July 27th (33 weeks)

This has been an exciting week for Ava. On Tuesday morning the nurses moved Ava out of her isolette and into a bassinet/crib. This felt like a huge step and makes her so much more accessible. Grandma and Grandpa Douglas (Great Great & Nanaw)were in town on Tuesday and Wednesday, so they got to see her make her debut and got in a little much loved snuggle time. She seems to be doing great and not having any trouble keeping her temperature up and continuing to gain weight. She even broke the 4lb mark this week, weighing in at 4lbs 8oz today. She has been growing a ton this week. It looks like by the time we get to bring her home she won't likely be in preemie clothes anymore. Yesterday Jeff and I got to give Ava her first bath. Can you imagine not taking a bath in over 3 weeks? She seemed to like like it, especially once she was clean and dry and snuggled in some fresh clothes and blankies. To top it off, the Physical Therapist stopped in today to evaluate where Ava is at in regards to being ready to nurse/bottle feed. For the past few days they have had me pump and then let Ava get used to the idea of nursing - without all of the milk. It is still a bit early for preemies to get the whole such, swallow and breath down. Ava was super excited and got some great suction (this is a great sign that the cleft is not likely to be a feeding issue). Maybe a little too zealous since she didn't want to stop to breath without us making her. It is still early but we will be working with her slowly when she shows interest. We also have an appointment set up with Ava's Physical Therapist(PT) on Monday morning to meet and evaluate her on actually nursing. The PT said that some babies do better with one or the other and nursing may just be her thing- that would be awesome. Either way it's a big step forward to be at this step. We are so thankful for how well Ava has been doing and so look forward to the day when she is ready to come home!

Thank You

(I love this photo from our maternity shoot. It makes me feel a sense of peace and of letting go. This pose was all Cam. -photos taken by Vicki Zoller and Rachele Valadez)

(25 week maternity photos. It's hard to believe all that has happened in the past 8 weeks. -photos taken by Vicki Zoller and Rachele Valadez). I am constantly reminded of all of the wonderful people in our lives, and all of the new people who have entered our lives through this entire experience. I am so thankful for all of you. Thank you Vicki Zoller for the beautiful photos that you have given to us as part of the Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep. We will cherish these memories forever and love making new memories with Ava in our lives.

3 Weeks

(Ava 3 weeks/33 weeks, napping with mama) It's hard to believe that 3 weeks ago tonight I went in for an unexpected c-section and met our girls. So much has happened in the past month that at times it feels like months and other times I can't believe that Ava has already been the NICU for three weeks. Ava continues to do great. She seems to have bypassed many of the problems that preemies can run into early on and is just focusing on growing and developing. When she first started eating (until around 34 weeks this is all done by feeding tube), she was ~3lb 1oz and taking 3ml of milk, now she is ~3lb 8oz and takes 33ml. It sounds like pretty soon we will get to introduce Ava to nursing and see if she is developmentally ready and see how her suction is with her cleft lip. All of doctors and nurses have said that Ava's pallet looks great and that there is a good chance she can still be a great nurser. Jeff spoke with someone from the Cranial Facial Clinic at Children's who said that they expect Ava may only need one surgery to correct her partial cleft lip. They said that with a full term infant that is usually done between 3-6 months, so I'm not sure exactly when that falls with a preemie. They also said that they would want to follow up with Ava again around two years and then again around five to check on the development of her nose and pallet to determine if any additional surgeries are needed. It was nice finally getting abit more information. Thank you again for all of your continued prayers and support. Thlay

7/11/2012

(Ava's first outfit, 11 days old)

Ava is doing great. I was able to hold her twice today, once in her first swaddle and once skin to skin. I love their big cozy lounge chair, you can just kick back and fall asleep. The nurses always have good things to say about our little one. Babies in the NICU usually start to be introduced to nursing/bottle feeding around 33-34 weeks, because that's when they being to be able to suck, swallow and breath, instead of just suck and swallow. A few of the nurses have said that Ava shows signs of being on the earlier end since she loves her binkie (you can hear her sucking on it) and sucks her thumb/hand and will lick/try to chew you. The docs/nurses said that with a small cleft lip like Ava"s there is a good chance that it won't interfere with nursing but they will help with tip/tricks when the time comes. I also got to put on her first outfit today, so exciting! They have all sorts of cute little preemie outfits to pick from for while they are there. So glad that all of the NICU nurses seem to love babies. Jeff's parents wanted a sleepover with Cam so we were able to go out to dinner tonight, and I don't even know what it will be like to sleep in tomorrow before we head in to see Ava. Thank you all for your continues prayers and support. You are AMAZING!!! Thank you, Thlayla

Ava is One Week Old

Wow, it has been a week since Ava and Isla were born. In some ways I can't believe Ava is already a week old, and in so many others it feels like we have been through more than could possibly fit into one week. Ava continues to do great in the NICU. Yesterday evening Ava hit full feeds for her size/age/weight which is 26ml every 3 hours. Since she is on full feeds, last night they took out the IV that went into her belly button, that supplied extra fluid and nutrients. This morning Ava starting breathing room air without any assistance, and this afternoon they took out the nasal cannula completely. She seems much more comfortable with every piece of equipment that they take off. It's wonderful to see her face and makes me feel more comfortable being more involved. Today Jeff, Camden and I all went to visit Ava. Camden is in LOVE with her and will be an amazing big brother. He just wanted to touch her feet and tickle her. He said "want Ava come home," and "Stay here, not wanna go home." I have no idea how long he could have been content watching her, touching her feet and singing to her(itsy bitsy spider). It was beautiful to watch, I wish I had taken a picture. I got to spend an amazing two hours holding her (skin-to-skin, Kangaroo care). As soon as she is snuggled up on my chest, she feels so relaxed and happy, I love the feeling. There is no doubt that she knows I am her mama. I did have a scary moment holding her when the monitor alarms went off because she "forgot" to breath for a second or so (I have no idea how long it was, but it felt like forever). The staff didn't seem concerned at all, they just said stick a finger in her armpit and she bounced right out of it. The staff said that it is to be expected with preemies and that they grow out of it. It still made my heart stop. It continues to be hard juggling everything with a baby in the NICU and Camden at home, especially since I can't drive for at least two weeks after the C-section. Everyday we try and figure out what works and what doesn't and remind ourselves that as hard as it all is, this is temporary and someday we will be able to look back on it all. Thank you all for your continued pray and support. Thanks to all of you who have brought meals, shared advice, and just been there for us. Much love, Thlay

7/5/2012 Update

(5 days old) Well after ten days, Thlay is back home. This feels bettersweet to all of us (except Cam, who is just glad to have his mama home). And most likely Gigi and Pops Potter, who have had Cam 24/7 for the past 10 days! Everyone has been a trooper. Life feels surreal. It seems kind of crazy to leave Ava at the hospital and at the same time a wonderful blessing to have world class care provided to her. It'll be a real juggle for Thlay and Jeff to find balance between a two and a half year old at home and a newborn who is a minumum of 45 minutes away. Ava is one fiesty girl! They took her off of C-PAP a couple of days ago. She hated that machine and actually managed to pull it off once. They're working on decreasing her 02 and increasing her feedings, all of which is going well. She's now on a little nasal cannula. She started out on 8 liters/min. and yesterday was down to 5. Today they'll see how she does on 3. We are constantly reminded that with premies Ava's age it is three steps forward and two steps back, but we are all grateful for the forward movement. She knows who Thlay is immediately and loves sleeping on her chest, with that sweet skin-to-slin contact. Ah... Mama. They say premies usually get to go home around their due date, plus or minus 2 weeks, so we're looking at somewhere around September 9th. The nurses are impressed by the headway she's making and they all agree that she already "Tells it like it is." She lets everyone know if she's hungry and is very vocal about diaper changes ar any other changes for that matter. This girl is a fighter and will hopefully contimue to hold a positive course ~ Weyshawn

Pics

7/2/2012

Well, it's Monday afternoon and Ava is a day and a half old and still holding her own. They have kept her on C-PAP and are talking about briefly intubating her to give her surfactant to help keep the aveoli open in her lungs. This will help her with her breathing, if they decide to do it. She has a feeding tube and has been tolerating Thlay's breast milk very well, eating everything Thlayla pumps. Thlay was able to hold Ava on her chest for an hour this morning and is over the moon in love with her baby. I am in love as well. Hoping for a great outcome! Thlayla is amazing. She's up and walking. She walked all the way down to the NICU, which is about a football field away from her room. Jeff is amazing and so are his folks. They've had Cam since last Monday and are in for the long haul to make everything work We feel blessed everywhere we turn. Thanks for your well wishes and prayers ~ ~Weyshawn(Mom)

7/1/2012 Our Girls

We welcomed Ava Potter into this world at 2:39 am. Isla graced us with her presence for an hour before we said farewell. She was a beautiful spirit and we all feel lucky to have had her in our lives even if it was for a brief moment in time. Ava weighed in at 3 lbs 1 oz and I think she was as shocked to be here as we were to see her. She cried heartily and hit 9 on the APGAR scale and then 10. She is in the NICU, and will be for a long while, but is in stable condition and holding her own. They did not have to intubate her but her breathing is being helped by a C-PAP machine. Thlay is doing great. Dr. Jolley wasn't able to make it in before the C-section. It ended up that Dr. Andy Warner did the surgery. When he came in to introduce himself he said, "Thlay?" and she said, "Andy?" It ended up that he was an old college friend of both Thlay and Jeff. He is now the Chief Resident here at the U and everyone loves him. It was pretty awesome to have an old friend their do her surgery. Thlay is out of the Recovery Room and has seen Ava and is now sleeping. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers, Weyshawn (Mom)

6/27/2012

Well, we're still here at the U of WA. Big slumber party here last night with Thlay, Jeff & I. When Dr. Jolly checked Thlay this morning she was dilated 1.5 cm & 70% effaced. This is a big change from yesterday. They're going to check her again in a few hours & if things are still progressing, they'll put her on a magnesium sulfate drip & hope it will completely stop the labor. The mag is a smooth muscle relaxant and should calm things down. It apparently also has a protective mechanism for the babies brain. Jeff left a while ago to bring Cam over for a vistit. Thlay is really missing him but it sounds like he is having a great time at the Potter's. We keep you posted as new info arises ~ Weyshawn (Mom)