Week 13- May 21

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..

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

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

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Kirk sent me lots of Food photos..

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

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

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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..

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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.

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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

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Nearly 5 Weeks- March 24th

Dear friends and family- it seems to be that time people are checking in again for another update… So here you go!

Spring is springing in Aurora!
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And so too is our little boo.
Here’s a pic of him off his Cpap scuba gear onto the High-Flo tube. This upgrade lasted a whole 12 hours before he had to go back onto Cpap thanks to constant “Bradies” (when your child turns blue from his heart completely stopping.. things you get used to in the NICU 🙄)

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But come on, how cute is he?.. Yes, he resembles the monkeys in Ubud, but we’re completely smitten. 🐒

We think Kirk set a record for the longest Kangaroo care in one setting.. almost 5 hours!..of not peeing…

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As for Charlie, our nightly face off for which one gets to cuddle daddy has been resolved but him discovering the humidifier.  Before, he would wake up at 4am dry hacking the thin air up here.. now he sleeps off to the side right under the mist, and I get my hubby back. ✌🏼

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He still hogs him during the day, though..

We’ve had friends and family visiting.. like Uncle Greggy!

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Greg had the best intentions of getting Alden this baby hat with his name on it.. but you can see, it could probably fit his whole body in it!.. oops. Someday!
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Grandma and Grandpa Spahn also made their way here on their 50th Wedding Anniversary trip!!! Cheers to them! 🥂👏🏼😍

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We also had great time catching up with these cool cats below (Mortimer Sackler, Matija Pecotic, Kathie A, Connie & Stephen S, Gordon Uehling, and it wouldn’t be a proper dinner without Charlie)

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(And if I look fat here, it’s because I totally am)

By the by, our child smells like baking vanilla creamy dreamyness.. Like creme brûlée, a butterscotch chip blondie, vanilla frosting or oddly, this non-minty smelling mint floss

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A.C Spahnny seems to double in size every time I see him. He now ways 3.2lbs! 🙌🏼
That said, he’s still smaller thank this Sneetch (granted, it is a sizable Sneetch)

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And this Velveteen Rabbit (Hi Timmy Evans!)

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And this blue bear from the Uehling family

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It was wonderful to have Gordon, Rehana, Zen, Zia, and Vickie all here to give Alden their love!! He especially appreciated the lullaby Zia wrote and sang for him 😌🎵

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And who doesn’t love Grandma/Kika’s TLC?!

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Here’s  Kirk on a much deserved Boy’s Night out with Bode Miller and Greg Hill

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And our wall is looking amazing.

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Thank you everyone so much for your care packages, photos, well wishes and most importantly prayers. 🙏🏼
While baby Spahnny is a NICU rockstar in our minds, the poor thing has gone through many needles, IVs, blood draws, antibiotics, Bradies, and hears the constant sounds of beeps and alarms going off, all in his lonely isolette. 😔

His most recent brain scans didn’t show any bleeding (yay), but there did appear to be some inflammation. This grey matter in the scans could be as innocent as a smudge from the computer pixilation, or other something else.. so yea, there’s that.
If you could continue to keep him in your thoughts, please send bright light to his head for a brilliant, sparkling brain free of inflammation!!!! (And his heart murmur, and his gut biome to be healthy from antibiotics, and his lungs to breath well! So yea, just pray for his health, please..!)

Love love love,
Kirk, Jenny, Charlie, and the child we keep accidentally calling Charlie, Alden..
😙

XOXOXO

Week 3-4, March 15

Dear friends and family,
It seems to be that time where y’all are itching for another update.. so here it goes!

The day after my last message little Boo needed a blood transfusion since he was left white and pale from all the blood samples they took from him. But after the infusion he looked pink and vibrant..  it was quite an improvement!

Here he is saying “Yay!” With open eyes!

Additionally, he’s filling out and now weighs a whole 2 lbs, 11 ounces 👊🏼
I mean, he still weighs less than a VOGUE magazine (literally- that thing weighs 4.5 lbs.. it could eat our child), but he’s gone up a diaper size, which is progress.

Here’s is a pic of his first diaper next to a regular New Born’s diaper.

Another pic for perspective.. check out Alden rocking my wedding ring on his wrist. Makes for a super fancy cuff.. 💍

Please note, the IV is off his arm- no more antibiotics! Seems he is clear of the Meningitis scare, his white blood cells look normal, and mama and papa are much relived! 🙏🏼

We’re still Kangarooing him like cray to help him grown with lots of love. 💗

Kirk and I log in about 9-10 hours at the hospital a day. While there is a Chinese water torture aspect to the whole NICU experience in Aurora, Colorado, I’m also shocked at how fast the days have turned.. I mean, look at all those Xs on the month of March already!

Despite the hours in the hospital filling up our days, Kirk still finds time for quality reading..

And since you’re dying to hear about Aurora, here are some pics from our window and our walk to the hospital to show you how happening this place is:

I mean, there isn’t even a Starbucks in sight!

But it’s okay, because we have each other, and now even Charlie’s here.

He’s not quite sure what we’re doing here, but he likes that the garbage in our hotel room is way easier to access than the one in our old kitchen. (Charlie…! 😒)

We’ve been lucky enough to have fun visitors! In addition to our moms, and Kirk’s friend Glenny… Taryn Southern and Blake Spahn were in town for 24 hours to take us out for real food!

And though Aurora may look bleak, there are moments when you catch a breathtaking sunset, look to the heavens and think- Life is Beautiful, and Everything is going to work out, exactly as it should! 😌

Finally, I leave with a message for the little man himself..

XOXOXO