November 2, 2009: What a wonderful day!! On this day, we went to the Erie County Court House, testified under oath and was granted full parental rights of Maria by Judge Bozza (photo right shows us being questioned by our lawyer).
Grandpa Wittgens came to Erie for the occasion, representing Mima (thanks for the amazing books you sent, Mima!). Of course, Busha and Dzia-Dzia were there in spirit (or picture frame)!
We were joined at the court house by lovely friends. Maria's Godparents, Angie and Bryan Amburn and their four lovely children Brandon, Veronica, Alanna and Rebekah. Melissa Violante (known to Maria as "Aunt Dr. Mooo") represented Nick. Greg Schlueter represented for all 8 Schlueters. And Sister Josephine represented the Spiritual Family, The Work (a new religious order from Germany).
November 2nd is quite significant to us. Four years ago, we lost a little boy, Eugene Michael, to miscarriage. Overwhelmed by grief, the Lord spoke clearly to me: "I love you. I love your marriage. I have a plan for your family." Little Gene's due date was Nov. 2. How great is our God!
I am so overwhelmed by everyone who has been following Maria through her first three months with us! From Canada to Brazil, so many people have been following her story and praying for her. Family, friends, our co-workers, friends of friends, and friends of family have been supporting her, and for all of those kind thoughts and prayers, we are eternally grateful.
But lest my sister-in-law Christina Wittgens call me out for being a hypocrite in utilizing the internet to share my life (something to which I'm not usually drawn), I have decided that this blog has served it's purpose.
I started this blog so that family members could receive daily updates on Maria's hospital condition without Joe and I needing to make 10 repetitive phone calls a day. And so, here's one final update:
Maria is doing extraordinarily well! At her last Dr appointment a week ago, she weighed 8 lbs 12 oz. At her usual rate of growth, today she'd be just over 9 lbs! She's long out-grown her preemie clothes, and now her newborn clothes are getting tight. I cannot believe she's into 0-3 month sizes! I remember her little first diaper that she wore when she was only 2 lbs, and now she's grown into size 1. As I left the store the other day, where I went to buy size 1 diapers, I got choked up thinking about how quickly she is growing and how fast all of "this" is moving. I zoomed home and just rocked her while she was still little enough to do so. (I have no idea where the sudden burst of emotions came from, but they certainly overwhelmed me).
Maria saw Dr. Sala recently who was happy to report that her retinopothy has begun to regress!
Dr. Webster said that her reflux is still an issue, but we're having success adding cereal to her formula. The thicker formula I guess is "heavier" and weighs down in her stomach, therefore in theory, it'll stay in her belly. She still spits up, but less often than before the cereal.
Maria sleeps fairly well. On a good night, she'll give me a 3-4 hour block of sleep at night, which is nice.
She is still very sensitive to her environments and gets easily over-stimulated (which results in anywhere from 15 mins to 4 hours of crying to settle her down). So if you see us, and we're hesitant to pass her around, please don't take offence, we're just trying to avoid dealing with an inconsolable baby!
We spent Mother's Day together, just mommy and Maria. Joe was working all weekend in Meadville. Drs. Nick and Melissa had us over for dinner - lots of grilled steak and wine - yummy! We were so grateful for their invitation.
In summary, Maria is healthy, happy (especially when being held), loves to travel in her car seat (thank GOD...here we come MI and Hilton Head!), loves her daddy (and pulling on his chest hairs) and we are so grateful for the gift of her.
And so, to all of Maria's Super Fans...
Thanks for following this beautiful little life. Please continue to pray for her (and us!), and we hope that we can introduce her to everyone soon! Farewell!
PS - Maria hasn't just read "The Hobbit" and "The Fellowship of the Ring". Amy will be so happy to hear that I've begun reading to her "Confessions of a Shopaholic"!
After a long hiatus, here's some photos of Maria's first encounter with Dzia-Dzia! How appropriate that he came to Erie on his way home from Hilton Head, and is sporting a tee-shirt from the Old Oyster Factory, the family's favorite HH restaurant.
We cannot WAIT to bring Maria to Hilton Head. Or rather, maybe we just can't wait to get back to Hilton Head, I don't know which!
Of course Busha was happy to see Maria again - this time out of the hospital! She was very "Busha-like" and was so patient when Maria fussed (and fussed, and fussed and fussed...)
We are pleased to announce that Maria traveled very well to Michigan last weekend! She only required one stop on the six hour trip into Grand Rapids (which was a valuable learning experience for everyone...for example, we learned NOT to bring the binky into the restroom with us).
In Grand Rapids she met many loving aunts, uncles and cousins. Despite her mid-night freak session at her Uncle Pete and Aunt Sara's house, I'm fairly confident that they will remain open to having children at some point...(whew!). Her cousins are eager to show her many things, and among them, I believe Katie wants to teach Maria how to give slobbery kisses with a ketchup and mustard smeared face...Katie is being so patient in waiting to demonstrate.
A very special moment in GR was when Maria got to meet Grandpa Wittgens for the first time in person! I love the way she's eyeing him, "are you sure you're German, Grandpa? I was hoping for a German family..." You have no idea what you've entered into, kid!
On the way back to Erie we stopped in Farmington Hills to introduce Maria to Great-Grandma DeWitt and Uncle Tom! 
I was so glad that Maria could participate in having tea with Great-Grandma...it's a bit of a mommy-grandma thing, and I love Maria getting to be apart of it (even though she spent most of the time be bounced by dad so that she wouldn't get fussy).
She slept the whole 4 hours back into Erie. Thank God! Although I think the weekend was quite taxing, because she spent the next three days at home being a fussy-butt, and let me tell you...tequila shots have never sounded so good...can I get an "Amen" anyone???
(And before anyone starts to worry, know that the bottle never came out of the cabinet).
...
Mommy gets to sneak away to work for a while.
When I came home, here's how I found my little family:
We spent the afternoon together, and after dinner Maria got to hear more about Frodo and Sam's adventures in "The Fellowship of the Ring".
Today I took Maria to see Dr. Webster again. She now weighs 7 lbs 4oz! She's 20inches long. She really is like an average newborn baby! The nurse even told me that Maria is now officially on the growth chart!! She's in the 1st percentile for 3 month old babies! The nurse did not know where Maria stands on her corrected age growth chart, though. Still, the nurse was amazed that Maria even made it onto the growth chart this soon!
Maria also went into work with me this afternoon. She got to meet Mary, Colette, Fr Hahn and Fr. Steve!
As I look at her now, I am floored at how chubby her cheeks are (and before you ask, Dzia-Dzia - I mean her facial cheeks)! So sweet, my little girl is.
We are looking forward to introducing her to the GREAT state of Michigan this weekend!!! Just a few more months away until we can climb the dunes at Hoffmaster with her!
Aunt Lisa and Gramma came to visit last week. Thanks to their help, Maria's clothes have moved from being spread all over the guest bed, to hanging neatly and organized in the closet...whew!
Maria visited the mall for the first time while they were here, too! So sorry, babydoll, that it had to be the Millcreek mall...I would've preferred Twelve Oaks to start...
Maria spent a quiet Easter with mom and dad, but mostly with mom. We drove down to Meadville where Joe is working. We attended (most of) mass together. We arrived late and not-so-quietly. First, we were late leaving the house because I'm still getting used to the extra time it takes to get an infant out of the house (and she's not even spending time primping...what takes so long? I still haven't figured it out). Then we had to drive 45 min to Meadville, and since I'm a new mom, I've given up my "driving like a bat out of hell" habit. And since we no longer live in Michigan, we have to drive speed limits that are set at a snails pace...
We arrived to the Meadville Medical Center to collect Joe, hoping that we would only arrive to mass maybe 5 minutes late... Just as we pulled up, Joe got called to the E.R. "Just gotta check an X-ray, hon...wait for me." Our 5 minute delay turned into more of a ... well... let's just say we were at the church doors by the middle of the 2nd Reading. Just as we were about to enter the joyous Easter celebration inside the Church, Joe got paged at the door... quick call back to the hospital...now we can join the celebration! Except of course there are no seats, and so we had to climb over and under what seemed like everyone in the Church to find a place for the dumb car seat! After mass, we feasted on our Easter Dinner, I mean, our Easter omlette, at Perkins. Washed it all down with a bad cup of coffee and mommy and Maria headed back to Erie so Joe could finish more work. I'm so grateful that I found the whole day hilarious! Oh, how nice it would've been to be in Rome with grandpa...
Easter Afternoon at home...
Maria just loves her swing now that I bothered to buy (and install) batteries!
Maria is so excited for the big championship game tonight! Thanks, Busha and Great Aunt Ellen for this outfit to wear today!
I don't know how many people are still checking this blog, but I thought I'd post some updates.
Thursday night we nested with Maria in a room at Hamot. That night we discovered that Maria's grunting and sleep talking can definitely keep us awake, but we didn't care...we were so happy to be with her all night for the first time!
Maria jumped into life in the DeWitt family with no ceremony. No big party, no visitors, no unnecessary fussing...there was no time for that: Villanova was playing Duke. As you can see, Maria got bored with the game fairly quickly. Don't fret, DeWitt women, I'm sure that Maria will be screaming at the TV with you soon enough.
Maria received many visitors before we left on Friday. Two of the security guards came in, Ms. Francis (Maria's favorite housekeeping staff) came looking for her, and two of her favorite nurses came in to visit on their day off, just to say good-bye. Lisa (on right) was Maria's nurse the day we first met her and Lori (left) was always so excited to be assigned to Maria. Lori is easily embarrassed. When I asked Lori once about cradle cap, she began her answer by describing what "cradle crap" is. She's never lived it down. All the nurses were wonderful with Maria, and we are so grateful for their help. We even enjoyed getting to know them personally!
Speaking of nurses...Joe came home yesterday with literally, arms full of gift bags! The nurses and staff at Shriners threw him a surprise shower at work!! I guess they lured him into the lunch room by saying that everyone was singing happy birthday to one of the girls (and he didn't really understand why it was imperative that he be there for it), but when he walked in, he saw a cake with "Baby" on it, and everyone started to sing "Happy Baby" to him! He was very moved and touched. When he came home and told me the story, I almost cried: partially because all the outfits were so so cute, and more importantly because of their thoughtfulness and generosity. This shower was just another way that we see God's provision for us in the love and support we've received going through this. How humbling. How wonderful.
Now that we're home, we're trying to settle into a routine. Maria got her first bath at home. 
She also needs to have her tummy time to stregthen her core muscles.
Every baby does, I know. But before we left the hospital, Dr. Gilmour showed us some muscle tightness that Maria has due to prematurity. This tightness is normal for preemies, and should go away unless it's Cerebral Palsey (CP), which we won't know for sure until she's around 2 years old. She has some type of hyper extension in her feet, legs back and neck. Dr. Gilmour showed us some exercises to do, and recommended a...wait...my dear big brother Dave, skip the rest of this sentence...the Dr. recommeded a baby massage for Maria! Maria really enjoys the messages. Dr. Gilmour also said "no johnny jumpers and exer-saucers". This instruction was like music to Joe's ears because he and I had debated whether these devices were good for babies or not. Joe said "no" because they discourage core strengthening. I can be wrong once a year, so I didn't mind taking the brief hit.
Maria also has some reflux issues. This reflux is also very typical in preemies. We're doing everything we can to help ease the reflux without medication, and I was relieved to hear Dr. Webster echo our desire to use medication as a last resort. But she does spit up so much, we're holding our breath to see if she can still gain weight despite the reflux.
Speaking of Dr. Webster...we were successful in getting into his practice!! Joe thanked him and acknowledged that we did weasel our way into his office, and Dr. Webster said that he is very happy to take her because he likes the NICU graduates with special needs. He also said that he had heard of Joe from someone at Shriners, so we weren't completely unfamiliar. He showed us how Maria does this gulping thing, holds her breath, and throws her head back, which shows that she's trying to keep some food down. Joe really likes Dr. Webster also. We are relieved to hear that he is very pleased with how Maria is transitioning into home.
We already had one home nurse visit, and she'll visit again at the end of this week. Early Intervention will also be visiting to follow Maria's physical development. Hamot is starting a Development Clinic and Maria will be one of their first clients...If that doesn't work out for some reason, Dr. Gilmour has us set up to bring Maria to Allegheny General in Pittsburgh for their development clinic. I'm so relieved that we can intervene early in her development to give her the best chances for normal growth.
Go State!
Okay everyone, go pull out your U2 playlists and crank up the volume on Beautiful Day.
All three of us are home!
I'll post an update about our nesting experience last night and give a discharge summary, but right now I have to clean the bathroom while Maria is sleeping and Joe is out getting dinner (Yummy sushi...I have such a great husband).
Maria has been officially ordered OFF her monitor!!!! She made it - 7 days with no bradys!!!!
We are so incredibly grateful! Thanks for all the prayers... We're staying at the hospital tonight, and discharge is scheduled for 1pm on Friday.
Oh, my gosh...we're coming HOME!!
...
something interesting today. As I was leaving this afternoon, awaiting the slowest elevator in Erie (found in Hamot's North Wing), Nancy the security guard caught my eye and said, "I've been thinking about you guys all weekend." I thought this was strange, because Nancy has a busy little family of her own (her 15 year old recently assembled an entire car engine by herself, but that's a whole different story). Why would Nancy even think twice about us after she's left work?
She said that she has been feeling very strongly that Joe and I were hand chosen by the Lord to be Maria's parents. Nancy said that she really believes that God meant us to be a family with Maria, and went on with some other sweet and encouraging words. She has no idea about what we went through with the first baby, or about our journey that brought us to adopt...therefore her words were all the more powerful to me. Her voice was shaking a bit like she was nervous, and I can see why. I didn't know that she was a Christian, and she doesn't know that we are. She was going out on a limb to share her faith with us, and I appreciated that. I appreciate how she cares enough about us and Maria even to think about us.
I share this, because, once again this evening, I am overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and prayers we've received from all of you. Our daily encounter with Nancy represents the daily love and support that we receive from you all at a distance.
Okay, enough sap...
Maria did not have any bradys today - thank God!
Here's the plan for Maria's discharge (if there can be such a thing as "a plan" when one is admitted to the NICU):
Maria is scheduled to come on Friday, with or without a moniter. If she has a brady between now and Thursday, we'll do a quick monitor training session and bring her home with it. If no bradys between now and Thursday, she'll come home wireless.
We've been programmed to take things "one day at time" for the last 54 days. Now that we need to begin planning for things, I feel a bit jolted. We have a big week ahead. I think we should call this week, "Summer Camp Week" and adopt the appropriate principal of operation for success: Flexibility, Flexibility, Flexibility.
Joe and I can be like the old Summer Camp directors: He can wear the director's hat, and call me the "cutest girl in the NICU" and I can carry around the pink flamingo and inspect everyone's isolettes in the morning. Then Joe can entertain the crowd, leading them in rousing renditions of "Waltzing with Nurses", instead of "Waltzing with Bears" and I can sit in the background doing all the real work that makes the NICU operate smoothly. We can look for a swimming partner for Maria, but she'll already have lots of kids asking her because she's a big 5 pounder who can bathe in the white area. She'll hog all the chocolate milk at dinner because she's such a snorty pig. At the end of a long day, Joe and I will retire to the boat, where we'll have some beers and cigars with the 3 Amigos. On our way back to the campers, we'll bust some teenagers for making out at the lamp post. And when we're finally done with this week, you can be sure that we'll be singing the Beach Boys' "Sloop John B" all the way home.
Seriously, though...we are excited to have Maria home. We've been trying to get her into the hottest pediatric practice in town, but Dr. Webster (who is like a local celebrity amongst parents here in Erie) is not accepting new patients. So I pulled out my "ask 1 annoying question per day" card and asked Dr. Balsan to call Dr. Webster and tell him how wonderful we are, and would he accept Maria into his practice. Dr. Balsan smiled and said he'd be happy to make the call. I hope it works out. This favor was a bit unfair of me, I must admit. Joe told me once that you can pretty much get a doctor to do whatever you want if you can just get him on the phone...
We're asking for a big miracle, here, and hope that you can join us...
Maria has still not had a bradycardia since Friday. She needs to go seven days without a brady in order to bring her home without a monitor. We want to keep our expectations realistic, which is that most preemies go home with a monitor. However, we are really really hoping that Maria can continue the streak she is on and come home "wire-less" this Friday. With or without the monitor, we are planning to bring her home this week.
Please join us in hoping and praying for this little (but very significant to us) miracle to materialize!
Maria's echo cardiogram came back showing a tiny PDA (ductus). The cardiologist emphasized the word tiny. He wants to see her in 6 months to confirm that the PDA has indeed corrected itself.
Her brain scan results came back "unremarkable"! This result means that her brain is normal (well, so far)! The small cyst she had at the last scan is gone!! I am so incredibly grateful for this one!!
Dr. Balsan said that Maria is on the "launching pad" to come home. He also said that we will need to bring in a crowbar to remove her from the NICU. I love hearing about how attached everyone has become to Maria. She receives regular visits from the housekeeping staff, labor and delivery nurses, and the security guards. One NP said that she arm-wrestled Maria's nurse to gain mid-night feeding rights. I am becoming overwhelmed by how loved she is in the NICU. She's really had very good care.
I got to have a little Sassy McMuffin.
Maria is truly growing up - she sure knows how to communicate her need for food! She was such a sassy pants, I couldn't believe it. She wouldn't let me take her temperature (which needs to happen before she eats). She kept squirming and being sassy, which made it difficult to get an accurate read, which meant that I had to try again, which made her get even sassier, which meant another inaccurate read, etc....it went on and on. I thought it was funny, she didn't. She wasn't crying or even fussing...she really does just get sassy.
Maria received two immunizations this morning, also. She cried out with each shot, but never longer than 3 seconds. She is really a tough muffin. I guess she's gotton used to NICU torture. Before her shots, all the nurses had a story about their kids' shots, and how one kid even burst a blood vessel in his eye because he cried so much. One nurse's husband cried during the shots...Maria just took it like a woman. I was so proud (and relieved!).
When she finally did get a bottle, she released her inner pig, and Snorty McPhee thoroughly enjoyed her liquid pancakes.
Maria had no alarms last night. If she can go seven days without a brady, she can come home without a moniter. Could this be the beginning of her "snapping out" of the bradys???? Could this be the beginning of the miracle for which I've been praying????
Last night Dr. Balsan said that he's thinking that Maria will come home in the middle of next week! I think that's overly ambitious and unrealistic. The nurse agrees with me. I would, however, love to be wrong. Lord knows we want to get her home, but I just don't feel like she's ready. I guess I'm still awaiting my miracle, in which Maria just "snaps out" of her bradys and de-sats and comes home without a monitor.
So far she is tolerating her 9 X 13 pan pretty well and is taking her bottles well with supplemental oxygen during feedings (she's such snorty pig). These two criteria are what determine her discharge, so maybe Dr. Balsan isn't as crazy as I think.
Dr. Sala came this morning to check her ROP. It has not progressed at all (thank God), so he will wait 2 full weeks until he checks her eyes again. I should add here, that Maria did not require a binky or any too-sweet to get through her eye exam. She didn't flinch or cry...she took the torture like a tough little woman, and I just loved hearing all the praise from the NICU staff over what a good girl she is!!
Maria loved her bath last night. She was so relaxed, no Sassy Pants or Sassy McMuffin...just wonderful Maria. I am so proud of her in so many ways!!
...
we'll try not to drop you in the tub!Now that Maria is out of her isolette, and into her "big girl bed" (which looks more like a 9 x 13 pan), we are going to be bathing her! How exciting! I mean, how scary! Tonight's the night of our big bathing debut. We are both much more comfortable handling her, so I'm sure it won't be too bad. If someone would've told me that we'd bathe her eventually, I would've called them a liar - she was so tiny, I was afraid to touch her, and changing her diaper alone threw me into nervous sweats. How far we've come...how far she has come...Today she'll have her echo cardiogram to check the status of her heart murmur. Tomorrow she'll have her brain scan. Saturday and Sunday she'll receive her vaccinations. She has a busy few days ahead of her, so please pray that all goes well. I'm a bit concerned about her brain scan because she's been de-satting so much. I hope that she does not show any additional cycts. I'm also concerned about her ROP since she's been on supplemental oxygen for the last week or so. Dr. Sala was supposed to check the ROP progress on Monday, and as of this morning, no one's seen him still. Even Dr. Balsan said that it's wierd that he's gone MIA. Sala's office has said every day that "he'll be there today", and nothing is happening. I guess the charitable thing to say is that I hope he's okay, but really, I'm less than impressed. Hey Paul...want to take on a pediatric fellowship and re-locate to Erie??? There's obviously plenty of work to be done here!!!
...
and she drank a lot of juice."
Our Chubby Cheeks with no tubes or tape!!
The NP decided to mix things up a bit with Maria yesterday. When I arrived for the 4 o'clock feed, I got the news..."no more telling Maria what to do". She decided to remove Maria from the schedule that she'd been given, which was to eat every 3 hours a certain amount of formula. Forcing her onto a schedule, meant that Maria had been eating while she slept, and because she was always so tired, her alarms were increasing.
NP decided to try to let Maria call the shots: she's allowed to sleep as long as she wants, and we feed her only when she awakes on her own. When she does feed, she eats as much as she wants; she'll even get a free re-fill on her bottle, if she desires. I was so relieved to hear this, as Maria could actually finish a nap!
When Maria is alert, it is usually for about 90 mins at a time, now. On her old schedule, she would only have about 90 mins to sleep before she'd be woken up again! This new schedule is (so far) much better.
She has actually fallen into a pattern of eating every four hours instead of every 3. When she eats, she has been eating 2 full ounces (which is about 15 cc's more than her former feeds). She kept this schedule for the last 12 hours, and alarmed much less during feeds (she does still get supplemental oxygen during feedings, though). We are so much happier knowing that Maria is more comfortable: while both eating and sleeping.
