Growing Girl

~Growing into her carseat!~

~Love play time with Daddy~

Our little girl seems to be growing right before our eyes these days, and we are loving every minute of this joyous process.  Perhaps that perspective seems somewhat unrealistic, but this does not mean that we are perfect or have everything under control or that we are never tired or exhausted with the normal, new parent issues.  We still experience all of that and must work through things just as any other set of parents or married couple.  What it does mean is that when I am tempted to look to myself and be selfish in any way, God directs my gaze to the precious miracle in my arms and consequently that gaze turns upwards to Him and can then only praise Him for all that He has done and is continuing to do in our lives.  He is working to change us, to stretch us and grow us into fit vessels for Him; and this process has not stopped simply because we have left the stresses of the NICU and have our baby in our arms.  I am so grateful for a God who uses multiple ways in our lives to conform us into His image and look forward to these coming years as we endeavor to raise Noelle for Christ and consequently become molded, changed, and stretched in completely new ways entirely!

~"I have no idea how this happened, Mom!"

Noelle finally seems to have settled into life with oxygen again.  She still does not appreciate the cannula in her nose and is forever inventing ways to get it out; but she does not get upset quite like she did those first few days after being put back on it.  She has become a master at getting the cannula off while she is sleeping, and I am constantly amazed to find it sitting neatly beside her head {as if I just laid it neatly beside her} or around her arm or completely out of her bed.  While she wears it the majority of the time, it certainly helps that she is not required to wear it when she is awake and not eating; and she can fully enjoy her playtime without any hindrance from the pesky thing. 

~Caught a wink & a smile~

She is smiling more and more every day, but they are difficult to catch on camera.  If she catches a glimpse of the camera, she stops looking at you and stares only at the little black box, which she seems to find quite fascinating.  We capture those sweet smiles whenever possible though!!

~My Grandpa Hummel's cradle~

For the past several weeks, Noelle has been sleeping in the bassinet which is a part of our stroller system.  It sat neatly on my nightstand right next to my head and was perfect for our situation when she came home.  In the meantime, my mom and grandma made a bumper pad {which attaches at the bottom so there are no spaces under which Noelle can slide} to fit this very dear cradle of my Grandpa Hummel's.  We believe this special piece was used even another generation before him, but we know for certain that Noelle is the fourth {if not the fifth} generation to sleep in this cradle.  I have fond memories of this piece as my mom used it for me and my siblings, and I am so thankful to be able to now use it for Noelle.  My task was to finish sewing the buttons onto the bumper pad, which I completed last week; so Noelle transitioned from the bassinet to the cradle a week ago and has done really well in her larger space.  She is still sleeping in our room and will continue to do so for the next few months, and I am in no rush to move her from our room or this cradle!!

~Walking outside with Gigi (Great Grandma)~

We finally were able to take Noelle on her first short trip to my grandparents home {approximately 90 minutes away} and spend the day last weekend.  We love visiting here and spending time with my grandparents and are so excited for Noelle to have the experience of growing up close to them, knowing them, and playing in the gardens.  Noelle's favorite part of the day was snuggling with Gigi {Great Grandma} and getting to know a voice that will soon be very familiar to her.What a blessing it is to have them so close to us!!

~"Can you just pat my back forever?"~

While newborn clothes still have plenty of room for her to grow, we are excited that her preemie clothes are becoming too small; and we have begun the transition into the next size.  We look forward to one day soon being able to report having reached the 6lb. mark!  Thank you once again for your continued prayers for our precious, growing miracle!! 

Little Miss Houdini & Mother's Day Weekend

~Oxygen back in the nose...not a happy camper!!~

Well, the tiny person in our household is not very happy with her mother tonight.  We had an appointment two weeks ago at which we discovered that Noelle's oxygen levels were borderline, but they agreed to watch it for a bit longer and wait until we made it through her echocardiogram this past week.  Unfortunately, the echocardiogram revealed that her pulmonary hypertension has not yet resolved, and they are also seeing a possible defect which may or may not be an issue for her at some point.  We will meet with the cardiologist in early July to determine what {if any} course of action needs to be taken, and she will probably be followed periodically for an undetermined amount of time regardless of what they decide based on this particular ultrasound.  The defect is an issue that presented itself shortly after she was born; but then because so many other critical issues arose, this specific finding was forgotten until just recently.  The great news is that she has not been affected clinically by these results.  She has presented no symptoms or major signs of distress, and so it is possible that this is her own normal; however, because it is not "normal" across the board, it will take some special follow-up care through the coming months.  They do not feel that the defect and the pulmonary hypertension are related, so our hope is that as the hypertension continues to resolve that she will be able to come off the oxygen completely again.  In the meantime, they do not want her heart working extra to help her breathe, and so they determined at her appointment today that her oxygen saturation levels are required to be higher instead of the borderline which she has been maintaining.  She is not required to wear the cannula at all times but only while eating and sleeping {which is most of the time}.  The next few days will take some adapting once again as we are "attached," but we easily fell into a system tonight for which I am thankful.  However, Little Miss Houdini has other ideas.  After nearly a month of freedom, she is far from thrilled at the accessory which again adorns her face and has tried many things to rid herself of the bothersome thing including {but not limited to} the following actions: pitiful looks, vigorous shaking of the head, sneezing, spitting, rubbing, and the tried and true good, hard yank.  The coming weeks should be quite the adventure since it will be more than a month before the appointments which address these particular issues will be upon us.

~Saturday Morning Brunch~

 On a sweeter note, we enjoyed a wonderful Mother's Day weekend as a family and spent much time together in thankfulness to God for such a special day.  Tom treated me to breakfast at one of our favorite spots on Saturday, and we actually spent part of Sunday at the NICU with some of her NICU mommies.

~Mother/Daughter Picture...and so begins the endeavor to get good pictures with a baby...~

Noelle actually fit into her very first newborn outfit for the occasion as the style still accommodated her small size.  All other newborn clothes are currently too big, but we have them washed and ready for this growing girl!  She weighed 5 lbs. 2 oz. today and is growing well in all areas, and we are very excited to pass the 5 lb. mark and enter into a "normal" birth weight range.  We will continue to update on her progress and so appreciate the continued prayers for our little miracle.  Honestly, today is not considered a setback.  Clinically, she is doing very well with no changes, and so this extra support is simply to keep her body from burning calories in an area which is not necessary for her to do.  I've included some pictures of her little outfit on Mother's Day, and thank you once again for praying for our sweet girl and helping us make this past weekend possible.  We are truly blessed beyond measure.

~Mother's Day Outfit~

~Captured one smile!!~

~Ballet Slipper Tights~

~A shot of my complete outfit~

~ Five Months Old ~

~First family outing: a walk outside~

Some days I wonder where the time has gone these past months; other days, it seems that we have been in the midst of this journey for as long as I can remember.  Long or short, either type of day is still a good day and one for which we are very grateful to God.

~Cozy and warm in the stroller~

~Tuckered out from a long day of appointments~

~Ready for our walk~

Noelle is continually changing before our eyes, and we become easily excited at every little sign of growth that we see.

While life is still quite hectic as we have multiple doctor appointments to attend {5 this week alone!}, we are starting to see things settle down and are beginning to figure out life as a family of three.  Our precious bundle continues to adapt well at home in her own space, and she is beginning to communicate more and more each day with smiles and tiny noises.

~Checking out new toys~

~Helping Daddy work on the computer~

~Very focused..~

She weighed 4 lbs. 9 oz. last Thursday, and we are looking forward to seeing how much more weight she has gained at her appointment tomorrow.

She still is not close to fitting into newborn clothes, but she is filling out her preemie clothes more and more each day, and we cannot wait for the day when she completely outgrows them, and we can pack them away to be used for her doll clothes when she is older.

~Relaxing with Daddy~

~Sweet snuggles~

At the end of this post, I have included some extra photos of Noelle from her bath tonight in which she was all smiles, so I hope you enjoy them almost as much as we do!!

~Reading a bedtime story with Mommy~

As always, thank you for your continued prayers, and we look forward to reporting having reached the 5 lb. mark very soon!!

~Tiny but growing!!!~

~Sweet, Happy Girl~

~My face is starting to fill out!!~

~I like to smile with my eyes!!~

~...and I'll wave at you too!!~