Too Cute

I love this little outfit...the shirt says "My heart belongs to Daddy"

Diana Checkup

Diana had her first doctor's appointment with her pediatrician today. She is doing well and both the nurse and doctor were impressed with her color, sound of her lungs and heart and her overall well being. She is still 19" long but has gained weight. She is now 6 lbs 8 oz! The lowest she got down to was 5 lbs 5 oz. Her left eye is a little "goopy" and the doctor thinks it is just a blocked tear duct which I believe Jonathan had too so we have some drops to put in her eyes now. She still doesn't like to be "messed" with and cries when people mess with her. The doctor looked at her legs/feet and thinks they will be fine with the exercises we are doing for her but may order an ultrasound on them at 6 weeks old. Dr. Bagamery wants to see Diana again in 2 weeks for just a weight check.

Pool - This is going to be fun

Pool Time

Boy was it HOT here this weekend. Auntie Heidi and Uncle Jason came for a visit this weekend and we sure had fun. The boys built a "shed" in the garage to store all of our "junk". Of course Jonathan had to be with the boys and "help." We also got out the pool and Jonathan was super excited!

Diana is HOME

We brought Diana home today around 12:30. We are all so happy to have her home. She is back up to her birth weight, 5 # 13 oz, and doing really well. More pictures and updates to come later.

Holding Baby Sister

I Love You Diana

Big Brother Jonathan loves his little sister and is so happy she is home. He got to hold her by himself for the first time tonight. He is very proud!

Discharge Delayed Until Friday

Due to Diana's brady yesterday the doctors have decided to keep her until Friday morning. Obviously this is a disappointment but we know it is in Diana's best interest. I went to the 11 am feeding and she did very well nursing and taking her bottle. I think we have the eating thing down.

Eskimo Kisses

Daddy has gotten really good at feeding Diana and has the record of the most she has taken from the bottle. Here is a picture of Daddy and Diana giving eskimo kisses.

A Brady

Diana had a "Brady", slow heart rate, during her 8 am feeding this morning. The nurses informed us that this clould cause a delay in her discharge. Aside from this minor setback she is still doing quiet well and now weighs 5 # 12.6 oz. It was a sad day for us all as Nana had to go home today. We really appreciate all of her help and we will miss her!

We all went to Diana's 8 pm feeding and Daddy fed her the bottle and she downed it! I think Daddy wins the award for bottle feeding.

Precious

Diana sleeps alot and still loves to have her hands by her face.

Feeding Tube Out

Good news!!! Diana's feeding tube is out! She has taken all or almost all of her feedings so they took her feeding tube out. If she continues to do well she should be home on Wednesday. We are soooo excited and very proud of our little girl.

Arms up

Diana loves to have her hands out of the swaddle and up by her face.
Not the best picture but trying to show how her feet are crossed and she likes to get these out of the swaddle blanket too.

Just A Little Bit of Trouble

Grandpa Gordy and Jonathan got in "just a little bit of trouble" today. They bought ice cream from the ice cream truck.

Jonathan discovered how to move the bed up and down and makes himself at home now when he comes to visit mommy.

Still winking...

More Pics

Some nurses think Diana was sitting "indian style" in the womb. Today when we went for the 5 pm feeding this is how she was sleeping.
Daddy's little girl.

So big!!!

Her grip is getting stronger and stronger.

Hero Daddy

Daddy gave Diana her bottle tonight and she did all but 5 ml which she technically nursed anyway. All day today she took bottles and did almost all of the 49 ml each time. She really seems to be catching on and we are very excited!!!

Here are some pictures of Diana from the past few days.

She scooted herself down in her crib.
Sleeping on her belly.

Naked baby after a diaper change.

Just like her big brother, Diana likes to keep one eye open and one closed. She also has gotten really good at sucking on her pacifier which is good practice for eating.Diana likes to sleep with her hands by her face and her feet kicked out of her blanket.

Satellite NICU

Diana got moved to a satellite NICU on the 13th floor today. Since all they are concerned about with Diana is her eating, she is a very low maintenance NICU baby so they moved her. The nurse said babies up there do quite well because it is quieter and there are only 4 babies in the room. We went to visit her at 11 am feeding and she seemed to like her new room. She nursed 10 ml and took all but 12 ml from the bottle. Through the night she took all of her bottles and at the 8 am she did all but 11 ml. The nurse started talking about her going home and thought it would be this week sometime. Of course we are very excited about this but are trying not to get too excited in case it doesn't happen. Hopefully she continues to do well and we can get her feeding tube out.

Eyes Open

Diana's eyes have been open a lot more lately. She starts to stir about 20 minutes before a feeding which the nurses say is a really good sign.

Garden Planted

Today GB came down and planted our garden with Jonathan. Thank you GB!!! We are all very excited to watch the plants grow and to have fresh veggies this summer.

Big Girl Bed

Diana's eating continues to improve and her sucking is getting stronger and her endurance is building. During the night she took all of her bottle for 2 of the feedings and almost all of it for the other feeding. At 11 am she nursed 10 ml and finished all but 5 ml from the bottle. During the 11 am visit, Miranda, her nurse decided to lower her bed flat and get rid of her "bumpers" around her in preperation for her to go home. Before her bed was on an incline and she had a barrier around her to make her feel more secure. They also would rotate her sometimes to sleep on her belly but now it will be all back sleeping. At the 8 pm feeding she nursed 15 ml and the rest from the bottle. Melonie, the night nurse, helped give me pointers on how to feed her and what to do if she was falling asleep or choking. We are proud of our little girl!

Full Feeding

Little Miss Diana took a full feeding for me last night at the 5 pm feeding. She nursed 35 ml from me and about 20 ml from the bottle so she was a little over her 49 ml requirement. I was so proud of her!!! She was wide awake and acted very hungry.

Today she weighed 5 lbs 8 oz and her bilirubin was down to 9.4. She shouldn't need to be tested anymore for the bilirubin. She nursed 20 ml at the 11 am feeding and took 10 ml from the bottle. She was still awake but had no interest in the bottle after the 10 ml. She got a bath last night so her little hair was really sticking out today.

Diana's Eating Improving

Our little girl is getting stronger and stronger each feeding. Last night at the 5 pm feeding, she ate 15 ml from me and 20 ml from the bottle. We were very proud of her. Big brother Jonathan was there helping keep her awake by doing "this little piggy" to her toes and helping burp her. At one point Jonathan was sitting in his little rocking chair and Nana was reading him a story and Diana made a whimpering noise and Jonathan said, "Just a minute, baby sister needs me." He walked over, patted her on the head and said "It's okay Diana, big brother is here."

Through the night Diana was feed from the bottle every other time and did really well. She took all but 5 ml and 8 ml from her bottle during the two bottle feedings and was gavaged on the other two in hopes to save her strength.

Today at the 11 am feeding, she nursed really well and took 25 ml from me and 5 ml from the bottle. I think she was tuckered out because she had a lot of activity before the feeding. We got there about 10:20 and she was wide awake and was going to town on her pacifier, the first I have seen her do this. I am hoping the pacifier will help strengthen her ability to suck. The development team came and did an eval on her and she did everything very well except for the issue with her feet turning in. They gave us a couple of exercises to do with her little feet but they weren't too concerned but thought it was a good idea to ask for the exercises. Her bilirubin came down a bit to 10.4 so they will check it again tomorrow as they want it down more.

Little Miss D Update

Jonathan is back at Mimi's today to play with his friends and Nana and I went to the hospital to feed Diana for her 11 am feeding. She put in a good night but the trick of doing the gavage feeding one time and the bottle the next didn't really help her take any more from the bottle, still only doing about 20 ml. They raised her requirement again to 49 ml every 3 hours. She is putting on weight, now 5 lbs 7 oz, so that is why they keep raising her caloric intake. She seemed to be nursing well, was wide awake and sucking good but I had a feeling she was just "playing" and not really eating and I seemed to be right as she only took 10 ml from me in 20 minutes and then another 10 ml from the bottle. Her doctor, Rafi Mena, stopped in to take a look at her feet while I was feeding her and he told me "she is acting her age." She is still learning to suck and can't do more than one thing at once so I shouldn't get discouraged. I really like him and is always very calming and supportive, he was also in my surgery and been in charge of Diana since day one. So I am going to try and keep reminding myself that she isn't even supposed to be here yet and that she is only 35 weeks, so she is allowed to "act her age." Dr. Mena ordered a development consult to get some exercises to help straighten her feet out. Her bilirubin level was down today to 10.5 so she isn't under lights and they will check it again tomorrow.

Oxygen Monitor Off

Diana got her oxygen monitor off today as she has been able to control her breathing consistently for a few days now. One less cord to worry about when you are holding her. Now she only has one cord that monitors her heart rate, how many breaths she is taking in a minute, and blood pressure/pulse. She still has her feeding tube. We try to only hold her when it is time to feed her as she really needs to rest to build up her strength for eating. This has probably been the hardest thing, not being with her all the time and then not holding her as often as I would like. We also limit her being held by only 2 people at a time, the handing off back and forth really tires her out. They moved her feedings up to 48 ml every 3 hours now. I went and nursed her at 11 am and 5 pm today. We are going to weigh her every time now before and after I nurse her to see how much she is eating. At the 11 am feeding she took 15 ml from me but then only took about 10 ml from the bottle. At the 5 pm feeding she nursed really well in my opinion but the scale said she weighed the same so that is a tad frustrating. She was really wide awake at the 5 pm feeding and Brad noticed that her eyes are focusing better and they track together now. The nurse helped me feed her the bottle and got about 15 ml in her. She was having some tummy issues tonight and think that could have been part of the problem. Her bilirubin level was high today 11.5, she must be below 12 or they will put her under the lights. I thought she looked a little yellow today so they are checking it again tomorrow. The nurse is also going to ask for a development consult to come and give us some exercises to help straighten out her feet. Since Diana was breech the whole time, her feet turn in and although you can straighten them when you try, she doesn't do this on her own and it isn't getting any better over the past few days. We are also going to try tonight gavage feeding, through her tube, every other time and see if that helps give her strength to eat from the bottle.

Proud Big Brother

First Full Bottle

Diana's nurse, Karen, was able to get Diana to take a whole bottle (46 ml) on her own tonight. Karen said she had to burp her often and it took her 25 minutes but she was able to take the whole bottle, which is HUGE progress. Now Diana will just need to do this consistently.

Brad and I went back to the hospital for Diana's 8 pm feeding and got to witness her sponge bath. She was none too thrilled and we had not heard her scream like that before, she definitely has some lungs on her.

Mommy Home

Today we got to bring Mommy home!!!! Baby sister has to stay in the NICU until she eats better which is very hard on all of us to leave her there. Mommy has to go to see her at least twice a day to feed her so we will be visiting Diana often. Mommy will probably be writing on my blog now for both Diana and me and from her perspective for awhile.

I (Holly) had a reaction to the percocet (pain med) tonight and have taken myslef off of it. Hopefully I can manage the pain with just the motrin.

Diana Marie Weeks

Thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers, they all must have worked because we are all doing better than expected! Everyday gets better for me with my pain and aside from standing up and walking I am really not in much pain. I have a ton of staples in my stomach which are not fun but that is my only complaint, which is remarkable. I am no longer hooked up to anything and they think I should be able to go home tomorrow.

Diana is doing well and only has a feeding tube in. She is off all oxygen assistance, she is no longer under heat lamps and her IV has been taken out. She is doing GREAT feeding but she just tuckers out too quickly and they are holding her to pretty high standards of eating, 35 ml a feeding every 3 hours, so the feeding tube helps get the rest of her food in her belly. She has already nursed 3 times now and I am producing milk for her which I am very happy about. We don't know when she will be able to go home yet as she still needs more practice with the eating.

Big brother Jonathan is very proud of his sister and likes to kiss her on her head and "pet" her. He colored her a picture today which is now hanging on her wall near her crib.

Diana Marie Weeks was born at 1:18 pm on Wednesday May 11th. She weighed 5 lbs 13.5 ounces and was 19 inches long.

First Pictures of Diana

Jonathan Has Been Busy

While Mommy has been in the hospital, I have been very busy and spoiled by all of the people who have come to help us and stay with us.

Here I am pretending Nana's suitcase is a firetruck.
Here I am after I drew a picture of mommy, I just started drawing stick figures. You can't really tell but mommy has two "bumps" (i.e., circles) on her body. One is her belly with baby sister in it and the other circle is her "other bumps."

I like to pretend I am a nurse or doctor and check on mommy and baby almost every day I go to the hospital to visit them. The nurses/pca's even let me take mommy's actual vitals with their blood pressure cuff and thermometer. One day I even put baby sister on the non-stress test monitor all by myself...took out the monitoring pieces, plugged them in, turned the machine on, put gel on the one, put the monitors on mommy and found baby sister right away. The nurse came back in and was quiet impressed.

I LOVE BASEBALL! I don't like to use the tee anymore, I would rather have someone pitch to me. I am pretty good people keep telling me.

So Tired

Today I skipped my nap as I wanted to stay at the hospital with Mommy and see her friend Emily. Around 4:30 Daddy tried to have "quiet time" at the hospital while we watched the Red's but this was really hard for me. A little before 6 Daddy and I headed home and I fell asleep in the car probably within 5 minutes.