Happy Birthdays

Do I even need to tell you how wonderful it has been having Lucy home?  I still can't believe we're finally all together as a family.  We spent the past few days getting to know each other and trying to establish as much of a routine as possible.  I think the most exciting part has been watching Lucy figure out what life as a baby should really be like.  Instead of being poked and prodded she's being held and soothed.  Instead of being fed tiny amounts of food on a controlled schedule, she's eating as much as she wants whenever she wants it.  When she cries someone picks her up.  When she sleeps it's nice and calm around her instead of noisy, bright, and busy.  Now don't get me wrong - I'm not complaining about the NICU.  The first month of her life had to be the way it was.  There was no choice.  And they certainly made every effort to make it as comfortable as possible for her.  But she has been through SO much and it melts my heart to finally see her living the comfortable life she deserves.  And she has definitely started to figure it out.  She LOVES to be held and is starting to cry when we put her down.  After everything she's been through I feel like she deserves the sun and the stars, so we pretty much hold her all day except for when she's asleep.  I have a feeling we're creating a spoiled monster who is not going to be happy when she has to start sleeping in her own room, but I don't care!  We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.  For now we're here to soothe and calm her whenever she feels afraid, and most importantly, to show her how it feels to be loved.

Yesterday was my 31st birthday and Lucy's 1-month birthday.  Needless to say, I got the best birthday present I could ever want the day Lucy came home.  Can you believe how much has changed in just 4 weeks?

Then...

And now.

We decided to get out of the house and go on a birthday adventure.  Other than two doctor appointments (both of which she aced) we haven't been outside much in the last week.  Our first stop was brunch, followed by an afternoon at the park.  It was in the upper 70s which doesn't happen all that often in San Francisco, especially during the foggy summers. When it's that warm it's kind of your duty as a San Franciscan to spend the day outside enjoying the weather.  Lucy slept through most of it but did wake up for a while at the park.  She had a few fussy moments but for the most part she tolerated the adventure quite well.

First time in the Baby Bjorn. 

Crepes

Park day!

Her belly is also healing well.  Her cord finally fell off today which should make the dressing changes much easier.  The hole is down to the size of a quarter.  It used to be about the size of a beer bottle bottom because they had to stretch it open to fit the bottom of the silo under her skin. I thought some of the other gastro moms might want to see some photos (sorry if they make you a little squeamish!)  We're told that this sutureless closure method usually results in a better cosmetic result than a surgically created belly button.  I think her "belly button" will end up being wherever the hole closes in on itself, but I'm not sure.  It will be interesting to see how it all turns out.   

The hole is the size of the white foam dressing which is held on by a tegaderm film.  The red skin around it is all new skin which gives you an idea of how big the hole used to be.  We change the dressing 1-2 times a day and each time I cut a smaller circle because the hole has gotten a little smaller.

The skin under the dressing looks kind of like ground beef.  We are waiting for real skin to grow over that "pre-skin."  The redness around is new skin, the black thing is the cord (now off), and the yellow stuff is normal discharge.

And finally, by popular request, some kitty pictures.  Goose has been keeping a comfortable distance from Lucy so I don't have any of him at the moment, but as you can see, Maverick has accepted her into our clan...  sort of.