Six Months Old

Today we celebrated Eliza being six months old! It's quite the shocker to think we've had her around for 6 months now and to take a step back and see how far we've come in these months. She's quite the unique baby... six months old but only a little over two months adjusted (2 months since her due date), but acts less than even that since she is just 7.5 pounds. She is working hard at catching up and everyday we see little changes and big strides in her development.

Since coming home from the hospital she's been working on her babbling. It's the cutest thing to hear her "talking" to us or anyone that will listen. I remember the first few weeks in the hospital, when she was still intubated, wishing I could hear her cry. It was so hard to not hear anything from Eliza while the other babies in the room were able to easily make their presence known. Now not only do we get to hear her fussing but her happy sounds too!

She also is tracking us and objects with her eyes! We worried about this after her ROP issues and laser eye procedures but it seems that this is just one more worry to cross off the list. Who knows how far she will actually be able to see considering her parents are very nearsighted but thats a different story. :)

Last week we had our first follow up visit with the Special Infant Care Clinic (SICC) at the hospital. Babies that spend a significant amount of time in the NICU are followed by SICC after discharge to make sure they continue to develop appropriately, provide any therapy they may need to catch up and follow up on any ongoing medical issues. Of course most of our 3 hour appointment was spent talking about our baby girl's feeding skills. More changes to the plan and trial periods because of her continued frustration, disorganization when eating, and her very frequent fussiness. But all in all, the professionals believe that things are going very well since: a) she's continuing to gain weight -  7.5 pounds! newborn diapers already getting a little tight! b) she still WANTS to eat (AKA no oral aversion)  c) she hasn't been admitted back to the hospital. Apparently 50% of babies born before 26 weeks are back in the hospital within a month. It's been almost 3 weeks since we left the hospital (already!) and so far it's not looking like there would be any reason that Eliza would need to go back! (Yeah I know, knocking on wood.) I found it to be a funny marker of how Eliza was doing -- "Hooray! You aren't back in the hospital, you are doing great!" That's one way to look at it I agree. :)

This week we've met with our county coordinator for the Early Intervention Infant and Toddler program. She is automatically qualified for this program because of her birthweight and age. We are in the process of putting together a plan for early intervention and so that she will be able to get even more help in any areas she needs. Good stuff.

Happy 6 month birthday Eliza..we are so happy that you are finally home with us and we are looking forward to each new day with you!