...But Who's Counting???

Everyday, "the team" made up of a doctor, nurse practitioner, nurse manager, social worker, and some others, does their rounds at 1:30pm. I try to be in Kylie's room during that time because it is usually the only time I see the doctor and nurse practitioner during the day...They tend to spend most of their time in labor and delivery waiting for other preemies to arrive. Anyway, the nurse practitioner asks me everyday, "How many days have you been here now?" I always know the answer. And it never fails for someone else to say, "But who's counting?" I am definitely counting...We have been here 18 days, and there are 18 days until Christmas! Come on Kylie...Keep on fighting so you can be home for Christmas!

Like I said, Kylie has been in our lives for 18 days now, and I already forgot what life was like before her. I can't remember what I did with my time before I started spending my days in this room, watching her grow, helping her eat, changing her diapers, holding her, comforting her and, of course, pumping like a dairy cow. It's a crazy change from my old life, but I am loving being Kylie's mom.

Our little Kylie Bean (Jon's pet name for her) continues to impress us and make us proud. She is still growing like bamboo (I just learned that bamboo grows something like 6 inches a day). Her weight is up to 5 pounds and 7 ounces! She is getting a really chubby belly...One of the nurses said it is because I am making excellent milk...YAY! She is still learning how to breastfeed. We practice two times each day and she is getting better slowly but surely. Apparently, her feeding skills are above average for her gestational age, which is 34 weeks and 5 days. She is spending a little more time awake each day. Yesterday and today she had a couple of awake periods that lasted an hour or more. She is also starting to make it very obvious when she is going to the bathroom with lots of little grunts and squeals...Not very ladylike, but that's okay! Her umbilical cord is starting to fall off and soon we will be able to see her belly button! I'm also pretty sure she is going to have at least one cheek dimple, which I am super excited about! You can kind of see a tiny, little dimple when she accidentally smiles!

Here are some more recent pictures of Kylie. She continues to change everyday!