Happy Friday!

Happy Friday! Gabriella had a weight check today and she is a whopping 9lbs 10oz!!!  Her pediatrician is thrilled with her weight gain and her development. She is holding her head up, tracking with her eyes, smiling, cooing, and hitting objects. We are so proud!

This weekend we are going to have our annual corned beef cook-off with some of our best friends (who also have a baby girl). It is always fun to get together and the girls will both be wearing their St. Patrick's Day best so it will be adorable!

Getting ready for nap time

She's had enough photos- cue the grumpy face!

Enjoying the spring-like weather!

Have a good weekend- our little peanut turns 5 months old next week!!!

xo,
Mary

It takes a village

I saw a link on facebook today for a blood drive that a Connecticut firefighter and his family are hosting in honor of their twins who were born at 29 weeks.  It got me thinking about all of the people that helped and supported us through Gabriella's NICU stay. Beyond the amazing support system we had in our family and friends, we were supported by people who don't know us, and some that will never know that it was us that they helped. 

Gabriella needed 2 separate blood transfusions during her first weeks of life. Most micropreemies do- one of her doctors had told us that it wasn't a matter of if, but when she was going to require transfusions. Even though Gianni is a match to Gabriella, it is actually safer for preemies to receive donor blood that familial blood to avoid graft-versus-host disease which is when the parent's white blood cells attack the baby's tissues. I know many of our family members and friends have donated blood in the past and many do so on a regular basis.  To you, I say thank you. If you are someone that is able to donate blood and has never done so, please consider it.

Before transfusion

After transfusions- looking a bit healthier!

Gabriella also received donor milk during her first few days of life before my milk came in. I wrote about pumping and the importance of human milk for preemies in a past post, but the importance of donor milk is something that many people overlook. I know of at least one person in my life who has donated milk when she realized that she was producing more than her babies needed.  Providing donor milk is quickly becoming a best practice in NICUs across the country. If you or someone you know has a supply of frozen milk that their baby is not using, consider donating it!  Check out http://www.nationalmilkbank.org/ for more information!

We also received gifts from  both the March of Dimes and the Tiny Miracles Foundation. The March of Dimes gave us a baby book that is specific for preemies as well as gift bags with snacks, a journal, gift certificates, and blankets. The Tiny Miracles Foundation (which is a Connecticut organization) sent us a box filled with preemie-sized clothing, blankets, and a wealth of information and resources. Both of these organizations run on donations alone so to anyone out there who has ever donated to these great non-profits, thank you! Local donors to CCMC also allowed the hospital to give us hats, blankets, and a visit from Santa (best NICU day!).

Gabriella meeting Santa Claus

Box of gifts from the Tiny Miracles Foundation

Baby book written specifically for NICU babies

Thank you to everyone who donates their time, money, blood, milk, anything! It made a difference in our lives and inspires us to find ways to pay it forward.

Happy baby mimicking Dad

xo,
Mary

Wednesday ramblings

Happy Wednesday! We had our Birth to 3 physical therapist come over today and we worked a lot on encouraging and teaching Gabriella to bring her hands to her midline. She placed Gabriella on her back on her play mat and she stayed on her back, looking up at herself in a tiny hanging mirror, and reached up to hit dangling toys. Her PT was very pleased with this behavior because it is more in line with what would be expected of a 4 month old baby. While Gabriella is technically almost 5 months old, her corrected age is only 7 weeks. She is doing really well hitting toys and kicking her feet, alternating between left and right, but now we have to work on encouraging her to bring her hands together as well as bringing her knees up towards her chest. While this is behavior that is pretty typical of full term babies, with preemies it is something that needs to be taught and encouraged.  Gabriella was born at only 26 weeks so she was never curled up inside of me- she still had plenty of room so her body never learned to curl up. Our PT gave me lots of tips on ways to play with her for homework!

Bring those knees up, baby!

Another thing we are tackling this week is getting Gabriella on a bit more of a schedule to get her sleeping a little better at night. She is still sleeping in our room in a pack and play bassinet and eventually we will move her into her own room in her crib.  The biggest issue we are having is that I am pretty sure Gabriella is smarter than us :) When we brought her home, anytime she made the smallest noise, one of us would run over to make sure she was okay, pick her up, snuggle with her, etc. At night, if she started fussing, I would reach over, lift her up, cuddle her and soothe her in our bed, and then put her back down.  Sometimes she would lie on my chest and fall asleep there. Well, last night she was fussy and crying so I picked her up and put her next to me in our bed. Wouldn't you know, she instantly was full of smiles, closed her eyes and would have been completely happy spending the whole night right there in between us. So, I am pretty sure the day has come that I have to start letting her try and soothe herself for a little bit before immediately picking her up.  We won't let her cry it out for a long period of time but I won't be so quick to pick her up, especially when I know she is dry, safe, and not hungry. We'll see how it goes, this little baby has me wrapped around her tiny finger!

We were able to get out for some great walks these past few days. Ironhorse Blvd is clear and we've used the jogging stroller which  has been great.  I also found that the public library has a "Bouncing Baby" music class a few times a week so we may check that out next week.

Hope this finds you all well!
xo,
Mary

Playtime {videos!}

Lazy weekend mornings are the perfect time for baby snuggles and playtime!  Gabriella has really started to enjoy her toys and it has become so much fun to interact with her. She is full of smiles and cooing noises and we are hoping that baby giggles will be here soon! I was able to catch a couple of cute moments on camera. Ignore my nerdy commentary :) Enjoy!

TGIF

TGIF! We had a long couple of days due to Gabriella's reflux acting up. She was put on Zantac several weeks ago so the dosage had to be adjusted since she's gained weight.  We have our happy baby back now! Anyone who has had a reflux-y baby knows that when it's bad, it's really bad (aka you would swear an evil alien has taken over your baby). But, we are back on track and I am happy the weekend is here and Gianni will be home with us during the days! A fussy day is always a little easier when Dad is here to offer back-up :) Despite a few cranky moments, we've had nice visits with aunts, Nanas, cousins and friends. 

Holding back a smile :)

We are planning on a relaxing weekend, hopefully the weather will cooperate with us and we can all get outside and get some fresh air! Enjoy a few photos from today and have a great weekend!

xo,
Mary

Chewing on her car keys

Starting to make cooing noises!

Morning stretches

Pumping

On the day that Gabriella was born, I was brought to my postpartum room and there was a breast pump waiting for me with a note from the hospital's lactation consultant.  The note told me that the very best thing I could do for our baby was to begin pumping.  Micropreemies have such sensitive and underdeveloped organs that they can only tolerate human milk.  If I wasn't able or willing to pump, our baby would receive donor milk until she could tolerate formula.  I was already planning on breastfeeding but knowing that the only thing that our daughter could digest was human milk was all the motivation I needed to start using that pump. 

I started that first day, pumping every 3 hours for 15-20 minutes.  At first, all that came was small drops of colostrum that we would bring down to the NICU in tiny syringes. While small in volume, that "liquid gold" was still so important.  We would swab the inside of Gabriella's mouth with a cotton swab dipped in colostrum. Colostrum is viewed by many as a baby's first "vaccine"- the naturally occurring enzymes allow the milk to be easily digested and helps protect fragile babies from many devastating infections.

Pumping became easier and easier and soon became part of my regular daily routine. I am proud of the fact that I have been pumping for almost 5 months- I love seeing her weight gain and knowing that I helped get her there.  She is still getting 100% breastmilk that we add a small amount of Enfacare to in order to boost the calories.

Some things that helped me along the way:
-Get a support network.  Gianni was and continues to be an amazing cheerleader for me.  At the beginning, he would get so excited over every milliliter I would pump and on days when I am so sick of pumping, he encourages me to keep at it.  Our family and friends are also very supportive, always asking how it is going.

-Eat well and stay hydrated.  Especially if you are pumping for a baby in the hospital.  You need the calories and fluid to have a good supply!

-Pump next to your baby.  At the CCMC NICU, we had screens that we could put up around the baby's isolette or crib and pump right at the bedside.  It was nicer than leaving Gabriella to go to a room.

-Use your baby as motivation to keep going!  Every ounce she gains makes it all worth it :) Look at these chubby cheeks!

Here are a few more fun photos for your Wednesday! Al Roker hinted at warmer weather for next week so our fingers are crossed that some sunshine is headed our way!

xo,
Mary

Weekend Fun

Back when I was pregnant, we had decided that we were going to try using cloth diapers.  We had heard from many family members and friends that cloth diapers were gentler on a baby's tush, and knowing that sensitive skin runs in the family, we decided that this was worth trying.  Once we were home from the NICU, we decided to keep Gabriella on her disposable diapers until she was off of the diuretics.  At her NICU follow-up appointment, the diuretics were discontinued (hooray!!) and since she is also in size 1 diapers, we are able to start using cloth!

We went back and forth over what cloth diapers to use, and decided on the classic (AKA old fashioned) cloth diapers with a soft waterproof cover.  My mom found a pattern book and the most adorable waterproof fabric and this weekend we made our first covers!   Once we got the hang of it, the pattern was incredibly easy and the finished covers are awesome!

And if that isn't cute enough, check them out on her tush.  I mean, honestly, have you seen anything cuter??

Happy Monday from our smiley baby!

xo,
Mary