Although Alexandra got to meet her Great-Grandmother (Ransom's Grandmother) on January 10th, I'm sad to say that Mabel Mayfield passed away on Jan. 22, 2010. We drove to Meridian MS so they could meet each other and visit and then we drove home. It was a good visit and they really seemed to hit it off.

Alex will be 6 months old tomorrow! I truly can't believe that it has been 6 months since all of that happened. She is doing so well. The doctor put her on a lower calorie formula so she wouldn't get fat and she still gets bigger and bigger every day. She wore her first size 6 month onesie today. The bad news is that the doctor said it would be May before she can come out of seclusion and meet the world. We will still need to be careful but it will be so nice to finally leave the house.

Her hair is getting long and we're pretty sure it's going to be red. Her eyes are still blue(they're really more of a grey) but we expect that they will be green like Dad's. She still hates tummy time but she can finally roll over! She's sleeping through the night and for the most part she's a happy low maintenance baby. Lets hope she stays that way!

Alexandra gets cuter every day! She stays awake longer between naps and recognizes me and Ransom. She smiles at us and is starting to laugh. I expect a real giggle any day now. She loves to stand and can support her weight for short periods. I of course have to keep my hands on her for balance but other than that she's doing it all by herself. She likes looking at herself in the mirror but doesn't appreciate tummy time at all. I think she's offended by it because it's not her idea. Even when she was teeny tiny the nurses said she was feisty because she would get really mad when they changed her position and it wasn't her idea. That unfortunately reminds me of someone I know. My parents are probably going to have quite a few chuckles at my expense.

It's been pretty cold here for lower Alabama which delights me because she gets to wear her "Ralphie Suit"! Nothing pleases me more than a baby in a bear suit-it's the simple things in life that make it all worthwhile.

I've sold all of her preemie sized outfits (except 1 or 2 really special ones) which brings mixed feelings. I'm happy that she's grown so much but I remember washing them and folding them and bringing her clothes to the hospital. It was one of the only times I felt like a real parent while she was in the CCN. I definitly don't exert nearly the effort I used to. I used to fold them perfectly now I'm lucky if everything even gets put away before she wears it. It's usually just tossed in a laundry basket. She's already outgrown her newborn clothes and is even starting to fill out the 0-3 months sized stuff. She'll be in 3-6 months soon. Unbelievable.

She has a doctor appointment tomorrow to get a weight update and also to get her monthly RSV shot which really hurts her (and my) feelings. I've thrown several tantrums about not being able to wait in the waiting room with all those people and now we just go on back-which is wonderful. Being around a room full of people (even if they are supposedly well) made me feel like I was going to have a panic attack. At UAB they scared us to death about how important it was for her to not get sick; that she could wind up back in Birmingham on a respirator in the ICU. We keep her away from public places as much as we can but she has had to go a few places. We had her portraits done at Sears for Christmas and we went to Lowes to get a Christmas tree(we were outside but still). Other than that it's been a pretty Howard Hughes-ish existence! We should invest in hand sanitizer stock.

We are still looking forward to our trip to Meridian but Ransom's on a deadline at work so it may be a few weeks. As always we appreciate all of the support;it really helps knowing we have so many people in our corner. Thanks!

I hope everyone had as nice a Christmas as we did! My parents came to visit for a few days and Aunt Marissa came over and visited for a while. Santa came to see Alexandra. She is doing so well! She weighed 11 pounds and 3 ounces at her 4 month check up last week. The doctor says she is doing beautifully.

Even though she's 4 months, developmentally she's really only 8 weeks. She's starting to do all the cute things that 2 month olds do. She's smiling at us and cooing. She thinks Ransom is the greatest thing she's ever seen. She's definitly a daddy's girl. I'm sure she'll start laughing any day now.

She's starting to stay awake for longer periods and is sleeping through the night-which is good because she likes to stay up until around 2 AM. Every night starting at about 10 pm it's fussy time. The doctor thinks she may be a little colicky. He says she'll grow out of it in a few months. In the mean time she's our little night owl. Ransom says "she didn't get that from me".

After the first of the year we're planning on taking a trip to Meridian Mississippi to see Alexandra's Great-Grandmother Mayfield and her Great-Aunt Kay. We're very excited to see them both and can't wait for them to finally meet Alex. It will be Alex's first trip since she came home from the hospital.

RSV

I thought this was a great letter and very informative:

Dear Family and Friends,

We’re writing regarding a very important matter: RSV. For those of you who plan to visit us over the next few months, and even if you are not, please take a few minutes to read this letter.

We want to start by saying thank you for the outpouring of support we have received from everyone. So many people have done so much for us, and every bit of help we have received truly is appreciated. We are experiencing the biggest challenge of our lives, and we’re lucky to be surrounded by so many family members and friends who have shown us so much love and support.

We’d also like to share an important topic that we recently discussed with our baby’s pediatrician. If you are not aware of RSV, respiratory syncytial virus, you are among the majority. Most people have not heard of RSV, even though nearly every child has had the virus by age two. For full-term babies, RSV typically is not any worse than a common cold, but for preemies, the virus can be quite different. Babies born earlier than 36 weeks are at the highest risk for serious complications like pneumonia, bronchiolitis, and other sometimes fatal complications. Babies that are premature, are multiples, and had low birth weights are among the highest risk factors for contracting RSV and developing serious complications. This website offers a great visual comparison of a preemie’s lungs compared to the lungs of a full-term baby: http://www.preemiecare.org/LungsTrees03-4.pdf

Preventing the spread of RSV is very difficult. Thus, we must be vigilant about keeping our child safe during RSV season (October through April). The virus is spread through physical contact, in the air via a cough or sneeze, or by touching an infected object. The virus can live as long as six hours on hands and up to twelve hours on objects, and it spreads very easily, especially from child to child. Studies have also shown that infants pose an even higher risk of spreading RSV to others. You may ask, “Can’t they fight it off and build up their immune system? Kids need to get sick, right?” The simple answer is NO. Since our baby was pre-term, she did not acquire the necessary immunities to fight off infection. If she contracts RSV, she could be hospitalized and develop serious complications.

We’ll be asking our visitors to follow a few guidelines to help prevent our baby from contracting RSV or any other illness.

We ask that all visitors do the following:

1. If possible please get a flu shot.

2. When you arrive, please wash your hands and use hand-sanitizer as needed before touching the baby.

3. Please refrain from coming over if you are currently sick and have not been symptom-free for at least 5 days, if you live with someone who is sick, or have been in close contact with someone who is sick.

4. If you are parents to a baby or toddler, please refrain from bringing them to our house during RSV season.

Unfortunately we will not be attending many events during RSV season. Our goal is to make it through this and the next RSV seasons without Alexandra contracting RSV or any other serious illness. Her lungs are still very fragile until she is 2-years-old.

Please understand that this letter is not meant to offend anyone, just simply to provide an explanation. We hope you understand, and we appreciate your help keeping our baby safe.

Love and best wishes to all!
The Family of a much loved preemie


As great as this letter is it didn't address the seasonal or the swine flu which is something we are very concerned about- especially this season. We were told by Alexandra's doctors that she couldn't be around anyone who hasn't had flu shots (both seasonal and H1N1) so that's what we are doing. It's pretty lonely but it's worth it if it keeps our sweetie safe.

Alex and I got to go home Friday Oct 9th! Ransom came up to Birmingham that Thursday and we spent the night at the hospital. She was sent home with a heart and respiratory monitor and on Aminophylline. She has been doing great at home! She's eating like a little pig and was 8 pounds and 6 ounces on her last visit to the Doctor's office last Thursday. The week before that she was supposedly 8 pounds and 8 ounces but the doctor thinks that weight wasn't accurate. We are still not allowed to go anywhere :( but sometimes we go to the park since there aren't many people there. I guess we'll see everyone in the spring when flu season is over. We are planning on spending the holidays at home with my parents who are coming down to visit for Thanksgiving.

My friend Rick came to visit and took this picture. Isn't is great?

Oct. 1

Alexandra is doing well but we had some scary moments last weekend. After she was taken off the Aminohphylline she started having an increase in heart rate drops. That can be a normal response; her body trying to adjust, but the drops were severe and some of them lasted longer than I was comfortable with and she needed a lot more stimulation than she had needed previously. It was really worrying us but the doctor said he wasn't concerned. They gave her a few more days to adjust and the bradys decreased but didn't stop.

The doctor recommended putting her back on the medicine so she could go home sooner. I'm all for her going back on the meds because when she was on them she would brady but it would come right back up with no stimulation. While she was off the meds she had an episode where her heart rate was zero. ZERO. I'm sure my life expectancy has been significantly reduced and if nothing else I have sprouted some new grey hairs. By the time this is all over I would not be surprised if I'm entirely grey.

They restarted the meds yesterday. She was going to get to go home Saturday but she had a brady yesterday so now they are saying Tuesday. Whenever she has gone 5 days without a brady they will let her go home. If she has a brady the 5 days start over again. They are going to send her home on the medicine and also with a monitor. Monday night we're going to spend the night at the hospital in a private room so we still have the nurses there if we have questions before we go home.

Unfortunatly we aren't going to be able to let anyone come visit her for a while. The doctor has said it's best if she doesn't have visitors especially since it's flu season. She's also not allowed to go anywhere. Poor Alex is grounded and she hasn't even done anything.

So we're not sure when we get to come home but it will be soon. Without the Aminophylline it could have been weeks or even a month but on the meds it will probably be Tuesday or at least sometime next week. It will sure be nice to be home.

Yesterday was very eventful. Because Alex hadn't had any heart rate drops in 24 hours the doctor decided to discontinue the medicine she's been on. He also decided to start weaning her from the toaster oven to an open air crib, and he increased her bottle feeds.

So when I came in this morning she was in a big girl crib! I just hope she's able to maintain her temp without burning too many calories, because it is possible if she loses weight she could go back in the isolette.

Today the doctor said that if she doesn't have anymore heart rate drops she could go home as soon as next week. Because they took her off the medicine I would be very surprised if she didn't have any drops (or bradys they call them-short for bradycardia). She has to be off the Aminophylline for 7 days and can't have any bradys for 5 days before they will let her go home. So far she's doing well. She was 3 pounds and 13 ounces when they weighed her tonight.

Ransom and I are going to the discharge class Saturday and we're going to give her her first bath!