Sorry we have not updated the blog in a few days. Things have been pretty busy. I have been attending a conference and Marcus has been babysitting during the day. I think he enjoys it. Gabrielle keeps him on his toes all day. She has been eating every 2-2.5 hours during the day and every 4-5 hours at night. Last night she was quite fussy. She cried for almost an hour straight. Nothing made it better. Eventually she fell asleep and woke up in a better mood. Tonight she has been better. She of course is impatient when it is time to eat, but that is normal for her. Brie continues to grow and gain weight. Tonight she is 6 lbs 9 oz. If you can believe it she is getting chubby cheeks!!

This evening Gabrielle is 6 lbs 5 oz. She and I spent most of the day together while Jen attended a continuing education conference in center city. The baby kept me busy! Although we've been concerned about her hearing, her vocal cords are sound. By the way, her recent hearing test found a normal response in the left ear, but the right ear will require repeated testing. Gabrielle responds to loud noises in a normal way, and we are not overly concerned about the upcoming hearing tests.

Yesterday we went to the audiologist to check Gabrielle's hearing. She passed in the left ear, but still failed in the right. The audiologist said she likely still has some fluid in her ear and that is why she failed. They are going to repeat the screening in 2 weeks. If she fails again she will undergo further testing. Gabrielle startles when we drop things so we are pretty sure she can hear.
Her weight yesterday was 6 lbs 3 oz. She continues to get bigger everyday. Last night she finally slept for 4 hours at a time twice. Today she has been eating all day. Hopefully she will sleep well again tonight. Mommy and Daddy finally felt rested for the first time since she has been home. It is amazing what 3 hours of sleep at a time will do for you.

Today is a big day. We finally reached 6 lbs. She is actually 6 lbs 0.75 oz. today. Also most of her preemie clothes are too small. She is actually wearing newborn clothes now. Gabrielle is getting much more alert. She spends hours at a time looking around and is getting stronger. I frequently find her at the bottom of her bassinet making noises. Brie has also started to eat more. She is taking 3 oz on occasion now.

This morning was bath time, so we weighed Gabrielle on our new scale: 5 lbs, 12.75 oz. The event of the day was professional photos at the Mall. Thankfully, it wasn't too busy and Gabrielle was nicely secluded in her closed stroller when not being photographed. She was even awake for the occasion, frequently expressing her disapproval. We have a family portrait and a close-up of Gabrielle that we'll distribute. In general, we're pleased that the baby is doing all of the things that she should, and none of the things that she shouldn't. She eats, sleeps, fusses, and grows just like a newborn should. Otherwise, this is a fairly busy week culminating in graduation this Sunday at the Kimmel Center in center city.

Gabrielle continues to grow nicely. Her weight yesterday was 5 lbs 11.5 oz. She continues to gain about an oz per day. Her reflux seems to be getting a little worse. She has been spitting up after almost every feeding. If it continues I will soon call the pediatrician. She is on Zantac, but I really don't think it is helping. The NICU doctors told us that she just has to grow out of it and that the medicines do not help much. Hopefully she will grow out of it soon. I hate to see her so uncomfortable after eating.

Road Trip

Yesterday Brie spent a few hours looking at new places for us to live in Morrisville. She did really well. She slept most of the time. Today we are going back to look at a few more places. So far we are not impressed by any of the apartment complexes. Today we are looking at a few single apartments in houses. Hopefully we will find something soon.
Gabrielle had her eye exam today. Her eyes are maturing nicely and we should only need one more visit to the eye doctor in 2 weeks and they should be fully mature. She is scheduled to go to the audiologist next week for a repeat hearing screening. Hopefully that will go much better. She startles with loud noises and seems to look where noises are coming from so we do think she can hear.

Happy Mother's Day

Gabrielle has had a busy weekend. She had visitors from Grammie and Poppop Smithgall, Aunt Shelley and Great Grammie and Poppop Smith. Brie has been spoiled and has not been put down the entire weekend. She loves all of the attention. For mother's day she is wearing a cute little shirt that says I love mommy. It is newborn size and actually is not that big on her. Mommy ordered a baby scale for home. It should be here soon. Then we can update everyone on her weight. She is definitely getting heavier. Mommy's arm gets tired when she holds her for long periods of time.

Today we had an appointment with the lactation consultant. Gabrielle did very well nursing today. She took over an ounce, which is wonderful. She still took a bottle afterwards, but hopefully she will continue to do well and we can get rid of the bottles when we are home. Her weight today was 5 lbs 4.3 oz. The lactation consultant will do weight checks for me so if we are unable to get the visiting nurse to come I will likely go there once a week to make sure she is gaining well.

Our little peanut is continuing to grow. Yesterday she was 5lbs 2 oz when the visiting nurse came to see us. I am hoping that we can get more visits so I can make sure she is gaining. We don't go back to the pediatrician until July so I really want to make sure she is getting bigger. She is defiantly getting longer. Many of her preemie outfits are getting short on her. I think she still has a few more weeks in them though. She has also been very gassy lately. We have been trying to give her mylicon drops, but I don't see much of a change. I have been trying to watch my diet, but no matter what I eat it does not seem make things any better. We originally thought that it was the formula, but she has not had any in a few days and the gas continues. Hopefully she will grow out of this and the reflux. She still arches her back and refluxes milk back up through her nose 1-2 times per day.

Brie continues to get bigger. Today at the doctor she was 5 lbs!!! She has been gaining very well at home. She gained almost an inch in her head circumference in ten days. She is growing quickly. Today she got another shot and an oral vaccine. She did very well with it, although she has been a little fussy today.
We also had alot of visitors today. Aunt Shelley, Aunt Cindy, and Gramma and Grandpa Myers came today. They were very excited to get to hold Brie. I think she really enjoyed the visit. The weather is so beautiful today that we will be going for a walk a little later to get some fresh air.