Aiden's Welcome Parties (July 18th & 19th)

Both of Aiden's parties this past weekend went great. Thank you to everyone who organized the parties and thank you for the gifts. The top two pictures are generational pics. The top right is 3 generations and the top left is 5 generations. Aiden is our 1st child, 1st grandchild, 1st great grandchild, and the 1st great great grandchild. What a blessing. Aiden weighs 8lbs 3oz, wears size 1 diapers, and 0-3 mos clothes. Check out more pictures here:

https://cid-00094b336e7440b3.events.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/.Photos?uc=1

Almost 2 weeks

It's been almost two weeks since Aiden has been home. He has adjusted well. He came home weighing 5lbs 14oz and now he weighs 7lbs. We tried to keep Aiden on his hospital feeding schedule of every 4 hours, but despite our efforts Aiden is back to eating every 3 hours. His auntie Tasha has been a great help. When both his daddy and I are tired his auntie comes in from work all excited and ready to take care of him. What a godsend. Aiden is starting to stay awake longer, especially at night =(. When he first came home he was eating 80CC consistently and now he is eating approximately 110CC. Our baby boy is growing healthy and strong.

Aiden is Home

The moment we have been waiting for has finally arrived. Aiden has been discharged from the hospital and is home. We are very thankful to all the doctors and the nurses who took care of him, and all the friends and family who has been checking on him and praying for him. Our dream has come true. Our happy and healthy baby boy is home!

Countdown to coming home

Aiden is doing great. He is ready to come home. This week has been smooth. No issues with breathing, keeping his heart rate up, eating, sleeping around a lot of noise, holding his temperature, etc. He had his 1-hr car seat test today and he passed with ease. He also had a vision test Tuesday and the doctor stated his eyes are mature and there are no issues. We are expecting him home this weekend. Yahh!! We are very excited. The fun really begins now. =)

Happy Father's Day!!

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers. Aiden not only gave his daddy a dirty diaper for Father's Day, but he also decided he was ready to come out of the Isolette. Aiden is back in the bassinet and on a countdown to coming home. In preparation to the big day, we have been running around searching for preemie diapers which is sold out in most of our local stores. At the rate Aiden is growing he will be wearing size 1 diapers before we know it. He currently weighs 5lbs 7.1oz and he is drinking 70 CC every 4 hours.

Passed the test

Aiden is drinking 60 CC of milk and now weighs 5lbs 2.5oz. He had both a hearing test and a head scan today. Both of the test results were normal and the doctors do not recommend any further testing. God is good!

Visitor Weekend

This was a weekend full of visitors. Aiden's cousins, aunt, his GG (a.k.a grandmommy), two of his great aunts and great uncles came to visit. Above are just a few pictures we took. Enjoy, happy Monday.

**News Flash**

Aiden's first day on all bottles he not only held up his own bottle, but he also pushed it back into his mouth when he was ready to start drinking again. Great job Aiden!!

It's bottle time

Aiden has been adjusting well to this new hospital. His weight was up and down resulting in a 0 gain from last Wednesday until Sunday night. His nurse believed that he was burning calories to keep himself warm, so she decided to move him back into the Isolette. This has been a positive move for him. Since Monday Aiden has gained 8oz and now weighs 4lbs 11oz! Aiden also started on 1 bottle on Monday. Since he successfully finished the whole bottle without having any breathing issues they have advanced him to 2 bottles on Tuesday, 3 on Wednesday, and 4 bottles today. As of 9p.m., he finished his fourth bottle for the day so they will be giving him bottles for every feed starting at midnight. Overall, the move to Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital started off rocky, but things are starting to turn around. =)

From Qiana,

Transitional Week

Aiden will be 1-mo old this weekend and today is his great grandmother's birthday. Happy B-day mommy! Aiden is blessed not only with a great grandmother, but also a great great grandmother who calls often to find out how he is doing. This has been a very busy week. Aiden now weighs 4lbs 3oz, he has been taken back off his nasal cannula, he sleeps in a bassinet instead of the incubator, Aiden is starting to consistently latch on while nursing, he went for his first car ride yesterday, and he graduated from Hopkins NICU and is now at Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital in Baltimore. Khary and I spent the night at the hospital with him last night, so that we can get to know the nursing staff. His new nurse practitioner lowered his feeds from 35CC to 30CC and he lost weight within the first 12 hours of being there, so we are not too happy with the new direction thus far. As a result we will be at the hospital most of the day for the next couple of weeks until we are comfortable with the level of care he is receiving.

Our Weekend with Aiden

Aiden is drinking 35 CC of milk and weighs 4lbs 2oz!! He had a small setback with this past Friday; however, he has been doing much better since.

3 weeks old

Now that I am feeling much better I finally got a chance to visit Aiden. It is so therapeutic to just watch him sleep, but he actually surprised me by being wide awake. This week Aiden has proved he can digest an ounce (30 CC) of milk every 3 hours and he can maintain his body temperature without the help of the incubator. He now weighs 3lbs 13oz.

Just the Guys

Mommy has been under the weather this Memorial Day weekend, so Aiden and I have been having guys night out alot more often. He is progressing nicely. Aiden is now 3 lbs, 9 ozs. and has been moving around on his own, so much so, that the nurses has been forced to bundle him up in wraps and blankets just to keep him in one area.

We are coming down to the "home stretch". This week Aiden will begin experimenting with breast feeding and once he has mastered that, it is a good possibility he will be headed home. Until then, we will be camping out at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

To my graduates...

Both Khary and Aiden graduate today. Khary with his Master's degree in Real Estate Development from University of Maryland College Park, and Aiden to new heights in his development. Aiden is now drinking 27 CC of milk, his weight is 3lbs 6.5oz, no oxygen is flowing through his nasal cannula, and there are no fluids running through his IV line. With this achievement brings new hurdles to overcome, and we have no doubt that Aiden will also achieve them ahead of schedule.

I am proud of both of you!!

Growing and Growing....

Aiden is now 3lbs 3oz. He was receiving 10 CC of milk this past Friday and the doctors increased his order 3 times since then. He is now up to 19 CC and at midnight they will increase it to 22 CC. The doctor stated she normally does not increase the amount of feedings twice in 24 hours; however, since he is already doing amazing things they will see how he does. We are very excited about his progress and he continues to impress his care team. He is totally living up to his name, Ato, which means "Brilliant"!

A view of Aiden's first week!!!

From left to right:
Pic 1 (A few hours old), Pic 2 (Khary visiting for the 3rd time that day)
Pic 3 (Aiden's 1st feeding), Pic 4 (1 week old)




Oh and yes, the nasal cannula in the first picture is the one he took off 3 times. He was trying to let his nurse know that he didn't need the cannula and that he didn't like the hat. His strategy worked. The nurse removed both within 24 hours of him being born.

Kangaroo Care

Despite not eating for a day and a half our little man has been gaining a little weight. He now weighs 3lbs. He continues to impress his nurses and us with his stability and strength. We just started Kangaroo Care with him Wednesday and he responded so well. Kangaroo Care is a way of holding an infant so that they are in chest to chest contact with the person holding them. When the nurse placed Aiden on my chest and wrapped us with a blanket, he immediately began to study my face and clawing around my chest. Before we knew it he started to open his mouth and moving his head as if he thought it was time to eat. Absolutely amazing to us. The nurses have already stated it would be for a few more weeks before they would attempt to have him breastfeed, but he acted as if he was ready.

My First (!!!) Mother's Day Weekend

Aiden received several visits this past weekend from his family. Everyone is very excited about his presence. He showed all of us how strong he is by removing his nasal cannula three times, wrestling two nurses as they tried to fix the cannula, lifting his head up twice on his own, moving his body from one side of his bed to the other, pushing his soothie back in his mouth, and he squeezed my finger. Our little man is really active and strong. His vital signs have been great and he is learning how to consistently digest his milk. Overall, for me to have a chance to hold him for the first time on Mother's Day was the best gift I could have asked for!

Did I mention he was practically doing push-ups! Now that's a Reynolds!

Being born early has it's perks... but then...

Ready to get his feet in the world Aiden didn't allow us to throw a baby shower. Soon as our prince gets settled at home, there will be a Welcome Party for him. =)

In the meantime, feel free to view our registry at Babys 'R Us and Target:
www.babiesrus.com and www.target.com/registry

EXTRA EXTRA! Read ALL About It!

Name: Aiden Ato Reynolds
DOB: 05/07/2009
Time: 4:29am
Length: 15 in. (38 cm)
Weight: 2lbs 14oz

Hello World!

Our bundle of joy just couldn't wait anymore! An overachiever from the womb he bullied his way out at 29 weeks to a world that is not prepared for the brilliance he is emanating.