My little wiggleworm!

Last night when I went into Lilly's room to get her ready for her bottle I found her in this position! She completely wiggled herself out of her swaddle and was facing the wrong way.....it was so cute! When I moved her so I could straighten up her crib, her eyes were so wide open and bright. It's a shame the camera doesn't show the vivid blueness of her eyes!

VOTE FOR LILLY!!!!

I entered Lilly into a photo contest at photowow.com and thought that I would ask everyone that looks at her blog to vote for her! Her entrant number is 38568 and here is the link....

http://www.photowow.com/new1/?directory=frames_contest/index.asp&page=/new1/templates/photocontest/%3FcontestID=

I'm not able to rotate the video, but still thought that I would add it since it was so cute!

Today I decided to get Lilly all dressed up since we were going to see Dr. Molinari and I thought that we'd try and see if the outfit that she wore home would fit her a little better! Although it's still a little big (even though the tag says it fits babies up to 5 lbs), she's started to fill it in a little. My appointment went well, although she doesn't want me having another baby anytime soon so I can get my blood pressure under control (which I agree with.) Lilly enjoyed her time out. I think she enjoys all of the comments she gets.....she always hears "she has the most perfect little features!" I took another video of her in the boppy pillow today. Right before it's time for her to eat, I put the pacifier in her mouth and ask her to hold it for me so I can get her bottle ready.....she always holds it!

While heating up Lilly's bottle I decided to put her inside my boppy pillow to make sure she wouldn't wiggle all over the couch. When she stopped crying I went over to her and she was fast asleep. Lately, Lilly has been eating more and she's been waking up between 2-3 hours after each feeding. The lack of sleep has started to hit me, so I've started sleeping in a little bit so I'm not a zombie throughout the day!

It's hard to believe this tiny little thing weighs 5 lbs 5 oz! She had her doctors' appointment today and everything looks great......although she decided to christen the examining table by peeing all over it....TWICE!!!!

I got Lilly dressed up today in an outfit that she received from our neighbors and I thought that she looked absolutely adorable! I thought that her doctors appointment was today but it's actually tomorrow which gives me another reason to get her all dressed up!

Every morning when I wake up to feed Lilly, her little body is full of life. As soon as I open the shades, her blue eyes sparkle in the rays of light that shine through the window. Typically, she maneuvers herself out of the swaddle and is on the other side of the crib! It's these type of moments where I get the uncontrollable urge to kiss her all over her face. It's the one trait of my mothers that I already can't resist!

Lilly and Great Grandma Bombria

As you can see.....I've been busy learning lots of new things today!

When it was time for Lilly to get out of her bath she was crying so hard she had little tears running down her cheeks! Daddy got her towel ready and put her pacifier in her mouth and it was as if nothing had ever happened. Too bad her little head is too small for the hooded part of the towel!

Our first full week

It has been so nice having Lilly home with us and watching her grow.....and she really is growing! During one of her late night feedings last night I was holding her head and realized that it's not as lightweight as it used to be! She's slowly starting to fit into her preemie clothes. She continues to only cry when it's time to eat and when I'm changing her diapers. When it's bathtime she only cries when it's time to wash her hair! Her only appointment this week was for her eyes. The doctor said that although her eyes are still immature, they look okay. She REALLY cried for that appointment.....poor thing has to do it again in two weeks! Today is wash day and I thought that since I had to wash her sheets, I would give her some tummy time while I did some chores. Lilly has a rough day ahead of her too.....we're going to go for a walk and I'm going to get her dressed up again! I can't help it.....she looks so cute in everything she wears!

Daddy's Little Girl

While holding Lilly, Dan said "Take a picture of me and Lilly with her little pink boots on."

Sleeping Beauty

Destiny Fulfilled

I finally found the one thing missing in my life…..being a mom. I’ve always known that being a mom was the one thing I wanted most in life, but to finally be one is such a gift. Lillian truly is my destiny. Since bringing her home, I find myself in tears from time to time. Tears of absolute joy. Dan has given me an even greater gift…..the opportunity to spend my entire day with her. I can’t imagine someone else being there for all of her “firsts.” How lucky I am.

What a busy week for little Lillian! Yesterday she had her first bath at home and she did some naughty things!! First she went number one all over my shirt while I transferred her from her room to the bath......then she did number two during the bath! At least she's smells like Johnson & Johnson now! Then today we had her first appointment with Dr. Gurski. Every one in the waiting room was telling me how cute she was and asking how much she weighed. I of course had to get her dressed up for the occasion! She weighed 4 lbs 7.2 oz today so she's doing really well at home! I'm really enjoying having her home as is Dan. He's been really cute with her and still asks me if it's okay for him to pick her up and hold her!

She's finally home! We arrived at the hospital around 10 this morning and Lilly was a bit hungry so we had to feed her before we left. When I started dressing her in the outfit that Aunt Betsy bought her I realized just how small she is! She weighed 4 lbs 1.2 oz as of last night and the doctor said that everything looks great! She seemed to enjoy the long ride home and didn't wake up once! As soon as we got home we took her for a walk since it's supposed to rain later on. I already feel so much more relaxed now that she's home.....like this is the way it was meant to be. I wish that my mom and Dan's dad were here to get to know her.....but I know that they're with us every step of the way. What a great July 4th and the world's greatest birthday present for me!

She's coming home!

Tomorrow is the big day! Although the past 4 weeks have gone by really quickly, tomorrow couldn't come soon enough! I spent last night at the hospital in one of their family suites that they provide for mothers who are nursing so we can get used to dealing with a preemie at night. Although I only got 2 hours of sleep, Lilly did great through the night. I think that the only reason that I didn't sleep is that I was worried that I would wake up and she wouldn't be breathing. The doctor is really happy with her progress and doesn't forsee Lilly having any problems in the future (knock on wood!) Sadly the weather is supposed to be bad tomorrow, but if the report is wrong like it so often is we're going to go for a walk.....if not she'll enjoy a nice bath!

See Lillian in action!

Check out my Kodak gallery to see a movie of Lillian that I took yesterday! This is when she was being a little fussy in between feeds and she just happened to have the hiccups!

http://www.kodakgallery.com/MyGallery.jsp?autologin=true&c=b3_hom_sign_ret

The Princess's room!

Lilly's room still needs a few finishing touches but for the most part it's all done! Dan has to touch up her dresser a little bit and I need to add a few more decorative pieces until I'll be completely happy with it. Hopefully the paintings that I did added a bit of color to a really white room. The paintings that I liked the best were the Calla lillies that I painted that I put on each side of her mirror. All in all I like the way that the room turned out....I think that it turned out really sweet.

She's almost there......4 lbs to be exact! Tonight Lilly weighed in at 3 lbs 13 oz and she has been completely off of the supplement for 2 days! We're still unsure of her exact release date but we know it will be soon. Her face is really starting to fill in and she's awake even longer now which has been a lot of fun.....and a lot of work! It's been a lot harder feeding her the past couple of days but I know that it's a learning process for the both of us and that we'll get the hang of it sooner or later! We're still very thankful that she has continued to do so well!

It just keeps on getting better!

Everyday we continue to receive good news! Today when we visited we were greeted by Lillian sitting in her carseat! The monitors never went off so she passed her first test! Then to top things off she is completely off the monitors and shouldn't have any wires attached to her tomorrow when I visit. Finally.....as of last nights weigh in she weighed 3 lbs 9.4 oz! I'm hoping that she'll be home this weekend, especially since Aunt Betsy will be visiting. In the mean time I have a bunch of little things to make sure I have before she comes home which will keep me busy in between my visits. I'm including a pic of Lilly in her carseat......it really does put into perspective just how little she is!

Lilly had visitors today! Aunt Lindsay and Donna stopped by to say hello! She was asleep most of the time since she had just finished eating but she was still cute nonetheless! She weighed
3 lbs 8.4 oz as of last night and will be weighed again tonight. We brought her car seat in so that she can hopefully start sitting in it sometime this week!

No real news to report today other than her weight which is up to 3 lbs 7.2 oz! She's gaining roughly an ounce a day so at this rate it's a possibility that she could be released later next week! I'm still planning on her coming home the week of July 4th so if she does come home sooner it will just be a bonus! I'll be bringing her car seat in next week because they require that she sit in it an hour after her feeding to make sure that she can handle sitting up. I'm almost done getting her room done and should have it complete by this weekend. I just can't wait to see her in her own crib, in her very own room. I thought that today's pic looked like she was puckering up for a kiss......so I of course gave her one!

She's getting bigger!

Little Lilly is up to 3 lbs. 5 oz! Our evening nurse said that the only thing that Lilly has to do to be able to leave is come off of the monitors (which she said she "could" do now but they usually wait another week) and gain some more weight. We are truly lucky considering that her neighbor was born at 1 lb and has been there for over 3 months and will probably be there after Lilly leaves. It's become a lot harder for me to leave her in the evening as she's becoming more alert and has her beautiful blue eyes open longer.....but I know that she is in a good place and that she's being taken care of.....I just wish she was home.

Happy Father's Day!

Dan received a wonderful father's day gift by seeing Lillian in her new crib! She's doing really well and is starting to eat more on her own. She even started sucking her thumb today while Aunt Betsy was holding her!

Each day we receive good news! Lilly is being taken out of her isolette today and is being put into an open air crib since she's been maintaining her temperature! She also started gaining weight and is now 3 lbs. 4.4 oz!

Today was a good day! I was able to take Lilly out of her isolette on my own which was a great feeling! I held her for almost 3 hours the first time which was even nicer since they limit the time you can hold her in the NICU. The doctor said that Lillian was the easiest report that he gives everyday and that she has been an absolute joy. All of the nurses comment on how perfect her little face is and I must say I agree!

She graduated!

Lilly was moved to the CCN today! When me and Mary arrived at the hospital I had a feeling that she wasn't in the NICU anymore and I was right! Lilly is looking better every day and we are so thankful that she is doing so well. She's been having a bit of trouble with her feedings since she's eating a lot more but we've been told that during the next couple of weeks she'll remember that she needs to breathe when she eats!

The Lilly report!

Lillian is doing absolutely wonderful! Her IV was taken out yesterday so she is now able to go to the Continuing Care Nursery as soon as a bed opens! She started gaining weight and the doctor expects that from this point on she'll start getting bigger (although she may continue to lose some weight for a couple more days.) Once she moves into the CCN I'll have more access to her as they want me to learn how to take care of her on our own so that we'll be ready once she's been discharged. So far they've been allowing me to feed her and change her diapers, but once in the CCN I'll be able to take her out of her crib on my own without asking permission (it really feels strange asking someone if I can hold my own baby!) I'm really thankful that she is doing so well and that we haven't had any complications (knock on wood!) Dr. Piccerella expects that Lilly should be home in around 3 weeks.......we can't wait!

What a smile!

Just thought that I would add this cute pic that we took last night. Lilly had just returned from a vacation under the lights and was all tucked into herself. What a cutie!

She's here!

The greatest gifts really do come in the smallest of packages! Lillian Grace Bombria decided it was time to come out on June 7 at 8:29 a.m. at 32 weeks along. She weighed in at 3 lbs. 1 oz and measured 16 1/2 inches long. We are truly grateful for the prognosis that she has been given thus far and by the grace of god she hasn't required any oxygen to this point. Her feedings are increased daily and she should be gaining weight sometime this week (the doctor says that it's normal for a preemies weight to fluctuate the first couple of days.) She has a full head of hair and her dad's eyes at the moment! It's been a very scary week for all of us, but we are thankful that Lilly is doing so well and we pray that things will only get better from here on out.

Lazy but productive weekend!

With all of the rain we had this weekend we decided to stay in and finish up working on Lilly's dresser so I can finally get things started since there's only 8 weeks left until she's here! Dan did 95% of the work (which was fine by me!) and I supervised to make sure everything went okay. We decided to take a break in the afternoon and went to the Chinese Buffet for a late lunch. When we returned, there was a huge box in front of the door. We received a beautiful high chair from Rebecca and I was so excited to put it together. Luckily it only took 4 screws so it was up and ready in no time. Other than an appointment this week, I don't have anything planned other than making my thank-you notes for the upcoming showers and painting some canvases for her room since it's so white at the moment. And hopefully, I'll be able to kick this horrible cold out the door!