Thursday, November 18, 2010

Emma Update...




So we have seen our growth and development specialist for our one year check up. In the office is a physical therapist, occupational therapist, speech therapist and a dietitian along with the doctor. THEY ALL have agreed that Emma is at a 11 month old level... almost caught up and very quickly!!! The doctor was very impressed and said he would like to see her one more time before discharging her from his care which is awesome. She is saying momma now but it is usually in a whiny voice and dada is always a happy voice... We finally have a tooth!!! Just one and on the bottom but it's here so we are excited! At the last check which was yesterday she is weighing right at about 18lbs!!! We are working on her confidence in walking because she has the mechanics down she just doesn't trust herself yet... Moms goal is by Christmas but she always has her own agenda...

Pumpkins!!!











Just some pumpkin patch pics from around halloween!!!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMMA!!!
















WOW!!! What a year it has been. Such a roller coaster ride in the beginning and now it's a new adventure with Emma everyday! She is getting so active, crawling EVERYWHERE, talking up a storm- mostly baby babble but she does say dada... working on momma... She is a bundle of fun and energy. At our last check she weighs 17lb 6 oz. No teeth yet but any day the bottom ones are gonna push their way through. She is such a social little butterfly, anyone we see when out and about she feels the need to call out to, mostly because she knows she will get attention and a smile that way. These last few weeks have been so emotional for me, just remembering all we went through a year ago, knowing we are soooo blessed by GOD for this miracle baby girl with no residual problems. She is just awsome.

Monday, May 24, 2010

For anyone who still checks...







Hey guys!!! For anyone out there that still might check this blog to see how Emma is doing she continues to do amazing!!! It's been a while!!!! Let's see.... she's smiling like crazy now, babbling like a pro, trying to mimic anything you do in front of her... I thought we had some time on this one! She can stand up while holding our fingers and she LOVES it! She has a little temper (she gets it from her momma...), is grasping at her toys, LOVES her furry puppy friends at our house. At our last MD appt 2 weeks ago she was 12lbs 4oz and 23 inches long. She is so fun to have around the house!!!

Friday, April 9, 2010

The Blessings Flow







Well we had a pretty busy week with appointments just about every day. Sunday was Easter of course and we did the whole Robert's family then my family routine with Emma just along for the ride. By the end of the day we were all pretty exhausted. We received great news after our eye exam on Monday... Emma's blood vessels are fully grown and there is no need to go back to have the exams!!!! We will follow up in a year with a regular opthamologist to make sure everything is still going smoothly. This was such a blessing because the exams are brutal and very hard for Emma and myself to go through!!! We had occupational therapy with no new news, she received her last shot for RSV as the season is coming to an end, we had ECI- early childhood intervention evaluate Emma to see if we qualify for additional therapy through them... the more help the better!!! Mommy finally sat down today to look over some of baby girl's medical bills with GOD again providing for our little family. When I called on one of the bills- which was a few thousand dollars- they informed me we owe a $0.00 balance!!! I called on another bill, also a few thousand dollars, which came out to a $51.20 balance. GOD continues to bless us in every way and we give HIM all the glory for his unending love and providing in ways I never even imagined!!!

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Continues to do well!!!




Emma continues to grow and excel at home. We have discovered the park less than a mile from the house and have been going just about every other day!!! Just yesterday she has started to smile on occasion in response to seeing mommy which just melts my heart!!! We had a really rough few days last week with lots of fighting- fighting for her to take a nap, fighting with her to eat, fighting to stay awake in the evenings... FORTUNATELY these last few days have been much much better!!!! It's amazing what a little prayer and a nap in the mornings can do!!!

Friday, March 26, 2010

5 Months!!!!!
















After SEVERAL requests to keep the blog going I am getting around to updating everyone. Emma continues to do amazingly well. We had an appt with her pediatrician 3/16 and she was 9lb 14 oz and 20 1/2 inches long which is right on track for her adjusted age. We had her occupational therapy just today and received some really good news... she is developmentally at a 2-2 1/2 month baby level even though her "adjusted age" is only 6 weeks... meaning she should be at a 6 week olds level since her due date was 6 weeks ago. She's hit her 5 months mark this week and we could not be happier to have her home with us!!! She has started to make what mommy calls happy baby sounds- she's cooing and trying to "talk" to us. She has pretty awesome head control now, is able to hold herself up while laying on her tummy, LOVES to stick her tongue in and out like its a game!!! She has a pretty hot temper like her mama and when she gets mad look out!!! Those lungs are working really well!!! Speaking of, we are no longer seeing her lung doctor as we no longer need his services. It feels so great to report that after all of her lung issues they seem to be doing incredibly well. I am so proud of our little miracle baby and so thankful that she looks so good and indeed is exceeding the expectations!!!!! Will keep everyone posted!!!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Look Ma, No Oxygen!!!!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEhiY9QcE1Q


Things continue to go great at home. We continue on our schedule at home..yeah!!! Emma continues to grow everyday. The oxygen is now off per Dr. Mom... she is doing amazing without it!!! Here is a quick link to Emma's you tube video! Enjoy!

Saturday, February 20, 2010

It's just so awsome...







It's been so incredible to have Emma home with us. I can't believe it's only been 2 1/2 weeks!!! The first few days were pretty rough but the rest have been so amazing!!! She really is a good baby. We are officially on a schedule which makes Emma, mommy and daddy so much happier!!! She is sleeping at night now and only getting up for her 2am feeding!!!!! Then we have a few naps throughout the day with intervals of 2-4hours of awake time. She is soooo alert and interactive already! We are truly blessed!!!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Home Sweet Home!!!!







Well for those of you who may not know, after 104 days in the hospital Emma Nichole is home!!! She has been home for a week now but we have all been adjusting to each other and so I am just getting to posting about it!!! It has been absolutely fabulous having her home, such an answer to prayer!!! So...




What we know about Emma so far...




1.) She is a night owl like her momma and daddy. Her preferred hours to be awake are 3am to 6am... yea us... Oh and usually like to sleep only while being held.




2.) She is a princess... NOTHING better be touching her bottom or she is not happy!




3.) She is what mom calls a "grunty-kins". She grunts about everything!!! It's her number one way of communicating with all of us!!




4.) She is in charge!!! Of mom and dad that is.




5.) She is a direct answer to prayer and a gift from our LORD JESUS Himself... but we already knew that...

Sunday, January 31, 2010

FINALLY!!!!!!




1 Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
2 Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the LORD, or fully declare his praise?


Psalm 106:1-2


THE FEEDING TUBE IS OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU JESUS!!!


What an exhausting last few days it has been. I stayed at the hospital for 2 nights due to us trying to get rid of that crazy feeding tube and it is finally gone!! We are so excited to have our baby girl come home with us, it looks like it will be in just a few short days. She continues to do so well!!!

Friday, January 29, 2010

Such A Cutie!







Emma continues to grow every day. STILL working on eating... it feels like an endless battle to me but I am trying to remain optomistic, we have had such a long journey with so many ups and downs, thankfully mostly ups, but it still feels like we have so far to go. She is 6lb 15oz, we go up and then down. Up to 71cc every 4 hours, sometimes taking it all, sometimes half, sometimes a quarter, it just depends on her mood. We did an exam yesterday to check for reflux which was actually negative!!! She's so stinking cute!!!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

EAT BABY GIRL!!!

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days but nothing has really been happening. So by now this mommy is very frustrated. We have been battling the same issue for a few weeks now and I am READY for home sweet home. Emma is showing us all improvement and taking almost all of her feedings now per the bottle. Mommy is off for 4 days straight this next week and I am just gonna camp out at the hospital so that Emma can get the feeding tube pulled out and then come home!!! She is 6lb 14oz. They decreased her oxygen to 1/4 liter and she has been doing great with that. She had an eye exam today which showed nothing new. We are anxiously awaiting her homecoming.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Little Weed...







Emma continues to grow everyday! Tonight we are 6lb 12.8oz. They have increased her feedings to 54cc/3 hours. She is still working on this... we are now taking 1 out of every 2 bottles by mouth and the rest of her feedings go into the feeding tube. She seems to be doing ok with that. Please pray that the light bulb in her little head will go off and she will just "get it". This is all that is keeping us from home.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Yeah!

Emma is growing more and more very day. She is weighing in at 6lb 4oz tonight!! She continues to work on her eating... we are not quite there with it. Also we had to go back up to 3/4 of a liter of oxygen, she just couldn't hang on 1/2 a liter. It has been 4 horrible days for me to not see her but finally today I was able to see her and it was a wonderful moment!!!! We had a fabulous afternoon together, I have missed her soooo much!!! They also moved her to the step- down unit which they had been threatening to do for the last few weeks. Mom already doesn't like it nearly as much but hopefully it will only be for a short time!!!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

UGHHHH!




Well this is the 1st day in Emma's 83 days of life that mom has had to skip out of visiting her and it's killing me!!! I miss her sooooo much!! I woke up this morning with head congestion and a scratchy throat. From frequent phone reports Emma is doing well today. Her labs all came back fine but she has low albumin; a protein in your blood and so hence the swelling. They have added protein powder to her milk so she can increase this number and bulk up like daddy!!! She weighs 5lb 10oz, they upped her feedings to 60cc every 4 hours and decreased her oxygen to 1/2 liter!!! We are still trying to eat all the volume at each feeding.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Let them eat cake!

Emma continues to grow every day with a weight last night of 5lb 8oz!!! The concerning part is all the swelling. It seems like whenever she gains 2-3 oz in one day a lot of it is fluid retention and it is unclear why she is retaining fluid...the plan is to do some additional lab work this am to find out what's going on. We are still learning to eat from the bottle... some feedings she does absolutely fabulous with no problems at all and then others she only will take 1/4 or 1/2 of what she needs to be eating. Her oxygen remains at 3/4 of a liter. She passed her hearing screen today and her eye exam showed nothing new, still stage 1 in zone 2 of both eyes, which basically means no worries. They look so good we are gonna go 2 weeks this time instead of the every week schedule we have been on. So the biggest hurtle right now is her endurance with her meals!!! Otherwise we are looking great!

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Good News is what we like!!!

Emma continues to do very well. She is at 50cc every 4 hours now and bottle feeding with every feeding!!! BUT... she is still trying to get the hang of it. Her endurance isn't quite there, for the staff she only eats about half and the rest still has to go through the feeding tube. For mom today she ate the whole 50cc so.... go figure!!!! We are still hoping it will be only a few more weeks till she is home... She weighs 5lb 5 oz and has outgrown most of her preemie clothes!!! She continues to grow!!!

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Light at the end of this tunnel....







Emma continues to make amazing progress!!! She is now eating 50cc pretty much whenever she tells us she is hungry or 4 hours, whichever comes first... so far she definitely lets us know!!! We turned her oxygen down to 1 1/2 liters yesterday and are down to 1 liter today with the hope of switching from the high-flow oxygen to a regular big girl nasal cannula tomorrow... She might have to come home on oxygen for the first few weeks to a month or so, we shall see how her progress goes... She received her immunization shots today and so has been a bit cranky all day. I was informed today that she could come home in as soon as 2 weeks, depending on her progress, more than likely 3 weeks!!!!! We are signed up for the required infant CPR class Saturday. Dad and I cannot WAIT to have her home with us!!!! We have been here 11 weeks today...77 days which has felt so long on some days and other days has felt like it has flown by. She continues to grow everyday, 5lb 4oz today! Will keep the updates coming!!!

Monday, January 4, 2010

News...

OK... So Emma had another busy day today. Eye exam with nothing new to report (yea!!!). Increased her feeding to 40cc every 3 hours, still getting the bottle 3 times a day and doing great with it!!! They pulled out her picc line, the iv she has had for the last few weeks because yesterday they discontinued all her i.v. antibiotics!!!! We had tried a few days ago to go to 1 liter on her oxygen but she wasn't quite ready so we are still at 2 liters. She now is weighing..... drum roll please..... 5lb 2oz!!!!!!! She has moments when she is wide awake and so curious!!! And she knows when mom and dad are near by because she screams bloody murder to be held! :) She continues to do so incredibly well!!!

Saturday, January 2, 2010

HAPPY 2010!!!!!

Well Happy New Year to everyone!!!!! It is so amazing all that has happened in our lives this last year- especially in the last , oh, 10 weeks...
Emma is doing great. The doctor came by yesterday and we decreased her oxygen on the n/c to 1 liter- he says the goal for this week is to be off of it!!!! Still doing her feedings by bottle 3 times a day, maybe eventually we'll go to 4... She weighs 4lb 12oz now... so shes filling out very nicely:)
I hope 2010 finds all of you healthy and happy!