December 5
December 6
In the ten days since Hazel Nina's birth, the doctors say she has made 'fantastic' progress. The breathing tube has been removed. They are teaching her to suck with a pacifier. Margaret expresses milk which is fed to the baby. She is now getting 7 cubic centimeters every two hours. Hazel Nina weighed 2.2 pounds at birth and was 14 inches long. She has now been moved to a section of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit where the 'stable' babies are.
December 11
Margaret was released from the hospital a week ago, and she and Matthew are staying in a wonderful nearby facility for family of hospital patients. They go over several times a day to see their baby and they are now able to hold her.
For newer readers, I should let you know that Margaret is our daughter, and Matthew is her fiancé.
Oh, Nan! The wee soul! Congratulations and the best of wishes to you all, and I hope it's not too long before the new family will be home, safe and sound and doing well.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful! (and scary and early!) I wish everyone continued good progress and health. Congrats! What will you be called? Nana, Granny, have you decided yet?
ReplyDeleteNan, what a worrying time for you all, but what a wonderful outcome, bless her, she is adorable. Such precious photographs of her new life. Thank God for modern medicine.
ReplyDeleteWishing you all well, and congratulations too.
Carole
Oh Nan! What a beautiful precious little life!!! Looking forward to seeing many pictures of her rapid growth and progress! I love her name :) Praying for you all!
ReplyDeleteNiki
Nan! She is so precious. What a stressful time for you all (that's not the right word, but I can't think of a better one). I am so glad there are good doctors and nurses and that the hospital is family friendly, so that the new parents can be with their daughter as much as possible. Congratulations to all of you and welcome Hazel Nina!
ReplyDeleteHazel is gorgeous! I love her name. Congratulations to all and so glad she is thriving.
ReplyDeleteHow can anyone be so tiny!!! 14" - that is just 2" over the size of a vinyl record sleeve... I don't know why, but the pictures of that tiny little girl and her parents holding her moved me to tears. I am glad she is making such progress, and that Margaret has recovered from the operation enough to be released from hospital already.
ReplyDeleteMany, many congratulations to you all! I'm so glad she is 'stable' now and hope it won't be long before they are all back safely home.
ReplyDeleteI love her name, too. What a sweet little babe.
ReplyDeletePrayers going up for her and the whole family.
I love how they encourage skin to skin time for these tiny ones. Surely a boost for all. Thank you for sharing these precious photos with your readers.
Warm wishes and such from this side of the pond. So tiny, but a fighter - oh, I wish her a long and lovely life xx
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to everybody! You must have had a very worrying time but what a wonderful Christmas present little Hazel is.
ReplyDeleteI like the name, which you hardly ever hear nowadays.
Congrats Nan. She is so sweet. Such a tiny little girl. Modern Medicine is wonderful. I am glad Mom and Hazel are doing so well. I bet you can't wait to get her in your arms. Dec 5 is also my DB's birthday. Blessings...
ReplyDeleteWell welcome to the world little girl- its a fantastic place, indeed. Nan, I know this journey has been so worrying but I foresee great things for all. She is a beautiful, strong and has the love of so many on her side. I can't wait to meet her and give her a cuddle. Perhaps when we have both our grandbabies here. I will anxiously await that day. xoxo, Sarah
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to you all. xx
ReplyDeleteHi Nan: When baby Hazel is stronger and able to come home, she will be coming home to meet her wonderful grandmother. We will be keeping baby Hazel and your whole family in our thoughts and prayers. Merry Christmas Nan.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Hazel is beautiful. What a range of emotion you must all be experiencing! Sending my best wishes for her continued progress.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Nan! How wonderful! What a scary time for all of you. Christmas joy for your new family member!
ReplyDeleteHazel is beautiful and so are her parents - the photo of her tucked in with them brought tears. Love.
ReplyDeleteWishing all the best for all of you -
Mary
Nan, Very relieved and happy for you all. What a fantastic Christmas gift!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to the parents and grandparents! Prayers for continued progress, and may her journey through life be much easier than her entrance into it!
ReplyDeleteWhat a relief it is to be regarded as one of the stable ones in the NICU! Congratulations on the birth and breathing accomplishments of Hazel Nina! My very own 2.6 lb preemie turns 25 Jan. 1 after my own bout of pre-eclampsia, back in the dark ages when they were most reluctant to let us hold the the babies and didn't go out of their way to encourage anyone to breastfeed (true story: when my son was transferred to a hospital closer to us when he was a month old, he was sent with a thermos of breastmilk from the only other mother who'd been pumping. And they let her milk go bad.).
ReplyDeleteGood luck to them all. Encourage the parents to look after themselves.
Wonderful, Nan. She is so beautiful. Congratulations on becoming a Gran, you will find it to be life changing. I hope Hazel is soon able to come home with her family.
ReplyDeleteMany congratulations on becoming a grandmother, I can thoroughly recommend it! Welcome to the world Hazel Nina....
ReplyDeleteOh, that sweet little baby! I love that skin-to-skin contact with little babies is acknowledged as being the best thing now--the nurses used to chide me (almost 40 years ago) when they'd find that I'd taken my new baby boy's clothes off (again!) so we could snuggle. It was my first experience of instinctual mothering. Congratulations to all. There is so much love in these pictures.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful! Congratulations to all of you.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! You will be wonderful grandparents and I'm sure you'll have as much fun as I have making all those cookies and reading stories and poems. I hope that Hazel Nina continues to make good progress and that you will all be together soon.
ReplyDeleteMaureen x
So happy for the good outcome from such a frightening time. She's certainly a survivor and I send congratulations to your whole family.
ReplyDeleteWelcome, little Hazel Nina! You are blessed with a loving family. Warm congratulations, Nan, and may your holidays and New Year be bright...
ReplyDelete~ Cleo
Overjoyed to hear that Hazel is progressing so nicely! Powerful little soul who has made a BIG entrance :-) Aren't NICUs amazing places?!? Congratulations and best wishes to all!!
ReplyDeleteOh Nan, I see what I miss when not on the computer as frequently.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations
and continued healing for everyone.
You have so much joy
coming your way
over the next many years...
Such a sweet baby! So happy to hear she is doing better and better each day.... Congrats to all of you!
ReplyDeleteLinda in VA
How wonderful that she is doing so well, beautiful Hazel Nina! I'm so glad doctors know so well these days to help when help is needed. I love being a grandmother (two grandsons and two granddaughters) and I know you will love it too! Hazel is so beautiful!
ReplyDeleteYou and your family are blessed, Nan. Such wonderful news. I'm so happy for you and your hubby and your son and daughter! And I love her name. Hazel. Just love it. I love being a grandmother too, I have two, a girl who is 3 and a boy who is six months. Just thinking about them brings an automatic smile to my lips.
ReplyDeleteMany congratulations, Gran Nan! And to Margaret & Matthew, how happy you must be! As for Tom, what a delightful birthday present (I was my father's birthday present too!!). I hope Hazel Nina grows and grows is able to come home soon!
ReplyDeleteGosh what wonderful news! Congratulations and love to All xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
ReplyDeleteOh Nan, congratulations! I'm so happy for you and your family, and so glad that things are progressing well with Hazel. Hugs!
ReplyDeleteNan,
ReplyDeleteWe were surprised 30 years ago with a fragile newborn. There is nothing like living in an NICU for months.
There is nothing like having more tubes than baby.
There is nothing like living the stress fear anxiety and just plain being overwhelmed everyday...all at once or one at a time.
Plus ya get to learn all manner of medical terms you never even knew were words----let alone sentences.
And all those rocking chairs!
The day Hazel comes home will be...well...there are not words to describe it. Most esp. not medical ones. I'm glad to read that your daughters health is getting better. What a long haul she has had.
Namaste to you and yours Nan
Tracey
We've all been so busy lately! I nearly missed this post too. Seems I have some catching up to do. The picture of your son with baby Hazel made the tears come. It is so lovely. Congratulations, may she thrive and grow. What a wonderful gift for Christmas!
ReplyDeleteWhat a miracle life is, such sweet little toes and fingers. And isn't modern medicine and technology a blessing as well? Congratulations and thanks for sharing the photos and story...it reminds me of what's truly important in life.
ReplyDeleteDearest Nan, I almost missed this. I'm so glad I scrolled down and saw the birth of this baby girl. Hazel is beautiful name for so precious a girl. I'm sure you were anxious fro Margaret and for Hazel, and have had tears of worry followed by those tears of joy. Welcome to the wonderful world of grandparenting, which you have already discovered is like no other.
ReplyDeleteWe were just talking in our book group last week about how beneficial it is to hold preemies close to the skin, just as Margaret and Matthew are doing. A joy to see.
I'll hold a special place for Hazel for we share a birthday.
Oh Nan, congrats to you and the family. Welcome hazel....may see thrive and grown stronger each day.
ReplyDeleteI love your new header.
What a sweet little baby! Yes, may she thrive and grow stronger each day.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Nan, to you and your husband as new grandparents, and your daughter and future son-in-law for the birth of their very precious baby girl. She shares a birthday with my mother, too. I am so happy to hear she is doing well and growing and developing. The best gift this Christmas for you all :-) Pre-eclampsia is scary. I was in the beginning stages with it, with my first son. It never reappeared with the other two children. The world of the special care neo-natal unit is a world apart, isn't it? Everything stops when you enter those doors, it's all about the babies and living. All three of my children ended up in the neo-natal unit after birth because of jaundice. By the third child, it was very serious. He was the biggest baby in there, though, at 9 lbs, and all the other babies were prematures ones and so very tiny. One couple with a tiny baby girl born at 32 weeks, looked over at my son one day, and said to each other, "one day our baby will be big like he is!" It was a wonderful moment of hope. So I hope the same for your granddaughter, too.
ReplyDeleteBest of wishes for Hazel and her parents. I love the photos of them holding her.
ReplyDeleteWelcome, lovely Hazel!!! I'm so happy for this baby girl to be born into such a beautiful family. May the Lord bless her and keep her, make His face to shine upon her always. xoxo
ReplyDelete(This is what I get for being so bad this year at coming round to my friends. Please accept my apologies, Nan, and my promise to do better in 2014.)