4/12 Update: Another video for your viewing pleasure!

4/11 Update: The nanny (Gladis) started this week and she is great! Hannah loves her and she is so sweet. She takes great care of Hannah and makes me feel better about going back to work. It's still going to be hard to leave her after being with her 24/7 for so long. Today, I remembered that our camera does video so I posted a little video on YouTube. Check it out!

3/31 Update: We went to the pediatrician yesterday for Hannah's monthly Synagis vaccine to protect against RSV. She weighed in at 8 pounds and 6 ounces! She cried when she got her shot, but was happy for the rest of the day. We go back to get her 4 month vaccines on Monday, April 7 - the same day the nanny starts!

3/22 Update: Hannah got a clean bill of health yesterday from the orthopedic dr. at Children's Hospital. Her hips are totally fine, which we "knew" all along. We also heard back from the endocrinologist and there aren't any alarming test results yet. We also went to the eye doctor AGAIN and nothing new to report. We are tired of doctors and have decided to just say NO! No more follow-up appointments to make sure there is nothing wrong. We know Hannah is healthy! We'll still have our regular pediatrician visits though. Our next one is at the end of the month for her RSV vaccine....then again in April for her 4 month vaccinations.

We think Hannah is probably about 7.5 pounds now. She is getting so big! She is almost too big for her "newborn" size clothes, so we are making the move to 0-3 months size. She's also getting too big for her Newborn Pampers, so we'll be moving up to size 1 pretty soon. And she's drinking between 3 and 4 ounces at every feeding...so much for such a little one! She's such a good baby...happy all the time. Wakes from naps cooing and laying happily in her bassinet. I go back to work on April 14 and it will be so hard to leave her! We have a nanny starting on April 7 so I will be at home for one week with the nanny to transition. Wish us luck!

2/28 Update: Happy birthday to Grandpa Buck! We went to the pediatrician today for Rotavirus and RSV vaccines. Hannah's official weight is 6 pounds and 3 ounces and she is 19 inches long. We had to buy new clothes for her this weekend because she is growing so fast! She is now barely fitting into the "newborn" size. So she is in-between preemie and newborn now. We also went to a pediatric endocrinologist yesterday and she will have some bloodwork done to see if she has any pituitary/hormone issues that may be affecting her eye development. We went to a pediatric orthopedic dr on Monday to check her hips because she was premature and breach (they worry about hip dysplasia). We think she is fine on all accounts, but we are playing it safe.

2/24 Update: New photos posted! It's been tough getting around to taking photos, but we've gotten a lot of requests for more photos, so here they are! Hannah is getting big. We suspect she is close to 6 pounds now (hard to know without the pediatrician's baby scale). She is doing well and starting to sleep longer at night (well, for the past 3 nights anyway!). We're waking her up after 4 1/2 hours of sleep because she is still so small, but we are anxious to see how long she'd go if we let her be. So, that means 4am feedings for me which are much better than the previous 2 am feedings! Billy is going back to work on March 3rd and we will sorely miss having him home all day with us! It's cold and rainy in LA so we have been hanging out inside. Check out the new photos in the Photo Album section...too bad I can't fix the ones that are upside down and sideways!! But you get the idea... :)

2/14 Update: Happy Valentine's Day! We had our 2 month check up with the pediatrician today which included vaccinations (yuck). Mom didn't want to give them to her at all, but Dad insisted so we did it. She actually did very well with them considering her size. She is a tough little cookie! She was a little fussy for a couple of hours, but mostly slept it off. She never got a fever and Mom was so thankful for that. I still hate that we injected her with all that stuff! The good news is that she now weighs 5 lbs and 5 oz! She is growing so fast but she's still so tiny. Everyone that sees her always tells us she looks like a little doll. Mom and Dad were able to eat dinner together at home (thai take-out) for the first time in a long while (thank you for sleeping through dinner Hannah!) which was a nice treat on Valentine's Day.

2/7 Update: We had our 2nd visit to the pediatrician today. We didn't get to see our regular doc last week, so he made an appointment with us this week to check Hannah's weight and answer some of our burning questions. Last Tuesday, she weighed in at 4 lbs and 4.5 oz and this week (Thursday) she is 4 lbs and 13.5 oz, which is a gain of exactly 1 ounce each day - right on track with where she is supposed to be! Dad thinks we are overfeeding her because she drinks almost 2 ounces at every feeding...a lot of milk for such a little one. But the doc says that is normal and she'll soon be going up to 4 ounces and that we should feed her as much as she wants! We got the low down on her fussiness, her umbilical hernia (belly button that looks like an outtie until her ab muscles get stronger), and her vaccination schedule. We're doing some experiments to see if she has a milk allergy (that means no dairy for mom for a few days) and still thinking about all those shots she is scheduled to get next week. And in the meantime, we are making a run to the drugstore for Gripe Water or Mylicon drops - two of the several homeopathic remedies the doc gave us to try to solve her little gas problem that is making her so uncomfortable and fussy. Basically, all is well in the Hatler household! Check out the photo album section for a couple of new photos with Hannah & her Daddy.

1/27 Update: Homecoming! We were discharged today and left the hospital around 1pm PT. We are now home with Hannah and loving it. She seems cozy and happy here and we love hanging out with her here instead of the hospital. No more wires or monitors! It's great. We'll post some new photos in a day or so and will keep posting updates, however they won't be daily anymore. Maybe weekly? We'll see. Check back and find out!

1/26 Update: Hannah gained back the 40 grams she lost without being on the HMF, so she is back at 1850 grams. The pediatrician says he thinks she might come home on Sunday or Monday! The stool test results came back negative and she seems to be feeling much better. She's doing well with all of her feedings and just needs to keep up the good work. We saw the neonatologist today during rounds and he said she may go home tomorrow, so we are keeping our fingers crossed and trying not to get too excited, but it's hard not to! Finall got some new photos posted that were taken on 1/20...check out the week 5 photo album.

Hannah gained 30 grams at her weigh in, so she is now 1880 grams...4 lbs and 2 oz! She's doing really well and is very hungry at her feedings! She drank 52 cc's at her 8pm feeding...almost 2 ounces which is what a full term baby eats (usually 6-8 pounds vs. her 4!). We're going to the hospital early tomorrow so we can hopefully get the discharge orders! We are ready!

1/25 Update: Hannah lost 40 grams last night, so she is now 1810 grams, which is just a couple of grams under 4 lbs. They still have her on just breastmilk (no HMF) and stool test results STILL haven't come back yet. Today they advanced her to taking all of her feedings by mouth, which means no more gavage (tube) feedings. The nurse said he would take her tube out at the end of his shift today if she does well with her feedings while he is here (she has two more). She seems to be feeling a little better today - she is less fussy. So hopefully this was just a bug she had and it is passing.

1/24 Update: Hannah gained 2 oz. last night despite being off of the HMF, so she is now 4 lbs and 1 oz (1850 grams). Her stool test results haven't come back yet...they are testing her for c-diff and rotovirus to rule those out. She's still very fussy and has watery stools. I wish there was something I could do to help her. She seems so uncomfortable!

1/23 Update: Hannah hit 4 lbs at her weigh-in last night! She gained 60 grams yesterday, for a total of 1830 grams (60 grams = 2 oz). Hannah still has diarrhea and is becoming more and more fussy, which is uncharacteristic for her. I met with the dr's today and they immediately asked if I've changed my diet and am eating anything that could be causing this. My diet hasn't really changed, so they decided to take her off of the HMF (fortifier that adds calories to breastmilk) for 24 hours, however they don't think this is the problem since she's been on HMF for a while. I have suspected the HMF for a while because Hannah has had very smelly diapers all along and I've always heard breast milk diapers aren't that bad and HMF is the only other thing she is getting. I guess we'll see what happens in the next 24 hours and find out what is wrong through the process of elimination. Meanwhile, they are still running tests to see if they can find any other cause. I think this might be interfering with her feeding progress because she gets real red and acts like she is really uncomfortable when she is feeding. Hopefully we will figure this out soon so she can come home!

1/22 Update: Hannah weighed in at 1770 grams last night, a gain of 25 grams, which is 3 lbs and 14 oz! We are getting close to 4 lbs very quickly. No stool sample results yet - they haven't been able to get one they can use. She ate well this morning with the therapist. She drank 45 cc's! Her minimum is 35, but she has feeding orders that allow her to take as much as she wants/will take. It's a little deceiving though, because when you see her eat, it's obvious she's working really hard. We think she may have the elevated heart rate and faster breathing because she has been working so hard with her feedings. She truly is a fighter...she doesn't give up even when she is exhausted. She also still has milk fortifier (HMF) added to the breastmilk which gives her extra calories. She'll have to be off of that before she can come home, but they probably won't take her off of it until she can take all of her feedings by mouth.

1/21 Update: We had a bit of a scare today...Hannah had an elevated heart rate so they checked her blood to see if she had low hemoglobin which could require a blood transfusion. Luckily, she is fine and does not need a transfusion, but in the few hours it took to get the results, Mom was a little worried to say the least. She also had some diarrhea that is making Mom a little worried, so they are going to take a stool sample and test that as well. She's been acting a bit sluggish lately, so we're now wondering if she is sick and that could be the reason for these things. Mom is wondering if she has an allergy to something in the fortifier they add to the breastmilk. Something to ask the pediatrician about tomorrow. It's difficult not to worry too much! I have a feeling we have many more years of worrying to come! Part of being a parent I suppose :)

1/20 Update: So much has happened in the few days we haven't made an update! Hannah is now on a PO schedule (feeding by mouth - breast or bottle) every other feeding! And she's getting 35 cc's. She weighed in at 1745, which is 3 lbs and 14 oz! 2 oz away from being 4 lbs. Mom gave her a bath tonight and she loved it. Unfortunately, we didn't get any photos. It was so cute and she was so good.

Yesterday, the dr. said he thinks she'll go home in 1 to 2 weeks. Mom predicts she will come home next Sunday, the 27th. The glider than Grandma (Carla's mom) bought us will be here on Tuesday, so she can come home anytime after that!

New photos have finally been posted!!! Check out the Week 5 album in the Photo Album section.

1/17 Update: Hannah met with the therapist again this morning for more practice with the bottle. She was very sleepy and just would not wake up, so she didn't do great...but she's getting a little better. She didn't finish her bottle, so they had to gavage the remaining 3 cc's. The dr. came by and wrote orders for her to increase to 33 cc's and to move to an open bassinet. The dr. kept her on bottle feedings once a shift, which is probably good since they moved her out of her isolette and hasn't quite yet mastered the bottle. The bassinet feels like a step closer to going home, even though we have a good amount of time ahead of us. We have photos of her in the bassinet, but are having technical difficulties with the website, so check back in a couple of days.

Hannah gained 50 grams! She's now 1675, which is 3 lbs and 11 oz...5 oz away from being 4 lbs! She did well with her bottle at 8pm and is meeting with the therapist tomorrow morning for another session. Hopefully she'll be advanced today to more frequent bottle feedings.

1/16 Update: Hannah struggled a little with her bottle feeding this morning. She had a 9 cc residual before her next feeding, which means she was working too hard with the bottle and didn't digest well (dr's like to see 10% or less of the total feeding amount when they check for residuals before the next feeding; feedings occur every 3 hours). So, when they did rounds they decided not to increase the number of times she gets the bottle until her residuals are under control. Otherwise, she's as cute as ever and super healthy.

We just got back from our night visit and she did not gain any weight today. We've had several days in a row where she had pretty big gains, one day of no weight gain is to be expected. She also had an eye exam today and the eye doc says she shows signs that her eye development has paused, but is expected everything to be normal when she would have been full term at 40 weeks. He will do a follow-up exam in 3 weeks and he cautioned us that many preemies may need glasses or become cross-eyed and she'll have check-ups at 6 months and one year to monitor for those problems.

1/15 Update: Hannah did great with her bottle feedings today! She met with the Therapist in the morning and then Daddy fed her in the evening all by himself! In both cases, she drank the entire bottle and did very well. She also gained 20 grams and is now 1625 grams, or 3 lbs and 9 oz!

1/14 Update: Hannah had her bottle at 8am this morning with Mommy and the Therapist. She was a little out of practice, but she managed to finish the bottle in 30 minutes (all 30 cc's). Now we just need to cross our fingers that she doesn't have a big residual before her next feeding at 11am.

The dr's decided to have her take the bottle once a shift to start - so it's a little like we are starting over. But, hopefully she will do well and advance back to the schedule she was on before we stopped the bottle feedings (which was a bottle every 3rd feeding).

She gained more weight tonight and is officially 3 lbs and 8 oz!

1/13 Update - Hannah gained 45 grams today! She is now 1580 grams, which is just shy of 3 lbs and 8 oz. She's gained 100 grams since we let her "rest" from the bottle. She starts the bottle again tomorrow and hopefully she'll remember everything she's learned so far!

1/12 Update - Hannah gained 15 grams today, which means she's still at 3lbs and 6 oz. No changes today - just sleeping and growing!

1/11 Update - Hannah gained another 2 ounces today and now weighs 3 lbs and 6 oz! She's over 1500 grams now, which means over the next few days they'll start weaning her down to room temperature (her isolette is set at 84 degrees currently). She's starts the bottle again on Monday with the therapist and Mommy. Meanwhile, Mom and Dad are getting some good cuddle time in with her. We can't take our eyes off of her - she's so sweet and cute. She's the best!

1/10 Update - Hannah lost about an ounce at her weigh in last night, but she gained almost 2 ounces at her weigh in tonight...she's now 1475 grams (about 3 lbs and 4 oz). We had a meeting with the neonatologist today and expressed our concern over her overall weight gain in combination with her rigorous bottle feeding schedule. On average, she's been gaining 1/2 an ounce per day and the ideal gain is 1 ounce per day. Together, we decided to give her a break over the weekend and increase her feedings back to 30 cc's. She was tolerating the 30 cc's when fed through the tube, but not with the bottle because she was working so hard during those sessions (she really is a fighter - she just doesn't give up!). She'll still do non-nutritive breast feeding so she doesn't get "out of practice" over the next few days.

1/9 Update - Hannah weighed in at 1445 grams last night - a gain of 45 grams! She's now 1 gram away from being 3 lbs and 3 oz. She had the bottle with the therapist this morning and did okay...she didn't drink it all but she drank most of it. She's still having some pretty large residuals so they are keeping her at 26 cc's. Although we think it may be because she isn't pooping enough...which she did today all over herself and her cute little pink outfit! You can tell she's getting bigger every day...soon she will outgrow her cute little preemie clothes we bought for her for her stay in the NICU (they are specially made for babies up to 3 lbs).

1/8 Update - Still going strong! Although we think the 30 cc's was a little much for her and the dr's decided to go back down to 26 cc's for a little while (she wasn't digesting everything between feedings). She did drink all 30 cc's of her bottle this morning in about 10 minutes though! And did a great job at breastfeeding today as well. There are some new photos taken today posted in the Week 4 album...check them out!

1/7 Update - Last night Hannah broke the 3lb mark! She's also doing really well with the bottle and drank 21 cc's last night and 26 cc's this morning with the therapist. So she is 1375 grams now and when she gets to 1500 they'll start the transition to an open air bassinet (no more incubator). And when she can take all of her feedings by mouth (breast or bottle) they will hopefully send her home! We have a little way to go to there, but we are hoping to have her home by her due date at the latest, which was February 3rd.

Hannah weighed in at 1400 grams tonight - an increase of 25 grams. She is now 3 lbs and 1 oz! The dr's are now having her bottle fed every 3rd feeding, so instead of 2 times a day, she is now getting the bottle 4 times a day. They also increased her to 30 cc's and moved her to another bay...away from the noisy neighbor! She is next to the window again which makes mom and dad happy!

1/6 Update - Last night Hannah gained some weight and is up to 2 lbs and 15 oz. She also drank 24 cc's from the bottle, which is the best she's done so far! Today they increased her feeding to 26 cc's and we're anxious to see if she's gained any weight when they weigh her tonight.

1/5 Update - We took a new photo of Hannah in one of her new outfits (see Week 3 album). The doctors increased her intake to 24 cc's after we expressed concern about her staying around 1300 grams for 4 days (the goal is for her to gain an ounce a day, which is a little over 30 grams a day). We think she's using too much energy when she has her bottle feeding sessions, but she needs to learn how to eat, so hopefully she'll get the hang of it soon. Otherwise, she is healthy and happy and we are so thankful for that!

1/4 Update - Another great day! The pediatrician says how lucky we are to have such a healthy baby and she just needs to eat & grow. Our biggest focus is teaching her how to eat now. She was with the therapist again this morning and took 17 cc's again, then later we practiced nursing and she did the best she's ever done. Mom and Dad are having date night tonight after we see her at 5pm. That means we will miss her weigh in at 8pm, but we'll call the nurse to get the update, so stay tuned! We're hoping for one more ounce to put her at 3 lbs!

1/3 Update - Hannah had another bottle feeding with the therapist and took 17 cc's! She fed again at 8pm and only took 5 cc's, but she is doing so great. She also gained an entire ounce, so she is now 1330 grams or 2 lbs and 15 oz...one ounce away from being 3 pounds! And the most exciting thing was that we brought her a new hat to wear and it was too small! We didn't think that was possible :)

1/2 Update - Hannah had a bottle feeding with the occupational therapist and Mommy this morning at 8am. She only took 7 cc's, but she seemed so determined to drink the whole 21. We gave her 30 minutes and then fed the rest to her through the tube so she didn't get too tired (they sometimes lose weight if they try for more than 30 minutes and we don't want her losing any weight!). She gained 5 grams last night, so she's still at 2 lbs and 14 oz. We put a cute little outfit on her today and it fit perfectly! Check out the Week 3 photos to see...it's the pink onesie. She also had her picc line taken out and is down to only 2 wires attached to her (vs. the 5 or 6 that were there before).

Hannah drank 11 cc's at her bottle feeding tonight! But, unfortunately she didn't gain any weight...she's still exactly 1300 grams (same as the night before). They increased the caloric supplement they are adding to the breastmilk, so hopefully she will gain some more weight soon!

1/1 Update - Happy New Year! We celebrated the new year with Hannah and had a little toast with some sparkling cider. She was sleeping away in her incubator, but we just couldn't help but be there to ring in the new year with her. She is up to 2 lb and 14 oz as of last night and was moved to a new bay in the NICU because her bay is reserved for sicker babies, so we're taking it as a good sign although we have to say we aren't too happy about the new accommodations. Unfortunately, her next door neighbor likes to cry incessantly which Mommy and Daddy find very stressful! Hopefully that baby will go home soon :). She is still doing great and on 21 cc's. They are going to start bottle feeding her twice a day now and they are taking her picc line out today! We're just hoping she continues to thrive despite her noisy new environment...because if not, Mom and Dad will be having a serious discussion about getting her moved to a new location!

12/31 Update - New Years Eve! Hannah is still at 2lb and 13 oz. Her weight gain last night was only about 1/3 of an ounce...but a gain nonetheless. She is up to 21 cc's and they've stopped her lipid and TPN IV...she is just on normal IV fluids and will probably come off of those completely tomorrow. She has a little eye infection in her left eye and they are going to give her some antibiotic cream for that today. We are meeting with the lactation consultant tomorrow and with the therapist on Wednesday. The therapist monitors her bottle feeding and works with lactation on the breast feeding to ensure she is feeding properly before they take the feeding tube out.

12/30 Update: Hannah now weights 2lb and 13 oz (as of last night's weigh in). She continues to do really well and will hopefully be off of the IV tomorrow because they upped her to 18 cc's today! There are some new photos in the week 2 section (although some of them are sideways or upside down...technical issues, but you'll get the idea).

12/29 Update: Hannah lost about 20 grams as of last night's weigh in, but they tell us that is normal. They increased her feeding today to 15 cc's! We are excited because when she gets to 18 cc's they will take out her IV. We did non-nutritive breast feeding again today, and she did great. She also tried bottle feeding and sucked down 12 cc's with no problem! We think she is ready to come home so she's doing everything she is supposed to do to get there :) After her IV comes out, the next step is to get her to bottle/breast feed. Then she has to maintain a normal body temperature on her own, so we still have some work to do before she can come home.

12/28 Update: Hannah is doing great! She now weighs 2lb and 12 oz (as of last night's weigh in) and is 15" long (as of Tuesday). She is up to 12 cc's a day and will hopefully continue to increase by 2 cc's each day. Once she gets to 18 cc's, they'll take out her IV and start working on getting her to take her feedings via breast or bottle. We had a "non-nutritive" breast feeding session with the lactation consultant today (that means I pump beforehand so she doesn't get more milk than she can handle). Hannah did great! She did everything she was supposed to do and we will do the same thing every day now, once a day until it's time to do more. She had a head ultrasound the other day, which was normal. And she is just the cutest thing ever! We are ready to take her home!

12/25 Update: Merry Christmas! Hannah is doing great. They upped her feedings to 6 cc's and she is now 2 lbs and 9 oz! Her bilirubin went up to 4.8 but she will stay off the lights as long as she stays under 5. Mom and Dad had a good visit with her tonight...Mom rocked her and gave her the pacifier while she was being fed through the feeding tube. She was alert and looking and Mom and Dad and doing a good job sucking on the pacifier getting ready to bottle feed then breast feed. She went to sleep on Mommy's chest and stayed sound asleep when we put her back in the incubator.

12/24 Update: They took Hannah off of the phototherapy lights because her billiruben was around 4 this morning. They will check it again tomorrow to see if she can stay off of the lights. She has a little reflux, so they are giving her medication for that. Still on 4 cc's for her feedings - we are hoping they can give her more very soon! Check out the new Week 2 photos in the Photo Album section.

12/23 Update: Hannah gained some weight and now is up to 2 lbs and 8 oz! She is doing well...still on 4 cc's for her feedings and she didn't have a dirty diaper all day. She is still on the phototherapy lights until her bilirubin goes below 5. They changed her feeding to run for an hour in the hopes that will help her digest everything better so they can increase her feeding.

12/22 Update: We spent a lot of time with Hannah this morning. She got to see her MiMa Anita last night and her Aunt Reagan & Uncle Anthony today. Dad held her for the first time since the day she was born and she was very happy...she went right to sleep in his arms. We spent the rest of the time just watching her sleep, which is pretty cute. Lots of yawns and grimaces. We were there when the dr's made their rounds and she got good reports. She's still under the phototherapy lights and they are holding her feeding at 4 cc's because she had some residuals after her feedings yesterday. They moved her feeding tube from her mouth to her nose and now you can see her chin...you can tell she is going to have a cleft just like daddy!

We visited Hannah again and did skin-to-skin time with Mommy. The nurse weighed her in at a whopping 1110 grams (she was 1070 when she was born and lost some weight). It looks like she is steadily gaining weight now, which is great! We just need to figure out an easier way to convert grams into pounds! The nurse also checked her residuals and she didn't have any, so we expect them to increase her feeding amount.

12/21 Update: We met with the neonatologist today and got the full report on Hannah. They put in the picc line last night, but it isn't placed exactly where they want it to be. They are going to leave it where it is for now as long as she is tolerating the feedings. At least they won't have to keep poking her with a new IV now. They increased her feedings to 4 cc's every 3 hours and will continue to increase by 2 cc's per day as long as she is tolerating it. She is still under the phototherapy lights because her bilirubin went up slightly, but they are hoping to take her off the lights tomorrow. The dr. says we should expect her to be there until her due date (6 more weeks), but says she'll let us know when she is ready to go home. We are hoping for 3 to 4 more weeks instead of 6. We are thankful she is still doing so well with no problems other than needing to grow!