7 Weeks Old

Addison is doing wonderful at home. She is growing so fast! Yesterday she fit into a regular newborn outfit. The preemie clothes still fit, but so do the newborn size. That makes me realize I am not imagining things, she is getting bigger. We have discovered her (and our) new favorite thing....the swing. She loves to be in it. She is also getting to the point where she wants to be where we are and her swing is in the living room. She doesn't want to be in her crib (in our bedroom) unless we are in there. We are also "spoiling" her because she will not just lay in the crib and fall asleep. She has to be held to fall asleep and then go into the bed. In fact, I am sure everyone thinks we are horrible parents, but she even sleeps in bed with us a lot. She makes me feel bad because she cries like she is scared in the crib at night. We are just getting use to things. I am sure she will not be 23 and in our bed, right?

She looks kinda 60's....groovin

Just chillin at home....what we do everyday

The Wyres family (great aunt, uncle, and 2nd cousins) came to visit last Sunday

She moves all over her crib....even sideways???

The famous "Swing" - SHE LOVES IT! Thanks Uncle Brian and Aunt Bridget

I LOVE this picture, just wish it wasn't blurry. She is looking around like, "What? It's just me swingin"

It was so much fun she starts to doze to sleep.

I always tell people she sucks her thumb, but she never does it in mixed company. Every time I pick up the camera she moves it. This was the only time I have been able to catch her in the act. Even Eric hasn't seen her do it.

The first "newborn size" outfit and it fits! She is getting so big. :)

Settling In...

We are starting to really settle into a routine and feel like a family. I still sometimes look at her and think, "Is this really mine?" Eric and I spend hours a day holding her and watching her grow. She is starting to do things that make her seem like her own person. She definitely has likes and dislikes. Tomorrow we go to the eye doctor and I am somewhat nervous. I know what they have to do to her and I am just hoping I don't have to be in the room, or if I do it is just to comfort her. Here are some weekly pics...

Our dear friends Daniel and Lauren came over last night and Daniel held Addi for the first time. It was the VERY first baby he has ever held. Addi feels special to be the first one. :)

Eric didn't want me to post this, but....this is what we do in the mornings. Eric has to get his "princess" and hold her while I get the morning feeding ready. Sounds simple, but we like it.

My new favorite thing that Addison does is squirm herself to the very bottom left corner of her bassinet. No matter where we put her, she will move to this "special" spot. She likes her forehead against the side and her feet against the bottom??? Must feel secure, who knows.

Home Sweet Home

It has been so nice having Addison home. Everyone keeps asking us if we are exhausted, but honestly, it was so emotionally exhausting going to the hospital 3-5 times a day that this seems easy. I shouldn't say easy, maybe more relaxing. She is such a good baby. We are lucky to be her parents. When we went to the doctors office on Friday she weighed 4 lbs 4 oz. She is growing so fast. It's hard to believe it, but I thinks she looks so "big". I'm sure a term baby would look gigantic to me. We don't go back to the pediatrician until July 14th. I'm thinking by then she will weigh between 6 and 7 pounds. Maybe not, but we will see. She has her eye doctor appt on Friday. Please pray that all is well and her eyes are developing normally. Other than that, things have been pretty normal around here. I'm thinking we have a thumb sucker though. I try to pull out her finger and replace it with a pacie, but she isn't having any part of it. I try and capture it on camera, but she just pulls it out right when I get the camera ready. Oh well, there are plenty of other things to stress about less important that her sucking her thumb.

Here are some photos from this week.

I'm ready Dr.Radimecky

Napping with Mom

Sleeping Beauty

This is when I managed to take out her fingers and squeeze in her pacie. It lasted about as long as it took me to take this picture.

My first bath!

She actually did really good. She didn't cry, just made silly faces. But - she really liked getting her hair washed. The nurses use to tell me that, but I now see what they mean.

All done!

Welcome Home Addi

It's been kind of crazy the past couple of days. On Sunday they told us she would be coming home this week sometime. Then, on Tuesday they told us we would be "rooming in" and going home on Wednesday. So...we rushed home to get everything ready for her arrival. Rooming in went well, but we were excited to get home and settle in. When we left the hospital Wednesday morning she weighed 4 lbs 1 oz. She came home exactly 5 weeks from her birth. At this point we just pray that Addison continues to grow and develop into a healthy young lady.

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We are settling into a routine quite nicely. One of the benefits to her being in the NICU is that she came home on a very structured schedule. She wakes up every three hours (12, 3, 6, 9) - actually, we wake her up. We take her temperature, change her diaper, feed her, and put her back down. Other than that, she sleeps. She does not ever cry unless something is wrong. It is so nice to have a scheduled routine already established. For those of you who know me well, you know how much I appreciate that! :)

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We want to thank all of our friends and family for the overwhelming amount of support. Please just know that we need some time as a family before introducing visitors. Addison can't wait to meet everyone, but doctors say she needs at least 6 weeks at home in isolation and then 3 months before venturing out into the world. We want Addi healthy and safe. We will continue to make posts so everyone can see how she is growing. :)

Rooming In -

We relaxed and enjoyed our baby girl with the comfort of knowing the nurses were close by.

I'm ready to go Mom!

We introduced our other babies (Franklin and Chica) -

They were not exactly sure what to think. They just sniffed and moved on. Franklin (our Yorkie) tried very hard to ignore her. I think he may be just a bit jealous. Chica was a little scared of her when she made any noise.

Addison in her own bed right next to Mommy and Daddy's. I think she likes this bed much more than the hospital one.

Look Mom...No Tubes

The end of the race is in sight...maybe. It seems as though they are preparing us for discharge. I am essentially giving her all her feedings (excluding the 3 and 6 a.m.). I mix her milk, change diapers, check temperature, and help with bath and weight when I am there for the midnight feeding. They did several screenings today...hearing, a sonogram on her brain to check for development, and an Echo. That is the only concerning part. The nurse "briefly" mentioned that she heard a murmer and ordered an Echo to be done. She said not to worry, she needed one anyways. The doctor said they just wanted to make sure they didn't overlook anything. So...more prayers. We will find out in the morning the results. On another note, she has a pediatrician appt scheduled for Friday morning at 11:00 and an eye doctor appt scheduled for next Friday. I know I am partial, but I think she is the most beautiful baby I have ever seen. :) (Every Mom gets to think that, right?)

Daddy and his "Princess"

She loves her pacie

Tonight was her car seat check -

This is where they put her in her carseat for 90 minutes while still hooked to the monitors to determine if she is able to maintain her vitals. This is a very close sign to going home. :)

She was wide awake the whole time, looking around wondering what was going on.

She loves her Boppy!

One Month Old

If you can believe it, Addi gained three ounces today! She weighed in at 3 lbs 12.7 oz. They said she will probably lose a little weight today since they made so many changes that would burn calories, but the weight gain was awesome. So, the changes - she now eats two out of three feedings. That means the only goal left to accomplish is to take all feeding by bottle. They said unless there are unexpected problems that arise, she will be home very soon. Right now, I am just at the hospital constantly to feed her - including the midnight feeding. I can't help it, I just want to be there. She has managed to maintain her body temperature so she is officially in the open crib. They have stopped fortifying her milk and now just add formula to the breast milk to increase the calories. This is what I will do when we come home. Pretty much everything they are doing right now is to simulate what we will do at home. Sometime this next week they will do a car seat check in which she will sit in her seat for 90 minutes while hooked up to the monitors to see how she does. She is officially looking very big to me. :)

The pictures are getting a little out of control, I realize. But as many as I post...there are 10 times as many on my camera.

Precious Baby

My new "big girl" bed

We had to bring her a cute blankie, the ugly hospital ones would not do

Addi and Daddy

Some of her clothes are a little big, but she still looks cute in them.

This is the full tummy, content, Addison look.

Sleepy time

Wide awake and with NO feeding tube - Thanks Nurse Stormy

Just looking around...