Ten Pounds, Eight Months, One Goal

Sadie finally hit ten pounds last week, right around the time she turned eight months old.  It seems like such a significant number to reach.  She is looking healthy and feels a lot more robust when you hold her.  She is able to sit with support, and has had her first go in the jolly jumper.  There are days when I look at her and she seems so enormous compared to her pound and a half start, and there are other days when she still seems like such a tiny little being with so much catching up to do.

She is so very sweet, and we are continually amazed at how far she has come and how perfectly healthy she seems.  On that note, we will be forever grateful to the NICU at both the Foothills and the Rockyview Hospital for taking such amazing care of her in her first two months of life.  The Mother's Day run and walk is coming up on May 9th and will again be raising funds for medical equipment for the NICU's in Calgary.  I have participated in this run many times in the past, with my mom, with my sister and nephews, and with my own kids, but this year will definitely be the most meaningful. We have decided to participate as a family to honour our strong little girl and to raise some money for the  NICU.   Sadie spent the first days of her life in a very high tech "Giraffe Omnibed" which cost upwards of $50,000.00.  The proceeds from previous Mothers Day events have helped pay for some of these beds, as well as other life-saving technologies.  A very conservative estimate of what it cost to have Sadie in the NICU for 55 days is $110,000.00.  A nurse told us it was likely around $2,000 a day for a relatively well baby to be there.  

It is hard for us to ask for donations, when people have already done so much for us, but most everyone I meet has known a baby who passed through the NICU.  The equipment you will be helping to purchase gives premature babies like Sadie the best chance of survival. To make a pledge online you can click on the following link, or send us a cheque made out to The Forzani Group Foundation and we will submit it on your behalf.  Tax receipts will be issued for donations of $20.00 or more so make sure we have your complete address.

http://www.eventsonline.ca/cgi-bin/events/forzani_cal/pledge.pl?id=JME1685701

We will keep you posted on the grand total!  Thanks for helping us help the NICU.

SIX MONTHS!!

Today is Sadie's half-birthday.  I can't believe she is 6 months old already, although in the same span of time I believe Greg and I have aged at least 12 months! At her current weight of 8lbs5oz. she is more than five times her birthweight.  I was looking at her tiny NICU hat the other day and remembering that little nectarine of a head that we first touched.  She is healthy, beautiful, and her personality is unfolding day by day.  In the past few weeks I have had several powerful reminders of how truly precious each day really is, and how fortunate we are that Sadie is here. I feel like it has given me some perspective on our minor day to day struggles. It's all pretty manageable. 

 The fact that we can make Sadie laugh now is pretty amazing and it's a bit of an Olympic sport right now at our house.  So far I win Gold because my rendition of "the wheels on the bus" cracks her up for some reason.  She laughs just like Sophie did as a baby,  a low little chortle.  It's awesome.

We have made some progress with feeding, which has been her biggest issue since she came home.  With a switch to a milk-free formula, and a different drug for her reflux, she has become a much happier baby.  She is no longer writhing in discomfort when we feed her, and though she still isn't that enthusiastic at feeding time, I no longer feel like I am torturing her ounce by ounce.  I am hoping that she starts to enjoy eating a bit more so that it is easier to share the task with other people, so far I am still the only one who can get her to suck back a full bottle.  

Sophie is willing to take over at any time!

The new drug seems to help prevent the massive laundry producing spit-ups that we were having, and we've only had one (oops, make that two) big barfs in five days.  A victory by any standards.  The washer is relieved.  We also have been doing a little "spoon play" with Sadie the last few days, and she actually opened her mouth up like a baby bird yesterday for some rice cereal.  Progress on all fronts.

Happy Half-Birthday little one!  We are so lucky to have you in our lives.

No time for pomegranates

I had to toss out a pomegranate yesterday.  I was thinking it was a bit symbolic of where we are at right now.  I love those tasty little red seeds, but just looking at it every day, withering a bit more on my kitchen counter made me feel tired.  Dramatic I know, but really, the pomegranate is a time consuming fruit. And messy.  We've enough messes right now.  So I chucked it.  And I feel better.
We are tired around here.  The eternal newborn is lovely, cuddly, and lots of work.  Sadie is edging closer to seven pounds right now.  She is not gaining all that quickly, and we are searching for strategies to help get more food in her tummy.  Between the reflux and gassiness she is a bit squirmy and unhappy when eating.  It's our biggest challenge right now.  I want her to be a happy eater, but it's really not her favourite activity.  She likes napping a fair bit still, which is a lifesaver.  We see the pediatrician next week, so hopefully we can try something new to get her fattened up.
Meanwhile her little personality continues to emerge.  She is so sweet, and talks very softly to us when she is awake and content.  She smiles the biggest smiles for anyone who will get nice and close up and coo to her which is thrilling to Sophie who has been dying for some more interaction.  She seems to be quite laid back and is fortunately (for her survival) especially charming around 3:30 AM.

Now that the holidays are over, our visitors from out of town (Grampa Berries, and Jenni's Kelowna contingent) are gone, Greg is back to work and I am on my own with the gang.  Kendra is off soon on an adventure so my mornings are action packed.  Three carseats to buckle to get Soph to kindergarten.  Sophie's teacher has been very patient with my tardiness and hopefully soon I will make it there on time more consistently.  I just can't seem to figure out why we seem to be moving in rewind some mornings while the clock is in fast-forward mode.  Maybe I need to have everyone go to sleep in their clothes!  I lie awake thinking of time-savers....the crock pot, instant oatmeal (which isn't really instant, it takes at least 3 minutes), 2 in 1 shampoo, slip on shoes.....
 I know that some of you have been hoping for a little update and I've been wanting to write something down.  It's 11:30 right now and I am enjoying the sounds of silence (other than the washing machine which runs constantly) while fully aware that I should be in bed by now.  I am not that sharp at this time of night which is when I usually get my alone time, so I have been opting to pass out instead of blogging.  The stats for the little nestling are as follows:

She is 141 days old, 50 days past her due date.  6lb 14oz. She still has the sleeping patterns of a house cat.  She eats every 3 hours still, about 55ml at a time.  She is 47.5cm long.  She had her first taste of prune nectar today to try to help keep things moving to make her tummy more comfortable.  She liked it.  She is bigger than our medium sized dolly.  She fits a pair of shoes.  They are doll shoes that Nana got for her, but with really thick socks, they fit!

Maybe tonight will be the night that she sleeps through....... maybe.   Perhaps I should go to bed!
I'll leave you with this, the holy grail of Sadie photography.  You have no idea how tricky this can be to capture, it took two people to get a good one!

THIS is my paycheque!

Well, the big night is tomorrow ready or not.  I am mostly ready, though I might have one sneaky little last minute thing I want to do before the shops close tomorrow, but it will depend on how things go around here in the morning.  There are presents to wrap, a REAL gingerbread house to decorate (made by Greg with plans from Bob Vila), a turkey to cook (I know, chinese food would be simpler, but I do love turkey leftovers and soup), and about five activities we still need to do from our advent calendar.   All this interspersed with feeding baby every 2 hours because she is spitting up a lot, so we are trying smaller, more frequent meals.  Good times!  We have Grampa Berries here for backup this week so with any luck everything will get done.  Last year I did a lot of hand made presents.  This year there are none which makes me so sad, but the closest I get to making anything is to look at Ravelry (my knitting porn-site as Greg calls it) and add things to the list of items I want to make eventually.  Sometimes I gaze at my stash of wool languishing in drawers, and I wish for Martha's ability to function on no sleep.  Alas we will all still be spoiled I'm sure, and maybe by next year I'll have figured out how to squeeze in a little crafty time.

This was a fun little pre-holiday photo shoot we did!

  It's hard to get 3 kids sorted out for a picture.  I was literally dancing like a monkey behind Greg to make them smile.  Crazy Mommy!

We love our new neighbourhood and went to the children's Christmas party down the block to see santa and have some holiday goodies.  Sophie chatted his ear off about her wish list and made sure to include a  little something for Sadie in her requests.  Ollie was creeped out and wouldn't say anything!

We are finally mostly moved in to our new house with all of our furniture.  I really, really missed our furniture while we were selling our other house, but it's sold and we are now rich with couches.  Bye bye lawn chairs in the living room.  Hello chaise lounge!

I'm sure there's more I should be adding..... but I can't think straight so I am going to bed.

Merry Christmas to all.......

and to all a good night!!



P.S.  Sadie is 6lb.5oz if you are wondering.  She is 3oz off Ollie's birthweight now!  She also has the most radiant smile which is keeping me from eating her.

And there goes November!

Wow, that month went fast.  I have had these photos uploaded for a week and haven't had the brainpower to sit down and write anything.  Sophie and Ollie are at the park with cousin Kendra at the moment, and Sadie is napping, so I'm sitting in silence (SILENCE!!).  How rare.  How lucky I am to have my team of cousins, grandparents, and friends to help me out so I can have these brief periods of quiet and (almost) solitude to collect my thoughts.

Here's the numbers as of today:

The tiny bird weighs in at 5lbs 9oz

She is 99 days old

She is 44.5 cm long and her head circumference is 35.2cm

Her adjusted age is 3 weeks and 1 day.

And now the important stuff!

She has had her first tea party.

She had her first bath with the big kids (it was VERY quick!)

She has been blessed by the sticker fairy.

 And she learned to walk.  How advanced!

She is still the cuddliest little baby and loves to be carried all day long.  She is not gaining weight as quickly as the nurse who visits us would like, and seems to be having some issues with reflux, so we are going to get her to the doctor tomorrow.  It's likely that an antacid will help her tummy feel better so she will eat more and maybe sleep a little better.  It seems to be a pretty common problem with preemies according to some NICU nurses I know, so with any luck a little medication will sort out her digestion a bit. Here's hoping.  She is still inching her weight upwards, so we'll keep a close eye on her and hopefully things will pick up soon.
I think I have four loads of laundry to fold, a pail of stinky diapers to wash, a quick little craft to finish for our advent calendar (not a moment too soon),  and a tiny little person is starting to grunt for her lunch so my sit-down moment is over.  Hope all of your Decembers are starting out splendidly with lots of secret elf plans, cups of hot chocolate and cuddles by warm fires.  More pictures of our halls being decked to come soon!  We are just starting to get in the spirit around here, and it's shaping up to be our finest Christmas yet, with the best little present of all under our roof.

Plumping up for winter

Today the tiny bird is 8 days old if you use her corrected age from her due date.  She is officially  (drumroll please) FIVE pounds. Given that she is still less than 16 inches long, you can imagine that she is getting some little rolls on her legs and nice round cheeks.  The last week and a half has seen us all busy and a bit exhausted.  Everyone except Greg had a cold or cough including Sadie.  That meant more night time wake-ups that usual, but we've all come out the other side OK.  I had to use the nasal aspirator  before every feeding on Sadie, but she's had so much stuff done to her poor nose in her short life that she didn't seem to mind too much.  She was a trooper.

The weather has been nice and mild lately so we have managed to be out and about a fair bit.  We bundle Sadie up and stuff her in a baby carrier with blankies tucked around her and she is happy to come anywhere with us.

We took her to the zoo for the first time last week and she slept almost the whole time while we chased Sophie and Ollie around.

She likes the bath,  and there are always lots of little helpers to help with the washing.

I am likening this stage in my life to a marathon I ran many (many) years ago.  It's really, really challenging and intense,  and there is no time to stop for a pee break!  It's completely exhausting and at times I don't know how I will get through another night with little sleep.  On the other hand,  it's extremely rewarding each time I look into a pair of big blue eyes, each time I see Sophie or Ollie pause to give Sadie a butterfly kiss on their way by, each time I tuck three little jammy clad bodies into their beds.   Greg is an excellent help as well, especially on weekends when he has been taking Sadie for long stretches so that I can try to catch up on some sleep.  I find sometimes that Sadie is so wide awake in the middle of the night that I can't turn the lights back off and go to sleep.  So we look at each other, and I take pictures of her, and we try on all of her funny little hats and sing songs.  She is getting so cute, and seems to have a nice little personality.

            She is very tiny in her new crib. We have been putting her in her basket in the crib to make her a little less vulnerable to sibling maulings and to take up some of the space so she doesn't feel so lonely.

These last two pictures were last night around 3am. There was no sleeping in the plan for that little green bean.  She wanted to play.  I'm pretty sure she gave me a real smile too.  See:  challenging, yet rewarding.  The marathon continues!

Our gaggle in costume! 3's a Party!

Well, I suspect the number of followers is tapering off now that we are home and everyone is doing well, but I wanted to write a quick post, so that everyone knows that I still exist.  Yes, it is Greg here!  I've been pretty busy looking after my other 50 kids, now that I am back at work.  I have really enjoyed being back at school, as it has meant a certain level of normalcy.  It also doesn't hurt that I have the best kids this year.  They are so enthusiastic and a ton of fun to teach.  They make me laugh constantly and have the most amazing questions!  Today, I was presented with a gift from the families of my students.  Without me knowing, they got together and raised over $1100.  They used the money to buy Sadie a new crib (we didn't have one), which is being delivered next week, a bunch of prepared meals from a local company and enough money to have groceries delivered to the house for a while!  I included Christy, Sophie, Oliver and Sadie in the presentation today by way of a video conference.  I put the video link up on the SmartBoard, so that my students could meet Sadie without Christy having to bring her into the school.  The students were excited to see Sadie and were also delighted to have Sophie and Oliver steal the show!  I can't believe how generous these parents are and how fortunate we are to have so many incredible people in our lives.  I got into teaching for a lot of reasons, but it really hit home today how much of an impact we have on the lives of children and their families.  We are so thankful and appreciative and hope to pay this forward through our own contribution to the wonderful people at the NICU's where Sadie received such incredible care!

Have a good night everyone!
Greg

playing dress-up

Halloween was lots of fun around here. We had a doctor, a monkey and a baby ballerina.  For some reason I can't get the picture of all 3 kids to upload,  so I'm giving up and I'll try again later.

Sophie and Ollie got so much candy it's ridiculous.  Those little tiny chocolate bars call to me all day from the pantry and although one at a time I'm sure they are fine, I always end up eating about six and then feeling sick.  We didn't get as many kids at the door as we expected, so there are lots of leftovers too. Raised by a frugal packrat, I have difficulty throwing usable, edible things out.  I think they will have to go to school with Greg.  He can be the staff room candy fairy for a while.  We'll save a few "ollypops" and chocolate bars for the kids, they're still little enough that they forget how many there were already.

Sophie and I picked up a Sadie's costume at Michael's in the teddy bear aisle.  We even made her a silver sparkly pipe-cleaner tiara.  It won out over the little elf hat and the pea costume.

I was fond of the pea myself!  We were trying to scheme a tiny bird costume, maybe next year she can be a baby robin.

Sadie is about 4 1/2 lbs now (she'll be weighed at her appt. tomorrow) and is getting some good baby chub on her body.  We figure if things had gone according to plan, she likely would have been born yesterday by c-section like our other little breech babies.  She is a tiny newborn size still, but seems a bit more awake then your average baby born yesterday.  She looks....savvy somehow.

We are having a bit of a breastfeeding boot-camp because I'm going to lose my mind if the pumping continues for too much longer.  It's so much time and effort every day, and though I know it is the best thing for her to have my milk, she's going to have to start getting it for herself soon!  She is doing alright, and seems to be willing to latch on, but she falls asleep fairly quickly while nursing and is tough to wake from her little milky coma.  So we keep trying.  I also have to give her fortified feeds still, so there's no cold-turkey option on the bottles right now.  I don't love bottles.

She's worth all the effort for sure, and is getting cuter by the day.  She is very happy being carried, and has slept through a few outdoor walks bundled in the front pack, so hopefully the warm-ish weather continues.  Fresh air is good to ward off the insanity that sometimes comes with sleepless nights and new babies.  On that note...time to sleep.  Or try.  But hopefully sleep.

Fruit salad revisited

Sadie was so cute and alert today I decided it was time to start playing with her and having some more intensive photo shoots.  I am scheming..... we'll start tomorrow. She is a little dolly after all.  If you saw any of Sophie's baby pictures, you'll know what I'm talking about.  That kid was posed in bags, pots, baskets, nekkid with little bows and in little fuzzy bear suits.  Poor Sadie.

Here's some family shots I couldn't resist posting.  Ollie and Sadie bonded today (I finally let him get his mitts on her).  He told me we should keep her forever.  I'm glad he said that because after the last couple of sleepless nights I was on the fence about that.

So the photo on top is Sadie at 63 days old and the photo on the bottom is Sophie at 3 days old.  Same hat.  I'm so pleased with my two little berries.

The four pound full-time job

Its amazing how in five days this tiny little person has become the boss of our household.  Small, but mighty indeed. She wakes up on her own every three hours to be fed and is getting better at taking her bottles if you can keep her awake for long enough to finish.  We practice breastfeeding a few times every day, and she will hopefully gain more stamina and patience for that.  Hopefully at some point I will be able to do away with the pump, but we are not there yet. We are still adding extra calories to my milk for her, which means she needs to be mostly bottle fed for now anyway.  The upside to the bottles is that Greg can help out a lot, and he has been great about evening feeds as well as whisking her away in the morning for her first breakfast.  For those of you familiar with Lord of the Rings, she eats like a Hobbit- first breakfast, second breakfast, elevensies etc. 

Sadie has a lot of appointments right now to follow up on her health.  We have the public health nurse here a couple of times a week, vaccinations, eye and ear tests, pediatrician and family doctors appointments.  So as much as we feel like hibernating and staying out of germy public places, we are on the go every day.

There hasn't been a whole lot of time or energy for photography yet, but I admit I have been borrowing a little bit of Sophie's dolly equipment because it is just the right size for little Sadie. There will be lots of silly pictures for her to look at when she is bigger. The little bed was mine for my cabbage patch dolls and my mom saved it for grandchildren, though I don't think she expected they would nap in it!  Mainly Sadie snoozes in a bassinet in her little pink room.  I have it propped on a phonebook and leave a light on most of the time to resemble how she was in the NICU and she seems to like it better that way.

Eat, sleep, poop, repeat.  Just like a regular newborn.

    We are still doing lots of Kangaroo Care (skin to skin) with her to help her grow and she is not particular about who she snuggles with.  Sophie is thrilled to do some of these special cuddles and will sit still for any amount of time to hold Sadie.  She is a bit disappointed with how busy we are, and how infrequently we change Sadie's outfit (she'd like to try some doll dresses on her) but on the whole she is pretty pleased to have more access to her little sister.  Ollie mostly ignores her, aside from the occasional smooch, but he does seem to be quite taken with her at times, and happy that we are no longer leaving him to go to the hospital.

As for Greg and I, well, she has stolen our hearts.  We are feeling our bond with her strengthen each day and are enjoying watching her as she begins to wake up and become more alert day by day.  

This will be our first full weekend at home together.  I'm hoping for lots of napping to recover from all the long nights.  I can always hope right?

And then there were five!

This morning Sadie was in the process of acing her car seat test when we arrived for a visit.  The nurse asked why she was being discharged tomorrow and not today.  I said I wasn't too sure and so after it was confirmed by the doctor that she was indeed a 3lb 14oz superhero, she was unhooked from the monitors and cleared to go.  We plowed through all the paperwork, got the kids to the hospital and just like that we were on our way.

Sophie and Ollie were allowed a quick cuddle while Greg installed the base for Sadie's seat in the van.  Sophie wass dressed in her Neonatologist outfit (tiny nursing scrubs we found for her halloween costume) and was practically vibrating with excitement.  Ollie was very gentle with Sadie also, and then quickly got bored and began to explore the limits of the glider chair.  Time to go!

It was a quick and uneventful drive and we were still in disbelief when we pulled up to our house.

Sadie travelled like a pro and didn't make a peep the whole way home.  I was sitting beside her watching her breathe and making sure she stayed nice and pink!

And now here we are in our new reality as a family of FIVE!  Three little ones snuggled together at bed time made our hearts swell with love and pride.  It's awesome and terrifying at the same time.  I'm sure there won't be much sleep tonight as we watch over our little princess.  

We will keep you all posted on how things are going and how the little Sadie bird grows.

Not long now.......

Yesterday I went in to find a totally tubeless Sadie.  She has been taking bottles like a champion.  She may tire and need her tube back in for a couple of feeds, but so far so good.

Greg and I have not spent any time with her together lately because of his cold and all of our home jobs that have been keeping us busy.  We decided to take my mom up on her offer of a sleepover for the kids and head in to the hospital to give the wee birdie a bath.

Sophie and Ollie were quick to pack up their respective suitcases and head out.  Ollie's little case is full of balls; golf balls, bouncy balls, baseball, strange little red ball.  These are his precious things that he sleeps with at the moment.  And yes, those are pretty hair clips that he has.  It was his request.  Sophie's suitcase contains 2 dollies and their clothing and essential items.  Look, the wall behind them is not pink!

At the hospital, the weigh-in was a good one.  1685g, up 50g since yesterday. What a pork-chop.  The extra calories they are giving her are working.

Sadie was mostly OK with the bath though she would prefer to soak in peace rather than be washed.  Maybe it's the scratchy washcloths at the hospital.  Anyway, she was clean and smelling like a rose in no time.

She nursed, then was topped up with a bottle before getting cuddled to sleep by Greg.  We had her unplugged from the monitors for a couple of hours.  It was a bit nerve-wracking, but there won't be any monitors at home, so we need to learn to watch her, and pay attention to her colour and movements rather than her numbers.  It's looking more and more likely that she will be our full-time baby very soon.  I haven't had an official request to bring the carseat in to test her it it, but that will be the next step.  I have washed all of the Ollie gunge off of it and it is ready for a new passenger.

Today we are scurrying around trying to get a couple of rooms organized so that we can have a place to sit when she's home.  I have made cookies, vacuumed,  shaved my legs, caught up on the washing. I'm now trying to think of what else needs doing because my mental acuity and stamina might not be this good for some time after Sadie has arrived home.  I think I'm having some kind of nesting impulse like you get in the last weeks of pregnancy.  The timing seems about right.  I'm off to the hospital to see how she is faring today.