Officially 3!!!

Well I officially have a 3 year old.   Baby J is definitely no longer a baby.  A 3yr old that spent two months planning her party---which we had last Sunday.  She is turning into a caring, loving, and smart little girl.  We are blessed daily by her happy  mood and loving nature.   There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about how lucky I am.  Not only am I lucky to be her mother, but for being born with such a rough start she is still extremely healthy and happy.   J is still as active as she was the day I met her, she never stops moving or talking now.   She loves to sing, loves animals of all kinds, and is happiest in the water.   I get daily and hourly hugs and kisses and my favorite moments are were she suddenly leans into me and says "I love you"
Overall J is a very happy child, always wanting to explore and try new things.  She still has NO fear and climbs everything.  She is still possessed with horses, plays with every kitty and pets every dog she sees.   She is still a little clingy, but she is quite the independent child when she wants to be.  She is almost always singing and if you catch her in a bathroom or a place that echos, she will sing at the top of her lungs...or just give her a microphone and she will do the same.   Miss J is the most polite toddler I've ever met.  She uses her please and thank you's well and often will end the day thanking me for taking her somewhere or letting her do something.  She always talks in complete sentences and although her speech has

become a little muddled lately- she can use big words better than many of my students.   It amazes me how much J loves the water.  She jumps in and swims about 10 feet really well, and if she could figure out how to get her head up to breath she would make it further (and does when we put on floatation support).  I make her swim for awhile without a vest and then she puts it on and is all over the place.   Lately she has been trying to do summersaults in the pool.  Last week she had her first swimming lesson and while she struggles to stay near the wall (she just loves the water so much) she did very well.  Of course she can already do the skills they are teaching her.  Although her tv watching is still limited (and very sheltered), she loves Puppy Pals, Little Einsteins, and Mickey Mouse.   There are very few other characters she knows because we do limit her tv.  J has also gotten more interested in her baby dolls or anything she can stick a diaper on.  A couple dolls and stuffed animals have now gone out with us.   Most of the time she is a very good mommy to them.


Seeing life though the eyes of a toddler reminds you of all the good things in the world.   This child is the very definition of a learning sponge and takes in so much of the world and always wants more.   She loves books and reading and crafty things, but equally loves being outdoors.  If you ask her, what ever she is doing at the moment or whoever she is with is her favorite in the whole world (though momma is always top of that at all times).  While she drives me insane sometimes, she makes me laugh daily and I still think she may be the most adorable thing ever.  
We have had lots of adventures over the last few months and I'm looking forward to many more.  

As of Tuesday- she made it to 30lbs 3 oz and was still 37inch tall (according to the scales at the orthopedic doctor).   For a baby that started at just over 1lb and had ever strike it seems against her, we have been so lucky with everything, but especially health.  Since our hospital stay in February,  J has been pretty healthy- except for a bought of Strep throat, everything else has been allergy related for the most part.   We did discover that she wasn't hearing well, but will be getting tubes in a couple weeks and hope that will solve all of that (which is also why we are pretty sure she sounds more muddled lately).  She also has been complaining that her back hurts so we are following through with checking that up since it's been going on since being released from the hospital in February.  Night time is a little bit of a nightmare still, because seriously this child doesn't sleep.   She still doesn't randomly fall asleep like most kids her age and it is usually a two hour process to get her to sleep, so there are moments in the day where it's a little harder to be grateful- but I wouldn't trade her for the world.   She moved into a big girl bed this week and once she is asleep, does really well in it.  She still has to hold my hand to go to sleep, which is both frustrating and the cutest thing ever.  And she stopped suddenly asking for her cup a couple weeks ago so that wasn't a big fight to not have it in bed--except one night, but I just told her she couldn't have it in the big girl bed.  It's so nice to have a child that stops things on her own- gave up her pacifier at 7months, bottle at 12 months, started sort of potty training on her own at just over 2 yrs.   We are still working on potty training, and for the most part she does stay dry, but BM are an iss
ue and she doesn't seem to know she is going which is why we stopped trying to hard during the school year.  I'm hoping we conquer it this summer.

Last month J was evaluated for 3yr old preschool.   She was way ahead in most areas, except cognitive---colors, sorting, knowing her alphabet---all things that are taught.   Part of the reason she didn't do as well is because she wouldn't do things for them- like saying the alphabet, which she knows.   However,  we are going to work hard on colors and matching this summer and some other things we just haven't really focused on as much as we probably should have.    

I can't believe how much Miss J has grown and what a wonderful little girl she is.   Having a toddler is a constant reflection of myself and it's interesting to see.   Despite being adopted, J is so much like me in so many ways.   I am so lucky to be her mom, and I look forward to continuing to see her grow into the person she will be.  

Baby J's Scare!

In case you were not aware, I have the most polite, bright, funny, and crazy little 2yr old.   (well 2yr 9months old)  I don't write as much on this blog as I used to but know there are people who still like to know about baby J---who is definitely not a baby anymore.   The past couple months have been crazy.
Last month was the scariest it's gotten with Baby J since she and I were matched.   After last year and being at the doctor pretty much every other week, I was so impressed we had made it through the Winter with only one visit, but then I opened my mouth about it being a year since we had been sick and things quickly took a turn.   In hindsight it was much worse than I realized at the time.  A cough is not unusual with my daughter because of her asthma, but suddenly one Sunday you could tell she was very sick.  Monday I stayed home and Tuesday my parents kept her home.  She had stopped eating and by Tuesday wasn't drinking hardly anything.   Something moved me to call home one last time as school was ending and I decided to call the doctor again- we had gone on Monday and was told she was fine.
Thankfully they had us come in and as we drove to the doctor's office, I could literally see my daughter get worse.  She was dozing off in the car and was extremely lethargic.   Unless she is extremely tired, my kid does not just randomly fall asleep EVER. and rarely does she sleep in the car even.   The PA did not like what she was seeing and we were sent to the hospital for a direct admit.   We still had to go through the emergency room and it was full of sick kids and you could see the germs in the air.   At 2:00am that night x rays were taken and we were moved to the PICU from Pediatric wing where Baby J was put on high flow oxygen.  The next day we were told she had RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus).   RSV is common in preemies and we have been so lucky we haven't been in with it prior to this.  Overall the care we received was good (minus a doctor), but we weren't seeing any change and J had to have a feeding tube put in.    While we saw a few improvements during the weekend, she really hadn't improved much, but the PICU was ready to get

My daughter loves Art

us moved.  The pediatric doctor came in and decided because of the x rays they had done earlier in the week and the fact that J was complaining of a stomach ache to treat her for bacterial pneumonia as well.  Thankfully within 12 hours we were seeing huge improvements. And while she wasn't 100%, she was sent home on Monday night.    Looking back, I realize that we actually probably almost lost her on the Tuesday night.  I don't know what prompted me to recall the doctor- I avoid them as much as possible and we had just gone, but I'm so glad we did.   I'm also sooooo thankful for family and friends that came to visit or sent words of love.   MY parents were awesome and kept J home another week before she went back into Toddler germ world.

She loves the zoo!

It's amazing to watch J as she is learning so fast these days.   She talks NONSTOP...seriously.  While she doesn't always talk in public, her vocabulary and understanding is further than I ever though a 2yr old could be.   "Snow is Beautiful"  "Thank you for having me" "Please help me" "I love you, Mommy"
are some things I hear.   And then there are things like "A cow goes donkey donk"  Yes she does know what a cow says.  Silly girl.   She is so polite and always says thank you and you're welcome.   She can now count to ten and does so constantly.  She can do most of her alphabet, sing many songs, and can do most anything herself--whether I want her to or not.     We have conversations.  She can also swim on her own- and this past week started
jumping off the wall and bringing herself to the top...she also has started to jump off many other very unsafe things---we are still working on safety.   Still in love with horses and animals and books.
While there are days and moments when she drives me insane, I love this little girl.   She is a kind, polite, loving little girl and I get hugs and kisses from her every day.   Someday I know she won't be as affectionate as she is now so I won't take it for granted.  

Where is time going?

at 2:30am New Year's eve!

So last month, baby J turned 2 1/2 and is now 2yrs 7 months.  Where did the time go.   She has been becoming quite the character.   I love watching the growth she has made in so many things.

First, health wise she is doing very well.  At her 2.5 checkup, they kept measuring her height as they weren't sure it was correct.  In a 6 month period she had grown 3 inches.  At that point she was 36.3 inches.  She's a tall one.   In the 6 month period though she had only gained 2lbs so her BMI right now is 3%.  She's tall and skinny--though to those lugging her around she feels so much heavier.  Other than her winter inhaler, we've been lucky and she's stayed pretty healthy so far.   Of course the weather is warmer to this year.   We did see an orthopedic surgeon who is going to monitor her hips.  They are not completely turned in as far as they should be but thankfully he did another X-ray and determined it wasn't as bad as it first appeared.  We go back in a few months to make sure there is progress.

J now repeats back books pretty well, tells stories (and is remembering events), and is no longer
 parallel playing.  It's been so much fun the last month watching her play with cousins and interacting more with people.   Each night we go over her day and she tells me all about it.   Her obsession with horses continues and is always part of the conversation.   This year I understood a little more about what it was like to see Christmas through your child's eyes.  She didn't really catch on to it until right before Christmas, but she had fun---especially after going light looking.   Of course she was over spoiled and showered with gifts.  

Baby J still loves to sing and now will sing into microphones which is adorable.  Her vocabulary continues to expand and even though I know she talks well she still blows me away with all she says. The last few days she has participated in conversations by repeating them all as they are being said.   We still read a lot, go swimming when we can, and visit with family and friends.   We survived another musical, the holidays and this past week she survived her longest time away from me (3 nights and days) while I was at conference.   Oh and this past month she decided to finally start counting so I could hear and does well till 10---but 8,9,10 comes after that ever time.   It's cute.   J is so curious and if she doesn't know what it is she asks.   Tonight we watched a movie and she gave commentary the whole way through.  

This girl has no fear!

This little girl is so cute and I'm so lucky to have her.  Don't get me wrong, she is a 2yr old and can very much be one.   Nighttime is a nightmare and sometimes she throws huge tantrums.  Lately we have had some big moments of not listening, but when she says I love you momma, my heart still melts.   She has a strong, bossy personality--I can't imagine where she gets that from.   she climbs on EVERYTHING and out of everything and has no fear (except being away from mom).   But I'm so lucky to be able to watch this miracle baby grow into a fun loving, smart, polite little girl.

Baby J is growing Fast

I can't even begin to explain how blessed I am by this little girl, Baby J.  She is now 2yrs & 5months and everyday is a surprise.  I am amazed at how much she is growing up.  I don't think she feels that she is learning fast enough and constantly asks "what is that?" and rarely does she ask twice about the same thing.  She loves to learn.   She is back to loving books and even sleeps with them.  I'm always impressed how quickly she remembers much of a book and I can now often find her reading on her own.  I love that.  There are many things that haven't changed much- she still enjoys the water and is now even able to swim a few feet on her own.  She spends more time under water than above.  Still talking in complete sentences---but now she always does and is starting to talk to others.  My favorite is when she gives me random hugs and tells me she loves me.   Today she started using You're welcome which surprised me...though I don't know why it did.

Baby J is still the most polite 2yr old I've ever met.  She uses thank you and please constantly and asks for help.  It's so cute to hear "please help me"  Every day she asks about horses and riding them- I wish there were more opportunities for her to ride, but she is still to young
Currently one of her favorite activities is looking at pictures, especially on my phone and of her.  Everyday she points out the people in the pictures on our wall.  Especially the tiny tiny baby pictures of her.  She is also singing on her own more-her most popular choice being 5 little monkeys jumping on the bed.  Most of the time she tells me when I sing "No momma, no sing"  Apparently I'm just not up to her standards.  
Rehearsals have become easier and most of the time she does well at them up till the end.   I feel so bad because I know she is up later than she should be, but it's my job.  She is playing and talking to the kids more this year than before--and I think may

talk to them more than she does at daycare.   Now she even asks if
we are going to rehearsal.  Though she climbs on everything when there.  This child has no fear.  Funny enough our early childhood person noted her safety awareness is low...I laughed.   Yes she is 2, but she doesn't have any fear which at times does worry me.
Daycare has gotten easier too.  She has even moved up a classroom, though I think she misses her friends in the other class (which she still spends some time in).  We no longer have tantrums when she is dropped off or picked up.  She loves going to her class and playing with her friends.   In the past couple months she has finally started to talk at daycare too.  About a month ago, one of the afternoon teachers said J stated "mommy is at work and will be back to get me" and that it was the first time she'd heard such a long sentence from her...which I found weird since I hear them all the time.  I'm glad she is finally starting to feel comfortable enough to talk there.

It's not always peachy, she is 2 and can throw quite the tantrum---especially when she is tired or not getting her way, or someone looked at her wrong.   Those moments I can do without, but they are part of her learning to express herself and usually we can get them under control when she is reminded to communicate===we have less tantrums now that she communicates so well.   Baby J is no longer clingy all the time and while she gets that way as bedtime approaches, I can now do things without her attached to me...in fact tonight for the first time ever---I could freely move around the auditorium and theatre areas while she watched a video.  Her favorite place is still next to me and touching me, but it's not always a have to be there.  She can be quite bossy which I find funny---though it's pretty polite when she is.   She likes to yell at the kids after me.   Thankfully they find it funny too.  I know they wish she would interact with them more.
I'm so lucky that she is doing so well and is such an awesome kid.  Yes there are moments where I go insane like any parent, but I am soooooo very blessed.  i have the most adorable baby girl ever and she is worth every tough day where i wonder if we will survive financially, mentally, and sometimes physically.   I wouldn't trade my moments with her for anything.   I'm so excited each day to find the ways she has grown that day, and it always amazes me.

  

The Best Thing in the World

I can't even begin to describe how lucky and blessed I am.   There is a lot wrong with my life currently, but adopting that little girl was the best gift ever (even if it's driving us to the poor house)  Baby J is now 27.5 months and the growth I've seen in her the past couple weeks has been amazing.  Last week she finally stopped crying at daycare when I drop her off.  She still has to be handed to someone, but she now tells me bye and knows "mommy go to work" and "mommy be back in a minute."

Not only can I drop her off there with a little more piece of mind, but she
has started to talk at daycare.  Despite the fact that she talks nonstop at home, she wasn't really talking at daycare and now they are being blown away by her vocabulary.  And she's starting to finally remember some names from there.   She is also doing so well at rehearsals.  She plays with the high school kids, actually will let them hold her, and has even let me leave the room.   And she talks a lot to them.   There are moments still where she is hanging on me and refuses to get off, but I finally can do a few things without her hanging on me.    Every day when we leave she kisses the dog goodbye and when we get home she hugs and kisses the cat.  It's so cute.

Baby J mostly dresses herself now and refuses to let me help with her shoes.  She uses the potty and mostly stays dry (but still doesn't know when she is going poo).   And while we still have tantrums and fits, they are becoming farther and fewer in between and because she is using her words better, I almost always know exactly why she is upset....usually something like she lost her piece of tape.   Her early childhood appointments are going well and the lady even said she is ahead in her independence.   She is still standing on tippy toes a lot and that one leg crosses in.

It is so much fun to see her start to really pretend play and to love on our
 animals.  The cat finally stays out almost all the time and even beats up on the dogs sometimes.   She has started to pretend play more with her baby, read books aloud to herself, and has imaginary animals in the house ---mostly a lion that she so badly wants to pet.  She is very consistent on that--wants to pet a lion, wants to ride a horse.   She now will swim a few feet on her own and she climbs on everything...and out of everything.  That girl can not be contained.

The last couple of weeks have been so busy with the show starting and school and other things, but Baby J is handling it like a champ.  I know she is tired and I was sooooooooo happy to be home tonight and sent her off to bed early.   While most nights have now become a constant stall to go to sleep, tonight she went right to bed.   She is the queen of staying awake --mostly now using hugs and kisses and "I love you mommy" to stay awake longer.  

Every day I'm still blown away by the words she is using--mainly because she now uses them in conversations.   We have had our first big argument--she wanted to go to the football game, I needed to go to rehearsal.  lol. She copies books like crazy.   For a few weeks we weren't getting in books like we had been and I noticed that it affected her behavior.  When we read books regularly she behaves better and there are less tantrums.   So we now regularly go to the local library and get new books to read and make it a point to sit down and read them.  

While I did basically reach the goal of no tv till 2, I was trying to hard to continue that.   And I thought I wouldn't buy electronics for her, but at rehearsal I so badly need her to be occupied and she was going to break my school computer...so I got a little dvd player and she can now watch dvds there at school.  Thankfully she doesn't really care to watch for very long.  Every once in a while we watch a movie, but she doesn't really watch to much and the nights we have rehearsals that is the only place she watches.  So while I feel  bad she is watching more, I know she isn't getting very much and it's very limited on what she can watch----mostly educational.

I wish we were more financially stable (her adoption really put me VERY far in debt and I can't seem to get out of it-so buy YL essential oils from me or have a party---cause I have no time to get another job), I'm so happy I get to spend time with her and watch her grow. She amazes me everyday and watching how quickly she learns is spectacular.   She is so smart and loving and fun.   She is the most polite 2 year old I've ever known, saying thank you to everything, even when she is upset.  Today  I heard her say god bless you a bunch.   The best feeling though is the moments when she randomly says Josie happy or I love you mommy.   I hope I can continue to be the mother she deserves cause that little girl is a miracle that deserves the world.

End of Summer!

Today marks 2yrs 2months old for Baby J.  I can't believe how quickly she is growing up.  Our summer came to an end today when I dropped Baby J off at daycare.  It was rough and she screamed and cried even though she was excited to go.  

This summer Baby J has improved on her swimming skills and can almost swim completely on her own.  She spends more time under the water than above and I love being at the pool with her.  It is true happiness that you see her in while there.   This girl loves water.

She now talks in complete sentences and some paragraphs.  She is quite demanding in everything that she does and lets you know what she wants.  She also still copies everything I say...There is nothing like having a toddler to make you see how you talk and act.  

This summer we have spent lots of time swimming, at the
zoo, and time with family and friends.     We have also spent lots of time with our cousins and playing with their kitty cats and finding opportunities to play with kitties and puppies.  Baby J really really likes animals.   She loves on our puppies like crazy even when they don't want to be loved on.   Which is how we ended up with a beautiful 3 month old kitten this past weekend.   And while she is not liking the puppies yet, she loves Baby J.

 We reenrolled in Rainbows (early childhood) to have Baby J's legs evaluated.  They cross a lot when she walks.   Since we got back in we  are also working on her over attachment to me and some behavior issues.  She tends to throw things when she gets mad and has extreme tantrums ( more than a two year old should.).  Sometimes she reminds me of a foster kid I had.   

Everyday Baby J amazes and amuses me.   She is learning so fast and cracks me up.  She now can sort of dress herself and has decided to potty train herself.  Still loves to sing and dance to music.   She definitely has a strong personality and I'm so lucky to be her mom.  I sure wish end of summer didn't mean less time with her.   :-)

Our Preemie story/Happy 2nd birthday Baby J.

Sorry Blogger no longer lets me add pictures.  :-(

Just a little over two years ago, an event that changed my life occurred (though I didn't know it for another week).   A tiny 27 week gestation baby was born at 1 lb 14.7 oz in the middle of the night, flown to a bigger hospital, and saved by an awesome staff.  A week later I met my daughter, the best thing ever.
I've spent a lot of the last week looking at my blog, our baby book, and thinking about our preemie experience.   I am on a lot of Facebook pages for micro preemies and it amazes me how different each story is and how very very blessed I am.   It's actually quite amazing that my daughter has survived to toddler hood and I know most preemie parents and probably doctors would be appalled at our life.  Our story is very much different than most others.
I heard about Baby J several days before they knew for sure she would be up for adoption- an email requesting prayers had been sent out.  I knew I was at the top of the list and would be asked if I was interested.  I spent a lot of time researching that week and figuring out what I would say if they asked.   I never wanted to put a sick child purposely in my care if we knew ahead of time since I'm single and I have a crazy schedule.   But everything felt right about saying yes to this baby girl and a few days later I was told we were matched.  As Baby J turned 9 days old I met her.   She was extremely sick and suffered from pulmonary bleeds, brain bleeds, collapsed lungs, PDA, sugar imbalances and many other things.   But the moment I walked in and saw this moving tiny baby and touched her tiny little hand, we knew we were meant to be together.   She had been alone for a week, but you could tell she knew I was there for her.  While improvement took a really long time, she never got worse from that moment on.
I was lucky because I wasn't the new mother who had suddenly gave birth to an unexpected preemie or suffered from exhaustion from the birth.   I was on summer break and knew what I was getting into.  I think that made a huge difference in the entire experience.   At one point I truly though I was there to help her move on, but because I wasn't the tired, exhausted new parent, I was able to handle that. (so glad that didn't happen).   I researched constantly and read a textbook the nurses gave me, so not much surprised me as we progressed, except how much of a fighter baby J was.   I was so blessed to be able to spend almost every day with her and towards the end, my aunt and mother stepped in when I couldn't be there so that Baby J wasn't alone.   I think this made such a huge difference in her health.
It's interesting to read about how different all the NICU's are around the world on Facebook.   We were at one of the best.   They had no cases of NEC so I didn't have to worry about that which was good, and while sometimes I was frustrated at the lack of things I could do or decisions that were made, they were always in the best interest of my child and had excellent reasoning behind them.   Baby J received the best care a baby could get at that hospital and because she started as one of the sickest babies, we never were moved out of her private room.   I was very happy about that.  And because we were there for awhile (79 days) and because she was alone the first week, she was loved by all the staff.  Baby J developed a strong personality almost right away and the nurses loved to interact with her.  While at the hospital Baby J suffered from PDA, pulmonary bleeds, grade 3 bilateral brain bleed as well as a grade 1 and 2, blood sugar issues, blood gas issues, collapsed lung, breathing issues, ROP stage 2, and lots of blood transfusions.  But when she came home, all of these were gone except the ROP which she was cleared from the following week.  She truly is a miracle baby  PS as a side note for all NICU parents- take lots of pictures, especially with something that shows size- because as they grow it's hard to believe they were ever that small.  I should also mention that the Ronald McDonald house was amazing- I stayed there for almost two months and they allowed my aunt and mother to use my room when I wasn't there.
I was so happy to bring her home and that's where our story really differs from most stories.   In fact the day she came home, I went to work, held auditions and then drove the 2.5 hrs to get her and brought her home late at night.   I went to work the next day because it was a new job- I'm so lucky my Mom could watch her the first year at home, but that's where our precautions stopped.   As a single mom who works 40 hours a week and then has evening commitments with my job almost every night, it wasn't possible for us to stay isolated.   Within the first week of being home, baby J had been to a family anniversary party and a baby shower for her and started attending rehearsals with me. By the time we had been home for the first couple of months, she had been out nearly every day, out of state twice, and exposed to the world.  She even saw her first shakespeare show (Hamlet) within the first month.   So yes it's amazing we survived.  I'm such a bad preemie mom.
While I did my best to shield her from illness as much as I could as  a single mom, Baby J did suffer lots of colds the first year and some bronchiolitis, but we never went back into the hospital and really while it sucked to have a sick baby- she was never extremely sick.
At first I felt like developmentally she wasn't progressing well- It is SO HARD to remember adjusted age when looking at development.  But in all honesty Baby J hit all milestones at the adjusted age- 3 months is just a big difference to wait for.  There were many things that seemed out of order or that she didn't seem to do that she should have, but by 9 months actual she was crawling and by 13 months actual she was walking well.  And at 15 months actual she was actually a little ahead developmentally and using a lot of words so she was deemed caught up and released from early childhood.
This year she's attended a real daycare and been diagnosed with Reactive air disorder- but again she hasn't been back to the hospital and the last few months she has actually been pretty well.  She also has some allergies, but overall is a pretty darn healthy little girl.
As she is entering age 2, she is the best part of my day and the happiest.   She now talks in sentences and talks ALL the time.  She is a fish in the water and is so close to swimming on her own.  She loves to sing songs and can do several toddler songs with actions.  Baby J is an animal lover and we spend lots of time at the zoo and she loves to hug and love on our two dogs.  She still climbs everything and freaks most people out- I've stopped even trying to make her stop.  We read and look at books constantly - in fact she has to have two to sleep with.  She knows some of her shapes, can identify most animals and honestly most objects.  She is still very attached to me and spends most of her time playing in my lap.   We are still working on her independence in public (as she tends to clam up and cling out and about)   Baby J can throw a tantrum like none other, but honestly unless she is tired she is happy and giggly most of the time.  I love watching her grow and learn each day- she is a sponge and learns so quickly.    She is such a hilarious little girl.
Today we went to her doctor and we are going to get reconnected to Early childhood- just to have her legs/feet evaluated.  She turns them in a lot and tends to trip over them, especially when running or moving fast.   She got some allergy medicine prescribed so helpfully she can breath better.   The doctor was very impressed with her and was very happy about how much she has grown.   Baby J's percentages are now compared to her actual age and she really falls on the charts quite well. Height 33.5 inches (39%)- up from 14.5 inches at birth.   Weight 24 lbs 4 oz (20%) up from 1 lb 14.7 oz at birth and her lowest weight of 1 lb 10oz.  Next week we go to our last NICU follow up.
We still don't know what the future holds as far as how her birth and first few months will affect her, but I truly believe she will excel and continue to do well.  We have been so blessed by so many people who have prayed for us and supported us.  I truly love my daughter and am so lucky to have her in my life.   If you are just starting your NICU journey- know that there is hope, even with health problems, amazing things are happening every day and many factors affect how your child will turn out.  This baby who couldn't breath, hold her own tempature and suffered brain and pulmonary bleeds is today a happy healthy 2 year old whom you would never guess was a preemie (in fact people are always so surprised to learn that).
Thank you to all who still pray and follow our journey.  I am so lucky and blessed.