A day of rest.. 8:43pm

With no appointments today, Grace & I rested.  After last night with Gracie up from 2am to 5am.. it's not like she's bright eyed & bushy tailed, but she gets fussy when her binkie falls out & she wants it back.  Of course she cries when her diaper is wet, so you need to get to her before she has a full blown cry..or you're holding her for the next half hour.

Daddy tells me today, that she was at one time last night bright eyed & he was "playing" with her.. (eyes rolling)..

Dear Daddy:  Sleep time is just that..time to sleep.  There is no play time when it is sleep time!!  We love you!!!

We gave Gracie a bath tonight... she does very well in the bathtub.. she just sits there.. :) soo cute!!  Here she is after bath, sitting up in the corner of the couch..

pretty good ah?? 

Here we are posing for Daddy's picture!!

Madrinha Dalila stopped by today too.. she gave Gracie a new hat!! I think someone needs to make MOM & Gracie hats ...

Thanks Auntie!!
 

Going to bed really soon.. 6:00 a.m. will come early!!

Tomorrow we are heading into Boston for a pulmonary specialist appointment.

I don't think they'll take her off the oxygen, you can't just take her off..but we can start weaning her for sure.  I have already started to lower her o2 pressure from .5 to .125.. it's very minimal that she takes.  We just need to start it.

Well..that's all folks.. sorry if I'm getting boring..lol.. after 125 + 14 days in Maine..

I like boring!!

but the pictures are great, aren't they??

Love you guys,

pattie & gary, Gracie & max

Piggies. 3:07pm

Look at my little baby's big/long feet!!

Went to the GI Doc today & he's great with Gracie.

He weighed her on his scale & said 8lbs. 4oz..

Nurse came today & she said, "9 lbs."... well, we're going to go with the nurses scale!!  She was 8lbs. 6oz with the nurse last week..  We are going to go up to 28 calorie on the formula.. and 5 more ml during the night..

Grace was up a little last night from 2-4.. just fussing..

she likes to be rocked back to sleep, but sometimes you can't put her down.

Just a regular, normal newborn...   I should be sleeping now, because she is sleeping..but I'm not!

Baby, it's cold outside today! brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...

Stay warm!

Love,

pattie & gary, Gracie & max

Happy 5 Month Birthday!!!! 7:10pm

To think where we have been these last 5 months, boy time has flown by!

To remember the people that have helped us, and blessed us at the same time:

Thank you!

Here's Gracie on her 5 month old birthday:

She loves her Mamaroo!!  And for the 1st time, I put her in snap up pajamas with feet.. I usually don't put her in these because of her g-tube cord for feeding thru the night & her monitor that hangs from her foot.. but these pj's do have snaps.. so it'll be easier for us & her.. and she loves them..

Thanks to Auntie Tess, Uncle Eric & Ben & Emily for her tummy time mat.

On the right here, she is on her tummy.. we'll keep practicing!!

She looks sooo big, ah??  Can't wait to get her weight tomorrow!! She sees her favorite GI Doc.. :)

She was very tired when I put her in her Mamaroo tonight!!

Now she's sleeping.. she'll go to bed at 8, for her last feeding..

Happy Birthday my love!!

Mommy & Daddy are sooo PROUD of you!!

Love,

pattie & gary, Gracie & maxwell

Preemie Mothers. 7:09pm

Someone sent this to me.. a good poem to read:

There are women that become mothers without effort, without thought, without patience or loss and though they are good mothers and love their children, I know that I will be better.

I will be better not because of genetics, or money, or that I have read more books, but because I have struggled and toiled for this child.
I have sat in the NICU and waited.
I have cried and prayed.
I have endured.

Like most things in life, the people who truly have appreciation are those who have struggled to attain their dreams.
I will notice everything about my child.
I will take time to watch my child sleep, explore and discover.
I will marvel at my surviving miracle every day for the rest of my life.

I will be happy when I wake in the middle of the night to the sound of my child, knowing that I can comfort, hold and feed him and that I am not waking to an alarm going off, another round of meds or because I am crying tears for fear of the unknown.
I will be happy because my baby is alive and crying out for me.

I count myself lucky in this sense; that God has given me this insight, this special vision with which I will look upon my child that my friends will not see.

Whether I parent a preemie with physical challleges or medical issues, I will not be careless with my love.

I will be a better mother for all that I have endured. I am a better wife, a better aunt, a better daughter, neighbor, friend and sister because I have known pain.

I know disillusionment as I have been betrayed by my own body.
I have been tried by fire and hell that many never face, yet given time, I stood tall.

I have prevailed.
I have succeeded.
I have won.

So now, when others hurt around me, I do not run from their pain in order to save myself discomfort. I see it, mourn it, and join them in theirs.

I listen.

And even though I cannot make it better, I can make it less lonely. I have learned the immense power of another hand holding tight to mine, of other eyes that moisten as they learn to accept the harsh truth and when life is beyond hard. I have learned a compassion that only comes with walking in those shoes.

I have learned to appreciate life.

Yes, I will be a wonderful mother.

Author Unknown

Thank you God!! 4:28pm

Thanks everyone for thinking about us today.

Sending your thoughts & prayers to us.. worked!!

We thank God everyday for Gracie..especially these days.. where sometimes our

nerves get the best of us..

but I'm happy to report that Grace did well at her hearing test today..

She passed with flying colors!!!  The audiologist said she did 'Perfect.'

The test was about 2 hours long.. small little earbuds go in her ear (1 at a time),

and are tested with brain waves.. I held her the whole time..and she did great. 

Sleeping is best for this test.  It took us an hour & half to get there with traffic this morning..but we were able to find the building & parking with no problem.

When she left Maine, she had received a "refer" on both ears on the newborn screening test.  So, while I believed she was okay with her hearing, obviously I was a bit concerned.  No more worries.. She can hear. 

YEA!!!

Here's my cutie..who likes to have her hands crossed in front of her!

Tomorrow we see her G.I. Specialist..who is AWESOME with her & us..

we are very excited to see him!!

Thanks for thinking of us!!

Shout out to Abby... Hope you feel better, love!!

Love you guys,

pattie & gary, Gracie & maxwell..

p.s. Button up it's freezing out!! But 49 degrees by Saturday again!!



Monday... 7:03pm

I'm tired.  Planning on going to bed when Grace does.  We have to be up very early tomorrow morning.. for a 9 a.m. appointment in Waltham.  Wish us luck, please keep us in your prayers.

There's something to be said about going to bed when they do.

Last night, I went in at 10.. and got a good sleep in til about 12:30..

Gracie does wake up in the middle of the night for diaper changes, and sometimes has a hard time going back down.. usually we need to rock her a little, then she goes down.

I'm glad I go to bed soon after her..

Today, we brought her in the living room not til 10ish, and I let Daddy to back to sleep til noon.. (he did let me sleep from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m.)

Gracie's cute outfit today!!

We tempted a walk today, but it was very windy.. & we forgot her binkie..

so we made it about 15 minutes & then came back home.

We put her in her big stroller, wearing a snow suit that Auntie Heather bought for her..

she looked soo cute..



She is getting so big.. can't wait to get her weight this week!!

At the end of the week, we see a pulmonary specialist (hoping to wean off her oxygen)..

Tonight will go back to feeding her continously, so we can all get some sleep.. we have to be out of the house by 6:45a.m. tomorrow, and rumor has it

it's suppossed to be cold.. brrr!!

Logged onto WebMD to start counting calories, til I can join WW online...

did okay today.. with eating! Need to get rid of the rest of the candy in the house.

Excercising more too.. hope this weather sticks around.

Hope everyone had a nice 3-day mini vaca from work..

Have fun getting back into it tomorrow..

Have a good week!!

Love,

pattie & gary, Gracie & max

p.s.  We did stop in too see Maxwell today.. we hadn't been there in awhile.. I'm hoping to get a bench put there by his 1st birthday.

A New Beginning.. 4:25pm

Happy & Healthy New Year to you all.

Today, has been a great day.. January 1, 2012..

First of all, the weather.. it was 50 degrees out with the sun out & warm.

We made it to church, a little late..but we were there..

here our friends, 

from L to R:  Andy, Dennis, Heather & Jackson, Pastor Brian, and Ross

We feel so blessed to be able to take our little Miracle, who our church family,

has been praying so much for in the last four months.  Thank you!!

(Being New Year's Day, there weren't many people at our church today, as you can see..

but there are so many others that have been praying for us!!  We thank them as well).

Then we went for a walk at Ft. Taber, in New Bedford..

just perfect weather for a very nice family walk..

I hope you all got to enjoy the day as we did.

I look forward to more walks pushing a carriage.. Grace had a great too!!

Can't wait for spring when we can take her to the zoo..with her friends, Abby & Jackson & Olivia.. and also her cousins Emily & Ben.  On Friday night, Emily & Ben saw Gracie at my parents..& were soo excited.. they call her "baby Gracie"..

they love her soo much!! It was so nice to see them with her. 

 It's what I've been dreaming of!

After today's wonderful day.. I am eager & excited to be in a NEW YEAR!!

Gracie has 3 appointments this week.. we'll have to be up very early Tuesday & Friday..please continue to pray for her & us!!

Thank you for all your thoughts & support..

Love,

pattie & gary, Gracie & max