The blog is back!

We're back. After further consideration, we've decided to continue with Ella's blog. A co-worker of mine told me about this cool feature where you can turn your online blog into a printed coffee-table book with a click of a button! Tim and I thought this would be a great memory book for Ella and have committed to continuing it to capture all of Ella's milestones during the first year.

So let me quickly get you up to speed on the first 3 weeks at home.

1. Doctors, doctors, doctors. Did I say 'doctors'? Ella has doctor appointments (or in-home nurse visits) 3-5 times per week. Ella is seeing a physical therapist, dietitian, nurse coordinator, First Steps coordinator, GI doctor, Parents As Teachers, Neonatologist follow-ups, and oh yeah, a regular pediatrician. Although it gets to be a bit much at times, it's just become part of our routine (and gives me an excuse to get out of the house).

Ella continues to gain weight, although at a slower pace than the doctors would prefer. Ella is currently at 9 lbs, 4 oz (and 21 1/4") and the docs would prefer she gain 1 oz per day (which would have put her around 9 lbs, 10 oz; up 1 pound since leaving hospital). Oh well, the point is that she is headed in the right direction and we need to ensure she eats well throughout the day. The GI doctor added a medicine to her lineup, Carafate. Apparently, this is good stuff and should help Ella power through her feeds until she outgrows the reflux. The pediatrician, on the other hand, is not a fan of adding meds (and neither am I).

2. Sleep, eat, poop. This is how the rest of Ella's days are spent. Over the past couple of days though, Ella has really started to be more alert during the days and is interacting with us. She is starting to smile more, coo, and be interested in playtime. She also loves books. Reading to her really captures her attention.

The PT has given us a series of development items to work on in an effort to reduce any delays in development. Ella was assessed as performing as a 2-month in terms of head strength, arms/legs movement and general interactive behaviors. This is good, relative to her 1 month adjusted age. The hope is that within the first year, Ella narrows the gap entirely and there are no signs of prematurity, and the expectation is that within the first 3 years there are no signs. All in all, the PT was pleased with Ella's abilities.

Dad and I are getting more sleep as well. The pediatrician has given the green light to let Ella sleep through the night. We are still experimenting with this schedule and currently we are able to get up to a 6-hour stretch of sleep (if we choose to go to bed when she does - that's been the challenge because I feel like it's my only opportunity to catch up on TV shows!)

3. All in all, life is good. We've truly enjoyed having her home, especially with the nice weather. We've gone on a few outings to grab lunch, met Dad for coffee, took some strolls in the neighborhood and even had a playdate already with "cousin" Emma. I enjoy visitors as well. ; )

I'll post some updated pictures shortly.