Long Journey Home

Sleeping beauty's last morning in the hospital. Little does she know what's in store for her today.








Daddy gives Bea a kiss for taking her whole bottle. She weighs 5 lbs 9 ounces now -- making up for lost time!








A special sign for the homecoming queen - thanks Nana's biking group!







In the car seat ready to leave the hospital. We only look serene because we tired ourselves out with vigorous screaming.







Last family photo in the hospital.








Daddy taking Bea to the car. First exposure to sunlight & fresh air for the Little One!








We think the car is pretty cool and slept the whole way home!








Mommy bringing Bea into the house.








Mommy and Bea, home at last.











"I'm going to karate chop you for changing my diaper!"








Timmy checks out the intruder. He and Oliver haven't yet decided if she can stay.







Daddy and Bea after a long, long journey.





More to come later on tonight, if Daddy has the energy. We couldn't have gotten here without all your love and support.

All the best,
Team Beatrice (Carol)

Oh, my goodness

Hi, All,

M&D are a little disappointed in you. Someone could have told us that being real parents was going to be hard. Very, very hard. We'll forgive you this time, but you're on thin ice.

Suffice to say, nobody slept last night, except for the Little One. It's going to take M&D a while to learn and get used to Bea's snorts, sighs, and other various utterances. M&D jumped out of bed every time a sound was heard, ready to change and feed our Little Princess. However, it turns out that she's just a very, very loud sleeper.

This is Parenting 101 stuff.

What's not so basic is the juggling of oxygen lines and monitor wires. The O2 supply rep came by yesterday to drop off two oxygen tanks (one large and one small) and a monitor. The equipment is easy to use, but will be difficult to juggle in the middle of the night. Wish us luck.

So... one more night in the hospital. Bea's doctor has been very accommodating and is allowing us to stay as long as we need. (Bea does have chronic lung disease, so it's not hard to justify extra time). He took one look at M&D this morning and suggested that we could use a little more time in ISCU. Bea, however, looked just fine, as usual.

We'll keep posting as interesting stuff happens.

All the best,

Team Beatrice (Ian)

Coming home! Coming home!

Hi, All,

It just got real. Bea is coming home on Sunday. I repeat: the Little One is scheduled to come home on Sunday!

Mommy and Daddy will "rooming in" tonight and tomorrow night with Bea, and then we all go home sometime on Sunday.

We're in shock. More information to follow soon.

Team Beatrice (Ian)

Stay Tuned...

Team Beatrice fans,

The day we've been waiting for may be upon us! Stay tuned...we'll let you know when Bea is coming home as soon as we find out. We're in a bit of shock considering we had thought she might be in the ISCU for a few more weeks. The Little One, however, has other plans.

Thanks for all your love and support on this long, hard road.

-Team Beatrice (Carol)

Another day, another nurse

Hi, All,

It's Wednesday, and Beatrice is still doing well at around 1/32 of a liter of o2, which isn't very much. Moreover, the Little One said that it would be OK if Nana gave her a bottle this evening. Very exciting for everyone involved.

Unfortunately, despite the intermittent progress in the oxygen/breathing department, Team Beatrice is increasingly unclear about when Bea will be coming home. We know that Bea needs to be able to take all of her food through a bottle, but we don't know if there are respiratory issues that may keep her in the hospital even after we've met our feeding goals. Doctor attention is sometimes hard to come by. Additionally, the nursing situation isn't helping our confidence or understanding: Over 11 days in the ISCU, Bea has had 10 different day nurses and 11 different night nurses. Despite all of the reporting that each nurse does, such massive turnover is not a great way to track the Little One's progress.

Sorry for the bummer of a post, but "it is what it is", whatever that's supposed to mean. Tomorrow is another day, and the only thing we know for sure is that Bea will find some new way to surprise and astound us.

All the best,

Team Beatrice (Ian)

Tuesday Spa Night Part 3!

Bathed, fed, and totally pooped out.








We're a very messy eater!








Burrito baby.









Getting swaddled by Daddy.







Evening all,

Beatrice had a delightful bath today (sorry, no pics as it is too hard to hold camera and slippery baby at the same time). She declared the temperature was to her liking and the head shampoo and massage given by Mommy were quite soothing. Not much to report...she is teetering on the brink of weening off O2 and taking all her feeds through a bottle. Just a little more time, says the Little One.

-Team Beatrice (Carol)

Weekend Roundup

Good evening, All,

Team Beatrice apologizes for blogging so erratically recently. M&D's weekend was devoted to crib assembly, shelf installation (thanks, J), and, of course, seeing Bea..

Thanks so much to everyone who has showered Bea and her parents with such lovely gifts and thoughts. Thanks also to the staff of the Arlington Free Clinic for thinking of us and for their very generous gift. You are All the best.

Beatrice Update:

Bea had been making such great progress that we were sure she'd be home by the end of this week. As of Sunday, she was up to six bottle feeds a day, and eight seemed just around the corner. She was also weened to just a teeny tiny amount of O2 as of this morning. However, the Little One just didn't have the energy to wake up for a bottle this afternoon, so we may need a little more time to build up our strength again. We hoped that she would be home within days, but nobody's going to rush a girl who's worked so hard to get where she is now. If she needs a respite, she can have it.

This afternoon, Mommy dropped off little presents for Bea's main NICU nurses. We owe them so much, but nursing scrub tops with little bees on them, and our eternal gratitude, will have to suffice. While gifts from parents are sort of frowned upon in the NICU, we just couldn't resist a little keepsake.

All the best,

Team Beatrice (Ian)

M&D Date Night

Hi, All,

No post tonight. M&D are going on a date (with each other!). Thanks, M&S!

Team Beatrice will be back on-line tomorrow evening.

All the best,

Team Beatrice (Ian)

Team Bea Photo-fest

Hi everyone,
Some pictures for your viewing pleasure. Yes, it's true, we went to the hospital in matching Team Beatrice shirts. Bea would be so embarrassed, if only she knew. Check out the double chin on our little porker!
Enjoy the pictures,
Team Beatrice (Carol)

Feeding Frenzy

Evening all,

Onward and upward. Our little munchkin has turned out to be quite a guzzler! She took four of her eight feeds through a bottle yesterday, one in under 5 minutes! It seems that slowing down is not in Bea's agenda. She's doing so well that her doc wrote orders to begin weening her O2, but alas the little one isn't quite ready for that (she is hovering between needing 1/8 and 1/16 of a liter of O2).

We had a little scare this afternoon in which her oxygen was mistakenly turned off for a few minutes. Bea "desatted" and needed some help to get her color back - a hard reminder that our feisty girl still needs help to breathe. If she keeps up her feeding frenzy, then we are bringing baby home with her oxygen tank - yikes!

M&D are in the final push (this time we mean it) to set up Bea's room this weekend, attempt a crib assembly, put up shelves...wish us luck as neither of us is particularly handy with a hammer. It is wonderful to finally feel like homecoming is imminent, though, and M spent a glorious afternoon washing and folding itty bitty baby clothes. Please note the spectacular "Team Beatrice" onesie and T-shirts - huge thanks to JG for these treasures.

Story time:

This evening's story was Dr. Suess's "The Sneetches", read by Daddy. (Thanks, GF!) Following the reading, D & Bea had lively discussion about the theme of the story. D insisted that it was an inciteful critique of a superficial, materialistic society, while the Little One thought Suess was trying to make a point about the importance of napping, eating, and pooping. We agreed to disagree.

Anyhoo... we've been getting lots of questions about Bea and Bea's future recently, so we thought we'd start a "Bea FAQ." Tonight's question is a summary of several different inquiries.

• Question: What are M&D going to do for childcare?
• Answer: We'll see. M&D have been told that daycare is out of the question for at least a year or so. Our Little Princess's immune system probably won't be strong enough to tolerate such a germ-factory environment. Over the short term, M will be taking a leave of absence from her phd program (thanks, M!). Over the long term... well, we'll see.
  

Tomorrow's subject: 02 tanks. Stay tuned.
All the best to everyone. Keep the comments and emails comin'.

Team Beatrice (Carol & Ian)

ISCU-ze Me

Hi, All,

Just another big day for Bea in the Infant Special Care Unit. Life chugs along, and so does our Little One.

The latest news is that Ms. Bea took three consecutive feeds from a bottle today. Three! This is a significant accomplishment for a 36-week old (gestational age) baby; it's simply amazing for a 36-weeker with a hermatocrit level of 23 (Anything below 25 is considered significantly anemic). The nurses are amazed that our Bea is able to take one bottle a day in her condition. Three is unprecedented, but nobody's going to tell the Little One what she can and can't do.

Unfortunately, our regular Tuesday spa night was not quite as relaxing as last week's. Water was a little cold, and we were a little rushed. However, we accomplished our goal, which was to clean Little Miss Stinky Pants, who was living up to the nickname. Pee-ew. No we're smelling sweet, like roses.

Anyway, Bea will be home before we know it if she keeps up this pace. If she goes any faster, she might get up and walk out before her due date.

Thanks so much to everyone.

Team Beatrice (Ian)

Some Pics

Hi everyone,

Here are a few pics from Bea's new digs in the ISCU...looks pretty much the same as the NICU. Team Beatrice will post tomorrow after Tuesday Spa Night!
(M's family: notice the two fingers in the mouth?)

Graduation Day

Hi, All,

Yesterday was graduation day from the NICU. The Little One's nurse called M&D in the afternoon with the news that Bea was headed downstairs to the Infant Special Care Unit (ISCU). Very exciting, but, as we wrote yesterday, a little daunting.

As it turns out, the ISCU is a much more serene setting for our Lil' Princess. Although the neighbors are a little noisier (lots of crying), the adult population is much calmer: No major episodes and fewer alarms to attend to. The ISCU has smaller rooms with just parents, babies, and the occasional nurse. Although the front-desk staff seem a little annoyed by our presence (and our lack of official wrist-bands), M&D are grateful to be able to hang out with the Little One in this environment.

We haven't yet received an official briefing about next steps, but we think that Bea may still be a few weeks away from heading home. She's taking about two feedings per day via bottle, but she still needs a fair amount of O2. (She needs to take all feedings through a bottle). Although M&D would like for Bea to come home ASAP, they are scared to death of having to deal with an oxygen tank at home. The nurses say it's not a big deal, but we beg to differ.

One step at a time.

Team Beatrice (Ian)

P.S. Thanks so much to E.J. for chauffering D to the dump, Goodwill, etc this morning. Very, very appreciated. Thanks also to GD (Granddad) for coming over to help with shelves. And thanks so, so much to so many others. (Belated thanks to J&J for offering use of a truck via our Comments section). My apologies, as I know that I am leaving a lot of people out: family, friends, and even strangers who have helped out us immeasurably.

And speaking of gifts/help: We received our first "I Love Daddy" shirt, which will be washed and worn nearly every day, just as soon as Bea is big enough to wear it.

P.P.S. M&D have been told that they need to get out of town for an evening before Bea comes home. As we haven't left the city limits (other than trips to Babies r Us) in two months, this is probably a good idea. If anyone has any good ideas for one-night escapes, let us know. We want to get as far away from Seattle as possible without actually going all that far away (We need to be present for morning cares on Day 1, and evening cares on Day 2). Talk amongst yourselves.

On the Short List

Hi, All,

Another round of Bea-pics for your viewing pleasure. As you can see, we were quite alert this evening, taking another whole bottle from Daddy.

As the title to this post suggests, we are on the short list for going downstairs to the Infant Special Care Unit (ISCU). Actually, we're first on the list. The ISCU is more like a traditional nursery than the NICU, although Bea will still get extra oxygen and have her vitals monitored. This is a very good thing for Bea, but scary for M&D, who rely on constant feedback from the NICU nurses to reassure them that their Little One is doing OK. So... Rejoice for Bea; pity the insecure elders.

Have a great weekend, everyone. We've got nearly all of the pieces of the nursery, thanks especially to generous grandparents. Thanks also to E&D for offering Team Beatrice the services of a van for a dump run. Another friend will be stopping by with a truck to help (Thanks, E.J.)

Team Beatrice (Ian)

P.S. In much sadder news, Mommy thinks that she overheard the nurses say that they were expecting another hydrops baby in Bea's room in the NICU on Thursday. We don't know any names or details, but we don't think that any such baby ever arrived. Such a poignant reminder of the outlook Team Beatrice faced just six weeks ago.

P.P.S. In happier news, the Little One now weighs nearly 5 lbs. Can you believe it? What a little monkey!

Daddy-Daughter time

Tuesday Spa Night

Hi, All,

Bea had another relaxing spa experience this evening, nearly falling asleep during her soak.  She was not happy, as you can imagine, to be removed from her happy little bath. So unhappy, in fact, that we spent a full five minutes telling M&D about it at the top of our little lungs. 

In other news, M&D are thoroughly exhausted after a day of Bea visits, work, and infant CPR class. We learned that our crib and bassinet aren't suitable in today's, uh, regulatory climate, and that M&D are lucky to have survived childhoods spent in unsafe car seats and cribs. Sigh. With this in mind, Team Beatrice is franticly scrambling to gather the baby products that we should have procured during the previous month or two, but have been too distracted to think about. 

Team Beatrice

P.S.: Best of luck to Daddy's rowing team, Pocock Rowing, at Nationals this weekend. Kick some KMRC butt! Sorry that I'm not with you. 

Also (P.P.S.), best of luck to team USA Rowing as they approach this weekend's Olympic finals in Shunyi. Kick some international butt! 

Daddy & Bea

Hi, All,

Bea wanted everyone to know that she had a great time with Daddy this evening, just the two of us. First, she took her whole dinner through her big-girl bottle, with intermittent burpings. (The first time in nearly a week that Bea has be able to do this.) Then, we had to change our outfit (due to excessive dribbling) and diaper (excessive pooping), during which we remained wide awake. In fact, Ms. Bea was alert for a nearly an hour and quarter. Quite a feat for such a Little One. 

The most special part of the evening came when it was time for Daddy to go: She held his hand (finger) and stared at him for 15 minutes. It was very hard to leave. Tragically, or perhaps thrillingly, she seemed to be asking to go home. 

Just a little while, Ms. Bea. Possibly in a few weeks. In the meantime, D&M are rushing to get everything together. If anyone with a large automobile is available for a dump-run this weekend, let us know. D&M are extremely behind in preparations. 

Team Beatrice (Ian)

P.S: You will all be glad to know that the Little One finally has a stuffed Bumblebee hanging from her mobile. (Thanks, B&J). Thanks also, to the sender of the wonderful care package (L) and to so many others for thinking of our Bea. 

...and more Queen Bea Gallery

Being this cute is tiring.

Mommy and Bea.

"Umm, I'd like to ask a question, please."

Queen Bea Gallery

Food coma.

Bea and Nana have a pacifier moment.

"Hi everyone!"

Beatrice in her "Princess fort."