Aisling's First Year

It's been a while since we've last updated the blog, but this should make up for lost time. Ger and I put together a little video montage of Aisling's first year. If you have a few minutes to spare, click on the video above. We hope you enjoy it!

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

Love,

Chuck, Ger, and Aisling

October has been a great month for Aisling. She had two doctors appointments and both report that she is doing well. Our little Bears fan is now weighing 15lb.s 8oz. and is a staggering 251/2 inches long. She obviously gets her height from her parents. Along with cheering on the Bears, Aisling has been busy hanging out with her buddies Alex and Andrew, enjoying visits from grandma, and getting dressed up for Halloween.

It's Been A While!

As you all know, life gets quite hectic and before you know it two months goes by. Anyway, we wanted to update and post a few new pics of Aisling over the past two months. As you can see, she's been quite busy taking swim lessons, getting Christened, playing at the park, rockin' out on her new instrumental toy thingy (which has helped tremendously with her sitting up development), and cheering on her daddy at the Chicago Marathon.
As for her growth and development, Aisling just checked in at almost 15lbs. and 25 inches in length. She is now eating solids and has built up the strength to roll all over the condo. Recently, she has begun lunging forward in an attempt to crawl.

Look What Chuck and Aisling Have Been Up To!

Hello!

We have been busy enjoying the summer and each other! First off, Aisling is sooo close to 12lbs, just an ounce off, yipeee. Our big news is we just had our second NICU follow-up. This time they administered the Bayley Scales of Infant Development to assess her development. Aisling did very well, scoring above average on her testing for her adjusted age of close to four months old. She is continuing to learn new "tricks" everyday; she enjoys rolling from her tummy to her back, but still dislikes tummy time intensely. We had fun celebrating Father's Day; brunch at Misercordia was a huge success; Aisling was really the star of the show; she loves people and is very social. She had a chance to bond with Auntie E, though bested her on going to bed while Chuck and I went out to dinner.
On the other hand, we are still grappling with reflux. We have been trying to make some changes, but reflux has reared it's very ugly head, so we continue to work with her pedi and try to make it easier for her.

Pictures!

Hi Everyone

Wow, it has been quite some time since we updated. We have received some texts and emails so here goes...we have been very busy doing what I am not sure...we are in a first time parents fog...

Aisling has been busy with NICU follow up appointments, seeing her pediatrician, and meeting with EI (Early Intervention). First, I have to say we adore her pediatrician, big shout out to Dr. J Hupert (UIC) for being such a caring and kind doctor and checking in on her well being and keeping in constant communication with us. He is happy with her growth, as of yesterday she is 8lbs 14 oz; her growth curve is more like a rocket taking off according to Dr. Hupert, I suppose when you come into the world at 1lb 10.8oz that may not be too difficult, but so many preemie babies struggle with gaining weight, especially IUGR (Intrauterine Growth Restriction) babies, so we are extremely happy and pray for this to continue.
We also had her first follow up appointment with the neo's at UIC and she was seen by our favorite NICU doctor Dr. Rekha Bandapalli. Her first follow up appointment went very well and the PT's also evaluated her and we were thrilled with her scoring in the 50th percentile for her adjusted age.
The EI team (PT, OT, Speech, and Developmental Specialist) has come out and as of right now she does not need any services, once again we are ecstatic, but Chuck and I believe in taking the bull firmly by the horns and dealing with any issues Aisling may have due to her prematurity. So far so good though! We will meet with the EI team again in June, as well as have another NICU follow up.
We are still battling Reflux, but are hopeful that the new medicine will be the "one". If anyone has any advice we are open to suggestions.
We are also having fun at home with tummy time ;-) and wearing our little girl. Aisling loves to be held constantly, so slings (safe ones of course, peanut shells) and our Beco have become our best friends. We are also having fun going on walks with her two boyfriends, the adorable twins from our building ;-) We are getting great smiles from Aisling and she loves her favorite black and white rattle, though she is still fascinated by lighting fixtures. We also had fun celebrating our first holiday together at home over Easter, in fact it has been the first holiday we have had the energy to acknowledge since her birth.
I am still going to PT, my knee is improving, but we still have a little way to go and it will probably be a year before I am 100% recovered. My medicines have finally been stabilized, so I will only have to have my levels checked every two weeks as long as they remain stable. Yipeeee At some point in the next few months I will go for more tests to check on the PE, but for right now I feel really good and I thankful that things are going so well.
As for Chuck...well those of you who know him, are probably aware that he LOVES being a dad; tummy time, night time feeds, walks, babywearing, he excels at them all.

Bye for now,
Ger, Chuck, and baby Aisling

Then & now

Hi everyone,
Aisling was three months old actual age on Tuesday (1 1/2 weeks adjusted). Here are some "Then and Now" pics.
Well her eye exam went super well on Tuesday, she will not have another eye exam until September and it will be with the pediatric opthamologist to check on her vision. Her ultrasounds went well on Thursday, aside from all of the screaming and her hip and spine are good!!!! So, all in all a good week, aside from reflux rearing its ugly head.
By the way at her last ped appointment she was 6lbs 7 oz. Yipeeeeeee
Bye for now,
Ger, Chuck, & baby Aisling

Hi everyone,

This post is coming much later than anticipated, but as you can imagine we have been occupied with a few other things!
Where to start? Aisling has had two follow up doctors appointments since being discharged on the 24th. Both went well, she had gained weight within two days of discharge, so we were both very relieved by that. She also had another eye exam and for now there is no progress, so we return in less than two weeks, but the doctor seemed optimistic that the ROP would resolve on its own. Lots of you were curious about ROP, so what do I know about ROP; this is why Stevie Wonder is blind and it involves the blood vessels growing incorrectly in the eyes. Aisling was really brave, but it is not a fun exam, despite the kind people at the eye clinic and she screamed for the duration, but was fine immediately afterwards.
We return next week to her pediatrician and she will also get her last synagis shot, which is for RSV. At her doctors appointment people were oohing and aahing (from a distance, I was on guard duty) about the tiny newborn baby. We let them think that...yes, she is small, but a tough cookie.
Well, we don't have any kind of a routine done at this point, other than she cries and we come running :-) We are trying to follow "The Happiest Baby on the Block" school of thought, or at least our own unique interpretation of it! She doesn't seem to enjoy baths and is okay with tummy time. Her favorite activity is rocking in mommy or daddy's arms (mostly at 3am!).

Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers!

Chuck and Geraldine

HOMECOMING

Well, that time has finally come! After 71 days in the NICU, Aisling has bid farewell to the wonderful nurses, doctors, and staff at the University of Illinois Medical Center. She has decided to upgrade her place of residence and move in with her mom and dad. Mom and dad are extremely pleased with her decision, even in the early hours of Thursday morning, when sleep eluded all three of us! It was so exciting packing up her bags and heading home yesterday. She wore her going home outfit courtesy of another Aisling and of course no outfit would be complete without another styling hat, this one made by Mrs. Thomas. So, Chuck and I were the typical anxious first time parents. We fussed and worried (okay, that was me) about her; making sure she was settled into her car seat correctly and ensuring she was warm and checking her breathing. Well, when we arrived home and Chuck was helping me out of the car, we realized we had left my crutches propped up against the car and driven off without them! I am sure the people at the hospital entrance were quite amused.
Aisling is adjusting to her new environment and hopefully we will settle into a routine soon. We will update in a few days to let you know how everything is going.

Chuck, Ger, & Aisling

Hi everyone,

Since our last post Aisling has been on the move again. She is still a NICU/ICN patient, but is now on another floor. We continue to work on our last hurdle; oral feeding. Sometimes, she will take all of her bottle, but at other times she is not so interested.
Aisling has passed her hearing test, but we have encountered a problem with her eye exam. She has mild ROP in her left eye. We are hoping this will correct itself, but we will know more when we talk to the doctor tomorrow. It is always hard to hear this, but we are trying to be optimistic that all will be well. This is life in the NICU, full of ups and downs.
Otherwise she is doing well, she now weighs 4lbs 8.30z and is looking cuter everyday.

Love,
Geraldine & Chuck

Another Great Week!

So, it was another busy week for baby Aisling. As you can see from the photos she has graduated to an open air crib. We were so excited when we walked into her room last Monday. She is gaining weight slowly but surely and we hope she will reach the 4lb mark within the next few days. We are continuing to work on oral feedings. Sometimes she will take 8 cc's and at other times 20 cc's, so our goal is for her to take at least 5-10ccs at every feeding and grow on this. As she gains weight she will have more energy for this. This is one of her last challenges in order to come home, so we are excited and somewhat anxious for her to acquire this skill. The results of her echo came in and it looks like there is nothing for us to worry about.

Wow, what a week. Aisling wore her first outfit last Monday and of course looked fabulous! She also tried her first bottle with 5 cc's of breast milk. This is definitely a work in progress for her, as her muscles are still not that strong and it takes up a lot of her energy. So, when she is showing signs and is alert we will continue to work on her with this new skill. We talked with her doctor and decided to alternate her feedings with breast milk and fortified formula in order to boost her weight gain. As of last night she weighed 3lbs 7.3 oz. We hope as she gains weight she will have more energy for bottle feedings and this will also help her to maintain her own body temperature and hasten her move to an open air crib!
She also had an echo done on her heart, so we are waiting on the results of this to determine there are no problems with her heart; the doctor thought she heard something, but she is optimistic it is nothing to worry about.
Aisling was full of smiles for her daddy, she really enjoys the sound of his voice and bad jokes!

As for me, I finally had knee surgery, so I am somewhat immobile once again and in pain, but it is a relief to have it out of the way and hopefully I will be moving about on my own again very soon. I too had an echo recently and my heart is looking great!

Once again, thanks for all your thoughts and prayers

Love,
Ger & Chuck

Super Trooper!

Well, since the last post, Aisling has been doing very well. They have taken her off oxygen and she is now breathing room air with no assistance. She is also at full feeds (25cc's!!) and is off of the I.V. She is strictly on milk now, and hopefully in the next week or so, she will be able to start oral feedings. It is quite refreshing seeing her without so many tubes attached to her little face. She is really enjoying sucking on her pacifier as well.

They have also lowered the temperature inside of her incubator and she is able to maintain her body temperature quite well. The next step will be to place her in an open air crib, but in order to do that, she needs to be at around 4lbs. She is still at 2lbs. 15oz. as of today. Throughout the week, she lost a little weight. Ger and I feel that this is because she is working so hard to breath, feed, and maintain her body temp and is burning a lot of calories. To counteract this, the doctors have added calories to her milk. With the boost in calories, we hope that she starts packing on the ounces.

All in all, things are looking up and we hope that this trend continues. Check back later in the week for more updates.

Chuck and Geraldine

32 days and counting...

We are happy to report that day by day, Aisling is getting back to her normal self. She is off of all antibiotics and is doing well so far. They have increased her feeding every day by 1cc and she is now up to 8cc's and tolerating it so far. She has grown 2 inches in length and is now a whopping 15 inches! Along with the growth in length, she has put on some weight. As of this afternoon, she was weighing in at 2lbs 15 oz. GO CHAMP!!

She has also been moved into what has been refered to as the "Penthouse Suite" of the NICU. This area was just opened on New Years Eve and is working well for the entire family.

Please continue to send your good thoughts and prayers her way.

Chuck and Geraldine

January 10th

Things are starting to look up for our little girl. Over the past few days, many tests were conducted and the results have shown that as of right now, she just has an infection from her "central line" IV. Therefore, they have removed that and replaced it in another location. They had her on about 4 antibiotics and she is now down to just 1. Her respiratory tests all came back negative showing no signs of respiratory infections. They also did a spinal tap to test for meningitis, which also came back negative. The doctors are still testing and monitoring her for signs of NEC (Necrotizing Enterocolitis), an intestinal infection, which we are praying is not the case. On Thursday, they stopped all feedings and put her on an IV for nutrients. Today, they began feedings again with 3cc's of milk. They will continue to monitor her ability to digest the milk and will increase feedings accordingly.
Aisling was very stressed out by being back on the respirator, she cried a great deal the last few days and she was constantly pulling at her tubes. Today when we saw her we were pleasantly surprised to see the respirator had been removed and she is now on a high flow nasal tube. She was also sleeping peacefully with no crying at all. We were finally able to do Kangaroo care with her today, which she loves, as do we.
So, we are cautiously optimistic that she is on the mend and will get back to the job of growing.

Thank you for all your prayers and good wishes,
Chuck and Ger

Setback

Today we were awoken before 5:00am by a phone call from the hospital. Aisling has had a major setback! Her breathing dropped drastically over night and she appeared pale in color, among other things. The doctors immediately moved her back into the intensive care unit and put her back on the respirator to help her breath. They say that she may possibly have an infection and are conducting many tests. This morning she had to have a blood transfusion and a spinal tap. They are not exactly sure what is happening but will let us know as soon as they find out.

We are trying our best to stay positive and keep up our strength for our little girl. We spent the day with her this and she seemed to be stable with the assistance of the respirator and medications. It was apparent that she was exhausted and slept a great deal. She is a fighter and has been through a lot over the first few weeks of her life. We are hopeful that she will continue to fight and get through this.

Please continue to send your thoughts and prayers her way.
Chuck and Ger

Great Weekend

Hello and thanks for checking in. We had a great weekend with Aisling! When we walked in on Saturday morning we were surprised to see that she was no longer using the tubes in her nose for breathing!! Our baby girl was breathing room air with no assistance! She also no longer had a tube in her mouth. We are proud to say that she is now creating "dirty" diapers. This is demonstrating that she has the ability to digest the milk. On Saturday, she was up to 13cc's of milk. Sunday, she was up to 14cc's. By her next feeding tonight, she should be up to 16cc's. With the increased milk intake, the weight should start to increase significantly. As of yesterday, she weighed 2lbs. 6oz.

She still continues to have dips in her heart rate, which is quite normal for preemies. This is something that they will continue to monitor closely. Ger and I have been providing "Kangaroo Care" and she is thriving off of it. When she is on our chests, she is completely content and happy. She often flashes her game winning smile. Her lungs appear to be quite strong, because she sure can belt out a good cry every now and then. All in all, she is on an upward trend and we hope that this continues, so that we can bring her home strong and healthy.

On the style front, she has been modeling new hats over the past few days. We must admit she wears them well. We hope she can wear one of these fabulous hats home.

Thanks for your good wishes,
Chuck & Ger

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everybody!!

Well, 2009 finished on a high note and continued into 2010 for the Brewsters. We were able to ring in the new year with Aisling and have good news to share. First, Aisling has gained more weight! She is now at 1000 grams (approx. 2lbs. 3oz.). We met with the developmental specialist and she told us that Aisling has been showing great signs of self regulation skills for calming herself. She is still breathing room air with a CPAP (slight push of the room air oxygen into her nose). Since Aisling has shown increased stability and progress, she has been moved from the intensive care unit to the intermediate care unit, which is where we hope she'll stay until it's time for her discharge. However, there is still more for her to learn in regards to regulating herself when transitioned from being held, to the incubator, and to feeding. She still has a few drops in her heart rate when she forgets to breath normally. This is all challenging for her and requires a great deal of effort on her part. We, along with the staff, will continue to help her develop these skills so that she can do this independently.

Yesterday, after mommy changed her diaper and while she was feeding, she showed us a tremendous SMILE!!! She has also been opening her eyes more and checking us out. She seems to recognize our voices, touch, and smells and often shows signs of great comfort when we are present.

We wish you all the best in 2010. Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers.

Chuck and Geraldine