Amazing Big Sister Mikaella

Jim and I could not believe how incredible Mikaella was when we brought Isla home. She was [and still is!] a great big sister. She hasn't been jealous or anything and we are so proud of her. She always wants to hold her, change her diaper, and kiss her. It is so stinkin' cute.

It is really incredible to see your family grow and to see how everyone adapts and transitions. This time Honey was even stellar!

Cuddles

The first week we brought home Isla we cuddled her 24/7! We were so excited to have her home that we couldn't put her down ;)

 

 

Isla's 1st Car Ride!

Our Sweet Little Isla Kawahito

I cannot believe how quickly the last 3 months have gone! I have some catching up to do on here! Life has definitely been busy now that Isla is here and we are so happy that she is a part of our lives but she gave us quite the scare when she arrived. Here's what happened...

I was hospitalized a couple of times from May 7th-18th due to early contractions that were bringing on labor and since I was only 34 weeks my OB was trying to stop labor so I was given drug treatments that left me very tired and my arms black and blue from all the needles and IV that I had to have. I was also put on strict bed rest and was only allowed to get up to go to the bathroom and could only lay on my left or right side as sitting up also started me to have contractions. On May 23rd they started up again and I was admitted to the hospital. Isla Mai Kawahito [pronounced "I-LA" "My"] was born Thursday May 24th at 4:41am and was quickly taken to the NICU [Neonatal Intensive Care Unit] as she had difficulty breathing on her own and they wanted to make sure that she was ok. It turns out that she could not get the fluid out of her lungs from leaving the birth canal and was quickly connected to a respirator and IV to assist her. The fluid in her lungs quickly turned into an infection and she had to start a 7-day antibiotic treatment that could only be administered by IV. We were told this is common and was something that with treatment was not something to be overly worried about since they caught it so quickly and they reassured us that she would also be able to breathe on her own within the week as well.

What we weren't expecting was to be woken up the following morning at 5am by the head Doctor of the NICU saying that she needed our signature/approval as quickly as possible to insert a chest tube into Isla's right side as her lung was in jeopardy of collapsing and it was a matter of life and death. Jim and I were staying in the hospital as I was healing from the delivery and went right away to the NICU to be there for her as they performed the procedure. The doctor said that she had Primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) [you can read more about it here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pneumothorax]  Basically her right lung could not expand as it should as PSP is an abnormal collection of air or gas in the pleural space that separates the lung from the chest wall, and that may interfere with normal breathing.

Once they inserted the chest tube we quickly saw her breathing change and the X ray showed improvement and her right lung was able to expand as it should [Thank Goodness!]

The next day we were told that Isla also showed very high levels of bilirubin and needed to start 24/7 light therapy to help her jaundice.

The following day after that, we were told that in one of the follow up X-Rays from her PSP situation showed that she had a hairline fracture on her right collar bone and we needed to meet with an orthopaedic surgeon to discuss treatment. They think this happened either when she was leaving the birth canal or in their attempts to get the fluid out of her lungs but apparently we will never know exactly which one it was.

So our sweet little girl had been through so much in a short period of time. She had been hooked up to 2 different respirators simultaneously,  had a feeding tube that goes in from her mouth to her stomach [which also helps pump out the excess fluid in her lungs], 2 different IV lines [one going into her hand and the other into her foot] as well as numerous sensors to monitor and track her blood pressure and heart rate.

I basically been lived at the NICU and Jim juggled work and taking care of Mikaella and visiting the hospital whenever he could. My parents flew out to help as soon as I was put on strict bed rest and were an extraordinary help.

We decorated Isla's incubator at the hospital so she always knew we were there by her side even when we physically couldn't be there.

 

 

Words cannot describe how hard it was to go through this difficult time but we are so incredibly grateful that Isla is as healthy and happy as she is. She is our little fighter and we know how blessed we are to have her a part of our lives :)

 

We also have a profound level of respect for all the nurses and the doctors who work in the NICU at St Johns and will always feel so close to the women that took care of Isla during those 8 days. We will always visit and let them know how special they all are.

 

I was incredibly touched by one of the Respiratory Therapists, Lynda, who on the second day we were there gave us this knitted blanket so we could have a cover for baby Isla. It was such a sweet gesture that she didn't have to do but touched us so much. We also couldn't believe the love and support we had from all of our friends and family.

 



 

The Home Stretch!

I caught a glimpse of myself today and I still can't believe that I have a little baby in my tummy! Jim took this shot as I was in mid-sentence [I'm not trying to pull a "Blue Steel" intentionally in this pic] but I thought I would add a before shot here so Isla can see one day how she looked while she was in my tummy. Our OB says that anything can happen in about 10 days from now so we are almost there and can't wait!

Isla, one day when you read this, just know that I loved feeling your every kick and every movement!

xo

And So it Begins...

I cannot believe how early daughters start mimicking their Moms! Or at least that's how it is in our house. Mikaella is now 21 months and she is already so into anything and everything I do. She wants to brush her hair when I am brushing mine, put on make up, wear my jewellery, clothes etc! She has now discovered where I keep my nice shoes and independently goes to my closet and opens the door and helps herself to my dressy heels. What kills me is that she is only interested in the "sparkly" ones!

Today once I finished washing my face and brushing my face this is what I found my little monkey doing...

When she does things like this it reminds me that I really now have to make sure I'm being a positive role model for her. I think as new moms, we are all guilty of saying, eating and acting in a way that we don't realize affect our kids because they are so small. I'm now really trying to eat healthy in front of her and to watch how I speak to my friends when she is within listening distance and trying to not have the news or other television programs on in the background that I could get away with watching when I didn't think she was absorbing the content! I want her to learn good habits and I think this starts now in terms of how I can demonstrate that for her. Part of me can't believe that she is picking things up so quickly but the other part of me isn't so shocked. She seems to be in a hurry to do things on her own and my Mom keeps telling me that I was very similar so I guess we know what side of the gene pool this particular trait comes from!

She has been so much fun lately and we've been really trying to talk to her about becoming a big sister and I am very excited to see the two of them together once Isla arrives. I know it will be a lot of work and there will be difficult days, but I really can't wait for Mikaella to have a sister to have in her life. I never grew up with a sister so this will be new territory [and for Jim too!] but I'm really looking forward to our family growing and to meet this little sweetie who has been in my tummy for the last 9 months! :)

xo

Saturday Mornings

In our house a typical Saturday means that we all snuggle in bed and laugh and cuddle until one of us [usually me, especially in my current state!] gets hungry. We then all move to the living room/kitchen area and we start to make breakfast. We usually stay in our jam jams until we have to get the day started but we delay this for as long as possible since one of our favourite things is to be lazy all together, and this of course includes Honey. Which I should mention, is the laziest one of all of us. She will delay eating and going to the bathroom till lunchtime if we let her as she loves to curl up in one of our laps and enjoy the benefits of the weekend. I've often wondered what benefit there would be to have a very large home one day since we seem to move from room to room as a single unit. It doesn't matter what time of the day or what is going on, if you were to walk into our house, we are always together. We will gravitate to most of the rooms in our home but very seldom will you find each of us in a different area. We just like to be close to one another and always find a way to get the things we either need to get done or just want to do somehow all together. I guess this will change as our family expands and as time goes on but for the moment I will enjoy every minute :)

But after we have a nibble we start to get dressed and Mikaella gets very excited to head straight to the beach. Lately she has been obsessed with this little toy that one of my girlfriends gave her for her 1st birthday and needs to take it with her whenever we are exploring outside. This weekend she insisted wearing her sunglasses so needless to say, she had a lot of people stopping and talking to her!

I can't tell you how many times we have walked up and down this little walk street to the beach. I know one day we will move from Galleon Street but I have loved every time we have walked down this little path to get to the ocean. I'm also excited that in a short little while we will not only have memories of Mikaella but also Isla as well :)
xo