The days of our lives...

Margaret Rose 13 days old, 4/15/07

So, our life has boiled down to keeping Elisabeth and Joseph on their routine and traveling back and forth to the hospital to feed and interact with Margaret. This has been the norm for 2 weeks and will continue at least till the end of this week.

My daily routine has changed drastically from 2 weeks ago...
These days I wake up somewhere between 4 and 6am, whenever my breasts are uncomfortable, and I pump for a 1/2 hour. You see, I'm breastfeeding, and so I must continue to make milk even though Margaret is not home. Well, then I fall back asleep, Mitch wakes up at 5:30, showers, gets the kids up at 6, gets them ready for school, they come and kiss me goodbye and leave at 7.I wake up again between 8 and 9am, grab some coffee, and play moo cow for another 1/2 hour or 45 minutes. Then I shower and eat breakfast. I putter around the house for a little while, then I'm driven to the hospital at 10:30 for Margaret's 11am feeding. I can't drive myself anywhere for another month, due to the c-section.

At 11 we get some awake time from Margaret, then she nurses and conks out. I usually leave the hospital around 12:30 to come home for lunch. But before I can eat, moo cow mommy at 1:00. You see, Margaret only eats about 50 ml at a time right now and Mommy makes about 200 ml every 3 hours, big difference.

I get to rest for a couple hours, usually pumping once in the afternoon. Then I pack up to ride to the hospital at 4:30 for Margaret's 5:00 feeding. She's awake again before she eats, then she nurses again, falls asleep and I usually leave the hospital between 6 and 6:30.

I pump again about 7pm, then before bed about 11pm, then sleep, and it starts all over again at 5am.

Margaret gets bottles of breast milk with a small amount of formula mixed in (for extra calories), when mommy is not there.

Mitch gets to the hospital sometime during the day and tries to get the kids up there after school at least every other day.

Obviously this schedule will be made much easier when Margaret is home. The back and forth to the hospital is very draining on the family and doesn't afford much resting time for me. However, we need to make sure that Margaret is 100% ready to come home. That's what the doctor's and nurses are there for. So far she is expected to be discharged at the end of this week, as long as her condition does not change between now and then. That means, no more bradys, her heart must continue to beat strong without slowing. She is back up to her birth weight, 4lbs 10 oz and will be above it before she comes home. She is only on a heart and lung monitor, to make sure everything is working properly.Margaret and Moma

Margaret responds so well to everyone, she looks directly in the direction of voices she recognizes, like her daddy and sister and brother, and she tries to focus on faces when you get close enough for her to see.

We are continuing our prayers that Margaret continues to maintains her healthy path through this week.

I am still working on her birth story, as Mitch and I remember more details and talk about the day with others it becomes a little easier to write, but it is still a slow process because it was a pretty traumatic event for all of us.

And we wait some more...

Margaret Rose 11 days old

Well, Miss Margaret had another brady this morning at 1:30, this was while she was spitting up, so related to reflux. But this means another 5 to 7 days in the NICU. So we wait again.

Margaret and Daddy

Updates on Margaret

Margaret has been progressing well, shocking all the NICU nurses and practicioners by refusing to act her age, in other words she has not shown any of the characteristic signs of being born at 32 weeks. And a big step, she started gaining weight 2 days ago.

Well, yesterday, she decided to show us that yes, indeed, she is a preemie. Her heart rate dropped below 70 beats per minute, called a bradicardio-something, a totally normal occurance for a preemie her age. However it does mean that she will have to stay in the hospital for 5 to 7 days to ensure it does not happen again. Hopefully this will be the only occurance.

So, we are on wait again. It is so hard not having her home yet, we have to keep reminding ourselves that she is in the best place for her right now. The staff in the NICU is wonderful and warm and welcoming. We just have to take it one day at a time until she can come home.

Meanwhile, I am recovering from a c-section, which is an all new experience for me. I go for my first followup appointment tomorrow morning.

My mom will be in today, after a horrendious experience in the Chicago airport and 36 hours of travel from France. It will be good to have her here.

Keep us in your prayers.

Margaret Rose is here!

Margaret Rose was born 7 weeks early, on April 2nd at 1:56 pm. After my water breaking at 3:30am, I had contractions 3-4 minutes apart, with the doctor hoping nothing would change for 24 hours. I had a contraction somewhere between 1:30 and 1:45 that lasted for at least 8 minutes, Margaret's heart rate plunged and I was rushed out for an emergency c-section.

We are both doing well now. Margaret is still in the NICU, but has been doing remarkable and will hopefully be coming home soon. I came home on Thursday.

I will post a more detailed birth story soon. I am still working on writing it, not an easy task as there are so many emotions going on right now.

Belly pictures

OK, per request of some, I am posting a couple pictures of me at 28 weeks preggo (today).

I know I am due for a more extensive update, including pictures...but that will have to wait till later.

It's great to be a FLORIDA GATOR!!!

10 years after their last National Championship (my senior year of high school), the Florida football team has won their second National Championship title.


CONGATULATIONS!!!!!


FL OSU
41 14


More on the game later :)

Paynes Prairie with Dad

Today we took a short hike onto Paynes Prairie with Dad. It was pretty overcast and threatening rain the entire time, but we got pretty lucky this time with what we saw.

Here is a picture of the prairie as we entered the open area, those are wild Spanish horses in the path and on the side.

And here's the luckiest part:

We actually got close enough to the horses to pet them :)