Hiccups and Weight Loss

One of the interesting things about Siena (maybe all babies?) is that her hiccups seem as loud and powerful as mine, but she gets them about 3-4 times/day and she weighs 1/30th as much as I do. When she hiccups, she really feels it. She'll even wake herself up with hiccups sometimes. Weird stuff. In this video, Sam is capturing some of Siena's precious daytime awakeness (she's a night owl, so we enjoy times when she's rowdy during the day!).




Siena went for her two week check-up on Monday. The doctor weighed her and she topped the scales at 5 lbs, 14 oz. She was born at 6 lb., 2 oz., and they wanted her back to her birth weight by now. She has grown 1.5 inches (19.5 now), but she really needs to fatten up. So... we have to go to the doc on Thursday to weigh in again. Sam has been nursing up a storm, but, unfortunately, this video clip shows something that could devestate her weight gain aspirations...

Cotton Mouth

"Cotton mouth" is something I occasionally get in the middle of a soccer or basketball games when I'm dehydrated and tired out. I've even gotten it before giving my closing argument at a jury trial. If you don't know the feeling, it is like your salivary glands turn into miniature Shop-vacs that dry your mouth out completely. Your tongue is difficult to separate from your teeth and the sides of your mouth. It's horrible.

Siena experienced her first case of cotton mouth on Sunday evening. Justin Smith held her for the first time and she immediately latched on to his well-developed pectoral muscles, which were covered with his thin, cotton t-shirt. This clip captures the tail-end of the wannabe nursing sesh... it was hilarious... but maybe you just had to be there:



We had a great time with our Bible study group tonight... looking into what the Bible says about giving. In the spirit of giving, we allowed others to hold Siena a little bit. Among the first-time holders was Siena's Uncle Richie:



Here are a few more bonus pics of Siena before bedtime:





Ni-night.

Church, Blow-out, and Swimming in Onesie

Here we are at Siena's first church service. We were at First Baptist Church in Davis. In keeping with her high level of "holiness," she stayed awake for most of it. It was a packed house this morning, so we sat in a room behind the main sanctuary, which was good because she got a little feisty at times. She appreciated all of the attention afterward... her smallness makes her an easy target for baby-lovers.



After church, we went to Chipotle with the Smiths and Jarvi. There, we saw the Taylors, Gladdings, Jeff Boulware (and friends), and a few other people we knew. We headed from Chipotle to Mother and Baby Source, in downtown Davis. While walking around the store, Sam handed Siena to me and we noticed a brown, wet spot on her pants. I immediately handed her back to Sam before we could make a positive identification of the suspicious substance. Sure enough, she had blown out of her diaper, through her onesie, and through her sweatpants. It was a legit blow-out, and we came home immediately. Here is some footage of the devastation...



After the clean-up operation, we put on a onesie that the Biggs family had given us. It was easier than normal to put on Siena, because it was so big on her. At least she has room to grow!




Last on the agenda today... it's Bethany's 28th birthday! We're looking forward to celebrating with them at a dinner tonight. More opportunities for Luke to warm-up to Siena... should be fun! :)

Wake-up Call

Siena seems to think that sleeping the day away is a good idea. This has resulted in her being a little restless at night, when we are trying to sleep. Someone has to give. And, unfortunately for Siena, it isn't going to be her parents. To reverse this alarming pattern, I have initiated Operation Wake-up Call. This is a glimpse into what that entails... (with a little too much camera time for my chin):




We had some Woodlander love tonight. The Ganyos brought some tasty chicken soup for dinner and let me play "Sniper" - meaning I threw a big Swiss ball at 4 year-old Hayden Ganyo as he sprinted across the lawn. He would go flying when I hit him. This game ended in tears (his, not mine), but I'm pretty sure we both had a blast... no pun intended.

Later tonight, we went to Justin and Natalie Smith's house (in Woodland) and watched Leatherheads. I don't recommend it, unless you like sleeping through movies. It was great hanging with them, though. Natalie had fun holding Siena, but Justin isn't ready for that kind of commitment. Watch...

Her Holiness

Quick update: We got a call from the cardiologist today, who informed us that there were not two holes in Siena's little heart... there are three! Ugghh... nothing is too big for God, though... especially a baby-sized heart. :) Parenting can be stressful... but when we get to stop and think, it's really joyful. And we're so thrilled to have such solid families and so many good friends who can give support when the going gets rough and encourage us when we're frustrated..

Speaking of friends/family...

- We were very thankful for some grubbin' tortilla soup and Caesar salad from the Ludwicks for dinner tonight. I'm sure Taylor had a big part in the preparation (thanks Kelly). :) It hit the spot.

- Siena was very happy to receive a special gift from her friend in San Diego. Kindall Keefer made a blanket in high school, which she gave to Siena. Kevin and Melissa (Keefer parents) brought it over, even though Kevin told Kindall she should keep it for her future babies. Thanks Kindall! Kevin also promised to buy her some cool Adidas shoes when she gets big enough to wear them (because he says we're too frugal). We're holding him to that, with Melissa's help. :) And Siena is looking forward to hanging with Kindall when she comes home...

- Grandma Nicholson and 2/3 of Sam's siblings, Andy and Katie, came up today and allowed Sam to take a nap. Thank you! This nursing thing makes for a brutal sleep pattern. No more REM sleep! They also brought a game with them: Carcassonne. It was fun... a lot like Settlers.

- We are looking forward to when the Sorbello grandparents and Richie and Bethany Armstrongs (and Big Luke) get their health back and can visit. I think Siena misses them, but it's hard to understand her speech still. :) We're all looking forward to seeing Luke interact with Siena... it has serious cuteness potential.

- Our friends Peter and Katy Nelson had their baby tonight! Riley Kaleo Nelson may be a good hubby for Siena someday. Gotta start thinking about this stuff early. :)

That's about all... no pictures from today, because I went back to work... more later!

Holy Baby!

Don't you just love those bumper stickers that proclaim the greatness of the driver's above-average kids? We are submitting a design for a new bumper sticker: "Our Baby Is Holier Than Yours." Because it's probably true. Siena went to her cardiologist appointment today and was diagnosed with two small ventricular septal defects (VSDs) and a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA... not THAT kind). In real-talk, the VSDs are "holes in the heart" and the PDA is a heart duct that didn't close properly after birth - probably due to Siena's prematurity.

(Sidenote: Doesn't it sound weird for Siena to have a cardiologist appointment? I thought only old people had those... apparently not!)

Well, Siena was a good girl at her appointment today. She kept her squirming to a minimum while the technician (Albert) did his thang. It reminded Sam and me of an earlier ultrasound, when we saw Siena for the first time.

Regarding the holes in Siena's heart, we have some follow-up stuff to do with the cardiologists, but Dr. Woo said there is a chance that all of the holes will close on their own. We'd like that a lot.

Tonight, Siena enjoyed hanging out with her "Cousin Dan" (really, her "First-Cousin-Once-Removed Dan," but that doesn't have much of a ring to it). While we enjoyed a delicious dinner prepared and delivered by Aunt Bethany, Siena had her first emotional breakdown, and her crying was nice and loud. We consider it a good lung workout. And, maybe it will help those holes close.

Meanwhile, Siena's holy heart doesn't seem to be affecting her. Here she is after commandeering our Cal King bed... :)

Good night to all! Keep the prayers a rollin' if you're that type! :)

Pro Chiller

Siena's average day at home is brutal. She sleeps for approximately 21 hours/day, nurses for three, and poops whenever she feeeels like it. She is fun to rile up, though. My job, because I can't nurse, is to get her excited about nursing. I've unwrapped her from her cozy blankets, given motivational talks, and forced her to do calisthenics and low-impact aerobics, with minimal success. The great thing about having a preemie like Siena is that we get to share an extra month of life with her. Most parents aren't so lucky. :)

Here's what's going on in Siena's world (it's her world, we just live in it)... Like her car seat, her little crib isn't little enough... so she's been sleeping in bed with us. Sadly (but cutely), she sleeps best on Sam's chest while Sam's trying to get her to nurse.



























Here I am doing my best to wake her up and keep her up. Not only does she look like her mama, she is ticklish like her mama! :)






























Here is a picture of us doing exercises to wake up...






























Great success! She's ready to nurse!





























Jen (and JJ) Jarvis came over Sunday afternoon to give us a present and practice her cuddle skills (she is due in April).



















Sam's parents also have been very helpful these past few days, which is especially nice because Shiloh's family is quarantined with a cold/flu of some kind. Dennis accomplished some major tasks on our to-do list around the house (thanks!). And here is Chris holding her first grandbaby... Siena is obviously quite comfortable.





























Siena lounging in Grandma Chris's arms...





















Some pictures of our sleeping Siena...






















































The look of INTENSITY... or of dropping a hot one.



















When Dennis wasn't working... he had his turn holding Siena.

Asleep with Grandpa Dennis...



































And, here is Siena's "stink-eye" look... don't mess with her.

Home Is Where the Baby Is...

Well, we made it out of the NICU after our one week adventure. We learned many important things during our stay:

• how to burp babies
• what meconium is - it may be the real origin of the phrase "tar baby" because you could make roads with the stuff if you had enough of it
  
• how to make a "baby burrito"
• what a heart murmur is
• how to nurse - not so valuable for me, but valuable for the ladies in my life
• what "Strep B" is
• where Davis PD motorcycle cops like to hide to catch people (eastbound Russell, west of 113)
• the hilarity of watching a milk coma victim
  
• how to change diapers (Sam already knew)
• the importance of putting the next diaper under the one you're about to take off - I averted a disaster once with this newfound knowledge
  
• 60 ml. of milk can be a great meal, depending on your size
  
• there is nothing sadder than a grieving parent who lost a little one
  
• good nurses can tell you bad news and make it feel okay
• other nurses can tell you good news and make you frustrated
• nurses seem to do everything at the hospital, while doctors give rubber stamps
• nurses who "teach" and "talk" are more helpful than nurses who only "do"
  
• our family and friends are the best
  
• hospital juice boxes are tasty - and the jello isn't as bad as people say
• a baby's cry can be very satisfying
• Sam looks beautiful even after popping out a baby
• all hospital rooms should be required to have ESPN - the last room we were in didn't have it, for some reason, and Sam almost cried (oh wait... that was me)
• umbilical cords are hard to cut, but would be fun toys
• hospital "security" isn't secure
• the best thing about a hospital stay is leaving with everything/everyone you came with
  

I could go on... but I'll spare you. I should note that our relationship with the nurse we had a hard time with this week was much improved by the end of our stay. Initial miscommunication was the problem, and it felt good to make things right by the end.

Going home never felt so good...




Before leaving, Siena had to get her hearing checked... she looked like she was rocking out. Her ears work (phew!), so I don't have to learn sign language... seriously, that was my biggest concern... I'm so selfish.



















Sam and Siena both look happy that the end of our stay is in sight...

































Siena is swimming in her car seat... she's too small for it!

































A nurse teaching us how to strap Siena into her throne...




















Sam chillaxin' with Siena at home... so peaceful.

































Mom Nicholson holding Baby for the first time... but looking like a pro... because she is. :)

Unknown Murmurings...

Today's adventure started at 11:15 when we entered the NICU to feed Siena and saw our not-favorite nurse bottle-feeding her (with Sam's pre-pumped milk). She was scheduled to nurse at 11:30, but the nurse said she was grumpy and seemed hungry. She didn't know whether we were coming to feed at 11:30 so she started early. Not cool. We are trying to train Siena to like nursing and bottles spoil her. We didn't know why the nurse didn't call us (they have our cell phone numbers handy), but we didn't make a big deal about it and just bit our lips. Mine is still bleeding, obviously. Enough of that. The other nurses have been great about encouraging nursing and our involvement in her care.

The nurse told us that Dr. Woo would be wanting to speak with us about a test she wanted to do on Siena. We were on edge, wondering what else might be wrong with little Siena. I peeked at the computer the nurse was working on and saw the word "murmur" and figured that Siena had a heart murmur. About 30 minutes later, Dr. Woo came into the nursery and confirmed that, saying that they had detected a murmur ("sounded like a loud jet") that morning and we would need to have a cardiologist do an echocardiogram on Siena early this week. This doesn't mean she can't come home with us, but it was alarming nonetheless.

The heart murmur could be significant (requiring surgery) or it could be minor ("innocent") and heal naturally. Only a cardiologist can make that call after looking at the echocardiogram. Thankfully, we can do that at an out-patient appointment and we're still set to take Siena home tomorrow afternoon. We're excited that both sets of grandparents will be here tomorrow evening to coo and cuddle over her.

Here are some pictures from today:

On a walk with Dad/Mom/Sarah Sorbello at a cute park near the hospital...

The creek has crawdads, tadpoles, and frogs... Dad caught one! What a stud! (note: He also proved to us on the walk in the park that he could still do cartwheels!)

Sarah was not doing cartwheels... she isn't a huge fan of walks, in general. :)

Kissy-kissy... she is so soft and delicate.

Sam with Siena after nursing and drinking from the bottle... it doesn't take a doctor to diagnose Baby with a serious case of milk coma.

This is a close-up of our milk coma victim...

Milk comas are so cool that they make you smile involuntarily...

Family picture taken by Mary, one of our very favorite (for real) nurses... Sam likes to blink in pictures. :)

We're hoping and praying that Siena will be homeward bound tomorrow! We love our little squirt.

Thursday & Friday at the Hospital

Here are some pictures from Thursday and Friday. Videos are lost on the broken Flip Mino. :(

Thursday:

Family portrait #2. We're so proud of our unicorn!

She's a good eater...when she's not sleeping.

Daddy has the magic touch.

She loves her pacifier.


Cute little sucker.

Didn't get the actual IV removal - it took a few hours to get the tape unstuck from her soft little hair and skin.

Friday:

Lots of sleep time for this little burrito.

Sticky pads still on her face in case O2 needs to go back on.


Meeting Cousin Dan for the first time!


Snuggling with Siena


Sportin' a new outfit from Bubba. :)

Excited to be in Bubba's arms. :) :)

Favorite picture of the day.

Bye-bye Courtesy Bed

Well, Siena is still in the ICU. But Sam is home. She had been discharged on Tuesday, but they allowed her to remain in a courtesy bed at the hospital. This set-up enabled her to drop off her milk (freshly pumped), visit Siena at her leisure, and be there for almost every feeding. They even gave her food. Basically, the nurses were not responsible for Sam anymore, and she could do anything she wanted. It was glorious.

It is hard being 30 minutes away from Siena. Leaving the hospital without our baby isn't what we had imagined, but hopefully she will be leaving with us on Sunday. In the meantime, we will get a good sleep tonight and get to the hospital for the 8:30 feeding tomorrow morning. Siena eats/sucks every three hours, so in between our times with her we will probably hang out at Uncle Richard and Aunt Robin's house in Sacramento - reading, watching TV, twirling our fingers until we can go back for the next feeding. That way we won't have to drive to and from the hospital endlessly. Thanks to them for the offer!

For Siena to escape from custody in the NICU, she will need to put on some pounds. Sam was encouraging her today by telling her that this is one of the few times in her life where she will be force-feeding to try to put on weight. She entered the world on Sunday at 6 lbs., 2 oz. and she is down to 5 lbs., 13 oz. She should start putting on weight soon, because Mom's milk is 1,000 times better than the sugar water she had been getting.

Nursing is going well. She usually spends 20ish minutes nursing and then supplements it with milk from the bottle. The biggest problem with Siena's nursing skills is that Sam makes her feel so comfortable that she likes falling asleep instead of sucking down the milk. It's a good start, though, and the skin-to-skin contact is good, at least.

Another reminder of how appreciative we are of Siena's improving health: one of Siena's neighbors in the NICU died this morning. He was born at 24 weeks and was the tiniest little guy I've ever seen. His legs were about the size of my pointer fingers and he couldn't have weighed much more than a pound. He was born the same day as Siena, and it was very sad to see his parents embracing in the hallway after we heard a "Code Red" call over the loudspeakers. The mom wasn't crying anymore, and the dad was doing his best to hold it together while comforting mama. We were told by our nurse that babies born that young usually can live for a few days (with serious mechanical help and the nutrients they have stored from their mom), but most can't sustain themselves for very long. Though I said hi to the parents a few times in the nursery over the past week, I had no idea what to say to them this morning. So sad!

On a cheery note, we enjoyed gifts from Bethany today, along with visits from Mom Sorbello ("Grammy/Bubba"), Cousin/Uncle Dan Pleau, and the Ganyo gaggle.

In sum, we were seriously bummed to leave Siena at the hospital, but we know she is in good hands. And we will be able to take her home soon, God willing.

We took a couple of fun videos tonight before we left, but our Flip Mino (video camera) seems to have fried. Mouth-to-lens resuscitation has not worked to this point... more still photos will be coming in the next installment.

Pirate, Starbucks, and Tape Head

Today was great. We saw many tangible signs of progress. She is now breathing normal air - no oxygen supplementation or nose tubes will be needed after tomorrow, it looks like. She has been taken off all antibiotics and sugar-water, which means that the ugly syringe popping out of her forehead is out (as of late tonight).

Also, we are coming to see a different side to the saying, "There's a sucker born every minute." Siena is finally able to drink Sam's milk (out of a bottle) and even tried nursing tonight. She needs a little more practice to get it right. But Siena will have several more years to perfect nursing. (haha... not that long... but the lady in the bed next to Sam today confessed to a nurse that she was still nursing her 4-year-old child... ewww... the joys of sharing recovery rooms with others).

We are shooting to free Siena from the ICU on Saturday. The doc gave us that day as the "earliest possible" day, and I think she'll be ready. Hopefully the doc will agree.

One of my favorite parts of today was watching Siena watch us. She's working on her facial expressions and they'll come in handy, as I hear babies don't normally have much to say for a year or two. Ironically, her eyes look old. They are kinda wrinkled, partially due to the fact that they were swollen shut for a couple of days and are decompressing. I think they're really cute, though.

Baby Pirate: Siena often will peer at us out of only one eye... like Popeye or your local pirate.

Starbucks: Sam has been here twice to check her e-mail and drink Pumpkin Spice Lattes. She loves them. There are several Starbucks within a mile of the hospital... this one didn't have wireless so we had to abandon ship.

Tape Head: While we were happy to have Siena's syringe removed, it was a painful process for the little girl. The tape was practically cemented to her delicate skin and hair. Luckily, she won't remember the pain.

Roller Coaster

I've never been one for roller coasters... in fact, the last time I went to Great America, I hurled after a stomach-turning ride. Today started with drama, but ended well. Here's the deal...

I was checking Sam's e-mail for her before heading to the hospital this morning and noticed an e-mail from Kaiser. Sam had lab results back for her Group B Streptococcus ("Strep B" or "GBS") screening. She was supposed to have an appointment for that this week, but Siena had other plans. They did a test of Sam while she was in labor. The test came back positive.

Of course, I immediately jumped onto google and found this information about Strep B:

"Group B streptococcus, or group B strep, is a bacterium that causes life-threatening infections in newborns. Group B strep can also cause disease in pregnant women, the elderly, and adults with other illnesses.... Many people carry group B strep bacteria in their bodies without developing infection or illness. However, the bacteria can become deadly to people with weakened immune systems. Pregnant women can transmit group B strep to their newborns at birth. Group B strep is the most common cause of blood infections and meningitis in newborns. Most cases of group B strep disease in newborns can be prevented by giving certain pregnant women antibiotics during labor." (red letter to show the only parts that I remembered)

Armed with this information, I called Sam and told her the news. She didn't seemed as alarmed as I was, and mentioned that Siena had a temperature of 101.3 at her early morning diaper-change. At that point, I went drama king (internally), and readied myself for a day of sad news and zoomed away to the hospital.

On my way there, a Davis motorcycle cop was lurking in the oak trees on the south side of Russell, before the on-ramp to 113. I was the only car in view, and he caught me going 52 in the 35 mph zone. Instead of running my driver's license or license plates (which would have revealed my connection to the Yuba County DA's office), he quickly wrote me a citation for speeding and told me that he hoped my day got better. I "thanked" him (I was only slightly sarcastic), and let him know that I was on my way to the hospital to see my newborn baby in the ICU. I wish I had video-taped the encounter. He seemed taken aback and I "thanked" him again. Then, not having learned my lesson I drove 80 mph all the way to the hospital. Go figure.

At the hospital, the good news started pouring in (thank God). We went to check on Siena and discovered that her temperature was down to 98.1 degrees. The nurse had turned off her heat lamp, and attributed that to her high temperature earlier. Then, the doctor came in with the "news" that Sam had tested positive for the Strep B bacteria. She said it wasn't a big deal, because 25% of women have it and most never realize it. Also, Sam had been on antibiotics during the birth, and Siena had been on them ever since. Siena's "cultures" (brings a different flair to the phrase "getting cultured") came back all NEGATIVE and they were going to discontinue the antibiotics. I was so relieved.

Also, her blood gas levels had normalized and they planned on weaning her from the oxygen supplementation. Not only that: Siena was going to start feeding! Sam has been pumping and freezing the colostrum for this time, so Siena was in for a treat.

Siena has been feeding from a bottle every 3 hours, with great success. We are able to hold her while she downs her colostrum, and the nurse even gave us burping lessons (see below). Poor Siena has an IV in her forehead now, because her wrist was swelling a bit. She's a cute little unicorn, but it kinda cramps her style.


As soon as Siena has been feeding on colostrum/milk exclusively (she is still supplementing with liquid from her IV) for 48 hours and breathing normal air for 24 hours, we can leave the hospital. Her jaundice levels aren't abnormally high, so they aren't too worried about that. The doctor said that we would get out on Saturday at the earliest, so we're hoping to get out on Friday. :)


Here are the videos from today... with some photos at the bottom.


Bottled Up:



Sleeping Sucker:



Burp Sesh:




Sam about to feel the relief from her epidural...

In the delivery room, ready to make it happen... and our last picture taken as a two-person family...



Thumbs up = mission accomplished!!!

Alienesque baby decompressing soon after entering the world! :)

Sam with Siena seconds after birth... happy that it's all over... or, really, that it's all about to begin...

Another one soon after birth...

Poor Siena hooked up to all kinds of tubes... the teal one was the CPAP machine... which is code for "extremely uncomfortable"...

Picture taken today without CPAP or mouth tube (which Siena ripped out... I promise it wasn't me). Notice the sweet hood ornament (IV) coming out of her forehead. Also, note that she is already working out... gripping my thumb. :)