Smile

It's official. Melanie is smiling. She will smile for anybody, except the camera. When that thing is in front of her there is no smiling. Makes pictures a little difficult, but I was able to get one this morning of her smiling at Miya. I'll keep trying to get more. We are so thankful little Melanie has reached this milestone in her life. Today we had another weight check for her....9 pounds 8 ounces. She's back to gaining a little more then an ounce a day :) Melanie also had her first stroller ride 2 nights ago. A little strange when I think about it as Miya had her fist stroller ride at 4 DAYS old and Jayden at about week old. Melanie had to wait till she was 5 months old (hard to imagine she's 5 months old today!!!!).

The girls in this house HAD to get out for a bit and use some energy. Since Melanie isn't supposed to be exposed to germs that ruled out groceries. It was a mild night so we bundled her up and went for a short walk (no germs there, right??). She slept for most of it and thought she needed a bottle as soon as we got back (she worked soooo hard sleeping in that stroller)! I have to confess it was a little CRAZY at times. Charlie (the dog) tagged along since we can't lock her in the garage due to a broken doggie door. Jayden was very concerned with Charlie which slowed her down even more and Miya was so excited to be free of the house I had all I could do to keep her near. Of course Charlie thought she had to walk on the opposite side of the rode which threw Jades into fits.....lesson learned; no more walks till I fix the doggy door.

Quick Video

Here is another unsuccessful video of us trying to get Melanie to smile, yes she is sitting in one of the girls' baby strollers. The end of the video is Jayden explaining what she wants for her birthday. This is a mild version compared to how excited she usually gets when we ask her about her birthday!

4 Month Check-up

Has it really been almost a month since I last posted? Wow how time flys. Things have been busy, busy around here. One of the biggest things that's kept me from blogging is that little Miss Melanie thinks she needs to be held, ALOT!! She has had some pretty bad reflux the past few weeks that I think we are finally on-top of. From the 5pm till about 11:30pm she thinks she needs to be held, chest to chest. Well that would be WONDERFUL if she was the first child. Being the third makes that a little bit of a problem. She had her 4month check-up (even though she's almost 5months) last Friday and I asked Dr. G how to un-spoil her so we can function again around here. He gave me some very good words of wisdom. He reminded me that yes she is 4 1/2 months old, but really, developmentally, she is only about 6weeks old. 6 week old babies cannot sooth themselves and need to be calmed by being held. This was a good reminder for me. I have been getting frustrated at some of the things she's doing (or not doing) but they are all normal for a preemie. This is going to be something that I will have to continually be reminded of. I guess that means a few more early morning feedings, even though it feels like AGES since we've had a good night's sleep.

Melanie is weighing 8lbs 8ozs. Normally she gains an ounce a day. This past week she gained 2oz the entire week. So we made some changes and have a weight re-check next week. I think this will go well as she has been eating every 2hours (the past 18hrs) lately. I feel a growth spurt coming on. She has outgrown her preemie outfits and almost all of her newborn, however the 3month clothes are still too big.

As for her eyes, they are mature!!!! YAAAAH!!!! We have one more check of her ROP to make sure in 4 weeks if all stays the same we will not have to go back to that particular eye dr. This means she no longer has ROP and the blood vessels have crossed the ridge in both eyes meaning she no longer is in danger of her retina detaching. These visits really have had nothing to do with her vision. She will need to start with a pediatric eye dr. closer to 9 months of age. We are so thankful that we can say bye-bye to this part of her development (almost).

Melanie is starting to smile. She is very stingy with them as of yet so I haven't been able to get one on camera. She gives them to Jeff the most. It was a huge blessing and relief the first time I saw her smile. If she can smile, I feel we will be able to deal with any developmental delays (or anything else) that may come our way. With a smile we know she is happy and content. One of our prayers for her, to be a happy baby. We praise God for this milestone in her life!

Here is a video of Melanie having some tummy time. She'll stay there for about 3-5min. We have a lot of work to do here....she does get a little excited and roll off the side of the pillow onto her back, which she did as soon as I shut of the camera. You'll notice she's lifting her head (kinda) and sucking her fingers(with her hands in the middle of her body), all good signs of development.

Pictures

Here is a little of what we've been up to....

I think Jayden may have been scared...for all of 30 seconds.

Fixing puzzles with dad!

Melanie is growing, growing, growing. Do you see the rolls on her neck. She is getting rolls in her diaper too. Baby chub is sooo cute! So thankful she is getting it. She was 7#'s 6 oz last Tuesday...probably 7# 14ish today. Her eyes are improving, back to eye dr. today (argh...i have to remember my book today)

Miya has decided to start doing her own hair. Doesn't it look great? (good thing we can/t leave the house :)

Grandpa and Grandma (Great)came for a visit from Iowa. It was so good to have them here! This was there first time seeing Melanie. Whenever they were around, Melanie was in their arms! Miya and Jayden had a ton of fun with them as always. And Jeff and I enjoyed their company. Ohhh if we only lived closer.

Melanie is having a lot of reflux and needs to sit up after eating. She LOVES being held, but I cant do that after every feeding...so we broke out the swing. She loves it! Jayden thinks it's pretty cool too (she puts her babies in it). Melanie does tend to cry though when the music turns off....I think we may be getting a little spoiled. And yes, the girls wear their sunglasses ALL the time.

Since we are confined to the house I have been trying to find different things for the girls to do, hence painting coffee filters. This is the "happy" before shot. Before what you ask? Before Jayden dumped the red paint off the table onto the carpet. :)

Hanging out with Melanie.