Saturday, February 20, 2010

Day or Night?

Life continues to move forward in the Stansel home though we would love to get Haley on a regular sleep routine. She loves to sleep during the day and fuss during the night. She just doesn't realize when it's day and when it's night. We are so grateful to have her here with us. She has enriched our home with much happiness. Haley loves to wiggle around. She is also vocal and makes lots of baby noises. She definitely isn't one who likes to sit still but then again what baby does. Since her eye sight isn't great we constantly try to work with her sense of touch and feel. We put her hands on our faces and try to connect with her in any way we can. She is such a special little girl. She has such a special spirit about her as does Rachel.

Haley in her swing with her pacifier. She gets so upset when it falls out. We try to come up with ways to keep that pacifier in her mouth. She just can't keep it in her mouth yet.



Rachel continues to progress and move forward. She is now up to 10lbs 3.3oz, she is becoming such a big girl. Her oxygen has also been weaned down to 1/8 liter. We are anticipating her arrival home either next Wednesday or Thursday, that is of course if everything continues to go smoothly for her. She will hopefully be getting her G-button put in on Monday by none other than Dr. Bloss. I think this has been all that she has been waiting for in order to come home. We are happy that Rachel is doing as well as she is with such unfavorable beginnings. We continue to pray for her development and happiness.

Rachel looking cute

17 comments:

  1. congrats on Haley's return home! I got these for my daughter and it helped keep her pacifier in longer. It will not keep it in altogether, but it helps. I didn't check for the best price in my search, but here is an example. It has the Soothie pacifiers on the end. Their paws/feet are weighted to keep it in place better. http://www.clothdiaperoutlet.com/wubbanub.html

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  2. I don't have childern of my own yet..but Haley reminds me of my little cousin Lisa.
    She would scream her head off if she lost her binkie also.Haley looks so content in her picture lol I just can't get over her cute little glasses!

    Glad to hear that Rachel is doing so well I will pray that she comes home soon.So you can be a whole family again.

    best wishes always,Lauren :)

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  3. First off I am so glad that Miss Haley is home again and hopefully she will get her days and nights figured out before Miss Rachel comes home. You might want to try a pacianimal, I am not sure of the website but the are great and help keep the binkie in place :)

    Rachel is so cute and she has the chubbiest little cheeks. I am glad to here she is doing so well and hopefully will be home really soon!!!

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  4. It will take awhile for her to get her nights and days straight, but it will happen. Just make sure to get extra sleep during the day and try to get someone in to help for awhile. The real fun will begin when Rachel is home too, but you will figure it all out.

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  5. www.wubbanub.com. Should help keep those darn binkies in longer...my daughters both love them! I've been following your story for a while now. We were both on antepartum at Womens at the same time! Should be fun (and exhausting) when you get them both home! They are so incredibly worth it! God bless you all!

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  6. I get so excited reading your updates because I just know how awesome it is to report amazing news and homecomings! I look forward to seeing the post for Rachel's trip home - so awesome!

    Cayden had a difficult time with his pacifier for the longest time. We bought him the pacimal www.pacimals.com This helped because he could hold it or we could wedge it a bit. He has three of them and still uses them. You can get them at the Stork Club or at Doodles in Rice Village.

    Tami

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  7. Rachel has the most beautiful lips -- she is a lovely little gal!

    Haley is so adorable! so glad she is home with you. Rachel will be soon!

    Rest when you can Amanda - they won't be babies forever and by the time they're teenagers they'll sleep through the night. then you'll be on watch again. These really are the best years of your life!

    lovies,
    Erma, Midvale Utah

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  8. I second (or third or whatever) the WubbaNubs. We LOVE them. Becca's NICU nurses suggested that we get some b/c they got sick of having to basically scrub in every time Becca lost her paci just so they could pop it back in. They don't keep them totally in, so they aren't a suffocation risk or anything, but they keep the paci nearby when it pops out so that they can find it with their mouths and settle down again. Even though Becca is now way past that stage and able to find, hold, put in, pull out, and throw her pacis ( :) ), she still loves holding on to her WubbaNubs!

    Also, I sell kids books and carry a lot of touchy feely books. You can see them at www.ittybittybooks.info. I'd love to send you a couple as coming home gifts - if you are interested, send me an e-mail at ittybittybooks@yahoo.com.

    And good luck getting the sleep schedule down! It's glorious having regular newborn issues - but no matter how glorious, it's still tiring! :)

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  9. You're sounding like a new parent now. Very few newborns sleep at night and awake all day, she'll gradually get there though!

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  10. Another idea is to try different pacis such as the Nuk ones. We were on the NICU ones for awhile until my cousin told us that they are notorious for falling out. Goodluck!

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  11. Congratulations! I'm so glad to hear that she's home and that Rachel won't be far behind. You will be so busy! What wonderful news.

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  12. Rejoicing iwth you that she is home. We also used the paci with the animals attached. Try Pacimals as your google search

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  13. Not to be Debbie Downer but I don't think you will have them on a regular sleep schedule for quite some time. :-( What is their adjusted age? Like 2 months, correct? Most babies don't sleep through the night until at least 3 or 4 months, and having been in the NICU for so long, their circadian rhythyms are a bit off kilter. Just relax and allow her to adjust on her own time schedule. I know it is hard to "get sleep when the baby sleeps" but it is really the best advice.

    Good luck!

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  14. If you are having trouble with the pacifier I suggest trying the NUK brand because they are shaped like the breast and are much easier for the little ones to keep in their mouths. Congrats! We hope that all continues to go well!

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  15. First of all, congratulations on getting Haley back home again! Your girls are absolutely beautiful and I know that Heavenly Father knew what he was doing when he sent such sweet spirits down to two people who I know are AMAZING parents! As for the pacifier and sleeping through the night issues...first of all the WubbaNubs were great for us in the beginning...now our little one likes the Avent pacifiers. About the switched nights and days...I don't know if this will help but it worked for us...I know that Haley's eyesight isn't good, but if she can tell the difference between light and dark the following may help her switch her nights and days. We got our baby to associate light rooms with the day and dark rooms with night. We did this for our sweet baby girl and she has been sleeping through the night since she was 4.5 weeks old (she's almost 8 weeks now). First of all, during the day, we never turn out any lights, if she goes to sleep it is in a fully lit room, and she naps wherever she is...in the boppy, in her swing, etc. We don't put her in her crib for naps right now. We also don't stop daily activities...we vacuum, wash dishes, type on the computer, watch TV, etc. with her in the room with us - that way she got used to noise and doesn't startle awake as much. To get her sleeping through the night...first of all, we set a bed time - for us 10:30 PM...to make her tired and ready for bed we keep her up from about 6:30 PM - 10:30 PM - playing with her, talking to her, feeding, etc. This way she gets tired and ready for sleep. Then at about 9:30 we start the bed time routine - same every night...feed her, bath time, lotion and infant massage time(relaxes her) while listening to Primary songs, put her in her PJs, read her a story book and a Book of Mormon story in the rocker, take her into our darkened room, top her off with a bit more milk, sing her a few Primary songs while holding her, turn on the fan for white noise and place her in her crib with her pacifier, kiss her goodnight and tell her we love her...this may sound complicated, but it only takes about 45 minutes and she is relaxed and drowsy when we lay her down - and she goes right to sleep. If she wakes up afterward, I go to her, stroke her head a bit, give her the pacifier again, tell her I love her and that it is night-night time and go back out of the darkened room. Sorry for the novel, but I know that when I don't get enough sleep, it's really hard on me, and I haven't even had anything close to what you have been experiencing. I will hope and pray that she will get her nights and days switched quickly, and that Heavenly Father will strengthen you both during this challenging, but joyful time. Kiss your sweet baby girls for us!

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  16. So happy for you. The best investment my husband and I made was to buy a comfy recliner. That way we could doze holding a fussy baby, still get the sleep we need while the baby was comforted being held by a warm mommy or daddy, especially good for reflux! I am sure people will advise its not safe or a good sleep habit to be held, but for a little while until she gets better, I am sure she will thrive on the extra contact, and sometimes a mom has to do what a mom has to do to get the much needed rest.....good luck! :)

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  17. That's great about Haley and Rachel.God is watching over the little angels!I hope all is well with you all,since we haven't heard from you in a few days.
    sincerely,Carrie.

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