Happy "Original" Birthday Rowyn!

It's January 28th....Rowyn's original due date. It seems weird that we were supposed to be having a baby today, yet we already have a 2 month old. It has definitely been a tough time, but an amazing one as well. We can tell she's growing nicely. According to our at-home scale, Ro weighs about 6lb 6oz, but we're going to the pediatrician this week and we'll get an updated "true" weight. Speaking of, this will be her 2 month visit which involves a bunch of shots. I'm sure she's not going to like that one bit! We'll also follow up on her reflux and other things. Thankfully it seems like it's getting a lot better. She's not waking is up with that gurgling in her throat. Thank goodness. It's so scary thinking your baby can't breathe in the middle of the night. Hopefully that's past us.

She's becoming a more active baby, sleeping less and eating more. Her favorite place to sleep in still on our chest; she conks right out. She's also now able to lift her head up and look from side to side to explore the world around her. We are practicing tummy time and arm and leg exercises too to help build those little muscles. She'll be crawling before you know it!

On a side note, Katie's mom is in town helping out for a while. Thank goodness. An extra set of hands is very helpful. I know Katie is really appreciating the help during the day. That also keeps things from being crazy busy when I get home from work. Unfortunately that'll end too soon. We just have to enjoy it while it lasts!

-Chris

Rowyn's growin'...

My apologies for not updating this blog regularly anymore...Chris asked me last night, "are you ever going to update the blog?!".  Oops! I guess times are busy these days...

Rowyn is finally just outside her actual due date of Monday, January 28th!  I can't believe she's been in the real world for almost 7 weeks now...what a blessing :)  She weighing in just over 6 lbs and is 18.25" long...just about the size of a regular newborn baby. 

As you can imagine, having a baby changes everything.  Having a baby AT HOME definitely does.  Some days are spent on cuddling with her on the couch, changing diapers and feeding every 3 hours.  Other days are filled with relentless housework, and yet others at doctor's appointments, and somewhere in between, we're finding time to eat, bathe, and oh yeah, take care of that dog we still have.  Poor Logan :(

Overall, Rowyn is progressing right along.  She's obviously growing and eating more frequently.  About half the time she's somewhat uncomfortable after her feedings, squirming around and restless.  During the night, she has trouble clearing her throat and would spit up in her sleep...or have milk coming out of her nose.  Major yuck, esp. for her...So we've made good friends with the ol bulb syringe to help clear her throat and nose.  This is the one of the only times she cries.  Hard!

We took her to the pediatrician about this issue, and they said she has some reflux.  They prescribed her Nexium and told us to give her 1/2 a dose daily, as well as 1cc of Malox with every other feeding.  Here's hoping to a more peaceful sleep!  Doctor to said to give it a week before it kicks in...

Rowyn also got checked out at the physical therapist.  They checked her and arms and legs to make sure they fall towards the center of her body, which they do.  They also gave her some tummy time, which she loved. She got to explore the other side of things, rather than the ceiling!  They will re-check her in a few months to follow-up on her progress.

We are falling more and more in love with her every day!  She's becoming more alert and looking at our faces all of the time - it's so sweet!  She even smiles frequently, but I guess that's just facial movement at this point.  Still she has the best little smile :)

One last note:  as many of you know. Chris and I are natural planners, and we had already four daycare options lined up for little Miss Ro once I return to work.  However, a standard daycare may not be the best option since she's still so young and her immunity isn't as strong.  So...we are currently seeking a full-time babysitter or in-home daycare provider for our sweet little Rowyn beginning this March.

If you know of anyone, particularly in the midtown area, who nannies or has their own in-home daycare, please message us with more info at chrisandkatiedevine@gmail.com  Any thoughts or recommendations are appreciated.

Thanks y'all!

One down...

So, we survived our first week home with Rowyn. Yes, it's been challenging, but totally worth it. This 4 hour schedule that the NICU got her on has stuck pretty well, so we're able to get a decent amount of rest. It does seem that there is ALWAYS something needing to be done around the house though.

On Friday Rowyn had another field trip. We had to take her to an eye doctor. Apparently there is a chance of the nerves in the retina to grow at a faster pace than term babies (which can lead to blindness), but her eyes looked normal. It was a little scary....they had to put those little things that hold the eyelids open in her eyes, then shine a light in there, but she got over it very quickly. Thankfully we won't need to go back there.

This next week may be a little challenging. I (Chris) have to go back to work and have to leave Katie and Rowyn home alone. I know Katie can handle it, but I know how busy it's been with the two of us....I hate for her to face it alone. I know we'll survive. Wish Katie luck!

-Chris

Getting adjusted...

So, miss Rowyn has been home now for four days and is doing well.  As expected, we're now on her schedule, as were still trying to allow her time to sleep when she needs to and eat when she's hungry.  Currently, she's on a four-hour schedule for her feedings and she's napping most of the time in between.  This will change over time, but for now, every four hours isn't so bad for a baby.  It's pretty quiet now in our house since she's sleeping so much. Our TV has never been on closed captioning until now :)

Also, today had her first pediatric appointment.  She's gaining weight and is now up to 5lbs, 5oz.  Whatta chunk!  She's also just over 17 inches long, so she's growing up!  We weighed her naked and when we started to dress her again, she peed all over the table.  Nice move, Rowyn...ah well, accidents happen, right?!

Life at home is tiring, but so, so wonderful now that she's here :)  we're so grateful to have this special time with her!

- Katie

Home sweet home...

Well, Rowyn, Chris and I all survived our "rooming in" experince last night at the hospital!  We didn't get much sleep, as expected, but Rowyn did great and advanced in coming home today!  She ate all of her feedings, maintained her temperature and slept a good bit during the night.  All of those things have allowed her to be discharged at nearly 37 weeks.  We couldn't be happier!  It's been a long 30 days...

Chris and I left with Rowyn this afternoon and have been pouring over her ever since.  Although it's our first night at home with her, we already feel like we know her from our NICU/NCCU experience.  (i.e. changing her diaper, taking her temp, warming her bottle, feeding, burping, putting to sleep, etc).  And before discharging us today, the nurses reviewed a ton of information with us to help with the transition.  Naturally, we had about 100 questions.

Things we already know and love about Ro:

- She loves being held, esp close to your chest
- She gets really excited to eat!
- She makes lots of funny faces, although she's not aware of it!
- She makes a lot of funny noises and grunts
- She doesn't like the bulb syringe - the only time she really cries...
- She sleeps well (for now).  She'd still be sleeping in utero anyways
- She's generally content and easy going, my kinda gal

So, over the next several weeks, we'll try to keep this blog updated as best we can, but obviously if you're a parent you know, we're not on our schedule anymore :) 

Also, we will continue to post pictures of her progress.  The nurses and doctors have advised us to limit visitors for a bit until she gets a little bigger and stronger, esp since it's flu/cold/RSV season.  Don't worry, you will all see her soon enough!

It's still so hard to believe that all this has happened in the last month. We are so blessed to finally have her home and in our arms!  Thank you to anyone and everyone who has kept up with our blog, brought us clothes in the hospital, dropped food by the house, texted, called, emailed and kept us in your thoughts and prayers - it has really worked! God is great!

Much love,

Katie, Chris and Rowyn

"Rooming In"

Well, today is a HUGE day for little Rowyn.....she's going HOME! The doctors told us yesterday the she's ready to get out of the NICU, so we're taking her home tomorrow. We're so excited and nervous. Tonight the three of us are "rooming in" at the hospital. There are 2 rooms similar to hotel rooms here in the NICU and we're doing a "practice run" tonight in it. It's a great way to transition to "no sleep" as well as having the nurses right there if we need them. So, like I said, today and tomorrow are big days. Lets just hope she does everything great tonight so that there's no chance of them not releasing her.

FYI, she's up to 4lb 13.6oz this afternoon. Almost to the big 5.0!

-Chris

Happy New Year!

I hope all of you had a great 2012 and look forward to a wonderful 2013. Obviously it was a great, yet very tough end to last year, but we know the next one is going to be the best year ever. Rowyn is still hanging in there at the hospital. She keeps growing strong. As of last night she weighed 4lb 10.1oz! She's gaining at least an ounce a day and is soon to hit the 5lb. mark. She still has some booty rash and some slightly soupy poopy, but both of those are getting a little better. They try and have her sleep on her tummy and leave her bum exposed to the air. This helps dry it out and help the rash. At least Ro doesn't seem to mind all this stuff. She's extremely content with it all and is never a fussy girl. She LOVES her little bathes. I guess it feels good on her bum. I just love how sweet she is. Both me and Katie were able to just hold her and she would stare back at us into our eyes. You can tell she's just studying our faces and taking us in. It's such an awesome connection.

Well, I hope you all have a great New Years. I know we will!

-Chris