It has been a while but I'll do a quick update for those of you that are still with us..... Radio silence................................

Mikaila continues to give us troubles with her feeds. Each day is a struggle and unlike the previous days. We have yet to see a pattern emerge. One day, she will shun breast feeding. The next, she will fight the bottle yet embrace the breast. Smart girl. We do have a feeding specialist through early intervention that will visit every 4 weeks. She is well intentioned but I'm not sure we have learned anything substantive. We'll keep at it. Her growth has been ok. She gained 5 1/2 ounces in the past week. At this point, anything more than half an ounce per day is acceptable so 5 1/2 ounces in 7 days is pretty good.

We had our second eye exam today for little miss Mikaila. They were looking for development with the blood vessles in the eye. As was the case during her original visit her eyes were perfect. We didn't get any indication of the strength of her vision.

Last week, the folks at Anthem finally came to take away the oxygen canisters and monitor. About freakin time! She had been off of oxygen for months yet we couldn't rid our lives of the monitor. We hope the lack of monitor will eventually translate into more sleep.

We added a few pics and a short video. You will see or should I say hear on the clip that Mikaila is very vocal. Enjoy.

Update

The feeding specialist paid Mikaila a visit mid-week to assess her feeding issues. We have been able to get Mikaila's feeds back into the acceptable range but she still fights us more often than not. My hope was that the specialist (through early intervention, Schenectady County) would arm us with tools and techniques to re-train Mikaila to welcome and enjoy her bottle. The specialist observed Mikaila take a bottle and of course she took it without issue. She did push the nipple out at one point mid-feed but she took it back in after a burp without too much of a fight. This is not typical behavior. We generally have to coax the nipple into her mouth and constantly reassure her along the way. If Kim administers the feed, I have to be at the ready holding Mikaila's hands to avoid her knocking the bottle out of her mouth. I also generally move my mouth as if I were taking a bottle as Mikaila often will mimic what she sees. Back to the specialist. After observing her feed the specialist came to the conclusion that Mikaila's issues are likely not medical. The far more likely cause is an aversion resulting from negative feeding experiences; her formula and milk allergy that led to very uncomfortable reflux and substantial spit ups.

We really didn't get any techniques from the specialist. She did recommend that we change up our patterns. Mikaila often will get upset and sometimes hysterical when we put her in position to eat but before we even introduce the bottle. The specialist mentioned that we might change her position. Also, we have noticed that when Mikaila gets very upset often the only thing that will calm her down is swaddling her. When she gets hysterical she will not eat so we need to be more proactive to avoid her reaching that state. She generally eats without issue when she eats moments after awaking from a nap. We have been using that to our advantage as well and she validated that thesis. The take away is that we have to keep her calm and only introduce the bottle when she is calm.

When Mikaila went to the doctor last, she weighed 9 lbs 9 ounces. Some five days later, she still weighed 9 lbs 9oz. However, her feeds following the doctors visit had been very difficult and at the same time we were trying to get her re-aclimated to breast feeding so her lack of weight gain is not surprising. Two days later she had gained 2 more ounces placing her at 9 lbs 11 ounces on 9/11. Her feeds have gotten better since then so we do expect her to begin gaining weight again. Getting back to her doctor's visit, the doctor wasn't concerned with her weight. The trend was still acceptable so we will continue our current course of pure breast milk. At this point, 1/2 ounce per day is more realistic

I think that is about it. We'll add a few pics in a bit.

Quick Update

We took Mikaila to see Dr. Miller today to get a check on her weight. She has been on breast milk sans formula for two weeks now. Although she posted only moderate gains (she is now 9 lbs 9 oz), the doctor was still pleased with her progress and assuaged our fears related to the reduction in calories. The latest research indicates that developmental vulnerability of very low birth weight babies is far greater pre-due date. Since Mikaila is 2 1/2 months past her due date, this is likely not a concern. Dr. Miller gave us the go ahead to continue her on pure breast milk.

If you will recall, we took her off of the formula for a number of reasons: She was struggling with her feeds often at once showing indications of hunger but not wanting to eat. She also was projectile vomiting several times each day. We eliminated the formula from the mix and eventually added it back. When we did, she showed classic signs of a milk allergy. Yada, Yada, Yada, she went back on pure breast milk and the spit ups virtually stopped.

We have a feeding specialist coming next week to assess Mikaila's problems taking the bottle. She comes next Wednesday. We'll post an update if she is helpful.

I should note that Mikaila decided that she would put a halt to her aversion to breast feeding today taking four feeds directly from the source. We hope this is not merely an anomaly but rather indicative of a trend in the right direction. She hadn't breast fed in over two weeks so this is very good news.

That's about it for now.

It's been a while

Mikaila has had an interesting journey of late. Her feeding issues persist though they have improved considerably. She has seen the wife of our primary pediatrician (she claims to be a doctor as well although I see no evidence)and we have come away unsatisfied. Per her instructions, we put her on another formula- one that essentially predigested. They refer to it as being hypoallergenic. Well, Mikaila couldn't stand the taste (or smell for that matter) of the new formula. Frankly, we smelled it and it is none to pleasing. I don't blame her. She wouldn't take more than an ounce of that crap at a time. We discontinued use of that garbage within a few feeds. When we called the doctor, we were told to switch back to the original, milk-based formula. We were not in support of this idea but we decided to give it a try. At this point, Mikaila had been off of the milk-based formula for four days (we had a several days of straight breast milk mixed in there). When we reintroduced the milk-based formula, she showed signs of a red, blotchy rash on her cheeks and chin. Classic sign of an aversion to milk. It seems our milk allergy theory has some credence. We called the doctor yet again and they suggested we go back to the hypoallergenic formula.

Wow. Take a breath. I'm sure I missed something there but I'll keep going. In the eight days in between doctors appointments, Mikaila gained only 2 ounces. She had been gaining an ounce/day so 7 grams/day just doesn't cut it. Not only was she struggling with her feeds but she was spitting up a ton, further compounding her issues. The visiting nurse showed up on Thursday and we showed her Mikaila in action. Although she is taking her bottle quite a bit better than she had, she still is struggling and did so as the nurse looked on. As a collective, we made a decision. We decided to stick with breast milk for a few days to calm down her tummy. Although the calories are reduced with the absence of the extra calories, we were confident that she would at least keep her feeds down. Soon we will slowly reintroduce the disgusting, I mean hypoallergenic formula- maybe start with a fraction of the prescribed amount to acclimate her to the taste.

Kim's sister Kelly mentioned that Early Intervention, a program we benefit from, has a feeding specialist. After consulting the visiting nurse we decided to inquire as to availability. We spoke with Ellen, our Early Intervention coordinator, and scheduled an appointment for September 10.

Her recent diet of pure breast milk has really improved her feedings. Mikaila hasn't had a spitup in two days and has slowly improved her acceptance of the bottle. She still will fight the nipple but we well past the instances of 45-60 minute feeds. However, we recognise that she really needs the extra calories as she is now roughly 9 lbs and she will be 5 months old tomorrow.

We did the second overnight oxymetry on Tuesday night and we think it went much better. That is to say, the machine seemed to perform as it should, unlike its predicessor. We expect that the data will support a decision to get rid of that fricken monitor; the bane of our collective existence.

I think that's about it. I'll add a few pics later.

A little better

We visited the doctor on Thursday to get a diagnosis of Mikaila's issue. Unfortunately, Dr. Miller was not on duty so we had to settle for his wife. Fortunatly for us, his wife is in fact a doctor. Or so we are told. After a semi-thorough evaluation, Dr. Elmer detected what she thought was some redness in her throat. Her diagnosis was Coxsackie Virus. We disagree. Among the symptoms of Coxsackie other than an irritated throat are fever,blisters on the extremeties and in the mouth. She has none of these. There is no antidote for Coxsackie; you simply have to let it run its course. She mentioned Tylenol to help with the uncomforable throat.

The theory we currently subscribe to is quite simple. We think her reflux manifests in frequent and often substantial spit ups/throw ups. Throwing up can lead to an uncomfortable throat. I remember from my college days. The stomach acids that assist in the digestion process can do a number on the throat. She has figured out that pain comes during and shortly after taking a bottle. Although less glamorous than Coxsackie, this diagnosis seems more plausable given the symptoms.

She has been slightly better today taking her bottle. After taking only 13 ounces on Thursday and 15 on Friday, she is on pace to fall within the acceptable range of 18-27 ounces today. We still have to fight her to get the nipple into her mouth but the battle typicaly lasts only 10-15 minutes or so. Still less than ideal but much better.

In support of our theory (admitedly proffered by both grandmothers) we have decided to try her on straight breast milk. One characteristic of many members of Kim's family is lactose intelerance. They don't care for lactose and they won't stand for it. The formula is milk based so she may be reacting poorly to the dairy in the formula additive. Although she is taking only 50-70 mls at a time she hasn't had what we consider to be reflux related spit ups today. Her two spitups were a direct result of her fussing with the nipple in her mouth and gagging. Before this episode, she was getting 80-100 mls every 2.5-3 hours (although we would let her sleep as long as she wanted overnight). Today, we have been feeding her whenever she will take it. She is getting less at each feed so occassionally, we feed her an hour after the last feed.

I failed to mention that she was weighed at the doctor's office. She weighed 8 lbs 15 ounces. She gained a scant 2 ounces in 8 days. Although upsetting, the number isn't surprising given her reduction in intake and frequent spit ups.

So, we are still somewhat confused and a bit concerned but encouraged that she is at least showing some progress.

We'll post an update when we have more to say.

Problems with the Bottle

We have run into a bit of an issue with Mikaila related to her feeds. For some reason, she shows no interest in her bottle while at the same time exhibiting gestures indicating that she is hungry. Quite the conundrum. She will show clear signs of hunger- mimicking nursing, nibbling on our clothing (or occasionally on my nose)- but when presented with a bottle, she pushes it away. She'll push the bottle away with her hands, turn her head or once the nipple is in, she push back with her tongue. Often times she will cause herself to gag and eventually spit up. Eventually, we are able to get her to take the bottle and she is without exception pissed at us when we stop her feed to burp her. Her feeds now take 30-45 minutes when they had always taken 15 minutes. We have no idea what is going on. She has never had a problem with taking a bottle. This occured somewhat out of nowhere.

I should add that she did have her 4 month shots a few days before the issues occurred. These shots can often lead to grumpiness and fever but these symptoms seem different. When I called the doctor and spoke with the nurse they concluded that she was either suffering the effects of a stomach bug or reeling from the shots. We don't buy it. She isn't feverish at all and her diapers have been consistently wet. So, I will be calling tomorrow and I will not be speaking with a nurse. If we learn anything, I will post it in the next few days.

Last week the physical therapist made a cameo. I was way off. There were no squat thrusts and nary a flab jiggling machine to be found. She instead focused on baby massage. Him was taught the various techniques that will aid in her muscle development. After she gets a rub down, Kim puts her in the hot tub for a soak and then a quick steam followed by a fruity umbrella drink to keep her hydrated. The massage should also help to desensitize her to touch. She no longer kicks if her feet are touched.

Someone had asked if Mikaila was beginning to take to her baths. She actually has. I'm not sure she loves bathing yet but it no longer causes her distress. She seems to have accepted baths as a part of her routine.

Mikaila has been making some very cute noises. She seems to be finding her voice. Kim took a few short video clips so enjoy. Beleive me when I say that they don't quite capture the real thing but for now will have to serve as a proxy for the real thing.

We are still doing the due diligence on her feeding problems. If you have any suggestions we are willing to entertain theories.

Last thing, other than her displeasure with her current bottle, she seems very content and exceedingly cute. Off the charts cute.

Long overdue update.

I know, I know. It's been a while. We may have lost our audience. Let's see if we can lure a few of you back. Mikaila has been doing very well. She has been off of oxygen for 4 weeks now (I think)and really hasn't had any respiratory issues. Frankly, I'm not sure where precisely the canula is so let's hope her good fortune continues. We spoke with Dr. Schroader about her overnight oxymetry. If you will recall, the first attempt didn't go very well. Understand that the issues were technological. Each time she moved, the sensor failed to register an accurate reading. Dr. Schroader insisted that we should redo the overnight test in 3 weeks. Add the almost 2 weeks to get results and we are looking at another month with the monitor.

Mikaila was weighed last Thursday and she registered 8 1/2 lbs. We haven't weighed her since but she is likely approaching 9 lbs. At this point, Mikaila is getting 80mls every three hours. We tend to give her extra in the evening; for example, we fed her at 5:45 this evening and she eagerly gobbled up 100 mls. At night, we tend to give her a bit less (from 50-70mls) and let her sleep 4-4 1/2 hours. She still tends to spit up from time to time but that didn't slow down her recent, although admittedly brief, growth spurt.

Although our energy levels are at close to all time lows (we still average about 4 hours each night) we have ramped up our home improvement efforts. There is a significant project in the offing, one that requires immediate attention given Mikaila's pending mobility. Some time in the next few months I will be soliciting the help of my step-father Bill, and will pull out the carpet in the family room/dining room/living room area, leveling the subfloor and laying hardwood flooring- 1000 square feet of it. That is some project but the carpet is simply unacceptable. Thirty years of filth looms deep in the dark recesses of that carpet. We can't have Mikaila crawling on that disaster of a carpet. It has to go.

The physical therapist will make an appearance tomorrow. She will put Mikaila on a strict regimen of calisthenics comprised mostly of squat thrusts and that flab jiggling machine from the 1940's. Actually I'm not sure what she will do but I guess I will find out.

I hope this little fix appeased your Mikaila jones. More later.

BTW - we tried to upload pictures but the site is apparently having technical difficulties. We'll try again tomorrow.

Overnight Oxymetry and Hearing Screen results

I guess we owe you a few updates. We did an overnight oxymetry on Saturday night. The machine employs a flawed technology. Each time she moved, wiggled or scooted, the machine registered a false reading. Unfortunately, Mikaila is a very wiggly sleeper so the data is a bit messy. If they are unable to affectively scrub the data, we may have to do it again. We kept the other monitor going simultaneously and of course she was satting in the high 90's the entire time. The reality is she has been off of oxygen for almost 2 weeks now. We just want the monitor to go away so that we might get a bit of sleep.

The other nugget of info you may be anxiously awaiting word on relates to Mikaila's hearing screen. If you will recall, Mikaila flagged her hearing screen at the NICU. She had a scheduled re-screening today at 3 back at Albany Med. Her left ear passed very quickly. The right ear was a bit more of a challenge. The monitor had gone through roughly 7500 iterations when the person admistering the test went to find the audiologist. Before she left she indicated that Mikaila was likely to fail the test with her right ear and that she wanted the audiologist present to explain the implications. However, while she was gone, Mikiala passed the test. It took over 10,000 iterations (she passed on her left with just 1000) but she passed. One more worry to cross off of the list.

Before we left we decided to pay a visit to our friends at the NICU. Nurse Amy had just left but we did get a chance say hello to Dr. Rios. He was very please with Mikaila's progress and had no doubt that she would continue on what he said was a remarkable course. Nurse Lanette, one of our favorite nurses, was there as was Katherine. They were excited to see little Mikaila and couldn't believe her size. We will have to make another appearance to allow Amy to get a peek at Mikaila.

That's about it. There is a scheduled outage in a few minutes so I will have to end this post.

No more Oxygen... I think.

Sorry again for yet another lapse in posts. I often find it difficult to find the time and energy to collect my thoughts and recount her recent activity. I will again vow to TRY to do a better job of updating this blog. I know that Mikaila has many fans that like to know what is going on with her day to day.

Mikaila has been off of oxygen for 9 days now. I’ll take a moment for you to internalize that information, disseminate to those within earshot, and engage in whatever celebration ritual endemic to your heritage. I’ve always been partial to the Jig but the Icky Shuffle is a close second. Ok, we’re back. Dr. Schroeder, her pulmonologist, ordered an overnight oxymetry. If all goes well, and we fully expect it will, her oxygen tanks and monitor will be a thing of the past. The folks that provide the equipment should arrive at the house in the next hour or so to deliver the special oxymeter.

The early intervention people paid a visit this morning to plan a course of action for the next 6 months. They were astounded by some of Mikaila’s abilities and accomplishments. For instance, Mikaila, when placed on her activity mat, will try to crawl toward, and reach for some of the objects attached to the mat. The reaching apparently is a 6 month skill. For the record, Mikaila’s corrected age is one month as her due date was exactly one month ago. They were very please with her overall progress and indicated that there really wasn’t anything that needed monitoring. However, given her birth and medical history, all aspects of her development should be systematically reviewed. We will have a monthly visit from a physical therapist and have access to specialists should any issues arise. They won’t.

About 20 minutes after the early intervention folks left the house, Mikaila executed another maneuver that is truly remarkable. Kim had placed Mikaila in her pack and play on her stomach. Moments later, Kim heard Mikaila fussing and looked over only to see Mikaila now lying on her back. Again, she is not supposed to be able to do this.

That’s about all I have for now. Kim uploaded a few pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Mikaila has been off of oxygen for five days now. We haven't placed the canula in her nose for even a moment since mid day on Wednesday. I spoke with the lung doctor and he was quite pleased. He suggested we do an overnight oxymetry and ordered the device. We should have it either tomorrow or Wednesday. If successful, the monitor and oxygen tank should be out of the house in short order.

Quick Update

Mikaila is progressing well. Her canula remains off for most of the day- we keep the oxygen tank on at its lowest setting and have the canula at the ready to avoid severe desats. At this point, Mikaila really only desats during a diaper change. However, even in those instances, she recovers very quickly. I have a call in to the lung specialist to see when we can get rid of the oximeter, canula and tank.

Mikaila has had a number of split-ups of late but her growth remains fairly consistent so we are chalking it up to what we know to be an immutable fact: sometimes, babies spit up.

That’s all I have for now. I will try to get back on the horse and post more frequently.

7 lbs 1 ounce

We weighed Mikaila prior to her 8pm feed and she registered 7 lbs 1 ounce. Her pace slowed in the last 10 days or so creating a close contest. Congratulations to Diane. When I have the bottle in hand, I can either send it or bring it with me on my next trip to Rochester. I tend to come to town at least once a month. Enjoy.

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July everyone! Mikaila may get a chance to see her very first Alplaus 4th of July Parade as it proceeds at a snails pace past our house; the route is not at all surprising given Alplaus’ designation as the smallest population in a zip code within the continental US. It is hard to get around Alplaus without passing our house at some point.

Today we celebrate our declaration of independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. However, from this point forward, for the folks that frequent this blog, the 4th of July will hold another, perhaps less important significance. This evening, we will weigh Mikaila to conclude our little contest. We haven’t weighed her in a number of days so at this point, at least as far as we know, the winning number is still up in the air. We will weigh her in the buff after a diaper change and before her meal at 8pm.

I’ll do a quick update on Mikaila’s oxygen requirements. At this point, we can keep the oxygen off when she is sleeping comfortably. To be specific, if she is fairly comfortable following a feed, we can turn the oxygen off until she needs to be changed prior to her next feed. She always desats during changing; even when the oxygen is on. She doesn’t care for it. Frankly, it isn’t my favorite pastime either. She has gotten to the point where we can feed her without the need for supplemental oxygen fairly frequently. We are close. I can’t imagine her needing the oxygen beyond next week but I should reiterate that progress in this regard is far from linear.

I broke out the camcorder this morning that we bought for our wedding 2 ½ years ago. We bought this device in the place of hiring a videographer thinking we would use it later in life. To this point, it has been collecting dust in the hutch. The short videos we have posted on the blog have come from our camera. Our camcorder was fairly bleeding edge when we bought it; I believe it was the first camcorder to feature a hard drive as its storage format. I took a short clip this morning of Mikaila sleeping on my mother but before I post it, I will have to figure out how to convert it into a usable format. It records to a .pgi file- a format I have never come across.

More later. Enjoy your day.

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.

She's Home!

OK, this is the first post with Mikaila home. We were able to take her home late morning after spending the night in the Rooming In Suite. I'm assuming having experienced their accommodations in all it's splendor that they are using the word "suite" literally. Yes, there were two adjoining "rooms" but the accouterments were far from plush. We did manage to grab a few hours of sleep between 5am and 8am but it certainly wasn't a sound sleep.

Mikaila was released on oxygen so we are forced to deal with variables seldom experienced with term babies. As in the hospital, her oxygen saturation, breaths per minute and heart rate are constantly monitored. Unfortunately, the portable monitor we have at the house is far less elegant than the one at the NICU. Some of the technological limitations of this mobile unit contributed to us not getting any sleep last night. A little tape to the sensors and it's all good (a little street for the youngins.)

She seems to be getting acclimated to her new surroundings. Most of her day was spent laying on chests; the chest of her mother, father, aunt, grandma and grandpa. She seems to prefer that to laying in her new bed. Mikaila's bottle feeds went well today. In fact, we were told that we can try more than 40mls as tolerated. We gave her 50 mls at 2 and she gladly gulped it all down.

We will weigh her on our new scale prior to her 11 pm feed. We haven't established a baseline with this scale so don't be disturbed if the number seems out of whack. We won't be having the department of weights and measures come in to calibrate the scale so the number she posts today will only serve as a baseline to compare against going forward.

Ok, we weighed her on our new scale. She was wearing a diaper, a little sun dress and the probes and wires that monitor her vitals. So, understand that we have no idea what all of that stuff weighs. With all of that stuff on her, she weighed 2170 grams or 4 lbs 12 1/2 ounces. Again this is merely a new starting point; nothing more.

Last Night at the NICU

Well, this will be our last post with Mikaila residing at the NICU at Albany Med. We are "Rooming In" tonight, staying in a little room just off of the NICU with our daughter at our side. I believe I've referred to the Intermediate Care area as the baby half-way house. Well, I think the Rooming In area effectively serves as the half-way house for parents. She still has a nurse assigned to her so we certainly have backup should we encounter any issues.

As I write this I am sitting at the shared computer in the Ronald McDonald Family Room just one door down from the NICU. I'll have to get off of this machine soon as other families deserve equal time. There really isn't much to report at this point. She won't be weighed for quite a while. I'll do a post at some point tomorrow but don't hold your breath. We probably won't sleep at all tonight and tomorrow will be action packed. I'll do my best to keep everyone apprised but understand that we will have our hands full.

Quick update on weight gain.

Mikaila gained another 40 grams bringing her to 2030 grams or 10 grams shy of 4 1/2 lbs.

Still on track

I did the drive out to Rochester at the crack of dawn and return the same evening trip so I will be a bit on the brief side; kind of have that floating feeling balancing extreme fatigue with the jitters associated with mainlining caffeine all day. Mikaila is still on track to go home on Saturday. She handled her feeds and maintained her temperature all day. She failed her first car seat test but passed it when it was re-administered this afternoon. The one concern is that she failed her hearing test. I wasn't there but from what I understand it is sort of a screen to get a baseline. Her results can mean any one of the following things; she has issues related to hearing, she has fluid in her ears or her hearing is still impacted by her prematurity. Let's hope that scenario one is not in play.

That's about all I have at this point. She was not weighed at 8. It's unlikely that I will be blogging at 11 this evening but we'll see.

I have been instructed to add Mikaila's updated length. She is now a hair over 15 inches. She has gained 20% in length while gaining 200% in weight.

We are close

Mikaila continued to feed exclusively by bottle effortlessly today. In fact, her intake was bumped up to 40 mls every three hours. She used the incremental calories to grow an additional 40 grams today. She currently stands at 1990 grams or a hair over 4 lbs 6 ounces.

The Peanut passed a major test today showing significant weight gain while concurrently bottle feeding and living in an isolette free of additional heat. Her team turned off the heat this morning and she had no trouble maintaining her temp. She is on course to go home on oxygen Saturday morning.

Speaking of her oxygen requirements, we have set appointments for Thursday and Friday to have her set up to travel on oxygen and have the house set up with the appropriate equipment. We will also be "rooming in" on Friday night, staying the night in a special room in the NICU with Mikaila at our side. If we are unsure about any event that comes up we will have the nurses at our disposal. Think of it as sort of a parenting half-way house.

That's all I have for tonight.

Up 40 Grams

Mikaila gained 40 grams yesterday bringing to 1950 grams or 4 lbs 5 ounces. She should cross the 2 KG threshold in a few days.

Lots of stuff

Mikaila's feeds were bumped up to 38 mls every 3 hours. She took the increased amount by bottle at each of her feeds. In fact, Nurse Amy was so confident in Mikaila's ability too master the bottle that she took out her feeding tube. She has now taken 13 consecutive bottles.

Mary Jane, Mikaila's nurse practitioner, decided it was time for another room air trial and unfortunately it didn't go well. Mikaila began to de-sat almost immediately. When bumped back to her .03 liters of oxygen, Mikaila quickly bounced back into form. It appears she isn't ready to free herself from this final entanglement.

She has now shown evidence of prowess in all of the areas that drive the discharge decision; she has no trouble maintaining her temp and she has been taking all of her feeds without the aid of a feeding tube and pump. If she continues along this course her team will probably send Mikaila home within a week or so. However, it is very likely that she will be coming home on oxygen. Although this is far from ideal and certainly not the scenario we envisioned, if she is meant to go home with supplemental oxygen then we are on board. We just want her to come home.

She will be weighed at 11 so if I am up I will update.

Up 35 grams

Mikaila gained 35 grams yesterday bringing her to 1910 grams or 4 lbs 3 1/2 ounces. Nurse Amy, who has just returned from a long respite, indicated a room air trial was in the works. Mikaila's canula will come out during the day and will go back in during her feeds. Please send her good energy. This really is her last true hurdle as she has been stellar with the bottle. In fact, she has taken her last 8 feeds by bottle. Amy may also take her feeding tube out today.

No Changes

Mikaila took 4 bottles consecutively today. I'm not sure she has managed that feat to this point so that is a very positive sign. She is likely capable at this point of taking all of her feeds by bottle. The only thing holding Mikaila back a bit is her slight oxygen requirement. Her doctors would really like to send Mikaila home sans oxygen; her parents concur.

That's about it for today. Hopefully her nurse will weigh her at 11. If she does and I am conscious I will update this post. If not, I will update tomorrow morning.

Up 35 Grams

Mikaila gained 35 grams yesterday. She is up to 1875 grams or a hair over 4 lbs 2 ounces.

Sam I am

I truly have nothing to say today related to Mikaila's day. She took several bottles but that isn't news. She is taking a trickle of oxygen but again, that territory has been covered. I did read her, "Green Eggs and Ham" today. We have heard that we should read 10 books each day to our daughter; that for her to fully realize her developmental potential she needs that level of interaction. That seems a bit excessive to me but I guess there is research out there that supports the theory. Kim ordered 8 books for Mikaila last night. I guess we have some reading to do.

She will likely be weighed at 11 so I will follow up soon thereafter with an update on her weight.

4 lbs Plus

Well Mikaila was weighed late last night prior to her 2am feed. She gained another 70 grams bringing her to 1840 grams or 4 lbs 1 ounce. She blew past the 4 lb barrier clearly implying she holds no esteem for the artificial milestone. Save your presents please. She will soon be out of preemie clothes.

Hitting the bottle with Daddy

Today is Mikaila's 2 month birthday! Happy Birthday Mikaila!

I tried to give Mikaila a bottle today for the first time and it really didn't go very well. Within minutes she was completely zonked. Was it my technique? Perhaps. It's more likely that she was very wiggly leading up to her 11 am feed and was simply tired. Yeah, we'll go with that.

She seemed to have a good day today, handling her feeds without issue. She is still taking Zantac to rid her system of reflux and we think it's going well. They didn't weigh her at 8 and may not at 11. If they do, I will post an update. She is only about 45 grams from 4 lbs.

Back to the Breast.

It appears I forgot to post Mikaila's weight gain yesterday. She gained 60 grams yesterday and another 35 grams today. She currently stands at 3 lbs 14 1/3 ounces. She is just 45 grams shy of 4 lbs! The real news today is that she made an attempt at breast feeding. During rounds, her team decided to test her breast feeding prowess once each day. Mikaila performed admirably today locking on immediately. After about 15 minutes we decided to give her a rest and fed her by tube. The nurse gave her the entire 35 mls (that's news as well as she had been at 32) by tube. Kim thinks she actually was able to summon a bit of milk during her breast feeding session implying that she had a healthy feast during her 2pm feed. That's about it. Kim may be posting a picture or short video.

Zantac

I will apologize again in advance for the brevity of the update that follows. I hope you don't think me terse; I'm simply tired from my trip. Tomorrow is another day and I promise to go into detail on some aspect of Mikaila's development. As you know, Mikaila had her final course of Lasix yesterday. It appears she wasn't carrying excess fluid in her lungs. Her oxygen sats are typically very strong. When she is uncomfortable, distracted or refluxing, she tends to de-sat. Invariably, she bounces back in short order. The prevailing theory, created and propagated by Kim and nurse Lynette, is that Mikaila slows down or (for very brief moments) stops her breathing as she tends to issues of more immediate concern. For example, when Mikaila bottle feeds, she occasionally holds her breath for a moment as she sucks down and swallows the contents of her bottle. Similarly, when she refluxes a bit she is uncomfortable and holds her breath for a second. Under normal circumstances, she sats in the 90's.

In an effort to rid her of her reflux issues, her team decided to begin treatment with Zantac. She will receive two doses per day for a few days to determine if they can get her refluxing under control.

That's all I have. If I make it to 11, I will call for her weight and update.

Solid

Mikaila had a solid day today. She received her third course of lasix and as you might suspect, she lost 15 grams. Sbe is down to roughly 3 lbs 11 ounces. Other than that she had a solid day.

She gained weight

Forgive the brevity of this post. I just checked in to the hotel and am about to head down for dinner. Mikaila had three consecutive bottles today, the second of which contained her second course of lasix. Remarkably, she still gained 70 grams today. She now stands at 1690 grams or 3 lbs 11 1/2 ounces. Her respiratory status hasn't changed so they may decide to continue her lasix treatments. That's it for tonight.

A+

Mikaila's doctors today formulated a tactical plan to get her off of the trickle of oxygen she is getting. The course they chose, three consecutive days of lasix (diuretic) was supported by Kim and I. Although it isn't critical in the decision to release her, we would very much like her to come home wireless (read, not tethered to a nasal canula.) She took the lasix with one of her bottles today (Kim fed her by bottle at 11, 2 and 5) and we think it showed evidence of working. You see, Mikaila lost 20 grams which is not at all unexpected. Now, we aren't sure the lost weight was a result of fluid leaving her system because she spit up much of the feed that contained her treatment. I guess we will learn more in the next few days.

The developmental specialist administered a test today to establish a baseline to test against in the months that follow. Of course, Mikaila rocked this test (a technical term.) Because of her gestational age at birth and low birth weight, Mikaila is at risk for developmental limitations. However, Mikaila wowed the doctor with her prowess and received an A+. Her risk of developmental issues was reduced today by significantly more than 50%.

That's about it for tonight. I'm heading out of town for 3 days on business. I will do my best to maintain my evening posts.

Another 40 grams

Mikaila gained another 40 grams today bringing her to a robust 1640 grams or a hair under 3 lbs 10 ounces. She has gained 3 1/2 ounces in the last two days! She will likely cross the 4 lb threshold in less than a week.

When we went to visit Mikaila today she looked very uncomfortable. For the entirty of our time with her, roughly 2 1/2 hours, she just didn't seem like herself. Her heart rate was elevated quite a bit, she was very fussy and squirmy and she de-satted a bit. After asking the PA to come look at her we discovered that her issues was related to her GI system. Apparently, for the bulk of our time with her, she was trying to poop. Her nurse noticed late in our stay that Mikaila had a wet diaper. She wasn't due for a check up and diaper change for another 90 minutes. However, when she took a look at her diaper she saw that Mikaila had solved her GI issue. She was now uncomfortable because the mess in her diaper had penetrated her forward perimeter and was migrating up her belly. Ick! When the nurse cleaned her up, she settled right down.

That's it for tonight.

3 1/2 Pounds

Mikaila had a very good day today. She gained 55 grams today or roughly 2 ounces. She currently stands at 1600 grams or 3 lbs 8 1/2 ounces. She is still taking a bottle every other feed although that may be increased in the next few days. She has shown a tendency to overheat of late. It appears, at least from our perspective that Mikaila really should be taken out of heat. We understand that her calories should be diverted away from maintaining her temperature and toward growth. However, she also burns additional calories keeping herself cool when she is overheated. We will bring this issue up with her team tomorrow. Other than that she is doing very well.

Good day

As I write this post, Mikaila's blog has roughly 6700 hits. The VC in me wants to think of an effective way to monetize those eyeballs. I'm sure if we did the analysis we'd find that this site has achieved, admittedly on a very small scale, what all sites aspire to; stickiness. We get a ton of return visitors on here. Mikaila has many fans.

Let's get to something you actually care about, Mikaila's day. Mikaila looked much pinker than she did prior to her transfusion. We see her so often that it is very difficult to notice subtle changes in her skin tone. The IV from the transfusion is long gone. A small mark on her foot serves as the only reminder of her ordeal of a day prior. This day was a fine day for young Mikaila. She took several bottles today without issue with an incremental volume of 2 mls. She is up to 32mls. Her vitals remain strong. Her nurse hadn't weighed her when I called after the 8pm feed but will likely do so at 11. I will make an effort to post her weight tonight so that the night owls among us might have that info in close to real time.

I called at 11. Mikaila gained another 25 grams. She now stands at 1545 grams or roughly 3 lbs 6 1/2 ounces.

Quick Update

Just a quick update; Mikaila had a stable night. She actually gained 30 grams and now standsa to 1520 grams or 3 lbs 5 1/2 ounces. I say actually because she was given a course of lasix with the transfusion to eliminate any incremental fluid so there was a chance she would either lose weight or maintain. That's it for this morning. I will do the typical evening post later.

Another Transfusion

Mikaila had a rough day. Her hematocrit (red blood cells) number had crept down over the past few weeks and her attending decided it was time to transfuse her again. For Mikaila, the rough part was the insertion of the IV but, as always, she bounced back quickly and looked relatively comfortable when we left this evening. With the transfusion, Mikaila was given a course of diuretic to eliminate any resulting excess fluid. As a result, Mikaila may not gain weight when they weigh her this evening so be prepared. We have been through the transfusions before. Her growth has been tremendous. However, she isn’t capable at this point of producing blood on her own to keep pace. It stands to reason that at some point she may require an additional unit.

Other than that, Mikaila’s day was quite normal. Her vital signs were strong, oxygen saturation levels were good and she continues to fully absorb her feeds. In fact her feeds were bumped up to 30 mls every three hours.

I’ll be posting this on the early side today. If we get her weight at either 8 or 11I will update this post with her new weight.

Back on heat

Well, Mikaila is back in heat. Yes, I know you heard from me a scant 24 hours ago that her heat was turned off. Well, apparently the attending was not on board with the prior decision. She had no problem in the intervening 48 hours maintaining her own temp but the doctor wisely decided that her calories were best directed toward growth. She is on 27 degrees C or roughly 80 degrees F which frankly isn't a whole lot warmer than room temperature.

She had a solid day; no aspirates, strong vital signs and temperature and successful bottle feeds. She will likely be weighed with her 11 pm feed. As always, if I know her weight before I head to bed I will update.

An American Idol

Mikaila had a rather pedestrian (read good) day today. She had several bottle feeds that went well. Her temperature was solid all day. Understand that one of the critical factors in determining whether a baby is ready to be released is their ability to maintain their own temperature. She is no longer in heat so that is a very good thing. She gained another 20 grams today. She currently tips the scales at 1465 grams or roughly 3 lbs 3 ½ ounces. Soon they will have to bring in a cattle scale to weigh our little porker.

That’s really it for an update. Kinda skimpy, I know. Maybe I’ll take a second to tell you a bit about my evolving relationship with my little girl.

You know, they say that Mikaila has her maternal grandfather’s hair (actually, she currently shares his hairline-sorry Mike,) Kim’s big eyes and my chin. That’s the way it works, right. Her genetic composition is a function of that of her parents. But, I ask, can it work the other way? Can parents assume the qualities of their progeny? I certainly hope they can.

You see, my daughter is my hero. Yes, I looked it up; a 7 week old can be revered by a soon to be 35 year old. Mikaila has virtues I can only admire from afar. Yes, perhaps I have each of them in small doses; but they permeate every fiber of Mikaila’s being and resonate within her essence. The qualities to which I speak, courage, resolve and an irrepressible spirit were obvious from the moment she arrived. Just ask the NICU doctor who tried, to no avail, to ventilate a one-minute old Mikaila. The now famous wedding band on her wrist picture fortunately was captured directly as she sent my band flying from her wrist within seconds. Her tenacity is tested daily and she always seems to emerge unscathed. Yes she is a miracle but she is much, much more than that; she is what I aspire to be. She is my hero.

Heating up

Mikaila is out of heat as I believe I mentioned in a previous post. Although she still maintains residence in her isolette, she does so without the assistance of supplemental heat. In fact, today when she cuddled with her mommy, her heart rate climbed to scary (for me at least) levels; purely a function of her temperature which was quite high. Kim, you see is quite the furnace. I can certainly attest to her ability to raise the body temp of those in her immediate vicinity. Her heart rate and temp came down to appropriate levels when she was returned to her isolette. Needless to say, she is maintaining her temp without issue.

Mikaila's feedings continue to alternate between tube and bottle. She didn't have any aspirates today and handled her bottles with great aplomb. Her dexterity with the bottle and GI improvements yielded an incremental growth of 35 grams. She now stands at 1445 grams or 3 lbs 3 ounces.

That's about it for this evening.

Not much to report

I really don't have much to report tonight. Mikaila had a few bottles today and was able to finish each of them. Her vital signs are good. She is still getting a small amount of oxygen through her canula. Her breathing is steady and unlabored. She will likely be weighed at 11. If I call to get her weight, I will update this post. I expect she will regain the weight she lost yesterday.

Kim will be sprucing up this rather bland post with several pictures. Enjoy.








She did gain back the weight she lost plus 5 grams. She is up to 1410 grams or 3 lbs 1 1/2 ounces.

Her lungs are getting there but...

Mikaila had a good day after a difficult evening. She had accumulated excess fluid in her chest again and had to work a bit harder to breath. As was the case a few weeks ago when the fluid crept up her team gave her a dose of lasix, a diuretic designed to rid her system of the excess fluid. They were in fact hoping to see a dip in weight after the treatment and she answered the call losing 25 grams. She is back down to 1380 grams. Like virtually all premies Mikaila's lungs are lagging a bit, struggling to keep up with her spectacular growth. No worries here. She is doing very well. Sorry for both the brevity and tardiness of the post this evening. I spent the day and night working on getting the house ready for her arrival.

We're not alone

Kim administered two consecutive bottles to Mikaila today, the first at 2 and the second at 5. She handled the 2pm feed without issue and managed roughly 24 of the 28 mls in the second bottle. Did I say 28mls? I did. During rounds, her team bumped her up to 28mls every 3 hours. Essentially, Mikaila gets 20 mls per feed for every kg of body weight.

An old friend from High School came across my Facebook profile and noticed a picture of Mikaila that I had posted. Seeing the nasal canula in her nostrils, Kevin inquired as to Mikaila's status at birth. When I confirmed to him that Mikaila was in fact a premie he responded with some interesting information. Kevin has two boys, both of whom were premature at birth. One in fact was 26 weeks and 2 lbs at birth. Although Mikaila was quite a bit smaller, she was actually almost two weeks older gestationally. The nugget that this readership may find interesting is that Kevin is authoring a book giving a fathers perspective on the experience of having a premature baby. Some folks on this blog have suggested I seek publication; that a sequential diary of this sort may be of some value to others especially considering the author is the father. Well, Kevin, having gone through the process more than once, is eminently qualified to take on the project. I will be sure to post the information as soon as his book is commercially available. I look forward to reading it.

That's it for now. They will weigh her at 11 so I will follow up with an update soon thereafter.


They ended up weighing her at 2am. I am far too old to be up at that hour so I called this morning. Mikaila gained another 40 grams bringing her to 1405 grams or 3 lbs 1 1/2 ounces.

3 lbs

Mikaila's day was unremarkable yet solid. She was bottle fed several times and for the most part handled it without issue. She gained the 10 grams she needed to cross the 3 lb threshold. Let's hope she kicks her weight gaining machine into high gear in the days that follow. I don't think they will release her if she is much under 4 lbs although they were quite emphatic telling us that there is no weight requirement for release.

That's it for tonight.

From Untitled to Titled

Mikaila was a bit tired today after her ordeal yesterday. If you will recall Mikaila was put through a rigorous and traumatic eye exam. Immediately following her exam, she downed bottles on consecutive feeds; quite remarkable actually. Typically, babies are exhausted after these exams. Well, it appears Mikaila had a delayed reaction. During her 2pm feed she was only able to manage 12 mls by bottle. She was given the balance through the tube. Kim believes that her struggle was more a function of the nurse using the more difficult nipple than Mikaila being tired. When the correct nipple was used at 5pm she managed to imbibe the entire 26 mls without issue.

She was weighed this evening at 8. She put on an additional 25 grams bringing her to 1355 grams. She is less than 10 grams short of 3 lbs. That's about it for this evening.

I can see clearly now.........

Mikaila’s feedings continue to produce results. Kim bottle-fed Mikaila at her 11am, 2pm and 5pm feeds. Nurse Cliff (save the cracks) remarked that she sucked down her 2pm bottle in 3 minutes flat. That may have been a slight exaggeration but she did devour her bottle’s entire contents in each instance. Well done. Mikaila’s successes during feedings have continued to yield results. She gained another 35 grams today bringing her to the brink of the 3 lb mark. She currently stands at 1330 grams or a shade under 2 lbs 15 ounces. She is roughly 35 grams from 3 lbs. Oh, also related to her feeds, I failed to mention that her team bumped up her volume to 26 mls every three hours.

Mikaila’s isolette temperature was reduced to 27.5 C or 81.5 F. She really hasn’t had any issues with maintaining her temperature. Assuming she handles this reduction, and she will, they will move her to 27 C. The next step is room temperature so she really is close in this regard.

The last little nugget to report relates to Mikaila’s eyes. She had her first eye test today. Although the event was rather traumatic for our little peanut, she emerged relatively unscathed and passed her examination with flying colors. She didn’t even study. This was a routine test and will be re-administered in a month.

That’s all I have for today. Kim will be posting a picture or two momentarily.

Here are the pics and I have been instructed to introduce them with some detail. As a rule, I try to avoid accommodating specific requests. I mentioned in an earlier post that entertaining these requests can be dangerous; my lawyer friends know well the slippery slope argument. However, we had a suggestion that I thought was worthy enough to consider breaking my rule; to capture Mikaila in a picture with my wedding band. If you will recall, I took a picture of Mikaila with my wedding band on her wrist when she was only a few hours old. Well, fortunately, that same band would have no chance of fitting on her wrist at this point. So, we decided to post a picture of Mikaila with my wedding band next to her arm.

She Loves that Bottle

Mikaila hit the bottle early and often today. She was fed by bottle by Kim at both her 2pm and 5pm feeds. Fear not, she has been authorized to be fed by bottle once a shift. Mikaila has really mastered manipulating her bottle. In fact, she took both feeds entirely by bottle! Now, that's progress. Her nurse weighed her before her 8pm feed and she gained another 25 grams. She currently stands at 1295 grams or a little more than 2 lbs 13 1/2 ounces. Everything else is stable. That's about it for tonight.