Hattie the Television Star 1/30/13

January 30, 2013Melissa

Dr. Alexander examined Hattie this morning. Over the last few days we noticed her respirations were slow, then very fast, then normal, then fast again, etc. Dr. A said this is expected for a preemie and Hattie will outgrow it. It's called periodic breathing and is caused from immaturity of the breathing center in the brain. Hattie's feeds have increased to 23 cc of milk plus the fortifiers and liquid protein. Dr. A also ordered Lotrimin for an irritation on Hattie's belly from her diaper. Hattie must be one of Dr. Alexander's favorite patients because someone from the hospital came to us yesterday and informed us they would be filming a national commercial for MasterCard and the Arnold Palmer Foundation and Dr. A chose Hattie to be in it! They told us the film crew would arrive at 10 a.m., so Kristi and I got to the hospital bright and early to make sure we were there for Hattie's television debut! It wasn't until around 12:45 p.m. that they finally arrived for the shoot.

The film crew turned on every light in Hattie's room and set up their cameras and other equipment. They filmed Hattie in her bed; she acted like a star and put on a show for them by opening her eyes and moving her little arms. They also filmed the nurse and me changing Hattie's diaper. Then Dr. A did a staged exam on Hattie and interacted with me and the nurse for b-roll. The whole thing lasted about 20 minutes. The 30-second commercial will air on NBC once per day during the Arnold Palmer Invitational golf tournament March 23-24, 2013. We hope Hattie makes the cut!

I held Hattie like a baby for the first time today! Since Hattie was wide awake when it was time to hold her the nurse suggested I cradle her rather than kangaroo. She said they always prefer kangarooing but cradling is better for interaction. I couldn't take my eyes off of her! I studied every part of her sweet face. I stared into her eyes as she looked back at me and I talked to her for almost an hour. I told her how brave she is and how proud we are of her, and how she's doing so good growing big and strong. I told her that we can't wait for her to come live at our house with us and how God is in control and is holding her in His hands.

Promise me you'll always remember: you're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.
—Christopher Robin

Tonight, Chris got to pick Hattie up out of her bed and place her on the scale to be weighed. Hattie weighs 1,192 grams or 2 pounds, 10 ounces. Chris picked Hattie up off the scale and placed her in his shirt to start kangaroo care. Right before he sat down in the chair, Hattie lifted her head and looked up at Chris like she was saying, "hi Daddy!" Be still my heart! We love that we're getting to be more hands on with our baby girl and do some of the work the nurses usually do.