February 10, 2010 by Jen.

Images of the first days at home:

How can we possibly express how good it is to be home? Here are some highlights:

–holding her and cuddling with her WHENEVER we want!
–24-hour quality time
–no tubes, alarms, or other people around (although we loved our NICU nurses!)
–a lovely banner from the wonderful Class of 2012 on our garage, welcoming Juliana home
–4 feet of snow
–eating and cooking in our own kitchen
–sleeping in our own bed
–internet access

As the days go by and we get established into more of a routine, you can expect more pictures and updates. For now, we are learning how to sleep while constantly watching over her and enjoying just being together. Thanks to everyone for your many prayers and well wishes. We’ll keep you posted!

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December 31, 2009 by Jason.

Today was a fun day with Juliana. I got to hold her for about 2 hours this afternoon. She did really well on the nasal canula and was very comfortable. She peeked her eyes open a few times, but was content to sleep most of the time or occasionally suck on her pacifier. After we put her back in the isolette, Jen got to give her a “sponge bath” in the isolette. We then dressed her up in a new outfit and Rachel, her nurse, swaddled her. She gets to have 3-hour trials on the nasal canula twice a day now. They also increased her feeds to 10 ml per hour. We weighed her today and she has hit 1500 grams! She is gaining weight rapidly. We left her to go home for two nights. We are celebrating New Years with friends and running some errands tomorrow. We’re looking forward to a better new year.

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December 28, 2009 by Jason.

Juliana had another eye exam this morning and the opthamologist found evidence of Stage 3 ROP. We have decided to go ahead with laser surgery to correct her eyes. She will get it done 7:30 tomorrow morning. This evening we will kangaroo with her nasal canula on her face. She is getting brief trials off of her CPAP. She is 2 lb 15 oz as of last night.

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December 25, 2009 by Jason.

We visited Juliana this Christmas evening with grandparents and aunt and uncle in tow. She has stayed steady with her CPAP at +5 but her feeds have increased to 8.5 ml per hour. We dressed her up in a Christmas outfit and took a family photo. We will post it tomorrow. Juliana also received some Christmas presents! She got a “Daddy loves me” preemie onesy in pink and brown with matching pantsm She got a similar “Mommy loves me” onesy that is a little bit bigger. She got a 3-6 month size Baltimore Ravens onesy with matching hat and booties that she can wear next fall. Pictures of all her gifts will be posted tomorrow.

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December 11, 2009 by Jason.

Juliana’s leg looks less swollen today. The orthopedist examined her and readjusted her splint. The team is working on pain management to make sure it doesn’t bother her much. Her periods of bradying are over and she has a good heart rate, breathing rate, and pulse-ox. They turned her rate down to 10, and expect she will be on the continuous “CPAP” starting tomorrow. Her feeds were also ramped up to 2 ml per hour and it is all going down for now. That may seem like a large jump, but remember there are 33.6 ml per ounce! It takes her almost all day to drink one ounce. They will probably increase by 1 ml an hour each day until she goes on normal feeds. Jen and I are picking up the Herrs from the airport shortlyand heading home for the weekend. We will make some day trips down to Baltimore while they are here.

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December 9, 2009 by Jason.

Sometimes matters are taken into one’s own hand, like Juliana’s for instance. She extubated herself at 7 AM, right at shift change. Instead of reintubating her one day before the planned extubation, they went ahead and put her on the bi-PAP. She is doing very well on it 8 hours into it. We will see at about 3 whether Jen can hold her today.

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December 6, 2009 by Jason.

Juliana’s rate is down to 22 today. She is just a few days out from getting to try Bi-PAP again. We arrived just in time to see her diaper get changed. The suppository did its work and she had a nice mess. Never was a dirty diaper more excitedly celebrated! They have started her on continuous feeds now, 0.3 ml per hour to start. Jen is holding her right now and is enjoying herself. I think we will go down to the Inner Harbor for dinner tonight.

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July 15, 2008 by Jen.

This is just a test of something…

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June 15, 2008 by Jen.

Well, after some travel difficulty (Aer Lingus canceled our flight and put us on another one: British Airways is a fabulous way to fly!), we arrived safely in Dublin, several hours later than planned. Paul met us at the airport, and we had to unfortunately miss the Phillip Gourevitch lecture because of our later flight. But we went to a delicious place called Gruel for supper where Alita and I split a pea and lemon ricotta risotto and a strawberry salad. Delicious! We then went to the Dublin Symphony Orchestra concert that Alita was performing in. She says that they aren’t as prestigious as the name implies, but they really sounded great! Jason and I had a hard time staying awake though, since our jet lag was kicking in pretty severely.

Today Alita, Nina, and I drove south to look at Powerscourt Gardens and estate. Beautiful, Versailles-type gardens and grounds. It’s rainy off and on and quite chilly and dreary, but at times the sun pokes through, and this is what we expected; we’re in Ireland after all!

Paul and Alita live in a lovely, cozy home with a beautiful back yard/garden area. We are very comfortable here, especially since they have a kitty (Phoebe) who looks like a mix between Sophie and Baby Girl. She is small and cute and very friendly. We have already spent a lot of time together.

I don’t have photo-editing software on this computer, so the Ireland posts will be kinda rough until we get back home. I hope you enjoy though!

Click on the title to see the picture . . .

Jen and Alita

Paul and Alita

picture-130.jpg

Powerscourt Gardens

Cathedral where Alita performed

Rose

Paul and Alita’s dining/sunroom

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October 10, 2007 by Jason.

Something strange is afoot. Not just comments, but my whole archives directory. Grrr…

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