First Easter

Myla had a very busy first Easter day. She got to get all fancied up in her Easter dress and enjoy brunch and dinner with the extended family. The Easter bunny even came and gave her a pail full of goodies - a new dress, a doll and some fancy-pants tights. She's a pretty tired little girl after all the excitement.

She had a room air oxygen test last week. Her numbers were even better than the one before while she was awake and eating. But the technician didn't want to stick around the extra 10 minutes to wait for her to fall asleep. (VERY frustrating.) He said that he would put in a request for a machine to be dropped off so we could do it ourselves, but we have yet to see it. That was Tuesday. Tomorrow, I'm going to call and see if he did. We'll keep you posted.

Myla has really started to let her personality shine through. She's been very vocal and loves to watch rattles shake in front of her face. She hasn't figured out that you can grab on to it yet, but she's getting the hang of smacking things that dangle down from her chair and swing. She loves to watch the contrast of the sun and shade when it comes through the window and really tracks things with her eyes. She's so much fun to play with and watch her face light up when you make different sounds. She's almost got the hang of pushing up during tummy time too. Won't be long now!

Bat those baby blues!

Myla had a check in with the eye doctor today. The news was mostly good, I think. Turns out that the blood vessels in her eyes are stuck. The got really close to all the way and they just stopped. She said it wasn't uncommon in babies with prolonged oxygen. But, she doesn't foresee any problems with Myla's vision and the blood vessels will get there, but it will probably be after the oxygen is turned off. So, we go back in two months now instead of two weeks for a regular vision check and they will look, but it won't be as much torture as it has been for her.

And you know what else she did today!? Myla was doing her tummy time on her hippo mat and ta da! She rolled over on to her back. Just like that. And just smiled and cooed! Of course, she didn't think it was so neat when I put her back on her tummy to do it again - kind of like, hey, I just got where I wanted to be! She's really been a happy baby today and very talkative. Of course, she did sleep through the night last night. That's right! 7 1/2 hours of uninterrupted sleep for mom - I mean baby. ;o) She's been eating a lot too, so I think she must be growing. Which is exactly what we want her to do.

On her way to 10!

Myla had a very big weekend. Her grandparents and aunts came in from Omaha for her blessing on Sunday. She was well loved and given lots of hugs. She looked very cute in her blessing dress and, even though she spent most of the day sleeping, she enjoyed every minute of it. The paparazzi came out in force and took lots of pictures.

She also had her last RSV shot for the season on Saturday. The amount that the shot is depends on her weight and so she had to be weighed again. (Ah, nuts!) She is now 9 pounds, 7 1/2 ounces - oh so close to 10! That's a pound in two weeks, an awesome gain. She's been interacting with us more and really started to coo and talk, to us - to her Carebear and now, to her turtle. She sleeps six hours at night, which is nice for us too. She is in her crib full time and loves all the room. Sometimes we find her completely spread out - kicked out of her blankets and arms spread wide.

One more trip to the eye doctor this week. Her left eye is just about "healed" but her right eye still has a little ways to go. We're really hoping that this appointment is our last for a little while. She's right about that magical time where its supposed to "disappear" and we are hoping that's the case. It would be nice to pare down the doctors. No offense to any doctors that might read this, but we're kind of tired of waiting rooms. Crossing our fingers!

She's huge!

Myla had her four month check up yesterday. She tipped the scales at EIGHT pounds, 7 1/2 ounces. And she stretched out to an even 20 inches long. She's huge! When he plotted her growth on the chart, it was almost a straight up shot! Along with the check up came four immunization shots and a prick on the big toe for iron levels. That was not fun. But she didn't scream as loud or as long as some of the other kids we've heard in there. All in all, the doctor said that she was doing great, and she looked like a normal little baby. He was very happy with her growth and told us to just keep doing what we are doing. And he doesn't want to see us again until her six month check up!

She had a home oxygen test today to see about kicking the oxygen habit. They wanted to test her while she was eating, awake and sleeping to see what her saturation levels were. She did really great on the first two, and then her levels tanked when she fell asleep. So, dad made a call to the supply people and ordered one more month of oxygen.

She's a pretty good baby. She's started really watching things with contrasting colors and even tracking us a little bit with her eyes. She's really strong too. Her little head is up a lot and she kicks like crazy with her legs. Almost shot herself off mom's lap one day. She loves to swing and talk to her Carebear that her Aunt Aimee gave her in the hospital. She loves it when we sing to her too - maybe remembering from our time in the NICU. She's just an awesome little being.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Our big little girl is doing so well! She went in for a shot on Saturday and weighed 7 pounds 11 ounces! She is just growing and eating, just like she should. She's even started cooing a little bit which is a nice change from all the grunting.

We went for a check-up with the eye doctor today. Her left eye has developed stage 2 ROP, but her right eye is holding steady. The doctor wasn't concerned about it, he just said we'll continue to watch it. So, we go back in two weeks! While we were waiting for her eyes to dialate, we met another NICU mom (not from our NICU, but we're all part of an elite club now.) Her twin boys were born at 28 weeks, and the smallest one weighed 2 pounds 2 ounces. He just got discharged four days ago. She was shocked when I told her how small Myla was, cause she looks so big and healthy now! Sometimes we look at her and are so thankful for the fight she had in her to be such a big girl now.

We've started putting her in her crib for her daytime naps. Its kind of a trick to find a place for the oxygen tube where she can't yank on it. But she does well once she gets to sleep. She looks so tiny in her crib. But she's almost four months! Where has the time gone!

Doctor Updates

We went to the doctors yesterday as promised. Her peditrician says that Myla is doing "really, really good." He was impressed with her weight gain - she's 7 pounds 3/4 ounce now! Her oxygen test went well too, she stayed in the upper 80's, but we still have the Tin Man with us for three more weeks. They like to see mid-90's on oxygen saturation. So, when we go in for her four month check-in, we'll try again!

Her eyes are starting to get better too. The blood vessels have moved into stage 3, which means they are growing again, and the ROP is now back to stage 1 in both eyes. We are still watching that too, and will go back in two weeks for another check-up.

She looks so big sometimes and is starting to be more awake and focused. The peditrician told us to talk to her all the time, tell her what we are doing when we change her clothes and diapers and so on. This helps her get a grasp on the language. Her dad was so cute last night, "and now I'm going to snap you up, one snap, two snap, three snap!" She watches us too when we are talking to her. I can't wait for her to start cooing and talking back! Its going to be so much fun!

3 month anniversary

Today was the three month anniversary of Myla's birthday. She's so big compared to then! We had a good little family day to commemorate the occasion. Myla went for her first walk with the dog - don't worry grandmas, she was good and bundled - she got a bath and we took a brief pause to snap this picture of her without the oxygen in her nose. She is so cute!

Next week is the doctor rounds. It will be another test for the oxygen levels, another eye exam and another morning of everyone saying how cute she is. Ah, darn. ;o) Cross your fingers with us that the eyes are starting to really resolve and - no offense Tin Man - that the oxygen is gone. We had some more tanks delivered today, just in case though.

Right now, our little girl is snuggling up to her dad after a little late dinner. She loves to snuggle and be held. Johnny and I were playing a game tonight and she sat right there on my lap and just watched. She's so much more alert and awake. She's been home almost a month now and time has really flown. We think of the first nine weeks a lot and are so thankful with each passing day that she was such a fighter and that she continues to amaze.