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!