Long Time No See!!

Here are some updated pictures of Aisling for those of you who have been asking about her. Sorry it has taken us so long to post anything, but as you can imagine, she has been keeping us quite busy.

March Madness

Aisling on the swing having a blast. Please forgive the sideways image, but it's worth the head tilt!




Aisling decided she wanted to take her show on the road! Once again.....worth the head tilt!

LOOK AT ME NOW!

Fun in the Snow

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.