My Hospital Story

I've been meaning to post this since January but I keep forgetting. This is how it all went down.. (it's really long so you don't have to read it if you don't want to. It's more for me to remember than anything..)

Throughout my whole pregnancy (all 23 weeks of it…) I had been using BabyCenter.com to keep myself well informed on everything my body and my baby would be experiencing. I was reading everything . I wanted to make sure I knew what was going on, when it was supposed to happen, and if it was all normal- what I was feeling. So on Saturday, December 27, 2008, I received an email from BabyCenter.com and the subject was “Your Pregnancy: 23 Weeks”. It talked a lot about things to watch out for and of course.. I clicked on the links so I would know preeclampsia if I saw it.

When I read this, the only thing I really remembered was that it can cause severe swelling or puffiness around the eyes. I mentally logged it away in my pregnancy database for later reference just in case. So Sunday morning (the next day..) I woke up, and the entire left side of my face was swollen. The first thing I thought of was that email. BUT, of course, I reasoned it out and figured it was just where regular pregnancy fluid settled in the night because I always sleep on my left side. It was much more comfortable than the right while I was pregnant. We got ready for church and when we went to leave, we noticed our tire on the Shadow was flat! We taught the 12 year old Primary class and we were already missing Sacrament meeting so we took off and walked/ran to church (only ¾-1 mile away). We made it to teach our class on time and then walked home when church was over. Mind you, I walked/ran the whole way in heels so when we got home, of course, my feet were swollen. We had dinner, watched tv, took a nap, and later that night, I was on the computer again and opened my “23 Week” email. I re-read everything on preeclampsia (no idea why at the time… I just did) and it was there that I noticed that it said to “let your caregiver know if you gain for than 4 pounds in a week”. I thought.. I’ll go weigh myself. The scale went from reading (I’m putting myself REALLY out there.. be nice.) 161 a week before to now reading 172! In a week I had gained 11 pounds!! I checked like 5 times and came out of the bathroom bawling. I had never seen those numbers before in my life! I kept telling myself in my head that I was overreacting but the tears and the fear would not go away. Clint tried his best to reassure me but I was pretty hysterical. So we called our Elder’s Quorum President over to help Clint give me a blessing to calm me down. I did feel a little better but only enough to help me get to sleep that night.

The next morning, I woke up at 7:30 and was calling the Dr. office right at 8:00 when they opened. I spoke with a nurse and she said that it was probably nothing and I was turning it into something bigger than it was but to still come in after lunch and they would check my urine for any protein (A sure sign of emerging preeclampsia). So I got ready for work and went in for my shift at 10. I walked in the office where Ashlee and Natasha were and I looked like CRAP. My face was SO swollen at this point. Most if it, I am sure, was because of all the crying the night before. They were a bit shocked at my sudden water weight gain and said that on my lunch break, I could run down to the doctor. Clint came and picked me up and we ran down there. I was saying silent prayers the whole drive down. I had convinced myself that I really was fine so I was pretty optimistic when I walked into the office. After I went to the bathroom and peed in my cup, the nurse took my blood pressure. It was high. BUT it had always been high throughout my entire pregnancy. At my 20 week appointment, the nurse said that my blood pressure was high but it was nothing to worry about since I didn’t have protein in my urine (I think deep down, I knew the day would come when I would have protein in my urine.. and there would be problems). So after she checked my BP, she tested my urine for the protein and suddenly walked out of the little room we were in without a word to me. I instantly knew what was wrong and the waterworks began again. She walked back in really quickly with paperwork and haste words of encouragement that everything would be alright. She told me to go right over to Utah Valley and that she would call them to let them know I was on my way. She said everything would probably be alright but they would just do some more tests. This whole time, Clint was out in the waiting room with no idea that any of this was actually happening. So I come out with tears streaming down my face, saying we have to go straight to the hospital. I don’t know what he was thinking but he kept his composure and said that everything will turn out alright.

We got to the hospital and, right away, I was put in a room and told to put on a gown. They took me down to see the hospital’s Perinatologists (doctor’s who deal with high-risk pregnancies). They did an ultrasound and told me that our baby girl was measuring a week smaller than I really was (so 22 weeks). He explained to me in greater detail, what preeclampsia was and what the risks were of having it for both me and the baby. He ordered for me to be placed on a Magnesium Sulfate drip and also many blood pressure medications to try and control it. He told us that we would most likely be leaving the hospital not pregnant with either a baby in the NICU or no baby at all. I was an emotional wreck. And the magnesium… OHHHH the magnesium. Worst stuff in the world. My blood pressure when we got back from seeing the Perinatologist was 200/120. They say most people will start to seize when their top number gets above 180. The magnesium is there to prevent seizing so I was to be on that until my blood pressure got under control. The doctor was hopeful that we might get 2 more weeks of me being pregnant and that I would be getting 2 doses of a steroid shot to help develop our baby’s lungs a little quicker than normal just in case. The next few days were miserable. The swelling increased and I didn’t even look like myself. My face always felt like it was on fire and I couldn’t even keep down Jello and Saltine crackers. I was throwing up everything and I could barely lift my water bottle off of my bedside table. I was so weak. I remember thinking that I had actually lost all the muscle mass in my arms and it would take me months of rehab to get that muscle back just to be able to lift my arms over my head again. I was really out of it!

My Mom flew in Wednesday night (New Years Eve) and stayed with my Grandma and was to drive down the next day to see me. Natasha and Amy had dropped off a goodie bag of fun stuff to celebrate the New Year and in the bag were these two banner headband things that said Happy New Year on them. I remember being so tired but Clint made me take a picture with it and I had such a hard time focusing on the nurse taking the picture because I was seeing double. I was so mad at him for that at the time.. it’s funny now though.

The next morning, (January 1, 2009) my Mom got to the hospital around 10 and shortly after, the nurse came in with good news and really bad news. The good news is that the doctor wanted to stop the magnesium drip so I would start to feel better but the bad news is that my OB had ordered for me to have a C-Section in the next 3 hours. I went from feeling relieved because I would feel better to bawling again. I had an epidural just like a normal pregnancy but I have never had to feel the pain of contractions. I guess that is a blessing looking back but if I ever do get pregnant again and if I can make it full term, I won’t know how to deal with them as I have never felt them! He ordered the C-Section because my blood pressure was not coming down and it was getting to the point where I was getting too sick and it was either; we wait and give the baby more time to grow and I probably don’t make it or they take the baby, I get better, and we hope that the baby can pull through.

When I was in high school, I took the CNA classes because I wanted to be a nurse. One week I did my clinicals in Labor & Delivery and saw 2 C-Sections, so I kinda knew what to expect. I am surprised that I remember so much of what I learned back then while I was actually on the table. While I couldn’t see anything, I remember walking myself through the process of what has to happen in the OR to do a C-Section. From what everyone around me was saying and what I was feeling, I felt like I had a pretty good handle on the situation. I remember being very cold and no one would put a blanket on me. Finally, they put one around my head and across my arms (which were stretched straight out perpendicular to my body). I remember thinking “how the heck is that supposed to warm me up. I’m NAKED and my BODY is cold. NOT my head.” But it actually helped. Clint was sitting by my head to the left and I was worried for him because he didn’t know what to expect like I did. I remember there being a lot of pressure. I remember when the baby came out and there was no crying. I didn’t know if she was dead or alive, or if she was alive, if she would even make it. Then, I got a shot of morphine and it was really hard to stay awake. While I was being stitched up, the doctor’s were talking about upcoming surgeries they needed to have done on themselves. Apparently, my doctor has bad knees and ankles. I remember asking them if they were all staying focused. I remember thinking I was completely coherent. I wasn’t. Then I fell asleep.

I vaguely remember waking up in my room and my Mom was there. The first think I asked her was “Is she alive?” My Mom said yes and nothing else mattered. I didn’t want to know the specifics because I was so exhausted and just wanted to sleep. I don’t remember much after that. Apparently, according to Clint and my Mom, soon after my C-Section, all of the blood pressure meds finally started to kick in. Every time the blood pressure cuff would go off, it was habit for Clint to look at the numbers to see if they were getting better. Suddenly, my top number (for a normal person is around 120) was about 50. Clint ran out into the hallway and grabbed a nurse and they kicked Clint and my Mom out of the room. I don’t remember any of this but I guess the doctor commented to my Mom that she “had one very sick little girl.” I didn’t hear this story until about 4 months later and up until then, I wasn’t convinced that I was that sick but apparently, I was.

They wheeled my bed into the NICU later that night so I could see Darbi. I think I remember it pretty well. I was scared to death to go in there because I didn’t know what to expect. Because of the angle and height of both mine and Darbi’s bed’s, it was really hard to see her and it didn’t really sink in that she was actually a little tiny baby that was fighting for everything. The next day, I was able to touch her for the first time, sanitized, gloved, and in my hospital bed again, I reached up and just barely touched the ball of her left foot. She flinched a little and I was sobbing. That, I think, was the moment I knew this was real and very scary. For the next few days, I had an extremely hard time going up to see her. Clint would go by himself or with family and I was more than happy to stay behind. It took a few days for me to actually want to go up there but each time I went, it got easier. The doctor also prescribed me some “happy pills” and I’m sure that made a big difference.

I was in the hospital for a total of 13 days; 3 of them pregnant and 10 of them a Mommy. On day 10 of Darbi’s life, the radiologist was putting a feeding tube down and accidently punctured her esophagus. She was sent to Primary Children’s alone while I was still in the hospital. It was hard to know I couldn’t just ride the elevator upstairs to go see her. Up until that point, I didn’t care if I stayed another week in the hospital but once she was gone, it made it so much harder to be there. I did end up coming home from the hospital on that same day (strangely 40 pounds lighter...) and walking into our house was the strangest thing. I wasn’t ready to have a baby and yet, I didn’t have a baby. All of our plans to be ready for her when she came were foiled. She ruined all my fun of getting to be fully pregnant and all my chances to complain about being 40 weeks and 5 days pregnant were gone! I’m not complaining now though!

She has done amazing and she’s home and we have been so blessed. We couldn’t have prayed for a better outcome!

Diaper Change!

I know I said the other day we are still in Newborn diapers.. actually.. she was pretty much bursting out of them. Yesterday, while I was holding her naked body with just a diaper on... she decided to FILL her little pants with some nasty goo. I was frantic in my attempts to get her back to the changing table. The slightest pressure against her little bum, I was sure, would send me straight to the shower. Luckily... I made it in time and now we are all protected by some larger, more comfy, size 1 diapers!! And this little shirt she is wearing is actually a dress and at one time came down to her knees! I love rotating through clothes now! How does one store too-many-sizes-too-small clothing for your babes? Any good suggestions? I don't want to just stash them in a cardboard box to get yucky.

Hot Hot Heat

Sweet baby D hit 10 pounds today! Here is a picture to show off her 9 extra pounds gained in the last 7 months. Look at those tummy rolls!

She's naked because she is fat and I love it. She also naked because it is too. dang. hot. I'm from AZ. I know heat. The amazing feeling of heat goosebumps when you open the front door and go from an ice cold AC'd house to a 400 degree oven... ahh. I love that. But this.. a screaming baby in a house where (I'm speculating my LL's have gone out of town and turned off their AC) it is incredibly hot with a sick husband who can't come near me to give me any escape.. AND our car's are without AC which means there is REALLY no escape.. and it's taking its toll on me. My head is pounding and my eyes are burning and the last few days have taken us over 100 degrees here in UT. For a few of those days, it was cooler outside.

UGH. D will be sleeping in just a diaper tonight and I confess.. I'm considering my birthday suit also. :)

Grins that get me

I have a small confession.. Those bathtime pictures I posted the other day... were from MEMORIAL DAY. I found them on my lappy and realized I had never posted them but she was looking to dang cute to forget about it. SO there they are. AND here are some more pictures. She really is looking monstrous to me and knowing that Clint was an almost-10-lb-baby makes me sick. Props to you mom's who make it all the way and do it the natural way. OUCH. Would you believe me if I told you we were still in Newborn diapers?? Well we are. Huggies brand has the dip in the front to keep from irritating real newborn's umbilical cords and they fit so nicely with her giant protruding mass on her tummy. I don't think she'll like size 1's when we finally get there! Oh my baby is so cute. That tongue-y grin gets me every. time.

A visit from Aunt Amy

My Aunt Amy (D's great) came up from the Grand Canyon for the week and stopped by to see Darbi. Thankfully, my Grandma was willing to watch her kids for her so she could get away and come see D germ free. I'm dying to see her kids but unfortunately, we still can't take any chances.. ANYWAY. When she got here, I had Darbi in my sling (which I LOVE by the way.. post on that to come. I need to get a good picture of me not looking nasty one of these days..) and before I handed her over, Amy took a quick peek and Darbi was just waking up. Now Darbi is just beginning to smile on a regular basis for us.. it took her all of 2 seconds to realize that she was a fan of Amy and gave her a little smirk. It was AWESOME! There was no coaxing or anything. We sat and chatted for a long while and D fell asleep in her arms. She's a sucker for a snuggler..

Carseat Adjustments

Saturday we finally had to move her shoulder traps up a notch from the smallest setting! A small accomplishment but I couldn't not tell you all about it.. I realize that this blog is pretty much ALL about D and one of these days I will update you all on what Clint and I are doing but really.. everything we do revolves around everything she does so I guess consider yourself updated! :)

Straight Up Daddy's Girl

It's official. She knows her Daddy and she knows when she WANTS her Daddy. The past few days, I feel like everything I know about my own kid means nothing. Everything that has worked in the past to calm her down DOESN'T WORK ANYMORE. But the minute I had her over, she STOPS CRYING. It's like an on/off switch. With me, arms and legs are flailing, she's screaming so hard that her voice is cracking, and there are real tears. I mean.. honestly. What did I ever do to her??? With him, she's relaxed, breathing slow, no tears. It's amazing. She just wants Dad to hold her. Simple as that. And I love it. :)

Bathtime Pictures

Almost Double Digits

The doctor's office scale Wednesday morning said Darbi is 9 pounds 11 ounces! Almost 10 pounds! I was really hoping for 10 but we're happy nonetheless! The doctor is pleased with her progress and told me to make my next appointment for two months out. TWO MONTHS! I'm so happy that he is pleased she is doing well enough to go that long. Unfortunately, that means, at least 2 more months of oxygen.. and likely 3+. I am happy, however, that the Welcome Baby group is still visiting us monthly. In two months time, I think she's still going to be behind developmentally and I want to make sure I don't miss anything.

Right now,
- She can hold her head up but she's still shaky. She can turn it, no problem once her head is up.
- During tummy time, she doesn't try to lift herself up at all. She'll just bury her face in the blanket, scream, and push with her legs. When we do tummy time on the Boppy, she almost does a somersault out of it because she's pushing so hard with her legs. It's kinda funny...
- She smiles, which is good. I'm not too worried there.
- She "has a conversation" with me about 2 or 3 times a week and they don't last very long. I don't know when the constant "talking" will begin. She doesn't seem to have found her voice but I think I can chalk that up to her just barely being able to hear anything that doesn't sound like she's underwater. She did, however, seem to almost giggle yesterday when I was "growling" at her. She likes the deep voices and seems to respond more.
- She doesn't really care for toys when we try to play with them around her. She can fix her eyes on things (like her mobile) but they toys haven't interested her yet.
- There is definitely no rolling over.

Hopefully in the next month, I can check some small accomplishments off of our list. Also, at our appointment, the office let us borrow one of their O2 Sat monitors (through some MAJOR arm twisting by me and the Doctor (you'd think he'd have some pull.. as it is his office). Those iron-fisted nurses would not let it go!) and we noticed she does fine on 1/16L when her mouth is shut. Because then she's for sure getting the oxygen that is going up her nose. However, when she's screaming, she'll go from having her blood 98% saturated with oxygen down to 72% (Perfect is +85%). I think the key is during the day, we'll stick to 1/16L to get her used to it. Then in the evening when she's more fussy, we'll go back up to 1/8L just to be safe. She also had 2 more shots which gave her a fever last night and some major fussiness. Clint gave her a Father's Blessing and after she calmed down pretty quick and went to sleep. Go Priesthood!

Tonight, Clint made tin foil dinners and MAN does he know how. And I had a year's worth of cramps to keep me company today. :(

What a Bad Day

My Monthly Monster has returned. :(

Darbi's Hardware

Quick recap on D's lungs:

She was born at 23w5d due to complications of preeclampsia on Jan 1st, 2009 and she weighed 15.6 ounces. On Day 25 of her life she was diagonosed with BPD - Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia. They started her on a 3 week Nitric Oxide treatment (which is a new treatment of which the results can only be determined with time..). She was in the NICU for 4 months and came home on May 4th on 1/4L of oxygen.

Air Concentrator/Compressor or Oxygen Sender-Outer??

They sent us home with tanks and also an air concentrator. (I think that's what they call it) It's a box that plugs into the wall and pulls the air from your home in, separates the gases, and sends the oxygen through the tubes to D. It has about a 50 foot tube that makes it easier for us to move from room to room. We currently live in a basement apartment so I can walk from one end of the apartment to the other with no problems. It's kinda loud and puts out a TON of heat which isn't so fun in an apartment with no AC but we deal.

Oxygen Tank - did you need a caption for that??

For days when we need to leave the house (ie: Dr's appointments or walks with the stroller so I can see the sunlight and not be a hermit...) we have an oxygen tank. They come in different sizes, the biggest being about 3 feet tall with wheels that you usually see old men wheeling around. We have the size smaller than that. It's about 2 feet tall but comes with a little bag that makes it easy to carry around. When we initially came home on 1/4L of oxygen, the tank would last maybe 8 hours? I can't remember very well and I don't have the chart to tell me. It wasn't long. Last week, when we had her on 1/16L 24/7, it lasted about 3 days. Our home medical supply company will bring out as many tanks as we need and we just need to give them about a days head start so they can deliver them.

Foam strap with the leads velcroed underneath - Ignore her gymp-looking hand. I swear she was moving.
Yes she still has a umbilical hernia. Yes it looks funny. :) No it doesn't require surgery... Yet.

D is also on a heart monitor. She has the foam strap that goes around her chest and there are 2 leads; one under each arm. There are no numbers on the actual monitor, just lights. A little green light blinks for every breath she takes and another one for every time her heart beats. The breathing light doesn't seem to register every breath but if she goes longer than 20 seconds without breathing then the alarm with go off and a red light will stay lit under the appropriate blinking green light. So in case I'm out of the room of cannot see it when it goes off, I know why. And if her heart rate goes below 70 the alarm will sound. The alarm is LOUD. We have only had it go off in the middle of the night a few times and once because I forgot to plug it in and the battery died. We jump out of bed so fast! It's nerve racking but when I think if we hadn't had the heart monitor, what could have happened... then we are happy for that annoying little thing.


I'm not sure how much longer we will need to be on oxygen. Because of her little "lack-of-oxygen/no-breathing" episode the other day, I'm thinking a couple more months. She likes it. I'm comfortable with it. There's no need for it to go anywhere yet. And then the heart monitor will be around even longer than that. So those of you with babies easily cart-around-able.. be grateful! This is tough stuff! :)

Her Mobile

The funny thing about last night.. before the whole crying-so-hard-she-started-to-choke thing was that while she was laying in bed, she would stop crying if we made the mobile spin. As soon as it would wind down (we just twisted it ourselves) she would start to cry again. She loves that thing!Sorry for the blurriness.. I'm working on it...

It's starting to slow down...

It stopped. :(

Anyone know where I can get a motor for that?? I'm going to lose my mind if I have to wind it up every 30 seconds! Would a clock motor work?

What. A. Night.

So we learned tonight that 1/16L of oxygen is not enough for D in the evening time. ARGH. I was already on a physical and emotional low and I had already had one crying spell for the night. To make the night worse, Darbi was so sad. The screaming... OH the screaming. NOTHING I would do would make her happy. She was screaming so hard that at one point, she started choking and couldn't breathe. We kinda freaked out for a minute..

Lately, at night, it seems like she's getting the bottle and the boob confused and will not eat from me after Clint has given her the bottle. This only lasts for the initial feeding after the bottle. Then she usually will go to sleep and when she wakes up, she has forgot all about the bottle and is ready for me. This has been going on for about a week now but tonight was horrible. I have a crying headache now because I was so frustrated. I felt bad too because Clint doesn't get any sleep when I can't seem to quiet her. So Clint took her and she calmed down a bit.

He was the one to suggest that we put her back on the air concentrator for the night. The air concentrator only goes down to 1/8L and since the Dr. ordered 1/16L, we've been on the tank solely since July 1st. So I turn off her tank and when I do that, usually the nossle will turn about 1/4 of a turn and it will be off. It turned just barely which means she was hardly getting any oxygen. That is why she was so fussy. Almost instantly we saw a change. She went from being tense and red-ish, to relaxed.. almost like a limp noodle. It took me about 10 mintues of straight snuggling.. the good kind where she is happy.. then she went to sleep. This weening process is going a bit slower than I had anticipated but like the Dr. said, she will go at her own pace and we just have to follow.

I. am. exhausted.

Grandma-isms??

Clint just reminded me of this conversation I had with my Mom when she was here... She's gonna kill me for posting this. :)

Mom: (while trying to boot up my lappy) What is your password?

Audrey: (looking exasperated) Really?

Mom: What?

Audrey: Really, Mom??

Mom: Oh. Ok. Really.

Audrey: No. NOT Really.

Mom: Ok. So Not Really. N-O-T [space]...

Audrey: NO. Really????

Mom: So Really??

Audrey: MOM!!

It was a pretty ridiculous conversation. I must say though, my Mom is the least dumb person I know. I'll admit, she has her moments (as shown...) but if you put this woman on Jeopardy, she would win the million dollars, the car, the trip to Hawaii... whatever. She is a Trivial Pursuit nightmare. We laughed about it right away when she realized how silly she was being but she will never live it down. Got it Mom? Really??

The Weekend Pt. 2 + HB to me!

ACK!! I LOVE this picture!! She looks so goofy!


So a friend of mine did this with her daughter to see what she would look like with longer hair.. Her picture turned out SO much cuter than mine!! We're just trying to see what she would look like with hair PERIOD!! It's pretty dang funny though!!

We celebrated the big 2-4 for me on Saturday while my Mom was in town. She took me shopping for some new clothes which were very much needed and my Grandma got me a cake (white with raspberry filling and buttercream frosting -- mah fave) with teal flowers on it. Fave color, fave cake.. it was good.
My BD is actually today and Clint and I went to Target and got me a new flat iron, a sports bra (to motivate the jazz-er-sizer in me.. Hmph), and then to B&N for new books! I got P&P (a classic that I've read so many times but don't have the book), The Book Thief, & The Time Traveler's Wife. The last two I don't know much about. Then we went to Five Guys and home in time for The Bachelorette.. She FINALLY sent Wes home. It's about freaking time!!

The Weekend

The only time I can get good pics of Darbi is when someone with a nicer camera is around.. Mine doesn't do weel in a poorly lit basement. My Mom came up with weekend with her duo of amazing camers and got these awesome pictures for us!









Because she was in town, we stayed up at my Grandma's in Sandy. Both her and my Grandma (who is a nurse) watched Darbi so we could finally go on a date!! We decided to go to a movie because with all the summer blockbusters coming out, we can't ever go see them because of D. Friday night we went and saw Transformers and Saturday we went and saw The Proposal. She was really fussy while we were gone and I felt bad but it was still nice to get out of the house with Clint.

Freedom Festival

We hit up Provo's Patriotic Hot Spot tonight. I knew it would be the slowest of the 3 days and I needed some 4th of July festivities in my blood bad. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the 4th of July. I love finding cheap 4th of July clothes and putting fun ribbons in my hair and painting my toes amazing shades of turquoise but mostly I think I love it because it's so close to my birthday! It's like the whole nation is celebrating for me!! I wish my birthday was actually on the 4th like my super lucky roomie and D's bestie's mom... confusing?? but I'll just have to settle for the 6th.


We strapped Darbi in her stroller and cautiously went for a stroll around the booths. We kept our GIANT container of hand sanitizer near and used it VERY often. I love my face in this picture below.. If you get near me with a cold.. or get near me at all... I'll kick you in your shins.. as per Ashley's instruction. :)


Here is D peeking out from her little cocoon.. The poor kid is going to grow up and be the "weird" kid in class who can't socialize. We'll cross that bridge when we need to.. when her immune system is ready for germy friends.

Six Month Pictures

LAST Hearing Test

We had Darbi's #4 hearing test this morning.. and we PASSED!!! It's about time I say! After, we went up to the NICU, or "old haunt" as some like to call it, to see some of our most favorite nurses! With the piggy-flu being everywhere, they wouldn't let us 10 feet past the elevators for fear we might bring it in with us. We had to have our reunion in the cold little room with the elevators because no children were allowed on the floor. It was totally fine with us though.. I'd be in a murgerous rage if someone came in with it and possibly endangering my baby.. Because it had to be a quick visit, I didn't have time to get pictures with Miss D and her faves. We may have to wait for the NICU reunion next year.. when Darbi will be walking.. YIKES.

Six Months

Today is Miss Darbi's half-birthday! 6 months actual and 2 months adjusted. I cannot believe it is already JULY. Throughout the whole hospital experience, I never imagined what life would actually be like with her home EVER. At that point, it was all about the hospital and taking life day to day to day. Now, it's about measuring her life by months which, I'm just now realizing, is REALLY weird!!

Right now, you love:

- being held
- being held
- BEING HELD
- laying against our chests
- bathtime before the bathing part begins
- heat packs for tummy aches
- sleeping on your side
- staring at any lights
- to smile at Daddy when he makes funny sounds
- your bink
- pooping your pants ONLY when Mommy is home so Daddy doesn't have to change you >:(
- laying in your Nap Nanny

Right now, you are:

- 6 months old actually
- 2 months old adjusted
- wearing Newborn diapers
- wearing Newborn size clothes but because of your heart monitor strap around your chest, you can fit into 0-3 month clothing
- so happy in the morning when you wake up and give me smiles all day until about 7:00 when "play time is over" (I swear.. That 70's Show can apply to EVERY part of my life! Sorry.. and on we go...)
- at least 8 pounds.. I'm thinking closer to 9 though.

Right now, you can:

- follow me around the room with your eyes
- smile
- slurp on your hands when Mommy doesn't want to find your bink
- pull out your cannula.. because you act like your nose is itchy and when I check back after you're done "scratching" your nose.. it's on top of your nose or in your mouth.
- sleep for at least 6 hours consistently through the night (we've gotten up to 8 once!)
- eat 4 ounces from a bottle in one sitting
- have a "cooing conversation" with me - but only when you are being extremely attentive

In the last 6 months, you have:

- gained at least 8 pounds
- grown 8 inches
- lived in the hospital longer than you've lived at home
- shown us that your eyes will be BROWN
- charmed our lives with your sweet sweet spirit

With my roommates we have a tradition where we always celebrate everyone's HALF birthday's. Who doesn't love "cake in a jar" every chance you get?? Maybe I'll post about "cake in a jar" someday. It's GLORIOUS!! So from now on.. we will celebrate:
January 1st - Darbi's actual birthday
April 25th - Darbi's due date
July 1st - Darbi's half actual birthday
October 25th - Darbi's half adjusted age birthday

I will post some pictures tomorrow of her and her 6 month old self. This was a picture I snapped today with my phone on my way out the door to go to work. Clint was holding her with her bink and she was looking too cute. I love this little girl!

Happy 6 Months Baby Girl!!