Steady as She Grows

All smiles...she smiles great big smiles at me when I smile at her now! There is nothing more rewarding in the world then a baby smile from ear to ear - it makes everything worth it!
Starting to "coo" a bit! She likes to talk to the animals on her mobile, especially her monkey!

Good morning, everyone! Harper finally has her nights and days straightened out, which means a lot more sleep for mommy! We are doing excellent, and more importantly, she is doing wonderful! She weighed in Friday morning at 6 pounds 5.5 ounces and her pediatrician graduated her to a visit every two weeks instead of once or twice a week! She will sleep 4 hours at a time now if I let her. I only do that once a day/night, though, because I want her to keep gaining weight steadily. She usually eats every two and a half hours, like clockwork she gets hungry and will wake up to eat. But after her late night feeding around 10 or 11, she will sleep 4 hours straight before wanting to eat. As long as she keeps gaining weight good I will continue to let her do that because it helps me feel like a person again to get 4 hours in a row like that! Of course it never fails, I wake up in a panic because I haven't heard from her in a while so sometimes I get two hours, wake up and check on her, and then get about an hour and a half because, unlike Matt who falls asleep before his head hits the pillow, it takes me a while to fall asleep. We still are striving to get her to 7 pounds, but we are getting very close!
She has an appointment with the apnea/synagis clinic and the eye doctor this week. Last week her eye doctor said there was new growth in zone 3 of her eye, which is what we want! It means some of the blood vessels were able to get past the line of demarcation from zone 2 to zone 3 instead of balling up and pulling on the retina, which would have meant plus disease and surgery. This was a huge milestone and exactly what we have been praying for and waiting for. It also meant he would let her go 10 days between visits instead of 7, which doesn't seem like a lot, but three extra days will add up eventually and make life a little easier for us plus keep her away from germs a little longer.
Billie has been sick. She woke up last Thursday with what seemed like allergies, so we started on allergy meds. Then Saturday she woke up feeling really bad, so I called her grandma and asked them to come get her (to try to protect Harper from it, just in case). She never had a fever, but RSV in us is just a cold and not a big deal, but in Harper it would be devastating...it would mean a hospital stay possible on a ventilator or even worse, so if any of us get anything similar to a cold or respiratory illness we will have to be kept away from Harper. So Billie went to her grandparents for the rest of the weekend, and I disinfected the whole house. Billie went to the doctor on Monday and it was a sinus infection. She came home Wednesday after school. It was horrible to send my sick baby away, but she understood and was in the next best hands to my own with her grandma. She is such a trooper, never complains and always puts her sister first. We are so blessed with the most generous and caring daughter. She missed her sister so much when she was gone, too. Billie is better now, but still has a little lingering effects.
Rain, rain and more rain. I feel sorry for those who did have Labor Day plans yesterday because we got about 5 inches of rain. I am sure the lakes around here were like ghost towns. It is still raining today and will continue through out today, but not as heavy as it was yesterday. We stayed in, and of course would have even if it had been a sunny day, but I know it is usually a day that marks the end of summer around here. It will still be hot for another month or so, though. We usually go to Boone Lake to Matt's parent's boat house for a fish fry. This weekend was Matt's birthday, and we had tickets to go to Detroit to see the Tigers play. His family still went, and actually my dad was able to go and use one of our tickets (we sold the rest online once we had Harper and realized we wouldn't be able to go.) It was a sweep, the Tigers played three good games and everyone had a good time. Matt was a little disappointed, he has never been to Comerica Park, but he said there really was no place else he would rather be than home with us. I tried to get him to go with his parents, but he chose to stay home instead. I promised him I would take him when Harper is older, though. Maybe next year!
So today begins a 4 day work/school week and cooler temperatures for us! Harper and I will enjoy the cooler temperatures on our walks once the rain stops. She loves her stroller and always has a good nap on our walks. I enjoy the exercise and getting out of the house helps me keep my sanity! I am really a home body, though, and I am not struggling with cabin fever yet. That may change, but for now I feel so blessed to have my family together under one roof and have this miracle little baby to care for. I am living my dream right now, being a stay-at-home mom with two miraculous daughters and a wonderful husband. I am just counting my many blessings and enjoying what God has given me. God is so good, all of the time!