Update

Hope should now be officially born. Her due date was yesterday, March 13. We originally had a c-section scheduled for last Friday, March 10. Today should have been our first complete day home as a family, but instead we have been a family of 5 for a little over 7 weeks and we wouldn't give up these 7 weeks for anything. Everyone continues to do well in our family. Today Hope got another RSV shot. The nurse came to our house to give her the shot. She was about 21" long and 8lbs. She is growing like a weed. Jen thinks that Hope should be sleeping through the night because she is so big. Because she was so big, the nurse had to use two vials of medicine ($800 per vial - thank goodness for insurance!!!). We hope you enjoy these new pictures of Hope that were taken today. Please check in tomorrow to see the big news regarding Camden.

New Pictures

We think they are so cute ....

Hope Is 6 Weeks Old

Two months ago, on January 3rd, this journey for our family began. In the two months since that day, our family has experienced a wide range of emotions: nervousness, fear, excitement, joy and a great deal of love. 6 weeks ago Hope came into this world and has changed our lives so much for the better. In these 6 weeks, Hope has come so far. She continues to grow bigger and stronger each day. She is starting to be more alert and is awake a greater amount of time during the day. She continues to eat well and is having success with both nursing and with her bottle feeds. We continue to be extremely cautious when it comes to visitors and germs. Hope has only been outside of our house 4 times (once when she came home from the hospital and the other 3 times for doctor's appointments). Our caution seems to be paying off. She continues to be healthy and does not have to go back to the doctor until March 20th. Ryann and Camden are in love with their little sister. They can't seem to walk by her without giving her a kiss or touching her or talking to her. This makes us as parents so proud and so glad that our family of 4 has now become a family of 5.

Hope is 1 Month Old Today!

It is hard to believe that Hope has been a part of our family for one month. We can't imagine our family without her. She has definitely blessed us in so many ways. Hope has now been home with us for 12 days. In those 12 days she has continued to thrive. She is eating well and is up to 50 cc's per feeding. She is also developing a routine as far as sleep is concerned. She goes to bed at around 11:00pm each night and wakes up sometime around 3:00am to eat and then again around 7:00am. She is also awake more throughout the day. I think she enjoys watching her sister and brother as they play and act crazy. Hope goes to the doctor again tomorrow. Hopefully, we will have another good report! Thank you for continuing to think about our family. We really appreciate it!

6th Day at Home

Hope had her doctor's appointment today. She is doing wonderful. Her weight is just under 6lbs 1oz. She has gained over 8oz since she has been home. She continues to gain strength every day. Hope is scheduled for another appointment next week. Even though she is doing great, the doctor continues to warn us to be very careful and cautious. He warns that germs are all around. If a baby is under two months and gets sick, the baby has to be admitted to the hospital because they are too young for medicine.

We often wonder if we are being too cautious. Then we remember how hard it was for our family and little girl to be at the hospital. We KNOW that we do not want to be back in the hospital.

Today Brent made a visit back to the NIM/NICU unit. We have some friends that are in the NIM unit. Their son, Cameron, took Hope's spot in the NIM when she left (the actual spot). We realize what a toll the hospital can take on you and a what friendly visit can do for your spirit. We also know another couple that is in the NICU. He has been e-mailing us with questions. It does feel good to be able to help and support these two families.

Hope you enjoy the pictures. We will update soon.

Hope's 3rd Day at Home

What a wonderful Saturday for us! This is the first Saturday in 6 weeks that we didn't have to spend time at the hospital. What a joy it is to just be home spending time together - doing puzzles, playing games, reading books and cuddling Hope. We definitely couldn't ask for anything more. Hope continues to do great here at home. She is eating well, napping well and making her big brother and big sister (and mom and dad too!) fall even more in love with her. On Tuesday Hope has her first appointment with our pediatrician. It will be neat to see if she has continued to gain weight and to get Dr. Henderson's impression of her.

2nd Day at Home

The second day was so great that we forgot to update the blog. How weird not to go to the hospital, for Jen to be able to go to Ryann's Valentine Party, to spend more than 1 hour as a family, and to be able to watch the Olympics as a family. These things we took for granted just 2 months ago ... now we live for them. Who could have asked for a better birthday gift.

Hope had a wonderful day! She ate and slept like she has been doing it since day 1. The kids are very proud of her and are enjoying every minute with her. They are a tremendous help when it comes to advice and taking care of her. Hope feeds every 3 hours so this schedule is a little hard. Brent has been doing the 1:00 & 4:00 am feedings since he had this time off. Jen is doing the 7:00 so Brent can sleep in. Starting Monday Jen will be the lady of the night.

This is a picture from when we left the hospital. The blanket is the same one that Brent went home in when he was born.