Day 39 - Two In A Row

Look at me go! 2 days in a row now. Heather had her thyroid surgery today (everything went great) so I went down and hung out with the baby for a little bit.

Day 38 - Bad Daddy

Okay, I've been REALLY bad about the updates this past week. I can't explain it, just been busy. My Mom is about to go crazy though so I thought I'd better get an update on here. Ryan has been growing like a weed lately. She's nearly 4 lbs. now! 3lbs. 14.5 oz to be exact. I talked to the nurse when I was in last night and she said she expected them to try and start feeding her from a bottle soon, possibly in the next week. She's starting to act like she wants to suck (while eating) so they've been giving her a pacifier along with her feedings to try and satisfy it. They probably would have given it a shot already but she still has a little bit of reflux so they're trying to hold off as long as possible. Thankfully we haven't had any big surprises from her so all I really get to do is post pictures and tell you how much she weighs. I hope it stays that way. Here are some pictures...newest on top...

Brooke saying "Hi" to her baby sister (Day 35)

Me and my girls! I'm in a little bit of shock, hence the scared stupid look on my face. (Day 35)

Brooke doing her scrub. We have to do this each time we go into the NICU. 2 Minutes each, finger tips to elbows with a surgical scrubber. Gotta keep those babies healthy!

A Big Girl Bed! Ryan is wearing clothes now and sleeping in a regular bed. No added heat other than 15 or 20 blankets and a hat. :)

Ryan laying on Heather - a good size reference - That's a regular newborn diaper swallowing her up (from Day 33)

(Day 33)

Just snoozing away (from last wed Day 32)

Day 31 - 1 MONTH!

Today Ryan is one month old! She weighed in at 3 lbs. 6.7 oz. tonight so she is progressing really well. They have been trying like crazy to get her off of the air but she can only maintain her breathing for a few hours before she starts desaturating and they have to put it back on. They have cut the flow in half so hopefully she'll get the hang of it and we'll have a mostly untethered baby soon.

It's hard to believe that it's been a month (well, 5 weeks really) since this all began. Time has REALLY flown by for us for obvious reasons. Hopefully the next 5 will go by just as quickly and we'll be close to bringing Ryan home!

I'm kind of a slow poke with updates now that I'm not hanging out in a hospital room everyday. Sorry about that. There are 3 new videos below that you can check out.

Day 30 - Big As A Bass

Ryan is 3 lbs. 5 oz. today! That makes her as big as most of these bass, which is sayin' something. Although I'm not sure what. My boss did tell me that I should take up fishing with everything that we've had going on. Maybe it's just on my mind. Anyway, she's been gaining about an ounce a day for the last several days and is looking great. She's really starting to fill out as you will see.

I snapped this quick video so you can see how her color has changed and she doesn't look quite so scrawny now.

Day 27 - Just A Quick Video

Not much to report today, just a quick video of the baby (in her new hat) and mom.

Day 24 - I Cheated

I had a little bit of catching up to do on the posts so there are a couple of new ones down there with pictures and video. Heather took her Mom down to meet the baby earlier today but they left the cameras in the car so I don't have any pictures to post. Good news though, Ryan made it to 3lbs. for the first time! The extra food is definitely helping but she's having a little bit of reflux so they are feeding her very slowly and basically non-stop for now. They also gave her a little bit of blood to help bring up her red cell count. She got the blood from her dear old Dad this time. I had done a directed donation last week so since they finally had my blood on hand they gave her some just as a precaution.

Day 23 - Room With A View

Ryan has a new room. She's old enough now so she can be in a room with windows. It looks out over the construction on the new main entrance to the hospital but it's nice to have some natural light in there. She still hanging around the same weight but it did creep up a little bit. She was 2 lbs. 13.7 oz. and is still getting her max on food. They were able to remove her PICC Line yesterday so she's only attached to her oxygen and the feeding tube now. Other than that not much has changed and we kind of like it that way. No more surprises please.

Day 21 - Bye Nanna

My Mom had to head back home today so we went by the hospital to see the baby before she left. Ryan is 2 lb. 13 oz. and is now at her max feeding (23 ml). She seems to be tolerating her food well so they will probably be taking her PICC line out soon. They were also planning on moving her to a new room this afternoon or this evening. She's "big" now so she gets to move to a room with a window. Here is a video from today. Toward the end of it you'll see Madi's hand pop in. It will give you a better idea of how small Ryan is when you see how Madi's little hand dwarfs her.

Day 19 - Big Girl Bed

Ryan got herself a new bed. Apparently she was getting too big for the Giraffe Bed so they have moved her up to the Ohio IC. I took a picture of it but it was way out of focus as you will see.

She weighed in today at 2 lbs. 12 oz. and is getting 18ml with each feeding. 23ml is her max so if she gets to that point and is still tolerating her feedings well then they will remove her PICC Line and go only on her food. That could happen within the next few days. Oh yeah, she also graduated to a bigger pacifier which apparently she loves even though it is almost the same size as her face.

Oh, and Ryan wanted to say "Happy Halloween" to everyone too.

Day 17 - Heading Home

Heather was finally paroled from the hospital today so we went down to see Ryan before we left. Not much has changed since we were down there last night other than they are still bumping her food up every 12 hours. It's a good sign because it means she's digesting well and of course she should continue to gain weight. Our friend Julie made a little hat for her so that she won't have to wear that giant yellow one again (hopefully). She's wearing it in the video today. Oh, and if you're wondering what the red light is on her foot (from the other videos), it's her O2 sensor. I'm not sure if it's pre-programmed to turn on her check engine light at 50,000 miles but I'll let you know.

Day 16 - What Happened to Day 15?

I did go down and see Ryan yesterday but it was kind of late so I didn't want to bug her. She was snoozing away quietly so I let her sleep. Today however, Heather and I went down and she was WIDE awake! She is still doing well with her feedings and they continue to increase her 1cc every 12 hours. She has been gaining weight again and as of tonight was beyond her birth weight. She weighed in today at a hefty 2 lbs. 11 oz.! Before we know it she'll be the 20 lb. baby that people dream about, right Reba?!?! There are a couple of good videos here where you get to see her doing more than just peeking out of the corner of her eye.

Day 14 - Caption This!

My brother had a pretty good idea so I thought I'd run with it. Post a caption to this photo (in the comments) and we can all have a good laugh. Post as often as you like.

Day 14 - Moms Turn

Well, the baby is still sitting tight at 2 lbs. 7 oz., nothing has changed with her air and they are increasing her feeding to 7ml. The BIG news of the day was that Heather finally got to go down and hold the baby for the first time. The only hat the nurse could find was a giant yellow one. It served the purpose but kind of made the baby look like that one guy on the Fat Albert cartoons. Anyway, it was really cool and I was glad that Mom and baby could finally get some up close time.

Day 13 - A Good Long Look

Not much has changed with Ryan. It's the usual air-on air-off for now. That will probably go on for a while as she grows and gets better about her breathing. She's also staying steady at 2 lbs. 7 oz. but they did increase her food intake overnight and she's tolerating it well. The video I got isn't anything earth shattering but everyone seems to like them so I thought I'd post a good long one.

Day 12 - Ready for the Road

Ryan is doing great today. She's off the nasal cannula again and hasn't missed a breath so far. They increased her feedings to 3ml every 3 hours and if she's still tolerating it well then they will bump it up to 4ml overnight tonight. She weighed in at 2 lb. 7 oz. today so there was a tiny weight gain. My mom came into town last night and was able to come to the hospital today for a short visit. I feel sure it won't be her last. :)

I have no good explanation for this picture other than perhaps she's seen me drive.

Day 11 - Say Cheese

Ryan was either in a really good mood today or really gassy. She was smiling an awful lot. I'm thinking gassy. They got back to feeding her again. She's getting 2ml of formula every three hours and still holding at 2 lb. 6 oz. The nasal cannula is still on to force a little bit of air into her lungs and keep that apnea under control.

I took a quick screen capture of Ryan's toes sitting on the end of my finger. As you can see, all five of them fit right there.

While I was visiting I was able to hold her for the first time. The nurse snapped a quick video of it for me.