Good night kisses

Erika and I both got to give Sarah her first kisses tonight. Usually we can't lean in to reach her, but tonight we were able to sneak in and plant a kiss on the side of Sarah's head.


Also, the nurse changed her outfit today. Look how cute she is!

Sent from my iPhone

Saturday morning

Sarah was weighed again last night and is now 560 grams. That's 30 grams more than Thursday night. And Sarah made a poo-poo this morning. We'll be heading over to see her around 2:00 and will take some pictures to put up.

Thank You!

Erika, Sarah, and I would like to thank everyone for all your wonderful comments and your endless support. We started this blog to help get information out to everyone. But really, it has turned into something that has helped us more that anyone can know. It makes us so happy to know how much you support Sarah. Even though we don't acknowledge or respond to every comment, we read each one and appreciate it immensely. Keep them coming!

And thank you to everyone that has sent us baby diaries or NICU diaries. If you haven't sent us one yet, please don't! We have enough. And they are so cute!

Milk, It Does a Body Good!

Sarah- You are eating so well and making Mommy and Daddy so proud. Mommy works hard to keep your milk supply going and you do a good job eating it! Keep up the good work. There is plenty more where that came from. I look forward to you emptying this freezer!

Great morning report

After getting a break from the scale for a few days, Sarah was weighed last night. She is now 530 grams (1.17 pounds). She's over half a kilo! Way to go, girl.

Sarah's clothing

And these are very loose fitting on her...

Lunch and football

Here are two pictures of Sarah practicing her touchdown celebration. She's hoping to get to use it many times during this Sunday's Pats/Colts game. I can't wait to see her endzone celebration. Daddy is so proud of his little football fan!

At lunch today, Sarah tried to eat 3.0 mL, but it turned out to be too much. She spit up a little at the end. They'll monitor her to see if she does it again, and if so, they may drop her back down to 2.5 mL. Even the tiniest babies still need to be burped, I guess.

Happy Birthday!

Baby Sarah, happy three week birthday to you. You are so wonderful. Daddy loves you!

Good morning, good morning!

Nurse Sheri is looking after Sarah again today. The night crew didn't want to disturb Sarah, so we didn't get a new weight (she was 460 grams at her last weigh in). And I guess her next weigh in will be a little higher because of the clothes, thanks to mommy!

Only one change to report with her feedings. They had been giving her 2.5 mL over an hour, but changed that to be over ninety minutes, in order to allow her a little more time to digest the food.

Sarah's First Outfit!

Mommy got to dress Sarah in one of her new Micro-Preemie outfits today--a shirt and matching hat. The outfit, a gift from Grandma and Grandpa Rees, was still a little bit big on her but she looked adorable in it and Mommy had so much fun. All of the nurses had to come see what a princess my little Sarah was today. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

Sarah looked up at Mommy and gave me the "hang loose" sign for this picture. This blanket Sarah is snuggled in was a gift from the McCollums. The outfit the McCollums gave was still a little big for her.

Mommy had so much fun today Sarah. Keep up the good work!

Lunch report 2.5

She's now up to 2.5 mL per feeding. Great news! We are so happy for you baby girl.

Morning report

This is what Sarah spends most of her time in. They put her in these little snugglies to make her feel secure and confined, just like on the inside. This one just happens to be wet! Sarah wet the bed for the first time yesterday, and I couldn't be more proud (at least in part because I don't have to clean it up!).

Sarah weighs 460 grams, just over a pound again. She's doing very well on her 2.0 mL feedings. After rounds today, her feedings may increase again.

Right now, she's resting comfortably on her left side. Oh, and she pooped again (I know you like the updates, Suzanne!).

Bigger lunch report

She's now eating 2.0 mL every 3 hours. I'm going to need to get her one of those "ME WANT FOOD" t-shirts from 30 Rock if she keeps this up!







Here are pictures of Sarah getting ready to doze off after eating her lunch.

Monday Comments and a Wonderful Poem

A few people had trouble posting comments on the blog on Monday so I decided to post them here. Rees' in Chicago- thanks for all the love and support. We look forward to introducing little Sarah to you in person someday soon:)

From Great Grandma Rees: We're back from our visit to Russ and to Rosemary. A delight to see the blog and update Sarah's progress. Our thoughts and prayers are with all the California Rees Family.

From Great Auntie Gina: Hello Roger and Erika! Congratulations on the birth of your beautiful baby girl. We are so happy for you, and are praying for the health of your sweet daughter, Sarah. She is a little miracle and she is loved by many, including me! :) Much love from Sarah's "Great" Aunt Gina

And I wanted to put a poem up here that Sarah's cousin, Marlena wrote for her. It's so lovely, I wanted to share it with everyone on the main page:

Title: Came So Quickly
The whistle of a wind chime.
The rustling of leaves.
I can tell a new baby has come into our world.
The shrieks and cries of one so little can break our hearts in two.
The crying has stopped.
The new baby looks and sees such a big smile greeting every inch of her.

The new baby Sarah weighs 12 ounces
And is no bigger than a standard size book!
You can tell that the baby is not a normal baby
But a baby who will one day be loving and sweet!
Sarah has a long way to come in our dark world.
But God made her and she will truly be magnificent!

Quiet Tuesday Morning

I spoke with Sheri, Sarah's nurse for the day and Sarah is doing well today. Sarah had a big poop around midnight and is tollerating her feedings well with almost no residuals left in her tummy at the time of her next feeding. Mommy likes it when Sarah eats all her food:) All is quiet and thats the way we like it! Keep up the good work Sarah.

Big lunch report

Not "big" in the sense that this will be a long post, but "big" in the sense that they've increased Sarah's feeding again. After taking 1.5 mL for the past day or so, they

started feeding her 1.7 mL today. The additional food is really paying off; she looks so healthy and she looks like she is starting to get a little fat. Best news ever!

Here is a picture of her fuzzy little head. Look at that hair!

Monday morning report

Sarah continues to improve and impress. Her weight fluctuated a little over the weekend, but finally settled last night at 440 grams.

She has been stable on her ventilator and her lungs are really developing. They are slowly (very slowly) weening her off the ventilator and letting her lungs do more of the work themselves. But, it's a slow process, because breathing is quite tiring when you're that tiny.

And she's continuing to eat like a champ, taking in 1.5 mL every three hours, with almost no residual milk left in her tummy. Before each feeding, they check her belly to see how much milk is left, to make sure that she is digesting everything. And she is!

Today should be a restful day for Sarah, as there are no procedures scheduled for her. She could use the day off. :)

Have a great Monday!

Sunday Morning Report

Roger and I spent a few hours with Sarah last night. She was wide awake, kicking and moving all around. She was making eye contact with us and very responsive to us talking to her, all wonderful signs. She is trying SO hard to lift up her head. She got another blood tranfusion overnight and is doing well from it. Nurse Teresa reports that they are increasing her eating to 1.5 CC's every 3 hours and trying to lower her resperator settings in order to try ween her off soon. Keep up the good work Sarah. Mommy and Daddy love you!