Visitors, Shots, and Photo Shoots

Happy and Healthy!!!

(on my new pink blanket made by Mama Susie)

Sweet Dreams

Sleepy Time

Crosby came for a visit!

Bundled in my favorite chair!

My first photograph with G-G-Ma!
(Wade's grandmother)

My first photograph with Great-Granddaddy Bob!
(Melissa's Grandfather)

Ouch! My first big girl band-aid!

Wow--Margaret continues to amaze us with her adorable personality and her incredible strength! Yesterday we had our third visit to the pediatrician's office. Dr. B. said that Margaret looks great and continues to grow at a steady rate. This week she weighed 5 pounds 6 ounces; she gained 5 1/2 ounces in one week! So Dr. B. said that we could wait two weeks to have our next visit, and I can try to nurse her for most of her feedings!!! Unfortunately, Margaret received her first round of shots in Dr. B.'s office and showed off her lovely cry/scream, but our sweet nurse, Faith, was very quick and comforting.

Margaret also had a few visitors last week. My sweet friend, Danielle, stopped by last Friday with her 7 week old baby boy, Crosby. He is such an adorable little man and already weighs 8 1/2 pounds! We had a fun visit catching up and staring at our sweet little miracles. Thank you, Dr. B.! (Danielle and I met in Dr. B.'s office last summer and share similar experiences. We were both high risk patients, and Dr. B. spoiled us with his incredible care. Danielle has been a great friend to me throughout this pregnancy and shares a strong faith in God. We both feel truly blessed!)

G-G-Ma also came for a visit! She held Margaret for the first time and admired her coos and grunts. She shared some fascinating stories of the family trip to the Galapagos Islands. She also described the moment that the family heard the glorious news of Margaret's birth and the exciting toast that the entire family shared on the boat!!!

On Monday, Great-Granddaddy Bob came over for lunch with Mama Susie. He held Margaret for the first time and just loved staring at her adorable features. Miss Margaret is his thirteenth great-grandchild--pretty incredible!

We continue to stay healthy over here, even though Wade and I are not sleeping. Our precious angel seems to be a night-owl and loves to show off her noises at night. The pediatrician actually says this is a good thing. Margaret's increased alertness and strong cries show that her brain is continuing to mature and is working.

Thank you for your prayers---she is just a doll, and we feel truly blessed to have her in our lives!

Weekend Fun

G-G-Ma's Family Crib--we love it!!!

Mabel meets Margaret---just a little jealous!

4 Weeks Old!!!

Margaret and Daddy under James' tree!

James' Bench at Cheekwood --Thank you Uncle Neil and Aunt Debbie!

What a wonderful week and weekend! It was so nice to have Daddy home all week. He is incredible and has been very helpful! Plus, we got in some much needed family time. Friday morning we celebrated Margaret's 4 Week Old Birthday! Later that evening, Mabel came home from my parents' house, and we introduced our little girls. Mabel was not that interested. She sniffed Margaret for a few seconds and then went straight to bed.

We were pretty lazy on Saturday, because I was recovering from an allergic reaction to a new medication. It looks like that last hospital stay wasn't necessary. I had the same symptoms two weeks ago (shortness of breath, chest pain, low grade fever) and had started the same antibiotic. Anyway I stopped the medication and now feel much better.

Today we took Margaret on her first ride in the stroller around Cheekwood! What a gorgeous day! We introduced Margaret to James' tree and bench. The tree is bare right now, but we know come springtime it will be covered in those beautiful, delicate leaves. James has been heavy on our minds lately, because Margaret looks so much like him. We see him in her mouth and her eyes. How special--he will always be with us, and Margaret will love our visits to Cheekwood to play around her brother's tree!

Margaret's First Outings

Margaret is not quite sure

about leaving the house so soon!

Margaret meets her pediatrician, a new Dr. B.

Margaret's favorite spot in the house!

She found her thumb!
Unfortunately, I look like a duck!

Margaret meets Dr. B.!!!
We love Dr. B. ---thank you for helping us get Margaret here safely!!!

Wade, Margaret, and I enjoyed two different outings today. The first one was a visit to Margaret's pediatrician, Dr. B. She thinks Margaret looks great and would like to see her weekly for the next few weeks just to make sure she is gaining weight and staying healthy. Margaret now weighs 4lbs. 13 oz.--what a big girl!!! (Or at least we think so--when you are around premie babies all day in the NICU, 4 lbs. seems huge!)

After a little break at home, we traveled downtown for Mommy's appointment with the original Dr. B. just to check my blood pressure. Dr. B. was just glowing when he bounded into the room. He had no idea Margaret was even out of the NICU yet. He said he was planning on seeing her tomorrow in the NICU during his weekly Margaret visit (how precious!). So we spent most of the visit talking about Maggie Moo (Wade's new nickname for her), and Dr. B. held her the whole time. He has been with us through so many highs and lows---witnessing the worst and best days of our lives. There are not enough words to express how much we appreciate his devotion to our family. He always said that his ultimate goal was to help us have a child and now we do! I am so glad that he was there to deliver Margaret and complete my surgery---again, I count my blessings!

So it was a great day! I think Margaret is exhausted because she did not want to take her afternoon bottle. Maybe she will actually sleep tonight!

Home Sweet Home

Precious Angel

Margaret's Pod

Another Angle

Cute and Content

3 Weeks Old!!!

Welcome Home, Margaret!!!

Well after a surprise conversation with Dr. F. and the nurse yesterday, we found out that we would be coming home today. We were thrilled with the news but also very nervous to have Margaret all to ourselves (without monitors).

Last night we chose to room-in with Miss Margaret in the NICU. There is a little private room actually inside the NICU for parents to use the night before they take their babies home. So after Margaret's soapy bath and change of clothes, we left the electrodes off and wheeled her down to our room for the night. The nurse left every feeding up to us, so every three hours we took Margaret's temperature, changed her diaper, and fed her. I even tried nursing again (it worked for a good ten minutes or so).

Margaret is a doll! She makes the cutest noises---lots of coos and grunts, which she likes to share in the middle of the night. She hardly ever cries (Wade claims that she is saving it up for this weekend). Even though we only got an hour or two of sleep, it was a wonderful evening and provided us with the confidence we needed to take her home.

Around 9:45 AM this morning, we brought our precious angel home. It has been a wonderful day full of kisses and contentment. We are so thankful for all of the thoughts and prayers for our little girl. We are truly blessed and know that God is monitoring all of our lives. We will put our trust in Him.

In Preparation

In preparation of Margaret's homecoming, Wade and I are doing a great deal of cleaning, organizing, and most importantly researching. We know that we cannot recreate the NICU, but we want our home to be a clean and safe environment for Margaret. The amazing NICU nurses continue to take great care of Margaret, and during this open-crib phase (the final phase) they have given us complete control (when we are there) of taking her temp, changing her diaper, and feeding her.

The nurses also provide us with little tidbits of information about premature babies and their care. They seem to always stress the importance of protecting Margaret from RSV (Respiratory Synctytial Virus) and other illnesses. Hand-washing, hand-washing, and more hand-washing!!!!

(These paragraphs are taken from a pamphlet by MedImmune Inc., Your Premature Baby and RSV, 2005)

RSV is a common and highly contagious virus. In most children (and adults) it causes mild cold-like symptoms. But babies born prematurely who have not received natural virus-fighting substances from their mothers, and those with lung or heart problems, are at high risk for severe RSV for the first few years of their lives. It is spread through kissing, touching, sneezing, and coughing. It can remain active for hours on household surfaces. It spreads rapidly in crowded households and in child care centers.

To help prevent RSV, you can wash hands with soap and warm water every time before you or anyone else touches your baby; wash countertops, toys, crib rails, and other surfaces often; promptly discard used tissues; don't expose your baby to crowds at malls, buses, subways, or large family gatherings; don't smoke near the baby or in the baby's house (smoke can increase danger of RSV infection); and limit contact with the baby if you have a cold or a fever.

Wade and I think it is very important for our family and friends to know about RSV and hand-washing!!! Once Margaret is home, we want visitors. However, we are going to be pretty strict about hand-washing, short visits, limited touching, and only healthy visitors (with healthy family members at home). Wade and I are going to do all of the holding for a while---remember, we have had limited holdings for the past three weeks! We hope that everyone will understand that we just love Margaret and want her to have a healthy beginning at home. She needs to focus all of her energy on growing instead of fighting an illness.

If you would like more information on RSV go to www. rsvprotection.com or www. synagis.com.

Thank you for reading this---we love you and promise to focus on cute pictures and Margaret's progress next time!!!

Picture Day

Sweet Angel

Little Frog
My legs are finally getting adjusted to the outside world!



Happy 2nd Week Birthday--2 donuts!!!

1800 grams---Open Crib Time!!!

Thank you Hudson, Charlie, Aunt Lolly, and Uncle Michael for my drawings and banner!
I love decorations!

Sorry it took me so long to post updates. Wade and I have been busy moving back into our home and traveling back and forth to the NICU to see Miss Margaret. After living with my dear parents for 20 days and in Baptist for 27 days, we are finally home! Wow-Wade and I both agree that our bed is the best!!!

Margaret is doing well! Last night she weighed 4 lbs. 3.25 oz. A few days ago she moved into an open crib, because she met the goals of weighing 1800 grams, holding her own temperature, and not requiring any supplemental oxygen. To go home she needs to weigh 4 lbs. 8 oz. and either take a bottle for all of her feedings or nurse. Right now she is still using the feeding tube for most of her feedings; that is why she has that lovely piece of tape around her mouth.

So her homecoming is just around the corner; it is hard to predict when it will happen but we know it will be soon. Wade and I need to figure out that car-seat!

Enjoy the pictures and continue to pray for our precious little girl!

Kangaroo Care

Peek-a-boo! I love my warm isolette!

Daddy loves daughter!


Mommy loves Kangaroo Care!

Comfy Spot

Wade and I are home again--well, home at my parents' house. Hopefully, we will return to our house later this weekend to give my parents a break and start cleaning our home for Margaret's arrival in a couple of weeks.

We left the hospital yesterday afternoon after my last round of IV antibiotics. Now the docs think that I either had a mild case of pulmonary edema or the early stages of pneumonia. Either way I am feeling much better and will hopefully get all of the excess fluid out of my lungs and body soon.

Today I gave Margaret 'kangaroo care' (what you see in the picture). It is strongly recommended for newborns, especially premature babies. Another name for it is skin-to-skin, and it encourages bonding between mother/ father and baby. It also reminds Margaret of her time in the womb.

I loved it! It was such an amazing feeling to have my baby girl so close again and feel her warm little body. I was able to study her beautiful fingers--so long and delicate! I was able to kiss her little forehead and rock her to sleep! Hopefully Wade will get to give Margaret kangaroo care tonight.

It is easy to start feeling sorry for yourself when you think of all of the hours that you have missed holding your newborn baby because she is in the NICU, but I continue to feel blessed because she is alive and here! People try to warn me and Wade about sleepless nights and hours of crying and feeding. They don't understand---we don't care. Of course, we are going to be exhausted, and it will be hard. However, we will have a daughter in our lives to hold, kiss, share, etc. There really couldn't be a better gift! That is what James taught us---to never take your blessings for granted, to remember what is really important in life, and how to really love one another!