October

October was the month I had been dreading since Veronica was discharged from the NICU because I knew it was the month I would be returning to work.  Shortly after Veronica's birth, Andrew and I made the decision that I would return to work while she was in the NICU so that I could be home with her once she was discharged.  April 18th was the day she was born and I returned to work eleven days later.  At the time, I wondered if that was the right decision.  But as difficult as those months were, working full time, traveling back and forth to the NICU, caring for five other children, I know it was the right decision.  The past eight weeks have been amazing and I am so thankful to have been home with Veronica and the rest of my family.  Normally, I would complain about returning to work.  But the entire NICU experience has given me such a different perspective.  How can I possibly complain about working when Veronica is home now, and healthy.  We feel so incredibly blessed that she continues to do as well as she is doing.  Here is the latest update:

- Veronica weighed in last week at 11 lbs, 1 oz. Wow!  Her length was 21 3/4 inches which is short for her adjusted age but a long way from the 12 inches she was at birth.
- Veronica had her first appointment with the occupational therapist assigned to her through our county's early intervention program.  The OT was impressed at how well she is doing but was a little concerned about her head control.  She recommended that Veronica have as much tummy time as possible - something that sounds easy to do but not necessarily so with five other kids around.  But we've been doing out best and have definitely seen an improvement.  The OT also recommended infant massage which we will start in a few weeks. Premature babies often develop sensory issues and the thought, or hope, is that the massage techniques could help prevent some of those issues from ever surfacing.
- Veronica is no longer taking Zantac, a medication she was taking for possible reflux.  We slowly weaned her off and haven't seen any problems so she is now medication free! She still takes a multi vitamin daily, primarily to prevent anemia.

Veronica is doing great overall and she has a wonderful disposition.  I've heard several times that premature babies tend to be fussier than term babies but we haven't seen that at all.  Just look how happy she is:

In other family news, our son Theodore celebrated his 8th birthday this past Friday.  Happy Birthday, Theodore!  The following day, he broke his clavicle during a soccer game.  Poor Theodore!