Saturday, March 28, 2009

Sun and milk (photos):

The weather is amazing here right now. Although we don't have more then a minute here or there to go out and enjoy it, we thoroughly do enjoy when we have the chance. Loki is just chillin' in his stroller or the carrier, looking around for the first few minutes, after which he dozes off while sucking on his pacifier. It is a nice treat to stroll together, the three of us, matching the demographics of young parents with hip strollers in our neighborhood. Because of course we consider ourselves to be remarkably hip, young parents :-)

Not much has changed this week. It is a little bit easier though, to have Loki break out in a big grin while singing a silly song or performing a silly dance. We feel like fools sometimes, working so hard to charm our tiny dude into smiling a few seconds. All the frustration around hours of shoving milk into his mouth disappears when we see his toothless smile. As his daddy says "he is a cute little fart, that makes our hearts go flutter, flutter, flutter." He is partially joking, but the essence is true or course.

With regards to the meds to increase milk supply, we truly appreciate the concern and support we have received around this. We do not take the risks of this drug lightly and have spoken to several medical, and non medical specialists, about this. In fact, I am not even taking Tylenol in order to keep the milk as clean as possible. I am taking the significantly lower dose, for much shorter time as suggested by the lactation consultants. It is 1/4 of the suggested amount and time as the doctor's prescription. Loki is drinking a tiny bit from the breast on a daily basis, but the vast majority of the milk is pumped and will be dumped. Although Loki has gotten 5 months of breast milk already, and will have at least 5 more to go, just from the freezer, the goal is to get him through next winter on breast milk. The chance he will end up in the hospital with respiratory issues is much, much smaller as long as he drinks my milk. His immune system is more compromised than that of a typical baby, which will be the case for the first few years of his life.

The good news, Loki is slowly getting a better grip on the whole breastfeeding situation. We are hopeful he will be on mostly breastfeeds in a month or two. Which is by the way a completely random guesstimate.

Two handsome guys:


And again, two beautiful men:


Eating while swaddled equals containment and sweat:


You should see my parents behind the camera, trying to make me smile:


Okay, here you go:

9 comments:

Unknown said...

Two of the most handsome men I have EVER seen! Loki is the cutest little guy! I really miss you all very much and would give anything to give him a big hug. Mom - you are doing a fantastic job. You deserve a medal at least. You are giving Loki a great beginning in life. No one could ever do a better job. Give him a kiss for me. Papaw Mark and Nana miss him very much. We love you all....papaw and nana

Unknown said...

I LOVE Loki!!! (and jesse too...) but this last one with Loki's smile and huge blue eyes...awww, it just gets me!

Janet said...

He looks bigger!! Loki, I mean:0.
He face looks fuller and he looks longer even with the swaddling. Annette and I are trying to coordinate carpool with other activities so that we might come for a visit. We'll call you this week with some options for you to decide which day would be best. Until then, knuffels to my Loki.
Love,
Janet
ps: you ARE hip, young parents!

berkeleygal77 said...

That last picture is priceless! They're all great, but that last one especially! He is looking really great.

marieke said...

Hi very hip, young, parents and the most cute baby in the neighbourhood, Great you can enjoy the nice weather outside sometimes. (Better than living in Nijmegen with 8*C and rain, rain, rain for a week now.......grrrr.)
I cross mu fingers for loki's surgery the whole upcoming week.
Go practice the silly dances and baby-talks so Loki will even smile more! Big kus XX Marieke

Richard en Maaike said...

Haha, goed gedaan! Hij is geweldig, die laatste foto. Wat fijn dat het stukje bij beetje steeds iets makkelijker gaat. Begrijp ik nu goed dat je al met die medicijnen bent begonnen? En helpt het?
Wij vinden het geweldig dat jullie nu ook horen bij de club en ja hoor, nog steeds jong en hip, hihi. Wat zijn jullie trots!! Super! De wetenschap dat het nog lang gaat duren voordat ik jullie trots met eigen ogen kan beschouwen, wordt wel steeds moeilijker hoor! Succes voor de komende week. We zullen extra aan jullie denken woensdag.
Dikke kus, Maaike

Anonymous said...

Hallo trots jong hip koppel,

Wat een geweldige baby hebt u daar! Hij ziet er ineens zo groot uit. Met z'n mooie wakkere blik, hij maakt zich duidelijk geen enkele zorgen over de melkaanvoer. Lieve kathalijn ik heb enorme bewondering voor je doorzettingsvermogen om zeker te weten dat je alles hebt gedaan om Loki zo veel borstvoeding te geven als hij nodig heeft. Alleen al de liefde en aandacht die hier bij hoort zal van Loki een mooier mens maken.

lieve groet, Cindy

PS en nou hopen dat dit commentaar wel gewoon verschijnt...

Greet said...

lieve vader, moeder en Loki, wat een mooie foto's weer en die heerlijke lach van Loki geweldig. deze week de operatie, spannend maar ook weer een stap verder als z'n buikhernia verholpen is , ik ga weer kaarsjes voor de kleine man branden .
fijn dat Heleen en Frits komen, geniet ervan.
veel liefs van Greet

Kyra said...

Haai die Haai,

Wat een leuke kerel he, die Look! Hij heeft er duidelijk zin in. Er komen meer en meer ontspannen momenten, hoop dat jullie nog een beetje extra kunnen slapen voordat 't mannetje weer naar het ziekenhuis moet (in elk geval één nacht gratis oppas moet je maar denken). Veel succes, zet m op. Hier begint de zon ook goed te schijnen, dus dank dat jullie mhebben gestuurd. Liefs en kusjes,

Kyra

About Loki Sky

Loki Sky is a special little man. He was a very early micropreemie, weighing only 610 grams (1 lb, 5 oz) after 24 weeks, 3 days gestation, born to an American Father and a Dutch Mother in Berkeley, California on October 18, 2008.

On January 11, 2009, while still in the hospital NICU, his one kidney stopped working. It was repaired after three surgeries. After spending time in three hospitals in three cities, Loki came home on February 17. He struggled with eating, and then stopped in July, leading to 8 days in the hospital, a failure-to-thrive diagnosis, and a NG feeding tube. On October 10, a minor surgery installed a G feeding tube. Another procedure replaced it with a new one, and then again with a Mic-Key button in Jan. 2010.

In August 2010, he and his parents moved to the Netherlands.

Read about his first name.
Read & hear about his middle name.
See photos.
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