February!

February is kind of a blah month for me.  There usually isn't much going on.  2012 claims season has come to a close (thankfully!) so I have been able to spend some quality time with Lorena.  She is getting huge.  At her checkup on 2/11/13 she weighed 13 pounds 6.7 ounces and was 23 3/4 inches long.  She has a very prominent double chin and little fat rolls around her wrists.  She still looks like me but definitely has her dad's ears.  And for some reason her eyes are still blue.  I never thought I would have a blue eyed little girl but Dr. Linda thinks that they will probably stay blue!  I guess I can't sing Brown Eyed Girl to her after all...will have to think of another song to sing.

February's have become a bit happier since marrying into the Hiesterman Family.  Dan and his mom Cindy share a birthday on February 3.  Cindy and Ernie kept Lorena (her first time away from Mommy and Daddy overnight since she left the NICU) and we had a party for Dan's birthday.  Dan turned 30 this year.  It's crazy how 30 can seem so old when you are in high school, but now it doesn't seem so ancient.  Dan will always be a big kid at heart (which I am very thankful for).  He loves doing things spur of the moment and definitely keeps me on my toes.  I love having a day's activities planned but Dan always manages to throw a wrench in my plans. I do love him for this but it does make me want to pull my hair out at times!  Dan is also such a hard worker, something I have always admired.  He has been busy with shop projects, clearing trees, and calving season.

Last Friday, February 22nd, Lorena had her 5th synagis shot to help protect her against RSV.  She weighed 14 pounds 3 ounces.  She has moved into size 2 pampers swaddlers diapers and is wearing some 6 month clothes.  She is very responsive, smiles a lot when you talk to her, and coos a lot now.  She is holding her head up for long stretches of time and has finally grasped at some toys.  She is getting more hair too.  I attached some random pictures of her taken in February.

Lorena's First Bib Overalls

When I was pregnant with Lorena, I knew that I wanted her to have lots of pairs of bib overalls.  Dan and I both wore bibs a lot as toddlers and I just think babies look so cute wearing them.

Daniel

me in purple bibs



me in red and Maria in blue

Overalls remind me of my Dad too. He has suffered with severe back pain his entire life and wears overalls because they put less pressure on his lower back. He is the strongest man I know...truly a gentle giant.  I think having 3 daughters helped with that too.

Dad with Lorena on Christmas 2012

Also, if you know me very well, you probably have heard that I love my husband in overalls.  My friends (and Dan's sisters especially) think it's weird in general that I think Dan is hot, but I just can't help it!


My wonderful hubby



Joel and Kjersty Christy, some of our good friends from Salina, visited Lorena in the NICU when she was just a few weeks old. She was hovering around the two pound mark when they visited so she was pretty much at her tiniest point! They brought a pair of size 6 month pink camo bib overalls as a gift for Lorena. I remember looking at them and thinking it would take YEARS for her to get big enough to wear them.  We think Lorena weighs about 13 pounds by now.  She just turned 5 months old and has been gaining so much weight recently that I thought I would try them on her.  They are a bit long but fit perfectly around her chubby tummy. 

 

Not so sure about the bibs

 

I think she likes them!

 

 

 





Milk Run

Lorena continues to grow like a weed!  Last week on 1-24-13 she weighed 12 pounds 3 ounces.  She is finally getting some fat rolls and a double chin.  She is moving into size 2 diapers and is almost too small for her 3 month clothes.  We had her 4 month shots several weeks ago as she remains on the same vacination schedule as a full term baby.  As always, she takes her shots like a champ!  Only cries for 5-10 seconds and then falls asleep.  She is also doing really well at sleeping through the night. She goes to bed about 11 and usually doesn't wake up until 6 am.  Once in a while she will still wake up for a middle of the night feeding, but sometimes she will sleep until 7 am.  She is also getting so much stronger.  She is much better at tummy time, can hold her head up for several minutes when we put her in her Bumbo seat, and can move her head freely from side to side.  She is also starting to smile, coo, and be much more interactive.  Dan and I really couldn't ask for a better baby.  She is such a blessing to us and has done far better than I imagined.

The 2012 claims season is coming to a close which means I have some time off from work.  I have a few goals for February which include exercising 4 times a week, spending more time with Lorena, and writing my thank you notes for all of Lorena's gifts.  Work will pick back up in mid-March.  After such a busy claims season due to drought, my co-workers and I are looking forward to some slow work weeks. 

Lorena and I traveled to Illinois last weekend to see my family. Even though we are 6 1/2 hours away, I really want Lorena to know her Illinois relatives.  She is such a good traveler too, thank goodness.  She falls asleep once the car starts moving and we make one stop in Missouri for diaper change and food.  I think she loves the car because I drove so much when I was pregnant.

I also had a special reason to head to Greene County. If you have read my past posts, you know that I am plagued with low milk supply. I make about a 1/3 of what Lorena eats and the rest of her diet is supplemented with formula. I had heard of women using donor milk before but I had never really sought it out because I thought it was rather odd to give my baby someone else's milk! However, I do believe it was divine intervention that I met Lori Ballard. Lori lives in Roodhouse, IL with her husband and two children. One day when my Mom was at the post office (where Lori works), they were talking about Lori's newborn Ruby, and about how she had an oversupply of milk. Lori has donated to an adopted mom and NICUs in the past. I had never met Lori, but her husband Wes has known my family for a long time. I sent Lori a message on facebook and she agreed to be Lorena's donor! I met Lori last weekend and I feel very blessed to have found her. She takes extra time out of her busy day to pump milk and help provide for Lorena. I can tell she is a very generous and genuine person and truly cares about keeping Lorena healthy. I am slowly introducing Lori's milk into Lorena's diet and things seem to be going well. And I no longer think its weird to give Lorena another woman's breast milk...I actually think its pretty neat.

Me, Mom, and Lorena

First smile caught on camera



Bathtime!

Bath time in the sink

Meeting her God Mother Angela Dirks - (my college roomie and one of my best friends)

Hanging with Gramps

 

with Auntie Maria