Our Little Girl is All Grown Up

There has been a public outcry and I have heard it. The screaming masses ask for more baby information and I will seek to sate their voracious appetite for infantile news. But first, a word from our sponsors . . .

. . .

Okay, I couldn’t think of anything. On with the show.

Annaliese is happily growing in the NICU. She was recently (Sunday?) moved from her isolette to a ‘big girl’ bed. The big girl bed sort of resembles a miniature crib, with a hint of ‘blue jail cell’ thrown in for flavor. While this may seem like a small step for mankind, it is an important milestone in permanently complicating our lives by having a second child at home. This transition signifies a trust has been build between her and her doctors; they trust that she will maintain her temperature all by her big-girl self.

On Friday, Anna is planning on taking a college day to tour Notre Dame and will begin looking for an apartment close to her sorority house . . .

I am very glad that life does not move that fast, but it would be nice if our little girl would quickly find the energy and appetite to eat all her food. This one foible is the last thread tying her to the monitors of St. John’s NICU. It’s not that she doesn’t eat, but rather that she doesn’t eat consistently. She will often find herself too sleepy to finish her bottle (which is currently prescribed at 36 ml every three hours!). She does, however, show us that she knows how to eat. Yesterday morning, she downed the first 20 ml in a fantastic 1 minute and 20 seconds. The next four minutes saw another 7 ml pass her lips. It was at that point that her doctor authorized dose outstretched her stomach. She only managed to eat 3 ml more over the next 10 minutes, leaving 6 ml to be funneled through the tube in her nose.

Which leads me a bit off topic. My family drove the long way as they took my brother back to school for his senior year, passing through town to visit Anna. Matt had not yet seen Anna (we and the NICU have conspired to hide her from the outside world until she is 18). He was initially amazed at her size, but his wonder was soon redirected to her feeding tube. He was thoroughly amazed that she could be fed through a tube. Disturbingly, he quickly realized that he too could be fed through a tube. This was not an ‘ooh, one day I too may have to be fed through a tube,’ this was a full fledged, ‘you mean I don’t have to work to eat – where do I sign up?!?!’

All seriousness aside, though, I am patiently waiting for Annaliese to come home. I have realized that she does, in fact, need to be in the NICU; I would not have a helpful solution if she were to not eat at home. But traveling to visit the ‘new baby exhibit’ at the zoo is a daily strain on me and especially on my wife. I offer a great big ‘thank you’ to those who have found a way to help us, or have offered their assistance. (Anyone who is still seeking a mission, I have to work on Tuesdays and Thursdays – feel free to call or visit Mollie if you are able! I know that those days will be especially tough on her.)

Lastly, I have taken a few new pictures of Annaliese. New pictures are rare these days because her environment rarely changes. When she finally makes it home, we will have a photo session. However, along with her new bed comes permission to be held by grandparents. Obviously, more photos had to be taken and ultimately shared with the world. Enjoy the photos.