Comparisons

As a first time parent, I have the big milestones loosely in mind.  Sitting around 6 months, then crawling after that, and walking sometime around a year.  That is how things are 'supposed' to happen.  I also know that Claire will probably not follow this same timeline.  And honestly, I'm ok with that.  I know that this may change, that I may get discouraged with what may be seen as a lack of progress, but for now, I revel in what she can do. 

I love that she rolls onto her belly and can happily spend what seems like forever playing with her toys.  I love that when she sees me come around a corner, or into her line of sight, her entire face lights up.  I love that she is a hard worker.  She wants so badly to sit up, and will try and try until she is all tuckered out.  I love that she sleeps through the night, and wakes me up in the morning to a foot waving overhead and soft coos.

There are plenty of opportunities for comparisons.  I have a niece that is three weeks older than Claire, and she goes to daycare with a little boy one week younger than she is.  They are doing things she is 'supposed' to be doing.  And yet, when I look at them I'm not sad.  Instead, I see what we have coming up, the next steps we have to look forward to.  And I thank God everyday for keeping me focused on what is, instead of what is 'supposed' to be.

These are the days...

I love.  The days where laundry, dishes and work don't take over.  Where we can enjoy a walk in the morning, some time in the hammock, and simply laying on the floor playing.

6 Months!

How is it possible that my sweet girl is six months old today?  It's seems like just yesterday we were waiting for her arrival. And now, six months and two surgeries later, she is perfectly healthy, changing and growing right before our eyes.  Every time I look at Claire I am amazed by her, and by how my life has changed for the better.

10 Years and 3000 Ounces!

Today, I'm going to celebrate a couple of my milestones, instead of Claire's!

Ten years ago today, I started working for an insurance agency, and while I enjoy my job, I never really figured I be in the same place for ten years!  The anniversary kind of surprised me since we'd been so busy with Claire's surgery, but now that I think about it, it almost wouldn't surprise me if I'm there for another ten years.  We don't have any plans to move, and in a small town like ours, there really isn't any where else I'd rather work.  It's a small office and it's been pretty much the same staff for all ten years.  After this long we're not just co-workers, but friends too.

While ten years at a job is impressive, I'm even more excited about my 3000 ounces...of breast milk in the freezer! Claire has never nursed.  She's always had a great suck, but wouldn't latch well.  I could get her latched and sucking for only a few seconds before she'd let go.  The doctors really wanted her to gain weight well, and with her OHS looming, pumping was the best solution for us.  I'm very thankful that I've been able to exclusively pump and provide her with milk, but man, it's a lot of work!  I could have done without the extra steps of pumping and washing bottles. 

My original goal was to pump for six months, and I've made that.  The milk in the freezer should get me through about three months, and now my goal is to get Claire through her first year on BM.  While I'm looking forward to the end of pumping in the next few months, I'm almost not sure what I'll do with another three hours a day!  ;)

This small freezer in our house held all of the small bottles from her NICU stay when she was born.  I've used most of them up since she'll be six months old next week.  We have more space with the small bottles gone, but we did have to purchase another chest freezer to hold all the milk!

Sitting Pretty and Cardio Update

Before Claire's OHS we tried to use her Bumbo a couple of times and it just didn't work.  She didn't have the trunk strength even though she had the desire to sit.  We were only able to put her in the chair for a few seconds before she leaned forward and became a big ball of baby.  Now, a month later, it's a whole different story!

Claire has been trying to sit up for so long.  She refuses to lay flat, and always has her head up and abs flexed.  We tried the Bumbo again last night and she loved it.  She could sit up, look around and play with her toys.

Yesterday, we had Claire's one month OHS followup.  The Dr did another echo, and while they can see some minor leakage with the valves, they can't hear a murmur.  She has a normally functioning heart and no restrictions at all!  We are so thankful to have her surgery behind us and are praising God that her repair is perfect.

And, just a final couple of pictures because her expressions just make me laugh!

Off Oxygen for Good!

On Wednesday I took Claire into her doctor.  The appointment was meant to check her oxygen levels while she was sleeping.  I keep her awake until right before we left the house for the appt (the clinic is literally 5 minutes from our house) and of course the little stinker woke up about 2 minutes before they called us back.  Even though her nap lasted all of 15 minutes there was no way she was going back to sleep again.  Her doctor wasn't comfortable just taking her off the O2 without knowing what her levels were so he had a monitor sent to the house for her to wear overnight. 

She fell asleep in the living room with us, so we got her moved into her room and hooked up.  She has really ticklish feet so it's always a trick getting the monitor on her toe.  While we were getting her settled she kept dropping into the high 80s and I had to keep adjusting the alarm so it wasn't going off.  I was afraid it was going to be a long night, but once she quit moving around she was a steady 92-94% all night long.  This is a little lower than she is when she's awake, but the doctor was happy with the levels and she is officially off the oxygen!

We are still on a therapy hiatus right now.  I let her spend all the time on her tummy that she wants, but I haven't really been pushing any of her exercises, and it's been really nice.  When we are playing I still think about how I should do things with her, but it's not as all consuming as it was before her surgery.  The break has showed me that she is still going to learn new things (she's starting to pivot on her tummy) without me pushing all the time.  I still have some mommy guilt that I'm not doing enough for her, but the surgery has been a nice reason just to sit and cuddle.

I'd like to start taking more pictures of Claire, but I really need and new camera and can't decide what I want to buy.  Hopefully I'll decide soon, because these posts need pictures!