First Thanksgiving

Lorena spent her first Thanksgiving at home.  Dan and I decided it was still too early to get her out of the house.  We will eventually start taking her places but for now we are pretty much homebound except for doctor's visits.  Her Aunt Maria, or Auntie Maria as she would rather be called, visited us from Illinois. Maria had never seen Lorena before and was super excited to get to stay with us for a few days. Maria was holding her one night and said "isn't she precious." Then Lorena proceeded to spit up her entire feeding all over Maria's lap. I thought it was pretty funny but Auntie Maria didn't think so.

 

Playing with Auntie Maria



Family Picture

 

Lorena has been gaining about an ounce a day!  This is very good weight gain.  Her visit with Dr Thompson on 11/20 had her at 6 pounds 10.5 ounces.  Today at Dr Warren's she weighed in at 7 pounds 2.3 ounces.  She is 19 1/2 inches long.  Lorena is starting to develop a personality.  She still likes to fuss and grunt sometimes, but for the most part she is a great baby. 

Dancing in her sleep

Lorena had her first visit with the Infant Toddler Program today.  They evaluated her and will make periodic visits to check on her development.  One role of the Infant Toddler program is to set goals and see if the infant meets these goals.  Her goals for the next few weeks are to sleep and gain weight!  Should be pretty easy for most infants (and probably something that some parents take for granted) but so very important for preemies.  I haven't been too worried about setting development goals for Lorena.  I am still treating her like a newborn (even though she is almost 3 months old).  I have decided not to compare her to a 3 month old that was born full term because there is no need to compare.  All preemies meet their milestones at different times so there is no need to compare her to other preemies either.  Each step a preemie takes is a miracle no matter when that step occurs.   Lorena will meet her goals when she decides too! I have always had high hopes for her and will continue to do so.  For now, we have a baby girl who is continuing to exceed expectations of her parents and doctors and we couldn't be more proud of her. 

 



At the doctor today 11/27/12 - 7 pounds 2.3 ounces and growing