Due dates, shots and binkies.

So the other day was Skyler's due date (March 27) and on the following day, she turned 8 weeks old. Honestly, it didn't bug me! I looked at it in a positive light - now we can really start watching those milestone charts and expecting great things to come! Skyler is outgrowing her preemie clothes and is now 6lb 5.5oz! Although newborn clothes are still a bit loose, not for much longer!!

 She had her 2nd and probably last Syngais shot today, I felt terrible for her. She was already tired and hungry by the time the nurse got here, and the shot just made it worse. Her bandaid fell off and she got some blood on her blankie before I realized but now she is over it. I am glad to know she is better protected from that nasty RSV and the nurse said she more than likely will not have to get the shots next season (September).
Yesterday I was so excited for Skyler. She grabbed her binky out of her mouth, held onto and flailed her arms around while I changed her diaper - without dropping the binky!! She grabbed onto the outer area of it, not the tab or the nipple.

 She did it again last night - her hands are getting stronger and she is able to start making them do what she wants. She also likes to grab onto my sweatshirt strings or the chest of my shirt/sweatshirt while I'm holding her. It's pretty awesome :). Also, I caught her one day with her thumb in the hole of her binky (you can actually look through the middle and see her mouth, sucking on the binky - it's weird). I'm not sure if she was trying to hold it in, or suck her finger through it. Hard to catch on photo, but look close!

Skyler also accomplished another feat. Today, she took a bath without a SINGLE whimper or whine. Normally she cries throughout but today she was peaceful as can be, as soon as I set her in. She even started to enjoy it!!

Look at those big eyes! Wide awake.

Hiiyaah! Action kick!

She also put on real clothes today - instead of jammies! (A lot of her preemie clothes were jammies. They were cute too, though!) These "real clothes" (a 2 piece set, actually there's a 3rd piece but it's a short sleeve) make her look so much bigger!

Still a bit big in the sleeves!

Well, I think that is about all for now - time for someone to have some chow, she's letting me know that it is time! She has -50 patience on the patience scale of 1-10. But we love her!

Officially...

Married.

People keep asking how it feels, etc. But really, not much has changed for us! We have been living together for two years, together for three in August. We have been through a lot, including Jeremiah moving to Oregon, then the both of us moving to Missouri, surgery, cars breaking down, our first Christmas together, finding out we were having a baby, Skyler being born, Skyler being in a hospital so far away, Skyler coming home, dogs, cats, fish - and so much more. Really, it is more of a legal matter for us, I suppose, though it does bring a nice sense of formation of our family, if that makes any sense at all. Yes, our family was not any different when we were not married, but I do feel better having my last name match my daughter's! The things that make me happy are so weird and simple, most of the time. Ah well... Now, a few photos!

Daddy & Baby, All dressed up

Aren't I beautiful? Mommy could not find

anything preemie sized, so newborn had to work!

Still a little "noodle neck", lol

Top layer was brownie for Jeremiah, bottom layer

yellow cake for me. Jeremiah likes skulls &

penguins are my favorite animal - too perfect.

I love the black & white feature of my camera.

Mommy & Baby

I find that within two days or so I can add almost 30 new pictures to my computer. I need a memory card for my camera because I'm nervous I'll lose the pics, so I don't delete them! Hah. It holds A LOT of pictures for not having a memory card though :). And, of course, we must show them off! Plus, the black & white feature has become my favorite..
It has been a fun week, mostly. Skyler had her first pediatric appointment last Wednesday which went really well. I LOVE her doctor. She was very friendly & covered everything. Then, Friday was her eye appointment in Columbia, to check for ROP. It was the scariest thing ever!! I have never heard Skyler scream & cry that loud before, didn't even know she could, and it made me cry having to hold her down while the doctor checked her eyes. Fortunately, her eyes were GREAT and she won't have to have them checked again until her regular eye appointment at 1 or 2 years :).

Mom & I have just been hanging out with Skyler during the day, taking pictures, watching movies. It has been nice. Meanwhile, Skyler has found her hands. She isn't sure what to do with them yet, but she is very close to being able to put her binky back in her mouth when it falls out. She gets rather mad when she spits it out and can't put it back in, and of course we have to laugh at her (which she reponds to with a scowl, haha). She has figured this out though..

"Look, I can put them in my mouth!"

She has figured out how to put her thumb in her mouth, too, but doesn't quite understand how to suck on it yet. It is rather cute, though. One of her favorite things to do, especially while eating, is this..

 

"Look mom, I've got your hair!!"

We gave Skyler a bath today (our first one, just Skyler & I, was scary and not fun at all, haha). It went quite well. She fussed a bit, then decided it wasn't so bad. Her favorite part, however, was the cuddle time in her towel afterwards. She was posing, wiggling, tugging the hood over her eyes, etc. It was adorable.

 

"Not so bad, I guess!"

She does seem to pose for the pictures a lot of the time. She will wiggle all around and make weird faces, then you pull out the camera and tell her you will take her picture. Suddenly, she is all ready to hold still and let a few pictures get snapped of her. She is also getting quite chubby!! She was 4lb 11oz on Wednesday and has definitely grown since then. A little chunky chicken! Double chin, chubby little cheeks. What a cutie pie! We absolutely love her & she is quite a joy to be around, always making faces and cute sounds.

 

She loves her seahorse, too. It is one of her favorite things right now, and to me, a great way to spend $13. It is the Fisher Price Ocean Wonders Soothe and Glow Seahorse. Skyler loves to listen to it as she falls asleep. It plays lullabies and some ocean-like sounds and the belly of it lights up, like a little night-light. It automatically shuts off after 5 minutes and has two volume settings. The other day we peeked at her while she was relaxing and she had her hand on the seahorse's face, staring at it. It was too cute.

 

She has also been very thoughtful lately. Skyler will lay and/or sit around and open her eyes widely, looking at everything and everyone. She just has this look of concern and serious contemplating on her face. Maybe she knows something we don't. Or maybe, she is just thinking about all of the new things she has learned lately... Whatever it is, I hope she shares her thoughts someday :).

Luck, Thanks & Joy

What a difference!! Of course, every day was a big difference! Everything has been great so far. Skyler really is a great baby, at least for now, haha. She is pretty good at eating, looking around for a few minutes, then going back to sleep. The first night, when we roomed-in at the hospital, I hardly slept at all. Every little peep she made, I was right there, making sure everything was fine. Of course it was - she is just a noisy sleeper! Not to mention, the futon wasn't the most comfortable thing I've slept on. It went really well, though, and we went home right on schedule. We do have to head back to the hospital on Friday for her eye exam. She was supposed to have it today but since she got released they rescheduled. She also has her first ped. appointment tomorrow - I don't know why but I'm nervous about that, too!!
Sandy was nearly teary-eyed saying goodbye to Skyler. She kept saying "Ahh She can't go, I will miss her!" Another nurse, who had Skyler a few times in NICU (Sandy was her primary up in the lvl2) kept saying, "Wow Skyler, I can't believe you're so big! I can't believe you're going home!" (She hadn't seen her in about 2wks). I didn't cry when we left. I was too happy & exhausted, I guess. Our NICU experience definitely was not as painful and difficult as alot of others, so it was a little more peaceful for us to leave. It was hard, and we did hate it, but we were very lucky to only have one phonecall, and that was for the transfusion. We never had to be told there was a chance she wouldn't make it through the night, we never had to watch her go through painful procedures or surgeries. I know some moms from Babycenter's Preemie board that have done that and they are very strong! We did get to keep her little sunglasses, a TINSY TINY little hat, and a larger hat she's growing into. We are settling in nicely & I'm so happy to still have some of my original maternity leave left to spend with her. Either Jeremiah doesn't have an ear for babies, or I just don't let her cry long enough for him to hear. At this point, I don't mind, because I'm not the one getting up and going to work. He already has said he wants to get up in the night with her when I go back to work, since I work in the morning & he works afternoon/evening. We will have to work on developing his ears, though, lol.
Well, my mom's flight gets in in about 2hrs! I'm SO SO excited. Jeremiah just left to head to ST. Louis and I'm sure they will have a fuuuun ride home, =D. I'm sure they will be fine, really. In preparation, I will be giving Skyler her first bath at home. I'm sure she is used to it, but it will be a learning experience for me! It is really cute to watch Jeremiah sit on the couch with her. Today he played xbox while she slept in his arms. I wanted to take a pic - next time I will.
I need to get working on my Thank You cards. Do not think that we are not thankful, if you happened to send Skyler something! I wanted to wait for the babyshower so I can make sure to buy enough cards & do'em all at once! The shower, by the way, went well! I had tons of fun & Meghan did a nice job organizing it all. Skyler got some very nice gifts and we are so thankful for it all. Although I won't list EVERYTHING, I will point out a few of my faves.

• Precious Planets crib set - BOY I wanted this!! (Thanks to Sherri & Diana!)
• Precious Planets baby book - I had never seen this & was very excited when I opened it. (Thanks to Heather!)
• Diaper cake made of PREEMIE diapers!! - Can you imagine the work in making that?! (Thanks to Shawna & Meghan!)
• SKYLER spelled out with a boarder around each letter like my baby shower invites - I will post a pic of this sometime soon, it really is VERY neat & has a lovely black frame all around it. (Thanks to Tricia & family!)  
• I (heart) Gaming t-shirt - Toooo cute! & Lots of other cute clothes & blankie, handmade card from Skyler's auntie Emma (Thanks to Grandma Theresa, aunties Chelsea, Emma & Olivia, uncle Kody!)

She also got some neat toys, clothes, diapers, other decor for her room, etc. I would love to list everything but it's too much!! haha We are very lucky to have such great family there & we really enjoyed it. Thanks to everyone who came!! Well, it is getting to be about that time.. time to tidy up & anxiously await my mom to arrive. I will post pics of some of Skyler's neat decor at a later date - don't let me forget!!