Rose loves Trout SO much!

Here is the best part of our day, every day. Getting to hold little Trout for an hour or so while he gets fed...Mom loves it, Trout loves it and Dad loves it. Our own limited version of 'family time' but we squeeze a lot of love out of/into the little guy and always come away a little bit fresher than the admittedly dragging parents who go in there. Apparently Trout is going to be a boob man...

16 days old

Everyone tells us that Trout will grow up so quickly and we'll miss these days of babyhood but I think Rose and I would gladly trade a few precious memories right now and have him be full term. He's just so small and seemingly fragile, until you wrestle him trying to put on his pjs that is, that I at least can't wait until I can refer to how old he is in weeks and then months instead of days. All is going great however despite our worries, he is having apnea and bradycardia episodes much less frequently (like less than 1/day) over the last few days and is putting on weight like a champ. Today we will find out how much (if any) he has grown over the last week both in length and head circumference. He might have shrunk a bit as his head takes on a more normal shape. He is also starting to noticeably round out a bit and put some meat on though he still has no butt to speak of. Rose and I are hanging in there barely, pumping milk thru the night and day every 3 hours, and visiting the NICU every day with our cooler and bags full of bottles and hoses, books, camera, blankets, etc. Everyone at the hospital has been great so far and even the security guards, housekeepers and room service ask us how Trout is doing and wish us luck. We're finally getting a little bit ahead of the curve for milk even though Trout is now eating 40ccs every 3 hours, we've sorta figured out how to change diapers, take his temp, and get him in and out of his isolette, and just barely how to get his tiny fingers into the sleeves of his pjs. He really looks like a regular baby in the clothes he has started wearing the last few days as he gets better at regulating his temp.

4lbs 2 oz

Just over the last few days Trout has started to look more like a regular baby with his face filling out a bit and a lot of the tubes, etc being removed as he matures. Now he is just on a touch of O2 (and wouldn't be on any if we were at sea level) and a little caffeine to remind him to breathe. The rest of the wires are just sensors. Rose has been holding him "kangaroo style" skin on skin so he can feel comforted from her body heat, smell, heartbeat, etc. Trout likes this so much he is already searching around for a boob to latch onto and yesterday did some 'nippling'. He can't quite coordinate sucking, swallowing and breathing at the same time yet but it was great to see him trying and learning. He has passed his birth weight now and the docs would like to see him add about 30 grams a day and grow 1 centimeter a week (both length and head circumference). He's still skinny in the arms and legs (with huge hands, bigger than his feet) but his face at least is getting some chubby cheeks and he is opening his eyes fully and looking around much more as well. So many little achievements and so many more little hurdles to cross but he is on the right track. The nurses do tell us he has WWBS (Whimpy White Boy Syndrome), at least compared to black female premies who come out raring to go, but all in all he is exactly where he is expected to be at his stage of development.

1st Alford family photos

Day Two we got to hold Trout briefly and every day since we've gotten to hold him a little more, change his diapers and then yesterday we gave him his 1st bath...fun! For Rose and I it was just so cool to be able to touch him all over, wash his little legs, etc and not have all the wires and tubes in the way for a little while.

T.S. Alford in the house!

Pix are from Day 1 when Trout was hooked up to CPAP (positive air pressure to keep his chest inflated), a glucose drip IV in his hand, gavage feeding tube in his mouth and more sensors and alarms than you could shake a stick at. He also had to sit under the UV lights (with 'sunglasses' on) to help him process all the extra red blood cells he no longer needed and his little liver was not quite up to handling yet. Still he looked pretty pink and well formed to Rose and I, healthy cry, strong grip, etc. even though he is so tiny

Starting to look like a baby

Trout is making a subtle transformation as he puts on a little weight, has more and more tubes and wires removed and has some of his features fill in and he is starting to resemble a regular baby now, or at least he is to his parents. Rose is getting to hold him daily while he wears a little hat and warm blanket and gets to paw Mom's boobs and though he is still on caffeine to help him remember to breathe (important!) he seems to be having fewer episodes of apnea and bradycardia as he matures. Hopefully these will start to dissapear altogether by the time he is 34-35 weeks along. We also get to take his temp and change his diapers when we visit (how long before these chores lose their charm I wonder ;)) and today we may even give him his first bath! Mom's milk has come in strong which makes us both happy as it is about the only real contribution we can make to his health and well being right now. Very frustrating and heartbreaking at times but he's under the best care so what else can we do? Besides eat all the tasty lasagna our friends have been baking up of course...mmm mmmm. We've received a truly humbling amount of support from around the country (and England) and can't wait to repay everyone with a healthy little bouncing nephew who will undoubtedly want to borrow money from them later on in life. Come on Unka Sean!

3lbs 13oz

Trout is starting to put some weight back on now and is getting close to passing his birth weight due to lots of good mother's milk. Rose has been getting to hold him for an hour and a half each day, skin to skin, which both really enjoy. We are pumping breast milk at home every 2.5 hours but slowly getting acclimatized to our new schedule and getting a bit more rest, and though cooking and any other of life's chores has been pretty much back burnered for now but we are getting so much food gifts from all our friends that we have yet to start wasting away ;) Trout will reach 10 days old today (seems like a lifetime, which it is I guess) so we're off to the hospital for a long visit. Thanks to all near and far for all the prayers, shelter, food, advice, support and love! -M

One week old!

Trout reached a week old last night, is starting to gain weight back and has had his feedings upped to 34ml/3 hrs so he is right on track! He has had his IV tubes removed (so he is just eating Mom's milk now) and his oxygen reduced to 25% which is just a bit over room air. Rose got to hold him skin on skin for over an hour yesterday while he was eating, one of the best experiences of her life so far (and his too I'm sure). Holding him naked except for a diaper against bare skin lets him smell her, hear her heartbeat and stay warm and allows him to regulate his own heart rate and temp better, two skills he needs to master before we can take him home. He is now 32 weeks along (vs 40 to term) and is starting to process waste better so his UV lights (sort of a tanning lamp that helps him break down waste in his blood) have been turned off. For Rose and I we are living hour to hour basically with lots of emotional ups and downs thruout the day. Leaving him in the ICU at the end of our daily visit is a heartbreaker every time and every time we go into the ICU in the morning is a mix of anticipation and fear. We've been spending about 6-8hrs at the hospital each day hanging out, pumping milk every 2-3 hrs 24/7 and meeting with Trouts neonatologist every morning. So tiring I can't even imagine what it will be like when we do have him at home though at least the milk pumping may get a bit easier (no hoses, bottles, pumps just breastfeed him directly). All the nurses tell us there will be ups and downs as he matures over the next few weeks but we can only really handle ups so look for silver linings everywhere we can...like since he will have two months extra experience by the time he reaches full term won't he be two months smarter than all those other kids ;)? Poppa

4 days old

Whew this stuff is tiring. Now I see why my Dad had white hair by 35, he had me! Spent the day at the hospital visiting with Trout and pumping lots of good milk for him to eat. My job in the breast pumping procedure is to fiddle with all the syringes, bottles, hoses and the pump itself, while simultaneously monitoring the flux capacitor and giving Rose cold drinks. She mainly just sits there... Anyways Trout looked good today and the docs decided to up his feedings 3ml every 3 hours so by 5pm today he was getting about 15ml per meal. A pitifully small amount but chock full of good love. He has lost about 10% of his birth weight (which is good) and will hopefully stabilize soon and start putting it back on next week. They tell us if he passes his birth weight again within two weeks thats a good sign. Steph and Dave Ryan stopped by to say hi to the little fella, just a few of his approximately 64 aunts and uncles out there. We've been stunned and grateful for all the love that is pouring in, way too much to absorb yet but all the offers for food, shelter, prayers, clothes have reminded us once again what a powerful, thoughtful crew we have here in CO and in places more distant. SO much love and thanks to you all! Tomorrow is my birthday so I get to hold Trout, finally! And the rollercoaster loops around yet again...

Trout Shadrach Alford!

Rose's water burst at about 7pm Saturday night while we were standing in line at Illegal Pete's (Caution Wet Floor) and she delivered after holding off for as long as possible 24 hours later at 7:16pm 8/12/07. Trout was born 9 weeks prematurely and weighed 3lbs 15oz and was all of 17 3/4" long but he is proving to be a strong little kid and a scrapper. He looks perfect to us though a more objective visitor might say he is very skinny (no time to put on baby fat) and his head looks a bit like the Alien from 'Alien", minus the second set of fangs. Now he is 3 days old and is making strides though he still needs to learn to: breathe, not stop breathing, keep his heart beating, regulate his temperature, suck and feed along with drive a car and play the violin before we can take him home from the hospital ICU. If all goes well he will be in the ICU until about his original due date of 10/15. He has already gotten to eat a bit of Mom's milk and been cradled by Rose for 2 short sessions though he can't stay out of his little glass box for all too long yet. We have been visiting him all day today and he is looking great (lots of blond peach fuzz hair and blue eyes, nice and pink) maturing (the nurses took him off oxygen push, started to feed him, let him lie on his tummy, etc which are all great signs) and has a nice healthy wail to him when he gets pissed off. He sits under UV lights all day to help him process waste and wears tiny little sunglasses to protect his eyes. Mom and Dad are a little more torn up emotionally (its been tough) but phsically Rose is recuperating great and producing milk for Trout. We'll be going back and forth to the hospital every day and I hope to write up an update each night until we can finally take him home with us. We can all use your prayers and best wishes so send the good juju our way when you have a moment. All the best, Poppa