Dr. Hailey is in the house!

Well, Hailey is still sick, but at least now its draining, which must mean she is on the road to recovery. Also, mommy finally put her back in her crib last night. Ever since last Friday she has either slept with us or in her pack and play so I could keep her propped up and keep an eye on her. Really, last Friday scared me because she never cried and just kept dry heaving and bringing junk up all night before I heard her whimper around 4am. I just felt so bad that she suffered for that long so I think keeping her with me has been more for my benefit :-)
Anyway, when she was born my brother bought her Dr. scrubs at Hopkins, well, finally after 15 months they fit and just in time for halloween. Here is a picture of the front/back. And the last picture was taken yesterday, I just thought it was a great pix (minus her poor raw nose)!

1 step back

For those of you with preemies you will appreciate the title of my last two posts. The famous NICU quote, “two steps forward, one step back”. Well, when I wrote my last post that is the first thing that came to mind so I thought someone would appreciate it. Little did I know at the time that my next post would be one step back.
A couple days after her first steps Hailey has caught a bad bug, I mean a really bad bug. She has been so sick she has hardly moved out of my arms let alone walk. I have been sick with a bad cold/bronchitis for 10 days now and I am just finally getting better. So Friday when I started hearing rattling in her chest I figured she caught my cold. Little did I know that this would be a double-header as I was woken up around 4am on Saturday to Hailey gagging and vomiting. I originally thought she was choking and bringing up the mucus from the cold, but come to find out it was the flu. We took her the ER because she was vomiting every 15 minutes and all that was coming up was yellow gunk. Sadly, all we could do was hold her and let it take its course. The flu lasted through Sunday and by Monday she was a limp - no smiles, no energy, just wanted to be held. Finally, yesterday the fever broke and she started eating again, but the cold is so bad she is choking on the mucus when she coughs and can't catch her breathe. Again the ped said there is nothing they can do.
On top of it all Tim and I haven’t felt the best so we made for a great threesome! I am hoping today is a better day. I had to go to work so daddy is home with her this morning and then we will switch off. She got up with me as I got ready for work and ate some toast so that is a good sign. Her congestion was still bad, but I think she is learning to cope. I hope she can fight this off better than I did. 10 days is a LONG time to be sick and I don't know how many more sleepless nights I can survive :-) Actually last night was a little better. I have her in the pack and play beside my bed so I can watch her. I didn't sleep well because I was trying to keep her upright for the congestion and this baby moves, but she only woke up once around 4am and was up for about 45 minutes. The problem is I had to get up at 5:45am for the day!
On a side note, last night I was feeding her dinner and she started singing. I got it on video on my phone and will try to get it so I can post it. She was saying words, but added a tune to it. I couldn’t get over it …it was so cute!!!!!
Please pray my little baby starts feeling better soon so we can get on with the steps forward!

Here is a picture of her a couple Sunday's ago with her Dooda - notice the ponytail I desperately tried to pull together enough hair!

2 steps forward

Hailey took her first steps today!!!!! YEAH! I came to pick up Hailey after work at my parents house and sat down to talk to my dad for a few minutes. In the meantime Hailey was hanging onto the table in my dad's office and out of the corner of his eye he saw her take two steps, but we weren't sure if it was real. So my mom picks her up and she stands like a pro and I start calling for her and sure enough she took two steps toward me - then she didn't even fall just stood there looking at me!!!! I couldn't believe my eyes! I have to admit I started crying because she has been so close to walking forever, but I just didn't expect it at that moment.
That of course is the major PT goal, but also it is a goal for her to stand up in the middle of the floor not holding anything and sure enough she did that tonight as well. We were at my friend Val's house and Hailey was playing with Wyatt when all of the sudden she just stands herself up in the middle of the floor!!!!
I think she is gaining confidence more and more. Soon there will be no stopping her. Daddy has been working 3-11pm so he wasn't able to see it. I can't wait for her to show off her new skill to daddy!

future musician

pictures

Not much to update since my last post, but I wanted to share these great pictures we took at the park today.

trains, trains and more trains

Trains, trains and more trains! Yep, its already started. Those of you who know Tim well, know he has an "obsession" with trains and the minute we got pregnant he was hoping for a playmate. Hailey is only 14 months and has already been train watching and now she has the whole Thomas the Tank Engine set and I have no say in the matter. HELP! His mom who "lovingly" encourages this obsession bought Hailey the whole set at a yard sale for $34.00. Can you believe it? Also, those of you who know my apartment wonder how it fits. Lets just say now my bedroom is a playroom as well as every other room in the apartment.
Well, here is Hailey and Daddy putting together the track ...



And here is Hailey after her photo shoot last week with Elmo ...



Lastly, for a health update, those of you who remember Hailey's NICU days will remember that she dealt with alot of "bowel" problems and was glycerin dependent for probably 6 months of her life. Well, we have dealt on and off with constipation since then. Now it is so severe it is causing bleeding so they have started her on miralax once a day and will check in with us at her 15 month appt. In the NICU they had said we should probably run more tests when she turned a year to check for problems, but since she was doing so well I didn't bring it up. We will see what the doctor says next month.
Also, Hailey had physical therapy yesterday, it went well, but now she is not as comfortable with Jen as she was before we started trying the lite gait. She is so afraid of it that she is much more clingy which makes it harder to do the therapy. We are still waiting on our eval for OT, it could take up to 6 weeks. Jen, our physical therapists, thinks they won't get us a specialist because Hailey isn't that bad off, but might give Jen the o.k. to spend more time with Hailey working on sensory as well as physical aspects. She is so close to walking its crazy. Actually, she took her first step yesterday and stood alone for the longest I have seen her. She has the motion of walking down and has great balance she just won't give up the security of holding something unless you distract her. Last night though if you put her close enough to things she would let go and move between then with ease actually taking a step toward them not holding anything.
GO HAILEY GO!

occupational therapy

Well, another week (ha, ha). What can I say? Hailey had a good week overall and seems to be over her ear infection. We decided to slowly start adding whole milk to Hailey's diet on Sunday. By Monday her body was covered in hives. The ped said to try Lactaid milk instead, after that she developed welts. Finally, we started soy - she hates plain soy - so tried vanilla soy tonight. She drank it tonight before bed so we will see what happens. Needless to say I have every kind of milk imaginable in my fridge. What is strange is that she eats cheese, drinks milk-based formula, she has eaten mac 'n cheese, ice cream and other milk products with no problems. I guess whole milk is just more potent?! I just hope the rash goes away soon and the soy does the job.
As far as therapy is concerned, she has her physical therapy today and the therapist has some concerns so she is referring us to occupational therapy as well. She did up a report and said its nothing serious, but how do you tell a mother not to worry? I looked up online about sensory issues and came upon "sensory processing disorder". When reading up on that it would explain alot of Hailey's behaviors. I found this explanation on a website ... "in the womb, a baby spends her time curled up, cozy and warm in the dark, listening to her mother’s heartbeat and muted sounds from the outside world. Meanwhile, her nervous system is developing at astonishing speed, forming thousands upon thousands of essential nerve cell connections. When a baby is born prematurely, her immature, disorganized nervous system isn’t ready to handle all of the sensory messages bombarding her". The good news ... "with appropriate interventions and time, most children develop needed central nervous system connections and sensory input starts getting more familiar and more comfortable. Not always, but most of the time, children can overcome their sensory problems, especially with parents who develop their own "sensory smarts."
So, needless to say, as a mother I am worried, but the outlook is good and we caught it at such an early age that she can easily be worked with and we can all develop those "sensory smarts". I just don't know how I am going to keep up with all these appointments!
Just for reference in the report Jen put that Hailey has made tremendous progress in the past 2 months and what she is concerned about is gravitational insecurities, apprehension with movement, not being able to remain in one spot for an activity etc ... So we will see where we go from here. Today I felt guilty because if she wasn't born prematurely she wouldn't have so many hurdles to overcome. Really, overall she has done amazingly and I guess I have to focus on that.
On a better note ... Hailey is so darn cute and here are some pictures to prove it :-)

My dad had a photo shoot with her on Saturday ...

Happy Adjusted First Birthday!

As of tomorrow Hailey is "officially" 1! Ha, ha ... Tomorrow, September 16, was Hailey's due date. Can you believe it - 64 days after she was actually born! This is why I am always adjusting her age because whether she was in the womb or outside she was still developing as if she was in the womb. That is why she needed help breathing until her lungs developed, why she couldn't suck on a bottle etc ... So even though she is now actually 14 months, her adjusted age would be 12 months. They adjust preemie's age until 2 because they meet alot of milestones between birth and 2 years of age and as long as a preemie is on track for their adjusted age there is nothing to worry about and Hailey is right on track.
She is finally feeling better! YEAH! Hopefully we can enjoy the nice weather this weekend. Yesterday, we went and had PT at her therapists house. She has a machine called a lite gait and it has a harness that holds the child up over a treadmill which is supposed to eliminate them holding on to anything and have them get the feel of walking. Hailey is SO close to walking, but as the PT says she is just not confident enough to let go. So we tried this machine and she screamed - as I assumed she would. She did settle down at times, but didn't like it overall. She kept looking for something to hold on to for stability even though the harness was doing that for her. Jen did say that in the 3 years she has had the machine Hailey did the best first time walking. So even though she was screaming, she was walking on the treadmill. Funny ... We will try this for a few minutes every week.

Here are a couple cute pictures of Hailey at the park -

double ear infection - ouch!

So I know Hailey wasn't getting better, but when she started getting sicker I started to worry. Last night she wasn't acting right and ended up with a 101.6 temp. The ped said to start giving her motrin/tylenol every three hours. She thankfully slept through the night and we kept the fever down, but this morning it started to climb again and she just wanted to sleep so we took her the peds office for an emergency visit. Well, the verdict is she has a double ear infection. Yep, both ears. Oh Boy! She has been very tired and cuddly today (which is kind of nice since she is ALWAYS moving), but I do miss my spunky baby. He put her on antibiotics so hopefully she will be feeling better soon. Before she gets better she did make sure to pass on her cold to her Daddy, Nana,Uncle Matt and Kare Bear. Isn't she kind? I am hoping I don't get it! We made them a peace offering of chocolate chip cookies today to try to make them better :-)
I do want to note in the midst of this she is getting steadier on her feet and cruising furniture like a pro. I think she will be walking in no time. On Thursday she is going to the physical therapists house (she has a clinic) and trying out a machine called the lite gait. It is a harness they strap on her and have her walk on a treadmill. Sounds interesting, but I guess it can speed up her walking.
Well, I am looking forward to the extra hours I can spend with Hailey during this time with my job and know God will provide either my hours back or a better job. Please keep praying!

fears realized

You know how I have been writing about my "fears" of RSV season approaching?! Well, she doesn't have RSV, but she did catch a bad cold. I know, I know, many have told me its a part of life and it builds her immune system etc ... but it still stinks and she is miserable. It started Tuesday night and she was up all night crying. I think mostly she is miserable because she can't suck on her binky due to not being able to breathe and that frustrates her. If she wasn't a binky baby she might sleep better. But what can I do?! Yesterday you could hear that the cold had moved into her throat as she is raspy. I am just praying it doesn't move into her lungs because that is where it gets scary. Tim also woke up this morning sick ... ARGHH ... and to think this is the first (in a while) and probably last 80 degree, sunny weekend we will have this year!!! Hopefully we can enjoy some of it!
On a side note, I did take her to the pediatrician because of the constant crying (to make sure it wasn't an ear infection) and to check on her reflux, because it has become quite worse. And we found out her zantac dose was not even therapeutic. We hadn't increased it because she seemed to be doing better at her 12mo appt. So it was doubled from 1ml 3 times a day to 2ml's. We can even go up as far as 3ml's if this doesn't work. She hasn't been cringing and choking so much so I think the zantac is starting to work though she is still spitting up which makes her congestion worse. An almost 14 month old spitting up - I thought that stopped early on (ha, ha)! Oh, and before I forget to top it off, our baby who carefully and slowly grows teeth has decided now would be a great time to bring in her top teeth. YES - a teething, sick, reflux baby! And I wonder why all she does is cry ... I just wish I could make it better!!!! Keep us in your prayers!
Oh, and on a good note. Tim has a job, not only a job, but a great job! He goes in today to meet with the owner, get his letter of employment, salary and start date!

Happy Homecoming Anniversary!

Today marks 1 year that Hailey has been home with us. Can you believe it?! 53 days after her birth she came home ... What a wonderful year it has been! I have been thinking back on this day for the past week and just can't believe how far she has come! She came home weighing 5lbs, 3oz and is now a "big" 17lbs, 3 oz. She is still the same feisty, precious bundle of joy we brought home and I am so lucky to be her mom.
Just think in only 12 more days it will be her adjusted birthday/due date! Funny, huh?! So many days to celebrate, we just better not celebrate them all with cake or I am in major trouble :-)
Well, on to this weekend. It was pretty uneventful. We relaxed, did a little shopping, celebrated my brother's birthday and took a trip to the beach. I have been pretty sad that summer is over (the season is to quick up here), but I am now getting into the fall mode and looking forward to pumpkin picking, halloween, thanksgiving, christmas and all that comes with those fun holidays. Just think how much fun Hailey will have this year as those holidays approach!
Since I went on a picture taking "spree" this weekend I just had to share ...

Trouble with a capital "T"

Well, not much to report this week (that is usually a good thing :-) Hailey had physical therapy on Monday and did well. Jen said again that she probably won't be with us much longer. Pretty much Hailey's only issue is still her "core" strength which makes her accident prone. She can crawl, cruise etc, but due to low tone in her core she is extra wobbly. I can't take my eyes off her for a second or she is bumping into something with her head! She did suggest buying Hailey a walker because she is independent and likes to walk on her "own". So we took her advice and Hailey is now a happy to be up and walking around with her toy whereas she preferred crawling or cruising before - God forbid she have to hold our hands to walk (ha, ha).

Here are some pictures of her walking ....





Also, I had to post this picture my dad took at my birthday party. Here is Hailey playing with her friends, Wyatt and Adia.




Still no more teeth to report. Not sure what is going on with that. I guess they will come when they are ready. I also have to mention for the records that as Hailey gets older the more I realize how much she is like her daddy. She now even mimics habits he has that annoy me half to death! I won't go into details - but Tim and Ms. Tim Jr. spell TROUBLE with a capital "T" for Mommy :-) This weekend is my brother's 21st birthday. Can you believe it!?
Happy Birthday Uncle Matt! We love you!

look at my new toy!

Hailey has found a new "toy" to play with at Dooda and Nana's house! Nana said she was ironing, turned around and Hailey was riding the new vacuum!

She has recently figured out how to get her leg up and over her ride-on toys at our house, so she must have figured Nana has a ride-on toy as well :-)

attempts at walking

Today is my 25th birthday - yeah!!! I keep thinking back at where I was a year ago. With my husband, driving to work, trying to remind him it was my 24th birthday (ha,ha) then off to another day of working/NICU duty. Getting to my wits end of keeping up with the schedule and wanting so badly to bring my baby girl home. No there wouldn't be a celebration (I think we probably ate at Panera Bread), but I was where I wanted to be, by my baby girls side. I NEVER missed a day or night by her bed. On this particular day, I remember sitting by Hailey's "big girl bed", which she moved to the day before - and wondering on this special day what my 25th birthday would be like. Knowing by then Hailey would be 1 and HOME! And here we are ... not only home, but with a healthy baby girl!
And as the title says, we are on our way to walking. No she did not take steps by herself, but for the first time on Sunday she walked only holding one of my hands. This is a big accomplishment!!! As Tracey said, she did look like a monkey puppet (ha, ha), but she did it nonetheless. She still prefers to crawl, but we are working on it. Our physical therapist is on vacation this week, but will be happy to hear this next week. Last Monday she said Hailey is hitting many of the goals we had for her and may not need therapy for much longer!
This past weekend Hailey also met her cousin - I guess she would be a second cousin, Brianna. We went to Freeport for some shopping! So much fun! We had a great time! Here they are shopping at the Gap :-)



Then on Sunday Hailey celebrated Taylor's 9th birthday! Happy Birthday Taylor!!!! Tim and I started dating a few months before Taylor was born. I can't believe we have been together that long!!!
Hailey is doing much better around people and has become a social butterfly. She did well both on Saturday and Sunday, she especially loves Taylor and always smiles when she sees her!
Lastly, we had our first report of RSV on my preemie board ... sigh ... let the worries begin!
Oh - and not to forget - Happy Birthday Laura!!!! Hope you have the best day ever!

Trying to stay "sane"

Today Hailey is officially 13 months old! How does time fly ... Also, sadly, Tim's nana, Hailey's great-nana, died yesterday of cancer. She had so much spunk and we all loved her so much! I am so blessed that she was able to meet Hailey and spend some time with her this summer. Please keep the family in your prayers! The funeral will be Thursday at 9am.

Hailey with her Great-Nana.


Also, as many of you know Tim has been out of work for a few weeks now and has been interviewing, but with no luck. Last week he had an interview with the "perfect" job and Thursday, the same day as the funeral, Tim has his second interview. The problem is the owners only have one day where they can interview so Tim will have to go to the funeral and run back for the interview. Please keep him in your prayers as it is going to be hard, but this job is so needed!
Well, on a lighter note, this weekend we went to Freeport for the first time and really enjoyed ourselves. We bought Hailey her first little LL Bean jacket for winter. So cute! Also, we went to the Concert on the Commons and actually had to wear coats! It is already getting cold - argghhh! In MD it didn't get cooler until the end of September/October and by then you were ready for a break, I am defintely not ready mid-August. Also, the cold weather is bringing back the dreaded RSV fears and knowing that Hailey will have to go back into hibernation. If you want to know more about RSV go to www.rsvprotection.com. The pediatrician told us at her 1 year appt that she is at risk until the age of 2 due to prematurity and to keep her away from sick people this winter. I actually follow the journal of another 30 weeker who is now 3 and he was a pretty healthy 30 weeker like Hailey, but got RSV his second winter and now has asthma. That just reminded me how vigilant I still need to be. Please pray we are able to stay healthy AND sane this season! I want Hailey to be able to "socialize" as she is older, but I also need her to stay healthy and being lax this season could cause her problems for the rest of her life. Also, I don't think I posted yet that Hailey got her new "captain's chair". She is still only 17 lbs, but cries almost everytime she is in her carseat so we figured she needed to get a convertible car seat sooner or later so why not now and see if it helps. We bought the Britax Marathon and love it, she on the other hand is not impressed. Oh well! Well, now on to the pictures.

Do I look cute or what?!


Me and my friend Elita!


Me, Uncle Matt, Kare Bear and her niece Jasmine (10 months)


Reading my favorite book before bed
(notice my hip helper shorts - they force me to sit straight!)

weekend in pictures

3 month PT goals

Well now daddy is really sick with a bad sore throat. I am hoping and praying Hailey doesn't get it. He is just miserable. I guess it is going around. ARRGGGHH ... Lets just say this last month has been a "trying" time in our lives (I won't bore you with the details of our lives), but lets just say I am waiting for the good news to start pouring in at some point. I am sticking to believing the verse in Psalms that says God will not withold any good thing from those that walk uprightly. So good has to come sometime soon :-)
Anyway, Hailey had her physical therapy appt yesterday. All went well. I figured I would share Hailey's 3 month goals so when we get there and look back we can see if they were met.
1. Hailey will crawl forward on her hands and knees 10 feet using a cross lateral pattern.
2. Hailey will negotiate the threshold in her home, by crawling up and down without hesitation and without losing her balance.
3. In sitting, Hailey will pivot 180 degrees on her bottom.
4. In a kneeling position, Hailey will maintain high kneeling while rotationg her head without losing her balance for 5 seconds.
5. Hailey will stand for 5 seconds without support and without losing her balance before lowering herself to the floor.
6. With one hand held assist, Hailey will walk 8' alternating steps and moving forward.
7. From sitting on the floor, Hailey will transition into standing using a plantigrade position (bearstand) without turning her body more than 20 degrees.
8. Hailey will squat to the floor, pick up a toy and return to standing without losing her balance.
So there you have it. This is where Hailey should be by November. We also discussed with the PT about Hailey's "energy". Now that she can move, she doesn't stop and doesn't focus very well on one thing. She has to keep moving and check everything out. She did say preemies can have sensory issues due to these sensory skills not being fully developed before entering this world. From watching Hailey she just thinks we could have a high energy child on our hands because she can sit when she "wants" too. Watch out world! Being a worry wart already before Hailey came, and then her giving me a reason to worry with her early arrival, I am now officially over the edge. A sniffle has me calling the doctor as we were warned time and time again about RSV. Stuff I would not even think of worrying about now becomes an issue. Who thought that when your child was born you would have to worry about them "forgetting" to breathe!? On it goes with new worries at each step and each age. Oh the joy of being a "preemie" mom. Yet, I do have to add that I am so blessed with how far she has come and how well she is doing. She has fought so hard to get where she is today and I know she is and will be just fine. My living, breathing miracle!

Standing!

Well, where do I start? Thursday Hailey woke up not feeling well and vomited 4 times. Yikes! Because of this I stopped whole milk for the time being and went back to formula. I am not sure what caused the vomiting since she had shots, started whole milk and tried a new food all in the same 24 hours. It could have been any of those things, but I feel better going back to my original plan of delaying things till her adjusted age. I delayed starting solids till she was 8 months actual, 6 months adjusted and had always thought I would follow that plan with whole milk and when introducing it I will take a slower approach.
Anyway, I really wanted to post to let you all know that Hailey stood on her own not holding anything for 2-3 seconds today, not only once, but three times!!! I was in shock and so excited! The physical therapist has been working with her on this, but she always has lost her balance when we let go, but not today. All three times she was leaning on me and then just decided to let go and there she was still up! Way to go Hailey!
Lastly, I told Tia that I would give a RAVING review of her birthday party so here it is ... Tonight Hailey and her parents were invited to a lovely party to celebrate Tia's 26th birthday. We all had such a great time and Hailey loved every bite of the cake :-)
Happy Birthday Tia!
Love to all!

Growth over her 1st year

Just beginning:
2lbs – 15.5oz
17 in

1 month stats:
3lbs – 12oz

2 month stats:
6lbs – 7oz

3 month stats:
7lbs – 10oz

4 month stats:
10 lbs - 10oz
22 ¼ in

5 1/2 month stats:
12lbs – 15.5 oz
24 in

6 month stats:
13lbs - 10 oz
24 ½ in
head: 40 1/2 in

7 1/2 month stats:
15 lbs - 9 oz
25 ½ in

9 month stats:
15lbs - 14 oz
26 ½ inches
head: 43 in

11 month stats:
16lbs – 10oz

12 month stats:
17lbs – 3oz
26 ¾ in
Head: 44.8

1 year check-up

I still can't believe she is 1! I am having a hard time leaving behind the baby stage, mostly, because I know I probably can't have another child without weighing out the huge risks and so as we go forward I am thrilled to watch her grow, but sad knowing I may never have a "baby" again.
Well, on to the good stuff. Hailey weighed in at a whopping 17lbs, 3oz and she is a long, o.k. short 26 3/4 inches. She is in the 5th percentile for her height and weight. The ped was happy about her growth saying that they didn't expect her to be 25lbs at her year check-up since she started out so small and as long as they see that she is steadily growing they are happy. She does recognize the doctors office now and wasn't a happy baby overall. The funny thing was the time where she was the most relaxed was when they did the finger prick and drew blood. HUH?! You heard it right - she cried while the doctor examined her and when she was given shots, but sat quietly during the blood draw. Can't explain that one ... Any her growth is good, her iron is good and she is doing well overall. We were also given the go ahead to wean her zantac and start whole milk. No more formula, weaning the bottle?! Most mom's would be happy about this, but like I said before I am having a hard time, bittersweet ... leaving the baby "year" behind and not to mention as we start more solid foods I am deathly afraid of the "c" word (choking) - yikes!
Now on to physical therapy. It was scheduled for Thursday, but had to be moved up due to a scheduling conflict with the therapist. We weren't sure how Hailey would do since she was just returning from the peds office, but she was fine. She really likes the therapist and since it is done at home I think she feels comfortable. She was defintely worn out though after her long day and was asleep by 7:30pm! The appt went well and the therapist gave us some goals for where she should be at when we are done and we were very happy with them. I will post them another time. She did notice yesterday that Hailey was a little stiff in her hips and unless she is standing/cruising her legs are always in the frog-like position. She said we can correct it with positioning & therapy. We will be looking into getting something called hip helpers (www.hiphelpers.com). They are the answer to excessive hip abduction in babies and toddlers with low muscle tone. They have been found to improve rotational movement and limit "W" sitting in babies who are developing their movement skills (quote from the website). Anyway, I am very happy with all the physical therapist is doing and glad we went ahead with getting Hailey followed up.

We have teeth!

We have teeth! YEAH! Not one, but two bottom teeth at the same time! We can cancel our appointment for dentures :-) All weekend she has been exceptionally crabby, with a runny, stuffy nose, grabbing her ear and by Sunday she didn't even want to eat. Saturday night Meme and I checked her mouth because I figure she had to get teeth sometime, but nothing was there. Sunday while having one of her many mood swings she started screaming and there they were gleaming - two bottom teeth. Well, at least the tip of them. At least we have an explanation for the "symptoms". She has her 1 year check up Wednesday and I was getting worried that she was sick.
Also, at the young age of 1 Hailey is already driving. Yes, we bought her a car this weekend. She received a gift card for her birthday (thank you Uncle Jeff, Auntie Jessie, Bing and Manny). So Friday we went to Toys R Us and got her first car! She loves it. We are trying to teach her to keep both hands on the wheel and use the horn like her daddy :-) At least for now daddy can use the horn for her. She drove to the park yesterday and absolutely loved it. This week Hailey has her 1 year checkup and her first physical therapy appointment so I am sure there will be updates to follow later in the week.

concert at the park

Look at the pretty dress Elijah sent me for my birthday!

Therapy Begins

Hailey had her physical therapy appointment yesterday. Just as the physical therapist was about to arrive we lost power. It doesn't take long for our third floor apartment to heat up when the air goes off and its 100 degrees outside. The appointment itself went well though. Hailey immediately decided that she like the therapist and showed off her newfound skills. The therapist could not believe how far Hailey has come since her last evaluation. After seeing her though she put it this way, she said that by 2 or 3 Hailey would be caught up with kids her "actual" age or we could do therapy for a month or two and have her caught up now. What would you choose?! So we are going to have her come to our house once a week for two months to work with Hailey. Mostly what we are working with is her "core" strength. She does crawl and cruise with the best of them, but here and there you can defintely notice some strength issues. I will keep you updated on how she does week by week. Also, next week she has her 1 year check-up with shots - yikes! She does not like the doctor anymore so that should be fun (not)!

Party Girl!

Hailey is officially 1! She had a wonderful birthday party on Saturday and really enjoyed herself though it was quite hot! She received LOTS of wonderful gifts - thanks to everyone who came and even those who couldn't. Its hard when you have so many you want to invite, but a limited number you are able to invite. I will post some cute birthday pix below.
Before I do that I had to share that Hailey finally said Mama yesterday and bye, bye! We were so excited! She also started clapping on Thursday. So many milestones... I think it will still be awhile before she walks, but she is getting steadier on her feet these days.
We also had a scare this weekend, Hailey woke up congested on Sunday and ended up having a nosebleed. So scary! It was coming hard and fast, but looking back I used saline to help her congestion and that could have thinned the blood and made it look worse than it was. We were scared to death. All is well now though. She wakes up many morning's congested, I think it is the dry air in our apartment.
Lastly, we had Luke's 5th birthday party yesterday which was a great time and Hailey ended up going in the lake with Meme, Daddy and then Auntie Tracey and surprisingly - she LOVED it! I think it was because we slowly introduced her this time and the water was like bath water. It was great to see her enjoying herself.
Well, here are the pix!

One year ago our life changed forever ....

I have been thinking today about how blessed we are. Our tiny baby girl has gone from 2lbs, 15.5oz to a “big” 16lbs, 10oz in a year. She went from relying on machines and meds to crawling and cruising all by herself!
A year ago tonight, July 13th my water started trickling. I disregarded it thinking that urine was leaking and ended up going to bed. No more leaking through the night, but many cramps to follow. Surprisingly, I slept through most of it till about 5am when I couldn’t stand it anymore and I woke Tim up. We decided to be safe and called my OB Dr. Timoll who told us to go to L&D. I just thought I was constipated and having cramps from the pizza we had the night before (because at that point in my pregnancy I was dealing with LOTS of heartburn). We got ready and joked all the way to the hospital still oblivious that I was in premature labor. I was dressed for work! Once we got there they hooked me up to an IV and said that my water had indeed broken. I actually was in shock because I only had that small leak the night before. We didn’t know what the future would hold for our beautiful baby girl and that broke our hearts … By that time I was having severe, constant cramps, not on and off contractions. The nurses just kept telling me to hang in there. By this time I was in excruciating pain and couldn’t sit still so they called my OB again, he said to start magnesium and give me the steroids shot for Hailey’s lungs. Well, they gave me enough magnesium to make me very sick just in time to push. Yes, they checked me and I went from 1cm to 10cm in a half hour! After that it is all a blur, a “million” doctors rushed in, none whom I recognized and told me to push because her heart rate was dropping. I pushed will all my might, but they still had to cut me – twice - NO pain meds! Surprisingly my parents, whom I called on the way to the hospital and told that I was going in for a check-up and not to come to the hospital, ignored my advice and made it in just as she was cresting. She was out within 5 minutes and screaming up a storm. All this happened before 9:29am. Little did we know what life held beyond that moment. Would our child live, what would her life be like, what did it really mean to have a preemie, what are some complications she could encounter?! About an hour after birth they let us go to the NICU, what a sight. We didn’t see the blood, the wires, the CPAP – we saw our beautiful tiny little girl! We were blessed!!!!
That night as we were settled in at the hospital and all family and friends had left the doctors came in to get consent to check for spinal meningitis. At that moment again, our world spiraled out of control – we were certain she had meningitis. We eventually learned that they test for many different conditions, but that doesn’t necessarily mean she has them. Over and over we went up and down on this rollercoaster ride called “NICU”, two steps forward, one step back really felt like four steps back, one step forward. Many nights we cried out to God to save our tiny baby girl’s life and He did. By the end I was getting very jealous of the nurses who took care of my baby and we were ready to break her out of there, but whenever we got close to going home a small set back would occur. Finally, after 7 ½ weeks in the place she called home, we broke her out. I was worried she wouldn’t adjust well to her “real home”, but she did better at home then she did her last few days at the hospital. She had to go home on an apnea monitor, but that was o.k., she was home!!!! We are blessed!
Now we watch our baby girl crawl and cruise, we watch her take a 6oz bottle in 5 minutes and think back on when we tried for a half hour and couldn’t even get her to take 5cc’s without her turning blue and choking.
We stand in amazement and look forward to what her future holds! Mommy and Daddy love you our Itty Bitty Baby Girl! Happy 1st Birthday!

Hailey has learned to wave, well, sort of ...

Hailey has learned to wave! Well sort of ... As you can see from the picture below she proceeds to wave with her middle finger high up the air. You should see the looks we get! In all reality, would I really teach my 11 month old child to give people the birdie, I don't think so! Truthfully, we have noticed that her middle finger snaps when she bends it and she can move it in many "strange" positions. Our theory is that she is double jointed. She does bend it to grasp things, but when waving or tapping her fingers she keeps that one finger straight. We have had many nights of good laughs over this, but I am starting to feel bad since we get people who shake their heads at us in public. She thinks she is waving, so how do you tell her she can't wave?
Also, the physical therapist finally called to schedule Hailey's appt to see why she isn't crawling, o.k., so she is now not only crawling, but cruising. Well, the therapist said it was stated on the report that they were also concerned she favored her left side, which at this age shouldn't happen. So we decided to still have her come out and see how Hailey is doing. Worst that can happen is she gets some therapy, best is that its a quick appointment and we get a clean bill of health.
Lastly, we had our first MOPS meeting tonight. We had alot of fun and it was great to be around other mom's.
Here is the pix of Hailey "waving"!

By the way, I am holding her arm because the flash takes a moment and she kept putting her hand down before we could take the picture, usually she "waves" all by herself :-)

Friends for Life

I had to share that last night while at church, as usual, Hailey could not sit still so I took her to the mother's room. Well, it seemed many of Hailey's "friends" could not sit still as well and so we had a room full. Adia, Sidney, Erin and of course Hailey. It was so much fun to watch all of them in action and it was especially neat to me because this was the first time since Hailey became mobile that she actually played with other kids. She crawled after them and played with toys and had a great time. It was also neat to see how we all came a full circle, Mandy, Sarah, Elita and I grew up together and as we got older we all moved to different places, but now we are all back with kids not aged to far apart who will grow up together. SO much FUN! Wish I had my camera to take pix, but I am sure we will have many play dates ahead!
Also, with Nana and Dooda on vacation Hailey spent a couple days at Meme and Papa's house and had a great time. On Wednesday Taylor was there as well, and Hailey has always loved Taylor from start so I know she enjoyed spending time with her. Meme taught Hailey to drink from a cup and also pick a small tea cup up with her thumb and forefinger. Oh my gosh, so cute! She also introduced Hailey to the baby cookies and Hailey LOVES them. Meme has lots of pix, so when I get them I will have to post for all of you to see.
Today Hailey is home with Dada and its our 5th year wedding anniversary!!!! Happy Anniversary sweetie, I LOVE YOU!

And she's off ...

Hailey has "conquered" crawling in the last week. As you can see from my previous posts she has slowly come along, but now she is off and running. Not only has she conquered crawling, she has conquered going from crawling to sitting and from sitting to standing. As those of you who are parent's know, nothing is safe. Especially the cat! Bedtime has become a new problem as well and can take hours because as soon as we lay her down she is up ... if anyone has any tips let me know! We have lowered the mattress and she still gets up. I have to say as much as her new found "freedom" can be a pain, I can't help but smile, even after going into her bedroom for the hundreth time. A year ago I would never have imagined where she is today, even a few weeks ago I was wondering if something was wrong because it was taking so long for her to start crawling. I just sometimes forget she was a preemie because of how far she has come! Now if we could only get those teeth to grow. I keep saying that we are getting her fitted for dentures soon! Well, I was on "vacation" from Thursday through today and though it wasn't a "real" vacation it was nice to be home with Hailey. Daddy was at camp so Hailey, I and Nana went shopping and to the beach. Then daddy came home and we went to the lake on Monday, which went sour as soon as we attempted to take her in the water! Lets say we won't do that again for awhile :-) For the 4th of July we went to visit my family in Buckfield and had a great time. Many of them hadn't met Hailey yet because we had to keep her secluded during the winter.
In the midst of all the "fun" Hailey still has a runny, congested nose from a week ago and has been rather sour lately so we took her the doctor on Monday after our beach episode to rule out an ear infection. Thankfully it is just a cold and not an ear infection. She is now at that age where she recognizes the doctors office and has grown to despise it and all you can do is hold your child down while the doctor checks her out. Not fun, and it took both Tim and I to hold down a 16lbs baby. Yes, we weighed her - 16lbs, 10oz. So in a year she went from 2lbs, 15.5oz to 16lbs, 10oz. Not bad! Well, that is all for now. I have a couple cute pix I wanted to share. Notice her on the rocker, when I tried to get her off she squeezed her legs together so I couldn't get her, she LOVED that thing. I think she was hinting to us what to get her for her birthday :-)