Doctor Check-ups!

And this picture is from Thursday when it was Daddy's 28th birthday! Of course we all had to celebrate together! Love you Sydney, good night!

Here is Sydney after taking her bottle and spending a little time with Mommy and Daddy! She took 19ml tonight from the bottle and then was very tired. She will get it! I know she will! She is simply out for the night in this picture!

This was from tonight! Let's see...Sydney lately has been really hungry at the time of her feeds! She tends to put her hands in her mouth and really sucks on her binky and is ready for her food! She also peed while I was attempting to change her diaper. Therefore we had to change it again and change into a new outfit! Always fun for mom to do!

Miss Sydney taking a bottle from her Daddy! She did well this night!

Here's Miss Sydney all bundled up for the day! The other big thing that Sydney needs to accomplish before she comes home is being able to breath fully on her own. The nasal canula has to go! She is very close to doing this, so this is another prayer request. Pray that she is able to breathe on her own soon.

Sydney is doing much better at taking a bottle to feed! This is one huge thing that she has to accomplish before going home. She has to be able to either bottle or breastfeed in order to go home. So please pray that she masters her "eating" soon! We have to say "good-bye" to her feedingtube. :)

Sydney has steadily gained weight this week at an average of 1.5oz per day. Therefore she is now weighing in at 4lbs 15oz! Wow! I cannot believe how much she has grown!

Miss Sydney is now 7 weeks old, as of Wednesday!

Well this week has been pretty busy for Miss Sydney as she continues to improve! Sydney had a few doctors visit her this week. One checked her kidneys and they're great. I spoke to the doctor about her pelvic kidney and the normal one and he said that as of now, they're normal and she should live a healthy life. Sydney will just have to go visit the doctor a few times within the next couple of years to be sure that her kidney is growing properly. Sydney also had her hearing checked, and it too was normal! Another doctor visited Miss Sydney for her eyes and although she is still premature, he said her eyes are normal, but he would just like to see her in 3 weeks. So everything is good there! Sydney also had a a spinal ultrasound and chest x-ray. And what do ya know, those checked out normal as well! Praise the Lord! All these check-ups and they all checked out!

Both Grandmas visited on Sunday and Bath Time Happened on Monday!

Tucking Miss Sydney in for the night. We put a little bow in her hair and everything! She is now 4lbs 7oz! She is growing quite well and beginning to take a bottle pretty well too!

Daddy and Sydney!

Daddy talking to Sydney. She was so happy and really enjoyed her bath tonight!

And now for the big rinse!

See, she has her eyes on Daddy.

Jayson is shampooing Sydney's hair. She loved it! She kept watching Jayson the entire time.

This is after her bath while we are trying to dress her. The nurse snapped a quick family picture for us! Thanks Nurse Sue!

Ok Sydney, you ready? Here we go into the water.

Monday = Bath Time!
A big stretch! Miss Sydney is getting ready for her first bath! Finally!

The reason why she hasn't had a bath until now is because she wasn't able to maintain her temperature. Even though she is able to maintain it now, we had to use a heat lamp that is over the sink to help keep her warm.

It was a Grandma visiting day for Sydney! Grandma Nancy came for a visit in the evening and we put this cute bow on for a picture (of course)! We also put a bumble beed shirt and some pink pants on for the first time. The pants are kind of difficult to put on because of all the leads and things that Sydney has hooked up to her. But I got them on eventually!

And now, sound to sleep! Doesn't she look so cozy?!

Grandma Brigitte came for a visit early in the day and got to hold Sydney for the first time! Grandma patted her and talked to her as she held her. Miss Sydney slept for most of the time, but when Grandma talked to her she would open her eyes!

Kisses from Mommy! Such a sweetie!

Smiling on Sunday! Just a happy little girl!

Even though she did not burp, it was good practice and a good effort.

Jayson giving Sydney a bottle! Good job Daddy!

Just looking around!

These were some pictures from this past Saturday! Jayson and I went in for a visit and we put our little girl in a polka-dot outfit! So cute! Grandma Brigitte made her a new hat which matched very well. Daddy took a turn at giving Miss Sydney a bottle. She did pretty well that day. And then he burped her for his first time too!

Milsten Family Photo

A Milsten family picture! Miss Sydney is now 4lbs 2oz! We are so proud of her and are amazed at how far she has come!

Daddy and I came to visit this evening. She was sleeping so soundly that it took us awhile to wake her up. Apparently she's a deep sleeper! We did her care and changed her into a new outfit and hat. Sydney tried to breast feed and then tried to take a bottle again. These are things that we are slowly introducing to her. She is still learning how to put it all together. She is doing a good job at everything though. We are trying to get her to learn new things without over-stimulating her. If we did that then she could take a step or two backwards.

Sydney is still in her crib and is maintaining her temperature really well. This afternoon when I went in, a few of Sydney's neighbors (other babies in the same room) were getting ready to move out. She will have some new neighbors soon. In the future Sydney will be the one that is moving out of the room, but for now she just needs to keep on developing. Sydney and I had a great visit this afternoon!

I went to go visit Miss Sydney in the early afternoon again. I have been so used to Sydney being on her canula that I didn't notice that she was back on it. She was only off of it for 24 hours and the nurse this morning thought that she needed to be on it still. She may have a little bit of reflux, but we'll see what the doctors think on Monday. If it's reflux, it may be interfering with her breathing. She would be concentrating on the wrong thing. I think. It may just be that Sydney is on the canula for a couple of more days. But we will soon see.

What a BIG day in the life of lttle Sydney!

Oh and one more thing... Sydney is 4lbs now!!! Way to go Sydney! She is growing and growing and we just can't wait to have her home! Sydney sure did make a lot of progress today! She is truly such a sweet bundle of joy and we can't wait for everyone to meet her! Good night Sydney Girl! Love you! Kisses from Mommy!

Sydney was doing so well tonight and was keeping warm, that Grandma Nancy got to hold her for a little bit! They both enjoyed this! Sydney was so excited that she ended up getting the hiccups! Did you know that placing another blanket on a baby when they have hiccups, actually helps the hiccups go away? Well, it's true! They did in fact go away! Grandma Nancy had fun rocking her little grand-daughter as she talked to her the whole time. Sydney slept really well and did all her smiles as she does!

It looks as though I was crying, but I really wasn't! This is me and Sydney tonight when I went to visit her with Grandma Nancy. Sydney did really well in between my visits today and so that made me happy. She was tolerating everything and no other scares took place! YEAH! The nurse tonight had taken off the stickers that were on her cheeks and taped her feeding tube really well. She was all cleaned up and looked great! Not only did Sydney try to breast feed again tonight, but we also introduced a bottle! She did ok, but now needs to learn that swallow part of feeding, while still breathing! She's a smart cookie and I know that she will put all of it together here soon!

So yesterday Miss Sydney was 6 weeks old and I forgot to actually take a picture with her little "6 weeks old sign." So we took the picture today. She really is doing well. But Jayson and I had a little reminder of just how little she is...today she was trying to have a bowel movement, get her feed and had accomplished all these new things, and well her breathing slowed down a little too much. So, she did turn a little blue, but the nurses were there to take care of her. They instantly gave her some oxygen by placing a little mini mask right by her nose and she came back up to where her breathing should be. So like I said, this is just a reminder that yet she is improving each and every day, she is still teeny and not fully developed yet. Please keep her on your prayer list!

"Hmmm..." I think that is what she is thinking in this picture! Who knows. But this is a great shot of Miss Sydeny without her CANULA! The nurse last night just happened to mention that they were weaning her off of the canula starting just last night. And what do you know, she did it! She doesn't need all that help breathing any more! This is why you can see her nose so well. Now the other tube that is still in her nose, that is her feeding tube. It used to be in her mouth and now is in her nose. Not having that tube any more will be the next big step for Sydney.

Daddy and Mommy came for a visit early in the afternoon today! And to our surprise, Sydney had made it into a CRIB! That's right a crib! Prior to today she was in an isolet because she could not maintain her temperature, but today she was in a crib, proving that she can maintain her temp! She is on the lower end of where they'd like to see her (at 36.5 degrees C) but since she is still gaining weight, she will soon be a little warmer I'm sure. Just one small step to getting home!
*Daddy was very excited to see his little girl today! *

SYDNEY IS 6 WEEKS OLD!

Another thing that Sydney might be off of tomorrow by the time that Jayson and I go to visit is, her canula! This is the clear breathing device in her nose that helps her to breathe. They began to wean her off of it this afternoon! They bumped her down to 1liter and then tonight at midnight they bumped her down to 1/2 liter. So, please pray that she does well these last few hours so that she does not need it any more by noon tomorrow. I was just telling Jayson last night that I noticed that she really is hating having it on. She is constantly pulling at it and pulling it off! This will be such a relief for her when she is without it!

And here she is tonight! Grandm Nancy met me up at the hospital and went in for a visit! Sydney is 6 weeks old today! She is now 3lbs 14oz! She is now NOT on caffiene any more (sorry Auntie Sarah). This is showing that she doesn't need that extra boost to help stimulate her brain to remember to breathe and all that the caffiene helps with. Therefore, she is doing better!

Here she is with Daddy! I like to try to get pictures with Jayson in them too, or some sort of something to compare her size to. So if you know Jayson, then you may be able to compare her size to him!

Daddy and I came back for a visit last night and did her care. Then she was all tuckered out just after her feed! Oh and I wonder if anyone noticed the new hat! :) We also weighed her and she was still at 3lbs 13oz. She had gained 10 grams, but it wasn't enough to put her up an ounce. She really did have a good day yesterday~! Oh and one other thing, it was either this day or the day before that they increase her caffiene a little because she was gaining weight and they needed it to be adjusted due to that weight gain.

Possibly one of the cutest pictures ever! It's a little blurry, but it was so cute that I just had to post it! So this was from earlier yesterday when I went to visit. Miss Sydney was so alert and awake! It sure was a lot of fun to hold her! She did really well sucking on her binkie! So at least one of the 3 things is progressing. Now it's just a matter of putting it all together (sucking, swallowing and breathing) at the same time, all the time! She will get there!

3lbs 13oz! ! !

9/07/09: Tonight Miss Sydney came in weighing 3lbs 13oz! She is now getting so close to the 4lb marker! Crazy! It feels like she just hit 3lbs. Again she is doing well. She is still working on trying to suck, swallow and breathe at the same time, and I know with a little more practice she will soon figure it out! Until tomorrow...

Let me tell ya... it's just so easy to sit and stare at your baby! They're so cute and end up doing the littlest things that you don't want to miss!

Daddy took a little video of Miss Sydney! It is shortly after she ate, so she is sleepy! But you too can catch a little smile from Sydney!

Notice anything different?

Kisses! Isn't this so sweet! Daddy kissing his little girl good night! See you tomorrow baby girl!

Here is a little better angle. You can actually see her chin now, and her she seems to keep her mouth closed a lot more. Oh and yes, she does seem a little puffy. The nurses say that she is a little swollen, and that it's totally normal. Jayson and I will be reading up on that tonight, if we can find it in our book.

...her new feeding tube!!!! Check it out! Sydney now has her feeding tube going in her nose, rather than her mouth. It is running along side the canula. Hopefully you can see it. The benefits to having it in her nose are that she can bottle or breast feed easier. She can now use her tongue to suck... so we'll start working on these too things in the near future! Like I said, she has been really calm and breathing well with the tube in her nose! Also, this feeding tube gets changed once a month, rather than the mouth feeding tubes that get changed every three days. Therefore it should be more comfortable for her all the way around.

Daddy admiring his beautiful little daughter, Sydney! She was very calm today and seems to be more relaxed due to...

Caffeine test and Pulling out the canula!

And what do you know...pulling the canula off again! A little later the nurse was trying to fix the sticker things on her cheeks because they were falling off (the stickers help to hold the canula in her nose). Once she was finished, Sydney pulled the canula out again! Ha ha ha!

"Oh! I have hands!!!" She was sucking really well on this orange, "newborn" binkie today. It's much bigger than the green, "preemie" one. She was very hungry when we got there today and then very calm and sweet when I held her today!

Looking up! And a profile view!

A big yawn while looking so cute in her yellow duckie outfit!

Here she is showing off the lungs she has! It's fun for us to hear her cry! We just don't get to hear her cry at all. Believe me, we can't wait to be hearing her cry at home! Not a common thing that parents say.

Caffeine test! Well, actually it's a blood test to test the level of caffeine in Sydney's blood. She did pretty well! She would cry, or sort of scream, and then calm down and be just fine!

This one is so sweet! We dressed her up in yellow today!

This happens to be one of my new favortive pictures! "OH!"

Grandma Nancy enjoys taking pictures of me admiring my little daughter! Obviously Sydney just makes me smile!

Each time she feeds she does these quick smiles! Which we try to catch on camera, and we thoroughly enjoy!

So a few days have passed by now. There hasn't been too much to update on, but Miss Sydney still continues to grow! She gains 20 to 40 grams a day, which means she is now 3lbs 7oz! She is still trying to maintain her temp and also wean off the canula. Believe it or not, this is a lot for her to do at the same time and still continue to gain weight. As she keeps packing on the "ounces" she will get bigger, then somewhat insolating her so that she can maintain that temp of hers. Just "baby-steps" and a day at a time. Over all she is doing well- - as usual. Sydney has been on a small dose of caffeine since she was born pretty much. This helps to stimulate her brain to help her remember to breathe and that type of thing. It's a common thing that is given to preemies. This last week they had to draw some blood to test her caffiene levels. Normally the nurses and doctors like to see the levels between 10 and 20. Sydeny's leves were 11.1. Good, but they might have to up her level a little. We'll see. As she grows, the dose she gets should increase. So we'll see what happens next. Sydney has had just two destats within the last few days, which is a great improvement! She does well on the canula, but we are noticing that she hates it more each day! You'll see in the last posted picture that she is pulling it out! A common thing she does! So just a small update from the life of Sydney!