The Alter Family Blog

We feel so fortunate to be a part of the new program at Dell Children’s Hospital, Specialty Care Center.  They will follow Jada at least until she is 24 months old.  She will stay on an adjusted growth chart until 2 yrs of age.  In other words, she is 25 days old today according to their developmental growth charts.  She is in the 50% range for her size (adjusted age of about 1 mo.).  Jada is 8 lbs 12 oz, and her head is 14 inches around.  She does have mild torticollis (stiff neck towards the left side), but we will do some stretches and various activities at home to eliminate it.  She also has developed a slight flat head in the back due to laying on her back (bouncer, swing, bed…) for almost 5 months, so we will work extra hard to have more tummy time, stretching and positioning protocols.  She has great eye movement and eye sight!  Praise God…  She also has fabulous arm/leg movements and rotations.  We couldn’t get a good read on her hearing (due to possible congestion), so we will repeat that assessment in one month.  She will have a follow-up exam with the clinic in March.  She continues to be our little miracle, and we continue to ask for your prayers for her protection and progress.

Some photos from Mom and Bill (pearyphotography.com) taken early last week!

Our first official babysitter came last night, so that we could go to church and hang out with friends afterwards.  Rachel, her NICU nurse, did a fabulous job babysitting, and I wasn’t nervous about it at all.  We did give her more directions about the dogs, than about Jada.  If you know our dogs, it makes perfect sense.  We came home and found Jada snuggled up with Rachel fast asleep.  I asked her why Jada thinks she needs to be held ALL the time (even when sleeping), and she told me because they held her ALL the time in the NICU.  I’m working hard to put her down as much as possible.  Dave and I are noticing that Jada is focusing on objects, the dogs, and faces for extended periods of time.  She is taking about 3 oz every feeding, and we notice her growing so quickly!

Multitasking has an entire new meaning.  I knew I could multitask before Jada, but I had no idea there wasn’t a limit.  This morning I found myself pumping, bouncing Jada in my lap, answering emails on my phone, and holding the heating pad against my chest.  Thankfully, Bill called around 10am to see if I needed him to come by for a few to help with Jada.  I took a quick glance in the mirror to find that I needed a shower, had PJs on, and hadn’t brushed my hair or teeth.  After getting dressed, I made a mad dash to the grocery store (not because we are getting 2 inches of snow in the am) and rushed through each aisle.   I tried to sit down several times to write a quick post, but continued to get interrupted by sweetie pie!  So, right now, she is wide awake in her crib and talking away.  I’m watching the monitor as I type.

The dogs are doing an amazing job watching Jada, literally.  Below is a picture of Zilker laying her head next to hers.  Tiki was sitting next to my foot as I took the photo.  Next, I plan on holding Jada (in the sling), sweep, sing to her, and keep the dogs out of the dirt pile all at the same time.  Wish me luck!

At 42 weeks gestation, Jada is 8 lbs (15% according to preemie growth chart/ 25% according to regular growth chart)!  She is 19 3/4 inches long (15 % according to preemie growth chart/20% according to regular growth chart).  She also received her 4 month old immunizations.  It became an entire family affair…Dave got 3 shots (flu, H1N1 Mist, and DTaP), and I got the DTaP vaccination.   Jada’s iron level was so good that she no longer needs the iron supplement!

Jada has her next appointment in one month!   Off to get dinner ready before she wakes up.

Today was my first full day with Jada by myself!  I made it, so far… she had an eye appointment this afternoon, and I honestly spent the entire day getting ready to go!  Needless to say, we were on time. 

While we were waiting for her eyes to dilate, I met Bryce Moline and his mother.  It was a totally God planned meeting since I have (and most of you) been following their blog since August, but haven’t had a chance to meet them.  It was neat to be able to talk about our NICU experiences and how it’s going at home now.  They will remain in our prayers, and I hope to meet again one day.

Jada’s eye report was great, and we will no longer visit Dr. Harper’s office- only see Dr. Lockhart (optometrist).  Dr. Harper said she will most likely get glasses at her next appointment with Dr. Lockhart in January.  I’m praying that she won’t need glasses at this age as God can do anything!

I think Jada’s days/nights are beginning to get on track, and she’s sleeping in her bassinet.  We put her to bed at 10pm, she wakes up to feed at 1am.  She sleeps from 2am to 5:30am, then up for another feeding.  She has another pediatrician appointment tomorrow.

Jada has officially been home over a week now. It is so neat to watch her find something new to fixate on in the house. Yesterday, she found the fan in the living room. Today she found our wedding picture in our bedroom, and she started laughing. Dave’s parents were a huge help and allowed us to catch up on sleep. Ruth would take the 8:30pm to 12:30am shift while I slept. It was great! Dave and I are enjoying every second with Jada and the dogs. The dogs follow her everywhere she goes, and they have calmed down tremendously. Jada has increased her feeding amount and seems to be out growing newborn clothes. Aunt Angela, Aunt Lauren, and Hunter all got to visit Miss Jada for Thanksgiving and hold her for the first time. We are being very cautious with exposing Jada to anyone that wasn’t allowed in the NICU, so they will be her only visitors for a while. Below are some photos of the family on Thanksgiving…

Yesterday was our first trip out of the house- to the pediatrician.  Jada loves the car ride, and Nana Ruth sat with her in the back seat as we drove to meet Dave for her appointment.  We waited outside of Dr. Weelock’s office until it was Jada’s turn at 5pm so that she wouldn’t come into contact with any children.  Jada gained 2 oz since discharge, now weighing 7 lbs 8 oz.  She is 19.5 inches long and 13.5 inches head circumference.  According to statistics for preemies born under 30 weeks, Jada is in 12% for height, 60% for weight, and 25% for head circumference.  We have another follow-up appointment on Tuesday next week.  We also have follow-up appointments for retina specialist, optometrist, pulmonology (just to get her Synagis shot each month during RSV season), and ECI services (speech, OT, PT).  We are hoping to get her involved in the Dell Children’s Developmental Program for an additional set of eyes on her development.  Several of her NICU nurses have texted or called missing Miss Jada.  She misses them, too!

Nana Ruth and Grandpa Hal have held Jada the entire time they have been here.  I’m not sure which one is getting more love, the grandparents or Jada.    I was able to get several hours of sleep last night thanks to the grandparents watching her until 1am!  The remainder of the night, she slept on my chest.  We are going to take advantage of the help and put up our Christmas decorations today and tomorrow.  I can’t wait to get her stocking up!

Happy Birthday Aunt Wesley and Hilary!  We love you both!

Yesterday, Jada turned 4 months old…

Today, our focus switched from survival mode to working as hard as possible to change Jada’s schedule to sleeping at night and playing during the day.  Needless to say, we haven’t been successful yet…  We are carrying her feedings out further and requiring her to take more per feeding when she does eat.  She is required to take 200 mL every 12 hours (remember- 30 mL = 1 oz).  So far, she is reaching her goal.  She makes LOTS of noises.  The NICU warned us that micropreemies make lots of grunting noises all the time, but holy cow- it’s a lot!  We absolutely LOVE having her at home and not having to make the trek up Mopac today.  Thanks to Mom and Bill for taking the dogs for a few hours today and helping us with breakfast and Jada this am while I took a shower and Dave caught up on work.  Thank you to the Dregits, Groutas, and Loggins for meals this week.  We are looking forward to Nana Ruth and Grandpa Hal coming in tomorrow.  It will be the first time for both of them to hold her, and I know it will be special for everyone!

As I type this post, Dave is singing, “The Wheels on the Bus” (his own version) to Jada!  He is totally adorable with her.  They dance around the kitchen and have lots of conversations.  Thank you all for your prayers and for celebrating in this time with us as we join together as a family!

It was bittersweet to leave the NICU, after all they have become our family and taken Jada as one of their own.

We finally arrived home around 4pm and immideately called Mom and Bill to join us for dinner (and help us get settled).  As we drove into our neighborhood, there was a sign on the first stop sign with Jada’s name.  We continued to drive toward the house and noticed every single mailbox had a pink bow tied on it in her honor.  Our house was decorated too, with a large pink ribbon (rather than the old yellow one) and several pink balloons with one white balloon (In memory of Reese).

So…Aunt Becky and Thad (night nurses)…we need to talk!  Jada has a party at night from 10pm to 4am, and she thinks she needs to sleep during the day. Dave was a huge help last night as I’m still trying to heal from Wednesday.

Today, Mom and I gave Jada her first bath at home.  It was precious and she really enjoyed it!

Well we made it!

We’re sitting here in the hospital waiting on Jada’s last eye appointment before coming home. We didn’t get much sleep last night, but Jada did great with her feeds and had two big poops (which required a tag team effort to clean up). Earlier in the day Jada passed her sleep study and car seat study, so we’re finally going home!

So for all you driving southbound on Mopac later today…watch out. If you see an SUV driving 25 mph in the right lane with its flashers on, it’s probably us.

Just a quick post tonight to let you know that Allie’s surgery went well today. The procedure took about an hour, but the medicine made Allie a little loopy, and the side effects just started to wear off about 30 minutes ago. Allie is still a little nauseous and drowsy, so she decided to head to bed early tonight. We’ll have a better sense of her time to recovery once she wakes up tomorrow morning.

Jada continues to do pretty well. She is having her “sleep study” as I type, and assuming she passes and gains weight tonight, we’ll consider spending the night at the hospital tomorrow. However, Jada hasn’t pooped in four days, so the doctors are thinking about giving her some medicine to help her out. Not sure if this will push back our checkout date, but we’ll know more in the morning.

Have a great night. Thanks again for your calls, emails, text messages, and most of all, your prayers.

Dave

We’re almost home.

We got word this evening that Jada will come home this week. I can’t tell you how excited we are to finally introduce our little girl to her new life. We are still working out that exact details, but it looks like we will spend the night at the hospital on Thursday evening and then get discharged on Friday morning. Friday can’t come soon enough!

In the meantime we have a lot to do to get ready for our little angel. But this is also a pretty big week for Allie, who is having outpatient surgery on Wednesday. The procedure should be pretty minor, but we are praying that she recovers quickly and will feel up to assuming full mom duties come Thursday evening.

In addition, Jada continues to do amazingly well. She is doing a great job with her feeds, and no longer needs the NG tube….all feeds are now done via bottle or breastfeeding. Go Jada! Furthermore, our prayers were answered on Saturday when Jada’s MRI came back completely normal. You may remember that she had some minor brain bleeding at birth, but all of her previous injuries have now healed and the doctors no longer expect any long-term brain development issues as a result of this injury. Needless to say, this is amazing news.

Other than that, the only big to dos left before Jada comes home will be her sleep test (10 straight hours of no apnea, bradys, or other episodes) and a car seat test. Both should occur on Wednesday or Thursday. We did, however, try Jada in the car seat today to make sure that she fits…as you can see from the below picture, she just barely made it! Below is a picture that we took during the test.

done

Well it is finally here – Jada’s due date. I’m sitting in my office this morning looking at some photos of Allie and my beautiful little girl, and I can’t help but wonder where the time has gone. It just blows my mind to think that a year ago Allie and I were praying so hard that God would give us a child of our own. It’s even more astonishing to think that five months ago we were sitting in a bungalow in St. Lucia reading how-to books about raising twins and dreaming of the two extra stockings that we would add to the chimney this holiday season (three if we include Zilker!).

In many ways, as I think back on the last five months I’m reminded that these were by far the darkest days of my life.  Words just can’t describe the gut wrenching emotions that Allie and I experienced, and I still get choked up when I think about the experiences that I will never have with Reese – teaching her how to ride a bike, her first day of school, and the daddy / daughter dance at her wedding.  But at the same time, I also think about how blessed Allie and I have been to see Jada develop over the last 16 weeks. It has reminded me how much of a miracle life really is, and has created a bond with Miss Jada that I’ll never be able to explain…and which her future husband will just have to deal with.

More importantly, this experience has completely transformed my relationship with God and has given my life a new purpose. I’ve learned to continually take a step back and view my life from 30,000 ft.  Through this process I’ve realized that life is more about relationships than accomplishments, and I’ve started to invest my time accordingly. I’ve also realized that as men we tend to compartmentalize our lives, which just makes it harder to live the life that God has called us to. But above all else I’ve learned that God has called me to diligently serve my family, and I can assure you there is no greater calling.

As the first chapter of Jada’s life comes to a close (whether it is next week, or next month), I am filled with excitement with what God will do next. I look forward to watching as my little girl reaches the next set of milestones – crawling, walking and whatever happens in between. And despite the struggles that we have endured, I assure you that I wouldn’t take any of it back. God has called us to this mission, and I am so excited to be along for the ride.

I’ll leave you with the first entry I made in Jada & Reese’s journal back in April. It’s funny how true these words are today, as they were back then.

April 7, 2009

Well hello. By the time you both can read this we will have known each other all too well, but for now you are literally just a blank canvas. However, for some reason I’m already sure that I love you, and I want you to know that I love your mom more than you can possibly imagine.

The gift of life is probably the most special gift that God gives us, and I am literally filled with joy that He has entrusted your mom and me with the responsibility to care for, love and raise both of you. I am really looking forward to the next 9 months and the lifetime of joyful memories that we will have together. I look forward to being your father, teaching you about our God, and ultimately becoming your friend. Just know this: Allie (your mom!) and I chose you both, and have loved you long before we ever set eyes on you.  And if I can only give you one piece of advice, make sure you tell your mom that you love her. She can’t possibly love you anymore then she already does. I promise that you will never find a better mom.

I love you,

Dad

Her due date has finally arrived.  We’ve had the honor of watching Jada grow and develop similar to how she would in the womb the past 3.5 months.  It’s a great reminder that God is always in control and has a perfect plan for our lives.  Jada is not only a miracle, but arrived on July 21st rather than November 13th because it was all part of God’s perfect plan for her life.  She has impacted and given hope to so many around the world in 3.5 months.  We pray for her to seek the Lord with all her heart in the coming years so that she can continue to encourage others and bring God glory through her story.

She is 7 lbs 2 oz, and took her entire bottle the last two feedings.  Dr. McCormick ordered for her to feed by bottle every feeding 3-4 hours apart depending on her cues for hunger.  Jada must feed 200 mL every 12 hours, or she gets a feeding through her NG tube.  Otherwise, she will take 6 bottle feeds with 2x a day nursing.

We were told today that we may need to have a pediatrician by Thursday (1 week away!) because she could be coming home then.  We met with 2 this week, and we have an appointment to meet with another on Thursday afternoon.  Dave and I feel it is imperative that we find a pediatrician with lots of preemie experience.  We are also looking to start Jada in the developmental program at Dell Children’s so that they can be an extra set of eyes on her developmental stages the next few years.

Patti and I worked all afternoon yesterday and today on Jada’s finishing touches for the nursery.  We had a fabulous time, and Mom and I are finishing a few details tomorrow.  We are only missing one thing- little sweet pea!

I’ll update more nursery photos this weekend…

Jada is 18 inches long and 6 lbs 14 oz as of last night.  She hasn’t been weighed this evening.  She remains off meds, although Dr. McCormick and Breed are contemplating putting her back on a dose of caffeine to help with periodic breathing.  I brought Jada’s Dr. Brown bottles to the NICU yesterday because she will be using them at home.  She did much better with those bottles than the ones the NICU usually uses.  Hopefully, it will help her with her feedings.  I’m praying for patience as I wait for her arrival, hopefully by Thanksgiving.

Yes, Jada’s due date is November 13, next Friday.  She currently weighs 6 lbs 14 oz.  She is on 4 bottles (55 ml with NeoSure) and 2 times a day nursing.  About 30 ml = 1 oz.  Jada is completing about 3/4 of her bottles and taking the leftovers through her NG tube.  She is doing a great job nursing!  She is having some periodic breathing and may have to go back on her aminophylline if she continues or starts to have apnea.  It is not uncommon for micropreemies to have periodic breathing until they are 42 weeks gestation.  Dr. McCormick said IF she goes back on the medicine she could end up going home on it as well (with possibly a monitor), BUT we are still a few weeks away due to her feeding.

I did my last-minute shopping for Jada and the nursery this morning.  We tested out the monitor this evening, and switched out her newborn diapers for size 1!

Several of you have asked about the nursery.  Although I still have work to do, here are a few pictures to give you an idea.  I’ll post more when it’s complete.

Jada is 6 lbs 12 oz, and taking about every other bottle.  She remains off all meds and saturating 100% oxygen.  Praise God for her progress!

I did have a serious conversation with Dr. Breed (Neonatologist) this afternoon about the rules when Jada comes home.  He said that she must live in a “bubble” until summer due to the risk of catching RSV (respiratory virus), which could potentially cause her to fight for her life due to her previous lung issues as a micropreemie.  Needless to say this will change our life style for a while because she can’t go to HEB, church, and have very few, if any, visitors.  It will be difficult, but we are thrilled and filled with joy as we anticipate her homecoming!  We aren’t sure when that will occur, but we are hoping it’s before Thanksgiving.