Almost 7 months!

Caden was 16 pounds at his 6 month appointment, which put him in the 21st percentile for weight! He can now sit up with support, smiles and "talks" to us all the time, and even ate a full "meal" of cereal this evening.  We've been trying baby food off and on for about a month now, but with minimal luck. We were very excited when he finished his bowl of cereal tonight!  He is taking much more interest in toys, and tries to put everything in his mouth.  He isn't rolling over yet, but has come very close and expect him to make it over any day now!

In less exciting news, Caden had an appointment with a urologist yesterday (7/27) because his pediatrician was worried about how his circumcision healed.  The urologist agreed that it didn't heal well, and he will need minor surgery to repair it (in and out in 1 day).  Unfortunately, the surgeon only performs surgery in Kansas City (but does consults and follow up appointments in Wichita).  Caden will have surgery in October.  We talked to a parent who's son just had the surgery, and she was VERY positive about the hospital and experience in KC.  Apparently Caden misses the hospital and wasn't getting enough love from his doctors and needed to add another ;)  He was 17.2 pounds at this appointment which means he gained 1.2 pounds in less than 3 weeks!

Before...

 After...

Long overdue for an update..

Caden continues to do very well, and has grown to the point of being called a "chunk."  According to our measurements, he is 24 inches long, 15.4 pounds, and has a head circumference of 17 inches.  This puts him below the 5th percentile for length, between the 5th and 10th percentiles for weight, and in the 25th percentile for head circumference when compared to other 6 month babies (Caden will be 6 months in a week).  We will get official measurements at his 6 month appointment on July 9.

In case you missed the memorial service for Tarson and Braxton, you can see the slide show we made by clicking here.

We found a day care less than a mile from our house that we feel really good about, so Caden has a place to go when school starts (whew)!  Otherwise, we can usually be found grilling, cooking, swimming, and/or hanging out with friends!

Caden got his face painted at River Fest:  

The obligatory tub shot:

I know the picture is blurry, but he was SOO happy!!

Chillaxin in our pool:

Caden has so much to say!

4 months!

Caden is up 2 pounds 13 ounces since the last post a MONTH ago...which brings him to 11 pounds 3 ounces, and 22 inches long.  While that still leaves him in the first percentile for both height and weight, his slope on the graphs is greater than the "average"slope, so he is catching up!  He is giving us 4-6 hour breaks at night, and 2-3 hour breaks during the day.  He is doing everything a 2 month old should be doing, and about half of what a 4 month old should be doing (had he made it to term, he would be just under 2 months).  He is wearing 0-3 month clothes, and size 1 diapers (he is still a little guy).  Our favorite moment of the past month was probably when he started smiling back at us this past weekend!!  We still take him everywhere with us and just can't get enough of our little dude.

Memorial:

We finally set the date: 6/23/12 at 3pm.  It will be at the First MB Church in Wichita (8000 W 21st. St).  If you could PLEASE e-mail us if you plan to attend, and how many will be coming with you, it would be greatly appreciated so we know how to plan for food.

michelleackland@gmail.com or dtackland@gmail.com

3 months!

Caden is up to 8 lb 6 oz and is 20 1/4 inches long! He has been very busy enjoying his open house, the pizza hut fundraiser, and trips to Tanganyika, Faith Church, and the movies. He usually sleeps between 2-3 hours at a time, and even thrilled us with ONE night of 4 hour naps (he hasn't repeated this since). He draws lots of attention wherever we go, to the point that Dan and I have to split up when we are shopping so that one of us can get something done. We love showing him off and enjoy every second of this attention.

Next Saturday is the March of Dimes where we will raise money to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. It isn't too late to join the walk and/or donate...

http://www.marchforbabies.org/personal_page.asp?pp=4262654&ct=4&w=5419031&u=michelleackland

THANK YOU to all who have supported us along the way! Caden is one lucky boy to have so many people who care about him!!!

Pizza Hut Fundraiser

Pizza Hut in Valley Center and Park City will be hosting a fundraiser for us on Thursday, April 5th.  In order for us to benefit, you must have a slip of paper.  You can download it in pdf format here.  Once you click the link, you have to click on the green download button in the middle of the screen where it says "Save file to...your computer...".  They will donate 20% of their sales for the day to us.  Please pass the word to friends, family, and neighbors.  We can use all the help we can get!

Thanks!
Dan and Michelle Ackland

Come see Caden/Open House!!!

Michelle and Dan would like to invite you to an Open House/Come See Caden Day! If you are reading this message, then you are invited! We will be having the Open House on Saturday, March 24^th from 1pm to 5pm. Come see our “new” home and visit Caden. You are welcome to bring your family and children as long as they are feeling well and healthy. No need to RSVP, just stop on in during those times. Please email us at dtackland@gmail.com ormichelleackland@gmail.com for our address and/or directions.

We are also planning a baby shower. If you would like to be invited, please shoot us an email ASAP. We are registered at Babies R Us (we aren't picky about brands on MOST items, just registered to give people ideas). All three of us look forward to seeing you soon!

And now for an update...

Caden has been doing GREAT at home. He is up to 7 pounds, and sleeps for 3 hours at a time at night. His eye specialist said his eyes look perfect (preemies tend to have eye issues, especially if they were on oxygen for any length of time), and his pediatrician said he looked perfect at his 2 month check. He is doing everything a newborn should be doing, and about half of what a 2 month old should be doing. His measurements are all in the 0-4 percentile range compared with other 2 month old babies (I wish they would compare him using his adjusted age AND his actual age).

March of Dimes

Caden and I (and possibly Dan) will be walking in the March of Dimes walk on 4/14/12. We would love to have you join our team and/or support our walk! Unfortunately this is also the Saturday of the MCC sale, but we plan to do both (this may be a bit ambitious for a 3 month old, but we'll see)!

www.marchforbabies.org/michelleackland

Home sweet home....depot!

It's true! We spent last weekend (Feb. 25-26) packing up and preparing to leave the hospital. The official orders were made Monday morning, and we left that afternoon. The only slight hiccup came when his nurse told us that insurance wasn't approving his medicine (caffeine to keep him from sleeping too deeply and forgetting to breath), and that a 20 day supply would cost us over $1600! Luckily, after a phone call to the insurance company, we only had to pay a $10 copay.

The doctors wanted us to break up the trip so Caden wouldn't have to spend 16 hours straight in a car. We spent a couple nights in Chicago visiting family, a couple nights in KC visiting friends, and a couple nights in Grafton, NE visiting more family before arriving home early this morning (Sunday the 4th). Caden did very well in the car, and has been eating even more than he was in the hospital. He wakes up to eat every 2-4 hours, and spends the rest of his time sleeping.

We know many of you would like to see him (and we would like to show him off), but we need a couple days to get settled in before we accept company. We are still planning to have an open house, and will work on setting a date for that ASAP!

A couple pics.

I can't find my toes, did you eat them?

This sign on our bathroom mirror makes me giggle every time I read it!
I graduated from my preemie clothes! Check out my NEWBORN sleeper!

Home Depot?

We figured it was time for another update since many of you have been asking for one!  The past few days the doctors have been talking about letting Caden go to "Home Depot".  This is NICU talk for letting the baby go home.  They don't say that because when they do the babies tend to act up and stay in the NICU longer.  :)

They are estimating it should be within the next week, but could be as early as Friday.  We are breaking the trip up into several days and stopping to see friends and family along the way, which has been the recommendation of our doctors.  He can't handle more than a few hours sitting in a car seat and we are 16 hours from home...depot.

He is about 18 and 3/4 inches long and weighs about 5lbs, 12oz.  He is taking over 75% of his feeds and even went 24 hours once taking all of his feeds.  Once he is taking 100% of his feeds consistently, he can leave.

We continue to enjoy Ann Arbor with recent stops at a local ice cream dairy store, a greasy burger joint that was featured on Food Network, and a reptile museum.  We've even been into Detroit twice - Michelle got her hair cut and colored for the first time since getting pregnant.

The resources that are being provided to us by the hospital continue to amaze us - we are learning an incredible amount of information, more than what would have been available to us back home.  This hospital is truly one of the best in the world.  We have met with lactation consultants, occupational therapists to assist with bottle feeding, infant massage, etc, etc, etc.  They have all given us contact information so that we can contact them once we get back to Valley Center if we have any further questions.

We met with a doctor to discuss test results on Braxton and Tarson.  They were able to determine that none of their health issues were genetic and were rather just random and a cause of a high risk multiples pregnancy.  The risk of a baby having the same health issues in future pregnancies would be roughly 2-3%.  This was very encouraging news.

We look forward to seeing friends and family in the next few days and finally getting back to home depot.  We are planning some sort of open house/come see our baby after we return and have a few days to ourselves to settle into a routine and make sure he adjusts well to life outside the NICU.  We will post that information to the blog and facebook.

As always, a big thank you to everyone for all that you have done for us along the way.

The many faces of Caden.

Just for fun!

Nap time with Daddy!

Awake after eating.

One of our nieces LOVES watching the last video we posted of Caden getting a bath. Since that video is so "worn out," we decided to add a new one.

5 pounds!

You read that correctly...Caden has reached 5 pounds and is 18 1/4 inches long!!! He begins most meals with a bottle, and finishes about half of each meal before tuckering out (he gets the rest of his meal through a tube). He is having fewer and fewer Bradys, and self recovers from MOST of the ones he does have.

Dan and I are still staying at RonnieMac, and continue to find great restaurants in and around Ann Arbor. We are looking forward to coming home soon (cross your fingers for late February)!

Dan and I had a great time at Build-A-Bear!

Our little towhead.

NO MORE NASAL CANNULA!!

Caden has been without ANY oxygen support (not even the tent) since 10am today and has done great!! His levels occasionally drop below the ideal 85%, but he has self recovered every time so his doctors are very pleased! When he is able to maintain this for 5 days, he'll be one step closer to going home!!

In order to go home, he must...

1. Remember to breath without stimulation (ideally, without oxygen support)

2. Maintain his temperature (he's been doing this for a week)

3. Eat on his own (where Caden needs the most work).

On a side note, this was my supper last night. I didn't know where to start it was so pretty!