4 month check up

Marleigh had her 4 month check up on Thursday. We got her naked to weigh her. She pottied all over the scale not once, but twice! She is now 8lbs 6oz naked! 13 days before that she was only 7lbs 7oz with clothes on! She's really packing on the pounds. She is 21 inches long (longer if they would have stretched her out). Dr. Williams said she is doing great. We are so happy & thankful!!!

Aunt Shannon gave us a snuggli. It is a little harness type thing that I can put Marleigh in & wear her. Shannon had said that Luke hated it, so we could have it if we wanted. I decided to Marleigh in it yesterday. As much as Marleigh likes to snuggle, I thought she might like it. She absolutely loved it! We walked around the house & she even fell asleep in it. Last night we went on our first walk. We were gone for about 20 minutes. It was nice nice to get some fresh air & enjoy the beautiful evening. Thanks Aunt Shannon!!!

Professional Pictures

We took Marleigh over to Jack & Jill Portraits today. Despite hiccups, wetting on Pam's blanket, & not wanting to sleep, there are some really good pictures. Pam was so great with Marleigh. Check them out if you get a minute! You do have to create an account in order to see them.

http://www.jackandjillportraits.com/store

Access code: 0bcf93c0

Enjoy!!!

Memorial Weekend

Saturday, Marc & I went out for the first time together for something fun. We went to a wedding in Great Bend. We left home a little before 3, & were home before 8. I just couldn't stay away! But, it was so nice to socialize again! Thanks again, Crazy Grandma for staying with Marleigh!

Sunday we headed to Hutchinson for a cook out at Aunt Shannon & Uncle Kyle's. It was a beautiful day & we had so much fun. We're starting to feel like real people again! I was commenting that I was out in public two days in a row!

This afternoon, we took Marleigh out to see her sister. There were so many beautiful flowers around Natalie's grave. We were telling Marleigh about Natalie, & Marleigh started smiling. For some reason, it gave me a sense of peace. I know that Natalie is with Marleigh always as her guardian angel. Rest in peace my sweet, little baby.

Here are some recent pictures of Marleigh. She is such a special little girl & continues to amaze us every single day.





One of my favorites... in Daddy's glasses.

A lot to catch up on!

A couple of days ago, Marleigh started getting irritated at the end of her feedings. We decided to switch to the next size up nipple on her bottles! She did awesome! She's eating quicker & not getting upset. I think she just couldn't get enough milk fast enough.

We received a letter from Sunflower Diversified. They had said Marleigh was doing great when they were here last week. It stated that Marleigh is acting age appropriate in ALL 5 categories! Not adjusted age, but actual age! That is so impressive being that she was over 3 months premature.

Daddy had meetings in KC yesterday & today. He got to see one awesome Royals game last night. They were down 3 in the bottom of the ninth. They scored a run, had back to back homeruns, then had a sacrifice fly to win the game! Wish I could have been there, but he did get me a T-Shirt!

Since Daddy was gone & Marleigh hasn't been sleeping at all at night, Grandma offered to come in to stay with us. The night before I had only gotten about an hour of sleep. Daddy had offered to help, but he had to leave early for KC. So, I took Grandma up on the offer. I felt bad that Grandma would be up all night, but to my suprise Marleigh slept from 1:15am-4:45, then ate & went back to sleep until 8:45! She's never done that!!!

Tonight when Marc got home, he was playing with Marleigh. She reached out & grabbed her rattle! She had grabbed fingers before, but had never reached out & grabbed any other object. I was so proud of her.

It seems like she is growing up so much in the last couple of weeks!

Bath out of necessity!

Saturday afternoon Marleigh & Mommy were hanging out. All of the sudden Marleigh filled her pants. I went to change her & it was like she had exploded! It was up her back almost to her neck, out both leg holes, & out the top of the sides. She was a complete mess!!! It was our first bath out of necessity! I undressed her, held her out at arms length, & headed straight for the bathroom!

Here are a few recent pictures!

"They scanned my cat..."

(Name the movie) No, they really didn't do a cat scan, but another EEG today to check for any seizure activity. Great news... her EEG was normal! No more seizure activity! Over the next two weeks, we'll wean off the phenobarb, which is great! Marleigh was such a trooper. She slept through the test. We are so happy that she will off of the nasty phenobarb. They weighed her today as well. A whopping 7lbs 7oz!

We stopped by the NICU again to see some of our favorite nurses & to see Marleigh's boyfriend, Logan. (Logan is doing amazingly well, by the way!!!) It was so good to see everyone again. We also got a family picture by the framed book & plaque that Eva put up. We were sad we didn't get to see Eva. She normally works nights, so we'll have to call her next time & have her meet us for lunch or something. I'll hopefully get the pictures posted in the next day or two.

Aunt Rina graduates from K-State tomorrow. Daddy is going to make the trip, but since we had a big day today, Marleigh & I will stay home. Congratulations, Marinda!!! We are so proud of you!

Marleigh is developing ahead of schedule!

Work has gone pretty well. I've managed to only call to check on Marleigh once per day! Grandma is loving her time with Marleigh. I'm sure Marleigh is loving it just as much.

Sunflower Diversified came to the house today. They were here to check on Marleigh's development. They were so impressed with her! She was raising her head, moving her arms & legs with control, grabbing fingers, tracking things with her eyes, & cooing. She is doing so much more than she should right now. At this point, she should be acting like a two week old. They said that she is acting more like a two-three month old which is great! It can take preemies up to the age of two before they are up to speed developmentally. She is doing so well that they feel it isn't necessary to have regular meetings. They said we could wait & reevaluate in another six months. I really want to make sure Marleigh has every advantage, so they agreed to come back in a month to see her. I knew she was doing well, but didn't know she was such an over-achiever!!!

Our other big news of the day is that Marleigh is developing a social smile. Previously it had just been when she had gas. This evening Marc was holding her. He would kiss her cheek & she would smile. He must have kissed her at least 10 times & she smiled each time. It was so cute!

My first Mother's Day

First of all... Happy Mother's Day to all the Mommy's!

We had a great day. Marleigh is such a sweetheart (or maybe Daddy is). She got me beautiful princess cut diamond solitaire earrings. I have always wanted princess cut earrings! I was so suprised. I'm such a lucky Mommy to have such a sweet daughter & thoughtful husband.

Being a Mom is the most amazing thing. I am so blessed to be Marleigh & Natalie's Mom. They are both miracles & I am so thankful for every minute that I have been their Mommy. It really is a love like no other.

Grandma & Grandpa Cline came in & we grilled some steaks tonight. They were mighty tasty. They also stayed with Marleigh for about 45 minutes when Marc & I stopped by a crawfish fry that our friends were having. It was the first time we had both left her. It was nice to see some friends, even for a little while.

Tomorrow is my first day back to work. I'm sure Marleigh & Grandma will have a great time together... it's me that I'm worried about. We'll let you know how it goes!

Chunky Monkey!

We took Marleigh to get weighed today. My guess was 6lbs 4oz. Daddy's guess was 6lbs 2oz. Both of us have commented on how big she's getting just in the last week or so. She's been eating a lot more, too. To our surpise, Marleigh was 7lbs 1oz!!! However, we did weigh her with her clothes on this time. But how much can her clothes weigh?!? Surely not more than 5-6oz max. So, we'll say she's at least 6lbs 11oz. We are so glad she's growing!

Two weeks ago when we were at the dr., he said if she goes two weeks with no A&B's we could ditch the monitor. Well, she's done great! Her last A&B was over 7 weeks ago. So, we took it off last night. Marleigh loved it! It was so tight around her little chest. If you didn't have the little band cinched down tight, it would alarm that it wasn't making a good connection. Now we can carry her anywhere in the house without worrying about her wires & having her monitor plugged in!

Crazy Grandma (Grandna Cline that's what she calls herself) came in today. She will be watching Marleigh when I go back to work next week. But, I'm lucky... its only part time! For the first time, someone other than Marc or I fed Marleigh. Both Grandma & Marleigh did great. What a relief.

Marleigh & I took her first trip that wasn't to the doctor. We stopped by the bank. Everyone couldn't believe how much she looks like Marc.

Here are some pictures that Aunt Monica took last weekend.

Nobody told Marleigh

Before we left the hospital, they told us that Marleigh would act pretty much like a newborn at her due date. Well, nobody told Marleigh. They said she would start to raise her head a little. Nobody told Marleigh she shouldn't be doing that already. She's been picking her head up & turning it for about 6 weeks now. They said she would eat about 60-70mls by the time her due date was here. Nobody told Marleigh. She's been taking 90mls pretty consistently. They said she would be awake for 1-2 hours at time. Nobody told Marleigh. She has now been awake for 3.5 hours. She shouldn't be grabbing onto things. Once again, nobody told Marleigh. She grabs onto our fingers & tries to help hold her bottle. She is so amazing!

There is one thing that I wish somebody, anybody would tell Marleigh: 10:00pm- 6:00am is time to be ASLEEP!!!