The Last Week in Pictures

Trying out rice cereal on a spoon for the first time this week. Definitely not into swallowing it yet. 

Bath time! Can you believe how much bigger she is since this post?! This is also the last picture of the g-tube before getting changed to a g-tube button.

This past weekend we went down to GA for Glenn's family reunion. It was a quick, but good trip. Eliza got to meet a lot of family for the first time! Unfortunately we didn't get pictures of everyone.

Chilling out with her cousins!

Uncle Mike!

Uncle Greg!

Meeting Great-Grandma Vicki!

 

Happy Father's Day! You couldn't have asked for a cuter baby, eh Dad? 

Life in Preemie World

I saw this article today and it really resonated so thought I would share it. Please read.

ABC Article


Life with a preemie is... different, and definitely not what us preemie moms envisioned when we started our journey to parenthood. I like how the article talks a little bit about life after the NICU and how it's NOT at all  like coming home with a full-term baby. Life has not been sunshine and roses since we came home even though it seems like it should be.

Sometimes I wonder if PTSD is exactly what I have. I'm having a hard time in social situations the last few months because I get many comments about how happy I must be, how great Eliza's doing, and what a miracle she is, and yes I agree ...but god I'm just so sad too. I hate how horrible this last year has been and everything we've had to plow through to get here. I hate that we've been home for several months and we STILL go to a doctor's an average of once a week. I hate that I've felt so overwhelmed with Eliza at times that I wonder how I would have ever coped with three babies in the same situation. I hate not being able to breastfeed Eliza and that we have tried EVERYTHING and Eliza still will not eat. I hate that she has a port in her belly that we have to feed her through, that her body is trying to reject it, and that we have to treat it by burning tissue with silver nitrate every 3 days.

Most of all I just hate feeling this way.


****I dislike being negative because I know that there are always people in the same and much worse situations but sometimes it just gets to me.

Myrtle Beach

We just got back from spending a week at the beach (specifically, Myrtle Beach, SC) with Heather's family. It was a great vacation, exactly what we all needed. We had a little "excitement" when I forgot to pack one of Eliza's medications, and it turned out that to get a temporary refill to get through the week with, we needed to find a specialty compounding pharmacy to mix up the medication. Fortunately there ended up being one only about a half hour away. Besides that, the trip went pretty smoothly!

Of course everyone wanted to take their turn holding and playing with Eliza. She was thrilled to have such attention from so many people, and we were relieved to have so many extra hands to make light work of the day to day of raising Eliza.

Playtime with Nana

Smiles and laughter all around

If you look closely, I took this picture just as Eliza began a spit-up. Eliza likes to spit up on Aunt Hannah!


Eliza is still not a big fan of the great outdoors, but she did make it down to the beach several times to lay in the shade, and even got to dip her feet in the waves!

Hanging out at the beach together. Eliza and Heather are chilling out in the tent.

Eliza prefers the shade, even outside

Elvis impersonation?

Testing the waters


Eliza really did remarkably well being away from home and in a strange place for so long. She didn't want to go to sleep at bedtime - too much excitement? - and continues to spit up very frequently, but during the day she was usually a content and happy baby. At the beach we saw several families with little toddlers walking in hand, a very cute sight - I guess next year we'll be one of them!