Friday 31st August 2007

I had visitors yesterday. Mummy and daddy's friends Katie and Simon came to visit. I had nice cuddles with Simon, although I slept through most of it! Simon and Katie are expecting a little baby of their own - a lovely new pal for me to play with. The reason I was so sleepy is because I've been eating so much, and to prove it to you I was weighed by Kay the Health Visitor today, and I had put on a whole 10oz since last week! That's right, I know weigh over 6lb, in fact I'm a whole 6lb 8oz! Can you believe it? I look all chubby don't I? Daddy says I've got hamster cheeks. Mummy decided we should go out for a walk with the buggy this afternoon to try and lose some of those lbs, so we had a strut round Wantage. We stopped at the car showroom to look at new cars for mummy. The current car is very difficult to manouevre me into, so we need one with 5 doors rather than 3. We'll test drive one tomorrow with me in my car seat - how exciting. Mummy and I have got a good routine going now, and it means that I feed more in the day, so that I don't wake up as much during the night. We'be been trying it for 3 days now, and it seems to be working okay. Daddy needs to learn the routine, so that we stick to it at weekends too, but mummy and I will teach him, and he'll pick it up in no time!

Wednesday 29th August 2007

Well I've had a good couple of days. Mummy and I have been flying solo so to speak and we've been on a couple of outings. Firstly we went to Waitrose yesterday. Mummy put me in a little infant carrier and we walked there. Lots of old ladies kept asking about me, and mummy kept having to explain that I wasn't a new born baby, but was in fact nearly 3 months old! Then today we ventured out in the car for the first time. I've only been in a car once, when I came home from the hospital, so this was a big adventure, and one which I slept right through, so I've still no idea what being in a car is like! Anyway we paid a visit to the GP who checked me over and said I was absolutely fine - so it's all systems go for me to have my second set of immunisations next week. This afternoon I had a visit from a whole new bunch of pals. They are the children of mummy and daddy's NCT group. I met Amelia, Ava, Freddie and Imogen. I'm older than all of them, although I should have been younger. I was just eager to get out and see the world I guess. It's bath day once again, so I'm preparing my lungs to make some noise when they dunk me in the water!

Monday 27th August 2007

Godmother Jenny came to visit me today - she thinks I'm lovely! Mummy and daddy think so too. I'm behaving myself and feeding every 3-4 hours and sleeping well between feeds. But I also like looking around and familiarising myself with my surroundings. I open my eyes wide and take it all in. It's our last day all together today before daddy goes back to work tomorrow - I'll miss him a lot, and mummy will too, but I know he'll be back every evening to cuddle me, give me my bath and feed me. In the meantime I'll get lots of cuddles with him today to tide me over...

Saturday 25th August 2007

A few exciting things happened today. Firstly I got to try on my new nappies. They are massive, and make me look like a sumo wrestler. Not very stylish at the moment, but I'm sure I'll grow into them soon enough, and it's good to know that I am doing my bit for the environment. I've hurt mummy by sucking too hard on her, so daddy's been bottle feeding me a lot today. I prefer breastfeeding, so I let daddy know that when mummy was out getting her new glasses. I think he was pretty tired by the time she goot home - he he! I've started to enjoy playing on my playmat. I'm put on there a couple of times a day and I spend my time listening to Mozart, looking in my mirror and trying to touch the animals that hang down - very civilised! I'm also wearing some natty new gear, and as it was so hot yesterday, I've been in some trendy vests rather than my usual babygrow - not sure how long this trend will continue, I guess it all depends on the weather, which I'm told is not very predictable. I'm used to it being hot though, having been in Special Care at the hospital for such a long time. Today I also discovered that Oscar will be coming home soon. He's having his hernia operation next week, and then going into the hospital flat with his mummy and daddy for a night. Oscar was born on 30th April, so he's really ready to come home. I'm so excited to see him properly - up until now we've had a long distance relationship!

Friday 24th August 2007

Today has been so exciting, because not only did Granny and Grandpa Meikle come and visit me, but Kay the health visitor came to weigh me. Mummy thought I may be as much as 6lb, because I have been eating so much, and I nearly did it - only 2oz away - that's right I'm now 5lb 14oz. That's 8oz since I left the hospital on Sunday. I've now even grown out of most of my 5lb baby clothes and am now into the next size up. Well, after that great effort I decided I needed to crack on with the weight, and told mummy and daddy I wanted to eat more often - maybe every 3 hours sometimes rather than every 4 hours. If I'm hungry I just let them know by wailing a bit and licking my lips - they seem to get the message. It's a good job mummy has so much milk for me! But in the end I have to sleep a lot to help me grow too, and my comfy beanbag is just the place to catch a quick nap between feeds.

Thursday 23rd August 2007

I don't understand this bathing lark. Why do I have to have a bath? Mummy and daddy bath me every 2 days, but I don't like it. I don't even like being wrapped in my nice giraffe towel, and I especially don't like having body cream rubbed into me, although mummy says it's good for my skin! Anyway - I had a really good night last night. I woke up for my feed at 3.30am and mummy and I were both back in bed by 4am, and daddy didn't even know we'd been away! We were then woken up by the postman at 6.45am . I didn't mind, as he had a present for me - some lovely balloons from my mate Callum and his parents Tim & Zoe. I've also had some other lovely balloons from Andrea and Mike. Another present I got yesterday was a lovely cardigan knitted for me by Hannah - Godmother Jenny' sister. Thank you Hannah! My new nappies arrived today. Mummy and daddy have decided to use real nappies to try and be a bit more eco-friendly. My nappies are from a company called Little Lamb Nappies and they are all lovely and fleecey and I'm sure they will be very comfortable. They have pictures of lambs on the label , which I like. I'll try them on for size tomorrow for the first time. Talking of size, Kay the health visitor will come and weigh me tomorrow. I bet I've put on loads of weight, as I've been eating a lot! That's another reason I don't like my bath - it just delays my food!

Wednesday 22nd August 2007

I've been keeping fit and entertaining today, plus I had my first outing in my pram. I tried out my Gym for the first time. It was a present from Granny Meikle and it's bright and colourful. Maybe a bit too stimulating for me at the moment, I prefer my black and white book right now, but I'll be big enough to enjoy my gym properly soon. I had a visit from Granny Judy too. She came down from Birmingham to visit me, and I had lots of lovely cuddles with her. We went out for a visit to the garden centre in my pram. I whinged a lot, as the pavement was very bumpy, and I've never been in a pram before, so it was a bit scary, but I know I'll get used to it soon. All these new experiences can be quite tiring, so I've slept a lot too. Mummy and daddy want me to practise my sleeping in the night more than in the day, but I think I can do both.

Tuesday 21st August 2007

Hello. A quick note from me today to tell you that the name for my teddy bear is going to be Aston. Thank you to everyone who voted. I've had a nice day today. I played on my playmat, slept in my moses basket, and chilled on my beanbag. Mummy also cuddled me a lot. This is the life. :-). However I also had my nappy changed several times on my new change mat, and had a bath. I don't like either of these things very much. :-(

Monday 20th August 2007

It's my official due date today, and I'm spending it at home with mummy and daddy. We all just relaxed today. I slept more than I did yesterday, I felt more at home and I'm getting used to my new surroundings. Mummy and daddy have been cuddling me a lot, so I've been able to sleep peacefully in their arms, which is the place I like best. Mummy and daddy enjoyed the fact that they didn't need to to to the hospital today. It's the first time they haven't had to go up there since 1st June, which was when mummy was admitted there for her pre-eclampsia. We all stayed in our pyjamas and slobbed about! I miss my friends in the Special Care Unit, but I know they'll all come home soon, and I'll be able to see them again. I'm getting a visit from the Special Care Community Nurse Rosie tomorrow and she's bringing the health visitor with her, so I'll get weighed. Lets hope I've put on some weight since I left the hospital, I was 5lb 6oz when I was discharged.

Sunday 19th August 2007

Well the great day is here - it's homecoming day. Mummy and daddy took me home just after lunch. I had my milk and then they strapped me into my car seat. I said goodbye to my friends Oscar, Gene and Henry and to the nurses on duty today - Karen, Jane and Charlotte. I didn't see much on the way home as i was fast asleep, but I woke up when I got back and played with daddy on my beanbag again whilst mummy went to the supermarket to stock up with supplies. I've got a lovely new moses basket to sleep in, and I've seen my nursery, which I like very much. I've got a mobile which plays music, and my nursery is full of brightly coloured things to catch my eye. It's the start of a whole new adventure. I'll miss all the lovely nurses and doctors at the hospital, they've all been so kind and have helped me so much, but it's time to leave now. I've been at the hospital for 71 days, and now I'm looking forward to having fun with mummy and daddy at home. I may not write in my diary every day now, as I'll be very busy playing at home, but I'll still let you know what I'm up to as much as I can, when I've got a moment! Anyway - I'm off to have my first bath at home. My cousin Daniel has lent me his bath, so thank you Daniel. I'm looking forward to a week at home with mummy and daddy, before daddy goes back to work.

Saturday 18th August 2007

I'm 10 weeks old today, and celebrated with a visit from Godmother to be 'Becky' (my middle name 'Rebecca' is named after her!). Becky came to keep mummy and me company in the hospital flat, whilst daddy went home and sorted out my new car seat, to make sure I can go home tomorrow. She brought me a new toy rabbit to play with to add to my extensive cuddly toy collection. We also had another visit from Kate, Oscar's mummy, and this time she brought Oscar's daddy with her to see me. Daddy came back later, and told me all about my new car seat, changed me nappy and fed me. Daddy feeds me my milk once a day out of a bottle, so that I can have some of my drugs disolved in my milk - it also gives mummy a break. It's still mummy's milk, but just not directly from her. Mummy and daddy got more sleep tonight. We all chilled out a bit more - I slept more and they were less stressed, so we would be much more refreshed for homecoming day.

Friday 17th August 2007

Today I went into the hospital flat with mummy and daddy. Mummy took me in there at about 12.30pm, just in time for my 1pm feed. We had a lovely afternoon together I played on my nice new bean bag. Oscar's mummy came to visit me and to check out the flat, as she'll be staying there with Oscar and Oscar's daddy Kieren in a few weeks time. Daddy arrived in the evening and brought some nice food from a shop called Marks & Spencer - unfortunately I can't have it yet though - I'm on a purely milk diet at the moment - but it seems to be working, I weigh 5lb 4oz today. Mummy and daddy didn't get much sleep as I am very noisy and make lots of grunting and gurgling noises, and then whenever I was really quiet, they got worried and had to keep checking on me. But we made it through the night, and I got all my drugs on time and got to breastfeed on every feed for the first time ever!

Thursday 16th August 2007

I'm bored with being in hospital - can you tell? I can't wait to get home, so that I can play with my toys and it's not long now. Mummy and daddy are taking me into the Special Care flat tomorrow night and Saturday night, and then if all goes well I'll be going home on Sunday! This will mean that I'm going home the day before I was due to be born. Can you see what's missing from the photo? That's right - no monitors. I have absolutely nothing electronic monitoring me now - my apnoea mat has been removed, and I'm completely free of wires. Mummy was a bit nervous of this and kept checking to see if I was breathing okay - and I was! The doctor came round to speak to mummy and check out all my discharge details, and my TTO's. These are the drugs and medication, which I'm going to have to take home with me, and mummy had to practise measuring them out, so that she can give them to me properly once I'm home. There's quite a lot - Dalavit (my multi vitamin), Iron, Phosphate, Renitidine, Domperidone and Gaviscon! Oscar was moved over from High Dependency to Special Care today. Typical - just as I'm getting ready to go home! Oh well, I know I'll see him again when he gets out of hospital. Anyway - next time I write in my diary I may be doing it from home, rather than hospital - wish me luck!

Wednesday 15th August 2007

Well, hopefully I won't be in this hospital cot for much longer. I'm off my sats monitor and on my apnoea mat, and I'll come off the apnoea mat tomorrow if I behave myself overnight and don't set the apnoea alarm off. As you can see I have lots of friends in my cot. The newest arrival is my pink and yellow rabbit which was given to me by granny Judy. Guess what? I reached a big milestone last night. When I was weighed I'd put on a nice lot of weight and I am now 5lb 1oz. Wow, I can't believe I've reached 5lb. I never thought I'd get there, and I've finally made it. Next stop 6lb! Oscar's mummy came to visit me today. She told me that Oscar is doing well, and he is over 6lbs now! Mummy gave me a another bath today. I'm not sure I like baths, I always get the urge to scream when mummy puts me in the water, although I quite like having my hair washed. Anyway, at least I smell nice for daddy's visit tonight! Have you seen my lovely blanket? It was made for me by mummy's friend Amanda's mummy. Isn't it beautiful? It keeps me warm in my cot and it has little pink bows in each corner. I'm looking forward to using my blanket in my crib at home. Keep voting for my teddy bear's name!

Tuesday 14th August 2007

I have a new friend today. Mummy bought me this lovely teddy bear from the SSNAP charity shop. SSNAP is the charity at the John Radcliffe Hospital which helps premature babies like me. It stands for 'Support for the Sick Newborn and their Parents'. They sell little knitted bears like this to raise money. As you can see its colours are the same as the football team that daddy supports, which is called Aston Villa. I haven't named my bear yet, so I've decided to get you to vote to decide what to call him. Check out the voting option on the left handside of my blog! Today the consultant came round to see me, and decided that I should come off my sats monitor this afternoon, and go onto an apnoea mat to see how I am. I'll go back on my sats monitor through tonight, but if I don't have any desats overnight then I'll be off it for good. That means that I may be able to go into the flat over the weekend - hurrah. I've still got my reflux, but mummy and daddy will just need to keep giving me my medication once I get home.

Monday 13th August 2007

Well it's a week until my due date, and although the 13th is unlucky for some, it's not for me. Infact it's a very good day. My sats trace overnight was much improved, so Rosie the community nurse says that I can come off my sats monitor in a couple of days and go back onto an apnoea mat, and then I can go into the hospital flat at last with mummy and daddy at the weekend. We've been here before, so I don't want to get my hopes up, but I think it really might happen this time. Zoe the speech therapist came to see me again this morning to check on my feeding. This time she wanted to see how I fed out of a bottle with the new sideways style she's advised me to use. Mummy put some milk in a bottle to show her, but I like to breastfeed from mummy, not bottle feed, so I refused to take the milk from the bottle - aren't I naughty? Why should I have my milk in the bottle, when I've got a much better alternative? I'm looking forward to the time when I don't have to feed from my bottle very much when I get home. Hopefully that won't be long now - keep your fingers crossed. Daddy is coming to feed me tonight, so I'll have to have a bottle from him, and I'm hoping he'll give me a bath too. I was weighed last night, and I have put on 110g since Friday. This means that I am now 2,225g or just over 4lb 14oz. I bet I'll be over 5lb by the time I get home!

Sunday 12th August 2007

I've had another quiet day today. Mummy stayed all day again to feed me 3 times, and gave me a lovely bath with my nice lavendar and dill bathset that her friend Kate gave to me. Daddy also came to see me with his friend Ben who gave me a lovely cuddle. It's my sats trace tonight. I was practising having good sats all day, and did quite well until my 5pm feed when I had a great big desat. It was all due to my reflux, and I grunted and groaned and wriggled about. I mustn't do that when I'm on my trace tonight, otherwise I definitely won't be allowed to go home. I need to stop having these desats for the doctors to be happy with me. My trace started at about 6pm tonight, and I had a few little desats right at the start of it -hopefully I won't have too many more during the night - we'll find out tomorrow. I'm being weighed tonight, so I'm excited to see how much weight I've put on since Thursday night.

Saturday 11th July 2007

Today I ate and ate until I thought I was going to explode, can you tell? That's probably why I'm putting on so much weight, I'm now 4lb 11oz! Mummy stayed all day and fed me 4 times. I woke up in between my feeds and wanted more, and then I fed so much that it all came out of my nose when I burped! Then I slept a lot because I was so full, and my sats were a lot better than yesterday - my new medication must be working well. I'm practising for when I have my sats trace tomorrow night, so that the doctors will be pleased with me on Monday morning. If I behave on Sunday night, they might be allow me to go home. Mummy tells me my crib and moses basket are all ready at home, and that my sparkly new pushchair is waiting for me to try out. My pal Eva is going into the hospital flat with her mummy and daddy tonight, so fingers crossed it goes well for her. I'm hoping to get to go into the flat soon. Maybe next week. It's only 9 days until my original due date of 20th August, so the countdown is on!

Friday 10th August 2007

I've been very sleepy today, and I've mostly been sleeping in mummy's arms, but I've slept a bit in my cot, and I've been elevated up at more of an angle, to try and help stop my reflux. My trace from last night and yesterday showed that I am still having occasional desats whilst I am sleeping, so I'm also on another new drug to try and help, it's called domperidone. The doctors will do another sats trace on Sunday night to see if I've improved, and if all these medicines are helping. I want to be 100% well before I come home. The nice speech therapist Zoe came to see me this evening to watch me sucking. She watched me breastfeeding with mummy and said it was a long time since she'd seen a baby suck so well - aren't I clever? She talked to mummy and nurse Natalie about my bottle feeding to decide on a plan to get my bottle feeding as good as my breastfeeding. We're going to try a new position, and hopefully that will help, so I'll try that out with daddy for the first time tonight. Once I've sorted out my reflux and my bottle feeding, then I'll be able to go home. My friend Gene wasn't very well today, and has been moved back to the High Dependency Nursery - get well soon Gene.

Thursday 9th August 2007

I'm cross. I want to go home, but I'm not allowed to go yet. I'm still not quite well enough. When I'm asleep my sats keep dropping due to this reflux, and the doctors have got to get it under control before I'm allowed to go home. The good news is that everything else is still going well. My weight is particularly good. I'm putting it on at a nice and steady rate, and the last time I was weighed, I was 4lb 9oz - that's nearly twice my birthweight! I'll be weighed again tonight, and I'm sure that I'll be knocking on the door of 5lb by now. I'm feeding so well now. Mummy and daddy and my nurses have found a bottle that really suits me, which means that my feeds are much more enjoyable, as the milk doesn't all flow into my mouth too quickly. I like to have more milk than I'm supposed to - when I'm breastfeeding that's easy - I just suck for longer, but when daddy is bottle feeding me, I have to cry a bit to make sure he knows I'm still hungry! Last night I was supposed to have 60ml of milk for my feed, but I had 80ml - yum, yum. Anyway - the doctors are doing another sats trace on me today, to see if my reflux has improved with my new medication. If it has got better, then we may be able to talk about home again - Lets hope so. By the way, my friend Oscar has now come off vapotherm and is breathing by himself - well done Oscar. This means that he may be moved over onto the Special Care side soon to keep me company. Hooray! By the way I'm exactly 2 months old today.

Wednesday 8th August 2007

I have had a very settled day today, but the doctors still aren't happy with me. The consultant spoke to mummy this morning and the results of my trace showed that I was still having 'desats' which weren't associated with feeding or wriggling! The main problem is when I'm in a deep sleep and my sats drop. So the consultant has prescribed me renitadine which should stop any acid reflux in my tummy. This is what the consultant thinks is what is causing the desats. Jane my nurse and mummy watched me really carefully today and wrote down all my episodes of desaturation. They both think that I'm a lot better, as I had hardly any desats, but the renitadine may just get me totally sorted out. The consultant is also going to get a speech therapist to come down and look at how I am coordinating my sucking, breathing and swallowing, as they may be able to give mummy and daddy advice about my positioning when I'm feeding to help avoid more desats. They'll repeat my sats trace on Thursday night, and then we'll see what they say on Friday. I breastfed 3 times with mummy today, and I was very hungry and cross when my food was a few minutes late becuase mummy had to change my clothes. I think I'm getting a bit of a reputation in the Special Care Nursery for liking my food rather a lot - mummy tells me this is a family trait! It's Godmother Becky's birthday today - HAPPY BIRTHDAY BECKY - hope you liked the card I sent you.

Tuesday 7th August 2007

I had my immunisations today. I was very good and didn't cry very much. I'm so used to needles and cannulas that it wasn't a big deal. I cried more when I wanted my food from mummy. When I wake up I want my food straightaway, but mummy and daddy always change my nappy first, so I have to wait, which means I'm really eager to eat when they give me my food. This means I have a tendency to gulp my food, which is what caused me to turn blue on Saturday. The doctors need to feel confident that it's not going to happen again, so today they put me on a 24 hour trace to see what happens to my sats. Luckily my sats have been excellent today, so hopefully I will get the all clear. I have been feeding and burping well, and I am using a new teat on my bottle feeds which means the milk doesn't come out quite as quickly, and choke me! Once the doctors feel 100% happy with me, then I can go into the hospital flat with mummy and daddy - I'm hoping it won't be long now. Mummy's friend Ros came to visit me today. She thinks I'm beautiful, and brought me a fancy new outfit from Baby Gap. I don't think it will fit me for a while, but I'm looking forward to wearing it in a few months when I've grown a bit. I'll be weighed tonight, so hopefully I'll have put on a few more ounces with all the milk I've been drinking.