Orlando!!

We are long overdue for an update. Things are going well and Aidan is growing so fast. He feels like a brick when we pick him up yet he's just over 10 pounds...or so I think, he hasn't been weighed in a couple of weeks. Highlights of the past few weeks include Aidan learning how to smile and our trip to Orlando.
Aidan learned how to smile about 2 weeks ago and it is awesome. I woke up one morning after a rough night and he was just smiling away at me. It is hard to be frustrated with such a cute baby. (It is really hard to get a good picture of him smiling because usually smiling comes with lots of hand waving and body movement)
Last week David, Aidan and I went to Orlando for a few days just before David had a conference there. We figured since he was going anyway we'd make it a vacation.We were up for an adventure with a 2 1/2 month old baby. So we left Friday and then I flew back with Aidan on Wednesday and David stayed for his conference and came back Friday night. We went to Gatorland, Epcot center and drove to Daytona beach. Here are some pictures from our trip.
Here he is on the plane. He was great and slept the whole time, waking up every couple of hours to sleep and then going right back to sleep.
Here we are at Gatorland. It was a beautiful day and we got to see all the famous events such as Gator Jumping and Gator wrestling. It was actually more fun that either of us imagined.We went to Epcot center and had a great time going on rides and just walking around and seeing all the exhibits. Aidan spent most of his time in the carrier and loved it. He slept pretty much all day.Here we are at Daytona beach. We were pretty disappointed with the beach and it was really windy so we didn't spend too much time here.
When we were at the Disney store we found this stuffed animal Squirt which cracked us up. We sometimes call Aidan a turtle when he moves his head and neck around. We couldn't resist a picture.

Here are some pictures of Aidan 5 weeks old. Thanks to David's brother Daniel and his wife Laura (koenigphotography.net) we have some beautiful pictures of our little family. Aidan is now 6 weeks old and we finally passed his due date yesterday. I am thrilled we are no longer in the negatives and now he will pass through some of the normal newborn milestones. He is doing great and is a very happy baby. He is on a pretty consistent 3 hour schedule and has transitioned from bottle feeding to breastfeeding like a champ.

Home!!!

This is from when we were in the hospital (the day he came home I think). Please excuse the ugly outfit they put on him...kind of girly if you ask me. I love his face in this one.


Notice the dimple
Aidan is now 4 1/2 weeks old which if I was still pregnant I would be 38 weeks along today. We are now home and loving it. We came home last Wednesday and so far Aidan is doing very well adjusting to his new environment. He is eating well and his visit to the pediatrician on Monday confirmed that he is gaining weight. When we left the hospital he weighed 5lbs 14oz. On Monday he was at 6lbs 10oz! Now there could be some discrepancy in the scales but either way he gaining weight. We are working now to transfer from bottle feeds to breastfeeds and he is proving to be pretty good at doing both. Right now my life consists of feeding, pumping, burping, rocking and resting. However I feel so lucky to have a baby that sleeps for 3 hour chunks at a time (at least for now), an awesome husband and family and friends that are so supportive. We feel so much better now that we can relax at home instead of trekking up to Everett everyday.

On another note, we have some exciting news to share...David got a new job! It was pretty crazy timing but it is very exciting for our family. He is now working for Milliman, Inc., which is an actuarial firm in Seattle. Now David can officially call himself an Actuary. He interviewed for the job 4 days after Aidan was born and then found out a couple of weeks ago that he got it. He then started Feb 1st and so far is enjoying the challenge, change and opportunity that this job is providing. It is great because he works downtown Seattle and can take a bus from right outside our house to right down the street from work. We also enjoy the change in schedule and are getting to spend dinnertime together which we love.

NICU

Something about sleeping on daddy's chest just puts Aidan right to sleep
One of his first baths. He obviously did not like this part
After the bath he was laying under a heat lamp and zoned out. Sure wish we had one of these at home. (Notice the cords...one is attached to his foot to monitor oxygen saturation and the others are various probes on his chest)

Here are some pictures of Aidan during his 3 week stay in the NICU. We are pleased to let you know that we were able to take Aidan home when he was 23 days old. Basically this time was spent waiting for his suck, swallow, breathing coordination to develop and for him to gain weight and strength to eat on his own. I have been pumping like crazy since he was born and we have been feeding him breastmilk from a bottle. It is easier for preemies to get milk from a bottle because it requires less effort on their part. When he would get too tired from that we would put the rest down a tube that went through his nose into his stomach. Eventually he became stronger and took all feeds from a bottle (nursing about once a day). So then we thought we would be able to come home. Aidan had other plans.

The entire time we were at the NICU Aidan had monitors attached to him monitoring his heartrate and blood oxygen levels. The morning we thought we were going to go home he had what they call an event where his levels went down to a level that is concerning for the doctors and then the nurse stimulated him to help him recover. When this happens it guarantees us another 5 days to make sure that it doesn't happen again. This isn't to say that he wouldn't have recovered on his own (we all have periods of apnea but recover quickly) but since someone felt it had gone on too long and stimulated him, they didn't want to risk him doing that at home. This was very hard news to take since we had finally set our minds that he was coming home. Fortunately time flies by in the NICU and 5 days later we were able to come home.

Surprise!

David and I have had quite the surprise over the last few days. I guess 2010 is going to be a pretty exciting year for us seeing as it started out with a bang. Saturday, after a seriously do nothing day I went to bed and woke up a 1/2 hour later to my water breaking. It is quite a shock to have a bunch of fluid coming out of you without you having any control over it. So we knew that meant my water had broken and proceeded to call our midwife. We were planning to have our baby (in February) at a birth center in Everett. However, when a baby is 6 weeks early it calls for some hospital help. We packed our bags and headed up to Providence Medical Center in Everett at 2:30 in the morning. They gave me Magnesium Sulfate to try to stop my labor so that they could have 48 hours to give me some steroids and let them work. The steriods quickly build the baby's lungs so that he has an easier time breathing when born. Sunday we spent the whole day trying to keep as still as possible as to not make labor progress any faster than it already was. After an exhausting day of monitoring his heartbeat and worrying about when the birth would be we had another night of no sleep. I had a couple of contractions that caused the umbilical cord to stress and therefore affected his heartbeat. That was pretty scary. Monday I woke up feeling horrible and realized it was the Magnesium Sulfate. After they took me off it and I had some food I felt a million times better and was able to get some rest. That afternoon I went to the bathroom and then realized that the cord had prolapsed causing a need for emergency c-section. We knew that we were going to have a c-section because the baby was breech but we thought I would be awake and that David could be there for it. I guess our baby had other plans. I went into the operating room at 4:52 and they made the incision at 4:57 and our baby was born at 4:59.

Aidan Michael Koenig was born at 4:59 on January 4th (which happens to be the same birthday as my dad!) weighing 5 pounds exactly. He was 17 1/2 inches and came into this world with a high pitched squeal. He is doing great and is amazing the doctors each day as he does more and more on his own. He was able to breathe on his own from the beginning and quickly was able to keep his temperature so now he is in a crib with many monitors and an IV helping him get the nutrition he needs to grow. They tell us that he will be in the NICU until he can eat on his own which could take a couple of weeks. We feel so lucky to have such great care and are thankful for the outcome of this unplanned event.

I was discharged from the hospital on Thursday and since then have been trying to take it easy so that I can heal. We spend our days at the hospital and then sleep at home to try to get as much sleep as possible. It sure is hard to leave Aidan.

So here are a few pictures of Aidan's first days....

Holiday cheer

We had a wonderful holiday weekend. It started with us going out Friday night to pick out our Christmas tree. We went all the way to the lot nearby and picked out a sweet smelling noble fir. We both were freezing a the lot which makes for a quick decision and once we thawed out at home and drank up some hot cider we were much more full of Christmas cheer. We enjoyed putting up our tree while listening to holiday music and then relaxed in our nice warm apartment admiring our fine work.

Saturday we went with David's family for the annual "Seattle trip" which includes dinner at McDonalds, a ride on the Monorail, window shopping at Westlake center, a carousel ride and gingerbread houses at the Sheraton. It was another cold night but was fun to walk around and see all the holiday decorations downtown.

We are at 30 weeks this week which means that this baby will be coming in just a few short weeks. I have 2 more weeks of school...well technically only 9 more days, until winter break. I can't wait. The hard part though is that I then can see the end. When we get back in January I only have 5 1/2 weeks before I'm off to get ready for the baby. I have been feeling great yet am seeing that this baby still has a lot of growing to go, which means my stomach does as well. I can feel a lot of movement which is really exciting.

This is a picture of David and I at thanksgiving. (Thanks Daniel and Laura for taking it for us)

Not much to report

It has been I think 6 weeks since I last posted. I guess I don't feel like there is much to report. Things are going very well and we are now settled into our apartment and are now counting down the months to this baby coming. I am finally showing and although these pictures aren't the best, you get the idea. I love seeing my stomach grow and imagining our little boy in there. These are pictures of me at 25 and 26 weeks.