Hazel's First Bottle with Daddy!!!

Hazel is as determined to get home as we are apparently. She took 32 ml (over 1 oz), which is almost all of her feed at breast and bottle. We both got to feed her today...exciting!!! She actually ate 3 meals today by bottle and breast. Usually she only wakes up for 2. Hazel is doing a fantastic job and is continuing to shock us all with her progress. Her father and I fall a little more in love every single day. We are starting to slowly realize that she is the boss and that we are all too willing to give her whatever she wants. And so it begins... Also, as you all know she had a surgery on her bowels when she was just 28 hours old, WELL they work just fine now!!! It seems to us, all she does is poop. I think we changed her at least 3 times just this morning, in about 2 hours. So, great job Dr. Merritt. Mission accomplished!!

3 Week Update

Well Hazel is finally term, 40 weeks...she should have been born yesterday!!! Time flies. She is still doing very well and gaining weight. She now weights 5lbs 11oz and is 52 cms long. Hazel spends a little more time during the day awake...usually at about 6:30 am until 9:30, then she sleeps for the rest of the day and most of the night. We are starting to spoil her just a little with the cuddles, she often needs to be rocked to sleep, not just swaddled and put in her cot. Oh well, I guess we'll just have to hold her...poor us!!! Hazel is still working at being able to take a full feed by either breast or bottle or both. At this point we just want her home so we will get that food in there however she wants it. She is able to take half that at times and tube feed for the rest. She is working hard to become more consistent, we are proud of her! It is a lot of work for her still but seems to keep trying harder and harder to get the job done. I think she wants to go home too!!!

The Doctors were talking briefly about sending her back to the NICU in Windsor to learn to eat and continue to grow. However, at this point they are just going to keep her here to monitor her heart for now. Not that it is an issue, just a precaution. Also, they felt that it would be better to keep things consistent for her now, especially since she is doing so well and just starting to feed better.

So overall, Hazel is holding her own, as usual, and getting stronger and stronger everyday. She is leading the ship and we are all along for the ride. She is setting the pace and we are trying to give her every opportunity to succeed. Never starts too early when you are a parent I guess.

So, we tried our first photo shoot session with Hazel and she was clearly not into it but we thought we would share anyway. She was NOT happy with us. Hope you get a good laugh... we sure did!!!

Hope you are all doing well, staying healthy and keeping warm.

2 Weeks Old Already!!!!

Hazel is getting bigger and stronger everyday. We are continuing to feed her a little more each day and she is tolerating it very well. She is working very hard to eat straight from the source, although it still tires her out quite a bit, but, every time we try she gets more and more. She is now almost up to 5 & 1/2 lbs. We are very pleased that she passed her infant hearing test and will be able to listen to our terrible voices serenading her to sleep at night. Lucky Hazel!!!  

We are still in the process of meeting with the physical therapist to see what we can do to help Hazel with her muscle tone, but so far she was very pleased to see how strong she is already. The cardiologist is going to monitor her heart condition very closely to try to avoid surgical intervention until she is 6 months old. This heart condition causes Hazel to burn more calories when she is eating than she can afford but we will watch her closely and make sure she is getting what she needs to continue to get chubby.

Overall, it has been another fantastic week of growth. Hazel is meeting and exceeding all the expectations and still making her parents very proud. She had her first bath this week and was not too thrilled about it. She was a red hot mess!!! By the second bath with her daddy (after peeing on him and pooping on me AND pooping in her bath water) she thought it was great and fell asleep while getting pampered. Enjoy the pictures!!! We enjoy living every single one of these moments with her and can't wait for what is next.

Hazel's Big Girl Bed

Hazel continues to make mommy and daddy very proud with her continuous strides in getting stronger and chubbier everyday. She has been moved from Pod C (the highest needs area) to Pod A (transition to home area). It still could be a bit yet before we get take our little girl home but we are going in the right direction. Following her lead of course!! Hazel is very determined to get home to meet her big sister Nico. Hazel has passed her birth weight by about 150g at this point and it seems her cheeks get more and more kissable everyday. She has just started getting about an ounce of breast milk at a time, through a tube still, but we are hoping to change that very soon. She is tolerating all these quick changes so well and the doctors and nurses are all really pleased and excited with her progress. Her strength is admirable to say the least.

This morning she had her IV removed so she is no longer dependent on that. Next steps are to get her to breast feed and gain weight and finally bring her home...so nice to be able to say that!!!! I can't believe I am going to say this but I can't wait to start dressing her like a little girl.

We are overwhelmed by her patience and ambition daily. We are so happy and excited to see how well she is doing. She continues to calm us and teach us to be strong everyday. I think that Hazel has big plans for all of us. Teaching us to be present is the most important lesson she has taught us so far.

I was thinking the other day that I am so excited to NOT know what our future will bring, exactly, in terms of milestones. It will force us to remain focused and present in all that we do with our Hazel in order to support her to become the strongest she can be. Although, I think she is showing us how to be strong at the moment.

Love to all...can't wait to be home!!!! A few pictures of her hanging out in her new room...enjoy!!!

Just a Thought...

This is Hazel's mommy... I just thought that I would share my thoughts about where we are and what is happening to our little miracle. Yesterday, we had a meeting with the geneticist and had the difficult discussion about our baby having Down Syndrome and what that might mean moving forward. We also discussed what it might mean for us as parents in terms of some of the challenges that we will be faced with as a family. We also discussed future surgeries that she may need on her heart.

I would have thought that I would be filled with sadness and trepidation about how we will all fair in the end. However, sitting at dinner the tears started rolling down my face and I realized, while sitting at the Ronald Mac Donald house, that I am the luckiest person on this earth. I have been absolutely blessed with a perfect child that has needs and challenges to be met and maintained. I have the most supportive husband in the world, who is 100% head-over-heals devoted to giving Hazel all the love and support that 10 kids would need. Not to mention the overwhelming support of our families and friends.

We are the luckiest people to have all of these blessings and I am so proud to have you all in Hazel's life. She will be a better, stronger person for it. I know I can speak for Matt when I say that we have never felt more love, warmth and comfort ever before. We are truly the luckiest people ever!!!

I CANNOT wait to bring this little sweetie home and begin our journey as a family. More importantly we can't wait to have all of you along for the ride as well...I have a feeling little Hazel has got quite a few tricks up her sleeve...she is pretty feisty when she wants to be. Of course this is my favourite quality of hers so far.

Love you all and God Bless.

Do me a favour and find someone you love and give them a hug and kiss and celebrate how lucky you are to have each other...

1 week old...already!

Hazel is one week old today! She is doing great.  The doctors feel confident that she is digesting her food and have raised the dosage of breast milk and lowered the IV fluids.  She gained back 50 grams of the weight that she had lost after she was born which is great.  They are also considering moving her out of her  incubator to a bassinet which makes it alot easier for us to pick her up and snuggle whenever we want!  Here is a pic we took of her yesterday...she has no tube in her nose as they were changing it so we grabbed a few pics.