A gift to us...

The experience I've had with Kendall since she has been born has been unbelievable. Her early entrance into this world happened so that we could spend more time with her. About every 3 hours, she cries for food and her need for us is such a great feeling. Although we are up in the night, usually more than once, it is a treat to go into her room and prepare her for a bottle of food. She loves to lay on top of us as she falls into another peaceful state for yet another 3 hours.

Recently, she has been spending more time looking around inbetween naps. She's starting to take it all in and hasn't been too fussy, especially when she is wrapped up like a tight burrito. The snuggly blanket that keeps her arms secure and her legs from wandering give her the security she needs to feel safe at home.

I love every minute with her and always look forward to the next time I can hang out with her.

Kendall Tips the Scales at 5lbs 3oz!

Only a short 3 weeks ago, Kendall was bottoming out at 3lbs as she adjusted to her new environment at the hospital. Just the other day, for her 1 month check up, she weighed in at over 5lbs. We weren't sure how much weight she was putting on, but were thinking that maybe she was in the 4.5 lbs range. To our surprise and excitement, she gained nearly 1.5 lbs in just 2 weeks. We were very happy for her and her great achievement!

She has been doing so great being home and seems to like it here. She is like clockwork and is up about every 3 hours or so and wolfs down 2 oz at a crack. We have found a pattern that seems to work well for Cathy and me and Kendall helps by letting us get 3 hour chunks of sleep at a time. Carsen has also been adjusting, which has been very helpful. His schedule has migrated from getting up at 6:30am to sleeping in until 8:30. This has been huge for us as we try to get any sleep we can.

Additionally, Alex has been a good big sister by playing with Carsen and helping out when she can. Carsen likes her and has been able to give us breaks chasing him all over the house so that we can care for Kendall.

Kendall is 3 Weeks Old!!

It is hard to believe that our little girl is now 3 weeks old. It is even harder to believe that technically she shouldn't even be here yet. Her due date was not until August 20, still 2 weeks out.

We took her to the eye doctor earlier this week to have her eyes checked again. Apparently preemie eyes are prone to more disorders than full-term babies since they have not had a chance to fully develop. However, Kendall continues to surpass all expectations, and passed the eye screen with flying colors. Her eyes, though still premature, are farther along than the doctors had anticipated. She has one more appointment to go, then she should be finished with eye checks for a while. She goes back to the pediatrician next week for her one month check up and an immunization.

She continues to do very well, picking up weight each day. She is starting to look more and more like a baby, too! She is very patterned already, sleeping roughly 3-5 hours at a time, which of course Mommy is quite happy with!

Kendall Passes first Doctor Appointment

Today, Kendall went to the doctor for her 2 day check up. The doctor had nothing but positive things to say about her progress. She is weighing in at 3 lbs, 13 oz. Although that this is still very tiny, she is gaining weight fairly rapidly and is eating more and more every day. She is very healthy and is doing great.

In addition to her doctor appointment, she was able to visit her grandpa for the first time. Grandpa was afraid to hold her, but got to meet her anyway. They hit it off well!

Kendall comes home!

On Tuesday, July 31st, we were given the approval to take Kendall home. She was doing so well in picking up weight, keeping her body temperature and also passed the car seat test. We were very excited to hear this, but also scared at the same time. She is so small and fragile, we are afraid that we could hurt her.

The first night of her being at home was a long, sleepless night. Cathy was up most of the night as she was very worried for Kendall. It was strange for us to have a baby around the house again since Carsen now sleeps about 11 hours/night.

She did great with her transition and seems to be taking well to her new environment. Cathy and Kendall are starting to build a nice bond.