A Bootiful Night

Halloween 09 was a the best ever! A beautiful night with a full moon, carved pumpkins, lots of kiddies in adorable costumes and a giant crock of chili...yum!

Riley was a Glow Worm for her first Halloween. Dave's Aunt Donna made her this adorable custom. Isn't she cute!

A Bootiful Night

Halloween 09 was a the best ever! A beautiful night with a full moon, carved pumpkins, lots of kiddies in adorable costumes and a giant crock of chili...yum!

Riley was a Glow Worm for her first Halloween. Dave's Aunt Donna made her this adorable custom. Isn't she cute!

"Enjoy...It goes by so fast"

Is without a doubt the most frequently used phrase by acquaintances, friends and family since little Riley was brought into our lives.

It is has already proven to be true. Can you believe it has already been over 59 days since we received the call that forever changed our lives.

Believe it our not our little miss Riley Grace will soon be 2 months old! With another milestone quickly approaching we thought it only appropriate that our little "Rock Star" have her own blog. We are excited to introduce to you...

http://www.RileyGraceBublitz.blogspot.com



Please add the new bookmark* and let her smiles light up your day (:

Pretty in Purple

"It’s her beauty that captures your attention. It’s her personality that captures your heart."

smile says it all

What could our little Riley be thinking about?

6lbs 6oz of pure baby loving

The big weigh-in was today... 6lbs 6oz (congratulations on your perfect guess Kim K.)

Aug 12, 5lbs 2oz - Aug 28, 6lbs 6oz

1lb 4oz in 16 days

1.25 oz per day

18lbs by Christmas

my favorite shirt of all time

Who needs Superheros when I have My Dad.

our baby is getting chubby

We are really beginning to notice Riley Grace getting bigger. Her tiny outfits no longer fit and look... well really tiny. She hasn't been to the doctor for two weeks but is going this Friday. We are looking forward to the weigh in.

Who wants to guess on her exact weight? (We always play Price Is Right rules; closest without going over).

July 13 - BIrthday
3lbs 4oz

Aug 3 - Last day in the hospital
4lbs 6oz

Aug 12 - Pediatrician Office visit
5lbs 2oz

Wide Awake

Frog Feet

Another fantastic Saturday Daddy Day. Capped with a new outfit; frog feet pjs.

Riley's view of her froggies.

Seriously,who comes up with this stuff? Brilliant!

sleeping in the big crib

Since she came home Riley has been sleeping in her own room down the hall from ours. Today she moved from her mini crib into the big crib. Sweet dreams little darling.

Sunday Nap Time

exhausted from all the work

aren't you glad that it's Friday?

morning photo shoot

This morning Riley Grace has been fed, bathed, and finished her first photo shoot of the day.

big yawner

first week home

We have been home with Riley Grace a full week now. We are not experienced parents quite yet but we have picked up a few things along the way that help the days and nights go smoothly. Here are just a few observations we have made....

Sleeping. We all get good sleep every night. This is one really mellow baby and we know that these things do change and we expect them to change. But for now we are thankful that she is a sleeper. She is out like a light at night and we wake her every three hours to eat. I stay up for the midnight shift and Sheri handles 3:00 and 6:00. It is 10:30 now and Sheri has been asleep for almost an hour. By 3 she will have her normal night's sleep of six hours.

Eating. Riley Grace eats every three hours around the clock. Sheri and Riley are an amazing eating team and they have a great system. Just before midnight Riley will start to stir, I'll make a bottle, change her and feed her, She will be asleep and I will be in bed by 12:35.

Noise is not a big deal.
Riley Grace spent the first three weeks of her life in the NICU where there are alarms sounding, nurses talking and machines running 24/7. This kid sleeps through it all. Our concern that the work we do during the day would disturb her was unfounded. It appears that she is the one causing the disturbance. It can be a real challenge working so close to such cuteness.



This kid loves to look around.
From the very first day Riley Grace has loved to check out her environment. Her big beautiful eyes follow sounds around the room. She loves to stretch her neck and do her best to lift her head and check everything out, especially when she first wakes up. When her eyes lock onto yours it's like being caught in a spotlight.



Two things she loves that I never even knew existed...

This boppy thing (thank you Aunt Jen and Jen's Mom)







and this bath thing (thank you Aunt Janet)








It has been so much fun watching her grow and change over the past four weeks. We are loving every moment with our Riley Grace.

good to be home

Bath day for Riley Grace today. Since coming home she has been sleeping, eating, and pooping like a champ.

adjusting

"Meet the new boss, Same as the old boss" - The Who, Won't Get Fooled Again

What was new three weeks ago is now the new normal. We have adjusted to new life with our baby Riley Grace. Now that we are home the only thing new is responsibility for the late feeds. Last night was smooth with only a small bump in an otherwise perfect night. The bump turned out to be a bump in her diaper around 4am.

I just finished the midnight feeding and it was awesome. 40+ ccs in 15 minutes and she never once opened her eyes. Sheri is on for the 3 and 6. Right now the house is quiet and both baby and mom are soundly asleep.

Our first pediatrician office visit today was a blast. Just introductions mostly and a little medical history (22 days worth - a short story). Dr Sudah is a hoot. I think we are really going to like her. Our peanut weighed in at 4lb 6oz - Wow!

Tomorrow we have more of the same planned; Eating, sleeping and gaining weight for Riley Grace.

back to normal

Today is just another day in the office. Well, sort of.

leaving the nicu

After 21 days Riley Grace left the NICU at Chandler Regional Hospital today. It will be difficult to properly recognize everyone in the NICU that had a significant impact on us these past two weeks, but here goes.

Thank you to everyone that prayed for Riley Grace. God answered your prayers and sent a host of angels to protect her. He also sent a whole bunch of caring, loving, people. His people.

Thank you Dr. Zozobrado our advocate and fellow adoptive dad. We will remember forever what you said to us the night of her birth and everything that you did for her.

Thank you Dr. Stola our dear friend and fellow adoptive mom. We will never forget the tears that we cried together. You are amazing.

Thank you Joan, Deb, Laura and Tracy our nurse practitioners. How you do all you do is still a mystery to us.

Thank you to all of Riley's nurses. Thank you Sepna for teaching Riley Grace (and her parents) how to be feisty. You were there in a big way on Cry Thursday and Emotional Breakdown Friday. Thanks to Dawn for being so kind and understanding. Thank you Erin for sharing so many milestones that I can't remember them all. You always seemed to be there when a tube or hose was removed. Thank you Cennille for all the bows. Thank you Allie, even though you were never Riley's nurse. How was it that you were still always there for us? Thank you Vicki, Pat, Sandi, Karen, Theresa, Kathy, Jean, Kelly, Ashley and Holly.

Now get back to work.

coming home in a pretty dress

going home

"we have run out of excuses to keep Riley Grace here." - Dr. Zozobrand, Medical Director, NICU Chandler Regional Hospital

Riley Grace comes home with us on Monday. What is it about this kid and Mondays?

Monday July 13, born at 4:57pm

Monday July 27, becomes our daughter

Monday Aug 3, Comes home to her new home

We love you with everything we have Riley Grace. Love, your Daddy and Mommy

getting ready

We praise God and thank him for great news. Riley Grace is getting ready to go home. It is looking like early this week. Woo-hoo!

life in the nicu

We have spent the last 19 days in the Chandler Regional Hospital NICU. In that time we have grown very close with people that are there: The patients, nurses, doctors and staff. We have celebrated victories together and encouraged one another through the challenges. Our family in the NICU has shared every one of the milestones in Riley Grace's life.

One of the babies that has been in room #2 with Riley Grace developed complications over the past few days. He received a blood transfusion yesterday and was transported by helicopter to Banner Desert today. Despite the heroic efforts to save him, he died on the way.

Tonight I am writing this because I hope that Riley Grace will one day read this story and understand what this day was like.

Every night since you were born I hold you and thank God for his amazing gift. This week we spent some special quiet late nights together and we prayed for each of the babies that are in the NICU. Tonight we thanked God for one baby boy in particular.

I know that God loves you Riley Grace because he sent his own son to die for you (John 3:16). No matter what happens God makes it all work for good for everyone that loves him (Romans 8:28) and there is nothing that can separate you from his love (Romans 8:37-38).

blessed

We thank God for our 3lb. 14.4oz blessing.

adoption finalized today

Not ours, but our new friends Peter and Anita.

We met Dr. Anita Stola two weeks ago. She is a neonatologist working in the NICU at Chandler Regional. She and husband Peter adopted a darling little girl back in January. This morning I was in the courtroom when the judge made the following ruling "from now forward this child shall be known as Alicia Stola, daughter of Peter and Anita Stola." It was a thrill to be there.

emails

big news from the hospital

Riley Grace is wearing her new outfit today and looking cute as poop!

baby steps

We took a few more baby steps forward today. Each step is closer to the hospital exit door that leads to the road that takes our daughter Riley Grace home.

The IV is gone. Our baby girl's eating progress has been remarkable and she is now off all machines. Thank you for your prayers. We thank God that this small burden has been lifted. Can you imagine how great it feels to lift our baby and kiss her beautiful head without being concerned about dislodging the IV?


Chowing down. Sheri and Riley Grace make a fantastic team. They just focus and get it done. We hit her goal feeding amount of 32cc tonight. This is her full feed and what she will need to consistently eat to gain weight. This next 24 hours will be an important gauge on her ability to do this.

Gaining weight. Today's weight 3lbs 13.3oz

Thanking God for his grace and love each step of the way.

the greatest gift ever

We saw Riley Grace's birth mom Alyss this afternoon. She had a gift for Sheri and I; buttons that said Proud Dad and Proud Mom. She was on her way to meet with the agency to sign final papers. Alyss is an exceptional young lady and we are so fortunate to have her in our life.

We love you Alyss.

getting rid of the iv machine

Meet the enemy. This is the foul machine that plugs into Riley Grace's adorable little head. This is the last of several machines that we have gotten to know over the past two weeks. Of all the machines this is the one I will be most excited to see go away. Riley's feedings are going really well. Mom and baby make a strong team. Any day now she will be eating enough to get rid of the IV forever.

health update

Riley Grace is doing great. She is a feisty little kid and that goes a long way when you are trying to get out of the NICU.

Breathing... She has been breathing on her own for a full week now. She is able to keep her O2 saturation up on her own. Chest x-rays show healthy little lungs.

Heart... No sign of a murmur for days. All clinical evidence (strong respiration, good heartbeat, clear echo-gram) suggest that she has a strong, healthy little heart.

IV... Site has been moved back onto the top of her head. She is running out of good veins to tap into. Friday we worked for an hour and a half to get a new one started. After six stickings they were able to get one going. The nurses are so patient and loving with our little girl. I think that they dislike the IVs even more than Riley. Once she can take 20-25cc by bottle she will no longer need the extra help and it will be bye-bye to the IV. This will be a day to celebrate and for us. It will feel very much like cutting the umbilical cord only for good this time.

We have been praying that her current IV site will not deteriorate before that time and so far it has not. We believe that God heals with both medicine and miracles and we are praying for both with this IV. Most have lasted 12-20 hours and this one has been going 48.

Food... this is the big issue right now. We are working to ramp up her food intake on an aggressive schedule. This, along with good rest, are the key steps to having our baby home with us.

Prayer... Thank you to everyone that has been praying for Riley Grace. Here are some specific things we are praying for:

• Pray for good feedings and good rest. She will really need to be an eating champ in the next few days
• Pray for poop. Good digestion is essential and gut infections are common at this stage.
• Pray for the IV site. We want it to last as long as we need it.
• Pray for the nurses and doctors that are treating her. We pray that God would fill them with wisdom and guide their decision making.
• Pray that her parents give glory to God. The nurses and doctors talk about the parents that have been camped out for two weeks at her bedside. We want them to know the God that knew her before she was born and sustains her today.

God is great and mighty and in charge. His grace is sufficient.