I am the MAN!

Kale's cousin Jordan has been patiently waiting to meet his cousin. Kids under 14 are not allowed in the NICU unless they are siblings, so Jordan had to wait about 1/3 of a year to meet his cousin. Kale's Aunt Sarah and Uncle Z gave Jordan directions that in order to keep Baby Kale healthy and out of the hospital we can't touch Kale or kiss him because we could get him sick.

This is Jordan meeting Kale for the first time.

Sarah told Jordan to put his arm around Kale, but since Jordan was told not to touch him he was didn't want to break the rules, so he just put his hand on the boppy :)

Finally talked him into rubbing his back.

Aunt sarah, Uncle Z, cousin Jordan and Kale

Derc changing a poopy diaper. Here is the proof. Notice the shirt over the nose. I wish I could say this is just for a funny picture but he literally cannot get through a poopy diaper unless he covers his nose like this. Notice how terrified Kale is...you can see it in his eyes.

My name is Kale Albrecht and I am the MAN!

I got weighed today and I am such a porker, I weigh 9 lbs. 7 oz.!!!! Woot woot!!! Mom and Dad did a mini wave with me tonight to celebrate. I have been eating better but I've also been spitting up more. I puked on Mom today 3 times. I mean I completely let loose on her. She had to change her entire outfit 3 times, and had to change me 3 times AND give me a bath because I smelled from throwing up on myself. Turns out I don't really love when I take my medicine bottles. Especially the iron vitamins. Mom tries to trick me into taking it and little does she know I only pretend to swallow it with all intentions of spitting it back at her in 4 seconds.

I had three appointments today, one with my home nurse, one with the physical therapist and occupational therapist. All three ladies thought I was doing excellent. I was laying on my side one time and got about 90% of the way rolled over. I couldn't get my other arm out from under me...crazy thing I can't figure out how to get around it. I'll figure it out though. Mom almost cried, she's so dramatic, it can be so embarrassing. A couple other things I'm beginning to get pretty good at: finding my thumb, pulling Mom's hair, crying...loudly, gagging/throwing up, peeing on people/objects.

Tomorrow I have an eye exam, I'm really hoping it's my last one, I'm not too fond of those. That's it for appointments this week after that and next week I have my NICU follow up visit. I'm excited to see all of my nurse friends.

I think that's about it for now. Thanks for checking in! I'm doing great and love being home. I really like when I can get back at Mom and Dad and pretend to fall asleep and then just start wailing.... :)

9 lbs. 4 oz!

Brothers hangin out

Naptime!

No, this isn't some type of cruel punishment, it's Kale getting a EKG.

Hmmm where to begin!

Kale has been eating much better and his weight is up to 9 lbs. 4 oz!! So he gained 4 oz. in a matter of 4 days. What a stud! Thanks for the suggestions on how to make his belly feel better, we bought some gripe water and plan to use it soon, hopefully it will help!

Last week Kale had a cardiology appointment and it went pretty well. He had a EKG and his HR was around 95 which is higher than it has been. The electrophysiologist from Iowa City met with us for a while and evaluated Kale. He said he was pretty sure that Kale will need a pacemaker at some point in his life because as he continues to grow and get bigger his HR will continue to decrease and at some point it will probably just be too low. He said the goal is to wait until he is at least 30 lbs. so then they can put it in his chest and not in his stomach. but he said at this point he was happy with how he was doing and said we don't need to start talking pacemaker unless he isn't gaining weight and/or his HR is consistently between 50-55. Tomorrow I'm taking him back to the cardiologist so he can have a monitor put on for 24 hrs to monitor his HR and trends. This will give the cardiologist a bigger snapshot in time to go off of.

Kale has another nursing visit, a PT visit and an eye exam this week. He is quite the popular baby! I'm definitely getting used to having appointments all the time and am starting to figure out the best ways to get him out and about with all of his equipment.

This past week Kale got to meet his cousin, Jordan!! I will post some pictures when Sarah sends them to me, I didn't get to see the first meeting because they came through town when I was at work Sunday. It sounded like Jordan enjoyed meeting his cousin and was very well behaved :) My Aunt Jean has been here since last Wednesday and has been a huge help around the house and with Kale. It's great to have the help!

We also got to go back to Mercy for a nutritionist appointment for Kale and we of course made a stop upstairs to the 4th floor to see all of Kale's NICU nurse friends! It was great to see everyone that took such great care of him for so long. They enjoyed seeing how he was doing and were impressed that Derc has been involved in changing poopy diapers :)

Last week my Aunt Jean and I went back to Cedar Rapids on Thursday to spend the day with my sister. It would have been my dad's 52nd birthday, so we went out to the cemetery and spent some time at his site. It was nice to spend the day with family and remember so many of the good times we had with my Dad. I miss him every day but I know that Kale has had his own guardian angel from Day 1 watching over him!

That's about all for now, we'll keep you posted on how his appointments go this week!!

Not so fun day

This is what happens when you leave Mack alone with Kale for more than 30 seconds....Mack puts a shoe on top of the little guy. Crazy dog :)

Question of the day...

Who likes to get shots and heal pokes??

Didn't think so. Turns out Kale isn't a fan of those either! He had his 4 month checkup yesterday and it was NO fun at all. He had to get 3 shots (2 in one leg, 1 in the other), an oral vaccine and a heal poke for his BMP. Let's just say that's about as fun as getting him circumcised. They should really have someone else at the drs. office to hold down the screaming, crying children, don't you think?? It's enough that the parent has to take the miserable little guy home and deal with the screaming and crying for the 48 hours that follow shots, do they really need to be the ones that hold the kid down too??

His appointment was fine other than that, although he is still at 9 lbs. We need to get him gaining some more weight. We are going to try and get him to eat every 3 hours whether he is into it or not, so hopefully that helps. If you have any tips on how to beef a baby up or how to make their bellies feel better please feel free to leave a comment and let me know, we're open to ideas!

He did have two milestones yesterday...we had our first tears at the Dr. appointment (I didn't say they were great milestones). Then last night I was getting ready to give him his bottle and I looked down and he was legitimately sucking on his thumb! I love the little stuff :)

He has his cardiology appointment Friday, Derc and I are very interested in what they will tell us about plans for pacemakers and what to expect over the next few months as he grows.

Until next time...

Fun Facts...or not so fun, depending on how you look at it!

Little man in his bathrobe :)

No tape!

Proud mom

Well, I have been wanting to recap Kale's NICU stay for a while, just hadn't found the time to sit down and look at everything. Here is some light reading material for you :)

3...spinal taps to culture for infection

5...head ultrasounds to monitor brain bleeds

9...days under phototherapy for Jaundice

11...eye exams to monitor his ROP

13...inches long at birth

16...days on the Dragger ventilator

17...blood transfusions

24...days on artificial nutrition (TPN)

25...days before I was able to hold Kale

30...days on antibiotics

31...days on steroids

31...days before Derc and I got to give Kale his first bath

44...days on High Frequency ventilator

48...days on Vapotherm treatment

60...roughly the number of people who took care of Kale during his stay (nurses, doctors, therapists)

117...days in the NICU

750...grams Kale weighed at birth (1 lb. 10 oz)

39,000...roughly the amount of visits total to our blog....he sure has A TON of supporters!!

A Number you don't even want to guess...the bill we got in the mail today, thank goodness for insurance!!

He's been through so much, it's so wonderful to finally have him home and enjoy the ups and downs of parenthood! We're just so thankful for all of your support, and it continues to pour in. I keep thinking that we'll get used to the fact that people we have never met or do not know tell us they check our blog or send me messages on facebook telling me they heard Kale's story. We know his story has been an inspiration for some people and that's wonderful to hear, he certainly impresses us on a daily basis, I'm pretty sure we'll have our hands full one day with his personality :)

Kale has his 4 month checkup tomorrow, so that means immunizations and vital check. We're crossing our fingers that he is still gaining weight!!

I promise I didn't forget we have a blog

Let me start with...sorry it's been a while!! As Kale (ahem...my sister) so nicely reminded us in a comment on our post below, it's been a week since we updated you all on how Kale has been doing! Turns out when a baby is in the house you pretty much take advantage of any amount of time that isn't spent feeding the baby, changing the baby, washing bottles, fixing bottles, laundry and take that downtime to nap :)

So! Where to start...

On Monday I spent my birthday with my mom, taking Kale to his pulmonology appointment. I'm SO glad she was there, because as it turns out, it's pretty difficult to lug Kale and all of his equipment around. I didn't bring the stroller because I though, surely with my mom and I there we could easily manage. Wrong. Between the two of us, we left the house around noon and got home about 5 for ONE appointment!!! We lugged around Kale, the carseat, each of our purses, the diaper bag, his oxygen tank, a spare oxygen tank and a monitor. I wish someone was there to take a picture. We started with his pulmonologist who will monitor his lung and respiratory development. She was impressed with how he was doing and turned his oxygen flow down to 1/4 liter. He has been doing well, and his oxygen saturations have still been at 100% consistently. She ordered a blood gas and chest x-ray as well, and both came back pretty well. She will see him again in one month. She was very confident that Kale will not need to be on oxygen for long, she said she will likely turn him down to 1/8 liter in a week or two, then let him hang out there for a few weeks and if all goes well she will probably take him off oxygen after that. Can you say WOOHOO?!

Tuesday and Thursday -we had home nursing visits to check in on how his weight and feedings are going. He is up to NINE pounds :) So even though he wasn't eating all that well he was still gaining a little bit of weight. She will come again twice this week to monitor his weight gain. He is eating better (now that I'm mixing his formula correctly) and we're trying different bottles and some anti-gas drops to try and help his belly. There are days when he is pretty uncomfortable, poor guy :(

Friday he had an eye exam (I brought the stroller to this visit :) ) and that went well - no change in his eyes. She is hopeful that when she sees us again in 2 weeks that may be the last time she needs to see Kale which would be great because those exams are no fun!

Kale is still adjusting really well to home, he is sleeping well -we usually have to wake him up in middle of the night for him to eat otherwise he would probably sleep through the night. His monitors are also not going off nearly as much which is a very welcomed change.

Monday night Derc and I got to go out to Buffalo Wild Wings with our friends Lynnette and John for my birthday and we had a great time with them! We've had a lot of help and some visitors throughout the week. My Grandma Burkholder came down from MN for 3 days to help with Kale, Derc's parents have been a huge help coming over to relieve me (i.e. - take Kale while I get a nap in) and help with Kale. I've had some friends from work come over throughout the week and hang out with me and the little man as well, and as always they are great company! Today my Mom and Pete came down with my sister Mel, who lives in NY so hasn't been able to meet Kale in person yet, so they got to hang out today! We made a roadtrip to Williamsburg this week as well to do some shopping and get my birthday present, so that was fun to have a little family outing (Kerry you of course are part of the family!).

This week brings 2 more nursing visits, a pediatrician visit for some more immunizations and labs, a cardiology appointment with Dr. Law who is the specialist for Kale's specific heart issue. My aunt Jean is also coming to visit from Seattle this week, so that will be fun!

Well, until next time (which hopefully isn't going to be a week from now!)......

Thanks for checking in!!!

Note to self...read directions

That's right, his shirt does say 'Future Mr. Right' (ready to melt your heart Brynna!)...and yes, he is trying to poop here, not the best photo op :)

Dad babysitting on Football Saturday - a scene that I'm sure I'll see many more times!

Tummy time!! He is doing a great job with tummy time, lifting his head and moving it around, pushing up off the ground. Mack is doing a good job with tummy time too, he's a highly involved big brother.

ALMOST caught a smile...stupid camera!

Hanging out with Aunt Sarah!

Cutie pie :)

I remember a time about 4 months ago when his foot was the size of my thumb, little man is growing!

Well, I finally think I know why Kale wasn't eating all that well when we brought him home. Turns out it may have been a combination of a few things.....#1 - Turns out babies prefer their formula pretty warm, not just 'kinda' warm. #2 - When preparing formula you should really read the directions on the can. You might be surprised to know that the scoop that comes in the formula is not 1 tsp...it's actually about three. So, when the NICU told us to mix 1/2 a tsp with 1.5 oz of milk to get the calories where they need to be, that isn't the same as 1/2 a scoop. Also, when you make 3 oz, you should not add 1 entire scoop as that is 3 tsps......woops! No wonder he wouldn't eat and was beyond constipated. Needless to say, I feel a bit guilty, and I get -5 points.

Other than that....

Kale has been doing well on his 1/2 liter oxygen and apparently the oxygen turned off in the middle of the night because when we went to shut it off to move him downstairs it was already off. So...either someone was sleepwalking or it never got turned on overnight. Good news is that we checked his pulse ox immediately and it was 100%, so that shows he can handle no oxygen (at least for some period of time!). His apnea monitor has been going off, but it still hasn't been for his heart, just the not breathing thing which have been false every time. We're getting used to it, and turns out if you put some tape over the speaker it makes the noise a little less deafening for everyone in the house, but is still plenty loud enough to hear.

We have had plenty of help over the week between my sister and Justin and Derc's parents, Doug and Tina. Good thing to, because yesterday was pretty rough for me. I either had the flu or food poisoning or something because I was super sick. My sister took me to the Dr. for some IV re-hydration and some anti-nausea medicine (which works wonders by the way!). That knocked me out for about 5 hrs so Derc, Sarah and Justin had baby watch. Feeling much better today though, thank goodness!

Thanks to everyone for checking in, life is going well and Kale is transitioning very well! Also, we've had a TON of support from 'Team Kale' and we appreciate you helping out more than you can imagine!!! We have wonderful support from our friends, family and friends of friends :)

Getting used to being home

Swinging

Mack feels a little displaced. He used to lay around on the couch...now he is across the room, poor guy!

First bath at home last night!! He did GREAT, no tears!

I promised him I wouldn't put the embarrassing shots up

Finally able to take off our bracelets - 117 days later!

Well folks, Kale is adjusting very well to home life!! Last night we gave him his first bath at home and he didn't shed a single tear. He did very well, continues to be a trooper!

The first night at home was a very restless one. Kale's apnea monitor went off so much that we had to have the Home Healthcare team come out and download the memory because it was already 100% full. The guy didn't really believe me when I said it was full, but he came out anyway. Turns out I was right and it was full, which just means that the alarm went off wayyyy too many times! His HR is usually in the low 70s when he sleeps, and it dips into the 60s when he's in a deep sleep, so needless to say he was alarming all night. Derc and I got literally no sleep, so we called first thing the next morning and asked them to fix it. Since they have fixed it we haven't had any HR alarms but have had quite a few false alarms for respiratory apnea (which means the machine doesn't pick up the breaths he is taking and assumes he stopped breathing). Much more restful night last night!!

He is doing well in all other aspects. Although, he hasn't really been eating much. I think he is getting adjusted to his new formula (the one used in the hospital isn't available for sale) and doesn't like it much. Hopefully in the next few days he gets used to it and starts eating better. He has a pediatrician appointment next week to check his weight to see if he is dipping, but as of now he is holding steady. He has a lot of appointments next week - one for his eyes, one with the pediatrician, 2 with the in-home nurse, one with a pulminologist (lung/respiratory guy), he's a popular guy!

Thanks for checking in - he is doing well and we love having him home!

Join TEAM KALE!

Hello! This is Stephanie's sister, Sarah. Derc & Steph allowed me to take over their blog for one important post. Before reading this post, be sure to read the one right below it for AWESOME pictures of KALE COMING HOME!!! The happy family is all together at home...everyone's prayers have been answered!

Along with Kale coming home comes a whole new adventure, and nobody is more ready for this than his loving parents. They have been anxiously awaiting this day for the past 117 LONG days. We have all been reading of the ups and downs, and the long, emotional journey Steph, Derc and Kale have been on. From our entire extended family, we'd like to sincerely thank everyone for being so supportive through this whole process. Thank you for all who have been loyal blog followers, all who have shared comments or success stories and especially all who have added Kale to their prayers. Steph and Derc are so appreciative of all of the support.

Kale did the hard part, now it is our turn to do what we can. I'd like to take this opportunity to invite everyone to be a part of TEAM KALE! I am selling 'Team Kale' bracelets (like the LiveStrong ones) for $5 each. If you are interested in showing your support, please send a donation (checks can be made out to Stephanie or Derc Albrecht), along with the number of bracelets you'd like to the address below. I will then mail the bracelets to you and you can officially be part of Team Kale! Proceeds will go to help Steph and Derc with the additional nursing and medical expenses they will incur now that Kale is home.

Please mail your donation to:
Sarah Zimmerman
PO Box 10542
Cedar Rapids, IA 52410-0542

Thank you again for all of your support. Steph and Derc will keep you posted on how the happy family is doing at home TOGETHER!!!

W.E.L.C.O.M.E. H.O.M.E. K.A.L.E.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Buckled in!

Proud parents

Ridin' home!!!

Mack, Kale. Kale, Mack. Mack, please don't hurt your brother.

Hanging out!

Leaving our second home........entering an entirely new environment of germs :)

His favorite nurse!! Jodi, we'll be calling you every night :)

Proof that miracles happen...enough said

Happy mama

He is home!!!!! We are getting settled in but wanted to get some pictures up. We have only had one alarm today for his HR and he was fine.

We'll write more later! THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT AND PRAYERS OVER THE PAST 4 MONTHS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We could not have done this without all of you!

IT'S OFFICIAL!!!!

Best anniversary gift every! On our two year wedding anniversary we will be bringing our son home!! We just got the call from the hospital @ 9:20am this morning! Probably be picking him up some time before noon!

HOLY CRAP!!!

It's so close!

Oh my gosh, we're so close we can taste it!!!!!!!!!!


Kale has taken full bottles for 24 hours......he has to go 48 hours to come home. AND they don't send babies home on the weekend, so he really has to go like 96 hours without being tube fed (any amount). If he does need tube fed then the clock starts over. I'm calling after every bottle now, can.not.wait.

So, since he is so close, I may have gone a bit overboard buying cleaning supplies at Target today....I got the ol' phone call from Derc tonight saying, "If you spent $200 at Target why is our fridge still empty?!" Woops! Oh well, can't be too safe, right?! That was only with 2 phone calls to my sister asking what I really need to have on stock at the house to bring a baby home. Not bad.

Today I met with the home health care person, and she showed me how to operate his oxygen tank, apnea monitor and pulse ox machine. I'm sure that our first night that Sarah and Justin stay the night we'll end up testing Derc and Justin's pulse ox and heart rate...

He had the worst day of his manhood yesterday and got circumcised. Poor guy. He is still really swollen but doesn't seem to be in much pain anymore. Hopefully it will heal up over the weekend. I asked the nurse for a copy of the paperwork so I can show Kale when he's old enough that it wasn't my fault, Derc is the one that signed the paper :)

He is at a half liter oxygen now and is doing well with that. He also had an eye exam today and it sounds like he is still moving in the right direction there too. She will follow up in 2 weeks, and we'll hopefully be able to go to her office for that since we'll be home by then.

So.....please say a prayer for Kale to continue to do well so we can finally bring him home on Monday. We will quite possibly be the two happiest people in the world that day. Can't wait for all of you to meet him soon. That reminds me, I bought a gallon of Purell today for all of our visitors :)

Oh.....and HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY SARAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!