relates to the date our contest concludes? Remember that we are ending the contest on 6/18 and NOT 6/28.

The contest

Just a quick note to clarify the contest. We offered our guesses as to Mikaila's weight at what was her due date; 6/18. So, I will weigh her next Wednesday evening (one week from tomorrow) and the person with the guess that is closest to her actual weight that evening wins the bottle. We still have 8 full days remaining before the final weigh-in.

I will ask Bill to settle the following issue as he was the originator of the contest and will be the one to supply the spoils to the victor. How do we settle the winner in the following scenario? At the final weigh-in, Mikaila weighs 5 lbs 15 1/2 ounces. Davia offered 5 lbs 15 oz as her guess and I settled on 6 lbs. Who wins? We never added the "Price is Right" caveat- closest without going over- so I don't think it would be fair to add that now. Perhaps we should offer a tie breaking question for each participant to answer long before the conclusion of the contest. Thoughts?

We'll weigh her in a few hours

Unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to weigh Mikaila prior to her 9pm feed. We will do it prior to her midnight feed. Mikaila did have another visit to the pediatrician today. He was very please with her progress and weight gain. As I mentioned, the doctor's scale, for the purposes of the contest, is unofficial. For your edification and nothing more, I will now tell you her weight at the doctor's office; 5 lbs 4 ounces. Keep in mind, this is unofficial. I will post her official weight in a few hours.

And now for something completely different; a picture of Mikaila. This particular piece features our young hero wrapped in a blanky after her first bath at home. Enjoy.



I just weighed her after a diaper change but before her third dinner. Keep in mind that we weighed her with her new, clean diaper on to avoid catastrophe (Kim is catching a rare nap and I don't want to have to deal with the potential fallout of a diaperless Mikaila.) Mikaila weighed 5 lbs 5 ounces. An empty diaper weighs far less than half an ounce so keep that in mind. Her true weight is probably pretty close to that number.

Guess Mikaila's Weight

There are roughly 5 hours left to post a guess for our little contest. I pulled the following from an Excel Spreadsheet. The formatting didn't hold but you can get the picture. Good luck all. We will weigh her tomorrow night and post an update.

Atiya 5 lbs 5 1/2 oz
Mrs. H 5 lbs 7 oz
Kathy Boyle 5 lbs 9 oz
Mariam 5 lbs 9 oz
Mindy 5 lbs 10 oz
Charlene V 5 lbs 11 oz
Chad & Wndy 5 lbs 12 1/2 oz
Breida 5 lbs 13 oz
Diane Levin 5 lbs 14 oz
Mike Boyle Sr. 5 lbs 14 1/2 oz
Davia Boyle 5 lbs 15 oz
Dara 6 lbs
Kim 6 lbs 1 oz
Kelly Boyle 6 lbs 1 1/2 oz
John C. 6 lbs 2 oz
Bill V. 6 lbs 8 oz

Very Quick

We have a very intriguing contest shaping up here. Keep in mind that the scale we use (and in fact the one they use in the NICU) rounds to the nearest half ounce. So please limit your guesses to increments of 1/2 ounce. If you have given us a fraction/decimal other than the aforementioned, please repost your new guess. By the way, to keep it fair for all participants, we will not be weighing her until all of the guesses are in.

Mikaila had a good day today. She really has had a rough time of late dealing with the harshness of the formula supplement. However, today was quite a bit better. We hope that signals progress and isn't simply a random occurrence.

I'm In!

Ok, we have a proposition on the table. This may seem redundant to those that know me but I’m in. We weighed her just a moment ago to establish a baseline. This weigh in will be official. The scale, by proxy has been certified by the department of weights and measures. I should elaborate, the visiting nurse weighed her with a scale that had been calibrated that very day (it’s done yearly, it just happened to be on Wednesday.) Our scale corresponded precisely to their number and thus the designation. We weighed her naked this time. She weighed 5 lbs this afternoon so use that number when calculating your guess. I’ll be dusting off the old regression analysis from grad school to determine my guess. I want that bottle. Rest assured, I won’t be gaming the wager by altering her formula. You may enter your guesses in the comment section of this post. I don’t know if there is a limitation on the number of comments on a single post. If you are unable, simply comment on a subsequent post.

Here are a few pics of her nursery. Unfortunately the limitations of the space make capturing the room in all of it’s splendor an impossibility. I happen to think that the room, although not very photogenic, is magazine-worthy.





3pm Edit: A few things, I'm going to add a ground rule to break ties. If two people share the winning guess, the first person to post their guess wins the bottle; some incentive to post early. Perhaps we'll put together a second prize in that instance; say a nice box of blush or a bottle of Mad Dog 20/20?

Also, to avoid controversy, I will present my guess right now. Dara's educated guess==> 6 lbs! She will gain one pound in the next 12 days. Mark it down in pen.

One guess per contestant. No purchase necessary.

Changing the Formula

Mikaila was very uncomfortable today with reflux. The formula that we mix with breast milk to create the Mikaila Special (her own proprietary elixir)really does a number on her tummy. We asked Dr. Miller if it was ok to scale back on the amount of formula in her blend and he consented to moving her to what is essentially a 27 calorie blend. It seemed to help a little bit. We hope over time to ween her off of the formula and to 100% breast milk. Her system seems to handle pure breast milk without issue.

A visiting nurse from Schenectady County paid Mikaila a visit today. Given Mikaila's low birth weight and prematurity she qualifies for this service. She took a baseline and will return in 2 weeks.

That is about all I have for tonight. I may scale back a bit on the posts reserving them for items of note.

Eyes A OK

Mikaila had her scheduled second eye exam today. Unfortunately the appointment was back at the Albany Medical Center. You see, we have been instructed to avoid malls, churches and crowds of any sort. However, the same folks offering this advice are scheduling appointments at a place that by definition attracts sick people. Yeah, that makes sense. Ya feeling me here?

Back to the eye exam, Mikaila really didn't enjoy her visit with the opthalmologist. The eye drops aren't so bad. They simply dilate her eyes. However, the next step is to shine a bright light into eyes. She really didn't care for that. She screamed like a frightened cat (in fact, her scream sounds very cat-like) for a few seconds but as is her way, she quickly bounced back. The results were very favorable. Her eyes are fully developed. She has no issues with her eyes.

We did weigh her tonight although she was weighing a onsie. With wires and onsie, Mikaila weighed 5 lbs 2 ounces. We have been feeding her 50 mls every three hours and she had no problem. We may include a few feedings of pure breast milk to help her with the reflux. Also, at the doctor's office yesterday they measured her length. She is currently 17 inches long. That's it for tonight.

First Visit with her Pediatrician

Mikaila had her first visit with her pediatrician. We were very pleased to meet Dr. Miller last week, a referral from another family with a preemie, and he was terrific with her today. Dr. Miller was very impressed with Mikaila's remarkable progress. His words were very comforting to her parents. He did mention one thing related to Mikaila's next few months; we must take great care in determining who enters Mikaila's space. Specifically, he said that we can never be too careful. Getting sick at this point would be our biggest concern. Not only would her getting sick derail her progress but it would likely be very dangerous. We will be vigilant in adhering to his words. Please understand that we will not be hosting any visitors in the near term. We love our friends and family and appreciate all of the thoughts, prayers, gifts and love we have received throughout this ordeal. However, the health of our baby trumps all and I'll ask that all of Mikaila's friends respect our wishes. I know that our friends want to help. That is precisely why they are our friends; they are good and caring people. We do need help but we are definitely getting it from our immediate family. Kim's family has been very helpful thus far and my Mother will be taking a shift in a few weeks. So fear not, Mikaila is in good hands.

Mikaila was weighed at the doctors office today. She weighed 4 lbs 13 ounces. She is up about 4 ounces since her final NICU weigh-in at 5 am on Saturday.

First Night at Home

We have learned that Mikaila much prefers to be held. She did not do well last night when we tried to put her down. Kim and I tried everything; we tried the sleeper area of her pack n play with a home-made incline, we tried the pack n play without the incline, her bassinet with an incline, we tried swaddling her.... Nothing seemed to work. Laying in bed she spent all of her time fidgeting, squirming and crawling and inevitably de-satted. Eventually Kim and I (mostly Kim) decided that we had to hold her all night. I probably got a hair over an hour of sleep last night and I don't think Kim got any. We both were able to take a quick nap today which helped a bit. We are fortunate to have Kim's family here to help. Grandpa Mike flew in from Florida and has been very helpful as the chief cook, principal chauffeur and in other supplemental roles. Davia and Kelly, Kim's mother and sister respectively have been equally helpful. Mikaila has not seen the inside of her bassinet today being held at all times by one of the aforementioned folk. Kim decided that she will hold Mikaila all night. She has, in short order, proven herself to be an extraordinarily committed and loving mother.

We have our first visit with her pediatrician tomorrow afternoon so it's back to the car seat for little Mikaila.

We will probably weigh her at 11.