Happy 3rd Birthday Ava!!

So, Ava turned THREE today! Isn't that kinda crazy how fast she's grown!?!? I think so. Lately, she is seeming SO grown up. Kinda cool, but a little sad that time has to go so fast. :) It's actually been more like a birthday week. We celebrated her birthday with a popsicle pool party with our extended family at my parents house this past weekend. She had a BLAST!! She always does when she gets to swim with her cousins, aunts, uncles, and daddy! She swam and swam and swam for the entire afternoon and had SO much fun!

She had a cupcake tower for her birthday cake. She asked for sprinkles and M&M's (because Keegan had M&M's on his cake a week earlier! And she LOVES her some Keegan)!

Some cute little party favors....

Here she is while we're singing her "Happy Birthday"- look at her sweet face. And her cousin, Keegan, is being such a sweet boy too!!

A birthday family picture. (Of course, Bella wasn't able to be there, but we thought about her a lot).

A sweet one of Ava and Patrick. I love her face here. After this picture, she proceeded to put that pink princess birthday hat on his head!!

Had to show off her super cute birthday dress I got at Baby Gap for next-to-nothing. It was like the best sale ever! :)

At first, she wouldn't dream of jumping off the diving board like this. But after seeing Keegan fearlessly jump 500 times, she got the courage. Then she couldn't stop!
And jumping to Aunt Sarah!

This is her opening on of her most favorite presents- a Dora microphone that plays all sorts of songs and also lets you karaoke into it. It's very loud...and there's no way to turn it down! (Thanks Grandpa Mike and Bobbi)! ;) It was one of the very first gifts she opened- after that she just wanted to play with it. It was all we could do to make her open the rest of her presents. (Which, by the way, everyone did such a great job getting her things that she loves!! Lots of activities, some great books, games, dress up clothes...all sorts of good stuff)!
She didn't want to let go of her microphone. She didn't want anyone else to hold it for her while she finished looking at her presents....look at her holding it in one hand while opening her present with the other! That's talent. :)Giving us a little show! :)
Eating a popsicle (a red one, of course, to match "her pretty red hair")!

Today, on her actual birthday, she decided she wanted to go on a boat ride and "swim in the middle of the lake." Well, we told her why it's not really a good idea to swim in the middle of the lake, but she was perfectly happy beaching the boat and playing in the water there! We went to the local marina, and she got to pick out some treats...anything she wanted from the whole place. She picked a bag of pretzels and a Tootsie Pop! I love this girl. She's so much fun. :)
Enjoying her birthday treat!

Later- Pop, Michee, and Bobbi (Grandpa Mike was out of town for work) came over for dinner and birthday cake. We were singing here, and she was just SO excited to blow out the candles!! Of course, as soon as the candles were blown out, her finger went right into the icing!

So, Ava has had a BLAST this birthday week. I can't believe she's three! For the past 6 months, she's been talking about how she's gonna stop sucking her "taggie" when she turns three. (She has a blanket that has a tag that she sucks and nap and bedtime. It's totally gross after about 2.5 years of kid slobber on it)! Anyway, once she realized she was almost 3, she said, "I switched my mind. I'm not gonna stop sucking my taggie when I'm three. I'm gonna stop sucking my taggie when I'm 10 or 20 years old." No joke! Totally came out of this 3 year old's mouth! Hahaha! Made me laugh. :) It's been a fun, but busy week.

The day Ava turned 3 years old is the same day that Bella turned 3 weeks old. We're sad that Bella had to miss all the fun, but we will have another celebration when Bella comes home! I cannot WAIT for that!! She's doing great- eating much better. She's finished a few of her feedings completely by mouth, which is so awesome. And she's doing great with nursing! And that makes me so happy. I know it'll be a long road to transition her to exclusive nursing, but I'm gonna work very hard to make that happen. Hopefully, Bella is up for it! Her doctor things she'll be able to come home this coming week....so, I'll keep you posted! Meanwhile, here are a few pictures:I just think she's so beautiful. But I'm a little biased. :)

Uncle Steve came for a visit and got to hold her for the first time! For those of you still reading, thank you! It takes a great effort to do these blog posts, and I love hearing that people are still reading! Leave a comment when you come by, I LOVE reading them!

Miss Fuzz

We're on day 19 in the NICU.

Today, I looked at her and a few quiet tears rolled down my face. I love her so much, and I miss her. And I'm so ready for her to be home. I want her to be with me. Only problem is...she's not quite ready. She's getting there, though.

She ate her very first full feeding this morning before I got there. That's a big step. Her doctor up'ed the two/day bottle feedings to three/day. She's been doing better with not spitting up- and she's up in weight to 4lbs 5.5oz! We'll see how she does over the next few days.

She's been having some more bradycardias lately (decreased heart rate). They (the nurses/doctor) say it's still something that's expected for a preemie and is still in the normal range....something she'll eventually grow out of. She's still on a daily dose of caffeine since she's been having these episodes and will likely continue until they resolve.

She's been placed on her right side a lot, and therefore, the right side of her head is getting a little flat (see first picture). Before I left, I asked the nurse to please lay her on her left side for a while. She may think I'm crazy, bu the right side of her skull needs room to stretch! Her nurse was very nice, of course, and said that wouldn't be a problem.

For a few days, I was thinking that maybe she was heading toward having blonde hair like her daddy. But today, her hair looked golden...or strawberry, maybe? Not red like Ava's, but not blonde like Patrick's. It'll be interesting to see what it ends up being. They must have washed her hair last night, cause it was SO fluffy and fuzzy this morning! LOOK at it! So freakin' cute. :)

She was making faces when I took this picture just before I left. But, I see a little of Ava here...just a few of her features. I think Bella may end up being a mini Patrick, though. We'll see!
Her doctor still says we're looking at about another week or so...so long as her feedings improve to the point where she's eating all feedings (nursing or bottle) by mouth. Keep the prayers coming!

NICU Day 17

Doesn't that sound like a long time? 17 days? Geez, how did that happen?


Our first family-of-four picture!! Cute, huh?! :)

Well, Bella is still about the same- slowly improving all around. Her weight gain continues to be steady and she's tipping the scales at 4lbs 3.3oz!! She's gained close to an ounce a day for the past several days...so, that's wonderful! I think she may be close to 5lbs when she gets to come home. I think I might even see a little chub in those cheeks! ;) (Sorry about the poor quality, it was taken with the iPhone in less that great light).
Her eating is improving a bit, too. Yesterday, she took 27cc (almost 1 oz.) from a bottle! Today she took 20cc. She's improving, slowly but surely, with taking a bottle. As far as nursing goes, she usually does latch on several times and gets a little milk from me...but it's not a lot. It will be a work in progress for probably quite some time. :) Typically, babies don't get the "suck, swallow, breath" combo (necessary for eating!) until 34 weeks gestation. She'll be there in a few days, and the nurses and doctors seem to think that it's likely that she'll "take off" when she gets to that point. We just have to wait for her brain to make the neurological connection- it'll come. But can't it hurry?!?

More sister time. :)

Here, Ava was holding her hand and saying, in a very sweet and soft voice, "Hi Bella." Such a sweetie.

Bella passed her hearing test with flying colors. She's even got a little certificate to prove it. :) Good news is good news...whatever it is!

Meanwhile, I'm still a crazy pumping machine. I must admit it's getting a little tedious...every 3 hours. But, I am getting quite a supply built up! I dream of the day that I'm JUST nursing and not pumping! I really hope that day eventually comes....cause I'm not sure how much longer I can keep up with the pumping. It's exhausting...and a little (I'm being nice here) uncomfortable. Patrick said he's even tired of pumping...AND HE DOESN'T HAVE TO PUMP! I have a phone alarm that goes off every 3 hours so I don't let the time get away from me, and he's SO over hearing that! So, anyway, I'll keep it up at least until Bella comes home....then I've got several months to save milk...so, I wont have to be so crazy about it! By the way, we had to buy a new freezer for all that milk! We were out of room! Check it out!
I know I say the same thing a lot, but I just want everyone out there to know how much we appreciate the continued prayers for Bella so that she can come home soon. She's doing great, and we know how fortunate we really are. We have been blessed with a 9-weeks-early healthy baby girl, and we really can't ask for more than that. So, thank you a trillion times to everyone who has said a prayer on behalf of our Bella bug.

NICU Day 15

Is it even possible that we've been doing this for 15 days?! It doesn't seem like it, somehow. Then again, I can't even think about having to do this for several more weeks. I know the other day her doctor said 7-10 days, but today he said it'll probably be about 2 more weeks. So, that's 14(ish) more days...ugh. I'm still not cleared to drive, which is kinda a big, huge pain since I have to rely on others to get me to where I want to me. When Patrick drives me, which is almost every time, we've either got to bring Ava with us or have someone available to watch her. Thank GOODNESS for our family who have been so wonderful and willing to take Ava and help in any other way needed! Not sure what we'd do without them!

Bella is slowly, but steadily, improving all around. She's up to 4lbs 1.5oz. Apparently, there was some confusion about her birth weight- I said it was 4lbs 1.3oz, but it's actually 4lbs 1.7oz. So, she's almost back to her birth weight now! Yay!Her breathing has been pretty good. She's gonna have the caffeine for a few more days. She's had a few episodes of bradycardia (decreased heart rate) in the past few days, which is typical of a preemie. She will eventually outgrow these episodes- definitely by the time she reaches her full gestation age (my original due date, September 22nd). Though, we're hoping a few more days on the caffeine will help to alleviate this problem.

She took her first big feeding through a bottle today- she took 27cc (full feeding is 37cc)! She got the other 10cc through her feeding tube. This is good news! Once she takes a full feeding, then they'll start to attempt bottle feeding more often. The goal is to have her eat 8 full feedings completely by mouth. Then she'll be ready to go home...but not until then. I will continue to attempt nursing- she still gets a teeny bit of milk from me, but not much. I'll keep working at it. I just want her getting her full feedings for now (however that is)...I can work on how she gets that (nursing vrs. bottle) once I get her home and can work with her at every feeding. We probably have a challenging nursing road ahead, but I just want her home, first and foremost.Grandpa Mike got to come by on his lunch break today for a quick visit with the little burrito! :) She was a VERY sleepy burrito today!Everyone, please continue to pray for Bella's strength and continued improvement with her feedings. I want her home with her family. Thank you, thank you!

Big Sister Day!

Ava got to hold her little sister today for the first time! She was SO sweet and gentle with her! She must have held her for 10 minutes. The first time I asked her if she was done holding her, she said "no, I want to hold her for longer." :) Cute, huh?! (For you people who are freaking out- (Ashley!), Ava was properly sanitized prior to holding her)!

Patrick was always very close, just in case. But Ava did very well and didn't move at all and did exactly what she was told to do...our little rule follower! :)
I couldn't just pick one or two pictures cause there were so many REEEEALY cute ones, so I picked several to share! Look at Ava's face looking at Bella. She loves her already. She will be a wonderful big sister.
Kisses from Ava- doesn't get much sweeter than that.
Another view! She spit up a little bit when Patrick was holding her, so I changed her clothes (which, by the way, is QUITE a challenge with all those leads and wires...not to mention her teeny size)! And when I got her all swaddled up, she was wide-eyed and so sweet. Just look at her...
Okay- a Bella update! Well, she's gaining good weight now- she gained 39 grams yesterday to bring her total weight up to 4lbs even!!! Almost at her birth weight which was 4lbs 1.3oz. She's been doing well with her eating with very few spit-ups. Her volume is where it should be for her weight now, which is great!! I introduced her to her first bottle attempt- which is great cause she's GOT to learn how to eat through her mouth for 8 feedings a day before she can go home. They only put 5cc (1 teaspoon) in the bottle, but she did pretty well. She spit out the first 1cc but took the rest like a champ. :) She's doing great in the crib, too. Her doctor said as long as things continue to go well, we could be looking at getting her home in the next 7-10 days. Now, having said that, there's really no way to predict that since it's all based on what he thinks Bella will do in the near future. Personally, I'd be surprised if it happens that early...trying NOT to get my hopes up. So, anyway, overall, she's pretty darn perfect. :)

One more picture of Ava! Here, we're going to visit Bella. She's been such a trooper and so wonderful during all this. One of the nurses gave her a preemie bottle to play with for her doll babies. Although, she likes to put water in there and drink from it herself. Regressing, perhaps? Who knows...but she's awfully cute! :)
So, don't judge, but I recently got a few episodes of Diego on my iPhone, and let me tell you, they are wonderful in a pinch! There's been so much going on since Bella's unexpected arrival and we spend LOTS of time in the hospital and the car (the hospital is 45 mins away with no traffic). So, every now and then I let her watch an episode on my phone. She gets a huge smile on her face when I give it to her. :) (Notice her shoes on her lap...she always asks if she can take her shoes off in the car...a true southern girl)!
And one more thing, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my nephew, Keegan, who turned 3 yesterday! We celebrated with some cake at Michee and Pop's house, but I didn't manage to take any pictures with my own camera...maybe I can snag some from my mom. I always love getting the kids together cause they have SUCH a great time together!! We love you, Keegan!!!

Bella got Upgraded!!

Notice anything different?!?!
She upgraded from the incubator to the crib!! YAY!! :) At the end of our visit today- they rolled in the crib and said they were switching her over! We'll have to see how she does at regulating her own temperature with no help at all. She sure does look all nice and snug swaddled like a little burrito! Just one more step to coming home! Don't get too excited though, because we're likely looking at 2.5-3 more weeks in the NICU if everything continues to go well...but, hey, it's a step, right?! We're on day 11 now....only 18 to 21 more. :/

I will admit that I was a little sentimental about losing her sweet little bed. She liked her little box. :) But, I'm glad that she's movin' up in the world. Well, she hasn't spit up her milk since the last post and she gained 14 grams!!! So, she's at 3 lbs 14.1 oz now! She weighs 1760 grams, and she's got to be a minimum of 2000 grams (4 lbs 6 oz.) to be able to go home. (Although, her neonatologist [pediatrician for preemies] said that he doesn't think her weight will keep her there- it will be her feeding). They weigh her once a day- at night- so, I'll call again tonight for another update. But she's making progress. Thanks for all the prayers.

Nursing attempts are still going very well- she is such a trooper. And it makes me SO happy!!

Daddy got to hold her for a while today- she looks pretty comfy all stretched out!


I took this one with my iPhone, and it was too sweet not to include. :) Oh goodness- isn't she just completely kissable?!?! She's waving hi! :)

A little tired of this game

So, I'm getting a little tired of having to leave one daughter to spend time with or take care of the other. :( Most days, it's fine. But when Ava says, "Mommy, are you back now?" before I've even left to go see Bella, it makes me sad. But, I really shouldn't complain too much. We're SO blessed and fortunate that Bella is doing as well as she is.

When I went to visit today, she looked good. :) I tried to nurse again and she latched on a few times and probably got some milk in her belly!! It didn't seem like anything dripped out the side of her mouth this time. The nurses said that she has been spitting up at some of her feedings, not every one though. When I was there today, she didn't spit anything up. Just keep your fingers crossed for her to keep that milk down! She NEEDS to grow!!!

I usually go to see her around the 11:00 feeding, but today I couldn't get there until the 2:00 feeding. The nurse told me that she was wide eyed and "looking for me" at 11. It kinda made me a little sad that I wasn't there....and that my daughter only sees me once a day. Who knows if she's at all aware of my schedule, but it would be kinda sweet (perhaps a bit bitter sweet) if she really was looking for me. :)Changing her diaper will be SO much easier outside of the incubator and without all those leads everywhere!!

One of my favorite views:

Saying goodbye is the worst part. :(

Sleepy girl and a BIG step!

Bella was a sleepy girl today! Here are a few pics of her snoozing. :) I'd say she's pretty relaxed! (PS. This picture of her hair color is very true to her real color. The pics usually make it look a little more strawberry/red looking that it is in person).

And yawning...
She's doing pretty well. She gained only 5 grams in the last 48 hours. She's still 3 lbs 13.something oz. Part of that is probably due to the fact that she had her IV taken out. That provided her with lots of fluids, so before, she had the IV fluids plus the breast milk. But, now, she's only got the milk. The other issue is that for the past two days, she has spit up a few times. Yesterday, she only did it once, but today was 3 times. :( Don't really want her to be doing that, cause she needs all the calories she can get! She gets 1 oz. of breast milk every 3 hours. There are only 20 calories per oz. of breast milk...so, you can see how important it is that she keeps all of it IN her little body!

They "fortified" the breast milk with a powder that provides more fat and nutrients which brought it up to 24 calories per oz. But, they had to back off to 22 because of the spitting up. If she continues to spit up, they'll go back to regular, unfortified breast milk and then try again in day or two. They said it could just be a little too rich for her tummy just yet. They described it as going from water to a milkshake- a big change. Also, the pyloric sphincter (which prevents food from coming back up) can be weak and/or under developed in preemies...even full term babies. So, that could also be contributing to that. She isn't bothered by the spitting up at all- she actually sleeps right through it. So, please just say a prayer that she will start to tolerate the increased calorie feedings so she has a better chance of growing fast!

In wonderful news, today was the second day that I attempted nursing Bella...knowing full well that it is still very early....just an intro! But, she latched on today and actually got a few tastes! Her nurse was so amazed that she went out of the room and said to the other nurses, "you've got to see her!" It was so wonderful and brought a HUGE smile to my face. (Sorry if that's too much info for some of you, but for a nursing mom, this is HUGE and I couldn't leave it out)!! So, hopefully this is just the beginning of having a great nursing baby! Keep your fingers crossed!

Ava loves her Daddy

Since we've been home, Patrick has taken over lots of the things that I typically do with/for Ava- like morning time stuff, bath time, bed time, etc. All that stuff (bending over, being very mobile, going up and down the stairs, picking Ava up) has been either impossible or very difficult for me to do the surgery I had. He's been a HUGE help! I would totally die without him!

This morning Ava climbed into bed, and while I pumped (story of my life!), they had some daddy/daughter time. Ava was happy to snuggle up with Patrick and look at some fun stuff on the computer. :)

Sweet, isn't it? Ava is a lucky girl. :)