Big Brother and Big Sister

Reed turned three weeks old on Monday. He is eating well and having a little more awake time. Eben and I are trying to accommodate Edison and Charlotte's desires to be really involved with Reed. We are hoping that the more they bond with him now, the happier they will be as siblings over the next few years.

 Note the coordinating jammies.

 We got out to the cabin for the first time in a month. It was delightful to be back. The pine-scented air smelled invigorating and the alders are just starting to get some fall color.

 Game night at the cabin.

 Go Patriots!

Edison Rides His Bike with No Training Wheels and We're Settling In...

News flash: Edison opted to take his training wheels off his bike and he did awesome! He and Charlotte spent about eight hours riding bikes last Saturday. Edison also joined dad for some exercise - dad ran three miles and Edison rode alongside him the whole time!

Here are some pictures from about 12-16 days for Reed. He had a great doctor's check up on Tuesday and is up to 5lb, 11oz - so has finally exceeded his birth weight. He has also grown 3/4" since his birth and is up to 19.3".  His arms and legs are still super skinny, though.

 Edison and Charlotte love to check on Reed. Every day when they get home from school they spend some quality time with their little brother. This particular day it involved traumatizing Reed with a three-toed tree sloth stuffed animal from Great Aunt Kirstie.

 Floyd and Kathie were able to see Reed last weekend. They enjoyed a long, long cuddle with their grand-nephew.

 We had friends over for the Seahawks game Sunday - Reed's big debut. Reed did well and the Seahawks destroyed the 49ers!

 With Meg and Liam.

 Check out the shoes on that kid!

 Reed is a little more relaxed for his bath time now. It helps that we got him out of the bin so he can stretch out in the sink. Hopefully we'll have one more water baby in the family.

10 Days Old

We are starting to get settled here at home. But we are far short of figuring out a routine. As a preemie, Reed runs out of energy quickly - sometimes while nursing or after strenuous activities such as bathing. Then he might refuse to eat and instead sleeps for five hours. The lack of a consistent routine makes it hard for me to plan any activities outside the house. Indeed, our only outings have involved seeing the doctor daily for weight and biliruben checks. Today he finally showed weight gain for the first ti,e since he was born - phew! But the doctor still wants him to gain three more ounces by Monday. On the plus side - Reed usually has one longer (30-40 minute) awake period each day. That has let me start to get a few photos of him that show what a cutie he is becoming!

He had no plumpness to begin with, but after losing 10% of his body weight the first week, his little arms and legs are super thin right now. Hopefully not for long! His arms are the same size/circumfrence as my pointer fingers.

He likes tummy time and can even pick up his head and move it to the other side when he is motivated.

 

With Nana...

Getting a visit and a cuddle from Great-Aunt Kirstie.

First bath at home.... ahhhh.

Does this capture how tiny he is?

Reed Update - Day 8: Coming Home!

Reed kept up the great job and was able to meet all the expectations the doctors had for him. So - they discharged him on Sunday night - one week after he arrived. These are the last pictures of Reed in the NICU.

 One of the things Reed had to do was to stay in his car seat for 90 minutes without any respiratory events. He showed he was able to keep his airway open nicely.

 He also had to do a hearing screening with sensors hooked up to his brain stem which he passed with flying colors.

 Fresh and clean from his bath.

 Last cuddle involving wires and sensors - yay!

 

Meanwhile, Edison and Charlotte went fishing with Matt and Lisa while we were getting Reed out of the hospital. They had a blast fishing for pink salmon and caught quite a few.

 First time at home!

 First morning waking up in his crib.

 Edison and Charlotte are SO HAPPY to have their little brother home!

First Day of School & Reed Update - Day Five

Edison and Charlotte started school at Small World Montessori in Mill Creek yesterday. Don't let these smiles fool you - Eben had a tough time because the kids both had a melt down when he was trying to drop them off. But fortunately they reported having a lot of fun when we picked them up that afternoon. Edison told us he made 14 friends!

 Meanwhile, Reed has been under the Bili-lite for two days. He had dangerous levels of bilirubin in his system and was considered jaundiced. These special blue lights break up the bilirubin in the skin and make it water soluble so that his body can clear it out. They have to wear special eye protection while under the lights. The worst part is that he has to be under the lights constantly and can only come out to feed - so we haven't been able to cuddle with him these past two days.

 I need to take pictures that include something for scale that indicates how tiny he is. Perhaps this pictures shows a little bit of how small his arms are. At 34 weeks, he didn't get the benefit of the last month of plumping up - usually babies grow from 1/2 - 1 pound per week for the last month and emerge at birth looking chubby and warm. Not so with our little Reed.

 Yesterday, day four, Reed discovered his hands. He now likes to wave them in the air and is even trying to hold on to some things. While taking a bottle, he grabbed onto the nurse's finger and held on for ten minutes. He has also found out that putting them in his mouth is pretty fun, too.

 

And every day he spends a few more minutes with his eyes open. I really do think he is starting to look around the room in an effort to understand what is happening.

As of today at Rounds (week 34, day 5), Reed is taking 45mL of milk per feed. They have discontinued the IV because he is doing such a great job with the milk. He is actually able to nurse directly from mom for about half of his fluids - nursing is way harder than the bottle, so when he gets tired while nursing, we switch him over to a bottle. The doctor has declared he is a believer and is on "Team Reed." Nurses suspect that maybe he isn't really a 34 weeker because he is doing SO WELL for his age. (Trust me - he really is 34 weeks...) We are cautiously optimistic that he is heading for an early discharge at the start of next week. Thanks again for your support and well wishes - they are working!