Evening all.

Well here it is. The last Blog of 2005!!
I have no doubts that lots of you will be letting your hair down tomorrow night. Except Uncle Sneag!!!!

I thought i would just put a few photoson tonight just to show you all how i am doing. There has not been much change in my condition from yesterday. Which is good as it means that i have been off the cpap since Boxing Day, and i am virtually in air now.

All i all i am doing very well, and next month will just continue to see me grow and put on weight. And become a lot stronger. However there is still a long way to go for mum and dad before they can take me home.

I just want to say a big thank you again to everyone who has shown interest in my site, who have posted nice comments, and even Uncle Kimbo's horrible ones about my dad (2 rounds of golf yesterday, Uncle Kimbo lost them both). Uncle Kimbo was saying that his daughter had had a doll for christmas which was just about the same size as me.

Any way i hope you all have a very peaceful new year and don't get into too much trouble. And yes that does mean you Uncle Wint.
Night night
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Hello.

Well here I am again. And look at me!!
I'm wearing big persons clothing. Well big person if you are 3 pounds in weight.
This natty little number was bought for me by grandma and grandad for christmas.
Yes I know it still looks a little big.




I have now been off my cpap since boxing day, which is brilliant. I still continue to have the odd dip, but i am bringing myself round most of the time. Now the blue cable that you can see attached is a new one. This goes to a machine which monitors my breathing. If i don't take a breath for 20 seconds, alarms sound, bells ring, lights go off and Grandad T jumps a mile!!
The other big news is that my nurse Gail put me in 21% oxygen (air) today and i was ok. I only blipped a couple of times. All this goes to prove that i am getting stronger daily. My feeds have been put up again. I am know having 34mls!! But they have spaced out my feeds now so i am only having them every 3 hours. This is all like getting into a proper baby routine.

Anyway, here is a photo of mum and grandad when he wasn't worrying about alarms. As you can see he looks very relaxed and proud to have such a lovely grandaughter.

And here are mum and dad. Every now and then mum insists on having a group photo. Everyone who has met mum recently has commented on how well she is doing. As she regularly points out to dad (usually when something needs doing) she has had major surgery recently. And everyone who has met dad has generally pointed out he looks knackered!!! Dad at least is going to have a few hours off tomorrow beating Uncle Kimbo and Uncle Stuart at golf.

Right it is time to leave you all again I'm afraid.
I'll be back tomorrow with my normal update and then I will be taking a break for the weekend. However, if I manage to stay awake i might just post something special for the new year on sunday.
Night night
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Hello world.


I Hope that the snow was not too bad for everyone.
Mum has asked me to put this picture in just so you know what it was like round the reservoir. I'm sure this not very interesting to you all because youa ll know what snow looks like.

However, as dad says, never argue with mum (unless you are right!!)


Okay so it was weigh day again. What are your guesses (uncle Kimbo, Wint and Stuart cant play as they already know). Well my dad got it spot on again so mum says that he is a wizard.
I know weigh 3 pounds and one and a half ounces!! That means that i am now one and a half times my birth weight.










Also I am 28 days so the doctors are really happy with me.
I am staying off my cpap pretty much for most of the time now. Occasionally i might need a quick snort but there are no plans yet.











So that is all my news really for today. I want to say a big hello to Auntie Dan and Auntie Fi (hope that was right) who are tuning in on Auntie Babs computer. Also a big hello to Uncle Sneag who is lounging around in some Mexican resort topping up his tan. Dad says he probably has a notted handkerchief over his head!! He'll be back on Saturday and i can't wait to show off to him about how big i have grown.






Okay so ia moff for another day. Its very tiring growing big and dad keeps shining the camera in my face.
Until tomorrow,
bye from Zoe
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Hi everyone

Well here we are again. I have had another very good night and have been off my cpap for quite a lot of the day again. They put me back on it for a couple of hours every now and then just to help but for the most i am just in the box and a lot of the time i am on only 24% oxygen.

Now here is a picture of Uncle Steve and Auntie Jo. They came all the way up from Wolverhampton, despite the snow, just to see me. And hasn't it snowed. I feel really sorry for Kate who is helping to look after me tonight. She is seriously looking at sleeping the night here with me. My dad has offered her a bed but she will have to share - with Frodo!

Now, part of the reson for my desats is my eating. Yesterday Emily noticed that my stomach was looking very fat. Dad said it wasn't quite as fat as Uncle Kimbo's but it was still pretty big for a young one. The doctors came and had a look but they were not concerned. They think it is just wind. Now wind is something that Uncle Kimbo does know about!!
So now after my feeds I have to be winded. Mum and dad both watched the nurses wind me and now they do it to me too.

So here is a picture of my mum taking very special care of me
















And here is my dad looking like he is strangling me!!!!

















Its quite a sad day because Uncle Ian is going back to Southampton tomorrow. He says he will back up in a few weeks on the train to come and see me again, and he expects cuddles next time. Until then here is a nice picture of him saying goodbye.

Right I'm off for the night and going to give mum and dad a chance to get home. Take care everyone driving, especially Uncle Ian, and take care in Prague Uncle Steve and Auntie Jo. Uncel Steve is definatley going by the way (in house joke only they will get). Tomorrow is weigh day and we are hoping for above 3lbs so wish me luck and remember
Don't have nightmares!
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Happy Boxing Day Everyone!!!

Now, my dad has said that i have to sing this for uncle Rory and Ben.
'Hark now hear,
United sing,
the Wednesday ran away.
And we will fight for ever more,
because of Boxing Day'

Now i'm not really sure what Boxing Day is (I'm sure Uncle Ian can enlighten us all) apart from an excuse to have another day partying, and for lots of sad stags fans to go all the way to Northampton and back for a depressing football match.
And grandad T, Dad wants to know if you want your fine now or later for Murphy!
Right enough of the football!!!

Look at all this lot. Thank you so much for all the fabulous presents that i received. As you can see the dining room has been taken over. I hope Santa brought everybody what they wanted, I know of three little girls who are really happy because dad is taking them to see the Sugababes. And one big boy!!
Unfortunately Uncle Stuart, I did not get a Scalextric for Christmas. However dad does have one up in the loft from when he was a little boy (about five years ago) and he says you can come round and play on it whenever you want.


The good news is that i was taken off my cpap at 3 o'clock Christmas Day and i stayed off it right up until 9 o'clock tonight. Also the nurses think that part of the problems is that i'm really hungry and i start to desat then. So they have increased my feeds but are giving them to me every 2 and a half hours now. This gives me more time to sleep in between meals. A bit like grandad Ambler.
They are going to try and keep me off as much as possible, but they do not want me to get to tired. That is why i have gone back on it for a few hours.


However i have certainly had less desats over the psat few days which is good. I am now 26 days which is fabulous and the doctors will all relax a bit more when i reach 28 days.
Any way, Auntie Jo and Uncle Steve are coming up tomorrow from the strange place of Wolverhampton. And unfortunately tomorrow will be the last time i see uncle Ian for a few weeks as he has to go back to Southampton tomorrow.
So until tomorrow, have a peaceful night.
Love
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Merry Christmas Everyone.
From Zoe, Dad and Mum
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MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

Hello and welcome to my blog on this special day. Now I'm not going to ramble on much today but i just want you to share some of the special moments from my 1st Christmas.


Now I'm not sure if I am happy at your all seeing me in this position.
However on the ward things go on as normal and as it is sunday it is weighing in day.
And this is how they do it - strip me down to nothing, plonk me on a cold set of scales and then shove me back in the box again.
Very nice. Very tasteful!
Good news however. I am now up to 2lbs 15oz!!!

Hi everyone!!

Now i am afraid it is going to be a really really short blog today.
Not because there is anything wrong with me. More for the reason that there has really been very little change in my condition.
I am still on cpap for 6 hours and off for 4, and my feeds are still being tolerated.
So although it doesn't sound very interesting, but in truth everything is brilliant. And i am making lots of fuss for the nurses which they like, especially Emily! This is because they would rather have an active baby than one who just lies there.



Now mum and dad are going to be very busy tomorrow because they are going out with all the oldies (and uncle Ian but i think he will qualify soon as he is knocking on the door of 40), and they want to spend as much time with me as possible.
But i might ask dad to help me out with a very special christmas blog.
It will be cool, a bit like the Queens speech.
So until then i wish you all a very merry christmas and a big thank you for all the presents.
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Hello world!


Well here i am again for another day.
To be honest there has not been a lot going on today.
I have had my feeds increased slightly due to my increased weight.
Can you believe that they were worried that i am putting to much on too quickly.
Amazing!!



Yesterday i promised you a picture of my stocking.
Now we dont have a chimney in the ward so we have had to hang our stockings on the end of our incubators.
Now. i don't want to be pre-guessing anybody, but isn't that a little small!!!
I know i am only tiny but there is no reason to make my stocking small.
How is dad going to fit the scalextric box in that!






As you can see from these photos, I am spending more time off the cpap machine.
I am up to 6 hours on and 3 off.
Lyndsey, who is looking after me today, said that if i behaved she was going to leave me off for a little longer.
All the doctors are really stumped by my desats. They still think it might be something to do with my eating, but as I am putting on weight its not a problem.



One little problem that i am having at the moment is my poor little nosey.
Because i have to have the mask on so much, it is starting to push against my nose and make it sore.
Now if you look closely at the picture you might see a little bit of tape.
This has been put there to provide extra protection.
Mum is still convinced it is all a conspiracy by dad to make sure i dont develop the Hayes nose!!
And Uncle Ian, stop saying i look like Grandad Hayes.



As I said, it was a very quiet day today. Just mum and dad which was nice. I am sure that christmas day is going to be a scream though!! And tomorrow, I have Auntie Gillian coming to see me. Also Great great great Auntie Joan is coming with grandma and grandad. And i might get to see Grandad T and Uncle Ian too.
So until tomorrow i will wish you goodnight. Now i wonder if i can do another big poo (sorry about that one dad) before my mum and dad go!
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Hi again!



21 to day, 21 today. Thats days not years! Dad is having enough problems coping with a 21 day old daughter. The thought of a 21 year old daughter running around would push him to the limit!
Any way i am 21 days old today (or yesterday if you are reading this on thursday!). Now if i make it to 28 days with no major hiccups, then that is another hurdle passed.



So the great weight sweepstake. I was weighed this morning and i am 1.26kg, which for anybody working in real systems is 2lbs 12oz. Well done dad, you got it spot on!!
This means that since Sunday i have put on 4oz For people like thomas, who found it hard to imagine i weighed as little as a bag of sugar, that is like a quarter of sweets from the sweetshop!
Because of this my feeds have gone up again. Also i am spending less time on the cpap machine now. Before i was weighed i was on for 6 hours and off for 2.
Well now i am on for 6 and off for 3. Which is good as people like uncle ian get to see me without a mask on for a bit (i think that uncle ian has fallen in love with me already, which is understandable!)



I have had lots of visitors today.
First grandma and grandad A came to see me and brought me a lovely picture from my cousin millie.
Then grandad T and uncle Ian came to see me. And i was really good for them and openend my eyes and everything.
And then this nice lady came to see me again. This is Izzy (not the mad one who works here but the mad one who is friends with mum and dad). And she was allowed to give my hand a little stroke. Thanks you for all the lovely presents they brought! And she even brought a great big cuddly bear!!!



Oh no, sorry. That is her husband David. They are really nice and dad thinks that he has already got another babysitter lined up now. And not just for me but for the dig too!
And actually, if there are any dogs around the country that would like a good home, come and see Izzy. She'll have you!










So all in all it was a very busy day. Lots of people to see, lots of nappies to fill (sorry about the gross one dad), lots of nurses to annoy (sorry emily). And it is only three sleeps til santa comes. I have my stocking on my incubator, which with any luck i will take a photo of thursday.
So until then,
night night.
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Hi everyone.
Sorry that i am a bit late for all those evening blog viewers with my Tuesday update.
However, there is a good reason as mum and dad went to the pictures last night for a break. They went to see The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.



Before i start i want to send a big 'aaaaagh matey' out to Uncle Sneag. He is currently trawling round the Carribean on a big boat pretending to be Johnny Depp.
However by the wonders of modern technology he sent me a message. Good to hear from you uncle sneag.



Well as you can see from the photos i am still mixing my time between being on cpap and being off it. They take me off the machine as the mask i have to wear is very uncomfortable and it squashes my timy nose. Now i'm not sure if this is some conspiracy by dad to try to ensure that i do not have the famous 'Hayes nose' (bit like a roman one but not as much noble breeding'. However it does give me a little time out in the free air.

Also you can see me wearing a dress that was very kindly bought for me by auntie ellen. Apparently mum saw that all the other little girls in the room were wearing dresses and threw a susan paddy! Of course when dad turned up he did the usual 'aah she looks so pretty - now put her in some jeans' routine, but i think he was really very happy.



Ok so here we have some more visitors today. This is the long anticipated auntie anne (she's the welsh one) and uncle graham (he's the gunner). They very kindly drove all the way up from Ross-on-Wye to see me (and i suppose to see mum and dad too). It was really nice to see them and they gave me some lovely gifts. Thank you so much both of you. They also went out for a meal with mum and dad and grandad t and uncle (i don't normally make a fuss) ian.







Time for some more cuddles. This is with dad and i did really well as i didn't have a desat the whole time i was shoved down his shirt. Mum says it has something to do with the oxygen getting trapped in the fur!!!












So its goodbye from me again.
Now tomorrow is another weighing day sao place your bets on what i will be.
Dad reckons that it will be 2lbs 12oz, and mum does not know as she cant't work out the conversions. And tomorrow i will be 21 (days that is).
Night night
(actually its good morning)
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Hi everyone and welcome back to my wonderful world.
It seems such a long time since i spoke to you all last, and quite a lot has happened even though it is only three days.



The first thing is that i am back on my cpap machine (thats cpap not cpaq dad). Now i dont want anyone getting upset about these pictures. Mum and dad are both very happy that i am back on the cpap as i have had far fewer desats since.
On Friday i think i mentioned that the doctors thoight that i was suffering from fluid retention.

Well the medicine they gave me certaily did make me wee a lot. However, after further consultations on saturday morning, the nurses and the doctors all came to the conclusion that what was really wrong was that i am just very tired. Its hard work breathing and eating and sleeping and growing you know!!

So the decision was to put me back on cpap to help me out. I know the tubes and pipes all look quite scary but they are not. And it is not helping me to breathe like a ventilator. What it does is to supply a constant stream to my lungs so that if i take small breaths or forget to breathe, it will do it. And this means that i can spend most of my time on about 27%. This is all very normal in prem babies.

Right next news. Well i was weighed yesterday and i have now gone up to 2lbs and 8oz. The doctors are really pleased and they have increased my feeds a little bit more.



Now, here is someone i have been waiting a while to meet.
This is my uncle Ian with my grandad T. He lives in Southampton and has come up for Christmas.
He was pretty surprised at how small i was compared to the photos but he agreed that i had definately filled out a bit.



Anyway he said I was really gorgeous, which gets him brownie points as far as i am concerned.
Because i am worth it!











On top of my box here you can see that i have another new friend. He is cuddly pink elephant and he was sent to me from a little girl called Emily. She is unfortunate because she has uncle kimbo for a dad (uncle stuart and dad both lost to uncle kimbo on the golf simulator last night, and both agreed it wasn't a proper simulation of their abilities).
Only kidding Uncle Kimbo!
I just want to say again a big thank you for all the cards and gifts. Mum and dad really are blown away with all the generosity.



So that is how you find me today. i am now 19 days old which is fantastic!!
I am also getting ready for Christmas on the wards. Lynette has told mum that everyone has to wear stupid headwear (no exceptions dad) on christmas day. it is unfortunate that i will be spending my first christmas on the ward but i am sure there will be lots going off (and uncle kimbo, dad did explain how you thought that i was up to a birth weight of 7lbs until auntie angela explained it in short words).

I will be recieving a visit from aunti anne and uncle graham tomorrow, so i will be able to brief you all on how he is coping with being out of the premiership run in. And dad says that i have started to kick better than gavin henson aiming at someone's head!!!

Night night.
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Hello everyone. Good to see you all again.
Now i'm afraid that tonights blog is goign to be a short one.
Unfortunately there are not a lot of photos of me, as my dad forgot to take the camera in earlier.



The doctors are still having a look at me in relation to the desats i keep having.
Now, tha main doctor came to have a look at me and he wonders if the problem has something to do with fluid retention.
What he suggests is that i have some medicine that helps me to get rid of some of this fluid. My desats have not been as bad or regular today as they were yesterday. So hopefully this little bit of treatment will help me. My oxygen in my box has been reduced slightly this afternoon to 30% which is still very good. So its just a bit of a waiting game at the moment.



Now visitors. Well gradma and grandad a came to see me tonight, and this afternoon i saw graham and vivien, who are auntie ellen's dad and step mum. They brought with them loads of christmas presents and most are for me. Mum and dad are furiously trying to get prepared for christmas with all the shopping and wrapping. Mum says dad has been getting up and wrapping presents at 6 in the morning.

I will be weighed again this sunday but do not worry if i have put on a little bit less weight than i had before. This can all be down to the fluids treatment i am having. And sadly my auntie anne and uncle graham (the welsh lady and the gooner) are not able to come up tomorrow. Uncle graham has a cold but i am sure it is just because arsenal are behind tottenham in the league and he doesn't want mum to laugh at him!!!

I am going to take the weekend off again, like last weekend. So unless anything really important crops up i will speak to you again on monday.
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P.s. I hope they do not mind me telling people but mum and dad's friends matt and nicola also had a baby this week. Nicola had to have a c-section, but Ryan is doing well and both mum and dad are really happy. See what i have started!!!

"Sleigh bells ring, are you listening..."

Oops, sorry. Didn't see you all there. Was just getting into the christmas spirit.
After all its nearly a week away now, so kids like Lindsay and Millie must be climbing the walls.

Anyway the reason i'm feeling the christmas spirit is because of this.



Cool isn't it! My very own christmas tree in my room. It's even got little lights on it. Dad really is quite clever sometimes.

What it is actually is a branch off of grandad t's tree. He never puts all the branches on because there would not be enough room for Uncle Ian's ZILLIONS of presents. Well, sorry unc. I think somebody else will be getting the biggest pile next year!!!

I had a very peacefull night yesterday. I was a bit sluggish and kept having desats in the afternoon, but i had a very good sleep and have been a lot better today. Dad says that i actually look like a baby now and not a wrinkled prune, which is very unfair!



Now the doctors came round and had a look at me this morning. Actually they had a listen to my chest. And they think that they heard a little heart murmur. But don't everyone suddenly get worried. I told you the other day that this is common in prem babies. Well they gave me some drugs the other week for it, but it did not close it up totally. This may be another reason why i am getting desats, because i am getting tired through the extra work. They say that it should close up quite normally, but if it doesn't they will give me a little extra drugs.



So on to some more nice photos. Well i think they are nice any way. This is a little cuddle i had with my dad earlier tonight. That is my head you can just see sticking out of his shirt.










I am quite restful when i lie here and i didn't have a desat, even after my dinner. So if we can only persuade dad to come a nd stop here all the time it will be great.
At any rate it is a lot comfier than my bed at the moment.
They have put a new 'tucker sling' into it. This basically is a straight jacket type thingy (well its not that bad, i can move my arms and legs) that they tie to the top end of my bed. It stops me from slowly making my way down the cot down to the bottom.

To be honest the nurses don't mind me moving about at all. Thye would rather see me active.



So that is all the news for today, Day 15 of my little life.
As i hope you see from the photos i am definately starting to fill out a bit. And all the complications are just normal things associated with a prem baby.

Tomorrow i have some more visitors coming for the first time (more presents!!). And then on Saturday i will get to meet my uncle graham and auntie bab/sorry/barb/no can't say that either/anne. She's welsh!!! And uncle graham is a gunner!!! Not in the army but in the narth lundun style.

So until tomorrow, bye for now.
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Hello again everyone



Well i have now reached the ripe old age of 14 days. Now this is a bit of a milestone and it just goes to show how well i am doing.



The first bit of news is that i have been weighed today. Now i think i told you that in prem babies the doctors hope that we reach our birth weight by 14 days.
Well i have not only reached it but i have exceeded it. I now weigh 2lbs 6 and a half ounces. And think how much it would have been had i not had an off day on saturday.

Speaking of which i have had some more desats so the nurses are watching me again. They do not seem particularly concerened about it. And mum and dad are a lot easier with it now.



The problem centres around the need to keep providing me with food so i can grow, whilsta t the same time ensuring that my o2 levels remain high. It is a bit of a balancing act, and as i say is very common in prem babies. What it does mean is that i may have to go back on the cpac machine a few times just to help me. But that is no bad thing.









And here is another change for me. This morning Lynette decided to have me moved to my own room. This is a little bit more private, and we have a lot of babies coming in. They are expecting there to be 13 babies in the ward over christmas! As you can see mum and dad have not quite tailored it to there own taste but then dad has been working hard on the house.
Now i had some more visitors today. Auntie Ellen came back to see me and brought her mum, Mary, with her. This was cool as they both brought me loads of presents. particularly some nice clothes, which is handy as i am back in them again!



Check out these jimjams (no pun intended). Dad was particularly happy as Auntie Ellen brought me something in blue and white. However at this rate of growth hopefully it won't be long before i'm in bigger sizes.

Well tomorrow i have some more visitors coming (my great uncle Roy!), and mum and dad are going to take it a little easier. They have both been rushing around so much they need a little break.

So untill tomorrow, night night and sweet dreams.
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Boo!
Just checking to see if i still had all your attention.
I have had a very good day today everyone!



Firstly, I have been very good overnight and not had a many nasty resat's. Now i am still going to get a few and it doesn't half make Grandad T jump when i do.
But these are not as frequent as they were on Saturday. Plus i have also been keeping all my food down, and as i get a bit of wind, this causes me to drop.
The doctors got the results of my blood tests back today and everything was fine with them, so i think it was just that i got a little bit tired.
Sorry if i worried any of you.



Some more news - I'm going to be a star. Not a very big one but then again, I don't see nayone knocking down Uncle Dave's door with job offers.
Because mum and dad have been doing so well with the kangaroo cares, the hospitals feeding expert is going to use photographs of me in training presentations. Beats dad's fleeting appearance on Bergerac!
So here is a nice picture of me and mum that the lady is going to use.






Somehow however, i don't think that they will be using this one!!
















I had some more new visitors today as well as my grandparents. This is mum with my great auntie Pat. Now great uncle Brian is lurking around somewhere and guess what they brought with them. That's right, another pink teddy!



Now what you see here is my nurse, Izzy (not the one who is a friend of mum, although they are both quite scatty really), taking the candela out of my hand. This was put here on saturday when i started having a few troubles.



Now as you might remember, i had a few problems with my hand the last time i had one put in. Well i can report that this time i have had no problems. And they have taken it out because i have finished my course of antibiotics.



So there is my busy day. Now tomorrow is a big day. i will 14 days which is a very good achievement. i am also going to be weighed again and we are all very hopefull that this time i will be over my birth weight.
So until tomorrow its goodnight from Kings Mill for another day.
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Hi everyone. Well here we go on another week.
I am now 12 days old which is absolutley fantastic.
However the doctors did warn mum and dad that there would be some backwards steps and this weekend i had a little one.



What happened is that Saturday evening I satrted developing something called a desat.
This is when my o2 levels drop sharply below normal levels. Now this is a very common thin with new born babies, and especially with prem ones.



Now i must admit that i scared mum and dad a little bit, but the doctor came straight to see me and did some tests.
What he was worried about was that i had picked up a little infection or that i was very tired after all my exertions.
So the doctor decided that because my tummy was a little bloated, he would stop my feeds for the time being and put me back on a drip. Also he would start a batch of antibiotics. That is why in the photographs i have my snowborad back on my arm. Dude!

Any way, the sum result is that i missed some feeds from saturday night to sunday. I was weighed on sunday morning and i had put 10g on. This is not bad, especially when you consider it would have been more had i been eating for the previous 24 hours. Unfortunatley i also had to go back on ther oxygen tube again for a while.



However these photographs are as you see me today. The oxygen tube has gone and I am back up to 6mls of milk and hour. My course of antibiotics has passed and i will probably loose the snowboard tomorrow morning. So its good news again. Dad says him and mum were warned that it would be an up and down process but he thought it would be two steps forward and one back as opposed to five forward.

Tonight i had a big cuddly bear came and visit me. And he brought me an even bigger cuddly bear. Uncle Sturat is going on a cruise to the Carribbean on thursday so i thought it would be nice to see him before he went. The bear is far to big to fit in my room, so he is waiting at home with all the other lovely presents that everyone has bought me. Thank you so much, they are fabulous.

So this is where you find me now. I am a little back from where i was on friday night, but still a lot further advanced than i should be at the moment. So here is hoping it continues.

I will speak to you all tomorrow night. Until then night night.
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Hiya. Here I am again with todays latest batch of photos.
Now, what is so special about these ones? Well if you look very closely you will see that i have not only got my left eye open, but i have my right one too.



That is of course when i can be bothered to keep my eyes open. To be brutally honest, there is not a lot to see outside this box. Except when mum comes to visit.



And of course when grandad taylor comes.



In fact it is the highlight of my day seeing all these friendly people worried about little old me.



Well nearly everyone!!



Only kidding. I love dad ever so much. And i think it is really nasty all the horrible things uncle stuart and uncle kimbo say about him. I had a nice message from angela and emily today, and i hope to see them soon. Not sure about uncle kimbo though, Apparently his aim is not that good as anyone who has parked a car at the golf club car park will know.



So apart from the two eyes open there is not a lot to report to you. I am continuing to do really well. I am now up to 11mls of food every hour and half, and everyone seems quite confident i should have increased weight come the sunday weigh in. Its just like fat fighters round here, but in reverse!



This weekend i am probably going to have quite a few visitors. Also i think mum and dad are going to be busy what with finally having to get ready for christmas and continuing the house reconstruction (great time to start dad!) So what i am going to do is take a break this weekend and then catch up with you all on monday.



If there is any major breaking news i will of course be back, but i think i need to give my tiny fingers a little rest. So i will speak to you all on monday. Hopefully you can all see great improvements in me since i started my website, and hopefully these will continue to become noticeable.

So its bye for now
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hi everyone. As you can see I am still wearing my lovely clothes. And this time they have added a cardigan.



Now i am afraid that today has not been very interesting. I am still progressing with my feeds rather nicely. I am now up to 6.7mls every hour.



And, yucky subject i know but my movements down below are very good. I am regularly filling my nappy now, and my stomach ph has been down to 2 which is good because it shows I absorbing my food. All this means that there is no reason why i should not start putting weight on in the next few days.


Now i realise this does not make riveting reading, especially after the busy day i had yesterday. However its is good because the longer nothing strange happens the better things are.

So i will leave you today with some very special photographs that prove that kangaroos have hairy chests too!!!











So its a very good night from me and my dad.
And i will speak to you all tomorrow.
xxxxx

Hello to all my friends out there in blog watching land.

Well I am now 7 days old, and what a dramatic 7 days it has been. But i am progressing very nicely thank you very much. Everyone in the unit is very pleased with me.







Now i think i told you yesterday that today was going to be a very exciting day.

Well it was more action packed than you could possibly imagine.

Firstly this morning I got myself weighed. Now I have a lost a little bit more weight but don't worry about it. It was only 10g and sometimes I sick that much up.

My feeds have been put up again and so now I am on 6.7 mls per hour.

Now the second exciting thing that happened today was that at 11.30 am, mum and dad went to town and registered me.

So now i am officially a person with a name. And here it is for you to see.

It was quite funny actually (and Uncle Ian will find this paricularly so) because the registrar asked which of my parents wanted to sign the register. Of course mum said she wanted to.

So she signed the register. And the registrar looked at mum's signature. And then he got out a pencil and wrote my mum's name on the official register. This is because in years to come he thinks people might have a problem working out mum's spider scrawl.






So, if you take a close look you can see my name.
Now what some of you may not know yet is that i have a middle name too.

I am Zoe Rhianne Ambler.

I have had a look on the web and i can tell you the following meanings:-

Zoe - Greek or Hebrew, introduced 19th century Britain, meaning life (which mum and dad found out after they had named me, but then thought it was very appropriate)

Rhianne - derivative of Rhiannon, Welsh, meaning mystic Welsh nymph (not Welsh tart as dad said. Auntie Anne will not be happy dad!)

Ambler - the owner or leader of a slow ambling mule (whats all that about?)

Now these next photographs are very special to me. This was probably the nicest part of the whole day.











What you see mum doing is a special cuddle called a 'kangaroo care'.












What it does is promote skin to skin contact between a parent and child.

This is important in the bonding process and it helps mum with her breast milk production.

I also had a go with dad later tonight, but it did not help him with his breast milk production. And he kept yelping because i pulled the hairs on his chest!










This was reallly nice for mum. She held me like this for an hour.
















However the busy day was not over. Lynette, my carer turned down the humidity in my box. The air is kept humid because at the temperature i live in, it is easy to get dry skin. However she said it was not needed anymore as hey presto.......

I am no longer neked!!!













Actually my mum and Lynette conspired against my dad a bit.

Mum was allowed to choose my very first babygrow and she chose this nice little pink number, much to my dad's disgust.

Actually it can't have upset him that much as in the evening he chose a pink one too. But then again he is colour blind!!!

Now it is still a little big on me and i keep loosing my hand down one of the sleeves.

But i feel a lot better now i am not going 'commando'.



So i think you will all agree I have had a very busy day.

I hope you all like my names and approve of my pretty pink clothes. Actually dad is not that grumpy today because Scotland have become world champions in another sport.

Elephant Polo!!!!!!

Because you see a lot of elephants roaming the glens!!

Night night everyone.
xxxxxxxxxxx

Hello world.

Now a lot of people have been saying nice things about my website so i want to thank you all. I hope that you can all start to see improvements in me.

My mum has just made a suggestion that i think is really good. She says that I should put a disclaimer on my site, removing responsibility from me for anybody who gets sack at work for spending more time on the web than at work.

I had a lovely message from my friend Lindsay today. She told me that she really likes my hat and that she thinks my dad is being unfair.

So that has told him! Ya boo to you!

Now in terms of news, today has been quite slow. Nothing of any significance has happened.

Now, this is not worrying. This is quite good, because this shows that i am progressing quite nicely. Indeed, my doctor today told mum that the next few weeks are waiting games, where i slowly put on weight and hopefully don't have too many medical problems.

I have had a few tests today. The first was an analysis of my blood gases. This is very important and thankfully they came back ok.

Secondly I had a bloods spot test. This helps the doctors determine if i am ok and not suffering from problems like thyroid or cistic fibrosis. Lindsey, my carer today said that i was a very good girl and didn't make a sound when they took some blood out of my foot.

So things are progressing nicely. So i will now show you some photos of me and gramps and grandma, who saw me for the first time today outside of my box.

Here are mum and grandma

And here are Grandma and Grandad with mum.

And here is something that you don't need to see 2 feet away from your face when you are only 6 days old!

Only kidding, love you Grandad.

Right I am going to get off to sleep again (it's a hard life).

Now tomorrow is going to be a very exciting day for me. Firstly I will get weighed again so we can see how i am progressing on mu feeds.

However the second is a bit of a surprise. I will fill you all in tomorrow.

Night night from King's Mill

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hiya. Had a very peaceful nights sleep last night and here i am again.












Everybody has been very busy this morning getting things ready and prepared, for in a few weeks time...

Santa is coming!!

The ward has a nice big christmas tree on it now. ynette, who has been looking after me ever so much, came and grabbed my mum and dad and made them put some decorations on the tree just for me. That is because like a few other babies i am going to be here on christmas day.











Right on to some news about me.


As you can see from this photo my drip machine has gone.

This is because last night they got made feeds up to 5mls. At this point i no longer the need the glucose to make up the difference and so i am just on milk now which is great.

What they would like is for me to have regained my birth weight within 7-14 days.




How i get fed is a little bit different now, because the amount i am having has increased.

It is still done through a syringe, but now it is left to drop into my stomach by gravity rather than being pushed into it.

Now i did get up to 6.5mls this afternoon when mum came, but i was also a little bit sick. The midwives are not too concerned but they are going to keep an eye on it

Another thing i have had today is a head scan

Yes i can just hear Kimbo saying that dad should have one of those.

The head scan is very similar to the kind of scan that is done when babies are still inside their mums.

It is done to determine whetther there is any bleeding inside my head or on the brain.

I have had my second of these now and both have been negative.





I have been having a quieter day today I have not had many visitors but here is one new person.

It is not very clear as she does not like having her picture taken, but this is my Auntie Ellen.

She is my mum's friend and the mum of Natasha, Kirsty and Lindsay.

Unfortunately i was not very obliging for her and spent most of the time fast asleep.






The docotrs came round the ward this morning and had a good old talk about me. They are very happy i am doing so well. Mum asked the doctor a question about my eyes, as i have not opened them yet. He had a look and he said that the left eye is ok but the right is still 'fused' a bit.

So i guess i can't put it off any longer. I had better have a look at this strange world.

Oh. It's not that bad actually.
And dad has had a shave and cut his hair.
He looks a bit like me now, except for my pretty pink hat.















Apparently Grandma is now knitting lots of clothes. However she has had to buy a dolls pattern for me because i am so small!!

Ok so that's all my news for today.

Mum is not coming to see me tonight as she is very tired so i am going to just see my dad.

And i am very fortunate as Uncle Kimbo was going to drag him off for a golf lesson.

So another good day for me. Dad calls me Gollum now, which i think is a little unfair. He says its because i have such big feet and hands. At least it takes some of the heat off of Lindsay. Now if i could only get her to teach me how to speak like Gollum, that would scare my dad!!

By for now.
xxxx

Blah, blah, blah, not listening to you dad.
Oh hello everyone. Sorry i thought it was my dad grumbling on again. Apparently Rangers are now fifth in the table which he is not happy about.

Well here i am on sunday morning. Strange but this time last week mum and dad had no idea about what was going to happen in the next seven days. Big change!!!

Now last night i had my first little backwards step. Now don't panic, it isn't too bad. In the night my midwife noticed my o2 levels were too high. That was the blue line on the monitor. They think this is beacuse of the speed which my milk allowance has been increasing. So they have put a little bit of oxygen back into the air i breathe in my tank. I have also dropped down to 2 mls again.


Aaah, now here is a nice picture. I mean of me and mum. Ok and of dad too. Now today is the first day that I am goign to be weighed. They do this every Sunday and Wednesday. All new born babies loose ab it of weight in their first few days and this is especially so in prems. So mum and dad were told not to get worried if i had lost some.
I got it a little wrong when i first came on here. I think dad said I was 2lbs 2oz. Well actually i meant 2.2lbs, which is a little bit less. SO they weighed me and i have lost........20g. Everyone thinks this is brilliant. So they are going to start increasing my food again. Brilliant.


Now there are some big smiles on this photo, and no wonder. Mum has been given the all clear by the doctors and she can go home. Look how happy my dad is. He really has worried about her this week and it will do him good to have her home. Just wish that i could go too, but that might not be for a while yet.






Right enough about the olds lets get back to me. Time for some more cuddles and kisses.















This is really cool.
It looks like I'm wearing a big boxing glove.....
















And if i manage to swing my arm just right.......















I can bop my dad right on the nose!!!

Well it's his fault. He shouldn't call my pretty pink hat stupid.












Time for some new visitors to my room.

This is my Uncle Keith (Dad's side) and his wife Auntie Gillian. They were really shocked to see how small i am.

Now there was someone else who cam to visit but unfortunately she could not come in to see me. That is my cousin Millie.

She was really upset that she could not come and see me. Don't worry though Mills, i will see you really soon. And as Auntie Gillian says, imagine all the trouble the two of us are going to cause!!








They also brought a present with them for me and here he is.


Isn't he cool!
A big fluffy wabbit.











And here is me with another little rabbit.


Now he is goign to have a very special job. He is going to sleep with me in the day time and then at night he will go home with mum and sleep with her. If he can find room with dad and jess the cat.

What he does is to help mum settle at night because she can sense me on him and sleep easy. Good idea no?

Right i am very tired so i am going to get off. I hope this new way of doing things is ok. Now that mum is home i won;t have as much time to do my reports so i am going to do the whole day at once in the evening.

To be honest at this stage it is just a waiting game with me and although things seem the same, as time goes on things are a lot better. However its really nice to read all the things you say and we are trying to reply to most (Uncle Stuart - a hangover! Dad says you are a lager drinking southerner). Now mum is home she will also be able to talk to lots more people too.

So good night and sweet dreams.

Good evening everyone it's me again.

As you can see i have not done a great deal since you last saw me.

Look at my right hand now. It's really getting better now and the midwife thinks that it is bruising instead of anything too serious.

Now here is another very special friend I want you all to meet.

It's monkey. He's come to make sure that everyone is taking good care of me.

Now I realise that this picture is likely to cause some distress for people like Uncle Dave and Uncle Stuart. And especially Uncle Kimbo!

Yes he is wearing a scotland rugby shirt.

Don't worry though because hey presto....

Is that better for you? This is cool because I can wear this for things like football, rugby, cricket etc. and the other one I can wear for the curling world championships! (Don't tell dad though).

By the way Uncle Rory, Dad says hard luck today. Actually what he said was ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!

Here is me getting my latest feed. Would you look at the size of that syringe! Well that's because in the last hour they have put my food up to 3 and half ml. This is brilliant because they have reduced my glucose. If things carry on like this they hope to get me up to just milk soon.

Well its been a very long day for me. so much has happened in my short life already. Thank you to everyone who has shown so much love and care for me. It really helps me and mum and dad.

Time for a quick cuddle with mum and dad, and then a little kiss from mum...

aah, thats really nice!

And one from dad.

Ouch, that's really scratchy. Now I thought I told you to get a shave!! And I didn't know you wore bins!

And it's off to sleep again for me. Night night everyone and see you all tomorrow.

And dad, it doesn't matter how many times you stick your finger in my face, I'm not opening my eyes yet!!!

xxxxx