Doctor's appointment

Whitney’s morning appointment with the pediatrician went well today. She grew a quarter of an inch from last week, but unfortunately didn’t gain any weight. The doctor was not concerned one bit though and said 11 ounces over two weeks is very good. Since she didn’t eat before the appointment she was hungry and wide awake. This was actually a good thing because the doctor could finally see her awake and moving around. He said numerous times how happy he was with how good she looked, he was really proud of her. She was kicking and moving her arms and legs, tracking with her eyes and even let out a cry when he was “annoying” her.

We are now moving up to 4 ounces every 4 hours and will have her next appointment in two weeks rather than every week.

She continues to eat and sleep very well. The last three nights she has been sleeping 5-6 hours at night, what a blessing. Her monitor has not gone off either. I am still in awe over this girls progress, she truly is such a fighter. To see how far she has come in just over a month is incredible, I love her so much. We are so proud to call her our daughter and every little milestone means more than the world to us. We are so blessed to have her in our life.

Picture time

Andy had off of work today so we tried to make the most of the day and get outside and also head to the new SkyWheel on the beach. I was there when my parents were in town but Whitney and I did not go on,since I wanted to wait to go with Andy.
The day was fun filled (Whitney slept through it all!) of going to the SkyWheel, eating at Bumsteads/Dagwoods, going to Costco and hitting up the pool this evening. We brought our nice camera along down to the beach and Andy was able to capture some great pictures that I'll share with with you all.
Tomorrow is another pediatrician appointment for Whitney. I'm excited to see what her weight gain is and to check her progress, we'll be sure to let everyone know. And don't worry, Whitney was covered from the sun the whole day, except for the few photos we took her out of her car seat for!

Grandma is coming to visit

Andy's Mom is arriving today for a 2-week visit with us. I talked with her yesterday and it sure sounds like she is excited to get her little hands all over Whitney, and also see our house since they didn't get the chance to come last summer. Whitney is the first granddaughter for Julie and Larry, Andy's sister has 3 boys.

These past few days that Andy and I had with Whitney by ourselves has been wonderful, I really enjoyed my time with her. She has stolen our hearts and refuses to give them back. She continues to eat and sleep very well, and has kept up her "night owl" status. I have noticed the past two nights though she seems to be more awake during the day, so it's become a bit more easy for her to fall asleep at night. The last two nights I've also not set my alarm to get up and check on her. She is now making enough noise (not screaming yet) to wake me from my deep slumber and check on her and feed her.
As for crying, she is stringing together four or five squeals at once, which to me is pretty much crying, I'm not worried about THAT anymore.

I'm also excited that I have somewhat come in contact with a family who also has a graduate of the cooling blanket. Andy stumbled across their story when Whitney was on the blanket since we didn't know much about the procedure and were trying to get more information. Their story is very uplifting and encouraging and the birth story is very, very similar to Whitney's. I really want to get in touch with the mother (Christy, if you are reading this, how can we exchange emails?) to learn more about their daughter's progress. It would be great to talk with someone who is all too familiar with what we are experiencing.

I'll let you now with a few of our favorite pictures from the last few days.

Happy one month birthday!

Whitney is one month old today, it is so hard to believe. Since she has only been home for almost two weeks she doesn’t seem that old, but the calendar doesn’t lie. She is getting so strong and has kept most of her hair (although now we are dealing with cradle cap), and she continues to eat really well.

Yesterday Whitney had her second doctor’s appointment with her pediatrician to basically see how she checked out this past week with weight gain. I was pleasantly surprised to find out she gained 11 ounces this past week, which puts her up to 7 pounds 14 ounces. The doctor said she is probably just making up for lost time and not to worry about the gain, in fact it is a good thing. I think all mothers of newborns can commiserate on the wonder of if their child is getting enough to eat. Whitney seems to be hungry all the time, however with her weight gain I guess it is confirmation that she is truly getting enough. We have another appointment scheduled for next week and if everything goes well then, we will probably be able to start going every two weeks rather than every week.

I have kept her off her monitor during the day which I really enjoy. It’s a bit easier when I’m by myself to be more mobile with her and free to move throughout the house. We always hook her up at night for sleeping, but for days with doctors appointments or shopping or running errands I’ve found it to be much easier to be “Wi-Fi” and one less thing you have to keep up with. So far the monitor has not gone off (knock on wood) except for parent error which I already talked about.

Whitney is most certainly finding her lungs. I suspect she will be full on crying in the next few days, so I’m trying to enjoy this time as much as possible. I hope she continues to be a patient, content baby and keeps those lungs to herself, I don’t need to hear them anymore, I believe her, she is able to cry.

Saying goodbye

Yesterday morning my parents headed back to Wisconsin after being with us for almost one month.for those of you who know me, you know I am a pretty emotional person without the hormone shift that goes along with pregnancy, so you can only imagine how emotional it was for me to say goodbye to them especially with me being a huge ball of emotions right now.

I have always had a great relationship with my parents (something I hope Whitney can say about us someday...) and it was such a blessing to have them here with us during this stressful time. Their love and support through this all can not be put into words. It just goes to show you never stop being a parent. It is always hard to say goodbye but this day was especially difficult.

Whitney has begun to find her lungs, letting out more and more squeaks which are sounding more like cries. They are still cute but I'm sure in a few days they will lose their luster. She is still being a really good, patient baby. Today Andy and I were out running errands for a few hours after my doctor appt. And she was so content and basically slept the entire time. She continues stay wide awake late into the evening and usually won't fall asleep until 1am.

I will post more pictures tomorrow as I'm on the iPad right now and also give an update as to how her Doctor appointment goes. But for now, just one more Thank You to my parents for always being there for us, for being so patient and loving and just lending a listening ear. We love you guys!

Look out Daddy

Today was our last full day with my Mom and Dad, I'll go into details of our day at a later time but I just wanted to share this picture.
While Andy and Dad were out on a fishing trip, us girls did a little shopping. Whitney picked out her first Coach purse, but I explained she was a tad young, maybe when she turns 13!

Strength (the physical kind) and believing

Today I got my first lesson in believing in my child. Well, I technically shouldn't say first, I have always believed in her, but read on...

Whitney seems to have created a routine of eating and sleeping all day and then staying nice and wide awake around 8:00 pm to 12:00 am. Since we are night owls ourselves this hasn't become too much of a problem and it may just be a coincidence these last few nights. Regardless, tonight we were working on some exercises the doctors advised us to do and since she was awake and alert doing them at night is a great time. She was getting some classic "tummy time" where she lays on her stomach with hopes that she can strengthen her neck muscles and lift and move her head from side to side.

As my Mom and I set her on her stomach she looked so comfortable and content to just lay with her head to the side. I even said out loud, "I just don't see her having the strength to lift her head up and move it to the other side."

Well she already has me eating my words. Within a few minutes she was lifting her head up and sure enough, turned it to the other side. Mom and I were so happy for her, tears of joy streaming down our faces. I felt horrible for not believing in her more. The doctors told me to never treat her like an injured baby which I really really need to remember. I should not be surprised by her, these past three weeks she has been so strong, but tonight I got to actually see her in action.

Shortly after her first head turn she really just started showing off. Turning from side to side frequently and with more a gusto. We were so proud. Each day she is getting stronger, including her voice box (yikes!) and seeing her tonight with that small head turn just makes my heart burst with joy. Maybe it's the hormones, or maybe it's part of being a Mom, but I just love this girl so much and she has already taught us so much, to have our hearts and minds be strong...each and every day.