6/19/08

We got to see Kyle's smile yesterday for the first time and it was a wonderful feeling. He still has some healing to do but that will be in time! He seems to love to blow bubbles and drool a lot more! He is just too cute. He's starting to get back to his old self laughing and babbling!

Thanks for all the well wishes!

5/29/08

So, Kyle's surgery is scheduled for June 11th! We are nervous and excited for him! We are hoping for a speedy recovery so he doesn't have to keep his arm restraints on for long!

We went to Williamsburg for the Memorial Day weekend to see some of Nick's family. We had a great time and put Kyle in the pool! He was too cute in his speedo raft! He likes the water but it was a little cold for him! You can see in his picture he was chillin' in the raft! We just love him to death! Please keep Kyle in your prayers as he has his surgery and come back to look at his new smile!

Love,

Shell, Nick and Kyle

5/20/08

So, Kyle didn't make it to Round 2...oh well better luck next time! He is our Idol and that is all that matters!

So, onto bigger and better things...Kyle laughed for the first time last night...it was the cutest thing ever...I don't know what he was dreaming about but it musta been funny!

It looks like Kyle's surgery is going to be scheduled on June 4th as long as we can get the ENT doctor there to put in his tubes! I didn't realize it was going to be sooooo soon but it will be great to get it done and over with!

That's all for now...toodles!

5/16/08

Thanks to all who voted for Kyle. We will find out on Monday if he made it to the top 50 out of 1900 pics!

Oh well, on to more important things...we met with Kyle's surgeon today! We are lucky to be able to get him. I've heard many people want this surgeon but their insurance doesn't cover him. So, we are truely blessed. His name is Dr. Craig Dufresne (pronounced Dufreign) he's a plastic surgeon and used to practice at John Hopkins...so he's gotta be good...he's been doing this operation for almost 30 years, so we are very hopeful! His secretary wasn't there to schedule his operation...so we will do so on Monday! It should be sometime next Month...poor lil guy! He will have to be in elbow restraints for 3 weeks!

Well, thanks again for everything! My computer has been crashing so I'm not sure about updating pics!

5/13/08

Vote for Kyle at ...

http://hot995.com/pages/babyidolvote_kh-ky.html

I entered Kyle into a local radio station for Baby Idol! Please vote for him (Kyle-Alexandria). The top prize is $5,000! That will definitely come in handy for his upcoming operations!!! Please help!

Thank you,

Michelle, Nick and Kyle

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Cinco de Mayo

So, I am back to work! I guess I gotta be like the rest of the world! Sux! I miss my naps with Kyle! Anyways, we are meeting with Kyle's surgeon on the 23rd to discuss everything. He is getting so big as you can probably see in the pictures. He has a check up this Wednesday so we will get a weight check. I put him on the scale with me and I was exactly 10lbs heavier with him! I can't believe people have babies his size...Wow and I thought he was big when he was 5lbs!!! He slept 7 hours last night! We were shocked, surprised and scared when we woke up 7 hours later and he was still sleeping! We think we wore him out during the day. We had a bunch of errands to run and he ran them with us. The weather was beautiful. Other than that I really haven't been updating this site as much. If you would like to get on our mailing list for Kyle's monthly updates email us at shell78shell@yahoo.com or myspace at www.myspace.com/shellshell78.

Thanks,
Michelle, Nick & Kyle

Apr 9th,

This past Sunday was my baby shower and Kyle was there! How cool is that?! Anyways, we are so blessed to have such generous family and friends! My Mom, Sister and Aunt put the shower together and it was awesome. We had great food and good times. This was the first time Nick's family from PA met my family and that worked out well. I think we all had a good time! Not much else is going on we are still trying to all get used to living together! See ya soon! Thanks again for everything!

Mar 30th...

We met with Children's and Inova last week. The visits went well. I think we liked Inova's facility and location better. They said they could operate on Kyle's lip when he is 10lbs, 10weeks (starting from his due date not from his DOB) and 10 hemoglobin. Then they would do his palate at around 8-9 months. We have a choice to make as far as if we want to him have a pre-surgical nasal alveolar molding appliance. This is used to help improve the shape of his nose. This has to be done before his lip is fix. He has to wear it for 4-5 weeks leading up to his surgery. It is a mouth piece that connects to the nose and has to be tightened every week. Kyle's nose is not as bad as other babies and could be fixed when the lip is fixed the molding prior just helps stretch the muscles and is found to have a better outcome as far as the shape of the nose as he grows. Other than that we are just adjusting to the day to day activities! I can now stay home more and let my incision heal! Thanks all and hope you had a wonderful Easter!

Mar 22nd...

So Kyle has been home for 5 days and we are loving it! We are still trying to get into a routine but that will be for awhile! He is doing great...he is eating double what he was in the hospital. We had his first doctors appointment on the 18th and he weighed 6lbs 10oz and as 20inches...I think her scale was different than the hospital...no way he gained over 10oz's in a day! This week we meet with Inova Fairfax and Childrens Hospital of DC for his lip and palate. We are looking forward to these visits! This past week we visited Grandma and Grandpa because Grandpa has been working so much! Kyle also got to meet his Great Grandmother for the first time! So far so good! Thanks everybody for everything!

Mar 17th...

Happy St. Patty's Day! I brought Kyle home today! We got home at Noon! Grandma W got here at 3 and hogged him until Daddy got home at 8pm! Then Daddy has been hogging him! Nick gave him his first "real" bath tonight and they both did wonderfully! Kyle loves the water and especially getting his head rubbed! We are loving every minute of it! Pics to come soon!

Mar 15th...

Kyle is doing awesome so awesome that he should be home Monday or Tuesday! He has his "boy" operation tonight. We got there right as they were finishing up and Daddy yes...Nick watched them finish it all up! I saw some of it but that was enough! He did wonderfully and hardly cried...yeah he's a strong lil guy! I was glad we got there because we were able to comfort him after the surgery! The doctor told me to rest up tomorrow! I think I'll be bringing home a St. Patty's Day baby! Yeah! We had a Valentine's/St. Patty's Day baby...red and green just like Christmas! So, he's been eating all of his bottles and they took the feeding tube out tonight. Dad helped get that process moving! He hated the tape on Kyle's face and was always peeling it off and blaming Kyle! Stay tuned he should be home soon!!! Yeah!!!

Mar 10th...

Today was a HUGE day for Baby K!!! He is now 5lbs 12oz! He ate a complete bottle for Daddy today!!! As soon as he can do that for an entire day (every 3 hours) he can come home yeah yeah!! He has a special bottle that we have to squeeze to help him out and he is doing wonderfully! I have posted some more pics. Enjoy!

Mar 7th...

So, I had a reality check...What if Kyle comes home in two weeks...would I be ready? ummmm NO and I didn't want to have to rush...So, I had to do the Babies R Us/Target run. I was able to do so with money a lot of you have given to us for Kyle and still have some more to spend. I got most of the practical stuff for him that he will need when he first gets home. Car seat, stroller, bath stuff, diaper pail thingy, bottles, wipes, diapers and other odds and ins! Also, thank goodness you guys have been giving us clothes for the little booger! He is getting soooo big! He is no weighing in at 5lbs 6oz and is gaining oz's by the day! He is still wearing preemie diapers and clothes but I am sure he will be out of those by the time he comes home or shortly after!

We have an appointment to meet with Inova Fairfax on March 27th as long as Kyle is out of the hospital. We are hoping he will be out, if not they meet every two weeks. I have to call Children's Hospital when he is released to get an appointment with them. I have heard wonderful things about both hospitals teams.

On a good note the Nurses say that they don't see him having a problem eating because of his lip or palete. They think he just can't suck as good because he is still so young. He did good today. He took between 10-15cc's out of the bottle this morning from the speech therapist and he stayed awake the entire time I tried to breastfeed him this afternoon! Dad and I are trying to get the place organized for him when he comes home! Toodles...

Mar 3rd...

Kyle continues to progess well. He is now up to eating 10ml out of a bottle. He still tries to breastfeed and does well for at least one feeding other than that he is too tired! Each day he gets cuter and cuter or at least us parents think so but we are kind of partial! He is now 19.5 inches and is 5lbs 1oz as of tonight! Well, Mom and Dad are pooped so it's to bed we go. Dad has been working crazy hard hours! Thanks again for everything. We can't wait to bring out lil' guy home!

Feb 28th...

Another big day for Kyle...he ate from a bottle today. It's not a normal bottle but one for a baby with cleft lip and palete. He ate 5ml which was good for a lil guy. He also had visitors today Aunt Lulu and Grandma came to visit. Aunt Lulu got to hold him for the first time! Aunt Nicolette and Cousin Mariam bought him lots of new outfits for while he is in the hospital! I have posted pics. Toodles...Mom and Dad are pooped!

Feb 26th...

Today much to our surprise we found Kyle in an open crib!!! Yeah! In order for him to stay in an open crib he must be able to maintain his body temp and body weight. It takes a lot for the little guys to keep warm so he could burn a lot of calories. Today we tried to breastfeed and he did wonderfully!!! We are amazed at his progress! I put up some pics of him in his crib!! Nick got to change his diaper for the first time and he did wonderfully! Cousin Mariam got to dress him for the first time. We can bring in clothes for him to wear. Only hats and gowns! Yeah, we can dress our lil baby doll! Thanks again for all your well wishes and prayers!

Love, Shell, Nick & Kyle

Feb 24th...

Well, today would have been my baby shower!! Oh well, that will come in time. Kyle is doing well they took the feeding tube out of his mouth and put it down his nose, so I could try breastfeeding. Yeah my milk machines are bigger than his body!!! It's quite funny! Anyways, I tried yesterday and he tried a little and was exhaused, so I just have to keep working with him everyday until he gets it. I spoke with the doc and she said that she expects him to be in there for another 4-5 weeks! Yikes!!! She said getting the premies to eat is the hardest part and with his lip and palate that might be more of a challenge. So, we shall see he's been learning fast so if he's anything like me or his father, he will learn to eat fast and a lot!!! haha! Yesterday we had lots of visitors. He got to meet my girlfriend Melissa from Florida and Nick's Mother and Sister from PA. Nick and I are leaving now to go see him! We missed the 8:30am feeding, so we are shooting for the 11:30! We are absolutely pooooooooped but he is worth it!!!

Feb 21st....

Kyle is progressing a long wonderfully! They pulled him off of the oxygen completely around 3pm today. Nick and I left around 3:30 for my doctor's appointment. We got back around 6 and he was working a little hard breathing on his own. However, after holding him until 10:30pm he calmed down and kept his numbers down. So, he is very comfortable with Nick and I holding him!! If he is able to keep his numbers down then the next step is breastfeeding him! After he is able to breastfeed or feed from a bottle, keep his tempature stable in a stand alone crib he will be allowed to come home! Our little man is a fast learner! Other than that we are doing well. I spoke with some one from Virginia Smiles about his lip and pallette and she was very informative. We will need to meet with 5 hospital teams around the area to see who we want to help our little guy! So, we've been busy! I've posted some pics...hope you enjoy!

Love, Shell, Nick and Kyle

Feb 20th

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Kyle is here!

He arrived on Friday, February 15th at 5:26pm he was delivered by c-section at 32weeks! He was 4lbs 15oz, so almost 5lbs and was 19 inches long...so he's a big boy for his age!!! I went in for a headache (pre-eclampsia...my blood pressure was through the roof) and had a baby 4 hours later!!!

I just got home today and am recovering well. He will be in the hospital until he would have been full term so for about a month or so! It was so hard to leave him but I know he is getting the care he needs!

To our surprise he was born with a cleft lip and pallette so this will make it a challenge for him to eat and breath on his own but so far he has been working hard to accomplish these things! So, the lil guy has a tough road ahead of him but we are very hopeful and greatful that everything will be okay!

Just wanted to put up and update. Take care all and thanks for all of the prayers and well wishes!!!