Christmas Outfit

Hailey received several Christmas outfits. We put one on her yesterday because we were going to look at lights that evening and we wanted her in the Christmas spirit! . This one came from Amanda. It was the outfit her daughter Mylee wore for her first Christmas. The booties were so cute but they did not last on her feet very long- she kicked them off!

Bumbo~

We put Hailey in her Bumbo on Friday afternoon for the first time. At first, she seemed to like it but after a few minutes she started to fuss.

I just love how cute all the girl clothes are! It seems that majority of them have something on the butt. Why when babies are so small, it's okay to have attention there but as we get older we shy away from anything on our backside?

I'm Awake!

I have been waiting to get a picture of Hailey with her eyes open. It seems that when she is awake and alert I am holding her and the camera is in the other room. On Friday, she was laying on our bed while I was getting ready and she was WIDE awake! No matter how hard I tried or the crazy sounds I made, she would not look at the camera.

It's been awhile..

First of all, sorry it has been so long since I have made a post. Life has been great but crazy at our house! Each morning I think to myself that I need to update the blog, some how the day gets away from me and it does not get done.

Hailey has had many appointments the last few weeks so let me update you on that first! Hailey had another eye appointment last week and the doctor said her eyes are fully developed!! That means she is out of the woods for blindness and eye problems! We don't have to go back until she is 9 months old! YEAH! We also had her 2 month doctor visit (it's hard to believe she is almost 2 months old!). She weighs 6 lbs and is 18 1/4 inches long! She got three shots and an oral vaccine. Daddy held her while mommy cried! It's so hard to see and hear her cry like that! The doctor said she looked great and is happy with her weight gain!

She has more awake time each and every day! She eats about every 2 to 3 hours and takes

60-70 ml (about 2 oz).

Life is great!! Enjoy the pictures of our precious little girl!

Hailey enjoys some "tummy time"

Happy Holidays!!

One of my favorite pictures! Thanks Karen for capturing it!

Another favorite!

I think Hailey is trying to tell us to stop taking pictures of her. However, she is just so cute we cannot resist!

Nap time for Daddy and Hailey! Daddy follows the advice of many people: "Sleep when she sleeps." Mommy's list of things to get done is to long to nap!

Hailey seems to enjoy her bath. Her eyes are usually wide open for the whole thing!

Enjoying Life!

Hailey has now been home for 1 week! Life in our house has certainly changed. I find myself just staring at her while she sleeps! She is a great baby, eating every 3 hours and very content most of the time.
She had her eye appointment last Monday. Since she was a premie they check to make sure her eyes are developing properly (vessels attaching to the retina). They dialated her eyes first, then the used a spring contraption to hold her eye open, then they used this tool to poke around in her eye! They doctor did numb her eyes but she still cried! Needless to say I was not in the room during the exam- Jason stayed with her! The doctor said her eyes are developing correctly but not yet fully developed, which they expected. She has to get another exam in 2 weeks.
Then Tuesday she met her pediatricin for the first time. She weighed 4 lbs 12.5 oz and she was 17 1/2 inches long! The doctor said she looks great. We go back in 2 weeks for another check up.
It has been a busy week for us!

We're HOME!

Last night we had a "sleep in" at the hospital to practice taking care of Hailey. It went very well, we were up every 3 hours for feedings but it was great practice. We left the hospital today at 12:30! Jason was a very cautious driver all the way home and went the speed limit (or below)! We are adjusting to life with a newborn!

So close...

Hailey is now taking bottles for every feeding! She takes 43 ml at each feeding. She had her head ultrasound yesterday to check for brain bleeding it came back normal (YEAH!). She also passed her hearing screening yesterday! Last night she had a car seat test and she did not pass--she has to sit in her car seat for 90 minutes and not desat or brachycardia while in the seat. They are going to try it again tonight! Last night she weighed 4lbs and 6oz.
In order to come home she has to take a bottle for every feeding for 24-36 hours and pass her car seat evaluation. It looks like she should be home this weekend!! Keep your fingers crossed!

3 weeks old!

Hailey now weighs 4 lbs 1.5 oz!! They are talking about letting her come home sometime next week! They won't make any promises though!! She is now taking 6 bottles a day and has to get up to 8 bottles per day before she can come home! She also has to pass a car seat test. Basically she has to sit in her car seat for 90 minutes and not stop breathing. They also make sure she fits okay and the straps get tight enough to keep her safe.

3 lbs 12.2 oz

Family Photo!

We gave Hailey a bath tonight for the first time by ourselves!! She did great and seemed to enjoy it. It was a little nerve racking for us because she is so small and we had to work quickly so she did not get to cold. The nurse said we did great!!

After we got her smelling like a sweet baby we had the nurse take our first family photo!

Gaining Weight~

Hailey is now weighing in at a whopping 3 lbs and 9.5 oz!!! YEAH HAILEY!!
She is also taking a bottle for every other feeding (4 times a day)- which seems to really wears her out. They may back off on the number of bottles per day if she seems to be to tired. Jason fed her last night for the first time and she fell asleep about half-way through the feeding so they have to tube feed her the rest. It's a lot of work for her to suck out of the bottle. She is also now getting 34 ml of breastmilk at each feeding!

Bath Time~

1st Bottle

Hailey had her first experience with a bottle on Wednesday. She took 30 ml without hardly taking a breath and then pucked up about 15 ml. The nurses said she was a very greedy baby and she will learn to pace herself. She got her second bottle that same night and did much better. She did not spit up as much and is learning to pace herself. Each time she takes the bottle she does better. They will continue to give her a bottle twice a day and then tube feed for the other feedings. What a champ! We are so proud of her.

Hailey Update

Hailey is doing very well. She is now eating 21 ml of breastmilk every three hours! She still has the pic line in her groin but that will come out when she eats 23 ml of food (tomorrow hopefully!). She is in a incubator right now which just provides her a quieter environment so she can grow big and strong! She was a little jaundice last week but got some photo therapy and her numbers came down!
She is such a sweet little baby!! We are so blessed to have her in our life!

Mommy and Hailey Time!!

Halloween Picture~

Grandma and Hailey!

Grandma got to hold Hailey for the first time this morning!

Happy Halloween!

Val and Chris sent Hailey a bib for Halloween. We brought it to the hospital on Tuesday to put in her crib, last night we put it on her and took some pictures! The bib will be her costume for this year- it's a big as she is!!! How cute!!

Hailey Abigail

Hailey Abigail Manning

Hailey was born on October 23rd at 11:02AM. She weighs 3 lbs and 4 oz and is 14 1/2 inches long! She is doing really well. Breathing on her own and beginning to get feedings. She is such a fighter and we are absolutely in love with her!! I was able to hold her on Friday night for just a few minutes but really got some skin on skin contact with her on Sunday afternoon. Daddy was able to hold her on Monday for the first time! He is such a great daddy!! We are now at home and adjusting to all these changes! It was extremely hard to leave the hospital last night without our baby girl but she has the best nurses ever!!

31 weeks!

This is above Hailey's bed!! I love it!!

I was grading papers on Sunday afternoon and Red decided to come and sit next to me and lay his head next to my belly. I think he is sending her love!!

31 weeks. As many of you know, the doctors were concerned about Hailey's weight so they sent me to see a high risk doctor. I went to the appointment on Friday and they did another ultrasound and checked her out. They said she is healthy (her kidneys are functioning, her heart is strong, she has fluid in her stomach, the blood flow was good throughout her body) but overly small for this far along in pregnancy. The doctor has ordered limited activity and will probably put me on bed rest next week! Right now, she is doing okay in the womb but if she does not gain enough weight they will take her out via c-section. Right now, their short term goal is to get me to 34 weeks. I am extremely worried about her and the fact that Jason is still in Japan but I know everything will work out.

29 weeks~

Still feeling great.. She is very active and I am beginning to feel her movements on the outside. YEAH!!! What a great feeling!

28 weeks~

4D Ultrasound

Baby Manning was not very cooperative today at her first photoshoot.. She had her hands or feet over her face majority of the time. We got a couple of good shots but she did not want to move her hands. We got a cute one of her sucking her thumb and one of her tongue sticking out. How precious!!!