C.E.L.E.B.R.A.T.E.

KelliAnne has been home with us for just shy of one month. The last several weeks have been an outstanding welcome into parenthood outside the NICU.  Yes, there have been plenty of sleepless nights, diaper blow outs, spit ups, and “what the heck does that mean” moments; but we would not have it any other way.

There is also quite a bit to celebrate. See below Tobin’s Top 10 Reasons to Celebrate:

1.      It is Robin’s Birthday. She is one amazing woman who has had quite a year. Happy Birthday Mama!

2.      Today is actually supposed to be KelliAnne’s birthday as well. Robin and I are still amazed that for the last twelve weeks, we have watched her grow and get healthy out here in the real world, and she was not even supposed to have even been here….  Apparently she did not want to share her birthday glory with her mom and wanted her own BIG day.

3.      Packing on the pounds-KelliAnne is now up to 5lbs 10 oz. She came home weighing little over 4lb.  We are still battling a bit of reflux but are learning how to balance nursing, bottle feedings, and extra calorie fortified feedings to get her big and fat.

4.      Robin can almost, ALMOST read the entire blog without crying.

5.      KelliAnne has officially graduated from the NICU. We had an appointment with the Children’s Spot, Saint Luke’s follow-up clinic, to examine her developmentally. The same doctor who saw her the day she was born, saw her yesterday and was ecstatic with her progress.  She is now a healthy ‘term baby’ with no major issues.

6.      MRI – KelliAnne had an important MRI done this week to follow up on the slight hemorrhaging she had in her brain.  The hemorrhage has completely evolved, or disappeared, and all other brain development that is to  be expected by a term baby is now present.  This was great news to a couple of parents that have been awaiting ‘MRI Day’ for several weeks now.

7.      NO MORE HEART/APNEA MONITOR. Yes, that is right - the respiratory therapists reviewed the download of KelliAnne’s apnea monitor and decided she no longer needs it.

8.       Eye Exam – KelliAnne’s slight disease in her left eye has not worsened, and is looking like it will clear up in the several weeks.  If it doesn’t the doctors are watching very closely and are ready to do laser surgery at the first sign that the disease is progressing.  The good news is that the laser surgery does not just stop the eye from getting worse but actually can repair it to healthy condition.  This is not what we originally thought.

9.      Her body hair is actually clearing up pretty good as well.  As most of you know, and if you didn’t notice from the pictures of me holding her, she has the genes to be abnormally hairy.  Just as the doctors told us, the back, shoulder, and facial hair that covered her body has pretty much all disappeared and.  

10. - F.F.F. Faith, Family and Friends. The last few months have been unexpected and trivial, yet completely awesome at the same time.  Dating back to mid-April when Robin was first hospitalized and then put on bed rest, our faith, family, and friends have been more then constantly showing up when we need them. We cannot express how thankful we are for EVERYTHING that EVERYONE has done for us. We always had good food, a clean house, a walked dog, plenty of thoughts, and enough prayers to help us pull through this time. Words cannot express how grateful we are for all of that. Throughout this time we have been told how strong Robin and I are, and that our strength is the reason why KelliAnne, who was once referred to as the “sickest kid in the NICU” came home at 35 weeks when we were told no babies go home before 36 weeks. Our strength came from F.F.F.

And scratch # 4. She is crying again.

We love you all and thank you again for helping us get through this journey. As you can tell we are not updating the blog as frequently as there is not as much action, but we will post a fun story and some pictures every once in a while so those of you that don’t see KelliAnne too often can keep up with her story.