Kaitlyn Ryan

Kaitlyn’s Papito (my Dad) took Kailtyn to get her Synagis shot yesterday morning. For those of you who do not know what Synagis is, it is a vaccine for Preemies that help protect them against the common cold. Though just a common cold to us, it can be very dangerous to a Preemie. Kaitlyn receives this shot once a month during RSV season (October-April). Before they administer the shot, Kaitlyn must be weighed so she can receive the appropriate dose. Well, our once 2lb 11oz baby girl is now 8 LBS 14 OZ!!! She is getting so big! She’s finally outgrown her preemie clothes and is now in Newborn and some 0-3 month clothes.

My goal is to update the site with recent pictures this weekend so you all can see how big she has gotten. I apologize for the delay in updating the site, but with Sean and I both working again our evenings are dedicated to Kaitlyn.

Effective 2:00 PM yesterday afternoon, Kaitlyn is now wireless. We received a call from MUSC stating that the Dr. has given the all clear for Kaitlyn. This was wonderful news for us, however it was also scary. Sean and I are now experiencing what it feels like to have a regular newborn baby. The monitor allowed us to sleep well, as well as ride around town without the worries that for some unknown reason she may stop breathing. We know the Dr. would not give the orders to discontinue the monitor if Kailtyn wasn’t ready, but this is just a big step for us. It was wonderful picking Kaitlyn up last night after work. We just scooped her up and didn’t have to worry about pulling any cords or carrying around the monitor. We are now wireless!

But only for a bit. We are going to do some moving around to move from using Tori’s Flickr account to a system that is fully contained here at this site. This will allow you guys to comment on pictures directly, as well as allow Tori to focus her Flickr account on promoting her photography awesomeness. Every thing will be back shortly, so be patient.

-Dad

UPDATE:  Photos are back online, but not all there.  Give us the rest of the day, and we should be good to go.

2008 is finally upon us.  Tori and I were expecting to be getting settled with a new baby, adjusting to life without sleep, finally figuring out how to handle a baby…all the things that go with a newborn.

The journey these last 2.5 months has been the craziest of our lives.  I look back on all that has happened and see how blessed we were, and I hope that the good fortune will only continue.

But enough of that sappy stuff, I am sure all of you are dying for an update that involves words instead of pictures.  So here goes…

Kaitlyn received a shot before she left the hospital to help fend off RSV.  RSV in you or I is a cold with a cough.  But that same thing can put a preemie back in the hospital on respirators.  The shot helps keep RSV at bay and protects her lungs.  It lasts around 30 days, and she needs one basically every month through the RSV season (Oct – March).  Insurance, being the great institution that it is, made things difficult when it came time for her renewal shot.  She ended up getting it on Monday, but that was after having to call nearly every day to get them to tell our pediatrician what needed to happen.

Meanwhile, the first shot had expired.  This meant that for the safety of our daughter, we were stuck in the house all weekend, and most visitors had to wear masks to ensure Kaitlyn’s safety.  It doesn’t appear we are going to have this problem again, but we shouldn’t have had the problem to begin with.

In terms of development, she is moving right along.  We found a couple of checklists online, and she is running about 50-60% success rate.  I think I was backwards when I said that physical would be behind and mental would be on target, as evidenced by her current state. Eye contact and lifting her head are right on schedule.  Hand/Eye coordination, smiling, and laughing are a bit behind.  She has been close on the latter two for a couple of weeks now, but we can’t seem to quite get over that hump.   All of this is to be expected, of course, but we are anxious for the day we get an authentic smile out of her.  I guarantee there will be more pictures that day than any of you can stand.

I am going to try to get back in the habit of updating more often, but I have made that promise before and not been able to follow through, so don’t hold your breath.

-Dad