Enjoying our visitors...

Mackenzie has been having quite a few visitors stop in and meet her! She surely loves all of the new faces. It's nice to have people over since we aren't able to go out in public quite yet with her. Maybe we'll have an abnormally warm February and then we can bust out of the house!

Check out some of our visitors...

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Osika Family!

Our Christmas wish came true when we knew we would have Mackenzie home with us for the holidays! We couldn't have asked for anything more. We have spent the day lounging in our pajamas and enjoying every moment with our little girl.

Happy Holidays from our family to yours!

Watch me grow...

Mackenzie had her second doctor's appointment today, 12/23/09, for another weight check. We were very pleased to see that she gained another 4 oz since her last visit. She now weighs 4lbs 13oz, one pound more than her birth weight. She has another appointment in two weeks on January 7th and then her 2 month well visit on January 27th.

Mommy and Daddy gave Mackenzie her first bath at home, without the help of all the NICU nurses. We were very fortunate to get lots of tips from the nurses during her 3 week stay. We feel like our transition home has been easier due to the teaching we received in the NICU. Mackenzie appears to really enjoy her bath time, especially getting her hair washed! Afterwards she did k-care (kangaroo) with Daddy to get her warmed up.

Home Sweet Home

The Osika Family quickly settled into a nice little routine with the homecoming of our little peanut on Wednesday, December 16th. Cheyenne, our foster puppy, is already Mackenzie's little watch dog. She always goes over and checks on her if she makes any noises or fusses, which is very rare. We are very fortunate in that Mackenzie is a very content baby. She sleeps until she is woken up for her feedings, every 3 hours (8am, 11am, 2pm, 5pm, 8pm, 11pm, 2am, 5am).

Mackenzie had her first doctor's appointment yesterday, December 18th. We were very pleased when we saw that she had gained a little over 2 oz. since she got discharged from the hospital. She is now 4lbs 9oz.

Andy was able to take off from work on Thursday, December 17th to help us all get settled into our new environment. Andy has been absolutely wonderful. I couldn't ask for a better husband and father. He is a natural with Mackenzie. Seeing him interact with our little girl will never get old. It brings joy to my heart to see him express his lover to her.

Enjoy some of the pictures of our first few days at home!

Welcome Home Mackenzie Reese...

After 3 weeks and 1 day in the NICU, Mackenzie Reese was discharged today around 4pm. We have already had 2 feedings and 2 diaper changes and things are going fantastic.

Thank you again for all of you who continued to keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Mackenzie is lucky to be loved by so many.

We will continue to keep you updated as we embark on this new adventure at home with our little peanut!

All our love,

Andy, Melissa & Mackenzie

All I want for Christmas....

Date: December 14, 2009
Age: 20 days
Gestational Age: 36 weeks, 3 days
Weight: 4lbs 3oz.

We received great news today from the doctors.....if all continues to go well with feeding and Mackenzie continues to gain weight, she'll be coming home on Wednesday, 12/16/09. Hip Hip Hooray! All I wanted for Christmas was to have my little girl home. I am crossing my fingers and toes that my wish comes true!

She also received another change in her orders today, she was bumped up to 40mL per feeding. However, she'll also be trying "ad lib" feeding. This just means that when she chooses to stop eating, she'll be done. In the past, they would always put anything she didn't eat down her feeding tube (which she hasn't had for almost 48 hours). She ate all 40mL at both her 11am and 2pm feedings. In addition to the change in her feeds, she no longer has to wear her pulse ox on her foot. She is down to just having one cord, her leads.

The last thing she'll need to do is pass the car seat test. This is where they put her in her car seat for 90 minutes and monitor how she does. They say that most babies don't have a problem with this. If things go well tonight and tomorrow, they'll most likely do this test on Tuesday evening.

Anxious for the big day.....

Hungry Hungry Hippo....

Date: December 12, 2009
Age: 18 days old
Gestational Age: 36 weeks, 1 day
Weight: 4lbs 3oz.

Mackenzie received a change in her orders during the 9am rounds. We were told that we can now try to breast or bottle feed her every 3 hours (previously only doing every other feeding). If she isn't up for it they will continue to use her feeding tube. This is the huge step we have been waiting for. We knew that the feedings were the last thing on her checklist to accomplish before she could go home.

Mackenzie is definitely showing signs of hunger today. Until today, she never really fussed at all before her feedings. She just kept on sleeping. Today we really started to notice that she lets it be known that she is hungry.

Our little peanut also gained another ounce. She now weighs 4lbs 3oz. It's great to hear nurses say that she is getting bigger when they come back from having a few days off. Andy and I have also noticed that her cheeks are starting to fill out a bit more.