Cardiologist

We got a clean bill of health from the cardiologist today. He did hear a slight murmur but said that it was perfectly normal and then she had a sonogram which I have to admit was pretty cool. He told us that her heart was nice and strong and there was nothing to worry about and he wouldn't need to see her again! WHEW!!

What a weekend!

Wow - we had a busy weekend! Lots of firsts for Taylor!

Friday started off with her first appt with the pediatrician. She weighed in at 8lbs 10ozs! We really liked the doctor (thanks to Amanda V for the referral). She told us that she heard a small heart murmur and we now have an appt to see a cardiologist this Wednesday morning. We were told that it's not uncommon and it could be something that she just grows out of. We won't know anything else until Wed. From there we met up with Antonio to go to Sprint and get our new phones. Yes - we are dorks and were pretty pumped about them. Dear Crazy! Afterwards we went out to lunch and Taylor did great. She had a full belly so she just slept in her car seat while we ate. We came back to relax a bit and decided that we would go to Friday Night Live since our friend Julie was singing back up with the band that night. Heather and Matt were going so we met up with them and headed to downtown Herndon. We were a little nervous and wondering how Taylor would do and she ended up sleeping through it all. She got up to have her diaper changed and to have a bottle and then went right back to sleep. A few pics from the evening are below.









Saturday was a little less eventful. Everyone came to us so we had a nice day at home. It was the first day since we brought her home that we didn't have to go anywhere. Boy was that nice! Taylor got to meet Brandi and Brooke in the afternoon. Brandi brought her a new little watermelon outfit that she just can't wait to wear! Thanks B!





Later that day Heather came by and we gave Taylor a bath. Fun for us - not so much for Taylor! Who doesn't love that little bunny towel! ;0)




Shortly afterwards Lauren, Seca and Jessie came by for a BBQ. We had a great time - even though I burnt 1/2 of the hot dogs. And I mean burnt! To quote Heather "hot dogs aren't supposed to be that crunchy!!" Seriously - who let me work the grill!?! Good thing the burgers and corn came out alright!

Yesterday we were supposed to go to our family friend Petre's 90th bday party. LONG story short.....turns out the venue was changed but no one thought it necessary to tell my dad or aunt so there was 9 of us at the wrong place. We ended up at our favorite (well - not Jacqueline's) Kabob place in Arlington for a family dinner. Once again - Taylor just slept through most of it. She woke up to eat and hung out on Ben's lap for a little while before nodding off again.

Nicole stopped by this morning and then it was just the 3 of us hanging out at home which was nice as I needed a day to recover. HA!

Yay for Billy!

My brother in law (Ben's little bro) Billy graduated from Parkview High School yesterday!! I can't believe it as he was only 11 when I first met him! Time sure does fly!

He's off to VA Tech in the fall and we're so proud of him! Congrats Billy!!

Taylor's Homecoming

FINALLY!!! Taylor is home!! Big day for Ben and I!!




I felt like I was waking up on Christmas morning today! I was so excited that we were finally going to be able to bring our little girl home! I can't even put into words (I know - shocking) how it felt to walk into the NICU with the car seat in hand and knowing it was our last time. We met with the doctor and one of the nurses to go over everything and at the end of our conversation the doc asked if we had any questions. I turned to the nurse and asked her if she wanted to come home with us! hahahaha Dear Crazy!!





One thing that the nurse did tell us was that Taylor might seem to be a little out of sorts after we get home and that it would probably be because our house is too quiet. She's been in the NICU for over 2 weeks with other babies, beeping monitors, doctors/nurses/parents always talking etc. So we get home and Ben starts straightening up. He started to vacuum and it didn't phase Taylor. He even went right by her while she was sleeping in the Boppy chair and she didn't even flinch! Don't worry - I took a picture to document it and it's below. hahahaha!

Here is the link to the pics on Snapfish http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=223171759/a=5781352_5781352/t_=5781352

I can't wait for all of you to meet her! Call me whenever you are in the 'Burg!!

First car ride!

Having a bottle at Nana & Pop Pop's house

Hanging out in the Boppy chair

Yes - it's on!!!

Congrats to Sissy & Todd

CONGRATULATIONS TO JACQUELINE & TODD!!!

My little sister got MARRIED this past weekend!! Even with the rain storm (which we dubbed Hurricane Jacqueline) that came in - we had an amazing wedding! She was absolutely BEAUTIFUL and I couldn't be happier for her and Todd! I'll post pictures as I get them but here is one of the bridal party.....

4 more Treatments

Hi!

As of tonight - Taylor only has 4 more treatments of her antibiotics - the last of which is 6am on Wednesday morning! 2 out of the 4 doctors told us today that they don't see any reason why she can't come home at some point on Wed so we've got our fingers and toes all crossed that the other 2 agree!

K

Splish Splash

We got a lesson in Baby Bathing 101 tonight! Taylor was getting ready for her bath right when we got to the NICU for the dinner time feeding so the nurse showed us their way of bathing a baby and let us help. Taylor was less than thrilled as she thought she was getting out of her crib to be fed only to be undressed and stuck in a little pink basin. It was entertaining for us though. ;0)

She's doing really well - up to 7lbs 13ozs now. Growing every day!

Jacqueline's wedding is on Saturday! The fun begins tomorrow morning when she and I go for our mani/pedi's. I can't wait for a little distraction - and what could be better than seeing your little sister get married!!! WOOO HOOO!

I'll post another update and pictures after the weekend is over.

K

Half Way There

Taylor is 1/2 way through her antibiotic treatments and is doing really well. The nurse weighed her while we were there tonight and she is now 7lbs 11ozs!

Her daddy is very proud - she has a reputation in the NICU for being able to burp like a "truck driver". It really is amazing to hear what can come out of her tiny mouth. HA! Dear Crazy!

This is a short one as there is not much else to report at the moment. Everyone is doing well - just very tired.

K

Happy 1 Week!

Taylor is a week old! :0)

Keeping the blog updated was a lot easier when I was still in the hospital and not even allowed to leave the floor that I was on. Sorry it's been a few days........

Not much new to report. Taylor has finished 4 of her 14 days of IV antibiotics. Ben and I have been spending a lot of time with her - we try to get in at least two feedings a day as well as lots of bonding time just holding her while she sleeps. She got to see Ben's parents today and my parents will be going with us for a feeding tomorrow. I'm hoping Aunt Jac can make it as well at some point because like she says - Taylor clearly misses her already. True Story!

Again - I have to thank all of you for your calls, emails etc checking in on us as well as Taylor. Much appreciated!! We are really looking forward to everyone being able to meet her.

Hope you are all having a good weekend and I'll check back in as soon as I can.

K

14 more days

So - it turns out that Taylor needs to stay in the NICU for 14 more days. Her last culture came back positive for an infection that requires her to be on IV antibiotics for 2 weeks. It was definitely hard news to hear and I'm trying to remain as calm as possible - which we all know isn't easy for someone as neurotic as I am.

The doctors and nurses in the NICU here are absolutely amazing so we know she is in good hands. Ben and I are allowed to come and go 24 hours a day and we are able to hold her for her feedings so that helps me to feel better about all of this.

We are STILL waiting for my staples to be removed so we can be discharged and able to actually leave the hospital for a little while.

I'll continue to keep everyone posted.

K

Update

Today was another good day for Taylor! Tehnically she is still in the NICU but we did get to have her with us for feedings & bonding time - basically any time that she didn't have to have a test run or a round of antibiotics. We met with one doctor who told us that every test/culture has come back normal and that another doc diagnosed her red spot on her head as cellulitis. So he thinks we should be able to take her home tomorrow. The only reason he couldn't say for sure was because he wasn't the one that offically diagnosed her - that doc will be back tomorrowand she is the one to sign the papers.

This is our 5th night here and we are officially just tired of being in the hospital. Everyone here is GREAT and we have no complaints on that end - we just can't wait to be in our own home again with our daughter. My staples are coming out in the morning and then I will be discharged at some point. I really don't want to have to leave without Taylor so keep crossing those fingers.

Can't wait for you all to meet the new "crazy" in the family. :0)

Introducing........

TAYLOR PAIGE KILLIAN

05/31/08

11:03pm

7lbs 5ozs

20.5 inches

Well - the past 48 hours since my last post have been far from boring!!

Alot has happened so I'm just going to start where I left off.....

So I left off Saturday while we were waiting for the Pitocin to finally kick in so we good get the labor started. After a few more hours of "nothing" - my doctor decided it was time for her to manually break my water and go from there. I won't say too much about it except it was definitely not the most pleasant experience. ;0)

As soon as she did this (2:30pm) - I started feeling EVERY contraction unlike the hours before so trust me in that I was BEGGING for the epidural! It took a little bit of time for my new best friend to make it into the room but once he finally did - I felt like a whole new person (3:30).

At this point I thought that we had finally gotten this party started and that I would be pushing in no time. Boy was I wrong!! It was almost 4 hours later (7:20pm) when I pushed for the first time. Now - I'm going to back up about 10 minutes to tell you what a saint Ben is! We were sitting in our room with just a nurse and she started to describe how the process would go. She got to the point of "I'll hold this leg and Daddy - you'll hold this one while Mommy gives us 3 good pushes per contraction"! The look on his face was priceless as he didn't know that he was going to be THAT involved. HA! He did a great job and I wouldn't have been able to do any of this without him. Anyway - on to the pushing. We - wait - I - pushed and pushed for the next two hours. My doctor was running back and forth between 3 labors but she was able to spend a good amount of time with me each visit. At about 9:15pm she tells my nurse that she needs to see her outside. I found out 10 minutes later that she had told my nurse that she was only giving me another hour from that point to push or she was taking me in for a c section. HUH!? WHAT!? DEAR CRAZY!! Well - I didn't get anywhere near that hour as she was back 10 minutes from then telling me she had called her assistant and the OR was prepped for me. She explained that the babys head had been in the same spot for almost 40 minutes and she wasn't coming down anymore - basically - she just wasn't going to fit through the birth canal. Bet you can't guess what she was calling her! YEP - BIG!! She was guessing 8 - 8 1/2 pounds just like the other doc in the practice.

So it's about 10:30pm and I'm being rolled out of my room and into the OR. It took a little bit of time to get everything set up and more drugs into my system. Seriously - gotta love the drug god! He definitely became my new BFF for the day. Ben was obviously able to come into the OR and sit with me. Thank goodness - I was a "little" nervous at this point and wanted nothing more than for him to just hold my arm while I was 1/2 conscious reminding me that it was almost over and we were going to meet our daughter soon. It was a quick process and I've never been so excited to hear the sound of a baby crying. Our daughter was here! The docs took her to the other side of the room to clean her up and weigh & measure. The let Ben go over to take pics and then hold her. The nurse brought her over to me and layed her on my chest so I was able to get a good look at her before I was wheeled into recovery. Ben was able to take her out to the waiting room to meet her new friends and family. It was late and everyone had been troopers sitting around for hours - I think getting to hold her was worth the wait!

I was in recovery for about an hour and then I was brought up to my new room. The friends and family were able to come upstairs just for a few minutes to say goodnight to me and shortly afterwards baby Taylor was brought in for a little bonding time with mama. She was asleep but we still had a good time. ;) They took her back to the nursery as they wanted me to try to get some sleep. I slept alright considering all of the excitement and the nurse coming in to check my temp and BP every hour!

Taylor was brought to us bright and early in the morning yesterday for a feeding and hanging out with mom and dad. We had my parents here around 11am and they were able to hold her and tell her stories about me when I was less than 24 hours old as well. Dear Crazy! We had a little break after that and Ben was the big winner winner and got to change the first "poopy" diaper. My legs were still numb as the epidural had only been taken out about and hour and a half before. This was insanely entertaining to me and Ben will tell you the exact opposite for himself. Let's just say -Taylor didn't make the first time easy on him. HAHAHAHA! :) Heather and Melissa came by next. Heather didn't like the yellow hat they had put Taylor in and she knew I had a pink one in my bag so we decided to change it. This is when we noticed that she had a strange spot on her head that was red all around. We got the nurse in here to take a look and it was good timing as the doctor had just called for her to do her daily assessment. They took her away for a while and this was right before more friends and Ben's parents showed up. The doctor and nurse rolled her back in a while later and kicked everyone out so they could talk to Ben and I. They explained that they didn't know what the spot was but they were taking her to the NICU to get a sample to send for a culture and then they were going to hook her up to an IV for antibiotics. They weren't as concerned about the spot as they were the redness around it since it just screamed "Infection" and they weren't sure if it had spread anywhere. They explained that they were going to draw blood for a number of test Needless to say - this threw me into a panic and all I could do to calm my nerves was fall asleep! Once everyone left Ben got me into a wheelchair (have I mentioned that I can't walk too much at this point - the pain of my incision is quite uncomfortable - even with all of the percocet) and rolled me over to the NICU. This was one of the most traumatizing experiences - I can't begin to describe it. Seeing our baby hooked up to the monitors with beeping going on all around us - I had to have Ben bring me back to the room to calm down once the nurse was done talking to us. The nurse explained that all of her blood tests came back perfectly normal so there was no worry of infection. The culture of the spot on her head would take up to 48 hours to get back so she would have to stay in the NICU until the results came back. We were able to go back later in the night to scrub in and feed her - this trip was much easier for me as she wasn't hooked up to everything. We spent a good hour in there feeding and talking to her which was really nice for both of us.

This morning definitely started off a lot better than yesterday ended. I woke up and called the NICU and was told to come by in an hour and we could feed her. About a 1/2 hour later there was a knock on our door and one of the nurses had brought her to us for the feeding. It was so nice to have her in our private room and as of now - we still have her with us 6 hours later!! She looks great and seems so happy - it's been a great day!! :0) My mom and Ben's parents, and Greg have all stopped by so far today. I'm getting ready to take a nap before the next round of visitors later on today.

Thanks to everyone for all of the calls and text messages checking in on us. I wish we could have updated you all sooner but yesterday was/is still a blur.

I'll update the blog again as soon as we know what is going on and when we'll be able to go home.

Here is the link to the first set of pics on Snapfish.

http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=223083136/a=5781352_5781352/t_=5781352

You can email me at kdadiani@comcast.net if the link doesn't work for you.