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.