Background

Friday, September 4, 2015

Lorelai is SIX months old

Six whole months...wow. Half a year...I really just can't believe it. How has a half a year has gone by since our precious girls were born. It seems like it was just yesterday, but in the same breath it feels as though it's been forever. I can't imagine our lives without this special little miracle. She brings so much joy to our lives!!! 

We've had a busy month and not a whole lot has happened I don't feel. We are just continuing to adjust to our new normal. Most days I feel completely out of sorts. Having Lorelai has been the hardest adjustment on me, but slowly I think we are figuring things out. 

Lorelai is all smiles almost all of the time. She loves to smile and it truly just melts my heart. 

I've tried to get better at tummy time, and floor time. She loves her play mat, and often will fall asleep on it, it doesn't matter if she is on her tummy or her back. 



She is really good about sitting in one place just smiling at her brothers!


We had the first a few long car rides with her this month. We drove up to Valparaiso this month to celebrate my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary!!! We had family pictures done, and Lorelai got her first official Hansen family picture done....She's 1 of 14 great grandchildren!!! 3 of which are just a 3 months apart. 


While we were up in NW Indiana, we made a stop by Uncle Andrew and Aunt Beth's house. Aunt Beth put her hair in her first "ponytail" Overall Little miss did great!! The trip was a challenge because I65 was closed, so it took us longer to get up there than normal but Lorelai did great sleeping! She's a great little traveler!


Lorelai has started to show signs of wanting to roll over. I have now had to strap her into her swing (which broke! ) or her bouncy seat because she likes to push up with one of her feet and almost rolls herself out of it. 

Such a goofball

Also this month we went to her first NICU reunion. Every year the NICU puts on this amazing event for all past NICU parents! It was so great to see some of her old nurses and show off how well she is doing at home!!!

and we met up with one of her primary nurses who couldn't make it to the reunion because she had to  work.
with Nurse Cheyenne! 
We continue to work on Tummy time, and she does a great job of letting me know how she feels about it. Lorelai is very expressive, and here are her thoughts on tummy time. 





I also celebrated a huge milestone this month, turning 30! But I got to spend the day with all the people I love most! We decided to make another road trip up to Chicago. It took us 5 hours to get up there thanks to the detour and the need to stop once for food for the boys and Lorelai needing to eat. But overall all 3 did great!!! While in chicago we got to celebrate my sister and Ian's ENGAGEMENT! YAY 



While up in Chicago we took tour around the city and she did awesome!!! She really is a great little traveler and I'm starting to figure out how to travel with a baby who requires to be bottle fed. The boys were so much easier because I could just breastfeed, but she's challenging in that I need to find a way to warm up her bottles since she is on fortified breastmilk. And also finding a place or timing it for me to pump.

Sleeping on TT

One of the reasons we were up in Chicago was because we wanted to got to Day out with Thomas. She again and of course did great and the boys had a wonderful time. These boys and their trains!!!


sleeping on Papa

her smile is just magical
I took this picture to show how big she has gotten. She is officially 5 times her birth weight at 10lbs 11 oz when this picture was taken!!!

Her reflux has been really bad this month. She was growing increasingly more uncomfortable. So when we went to the doctor and she hadn't gained weight quite like they had wanted we decided to change up her reflux medication. We also had a swallow study because she was struggling to really eat and we wanted to make sure that nothing odd was going on. We learned that she aspirates (her food goes into her lungs instead of her stomach) when she gets a little tired. We were instructed to pace her feedings. Giving her a break every 4-5 sucks (which is quite challenging at times) and then we follow up with speech therapy (they are the speciality that works with swallowing). We are hopeful that this new approach is going to help get her over her weight gaining and eating hurdles. If it doesn't get any better then we will have to move her to nectar thick liquids which according to them means she won't be able to use my breastmilk. But we will cross that bridge when we get there...for the time being Adam and I have really noticed a positive change in her. She is more comfortable when it comes to eating and although she sill pukes its not as often or as much. WIN!

whatcha gonna do mom? Reflux sucks

She's really getting big

She has started to sleep with her face up against things like this and contorts her body in the oddest of ways. Maybe it's me reading into things but I think this is how the girls slept together in utero. I'm not sure, obviously but to me it is the only thing that makes sense.


This month has just been such a wonderful blessing. Each day with her feels like a miracle. When I think back to where we were 6 months ago and the uncertainty of her and Laynie's survival I'm overcome with gratitude to everyones prayers and support but most importantly to our wonderful and powerful God who allowed us to have her with us here on earth. She's just getting so big!



Lincoln has really stepped up as a big brother. He's more like a little Daddy. He is always worried about her and wanting to help care for her. And just recently  he found a purple stuffed animal that giggles and he always carries it around and cares for it. He's going to be a great Dad someday (LONG time from now) but for now he really is the best big brother ever! 


I love these late night snuggles with my girl. It never gets old and really warms my heart when I'm missing her sweet sister. 


Life as a family of 6 just gets sweeter and sweeter and We just couldn't be more blessed. 

Sleeping through the craziness that is her brothers

This months pictures were a bit of a challenge. She puked twice and refused to smile when I was taking the pictures. The minute I put my camera down she was all smiles!


she puked right after I took this above picture. so it was on to outfit #2






then she puked again...so outfit #3 it is.




sneeze




I have a picture on my camera of her with this bear at 1 month old.
I intend to do a comparison picture

Lorelai Raegan Kimberly. You are so perfect and so beautiful We love you more than you'll ever know. You bring us so much joy and we can't wait to see where you go in the next 6 months! 

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Lorelai is FIVE months

Oh my heart...how is this girl already 5 months? How has it been 5 whole months since she was born 2 of which have been at home!? Where does the time go? Every time I look into those gorgeous blue eyes (yes they are blue! WIN) My heart swells and I'm overcome with emotion. She makes my heart so happy! Obviously this month she has finally started to smile! YAY! I just love those big gummy smiles. She has her Papa's crooked smile (Lincoln did too). Needless to say I just adore it.


We also celebrated my favorite holiday...the 4th of July!! it was a great day getting to show her off in her just too cute outfit!


Landon has definitely warmed up to her, and loves to come and give her kisses all the time. He doesn't talk all that much still but you definitely know when he wants to give her kisses...he will scream kisses, kisses, kisses. I just love how he has come around to be such an amazing big brother. It's like he was born for this role.


I just love this Holiday
Just missing our Angel baby
TT had come down for the Rolling Stones and this was just comical

This month has been a lot of fun. I feel a lot more at ease with our daily lives. I feel like things are getting easier, or I'm just getting use to the udder CHAOS! I don't really keep my house all that clean anymore but heck it's summer and I want to go out and do things with the kids so that is what we shall do.

Lorelai is proving to be a good little sleeper and a very good natured baby. How we got so lucky yet again is a true blessing. She rolls with the punches and adapts well to new environments. The biggest hurdles we have is often finding somewhere to warm up her bottles. But other than that she the best behaved of the kids most of the time. 

She still sleeps next to us in her rock n play. due to her reflux I'm just not comfortable with her laying flat. Sometimes she does it silently and then starts choking and being unable breath due the milk coming out her nose...yea its fun...so i'd rather have her close where I can be startled awake and quickly grab her to help her out. If I could change anything it would be her reflux. I feel so bad for her when it happens. She gets all panicked and searches for me and her eyes are just pleading..."mom help please..." breaks my heart. But i'm told she will eventually grow out of it, so I'm hoping!

For now though i enjoy looking over and seeing these sweet cheeks and lips!

Adam's parents came up for a visit this month too and we had a great time riding trains and getting ice cream. it's always enjoyable having them up to visit, especially since its so hard for us to travel anymore. 


Lincoln has really become her little protector. He is always around her wanting to kiss her, help feed her (i let him "hold" the bottle) he is a great little helper for  a 3 year old. In this picture she was a bit fussy while I was getting her milk prepared and he "swaddled" her and was laying with her. He loves to pretend to sleep with her. He is always asking for her to sleep in his bed with her...and for inquiring minds, no we don't let him


She is the happiest in the morning after we let her sleep for 6 or more hours. We started off the month allowing her to sleep for 6 hours, but have moved to 8-10. She is such a champ little sleeper and we are still waking her up at that 8-10 hour mark, simply because I want to make sure she is getting enough volume of food each day.  but these smiles in the morning are priceless.


At night Adam and I on occasion get some special one on one time with her after the boys have gone to sleep. I truly enjoy these moments getting to love on her and spend this time just the 3 of us. 

Adam and I attempted to go to a brew fest in downtown indy. We've taken Lincoln to brew fests before when he was over 1 year old so we didn't think it would be a problem. OH boy were we wrong. The guys were dicks and wouldn't let us in, so we went for a walk on the canal with our love bug. It was again just a nice time just the 3 of us. 



pondering life

She has also become more and more awake and alert. Considering when we brought her home she slept all but an hour or so a day, often sleeping through feedings, it's been nice having some time to interact with her. Only downside is that she enjoys being held which I 90% of the time give into, on the occasion when I'm trying to get dinner done or need to put clothes away I was struggling with what to do with her. So I brought out the bumbo and she truly likes it for a short period of time. Shes all smiles being mommy's little helper.

This is fun mom
We also went to a family cookout to celebrate my cousin turning 30. Yes 30! This means I'm a short month behind her...EEK! but it was a great time spent with family celebrating family! Lorelai just loves getting loved on by all my aunts and uncles.

Aunt Charlotte loves

Aunt Sarah Making her Laugh

I just love this little girl so much. She is such a strong soul and I love how I can tell how much she loves and adores us with just her eyes. The way she looks at us, and searches for us, and responds to us. Its just beautiful.


More Lando Love

Getting to be a chunk! 

Mommy's helper with dinner

Off to go somewhere I'm sure. 
i got some new headbands from a friends new clothing shop and I just adore them

Im obsessed with these headbands

those eyes! they kill me
We finally made it to the zoo this month! She did great. it was like 95 degrees the day we went. I typically wear her, and then have the boys in the stroller, but due to the extreme heat I decided that it was probably best to not have her confined to my carrier since she is still so little and her head doesn't stick out of it. I didn't want her to overheat. But the boys had fun on the train and at the splash pad. Lorelai was a champ, even ate her whole bottle with little encouragement!


This big gummy smile is the best


This month has been very hard on me emotionally. I don't know why but I feel its because she's hitting so many milestones and I just think about her sister. But she does provide me with so much joy which helps, but the pain I feel over losing her sister is constantly with me. But my faith in God has really provided me with a lot of comfort. In many ways I feel so blessed to have a child in Heaven to help guide and watch over us, even if I wish she were here instead. 

And our 5 month pictures. I started out in one outfit, then decided to change her, all to then have her fussy butt puke all over it, so we went back to the first outfit. Lord how I love her and her silliness...she keeps me on my toes.








Our sweet Lorelai, every day is a blessing with you. You truly light up our lives. I can't believe you're 5 months old already!!! time is just flying and I enjoy every moment I get with you!!! Love you sweet girl