Updates

For those of you who don't know, Katelyn is now home. She's been home for 3 weeks and it's been wonderful. Even though we are sometimes needing toothpicks to hold our eyelids open because we're so tired, it's worth it. She spent 52 days in the NICU and weighed 6 lbs. 4 oz. when she came home. When we twen to the pediatrician the following day after her discharge she had gained 2 oz. Of course, the scale could have been calibrated slightly different but we'll take it. She doesn't go back until her 4 month check in August but we might be taking her in for a weight check in July. Wednesday we go to the surgery for a follow up so he can check the progress of her Omphalocele, so we can get a weight check there. She's been eating every 3 hrs for the most part..sometimes she doesn't make it that long but other times she sleeps right through the 3 hr mark and can make it 4 hrs. (too bad that hasn't been in the middle of the night). I'm anticipating she's 7 lbs. or more by now.

This time having a baby at home that just about made it to full term has definitely been different. Although she does have a birth defect, I'm actually more relaxed this time around. With Ryan being a preemie, I was so worried about germs and sicknesses, stressed about his terrible reflux that caused him to spit up multiple times a day and made him fussy and always concerned about him gaining weight. We also didn't go anywhere for about 6 months except to the doctor & occasionally to my parent's house. While I am still concerned with germs, we've already taken Katelyn out several places..we're just very aware of what we touch and make sure to purell or wash our hands before picking her up.

Ryan is such a wonderful big brother. He LOVES his sister so much. He always wants to be involved in what we are doing with her. Whether it be feeding her, diaper changes, changing her dressing and clothes or just watching her in the swing. It makes my heart melt that he is so willing to help out. He is definitely in the "terrible three's" stage but not when it comes to helping with his little sister.

Ryan has been going to daycare since September and loves it. The center we have him in is actually a Primary School and Daycare so it's much like a pre-preschool. He has learned so much in the past 8 months and has really grown, developmentally. He has learned to count to 39 (can't quite remember 40 yet), knows all of the lower and uppercase letters, tells us all about the weather for the day and what day of the week it is, can dress himself now, sings a multitude of nursery rhymes and is now coloring in the lines rather than just scribbling everywhere. I think the thing that still amazes me is how much he talks now and how much he remembers. Out of the blue he will start talking about something that may have happened several months ago...like my parents taking him to see the Grave Digger monster truck last fall. They will be having many activities for summer at daycare so I know he will have so much fun.