2/23/14: Has it really been 3 weeks already?

Today is Charlie's 3 week birthday and we're happy to report that he's weighing in at 5 1/2 pounds! We're going to have to put this chunker on a diet!

Its been a busy 2 weeks since our last update. Charlie's progress was just so good and smooth that I was starting to wonder if we would experience the same up and down NICU journey that everyone warned us about. Sure enough last weekend we had a small setback. We'd started Charlie on oral feeds and he seemed to be doing great but a few days in we started to see his oxygen saturation levels dropping slightly which would then also cause his heart rate to drop a bit (which by the way is called "having a brady"! how f'ed up is that??). The doctors decided to put him back on some breathing support while they figured out what was going on. Could be reflux. Could just be that he's premature and his lungs are still developing. We still don't know exactly what it was and I was pretty bummed to see another tube added to his cute little face but the extra air definitely helped him and we think we'll be able to start trying to feed him orally again tomorrow. Hopefully the extra tube will also come off this week. The doctors have reassured us that the breathing intervention is very minor and Charlie's progress is still great. I know a lot of you are wondering when we'll be going home. We're wondering the same thing. We were optimistic that we'd be home as early as now but knowing he has quite a big feeding goal it looks like his original due date of 3/19 might be more realistic. Anyone's guess is as good as mine though.

Even with a little bit of drama, we are still enjoying every minute with Charlie. We see him growing and changing every day and spend a lot of time trying to figure out what in the world is going on in his little head. So far his favorite things are:

1. Pooping- I know all babies poop a lot but you know its special when all the nurses comment on it. 
2. Being awake at night- which is why you'll notice that all the pictures where he is awake are dark. 
3. Having his hands by his face ALL the time- which is pretty adorable and you'll also notice in the pics. 
4. Giving us extremely skeptical looks- can't blame him for that! 

Other eventful things from the last 2 weeks for Charlie- his belly button fell off (thank goodness because it was gross), he passed his hearing test and he's had 2 baths!

In other news, Aaron went back to work last week so we're readjusting our schedules. I am spending the weeknights at the hospital and Aaron is taking the weekends. Aaron has also managed to get to the hospital in time for Charlie's 6pm feeding and a few hours of guy time during the week =). We're finally making our house look livable again and are almost done with the nursery! Will share pictures when its completely finished. We also got a lesson in car seats and took an infant safety/CPR class which made us even more paranoid than we already were.

And finally, here are LOTS of pictures and videos from the last 2 weeks!

A smile! 

Guys night!

We now know how to safely put a fake baby in our car seat. 

There is one of those skeptical looks. 

And here's the hands by the face series...

 Earmuffs

Dr. Evil impressions

Crazy arms + skeptical look

Outgrowing his preemie clothes! 

More nighttime awakeness 

Just one of the many rooms that Charlie has taken over with all of his stuff 

Charlie's first Valentine's Day! Teddy Bear care of Aunt Stephanie! 

Bath time! 

 Our first family pic. I don't think this will make the Christmas Card. 

We're not done yet. Here's the video portion of the blog post! 

2/12/14: Happy 1 Week Birthday Charlie! (plus some bed rest outtakes)

We're already bad parents and are behind on celebrating Charlie's 1 week birthday which was Sunday. Let's blame it on trying to find a birthday hat that would fit him =). We finally had one custom made.

Charlie is still doing great. In fact, we popped the top off of his convertible today because he's maintaining a good temperature on his own. Downside is that he's been dropping serious stink bombs which was fine when we could shut the doors on his isolette but now mommy and daddy will get to experience his dutch oven too. Thanks Charlie!

I also went by the labor and delivery floor yesterday to return the knitting supplies I borrowed. Here's a picture of my lovely knitting teacher, Elsa. 

It was surreal to be back there but so great to see all the nurses that took such good care of me and Charlie when he was in my belly. I showed them pictures of Charlie and they said everyone was thinking about us. Nurses are truly a special breed of people. They are caregivers, teachers, therapists and experts. They are making us better parents with every day that goes by. Sometimes I wonder if Charlie knew we needed all the extra help we could get. Smart kid!

With Charlie coming so fast I had more bed rest blog posts that I never got to. Here are a few outtakes from my last few days in antepartum. 

MTV Cribs

my new favorite t-shirt from susannah

my last hospital meal

and the final milkshake!

2/9/16: Charlie Brady FAQ

Thanks to everyone for giving Charlie such a warm welcome to the world! We've been getting a lot of questions about how things are going so I put together a list of most frequently asked questions about our little Charlie and his adventures.

1. How is Charlie doing? He's amazing! While he was born small in weight (only 3 lbs 13 oz.), he was a good length and head circumference so the doctors aren't concerned about his size. He's breathing completely on his own, digesting breast milk well and starting to gain weight. We're even experimenting with actual breast and bottle feeding and he's getting the hang of it little by little. The doctors are really impressed! I'll take a moment to brag about the fact that the nurses are fighting over who gets to take care of him. They keep telling us we are really lucky to have such a sweet and mellow baby. He definitely gets that from the Brady side of the family. 
2. How long will Charlie be in the NICU? Looks like 1-2 more weeks. In order to go home, he'll need to be taking all of his food by breast or bottle and maintaining a normal body temperature and he's making good progress in both of those areas. 
3. How big is he now? Today Charlie weighed in at 4 lbs 1.5 oz! 
4. What is it like in the NICU?  UW has a very state of the art NICU that was recently renovated, so thankfully that means Charlie has his own room- which is very rare for a NICU. The room has a bench that converts into a bed for one person to stay overnight so Aaron and I have been taking turns staying with him. Its very different than when I was in the antepartum unit. Its a very sterile environment so there isn't a ton of personal space and there are a lot of limitations on what we can have in the room. We also use a shared bathroom for all the families. And because I'm not a patient anymore we're on our own for food, which brings me to my next question... 
5. Can you still order milkshakes? Sadly, the milkshake days are over. 
6. What are your days like? Days are a little hectic but we're getting into a groove now- at least until Aaron goes back to work next week. We do a lot of running back and forth to the house (which thankfully is so close) to get things we need, eat or just to get stuff ready for Charlie to come home. He needs to eat every 3 hours and now that he is learning to eat on his own, I want to make sure I'm with him as much as possible. 
7. Is it stressful? A little bit. Thankfully Charlie's progress has been so good that its less stress about him, although of course we're on high alert all the time and every random beep in the room sends my blood pressure through the roof. Its mostly just the challenges of breastfeeding, recovering from the delivery, getting the house ready and dealing with our normal lives that is hard. We're definitely managing but the sleep deprivation is starting to take a toll and is apparent in my new disheveled look. I have been rolling around the NICU in a robe and uggs. Its very Britney Spears. Overall, we know we are really lucky. As much as I wish he was still in my belly right now, we have found so many hidden blessings in this experience. We have the most highly trained babysitters round the clock for him and are learning so much from them. We also are loving every single second with Charlie and aren't taking a bit of it for granted. 
8. Do you miss being on bed rest? Not gonna lie. I could've kept going for several more weeks and have been just fine. Now that Charlie is here though, it feels like ages ago. 
9. Was it so nice to get out of the hospital and go home for the first time? Not at all. About mid-week the hormones really surged and it happened to be when I was experiencing normal things again for the first time. I would have complete meltdowns and start sobbing uncontrollably. I know that was really fun for Aaron. It was such a weird feeling, I just didn't want to be doing normal things because I knew it wasn't normal for my baby to still be in the hospital and for me to not be with him. Driving still triggers it sometimes which is super safe when I haven't driven a car in 6 weeks and I can't see because tears are squirting from my face. As soon as I walked into the house for the first time, it was the most awful feeling. It felt so foreign and I instantly didn't want to be there. Its starting to feel better when I'm there but Charlie's room in the NICU still feels more like home than our house. I don't think it will really be home again until all 3 of us are there. Okay- starting to cry so I need to move on to the next question!
10. Who does Charlie look like? Not sure. Sometimes he looks like Aaron. Sometimes he looks like my Dad. Most of the time he just looks like a baby. 
11. How did you decide on a name? We started calling him Charlie Brown after our first ultrasound because its exactly what he looked like to me. Then we realized that we actually liked the name Charlie. We also think it suits him pretty well. Now I just need Aaron to stop calling him Jazzy Chazzy and singing show tunes to him. Kiyoon is his Korean name. My parents chose it by taking a syllable from Aaron's Chinese name and my dad's name. 
    
12. Did the doctors induce you or did the labor just start? It just happened. I thought it was just gas or heartburn (sorry TMI) because I'd had a taco salad for lunch and Kristin came over for dinner so we ordered Papa John's (I know- a very fitting last meal before delivering). But gas pain doesn't typically come and go every 4 minutes so the doctors started monitoring me and as the contractions got more intense I knew I was in labor and off we went to a delivery room.
13. What was the delivery like? 3 words: natural, fast and intense. For everyone's sake, I'll spare you the details. Anyone who wants the full re-hash can call me anytime =). Aaron was amazing. While I'm sure he probably felt like a helpless bystander, he held my hand the entire time and encouraged me just the right amount and at just the right times. But we really would've been freaking out if it weren't for our doula, Debra. I had read books but I really didn't know what to expect and she assured us that everything happening was totally normal during the entire process. She got both me and Aaron through the craziest experience of our lives. 
14. Did you watch the Super Bowl? Yes, as in it was on while we both passed in and out of consciousness. 
15. Did you ever finish the booties? Yes! But he's got a little growing to do before he can fit into them. 
    
16. Can we see some more pictures? Careful what you ask for! 

 Hey sugar.

 What's up sweet thang.

Stretchin

Hiccups

Didn't want to share my new 3 am Britney look but this burrito baby is just too cute!

Thinking about something... or just taking a big dump. 

 Charlie's first snow! This is the view from his room. The 4 seasons for babies. 

2/7/14: Super (Bowl) Baby!

Well, it comes down to football again. After all that discussion about 34 vs. 35 weeks, Charles "Charlie" Kiyoon Brady decided to make it easy for us by arriving at 33 weeks and 4 days, February 2 at 7:38 am on Super Bowl Sunday! His stats: 3 lbs 13 oz, 17.5 inches and a full head of hair!

Charlie has been in the NICU since he arrived and like his mother has adapted well to hospital life. The biggest concern for preemies is lung development and Charlie is breathing without any assistance which is SO great. He's also consuming breast milk through a feeding tube in his nose and is being supplemented by some additional IV fluids and nutrition. For the rest of the week, the goal is to work him up to tube feeding only (no IV) and the following week's goal will be for Charlie to learn how to eat on his own which involves the ability to suck, breathe and swallow at the same time. In order to do that we'll start easing him into breastfeeding. The doctors told us today that his progress is right on track and he will probably be here for a total of around 3-4 weeks but we should be very patient as we start feeding because every baby is different and some may need longer than others to figure things out.

Thanks to everyone for all of the emails, calls, gifts, care packages and offers for help! We kind of feel like we've been spun in a washing machine and spit out so sorry we've been MIA! We're starting to readjust now that its been a few days and hope to spend more time sharing pics, updates and calling everyone back!

We are just so happy and relieved that Charlie is here and doing so well. We can't get enough of him and think he's pretty adorable. Here are some pics from his first 5 days!

Right after he was born! Sorry for the nude pic. 

We had to wait a little while to hold him but it was worth it to say the least. 

Daddy got a chance too! 

Snoozin after some treats. 

Mom and Dad's first date night! Jimmy Johns in the hospital lobby. 

Dad learning to change a diaper!

The best part of our day. 

Showing off those luscious lips!