Learning new things every day!

Blog readers! Long time no post. A thousand pardons.

The good news is that our little Boo Boo is doing really well. It seems like she's learning new things every day. Try to give her a bottle, and she grabs it with both hands!

She can't quite crawl yet, but she gets around. She scoots, rolls over, and even pushes herself backwards. In the first video below, you can see she's got some serious strength in her little body.
In the second video, she's learning to make a silly sound with her lips. At the very beginning and end of the clip she's nailing it!

Enjoy!

Who's a Boo Boo?

WARNING: This is a very silly video. We got home late (meaning 10pm) from a friend's birthday party, and Nina was in a mood to laugh. Dawning got her going, and Daddy pressed 'record'.

Mommy's silly words, Nina's laughter, and and a serious case of hat-head make for quality entertainment.

Who needs television?

Kicking and squealing

Another hilarious video.

Nina kicking and squealing.

Amazing to see how tall she's getting!

Enjoy.

On strike!

Last week Nina started a bottle strike - she just flat-out refused to take a bottle, and would only eat from the boob. Try to give her a bottle, and she screams, kicks, and spits. Needless to say, it's been a huge pain in the you-know-what.

So, after yesterday's visit to the doctor, we decided to try solid foods. This video shows Nina eating solid food (rice cereal + breast milk) FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME. As you can see, she did REALLY well - she figured out how to open her mouth and slurp that food off of that spoon!

This is a very exciting development, for a lot of reasons. The least of which is our new day care situation (she's going two days a week so that mommy can work). Last week Nina screamed and cried (and slept) the whole time - refusing to eat. Hopefully, now that she can be spoon-fed, she'll have a better time (of course, she'll still get most of her calories from breast-feeding).

Oh yeah, and the doctor reports that Nina is growing and developing wonderfully. She's 14 pounds, 3 ounces and 23 inches tall!

Nina finds her voice!

Hey blog readers. We have here some super-cute pictures of Nina. One with her mommy, the other with her cousin Ryan. As you can see, her little face is already quite expressive.

Stay tuned, 'cause our next post will feature pics of Nina with her grandmothers.

At the bottom, we present a video of Nina "talking" to mommy. Yes, little Nina is starting to find her voice.

Enjoy!

Nina in Ohio

We had a great trip to Cleveland (actually, Twinsburg) Ohio this weekend. Nina got to meet her grandpa Jones and his wife, Cenellia!

She's getting more alert and aware every day. Everyone got a kick out of her cute face and little antics. Several friends and neighbors stopped by to see Nina (it turns out she has a pretty serious fan base in the Twinsburg area).

Next stop for the little traveler is Portland (in November) to see the other side of her family!

This last photo her is from a few weeks ago, but it's just so cute I have to post it!

Reaching and Grabbing!

Another first for Nina!

Yesterday, for the first time in her life, Nina was looking at something, then reached and grabbed it!

In this case, it was a sock-puppet doll that we laid down next to her in her little crib. She studied it's face for a long time, then slowly, and with a lot of flailing around, sent one of those little hands over to its face. After a few tries, she actually grabbed onto one of the puppet's eyes. Go Nina!

Below, we have a video that we think you'll find hilarious. It's Nina, sitting in her little automated swing (although it's not switched on). Once again, she's a girl of a 1,000 faces! You're going to want to crank up the volume on your computer for this one - her little noises (and one little noise toward the end, in particular) are hilarious.

And here's Mommy and Nina on an Amtrak train! They left NYC this morning headed for Vermont for the NICU reunion!

Sadly, Daddy had to stay behind to finish up some projects - last chance before the end of summer!

Stay tuned, blog readers!

Nina at 30,000 feet

We're back in NYC after a week in the smokey mountains of North Carolina!

Nina, it turns out, is a GREAT traveller (like her mom). She slept and nursed on the plane, and didn't seem bothered by take-off, landing, changes in air pressure, or any of it. Actually, the worst part for her was car rides - being strapped into that car seat!

Needless to say, it was great to get out of the city for a week. Everyone needed a little fresh air, and some much-needed rest.

22 inches tall!

Hey there, blog readers!

So, we went to the doctor yesterday, and it's all good news: Nina is 9 pounds, 11 ounces - she gained exactly two pounds since our last visit one month ago!

And she's about 22 inches long!

Not only that, but something has really clicked between her eyes and her brain - the girl loves to make and hold eye contact (seen in picture 1 here).

The other day we took a lovely trip upstate to visit with some of Nina's NY family. In this picture you see Nina being held by her GREAT-grandmother! Amazing!

Finally, we show you one of Nina's new favorite things: smiling. Yes folks, when the tummy is full, and the gas has passed, and the mood is right, this girl really likes to throw some smiles around.

Tomorrow, we're off to spend a week with friends in North Carolina.

Stay tuned!

She's growing!

Blog readers!

It's been a long time, but know that little Boo Boo is doing wonderfully.

She's growing!

First, she's up another diaper size!

Second, she's holding her head up longer and longer these days - she LOVES to be held facing outward so she can look all around.

And here's some good news for her parents: she has gotten in the habit of sleeping at night! For several nights in a row, she's only gotten up twice to eat. Last night she only got up once!

Stay tuned...

Alert and awake

Nina continues to get bigger! We'll know her precise weight this Friday when we visit the doctor, but Mommy and Daddy have a bet about how much over 7 pounds she is now.

Regardless, there is no doubt that the girl is growing! She continues to be an eating (and pooping) machine.

Lately she has longer 'awake and alert' spells. Her new favorite thing is to stare at things in her environment. Below we have a little video of her doing just that.

Nina gets plenty of stimulation. She has great music to listen to, books that Mommy and Daddy read to her, daily walks in the neighborhood, and more and more visitors coming by to meet her.

She's a busy girl, but she still spends most of her time eating or napping.

Daddy's Day!

Today is Daddy's first Father's day! Yay!

It started with homemade blueberry pancakes with raspberry jam (yum!), and continued with reading the Sunday NY Times, cuddling with little Boo Boo (see an index of all of her nicknames below), and watching the World Cup.

Around mid-day, we gave Nina a bath. In this video, you can see how chubby she's getting!

Nina's nicknames (currently) include:

Ninaz, Little Sweetie, Sweetiekins, Boo Boo, Stinky, Hungry, Monkey, and Love Bug

The Many Faces of Nina

Nina got to meet her Nana yesterday! Nana held her for a long time, and they got to know each other.

Nina is getting bigger and stronger by the day. She nursed yesterday in the evening for almost two and a half hours straight!

Mommy and Daddy are still unpacking (it ain't easy!), and we REALLY appreciate the help we've gotten from friends who have come by to bring us groceries, cook us meals, help put up shelves and unpack boxes. WE LOVE YOU!

Finally, we leave you with a hilarious video perhaps best titled, "The Many Faces of Nina." She's just waking up from a nap, and has a minor case of the hiccups. Enjoy!

This girl likes to eat

Nina saw her pediatrician on Friday. He said she's doing great!

Today she saw the opthamologist. He says her eyes are fully mature, and show no sign of retinopathy.

Yay!

This afternoon the visiting nurse stopped by.

She wrapped Nina up in a blanket to weigh her (she used a scale with a hook that went through the knot).

Cute, huh?

Turns out Nina is about 6 pounds, 10 ounces!

She gained almost a pound in one week!

Actually, it's not surprising given how much this little girl likes to eat!

Settling in...

Blog readers!

Nina, Mommy, and Daddy are settling into their new digs.

We're receiving the occasional visitor (see little Q there kissing Nina's foot), and working on getting some sleep.

You can see the boxes piled up in the background... it's gonna be a while before we're able to completely unpack.

But we love the new apartment! It's MUCH cleaner and nicer than our old place. We have brand new bamboo floors, lots more sunlight, and access to the roof!

Nina is an eating machine. In this video, she's doing her pre-eating squirm routine.

Home!

After 11 hours (!) of driving and stopping, driving and stopping,
Dawning and Nina finally made it home to NYC.

THANK YOU ASHLEY for driving them safely home!

Nina wanted to eat all night long, so Mommy and Daddy didn't get much
sleep.

She's ready for a nap now, though... and so are we!

THANKS AGAIN TO ALL WHO'VE HELPED US BRING NINA HOME TO OUR NEW, SUNNY
APARTMENT!

Nina's out & we're moved!

It turned out that Nina left the hospital at almost the precise moment
when the last piece of furniture was moved into our new apartment!

Special thanks to the moving crew (pictured below, minus one who left
early and another who came later)... and to those who helped packing!

And SUPER special thanks to our friends in Burlington who are taking
care of Dawning and Nina!

Discharge!

Blog readers!

Nina passed her car seat challenge, and has moved to a pram (see photo)!

The doctor is discharging her from the hospital TOMORROW!

Dawning is preparing to spend the night at the hospital tonight, then she and Nina will stay with friends in Burlington for a night or two, and then drive to NYC (she might wait the extra day to avoid driving in a storm)...!

Tomorrow, for the first time, Nina will see the sun (not directly, of course), feel the breeze, and smell fresh air!

Hooray!

!!!!!

Sorry for the delay, blog readers - yesterday was hectic!

But we return with great news: Nina is being prep'd to move to a "pram" - an open air bed. No more heated isolette!

She gained 112 grams last night! Nina now weighs 5 pounds, 8 ounces!

So many exclamation points!

Lastly, at rounds this morning, Nina's doc said he thinks she'd need to stay in the hospital only a few more days!

Little sweetie is coming home!

Hug me!

Good news!

Nina gained 27 grams last night - again, a modest amount, but definitely a step in the right direction!

Best of all: the tube stays out!

According to Dawning, she's eating like a barracuda, then sleeping like a log.

Here she is in a shirt with a little *bling* on it ("hug me")... a gift from a co-worker at PS 30!

Stay tuned, blog readers, because the word on the street is that Nina will be coming home very soon!

Still no tube!

Little sweetie seems to be a "cluster" eater. She didn't eat well all day, then went at it like a maniac around 4:30pm!

Nina didn't gain weight last night - she actually lost 10 grams, but the docs decided to keep her tube out for another day.

Her main doc actually thinks she might be ready to go next week!

Look ma, no tube!

Well, it turns out that Nina's gavage tube wiggled out last night (a by-product of some serious squirming action), so the docs decided to keep it out as an experiment for 24 hours or so.

The idea is to see if she gains weight without any gavage feedings. Last night she did in fact gain weight - a modest 18 grams.

Today she's been sleepy and reluctant to feed, so we'll have to see how she does this afternoon/evening.

In these pics, you can see her catching a little beauty sleep.

They'll probably make a decision tonight about whether or not to put another gavage tube back in.

Many of you are asking (understandably so) about when Nina will be coming home.

Mainly, it depends on her. Once she's able to feed orally and gain weight consistently without a gavage tube, that will be a sign that we're super-close to the finish line.

However, Dawning just told me that Nina had an alarm last night. The hospital's rule is that each alarm re-sets her discharge clock for (at least) one week.

So, as eager as we are to bring her home (and BELIEVE you me, we're eager), we can only move at Nina's pace.

Stay tuned!

Milk drunk

Family photo!

Well, that was yesterday.

Today, Nina took 50 cc's from breast-feeding in one session - a record for her!

They decided to let her feed orally "at liberty", rather than every 3 hours via gavage (the tube through her nose to her stomach).

But even with Mommy sitting by her side all day, little sweetie wasn't eating enough to put gavage feedings behind her forever.

Oral feedings still kinda wear her out. Dawning sent me the second picture here with the caption: "milk drunk."

Pick me up!

When we arrived at the hospital this morning, little sweetie was just waking up. Moments later, she started banging her little hand on the glass of her isolette, as if to say, "Pick me up!"

Daddy and Nina had another great nap today.

Now it's Mommy's turn to hold her for breast-feeding.

The nurse tells us Nina's weight is now exactly 5 pounds and one ounce!

Yay!

Nap time

Nina gained about 45 grams last night - that's pretty good considering she burned a lot of calories fussing and breastfeeding (4x!).

Daddy and Nina took two naps together today.

Sources report a snoring sound coming from their general vicinity.

Was that from Daddy or Nina?

We'll never know... :)

Look at those cheeks!

Nina is doing really well.

She gained 16 grams last night. She weighs 4.85 pounds.

Just look at those cheeks!

The latest eye exam showed that her eyes are still immature, but there's still no sign of retinopathy, which is a good thing.

Daddy's heading to the airport. See you soon, sweetie!

Shower!

Nina gained about 40 grams last night, and took a whole bottle on her own steam!

Way to go!

The doctors came by this morning during rounds, and mused out loud that they think Nina might be able to come home in a week or a week and a half...!!!!!!!!!!

Of course, that's just a guess, but it's progress!

Meanwhile, back in NYC, Brian's co-workers threw him a surprise baby shower today!

Nina got soooooo many cute things.

THANK YOU P.S. 30 CREW!