The Castle

Tonight Sydney moved from a plexiglass bassinet into a full size steel crib (the kind that is used in a pediatrics ward). While this provides a lot more space and gave us an opportunity to provide some more comforts from home, you can't help but feel like you're moving in.

One half of the crib is where she sleeps, surrounded by some soft toys and the bumper from the crib her sisters used. We have hung up some of her toys for her to look at (secretly hoping they'll have some kind of appeal to her that will make her wonder if there are more waiting at home:)) The other half of the crib has her bouncy chair from home which is handy to put her in after a big meal so she can sit up comfortably and look around.

100 Days

Today marks 100 days since Sydney was born.

I am trying my best to see this as an accomplishment of all that she has been through yet all that we have made it through if that makes sense.

Always looking for a reason to celebrate I loaded up with goodies from Trader Joes for the day and night shift nurses which were a welcomed treat for all.

Some of these women became friends of mine a while ago and they appreciate every small gesture. Their tireless work always seems to go unnoticed yet for so many of these women this is an obvious lifepath and not just a job. I really do not know where Sydney, nor Cary and I would be without them.

Due Date...Bday....3 months!!!

Today was a strange day for me. Today was Sydney's real due date. In one sense it is a day to celebrate and realize how far she has come, kind of a mini birthday of sorts. It also marks that she is 3 months old today and weighs almost six pounds.

On one hand I kind of wanted to spend the whole day with Sydney just in the chair holding her. On another I wanted to lay in bed with my head under the covers as I continue to wonder when she will come home. But as we women know, being a mom leaves very little time for self pity or sleep so instead we went to visit Sydney for our usual visit and spent the afternoon taking Savannah and Shelby to the movies and dinner which they thoroughly enjoyed.

I will post pictures later when my computer issues are resolved.

The Road Home...

To get to Santa Monica UCLA Hospital from Manhattan Beach there are three ways you can go.

You can take the 405 North to the 10 East and pray to the traffic gods that they will be kind to you..(sometimes jumping in the carpool lane by yourself, I'll admit it!). If that doesn't work, you can take the surface streets through Westchester, Marina Del Rey, Culver City and Santa Monica and while you don't save a whole lot of time, you will get there in about 40 minutes and you're pretty guaranteed to keep moving... and then sometime times you can take an unexpected route which gets you there 10 minutes quicker for no apparent reason, or you perhaps take a wrong turn down 17th street that is covered in speed bumps which makes for an interesting drive.

Regardless of how you get there the destination is always the same, to get to Sydney's bedside before her "touch time".

The road home is proving a bit more difficult. Sydney is doing well in that she is at a whopping 5 lbs 3ounces (over 2300g) (a weight I couldn't even imagine when I first saw her) however neurologically she cannot seem to pull together the concept of "suck, swallow, breath" which of course is what she needs to do to be able to be fed without a feeding tube. On Friday 11/16/07 we marked 12 weeks since Sydney was born.

We are also hitting the wall in the sense that her progress to get home is stalling. In an effort to be creative, her doctors have decided to put her back on her oxygen with the smallest amount of support and reduce her food intake so that she won't be so full and have such a hard time breathing during and after meals. In addition to all this, Sydney is very anemic which is why her energy level is so low. Over the next five days hopefully these new elements will bring a small amount of progress and then they will make the decision of whether or not to give her another blood transfusion.

To say we are getting tired is a small understatement but when we are with Sydney every driven mile, gallon of gas, ounce of pumped breastmilk, elevator ride, handwash, antibacterial rub, nurse greeting, telephone call and dirty diaper is worth it. She is beyond delicious to us and there is a mischief to her little gassy smile. Her cleverness is yet to be realized.

I took Savannah and Shelby spontaneously to the beach last week. Like waiting for the tide to come in they anxiously await her homecoming and it is what they are asking for for Christmas more than any toy they may want.

We really don't know when Sydney will come home. It could be next week, it could be a month from now. I'm just hoping I can grant these little girls Christmas wish as it is their dad's and mine as well...

Hi....Its me Sydney...

Tummy time on Mummy's chest

Cotton Candy

Just a little bundle of pink fluffy love... (yes I am in the ridiculous honeymoon stage where I am infatuated with her)

Green Milk...

I do not like Green Eggs and Ham, I do not like them Sam I am.... fortunately Sydney has to like her Green Milk. (Breast milk with fortifier and vitamins...), then again a cuddle with Auntie Nad is like the spoonful of sugar....helps the medicine go down.

11 Weeks old today

Sydney is eleven weeks old today and continues to surprise, shock and amaze us. Yesterday was a big day for her in that she transitioned from an incubator into a bassinet (same size bed as she will use at home that is open). She now regulates her own body temperature.

In addition they took off her oxygen canula (little clear tubes in her nose) so the only thing left on her face is her feeding tube.

Sydney is a chunky 2050g (4lbs 6oz) today. The difference in her is just amazing. We are still working hard on her neurological coordination as she is having a little trouble transitioning to the bottle but we'll get there.

Day 75

Well today was day 75 in the NICU for Sydney and boy do we feel it...

On the bright side, our little chunk of love weighs a whopping (1935g) which is 4lbs and nearly 3 ounces. She made the four pound mark on Monday.

I had to laugh, the doctor actually said that if she continues to put weight on this fast they may have to put her on a diet. I can only imagine the expression on my face.

The reaction we've been getting is..."oh that's great, now she can come home" but as we have learned that is really not the case. Sydney's development is still moving right along but from a breathing, cardiac and neurological standpoint she's not quite there yet.

Don't get me wrong, she is doing fantastic but with the apnea and brady spells that she currently has, Thanksgiving is not being mentioned any longer. Of course they add the disclaimer that the whole picture could change next week so as we just continue to ride the roller coaster where it takes us.

I'll definitely take some new pics soon ... Please keep us in your prayers.

4 pounds here we come

So our littlest Keown is changing by the day. She is a whopping (well whopping for her anyway) 3lbs 13oz (1710g) and 17 inches long!!!

Halloween Pics

The fabulous Monster Bride

Sally the car and the Monster Bride

Aunty Nad, Savannah, Shelby and Joaquin the Monkey