Who doesn't love a good deal at the swap meet.
Sunday, May 8, 2016
Saturday, May 7, 2016
Sunday, April 3, 2016
Friday, August 7, 2015
The First Month as Four
I can't believe this week marked one month since Cora's homecoming. I feel time is going by exponentially fast. We are finding our groove navigating as 4 and Joslin continues to love her baby sister more and more. Watching her with Cora is my favorite thing and I can't wait to watch their bond grow. Cora is doing well and we are truly thankful we haven't had any major hiccups since being home. She battles a bit of bad reflux and discomfort after eating but hopefully she'll start to outgrow that soon. She definitely likes to make a fuss but makes up for it with her snuggles. She continues to gain weight like a champ and is over 8 pounds now!
My sweet sisters threw Cora a wonderful little homecoming 'sip and see' party and it was so great to celebrate having our girl home with family and friends. We have amazing people in our life and can't thank everyone enough for being by our side during this journey.
Since being home, we've checked off several of our follow-up appointments and all is going well...quick recap:
1) Eyes: They are developing as normal and there were no signs of retinopothy of prematurity, one of the big risks in preemies. We will follow up with a pediatric optomologist in 8 weeks which is routine.
2) Heart: We had a follow-up echo-cardiogram and EKG this week and all looked normal so we won't be going back yay!
3) Fingers: We had a consultation last week with a pediatric surgeon and it looks like those extra digits will be hanging around (no pun intended) a bit longer as we wait to get on the schedule...who knew it was such an ordeal. Hopefully in a few months we'll have them removed but for now, she'll remain a 12 fingered little lady.
4) Hip: We had an ultrasound completed which was for her breech position en utero rather than prematurity. The pediatrician's physical exam was good, but we figured what's one more test after all we've gone through. Cora was not a fan, wailed and fought me the whole time. This little one is getting quite feisty!
We have some big things coming up with Joslin turning THREE in a few weeks and starting preschool next month. Where did my baby girl go?!
And in other family news, there will be another GIRL cousin soon as my sis-in-law Jaymi and her husband Will are expecting this December! Their journey to parenthood has been a long road and we are beyond thrilled for them and can't wait to meet our niece! God has been so good to us this year and it will certainly be one for the books for our whole family.
Here are a few recent pics...
My sweet sisters threw Cora a wonderful little homecoming 'sip and see' party and it was so great to celebrate having our girl home with family and friends. We have amazing people in our life and can't thank everyone enough for being by our side during this journey.
Since being home, we've checked off several of our follow-up appointments and all is going well...quick recap:
1) Eyes: They are developing as normal and there were no signs of retinopothy of prematurity, one of the big risks in preemies. We will follow up with a pediatric optomologist in 8 weeks which is routine.
2) Heart: We had a follow-up echo-cardiogram and EKG this week and all looked normal so we won't be going back yay!
3) Fingers: We had a consultation last week with a pediatric surgeon and it looks like those extra digits will be hanging around (no pun intended) a bit longer as we wait to get on the schedule...who knew it was such an ordeal. Hopefully in a few months we'll have them removed but for now, she'll remain a 12 fingered little lady.
4) Hip: We had an ultrasound completed which was for her breech position en utero rather than prematurity. The pediatrician's physical exam was good, but we figured what's one more test after all we've gone through. Cora was not a fan, wailed and fought me the whole time. This little one is getting quite feisty!
We have some big things coming up with Joslin turning THREE in a few weeks and starting preschool next month. Where did my baby girl go?!
And in other family news, there will be another GIRL cousin soon as my sis-in-law Jaymi and her husband Will are expecting this December! Their journey to parenthood has been a long road and we are beyond thrilled for them and can't wait to meet our niece! God has been so good to us this year and it will certainly be one for the books for our whole family.
Here are a few recent pics...
we had some unusually rainy weather...also an incredibly humid day for us Californians
every good party ends with a naked rain dance right?!
my beautiful sisters!
three sisters and what will be 3 babies in 2015
they know the way to my heart with funfetti sprinkle cupcakes!
big sis always checking in
a sneak preview of our family photos - seeing these two together just melts my heart!
it's so fun/weird seeing pics of 4 of us!
I tackled my first weekend alone with both girls...no easy task but wine and homemade pizza helped!
Monday, July 13, 2015
Welcome Home Cora!
The day we've been waiting for finally arrived! On the 101st day since we started this journey, we heard the magical words...Cora will be discharged!
Friday, July 3rd I went to the hospital at my usual time, 8:30am. During the week I would go from about 8:30am-1:00pm to do her routine cares of diaper change, temperature, feeding and of course snuggling. The doctors and staff do their rounds at 8:30 where they discuss any new orders or updates for baby so I always tried to tune in for that. Since Friday was the start to the holiday weekend, I was originally going to go in the afternoon since Joe and Joss were home. We always tried to spend the weekend mornings together as a family before making the daily hospital trip. But knowing Cora was on a roll with her feedings, of course I couldn't wait to find out if she completed all her night feedings too. When I showed up the nurse told me she had done them all! Talk about serious excitement! I saw all her doctors come around and they could see me already starting my celebration. Of course my first question was if she didn't finish her next feeding can they change their minds on me?! They told me it was a done deal and they would write up the order for her discharge. I left there around 10:00am, called Joe and told him to get ready to bring our baby girl home!! We got things ready and that afternoon we went and picked up our girl. It was a moment like none other walking through that door and hearing Joslin's voice say 'Cora's home, Cora's home'. Our whole family was finally home together.
It's been a great first week and we are loving the exhaustion and getting to know Cora more. Joslin is one proud big sister and absolutely adores Cora. For her first week home, I had double duty since Joslin's daycare was closed for vacation. (I'm seeing a trend that Cora has impeccable timing...of course she would come home on the only week when Joslin was home the whole week). I was a little nervous to take on both by myself the entire week but I must say Joslin impressed me so much with her patience, helpfulness and good attitude. She is taking on her new role so well! They certainly kept me busy and it was a bit impossible for me to get anything else done, hence the delay in this post! With 1 week under our belt and many more to go I can't wait to watch their bond grow and see lil miss Cora blossom.
It's hard to believe this all started on March 24th when I was admitted to the hospital. I don't know where the last 3 months went in this whirlwind but I'm so happy we can move on and start living our life together as a family of four. This experience has made us stronger and makes me realize we can endure life's unexpected challenges. We learned to accept the uncertainties and adapt to new routines. We learned asking for help is okay and necessary. Now we can finally settle in to life with our 3-month old newborn, such a weird thing to think about. Even though Cora's birthday is in April, a part of me will always celebrate July and her homecoming. And for the next couple years, her milestones and growth will be based on her original due date of 7/11. We have several follow up appointments and developmental clinics to come and will continue praying for healthy growth for Cora as we go through these steps, but we are so incredibly grateful for the many answered prayers. I read something that having a preemie was seeing God's creation still in the making and it is so true. We've seen her fragile skin strengthen, her tiny little features fill out, watched her learn to breathe on her own and witnessed her overcome every challenge of being here too soon. She's simply amazing. Welcome home baby girl.
DISCHARGE DAY!!!!!
Friday, July 3rd I went to the hospital at my usual time, 8:30am. During the week I would go from about 8:30am-1:00pm to do her routine cares of diaper change, temperature, feeding and of course snuggling. The doctors and staff do their rounds at 8:30 where they discuss any new orders or updates for baby so I always tried to tune in for that. Since Friday was the start to the holiday weekend, I was originally going to go in the afternoon since Joe and Joss were home. We always tried to spend the weekend mornings together as a family before making the daily hospital trip. But knowing Cora was on a roll with her feedings, of course I couldn't wait to find out if she completed all her night feedings too. When I showed up the nurse told me she had done them all! Talk about serious excitement! I saw all her doctors come around and they could see me already starting my celebration. Of course my first question was if she didn't finish her next feeding can they change their minds on me?! They told me it was a done deal and they would write up the order for her discharge. I left there around 10:00am, called Joe and told him to get ready to bring our baby girl home!! We got things ready and that afternoon we went and picked up our girl. It was a moment like none other walking through that door and hearing Joslin's voice say 'Cora's home, Cora's home'. Our whole family was finally home together.
It's been a great first week and we are loving the exhaustion and getting to know Cora more. Joslin is one proud big sister and absolutely adores Cora. For her first week home, I had double duty since Joslin's daycare was closed for vacation. (I'm seeing a trend that Cora has impeccable timing...of course she would come home on the only week when Joslin was home the whole week). I was a little nervous to take on both by myself the entire week but I must say Joslin impressed me so much with her patience, helpfulness and good attitude. She is taking on her new role so well! They certainly kept me busy and it was a bit impossible for me to get anything else done, hence the delay in this post! With 1 week under our belt and many more to go I can't wait to watch their bond grow and see lil miss Cora blossom.
It's hard to believe this all started on March 24th when I was admitted to the hospital. I don't know where the last 3 months went in this whirlwind but I'm so happy we can move on and start living our life together as a family of four. This experience has made us stronger and makes me realize we can endure life's unexpected challenges. We learned to accept the uncertainties and adapt to new routines. We learned asking for help is okay and necessary. Now we can finally settle in to life with our 3-month old newborn, such a weird thing to think about. Even though Cora's birthday is in April, a part of me will always celebrate July and her homecoming. And for the next couple years, her milestones and growth will be based on her original due date of 7/11. We have several follow up appointments and developmental clinics to come and will continue praying for healthy growth for Cora as we go through these steps, but we are so incredibly grateful for the many answered prayers. I read something that having a preemie was seeing God's creation still in the making and it is so true. We've seen her fragile skin strengthen, her tiny little features fill out, watched her learn to breathe on her own and witnessed her overcome every challenge of being here too soon. She's simply amazing. Welcome home baby girl.
{ Day 73 }
6/30/15
I loved it when the nurses would leave little notes on the video cam...towards the end I started calling much more frequently!
{ Day 74 }
7/1/15
The chin and neck are outta control!!
{ Day 75 }
7/2/15
{ Day 76 }
7/3/15
DISCHARGE DAY!!!!!
farewell blue chair
farewell hospital bed
Sporting her 4th of July hat made by one of their volunteers. This little one was ready to show off her own independence!
This is Cora's primary nurse Eugenia, she just loved her!
It was a little weird still being wheeled out months after having Cora but momentous nonetheless. Afterall, she is newborn status now.
First car ride
Sister love
already such a watchful big sister
no better feeling than being with both my girls together
{ First Week Home }
7/4/15 - 7/10/15
Happy 4th!
Snuggles at HOME, the best!
sparkler fun!
lots of auntie love!!
she's obsessed
can't forget about our fur baby...pretty sure she wasn't totally happy about us bringing another one home but curious and sweet as always
Original Due Date
7/11/15
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