Pictures

Kevin trying to give Laurie a drink of his milk. Silly Daddy!

Laurie and Daddy just chillin' on the couch.

Uncle James and Haili

All is well

We took Laurie to her first cardiology follow-up at Primary's with Dr. Cowley. They did an EKG on her and the results were absolutely normal. She still has a soft heart murmur, but Dr. Cowley was really excited that she was doing so well. We don't have to come back for 4 months! Dr. Cowley referred to Laurie as a "little miracle". We're grateful that everything is working out. Laurie currently weighs 8 lbs. 11 oz.! Now that she seems to be consistently gaining weight, we only have to take her in for weight checks every other week.

Finally... an update!

Haili and little Laurie

Halloween! I was "Jane - the plumber's wife" and Haili was a princess, of course!

Haili teaching her doll how to pray!

Sorry everyone! While Laurie was at Primary's I never missed a day on our CarePage... now that we're home, it's not very high on my priority list, though it really should be. I declare a day a success if I get the girls dressed and keep them alive!

Laurie now weighs 8 lbs. 6 oz.! She's slowly gaining weight - which is all we could hope for. Wednesday will be her very first cardiology follow-up with Dr. Cowley at Primary's. I'm really anxious for it, just to get that reassurance that her heart is OK and that she hopefully won't be needing another ballooning procedure done in the near future - or ever. I'm also curious if Dr. Cowley has done any more research on other micropreemies having the same heart surgery done. We're curious if Laurie could possibly be the smallest (or one of the smallest) babies to successfully have their pulmonary valve ballooned open.

Kevin has given me the assignment of always having a project that I'm working on. This is to keep me sane throughout the winter months of home confinement. I went to Hobby Lobby (I love this store!) and got some cute material to make a comforter for Haili's bed. I've set up all my sewing stuff and tomorrow I'll be ready to roll! After this comforter, I'll be making one for our bed and then who knows what other projects I'll come up with...

Enjoy these pictures! I will definitely post later on this week to let everyone know how little Laurie's cardio appointment goes!

8 pounds!

This is just a quick post to let everyone know that Laurie has hit the 8 pound mark! We took her into her weight check on Tuesday and she was 8 lbs. 3 oz.! We are so excited that she is doing well. She also received her first synagis shot. She'll receive it every month during RSV season. Sorry that I haven't been the greatest at posting updates! I'll be posting pictures very soon...

Lactose Free!

Well, Laurie is finally eating normally! We took her to the doctor on Saturday morning for a weight check and she currently weighs 7 lbs. 10 oz.! The lactose free formula is doing the trick. Laurie is also sleeping much better than she ever has before. She just seems more comfortable and happy.

Here are some fun pictures that we took today....





Everett and April blessed their baby today. Some of my family came over for a little bit to say hello! Top Row (left to right): Dad, Mom, Bryce, Laurie, me. Bottom row (l to r): James, Kristina, Lily, Haili, and Marian.

I'm having way too much fun with this blog stuff... here is a cute video of Haili dancing! We do this every single day. She loves to dance and she will only wear dresses these days. She is 100% girl! Enjoy the movie!

Worrisome weight loss

In my world, usually losing weight is a time for celebration! I recently started going to the Sports Academy with my friend, Sarah 3 times a week at 5:30 AM. She's a great, and I mean - great! - workout partner. I don't know if I've ever been so sore in my life (and that includes the day after I ran a marathon!). It's also nice to have some adult interaction during the week. It kind of makes me feel like a normal person again! My goal is to lose 10 lbs. by Christmas... Wish me luck!

Unfortunately, Laurie has started losing weight. On Friday, she started to get extremely upset when we tried to feed her. By Sunday, it was to the point that she was only eating about half of her feedings. We put in a feeding tube to make sure she got everything she needed. We took her in to the pediatrician on Monday. She weighed 7 lbs. 11 oz.! Because she was acting like she had a tummy ache, we decided to give her pedialyte for a day or two to give her stomach a rest and then gradually introduce milk again. The doctor wanted us to take out the feeding tube. He didn't want us to force feed her and she needs to eat so that she doesn't get used to getting full without working for it. We took her back in on Wednesday and she weighed 7 lbs. 9 oz. We tried giving her breast milk, but she would just cry and cry. So we took her in again today. She weighed 7 lbs. 4 oz. Not good. They gave us some lactose free formula to mix with pedialyte. She is starting to eat that really well. We're going in again on Saturday to make sure that she's gaining weight.

Kevin and Haili are both doing extremely well. Haili is OBSESSED with the cello. Whenever I get out my cello to practice, she has to be sitting on my lap and helping me hold the bow. Needless to say, I don't get that much practice time in! She was crying this evening because she wants her own cello. We're hoping to get her a 1/10 Suzuki cello in a few months. I think she'll do really well. This has been the first time in 10 years (excluding my mission) that I haven't been teaching cello lessons regularly! I really do miss it. I just can't take the risk of having Laurie be exposed to any illnesses. I think that's why I'm so excited to get Haili a cello... then I can teach her regularly and it will also help us maintain our sanity this winter! Haili does let me play the piano. One of our favorite evening traditions is sitting in our living room, Kevin holding Laurie on the couch, and Haili sitting with me on the piano bench. I'll play the piano (with occassional help from Haili), and Kevin, Haili, and I will sing primary songs together. Kevin is currently working on his senior project with Everett. They are going to build a solar electrolysis tracking system. Maybe I'll have him write a post explaining what it is and how it works... He has already started applying for jobs! He is only applying for jobs here in Utah. We really want to stay in Utah, as all our family is here and we want to stay close to Primay Children' s Medical Center. We can't believe just how fast this school year is flying by!

Also, if anyone has fun ideas to help me keep Haili entertained... please post a comment! We are basically going to be spending 6 months indoors without any contact with other people... so please help me think of things to do so we don't go crazy! Thanks!

Growing!

Laurie is continuing to grow at an amazing pace! Tomorrow we will take her in for her weekly weight check... I think she will probably be 7.5 lbs! She is doing great and is as cute as ever. I love Love LOVE having two kids. Haili and Laurie are so much fun to be around. Haili is in that creative stage where her imagination is just on fire. Her vocabulary is improving dramatically. She will repeat words that are foreign to most two-year-olds (medicine, feeding tube, oxygen, blood draw, etc.).

Wednesday is Laurie's 4 month mark! We have also been home for one month. It's crazy how fast time is flying by. RSV season will be over before you know it... We had quite a scare this past week. Kevin got sick! It was not fun in the least. He was quarintined in our bedroom and wasn't allowed to come out. I disinfected the entire house, hoping that I could somehow prevent Laurie from getting sick. Just as a precaution, I took her into the doctor. Luckily, she was just fine. It made for quite possibly the longest 3 days ever! I had to do all of Laurie's feedings and cares and I had to pump on top of it. My sister-in-law April gave me a much needed break by taking Haili all one day. I think my longest sleeping streak in those two days was 2 hours... The good news is Kevin has fully recovered and we are all healthy! Kevin has upped his handwashing and hand sanitizing... we are crossing our fingers that all will go well this winter!

I went to the doctor for my "6 week" postpartum appointment with Dr. Fowers. We brought Laurie with us so that he could meet her. It was fun to talk with him and to let him know the details of what happened after we left Logan Regional Hospital back in May. We also talked about the future... he told us that if I become pregnant again that all my pregnancies from here on out will be considered "high risk". Because I had a premature birth with Laurie, I will most likely get weekly progesterone shots starting at 18 weeks to help prevent a premature delivery. I will also see my normal obgyn as well as a high risk obgyn during the pregnancy. Dr. Fowers was amazed to see how well Laurie was doing after everything she's been through.

Today I had to get Haili and Laurie loaded up in the car to go to the hospital for a blood draw. I picked up Kevin on the way, but it was quite the ordeal to get Haili and Laurie loaded with all of Laurie's equipment! Here are some pictures taken right before we left for the hospital.

Haili likes Laurie to have company when she's in her carseat!

Haili hiding from the camera! Haili loves to wear her princess dress. I originally bought the dress with the idea that it would be her Halloween costume. She wears the dress EVERY DAY, all day. It's quite the ordeal to get her in her pajamas! She loves to dance around in it while she sings "princess songs". It's so much fun to have a two-year-old!