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I took Ellie to the doctor today to get her two week checkup. The doctor said she is looking good. Her weight is back up to 5 lbs, 9.5 oz! I’m beginning to see her fill out a little (but only just a little).

Samantha is doing very well around Ellie. She can be a bit rough, but loves to help pat and burp. And she’s a big help to throw Ellie’s diapers in the trash.

The doctor said she needed visual stimulation (already? She’s still just a blob!  EDIT:  Ok, so she’s not a blob.  But she still sleeps a lot that it seems she wouldn’t need a mobile yet if she’s always asleep.) and she needed to listen to lots of music. We listen to plenty of Raffi (thanks to Samantha) so I need to add some other types in the mix. I got out a gym toy this afternoon for her to lay under. Guess what Samantha did?

And when did Samantha become a giant?! She is about 7 times Ellie’s size. Sam is doing very well on the potty (naptime is still an issue-I’m thinking of switching to diapers/pullups at nap) so the only time she wears a diaper is at night. After changing Ellie’s diapers all day, doing the one of Samantha’s at night seems so different! She’s growing up!

I took Ellie to the doctor today to get a weight check. She weighed in at 5lbs 5oz. She didn’t eat too well yesterday, but had a better day today. Maybe she’ll do better over the weekend. I don’t want to get chewed out by our pediatrician on Monday.

I survived a whole day of 2 kids!  Thanks be to God!

Besides both kids wanting to eat at the exact same time, I think overall, the day went very smoothly!  I even had time to brush my teeth!  :)

Sam did well with Ellie.  She could be a little rough, but she is also very sweet.  Sam even decided she was ready to take a nap at 12:15.  So she went to bed!  Awesome.

Ellie had her first doctor’s appointment this afternoon.  Her bilirubin has gone down (from 10.3 to 9.2), so it’s still high, but going down is a good sign.  However, her weight has also gone down.  Her weight at discharge was 5 lbs, 4.5 oz.  Her weight this afternoon was 5 lbs, 3 oz.  It’s not much, but she can’t afford to lose much.  The doctor is concerned about continued weight loss.  Considering that she’s still not a great eater, I have different instructions on feeding now.  The NICU had her on a 4 hour schedule, but he wants me to go to a 2 hour schedule.  At night, we can push to 4 hours, but during the day, I need to feed basically all the time.  He wants me to go back to the lactation consultants at the hospital on Wednesday to do a pre-feeding and post-feeding weight.  Then back to the pediatrician on Monday.

Here’s a picture from us going home on Friday:

When Samantha came home on Sunday, she was very eager to hold Ellie.  She barely got in the front door.

Then she wanted to play outside.  I found a caterpillar on my azaleas, so I told Samantha that I found a worm.   She came over to inspect.  She said “caderpeeder.”  And I had clearly told her that it was a worm.  MamaLinda would be proud!

Janie woke up about three hours ago and now we’re at Brookwood in Labor and Delivery 1.  She’s at 0 station, 90% effaced and 2cm dilated.  We’re only 35 weeks and 5 days along, but the doctor said they won’t stop labor.

Sam is staying with the babysitter for the moment.  Stay tuned.

That’s what Sam is.  Poor thing.  She’s still sick, and now it’s worse than ever.  Combine that with an intolerance of medicines, and we have a severely pitiful little girl.  She got two shots today, so hopefully she will begin to feel better and we can go back to regular medicine soon.

Today, the doctor determined that she has lost the tube in her right ear, so we’ll have to be careful about that one.