A Great Weekend

Sorry for the lack of posts-- we've been busy and I haven't made time to write a blog. Madeleine is sleeping right now and I'm not all that interested in the All Star Game, strangely enough. In any case, I wanted to post a few quick thoughts and provide updates from our weekend. First-- the updates.

We spent the weekend out in West Virginia at our cabin celebrating the ever-famous "John Henry Days." (As an aside, our cabin is located in Talcott, West Virginia and claims to be the "Home of the John Henry legend.") I ran in a four mile race and finished second in the women's category-- didn't do so hot in my own gender but hey-- I'm just getting running again. Madeleine, on the other hand was a rockstar throughout the weekend. The roadtrip didn't seem to bother her much-- she loves the carseat and was great on both trips to and from the cabin. Our neighbors in West Virginia were very excited to meet her-- many of them are frequent blog visitors-- and Madeleine seemed to handle all of the attention quite well. We can't say enough nice things about our neighbors in West Virginia-- they kept an eye on our place for the past four months when we were preoccupied with Madeleine and it was really great to see them and to show off our little girl. Visiting the cabin was really special for Kirsten and I-- we really enjoy getting away from the city but it was a bit far for us to travel when Madeleine was hospitalized. When we opened the door with Madeleine with us, it drove home how far we've come and how lucky we truly are.

In terms of development, Madeleine seems to change appearance every day and she's making many strides health wise. First, she's doing much better with her bottle feeding. We switched to a new bottle this weekend and that seems to have made a big difference. Today, Madeleine took all but one complete feed from the bottle and she took over two-thirds of the only incomplete bottle. We're hoping that this trend continues so that we can consider removing the feeding tube though that's still likely weeks away. Kirsten took Madeleine to the pediatrician on Monday and we were a little disappointed that she hadn't gained any weight since her visit last week. We're a little skeptical as she looks much larger to us and its totally possible that the previous weight was inaccurate. Overall, Madeleine has gained about .5 ounce every day that she's been home-- not quite the weight gain that we're hoping for but it is trending in the right direction and we're hopeful that as she improves with bottle feeding, the weight gain will increase. Madeleine's breathing issues also seem to be resolving themselves as she's had very few episodes as registered by the apnea monitor she wears. We meet with the pulmonologist on Thursday and we'll determine the path moving forward regarding her continued use of breathing support (oxygen) and medicines (nebulizers-- similar to asthma medicine).

In terms of plans for the coming weeks, we're planning to travel to Michigan on Thursday so that the Bushey clan and associated folks have a chance to visit with Madeleine. We'll spend about a week and a half in Michigan and then plan on going back to our cabin for a four day respite before returning to the DC area on August 3rd. (I'm taking a few weeks off work.) A side benefit of Madeleine's stay in the NICU is that she's accustomed to being around a large number of people. This experience will serve her well as there will be plenty of folks interested in seeing Madeleine. If you are in Michigan, please see the updated note to the left. I hope to provide a link to an evite tomorrow so that we can gauge the number of folks able to attend next Thursday.

Before I wrap up, I wanted to highlight one other posting on the left entitled "Running for Madeleine." Kirsten and I were honored/humbled/shocked and a whole bunch of other emotions when two of Madeleine's Physician Assistants-- Rebecca and Lauren-- mentioned that they are running the Chicago Marathon and would like to fundraise in Madeleine's honor. Kirsten and I have been absolutely humbled by the outpouring of support and inspiration that we've witnessed since Madeleine's birth but this offer truly floored us and we'd like to ask that you consider donating to this worthy cause. We know that folks enjoy purchasing clothes and gifts for Madeleine and while they're greatly appreciated, we ask that you consider making a donation to this group in lieu of a gift. I know its not the same as seeing Madeleine in the cute outfit (and trust me, we've gotten some cute outfits as gifts) but its a truly special way that we hope you'll consider giving back. We've already raised a great deal of money via the blog for the March of Dimes' "March for Babies" and we hope that Rebecca and Lauren's "Team Madeleine" will have similar success. Regardless, Kirsten and I can't thank them nearly enough. In addition to this outstanding gesture, these two were steadfast advocates for Madeleine throughout her time in the NICU and they were 100% supportive of Kirsten and I throughout our emotional outbursts and endless questions. Simply put, Lauren and Rebecca are special folks and we can't thank them enough for their work in the NICU as well as for their offer to fundraise.

That's all for now. Thanks again for your support and interest in our daughter.

Kirsten and Brent