Week 14- May 31

October 2, 2017October 2, 2017 / jennyalden / Leave a comment

Happy Memorial Day Weekend! A salute to all the women and men who’ve died in service of our country 🇺🇸

On the Spalden front we are now officially past my due date, and Alden is the age of a term baby.

Just look at that hunk of love.

Sadly, photos can’t seem to capture how cute he is in person, but ya’ll will just have to see for yourself someday- hopefully soon!!!

Bottle feeding seems to be the hold up. There are 2 problems:

1-He still has the occasional Brady towards the end of feeding

2- he doesn’t like the taste of thawed frozen milk (accordingly, nurses are calling him Anthony Bourdain)

Well I’m so glad I have 7 bins of the stuff stashed in our freezer

One can’t be too upset when you have a husband awesome enough to take you to ColorMeMine to paint pottery.

OMG I love Kirk Spahn!! #BestHubbyEver

In the meantime, here’s Alden on the scale-

…weighing in at 8lbs, 9 oz!! Wowie- remember when 4 lb babies could eat him!?

POP QUIZ:

This baby is smiling because

a)He just heard his mama’s voice on FaceTime? Or

b)He’s nestled into his dad’s furry chest?

BOTH, obviously. #FurryFaceTimeFun

Dhani Jones paid us a visit- he’s great for a good pep talk.

And dear Charlie’s still getting red light treatments for his various ailments..

Awe- love both our Boos so much!

Hopefully the next time I write you it will be to share that Alden is coming home soon!!

Love and Best,

The Spaldens

Week 13- May 21

October 2, 2017October 2, 2017 / jennyalden / Leave a comment

Dear Friends and Family,

Well week 13 doesn’t sound so auspicious, does it?
We had a little setback as Alden had a few bradies (heart events 💙) while feeding.
This is not surprising as the combined actions of Suck, Swallow, Breath can be a big task for a little peenut, so he’s returned to the feeding tube.
Also, every Brady holds him back 5 days. Doctors estimate he’ll come home in 7-10 days now. 🏡
This is how he feels about his setback..

But a visit from “Auntie” Alex cheered him up!

While Alden worked on feeding, my mom whisked Kirk off to Rome to cheer on Tommy Haas in the Italian open. 🇮🇹🎾

Kirk sent me lots of Food photos..

Awe! Don’t they look cute 😋
In the meantime, I stayed back to Kangaroo Care our little nugget.

This week is International Kangaroo Care week, so for every hour we ‘roo the Boo, we get a sticker- Woo

BOOYAH!
22 hrs so far (with Kirk’s help, because another 4 hrs of my day is dedicated to pumping 😝🍼)

Mom also came in to help with some bottle feeding..

As for Charlie, he’s now limping from aggressive ball activity (he thinks he’s a pro like Tommy), so I had to take him to the vet for red light therapy.

As of today, Alden weighs 7lbs, 12 oz! He is due in 3 days, which I think means I was going to birth an 8lb baby!? 😬 Um, thank god I had a preemie?!
So long unlucky week 13– looking for ward to a more favorable week 14!

Love from,
The Spaldens

Week 12- 3 Month Update! May 14

October 2, 2017 / jennyalden / Leave a comment

Dear Friends and Family,

Happy Mother’s Day to all you amazing moms out there!

A special shoutout to Kathie Alden and Connie Spahn for being the best moms ever, and teaching us by example with your love, patience, and endless support. We

️ you!!

Our little boy is growing up and getting cheeky..

Here’s the face he makes when he thinks your’e telling a fib..

Which is not so different from his “Whachyou Talkin ‘Bout Willis” face

He has smiles for his Grandpa Spahn

And bath time smiles too

And since I may have traumatized my mother-in-law with that Star Wars composite from a few weeks back, I found this photo of Alden looking strikingly like Luke Skywalker..

That’s Alden wondering if Kirk is his Father..

Alas, yes- there is no better Father, as you can see by the look of sheer bliss on A.C’s face here.

(And there’s your token bare chest pic)

Fun fact..

..babies don’t have strong chins to help them get through the birthing canal

(this info may or may not have been researched by a mom worried her son had a weak chin),

We’ve been learning baby massage..

..which is powerful for all babies, but it’s especially important for premies since they miss out on having the firm muscles of the uterus massage their limbs. Thus, they get stiff limbs which can hinder their ability to learn to walk normally.

Alden now weights 7lbs and 3 oz! (5lbs of which are clearly in his cheeks)

Just look at the progress next to the Sneetch!

Which, btw, serves as a fantastic neck pillow..

Alden has been out in the world for 12 weeks and has a 3 month birthday on the 19th.

He ripped out his feeding tube yesterday, which means he’ll be taking only bottles if he can tolerate it.

He has to do well with the bottle, gain at least 1 oz a day, and keep breathing steadily (minor detail) before he can come home.

That said he’s looking like a “rock star” (doctor’s words) and may be released before his due date on the 24th, which is pretty unheard of for a 26 week-er.

This is how excited Charlie is to have a new brother hog our attention.

(You can just see him contemplate his fate as he gets his bath in that kitchen sink)

Don’t worry Charlie, You will Always be our First- We Love You!!

If you’ve made this far, I want to thank you again for your continued support throughout this journey. Sharing it with you has been a privilege and a pleasure, and A.C cannot wait to meet you when he’s out and about in the big, beautiful world!

Love from

The Spaldens

Week 11- May 7th

October 2, 2017October 2, 2017 / jennyalden / Leave a comment

Dear Friends and family,

Here’s your Funday-Sunday update! (If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been sending every Sunday for weeks now… ;))

Today is our 1 year wedding anniversary!!

Hard to believe that magical weekend was already a year ago-

and what a year it has been! I am so grateful for the incredible man I married and the beautiful son he helped me make.

Look at da Boo! Notice- the Oxygen tube is gone!! Now Alden‘s just left with the feeding tube in his nose. That said, he’s getting better and better at bottle feeding..

We’ve had a busy week that started with a trip to LA for the Milken Global Conference where Joon Yun spoke on Longevity and our work with the National Academy of Medicine.

Then we went out to celebrate Kirk’s 40th Birthday

at the Pearl Lounge.

Thank you to Stephanie Day and her company, Ographr for taking fantastic pics!

To see the full gallery visit this link here.

https://photos.ographr.com/kirks40thbirthday/

Download PIN: 1475

Ographr is like Uber for photographers. If you ever have an event, small gathering, or need a photographer – you must check it out!

This week‘s visitors included Anne-Marie Keenan, who I’ve known since she was Alden‘s age (no joke).

And Kirk’s parents flew out west for another visit..

Grandma Connie fed him a whole bottle!

We’re still doing skin to skin care for hours a day, which the nurses swear has made him the calm and sweet little boo that he is: He trusts that the world is a good and safe place.

And there’s that hairy chest pic I promised

Our chunky monkey now weights 6 lbs 8 oz- he’s like a real baby!

In the above pic he’s staring at a black and white lion picture the nurses placed in his bed.

Since he can only see black and white contrast, he seems to love it.

Our goals for Alden are to get off the feeding tube, pass his eye exams, and go 5 straight days without an “event” (where his heart or breathing stops).

Go Go Alden– you can do it! !

Love from,

The Spaldens