4 months old - 6 wks corrected age

Hi All:) I realized this morning that I hadn't updated in about a month! So here are some pics from the last month...The most recent are the 2 at the bottom. Again, they are posted backwards. ;)

It's been a good month. Lauren turned 4 months last Saturday. Wow, where does the time go?! And today she is 6 weeks corrected age. This is around the time that they start smiling, on purpose! We aren't all the way there yet but we have gotten a couple. Of course daddy got the first one. He's quite proud of that. Lol. Lauren had a doc appt on Tuesday. Doc was really happy with her progress and her all the way around. She was 9 lbs 13 oz and 20.5 inches long! She is not on the charts for a 4 month old yet but she is much closer. Big progress since our 3 month appt. The newest medicine for her acid reflux is helping so we are happy about that. She had a couple of immunizations that day also, and other than maybe being a little tired after, she didn't react to them this time. She has her next pulmonologist appt at the end of June and we are hoping for her to come off the monitor at that time. She will finally be wire free!!! He also loosened some of the restrictions as far as people and places with Lauren. We have to be very careful but minimally we can take her around some kids and people's homes. No public places still for quite awhile...We are happy for this news!! He also said we could (again using our smarts and common sense) begin taking her in our pool at the end of next month. WOOO HOO!! We will not put her head under water, it needs to be warm enough, hat for her, sunscreen etc. Minimal amounts of time, yada, yada. We plan on getting a little float that has a little covering that will protect her from the sun and we can float her around some. Seriously cannot wait for this!!!

We began stroller walks this month and I started using the Baby Bjorn. Best invention ever. I posted a pic...I can put her in it, she loves it, and get stuff done...walk to mailboxes down the street, etc. It's great...we usually take her strolling around the neighborhood but tomorrow morning we are loading her up and going for a long stroll. Looking forward to that. Mommy has cabin fever big time!!!!

Lauren has also started getting more vocal, trying to communicate, not just crying when she is unhappy/tired/hungry. It's the cutest thing. All these other sounds are coming out now...high and low pitched, soooo cool!! Watching a baby grow is hands down, the most incredible experience ever. We are just soaking it all in......AND, she is sleeping through the night! For over a week now. About 10 hours a night. I have her on a sleep/eat schedule throughout the day and since I tightened up her schedule a bit, she has slept through the night. We are loving this!!

I guess that's about it for now. I hope you all had a good month!! :)

Early entrance 1-30-10 :)

First of all, these pics posted backwards, Lol...As we all know, or most of us anyways, Lauren came into this world at 5:44pm on January 30th of this year. She was 12 weeks early, I was 28 weeks and 1 day. I had an incompetent cervix but I was too far along to have a cerclage put in...I spent a good part of 4 weeks in the hospital on bed rest, beginning New Years...She was born at 2 lbs, 3 oz and was 14 inches long. She was in the NICU at Winnie Palmer for 63 days and we brought her home on April 3rd! The day before Easter. She was 37 weeks gestationally. And she weighed 5 lb 4 oz, 17.75 inches long. Her health has been amazing since the day she was born. Her lungs were in great shape. Part of that was due to her being a girl, making it to 28 weeks and having 2 steroid shots 3 weeks before she arrived. She did not need a ventilator. She was on room air through a nasal cannula for several weeks...And lots of wires and testings, etc. This experience has been a life changing, eye opening experience. We met so many great people and the care she received was just beyond...I will forever be grateful for those doctors and nurses. Amazing, truly...We are loving having her home. It was so scary that first day or two...but we quickly adjusted! I was feeling pretty good by day 3. She is growing like crazy and was just seen by her pediatrician on Monday. She was 7 lb 15 oz!! And 19 inches long! I can't believe how much she has changed and how strong she is. Developmentally she is a week and a half old, my due date was 4/23. Her immune system will take awhile to build and catch up, therefore we cannot bring her out in public or have kids around for awhile...Every day it seems like she is doing a little something new that she wasn't doing before, or that just shows me she is growing. She is a strong one and a fighter and we keep getting the same answer from all the docs...that we will never know she was a preemie in a couple of years, if not sooner...Enjoy the pics. I've probably left out a ton of stuff...but for most of you, this is not new anyways. I will try to continue to blog and post pics as often as I can...I hope you enjoy! Thanks so much everyone for all the support through the months...Take care. :)