Week 16- June 11th

October 4, 2017October 4, 2017 / jennyalden / Leave a comment

Week SIXTEEEEEEN…

Well the good news is, we made a pretty cute munchkin who is more alert, interactive, and amazing by the day..👍🏼

In other news.. We are. STILL. IN. The HOSPITAL 🏥

It seems that falling asleep while feeding isn’t the only problem..

Alden has a lot of discomfort into his feeding, and has even showered us in some pretty impressive projectile vomiting..🌋

Some theories are:
-Acid Reflux, -Pyloric Stenosis, -irritation from the feeding tube, -food sensitivity
Results from the Acid Reflux and Pyloric Stenosis tests were inconclusive, so he’s getting another ultrasound on Monday to check. Fingers crossed it’s not PS, because that would mean a little stomach surgery…!

When Alden‘s not dreaming of coming home..

He’s working on his tennis game. Needs to keep his eye on the ball.. 🎾

He still enjoys Kangaroo Care-

But is much more awake during it and prefers to gaze at his book collection than sleep.

(Sorry that pic doesn’t feature more of Kirk’s chest for you 😉

In case you’re wondering, my plan is to stop peppering your Sunday in-boxes with these updates once he comes home. Then I will transfer them to a family blog where you can check in to see his progress if you like 🙂
So here’s to having next weekend be The. LAST. email update… ! Or else- we might get the Alden Stink-Eye, which is just as scary as Ice Cube’s..

(Kirk wonders, does this make our kid.. Vanilla Ice?)

Love Always,
The Spaldens.. aka the brilliant artists behind this tennis platter and dog dish
#We❤️ColorMeMine!

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 10- April 30th

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

Dear Friends and family,

The peanut is coming along! Weighing in at 5lbs 12 ounces, he’s a little bruiser!

He’s really getting a hang for the passie

And he loves story time.

Here’s a pic of him holding my hand while listening to daddy read him a book.

And here’s that same pic of him next to Mommy as a baby in the 20th century..

He does Tummy Time on our chests when we ‘roo him, and the other day he got himself into this position..

Here he is celebrating the comb-over look

While it’s harder to have visitors in our small space here than our palatial pod in Denver, we’ve had some friends and family make the trip..

A.C got to meet his Grandpa, Daddy Ellis! IMG_1540 (1).JPG

And Jesse Draper..

And my cutie nieces fell in love with their new cousin..

Derek and Kirk look like proud parents here..

And Alden‘s loving the blondes with Aunt Lindsey and Helena!

Thank you to the Powell family for having us over for Sunday Indian food and game night!

And speaking of Yum, I discovered that if you ask- they’ll make you the most delicious Mint Chip milkshake at the Menlo Grill (Stanford Park Hotel)

And finally, Charlie’s back to hogging my hubby

According to “the Bump” ap I’m over 36 weeks pregnant and due to give birth in 3 weeks and 4 days!

Our goals for Alden are to keep breathing (ha), get off the gentle flow of oxygen, keep putting on weight steadily, drink from the bottle, breastfeed, and be the happiest little baby we can possibly raise

XOXO

The Spaldens

PS! We will be in LA for the Milken Global Conference where Joon Yun is speaking on Longevity. Tuesday, May 2nd, we’ll be celebrating Kirk’s 40th BIRTHDAY!!! If you’re in LA and want to join, please email me for details.

PPS: I realize Kirk’s hairy chest is a popular feature of these updates. I’m sorry to not have one this week, but worry not, there are surely more to come..

Week 9- April 23rd

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

Dear Friends and Family,

I was going to give you a break on the updates, but many are still checking in (very sweet

) , so here’s a quick one to show you his progress 🙂

Here’s our little guy right after Kirk fed him his very first bottle – I think he liked it!

He’s also rocking the binky. Awesome for a kiddo who’s still over a month away from his due date!

And he’s sporting some pretty cool hats these days..

and opening his eyes wider when he’s awake..

Gearing up for Dartmouth, he follows the pages when we flip them as we read him books. (His favorite is Giraffe’s Cant’ Dance

)

As of today, Alden weighs over 5lbs!! He’s almost 5 times bigger than his first week of life. With his due date being May 24th, we should be bringing home a real sized newborn!

XOXO

Spaldens

8 Weeks = 2 Months! April 19th, 2017

June 25, 2017July 8, 2017 / jennyalden / Leave a comment

Dear Friends and Family,

Happy Easter and belated Passover!

Today our little boy is 34 weeks, and 2 months out of mama.

It was a BIG week for the Spaldens! Here we are on our last day in the U of Colorado NICU, in cardinal red and Stanford gear- ready for the big move!

Mr. Alden Charles Spahn must have known exactly what was up, because he was very wide eyed and alert that day.

Mama explained the trip ahead, and while he was excited to go to California, he knew he would miss all the wonderful caregivers in Colorado who lovingly tended to him during his first weeks of life.

As we took a last lap around the NICU, Kirk started crying, and then I did too… So many feelings, and memories..!

An awesome team arrived to transport the peanut into a massive capsule for his flight out west.

He fit in snug as a bug…

It was tricky trying to maneuver the capsule into the small jet..

But our team figured it out!

We enjoyed scenic views out the window..

And then we Arrived…!But then….
☠️

DISASTER.

In the spirit of trying to stay positive, I will spare you the dissertation I could write on the horrors of the Stanford NICU, and simply say… it was like going from rolling green pastures, to a loud, bright, chaotic, metal farm factory surrounded by sick babies with no privacy, space, or quiet to kangaroo our child.
When I told Kirk on the phone, he thought I was exaggerating.. then he walked in, froze, and declared: “We need to get th F- out of here”

Thus began a 24 hr panic/sob fest where were wracked our brains to get back to the free range fields of our Colorado NICU. We would pay out of pocket if we had too..

WHEN…

baby boy did something marvelous!With the help of sea level air, A.C got off of his hi-flow tube onto Low flow, which qualified him for a level 2 NICU. The very next day we got a transfer to Sequoia hospital, a much more peaceful space that serves as a satellite nursery for Stanford

While Sequoia is still not as great as the U of Colorado- it is a zillion times better than Stanford, and we are relieved and Grateful to be there.

Seeing the Dr. Seuss quote there made made us feel at home..

But WOW, guys.. How LUCKY were we to end up in Colorado in the first place!?! I was appreciative then, but even more so now that I know what’s out there. We must have angels.

In the meantime, Great aunties Betsie and Barbie have visited our boo

And we’re back on the Kangaroo program….

While you may think this is a Sears catalogue shoot for discount pashminas, it’s actually my besties visiting me in Woodside enjoying the fresh, brisk air.

Thank you Julie, Janelle and Kristien for making the flight up north!

Charlie too loves his walks in Woodside..

Inline image 1

On Saturday we had a family reunion in Atherton..

And then another one in Woodside for Easter..

Overall, Alden is doing great. He’s had few episodes (de-sats and bradies) due to the new low-flow, changes and adjustments.. but he’s our little champ.

Thank you all for letting us share this journey with you so far.. !

Xoxo

The Spladens