Adelin Joy

Wow we are approaching 5 months in 10 days and it looks like 6 is just around the corner.  What a joy it has been to be a father and for Carrie to enjoy the routines of being a full time domestic engineer.  I wish all engineering degrees took as long as Carrie’s, well maybe not.  Waiting 5 years to get pregnant and having to expand for 9 months doesn’t seem to fun but at least Carrie internalized the process.  Adelin is doing so good she is now up to 10.5 pounds and she is growing more every day.  She has had lots of new experiences over the last month.  We as a family decided to take a trip to Anchorage Alaska to visit our close friends Andrew and Angelin along with their children.  We had a great time and we enjoyed every second of the trip.  I will attempt to post some pictures for all to see if I can remember how.  Both Carrie and I have web cameras now so we can visit with family and they can see how much our baby has grown.  I love today’s technology.  Well It’s almost 12pm so I had better get moving on this post.  I will let the pictures do the talking.  I think I will start from the day we brought Adelin home from the hospital.    

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Adelin is doing really great but she has had some complications over the last few weeks.  I will give a full update in my next post but here are some more pictures.

Enjoy

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Hello all sorry for the lack of updates over the last few weeks. We have had lots of things going on so there will be many updates over the next few days. For those who don’t know we have finally been able to take Adelin home from the hospital. This was an exciting event in which we were able to place her in her car seat for the first time as well as see how she handled riding in the car. We like a true Howell she loved riding in the car and she fell asleep on the way home. Things have been going really great since she has been home. She is eating regularly and enjoying sleeping. What a life eat and sleep no responsibilities and nothing to do, Life must be great for Adelin.

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Hello everyone, sorry for the lack of posts over the last few days its been very busy. Carrie is almost completely healed and she is back to the norm. Our house is decorated for Christmas and we are planning and preparing to take Adelin home which will be another wonderful event in our wonderful lives. This week has been full of emotions good and bad. Before I start my post I want to let you know that Adelin is doing really good. On Monday our week started out pretty bad. We had a bad nurse that gave us the impression that Adelin was not doing well and that she was having some real problems. Even though we received a really bad report from this nurse we took some time out and prayed that God would take control of the situation. When we returned the next morning Adelin was connected to additional hoses and wires which broke our heart. IT was really upsetting that in two weeks Adelin had only gained one ounce. Carrie spent the day with Adelin caring for her and we were dredging the daily report from the nurse. Well things were going pretty poorly and we didn’t have a good morning report from the nurse. Well when I got off of work I showed up at the hospital and I saw Carrie talking to the head shift nurse. Well it seems that Adelin was doing completely fine. She had been shifted from 38cc’s of milt to 42. We were shocked at what the head nurse told us. Adelin had been improving continually each and every day and she wasn’t having any problems. The only issue that the department was having is the scale that Adelin was being weighed on was broken and she had actually increased in weight to 5lb 1.3oz. We were so relieved and excited that there was nothing wring with her. Later that evening all of the tubes were removed and Adelin was back on track. Well on Wednesday we retuned and Adelin had been taken off of the fatty additives and she had her feedings increased to 44cc’s. On Thursday Adelin basically woke up. When we arrived for her feeding she was wide a wake and just looking around and making noise, Adelin was so active and I would almost say that she was fussy. Adelin fought with Carrie for almost half an hour while Carrie was attempting to feed her. She wanted to feed the way she wanted to and in a certain position which was really funny to watch. Adelin was pushing us away and moving around and just looking at us. Here eyes were open so wide it was amazing to see how her eyes are turning more blue ever day. We were both able to hold her for a long time which was really great. Things seem to be really going great and Adelin is responding exactly how she is expected to so the news form last night was that she has had her feeding increased to 50cc‘s which is her magic number. All she has to do now is eat all of her meals from the bottle or boob and then she can come home. We are almost there so things are going great. Well I am in a hotel in Dallas after a meeting that was really long. The meeting started at 10am and finished at 7:45pm. Then we had a dinner that lasted till 12. What a long day especially since I drove 5.5 hours to Dallas on Friday morning. Well until next time. By the way our internet is not working at home so the posts will be done when the internet is accessible.

I thaught this was really special so I thaught I would post it for everyone to see.  Ill Give a full update later this evening there are lots of catching up to do.

Joel 

Greetings Joel and Carrie:  We are praying for and with you as you contemplate taking little Adelin home.  She will bring great joy to your life with a Mommy and Daddy, Grandma and Grandpa and the Greats that will pray daily for her. 

I sent you a writing that your Great Great Aunt Lillian wrote for you while she was in the Hospital, before Adelin was born.  She is 92 years old and she wanted to do something for Adelin.

To Adelin Joy:  

                            Your ten baby fingers, your ten baby toes.

                            Pretty blue eyes and cute little nose.

                            You’ll be your parents pride and joy.

                            With hair that will curl,

                            You’ll be Mommy’s little darling

                             And Daddy’s big girl.

                             We’re happy you’re a girl instead of a boy,

                              So welcome to our big wide wonderful world

                             You sweet bundle of joy.

May God reach out and touch both of you today.  You three are loved…MUCH!!!  

Great Grandma Calhoun

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Well well I am writing once again with a glowing report for Adelin, Carrie, and me O I almost forgot Bailey. Today was quite the day Adelin was wide awake and checking us out when we came in. Carrie was able to naturally feed Adelin but she wasn’t doing to good she kept falling asleep or she was playing coy because every time I thought she was asleep she would open her mouth and stick her tongue out as if she was teasing with us. I hope she isn’t a tease. I had to take Adelin aside for a few minutes to give her a pep talk trying to get her onboard with the game. I hope some one gave her the rule book if not this could take some additional explaining. After our team huddle Carrie took Adelin for a second go around. Adelin and Carrie spent a good 40 minutes wrestling around trying to find the perfect connection point. I think Carrie got tired first so we went back to the NICU to hang out until the shift change. Adelin was still having fun sticking her tongue out at us as we played with her hands and feet. Adelin has now been increased to 38 cc of milk so she is almost up to her magic number 40. All of her vitals are really good and she is beginning to respond more to touch and react when she gets tickled under her arms or on her feet. Her eyes are turning a bluish color and her hair is getting lighter ever day. I am still amazed how fast Adelin is growing and how much she has progressed over the last few days. Carrie is doing great with all of the stress involved with not being able to take the baby home. Carrie has been really strong with dealing with the pain of the surgery and recovery. She is almost back to 100% which she will need to be to take care of Adelin in the coming weeks. Well tomorrow is a big day for Adelin she will officially be 37 weeks new and on Tuesday she will be two weeks old. At this point she should get the idea of nursing and figure out that she needs to suck to get the food. One thing that I have noticed over the past few days is how big Adelin’s cranium is. She has allot of brains so she is for sure showing her Howell hood. Adelin was really good for Carrie tonight as she gave her a bath she didn’t wine cry or try to move around she just pooped. That’s right she decided to add some coloring to the bath water. So Carrie got to bath her a second time with clean water. What a great time Adelin is living the dream she can do what ever she wants when she want and some one else is responsible for taking care of the mess. O to be a new born again. Well I didn’t take allot of photos tonight because she spent most of the night o-naturall so Ill have to add some parental ratings and only show the parental approved photos. I almost forgot about me and Bailey. Since I have been sick I have been sleeping on the couch so that I wouldn’t get Carrie sick I seem to have been moving in on Bailey’s territory. Though he is not happy he takes revenge seriously. After another restless night of Bailey stealing my covers as I sleep on the couch I am finally doing well enough to go back to the room. I know its hard to believe that a dog would be smart enough to drag the blanked off of me but trust me, he knows what he is doing. Well Tomorrow is a big day for us we get to go grocery shopping and possibly get some new tires. Have a good one.

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Hello all sorry for the lack of updates over the last few days I have been really sick. I am doing much better know and I was finally able to see Adelin again. Adelin was so good tonight she had her eyes open and she was looking at us and grabbing our fingers and kicking her feet around. Adelin is a string bean, everyone comments on how long her legs and fingers are. She is such a cutie. Well tonight I learned an extra special lesson that I will take note of every time I go to hold Adelin. Make sure the chair I use has arm rests because if you hold her for too long you get palsy arm. My muscle was so sore that I still feel the pain and its been about two hours since I held her. She only ways 4 lb /14 oz but it adds up over time. I remember this time I was at Disney with a friend of mine and he carried his two kids one in each arm for about two hours. I really need to hit the gym, I didn’t realize this parenting thing would be such a work out. Carrie is doing really good she got her stitches out and she is off the pain pills so she is back in action as if she never had the baby. I also am still loosing the weight loss challenge Carrie has already lost a little over 20 LB and I was finally blessed by being sick and I have lost a whopping 4 pounds. I know I have to keep up on the weight loss but she is killing me. Adelin is doing good as you probably figured out she gained one ounce which was really great. Adelin looks like her eyes are starting to turn blue just like Carrie’s which will be really cool but it looks like she will have brown hair. She is growing hair like grass. Adelin was moved to a new location in the NICU which was a surprise to me. Here new bed is in the main hall way where all of the good babies get to sleep. Adelin is so good she has only wined or cried 4 or 5 times. I am so thankful for this because I depend on my beauty sleep at night so a crying baby could cause problems. Well I am going to cut this post short because I am still a bit sick so here are some pictures from the last few days. Carrie will start posting in a couple of days or as soon as I can figure out how to make her posts show up as if they were from her.

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Well Adelin is doing wonderful again today and she is stealing all of the hearts of all the nurses. Today we had our chubby bunny nurse and she was really great. She let Carrie introduce her famed assets to Adelin. Adelin was really excited and she spent 10 minutes getting acquainted. With her tummy half full the nurse put in the feeding tube and gave her the rest of her milk. Today was also a really good day because Adelin was switched from 15 to 25 ml of milk. This is so good because the magic number is 40ml and then Adelin will get to come home. Carrie was really excited to be able to feed the baby naturally because she is starting to feel really mooooody when she has to attach her self to the mean green milking machine. Adelin doesn’t care she thinks its moooolicious anyways. Adelin is really doing good. Today Carrie had a new experience and she got to change Adelin’s diaper which was really fun and Adelin showed that she was a real Howell. She filled up the diaper and when Carrie was changing her she squeezed every last ounce of poop out so she would be set for a few more hours. What a girl, what a girl. After all of the excitement Carrie got to hold Adelin in her arms for half an hour and then I got 15 minutes. Its just amazing when she looks up at me with her big beautiful eyes and wonders who is behind the mask. I think she knows it’s me. Adelin is no longer jaundice her levels are down to 6.7 which is excellent so she is looking great. Adelin has definitely made considerable strides towards coming home. Don’t tell Carrie but one of the nurses told me tonight that if Adelin keeps improving as fast as she has been over the last few days she might be able to come home at this time next week. That would be great but I wouldn’t count on it. Remember this a secret for Carrie. I know most of the readers are getting board with my commentary but Carrie is getting ramped up on how to post to the blog. I started back to the daily grind on Monday which is no surprise there is not much going on. Adelin seems to be the focal point of most of my conversations and is a great way to loosen up the crotchety office ladies. Carrie is doing really good today she is getting back into the rhythm and she washed all of Adelin’s clothes today and she is in the process of washing our clothes. I know I am a bad husband forcing my wife back into manual labor a week after a major surgery. Carrie is tough she can handle it. Now on the other hand if there is anyone that wants to help hang pictures call Carrie. I hate putting nail holes in freshly painted walls. Well the weight loss challenge has begun between Carrie and me. Carrie is in the lead with 8lbs but I am feeling a bit like she has a slight advantage. Between the pumping’s and the fact that she lost about 5lbs in one shot doesn’t help me. I have to get on the ball and start dropping the lbs. Well have a great evening more to come tomorrow.

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Well what a day Carrie and I didn’t get over to see Adelin until 3:30 but when we got there she was just chilling out wearing her sun goggles. We didn’t get to spend much time with her because I had to rent a breast pump which is actually pretty cool. Its battery powered so Carrie can pump on the go. I am imagining her driving down the road taking the 45 minute drive to the hospital pumping away. Though this might not sound like the best idea it would still give us more time to spend with Adelin. Now I think I should tint my windows for privacy reasons or maybe not ill leave that decision up to Carrie. We left the hospital and went on to Carrie’s doctors visit and she had her staples removed but sadly enough the lady wouldn’t let me keep the staples. Carrie is now much more mobile now that she doesn’t have to worry about the staples. We returned to the hospital and we were really excited by the report that we received about Adelin. So the big surprise for the day is that Adelin had been taken off of the Vaportherm which is the machines that has the little hoses that stick into Adelin’s nose. That was gone so Adelin is completely breathing on her own. Her lungs are doing really well. The nurse asked us the bring in some outfits for her to wear over the next few days. Adelin is looking really good too. Since her Jaundice levels increased to 13.7 the doctors had to put her under a bright light to help reduce the yellowness. When they do this she has to wear some sun glasses and she looks so cute. I personally think that the Doc’s are trying to give her a tan before she has to go home from the resort hospital. Some one also made a little hat for Adelin so that her head wouldn’t be cold during the day. Adelin is looking really good even though her back and arm pits are still yellow. The nurse last night was really nice and allowed both Carrie and I to hold her for about half an hour. This was really fun because Adelin gave us the best gift of all. Adelin opened her eyes and cooed and cried for us. It was just amazing watching her eyes look at us knowing that she recognizes Carrie’s voice. She wouldn’t recognize my voice because I have a cold or something and I sound like the guy on a movie trailer. If you notice both Carrie and I are in disguise today so Adelin must figure out who we are. It was really cool that Carrie was able to feed her and hold her at the same time. The nurse thinks that she is doing really good and she might be able to be placed in a regular crib over the next few days. We are so excited that there is a possibility that she might be able to come home for Christmas a little early. Until next time.

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Today was definitely a wonderful day to remember. We woke up late and said good buy to the In-laws and headed to the hospital. It snowed all night so it was still a little dangerous but they left anyway. The snow lasted till noon but I wish it would have continued for the rest of the day. Now for the highlights of the day. We were quite excited because the nurse last night said that we might be able to hold Adelin today if she was still doing good. Well today she was doing great. When we arrived she was in the process of yanking out her feeding tube and drooling all over herself. To me that is a great sing I love the drool. Well we sat down and Carrie made way to the pumping station #2. Its almost like a factory milking facility. I spent about a half an hour with Adelin and I was having trouble staying awake. The little noises that the machines make in the NICU are hypnotizing to the point that I cant stay awake. After a short snooze Carrie was done and we got started asking the nurse questions. Well it looks like Adelin is becoming jaundice but she still has 1.3% left to raise before she has to be put under the light. Adelin was fidgeting and trying to do pushups most of the afternoon but that was alright with the Doc. Well the nurse offered to let us hold Adelin for the first time which was so great. I have to say that being able to hold the most precious asset in the world was one of the best experiences ever. You could feel her weight and every time she took a breath there was a slight pressure against my arm that was so soothing knowing that she was able to breath under her own power without the assistance of the machine. This was really the first time that I can remember being able to smell Adelin. It was a wonderful smell that was pleasing and a tad bit sweet. As I write this I can still remember Adelin‘s smell. How amazing was it to hold her, I am still so very excited. Carrie got to hold Adelin twice today but I’m not jealous. I really appreciate the way Adelin responds to touch our sound it lets me know that she thinks I am special and that is wonderful. We left the hospital and went to the store to pick up a little something for someone that may be reading this blog so I cant discuss the item but they will love it. We then went for a lavish meal and then it was time to return to the Hospital. Every three hours is quite often for feeding but I am sure the baby likes it. Our friends that had the baby yesterday were released from the hospital so they are safe and sound back at home. Well our second visit today was as eventful as our first but we didn’t get to hold the baby. Adelin is so precious it just makes me completely sad when you I heard her cry when the mean nurse ripped the tape off of her skin. Carrie got to feed Adelin an additional 10ml of milk because she is getting better. Adelin was given a pacifier to suck on while Carrie fed so that she had some oral stimulation to support the feeling of receiving food. As she continues to get healthier she will continue to get additional food and less of the fluid in the IV. If you noticed Carrie is wearing a disguise when with Adelin and I will tomorrow because I am getting a cough. I would hate to get her sick but I will still have an update for everyone tomorrow.