I was blessed on the day we left LA, by the pastor of my birth family’s church. My parents were so proud of me!
my first pediatrician visit. I did NOT like it, but I did so well! I am in the top 25% percentile for preemie’s of my gestational age! I gained almost a whole pound since I was discharged (in 9 days), at the pediatrician’s office I was 5 pounds 12 ounces!
I only got to spend about 2-3 minutes in the sun because my skin is still sensitive, but I really enjoyed it. Next year I’ll get to go to the beach, I’ll be a big girl…
my nana patrice holding me on the day I moved to PA, she and my birth mommy Jenelle miss me DEARLY!
this is me on the ride from LA to PA in my preemie car seat. I was an ANGEL on the ride home, I really enjoyed the hum of the car…
I am doing SO much napping with daddy and Jessie. daddy’s chest is the PERFECT shape for my little noggin!
this is mommy’s favorite picture of daddy with me… we are at Jenelle’s workplace on the day we left LA
My DADDY is coming today, yea! And the chances are looking very good (say, about 80%) that we will be cleared to leave LA tomorrow, woohoo! I am very excited about my new life in PA, and mommy is so so so happy to be coming home, 2 months is too long to be away from home! We are so delighted with our time in LA, though, the birth family was SO sweet and loving to us, and the NICU was brilliant in nursing me to health. The Lord deserves all our thanks!!!! 
I do a lot of napping these days! I wake up like clockwork every 3 hours at night, and every 2 hours during the day. Mommy thinks I am a very, very good girl for making such a nice schedule for mommy My best napping is on my mommy’s chest of course!
I am 8 weeks and 1 day old now. I am getting very big, mommy will take me back to the NICU in a day or two to get me weighed, she bets I am well over 5 pounds now, because her arms get tired after a while. I am still getting bottles *and* breast feeding – doing both, I am quite talented. I have had 2 outings to my birth family’s house now; I feel SO comfy there I just sleep and sleep…
This is Oliviah talking nice big sister stuff to me! She is going to make a wonderful big sis! She is 2 1/2 years old
Hi everyone, thank you so much for all the well wishes! Mommy and I are doing GREAT! I had another very good night… I woke mommy like clockwork every 3 hours for a change, milk, and a hug and kiss. Mommy was a little worried about how the night would go, because much of the previous day I had been eating every 1.5 hours or so, but it was a breeze after all, I kept to a really good 3-hour schedule all by myself. During the day I am a bit more demanding, and I fidget a lot unless mommy is holding me. Overall, mommy thinks I am a little angel
Mommy and I are enjoying our babymoon… lots of napping together, reading, and watching TV. Here is a picture of me in my mommy’s bed in my Snuggle Nest co-sleeper, I *love* it because mommy can just roll over to love me up. Mommy says I am a very sweet girl – I did not cry even once last night, though I did do a lot of preemie grunting
This is me the day before discharge, when mommy and I “roomed in” together in the bonding room at the hospital. Mommy got no sleep but she has SO been looking forward to that!
Hi everyone sorry I have not been able to update much in the last 2 days… my mommy was away from the ‘puter! The last two days have been a blur for me and my mommy, and very exciting and a little exhausting. Most excitedly, I was discharged to mommy Jenelle this morning, and then mommy Jenelle gave Barbie and Tad their blessing to become my parents! It was exciting, but I was in my new car seat and nana and mommy were rocking me and I slept through the whole thing. It was an emotional 2 days for everyone. Mommy did 2 interviews with local TV stations, and one with the local paper and she did so well, so did mommy Jenelle, she helped out a little. Next Tuesday another TV interview will air that features adoptive breastfeeding; I am so proud of my mommy, she volunteered to be in front of the camera while breastfeeding me with the Lact-Aid, it was not as hard as mommy thought it would be at all, they did a very wonderful job with it! Now mommy and me are sequestered at the Residence Inn, and guess what, they upgraded us to a penthouse suite! Our story is really touching a lot of people here in Shreveport… Now we just await word from both Baton Rouge and Harrisburg that we are allowed to travel across both state lines, and then daddy will fly down here and we’ll be coming home. Oh, how my mommy longs to be home… with her hubby, back in her church, in her neighborhood, with her family, and with her pets. Tomorrow I’ll have mommy take some pictures of my new adventure with her, and you will see just how much mommy and me are enjoying our “babymoon” together
I passed phase I of the car seat test with flying colors – and I did it twice as long as usual, just to make *sure* I could handle the drive home with mommy and daddy. I am doing phase II right now and mommy took a picture, but her camera is acting up again, so we cannot show you what it looks like. It is my preemie car bed, where I can lie down in it, to make my breathing a little easier and to provide for some “variety” in my positioning. I hit another milestone this evening: my naso-gastric tube was taken out! Now I have no more tape on my face, and no tube going into my nose, and I am “on my own” for feedings. Mama is SO loving looking into my face, she can see my whole face for the first time! The next few days will be quite a hubbub around me, I can tell by how excited my mama is
I had to do a 2-hour car seat test today, this is phase 1…. we are making sure that I can keep my vitals up for 2-hour segments in the car seat. As of 1 hour into it, I was still going strong…
Oh my goodness, we have such great news! I will be discharged on Wednesday! Can you believe it? Mommy cannot wipe the grin off her face, you should see her… Now, we still will not be home for about 10-12 days, because once I am out of the hospital and settled into the Residence Inn with mommy, we have to wait for some legal paperwork to get taken care of before I am allowed to cross state lines, which will take about a week. No problem, mommy and I will get to know each other real well, and then daddy will join us early in the week to drive us back home (with a few stops in Virginia, to visit with aunts and uncles and Omi). Mommy will be “rooming in” with me tomorrow (Tuesday) night at the hospital, and then I will be discharged under mommy Jenelle’s care on Wednesday afternoon. It is going to be very bittersweet saying goodbye to mommy Jenelle, but she will be such a big part of my life that I think of it less as a “bye” than a ‘thank you for what you are doing for me, I love you, and will always love you and look forward to starting our new relationship now!”. Mommy says that mommy Jenelle gave me the biggest gift that anyone can give another person, and we will always have doors wide open for her, and love her deeply. She will always be treasured by us as a true gift from God.
I am 7 weeks and 2 days old today. It looks like I am having a very good day, and that I might be back on track! I’ve been feeding great today, I’ve been maintaining my temperature, and I haven’t had any spells… downright boring, which is just fine by mama. The York Daily Record is contemplating sending a reporter/editor down here to do a feature story… all mommies are delighted by this, because they want to get the word about so many things: open adoption (and how fabulous it can be!), adoptive breastfeeding, kangarooing intensive care babies, using the internet to facilitate private adoptions (bypassing agencies altogether), inter-racial adoption issues (I don’t think we have any?), and stay-at-home-mom-ism, for starters. It will be neat if they can make it down here in time… Oh, I almost forgot, I gained another ounces, and am a hefty 4 pounds 11 oz today.
Uh oh, I had a spell today. Mommy and me don’t know what that means, I hadn’t had one in almost a week and a half. I also had a harder time with feeding today… the two teensy tiny setbacks probably go hand in hand. I’m still working hard at leaving here soon, though!
