Temptation Island

Uncle Matt giggles after being caught trying to sample Siena's supper.

:)

Uncle Matt . . . you don't do that.

Pretty in Pink

I shared with the nurse tonight that I know that it is the week-to-week weight gain that matters the most, but it is very hard not to get caught up in the day-to-day measurements.

Siena is now maintaining her temperature independently. She is still in an isolette, but on open air mode. This means we got to dress her for the first time. She looked so cute in her pink preemie outfit. She was swimming in it b/c it is too big for her even though it is a preemie outfit. Also, the pic line came out today. The first thing we noticed when we saw Siena today was that the night nurse put a bow that is actually tied in Siena's hair - so cute!!


Uncle Matt is visiting and held Siena for the first time.



The boys are still whooping it up in Delaware with their cousins and Dre spent the day at the hospital with Siena. While there, she met another mom who's son was born at 24 weeks on Sunday weighing 1# 10ozs. Today, he is down to 1#6ozs, which has the mom very anxious and concerned. Dre spent some time listening and encouraging like all of you who have been following our blog and praying with us everyday. Dre had been a very dedicated follower of Kenyon's blog, who is thriving over 2 1/2 years after being born 16 weeks premature. She shared some of his challenges and blessings to give the mom hope. In addition to the time Dre spent with this Mom, she also shared her lunch from Wendy's with the woman.

Settling in for Bedtime

Siena is notorious for pulling her tubes and wires off!

Another Great Day

What can I say about today? It was wonderful!

Although I miss our boys (they went to visit their cousins & Aunt Lisa & Uncle Dan in Delaware-thank you, thank you!! ) I got to spend some amazing time with Siena today. I arrived at Riverside around 10:30 and immediately got to "kangaroo" with her (basically that is just her laying on my chest). It is great for a number of reasons, but I will spare listing all of the medical benefits and just say that it was wonderful to hold her so close.... pretty much all day. She woke up to eat and then would go right back to sleep on me. Pretty much a dream come true after the crazy 9 days we have had. In addition to cuddling with Siena, I had a consult with a lactation consultant (I love those women!) and was able to successfully nurse twice today!! I never imagined last Tuesday that this would be possible so fast!! She is quite a superstar, let me tell you. Not only is she so strong... but she is smart too! Some other firsts... the nurse let me take Siena's temperature, and after Siena ate I burped her (who knew you could burp such a tiny baby?). We also are comfortable enough now to take her out and put her in her isolette all by ourselves. What a day!!

No big weight gain (5 grams) so she is still 2 lbs 9 oz, but not a loss so that is good. They upped her feedings to 19 ml so she will start putting on the weight soon. Thank you everyone for your continued prayers and kind words.

The Breast is the Best

WOW - what a great day for Siena!!!

Let's start with the fact that she gained 73 grams and weighs 2lbs-9oz!!!

Her feedings have increased to 15ml from 12ml. That's not really a big deal . . . the big deal is that they took the feeding tube out of her mouth and threaded it through her nose to stomach because she accepted two bottle feedings today. It is only a matter of time before that tube is out all together.

Tonight, Little Miss Siena nursed from Mom for the first time and did great. I tried to take video and pictures to share Siena's first breast feeding with all of you, but Dre and the Nurse Practitioner (i.e.: NNP) quickly put a stop to that. Dre's response was, "Shhhaaaaayynne!!!!!" The NNP said something like, "Uh, uh, uh, ummmm, Uh . . . " :P Of course the lens cap was on and the camera was off, but they didn't notice that at first glance. Ha, ha, ha, ha!!!

Seriously though, Dre was very patient and when I heard her giggle when everything was "going right" . . . it just made me well-up to hear the pride and happiness in her.

We followed the nursing activity with a bottle feeding to ensure that she had enough to satiate her growing appetite. I got the joy of my first bottle feeding with Siena and then changed her diaper.

Yes, there are pictures: none of Dre breast feeding, but there are some pictures of Siena drinking from a bottle. One of us will try to upload pics tomorrow because it is too late tonight.

Clarifying Hospital Details

Previously, I blogged about a St. Ann's maternity commercial, which has lead to some confusion. Andrea delivered Siena at Riverside Hospital. My comment about St. Ann's was strictly limited as a reference to their maternity advertising.

Is the confusion a big deal? I'd say not really.

However, I need to clarify this detail because the nurses that cared for Dre and Siena are Awesome and deserve props. The nurses in Labor and Delivery to Postpartum were so nurturing, attentive, and fun. The NICU staff has been great, too. They gave us calm and encouragement when everything seemed uncertain and unnerving.

A special and heartfelt thank you goes to all the nursing staff.

An Almost Perfect Night

It was a great evening. A mom from the MOMS Club brought an excellent dinner for us today and the four of ate together. Braydon shared some of his new and expanding vocabulary with words such as "actually", "automatically", and a couple others that are too big for me. Brody pretended to be Cookie Monster with his oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. However, his hair is getting long and he looks more like Animal from the Muppets. I got the boys ready for bed and spent about 30 minutes with each of them individually, first with Brody and then with Braydon. We read and discussed the day and hopes for tomorrow.

Dre went to visit Siena this morning and the report was that she is doing well. I went up tonight after the boys went to bed and fell asleep. The report is the same. The nurses and nurse practitioner talked about how tiny, mature, and beautiful she is. The pic line may be coming out in fewer days than attempts it took to get it in her. They may try to initiate bottle/nursing soon. Also, she is getting close to coming out of the isolette and being introduced to an open air crib. They never give exact timelines for these things, but all indications are pointing to new milestones and strong progress.

Aaaaahhhh, my little girl is just growing up so fast! :)

My time with Siena was so precious tonight. I held her close for awhile and chatted with her about her day and my day. We read some of the boys favorite books together like, "Guess How Much I Love You", "Wheels on the Bus", "Tumble Bumble", "Moo, Baa, La, La, La", "Sheep in a Jeep", and Precious Moments "My First Book of Catholic Prayers". Part of the time she had her eyes open and looked around and part of the time she was snoozing away. She felt so perfect nuzzled in my arms as we lounged back together.

Tonight was almost perfect . . . a wonderful family dinner, a relatively calm bedtime with the boys, and special evening of 1:1 time with Siena. I know I'm being greedy, but it will be perfect when she is at home with us.

Our Tough Girl

I saw Miss Siena this morning and she looked great. She is off the lights again which means her jaundice is better and it means that we can hold her as much as we want!! Her weight is up to 2 lbs 6 oz (an oz above her birth weight so we'll take it). Hopefully she can gain an oz a day. They have upped her feedings a little which is good. The nurse commented today on how strong she is. She has never seen a baby tear out their feeding tube over and over like Siena. She also likes to take her probes off. As the nurse was getting her out of her isolette (spelling?) Siena grabbed and was pulling her pager thing that all of the staff wears around their neck. I commented that Siena is like the Incredible Hulk. And the nurse responded that she isn't "like" the Incredible Hulk, she "IS" the Incredible Hulk! She is definitely making things rough on the nurses that have to keep her in line. She is turning into quite a little rebel. And to think she use to be so sweet :-)

Today, the nurse talked to me about bringing in a first photo outfit so that was very exciting. Once she gets a little bigger and can hold her own body temperature they will put her in an open air bed and we can start dressing her in all of the sweet preemie outfits that we have received. I can't wait to finally start dressing up my little girl!!

I am including a picture that we took last night. As we were walking away, she obviously was not happy with us. I promise this photo isn't photoshopped.

Monday's Visit

We had a very nice visit tonight. Thank you to Aunt Tiffy for hanging out with the boys so we could sneak away after bedtime. Siena was awake and alert most of the time, despite all of these sleepy photos. I am keeping my fingers crossed that we do not get all of the snow that is predicted so that we can make it to Riverside to visit. The thought of missing a day with her is pretty painful.

The boys and their babies

While waiting in the waiting room during one of our visits the boys received a bag with all kinds of goodies, including their own babies so that they could practice being big brothers to a preemie. They were very excited! Thank you to Ann at the Riverside NICU for thinking of them.

Monday's Update

First day with the boys. Shayne was going to work from home.... maybe I should have let him. I don't know why I thought they would be totally into naptime today since I am on the mend. I mean Bray seems so concerned about the cut on my belly. Not so. I guess naptime is naptime, regardless of how mommy is feeling. Anyway, here is the latest on Siena. When Shayne called the nurse said that Siena is having a very good day.

• The Children's Hospital Pic team came over and got the line in through her right leg on the first try.
• Her weight is down 4 grams, but still over her birth weight
• Feedings are at 9ml
• She is back on Photo-therapy. They look for the number to be less than 8 and she registered 8.1. It is quite a jump from her 3.1 measurement on 1/24 but that is common and nothing to be alarmed about.

Day 5- Good to be home with my boys

So the first thing Bray does when he sees me this morning is sing "You are my sunshine...." Very sweet. He obviously missed me and is being overly nice. After his song he asks if the cut on my belly is all healed up and wants to see it. This kid is relentless.

After a nice dinner at Bob Evans, compliments of Grandma & Grandpa Barnhart, we went to Riverside together. The boys waited with dad in the waiting room while I was able to spend some quiet time with Siena. She slept as I held her and it wasn't until the nurse put her back that she woke up. It made it even harder to leave since she was now awake and alert and it reminded me of how the boys were always the most playful in the evenings right when we would be ready for bed. I really just wanted to stay there and watch her all night but I know the more sleep that she gets, the better. Same can be said for the boys and once again we were pushing them way beyond their bedtimes.

Tomorrow will be the first day without Grandma Barnhart here. Wish me luck!

Day 5 - Update

Siena is doing really well. Her sugar levels were much more stable. Her feedings have increased to 9ml from 6ml. And . . . . drum roll . . . her weight is greater than her birth weight! We recognize that her weight is going to fluctuate but she is progressively gaining and that is a positive.

For the past couple days the doctor has been unsuccessfully trying to place a pic line, which is an IV that goes directly into a major artery and is a more permanent and long term solution from a traditional IV. Once they get that figured out she will be more comfortable and it should increase her ability to take larger feedings.

Thank you!

It has been a great blessing to have a great support system around us. We cannot thank everyone enough for their help, thoughts and prayers, voicemails, emails, messages, dinners, gifts, flowers, visits to the hospital, etc.

Thank you to the Hilliard MOMS Club North for everything. Your meals, visits, and calls are much appreciated. You've brought a lot of comfort and encouragement to Dre.

Thank you to Grandma Barnhart for staying with us while Dre was on bed rest and in the hospital. Our boys are a handful and it is tough to keep them from spontaneously combusting when housebound for an extended period of time.

Thank you Tiffy for all the running around you did for us and for your help and support at the hospital.

Thank you to our friends like John Schoger, Shannon Price, and everyone else who shared our experience with others and asked others to keep us in their prayers. Dre's brother was sharing with a co-worker that he was going to visit his sister who delivered a preemie. The coworker commented that he had a friend who's babysitter just delivered a preemie . . . turns out that my brother-in-law and the coworker were talking about the same person.

Thank you to everyone in the family who has been staying in touch to offer your prayers and support. We apololgize if we have fallen behind in responding to some of your messages.

Thank you to those of you who have reached out to us through facebook and the blog.

We can't fully express our appreciatation and we feel very fortunate to have all of you with us. Thank you!

Some Humor with the Nurses

So Dre tells the Nurse that I am such a great help when she has to pump. I get the pump ready, I manage all the lableing, I wash the bottles, and I track and record her pumping times and volumes.

The nurse was so impressed. I humbly respond that I do the best I can to be a support. Dre replies that she thinks that I missed my calling and would be a great lactation consultant. The nurse pats me on the shoulder and concurs. To which I tell them both, "Well, I do like looking at boobies."

I know - it's crude, but they were the ones saying that I should be a male lactation consultant.

Coming Home, but not a Homecoming

We left the hospital at 7:30 PM tonight. It was great to see the boys and they were very happy to see us. First thing Braydon says, "Mommy, how come you waited to come home so late?" Even our dog Daisy seemed excited to see us return home. I'm particularly looking forward to sleeping in our own bed.

Oh ya, the second thing Braydon said to Mommy, "Can I see the cut on your belly; is it all better?" . . . Ummmmmm, uuhhhhhh, welllll, maybe tomorrow, Braydon. So what do you think? Is he going to forget about it? Nah, I don't think so. I'm curious how many times Dre can change the subject, make up an excuse, or dodge the question before he pins her down . . . this is going to be entertaining to watch. :P Dre tells me that she hasn't really looked at it, yet.

It was hard to say "see ya later, Siena." It was sad to leave at the same time as other couples who were happy and excited to go home with their new family member. The other side of the coin is that in several weeks, we'll parade out of NICU happy to take our baby home while other parents are just settling in with the same state of joy mixed with fear, uncertainty, and sadness that we feel. When that time comes I will leave happy, but with such great compassion and soulful prayers for our NICU neighbors.

Don't be mistaken, though. Today was a very good day. Siena's jaundice has cleared up, she is eating more, her sugars are more stable, Dre had the chance to cuddle with Siena for over an hour, and we got to go home and kiss our boys good night. That is a great day!

Day 4 - Update

Siena is doing well. She was diagnosed jaundice about 36 hours ago and she had UV lamps over her to help. During that time we haven't been been able to hold her, which has been difficult. This morning the lamps came off and she is doing better.

Dre will get to go down during Siena's next nursing care session to hold Siena belly-to-belly, skin-t0-skin - called Kangarooing - which is good for nurturing development and mother daughter bond. The cuddle session will be as good for Dre as it is for Siena.

The doctor is going to increase Siena's feeding volume to 6ml from 4ml. The goal is to get her to 18ml per feeding. Siena is having a hard time keeping her blood sugars normalized and the doctors are considering some different options to help keep her comfortable and maintain stable blood sugars.

Siena loves to lay on her belly!

Miracle Birth

St. Ann's Hospital advertises that at their hospital, "It's not just a birth, it's a Miracle." Dre had previously always said that she doesn't want miracles when she delivers, she just wants routine. What I realized after this experience is that St. Ann's is right. Every delivery is a Miracle. It is a miracle when everything goes right and delivery is just "routine". And thank God for our miracle when pregnancy, labor, and delivery wasn't routine!

Braydon and Brody were born without complications. The cumulative labor and delivery time between the two boys was probably less than 10 hours.

Siena was on pace to follow suit. Week 32, Friday, Jan 9: Dre's OB performs a routine ultrasound that yields less than routine results. Siena's measurments indicated that she weighed approximately 2# 6ozs. She should be measuring 4#. The next week and one half is a blur of follow up appointments with the high risk perinatologists, Dre is put on bed rest, and Siena receives steroid shots to encourage lung development in case of emergency induction.

Week 34, Monday, Jan 19: we are eating dinner and Dre says she is mentally prepared to be have an emergency induction on Friday. Tuesday, Jan 20: Dre goes to the doctor for a routine non-stress test. They take her blood pressure, 166/101 and before she has the the non-stress test they send her to Labor & Delivery at the hospital. Nope, neither of us were mentally prepared for this.

We go into Triage around 11 AM. Ultrasounds show that there is almost no amniotic fluid in the placenta. Labor is induced, a semi-emergency c-section is decided, and Siena is born at 9 PM.

It was amazing, scary, and miraculous . . . Siena came out in the doctor's one hand with a gasp. The placenta followed in the other hand and the the doctor declares, "I don't even know how this baby is alive! It's really a miracle!"

The placenta was 40% calcified, which means that 40% of the placenta was dead. The plancenta is an extension of the baby that provides bloodflow, nutrition, and protection from toxins and it was just barely doing more than half the work that it was supposed to in order to sustain Siena. Yet, Siena was born breathing independently from the start. She weighed 2# 5ozs. She measured 14" and some change.

In one hand looking at the dead placenta I got a clear vision of the fraility of human life. In the other hand I saw the magnificent and miraculous blessing of God and his gift of resiliency in Life.

Presenting Siena Rose!

Siena is tugging on her ear just like her two big brothers do.


My wedding ring on Siena's wrist.

Siena's diapers are just barely larger than a credit card.

About this blog

This blog is about our family and our new journey together. Our journey as a family started 4 years ago with the birth of Braydon, continued with Brody, and is now joined with the newest addition, Siena Rose.

Siena was born on Jan 20, 2009 @ 9PM. The reason we feel compelled to start this blog is because while the our first two boys were routine pregnancy and deliveries, Siena was everything but that. Siena was born the first day of week 34 of the pregnancy. She weighed 2# 5oz - the size of a 27 week old.

We are so blessed to have Siena with us. Beyond that, we have had such great support from friends and family. Dre and I have tried to stay in touch and promptly return phone calls and emails over the last few days. We will use the blog to help provide updates as well as an ongoing journal to share with Siena and her brothers.