9 Months

It's hard to believe but Veronica is 9-months-old.  She is doing wonderfully and continues to amaze us everyday.  Take a look at some of her new skills:

At her 9-month doctor's visit, Veronica weighed in at 16 lbs, 2 oz and was 25 1/4 inches long.  She is on the growth charts for her actual age which is remarkable, considering she really is only supposed to be 5 1/2 months old.  On top of that, premature babies often have challenges in the area of growth.  We are so thankful that this is not an area we have to worry about, at least not for now.  The doctor was impressed with her progress and really had no concerns.  She suggested that it might be time to unswaddle her and move her out of the bassinet and into her own crib, which is something we already knew....maybe one of these days we'll actually do it.

Happy 9 months, Veronica!


   

5 Months Corrected

 This past week, Veronica turned 5-months-old in terms of her corrected age and believe it or not, she is still sleeping in a bassinet, in our room.  All of our other children were sleeping in their own crib by the time they were 3 or 4-months old.  But Veronica is different and I am not quite ready to move her out.  Maybe it's because she spent 17 weeks in the NICU and I'm still trying to make up for all that time she wasn't with us.  But one of my New Year's resolutions is to move her into her own crib....at some point.   It will happen....someday, it will.  Once she can sit up on her own it won't even be safe for her to be in the bassinet, so surely by that point we will have moved her.  She still looks so darn cute, sleeping all swaddled.  As much as I want her to grow, develop and meet her milestones, part of me wants her to stay an infant.  I love this age and they just grow up too quickly. 

Other happenings in Veronica's world:
  - she still hasn't mastered rolling over.  After rolling from her stomach to back two times on New Years day, we have yet to see her do it again.
  - she currently weighs close to 16 lbs!
  - she had her third synagis shot this past week which means we are about half way through RSV season.  Hooray!!  Spring couldn't come soon enough.
  - she continues to be fed exclusively by breastmilk but we will look to start solids within the next few weeks. 

Here are some recent photos:

Smiling at Theodore.

She loves her hands!

How cute is she?

Veronica in her Christmas dress which she wore for about 10 minutes.





Looking Back - Veronica's Baptism

Yesterday was my son's First Reconciliation (congratulations Theodore!).  We don't usually take Veronica to church for fear of germs and RSV, but we made an exception for this special occasion - and we tried to sit  away from others, with our sanitizer in hand.  While at church, we ran in to Father Rogers, the priest who baptized Veronica.  Father Rogers left our parish in June so he hadn't seen Veronica since he baptized her in April, on her second day of life.  He marveled at how much she has changed and he seem genuinely moved by her progress.  It was a special moment for us and brought back memories of her baptism. 

We chose to have Veronica baptized on her second day of life because at that point, we didn't know what the future might hold.  It wasn't as though we were expecting her not to survive; we just didn't know.   The baptism was an emotional experience to say the least and obviously quite different from the baptisms of our other children.  Father Rogers wore sterile gloves and a gown and used sterile water.  Veronica didn't wear the same baptismal gown that her siblings wore, the one my mother-in-law made from my wedding gown.  There were no family members with us to celebrate and no party afterwards.  While I cried just as I did for the baptisms of my other children, the tears I cried for Veronica's were tears from completely different emotions.  Part of me mourns the loss of that experience for Veronica and for ourselves, but I don't regret the decision we made.  I know there will be plenty of other wonderful moments and occasions in her life that we will get to celebrate. 


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New Year - New Tricks!

Veronica started the new year off with a bang.  She rolled over for the first time!!  Unfortunately I was on my way to work and missed it but Liesl caught it on video:

Hooray Veronica!! We are so proud of you!! 

2011

As the final hours of 2011 come to a close, I am reflecting on the year and how I will remember it.  2011 was filled with some of the most difficult moments of our lives as well as some of the most joyous.  Veronica's birth and the days and weeks that followed were traumatic to say the least.  The experience is still something I think about...every...single...day.  But I also think about how remarkably well Veronica has done and how things could have turned out so very differently.  We are so grateful for Veronica's health and progress and feel blessed beyond words.

So although 2011 was one of the most difficult years for us, it really turned out to be one of the best.  Instead of focusing on the more challenging and traumatic moments of the year, I would like to share some of my favorite Veronica moments of 2011: 

- The day Veronica was moved to an open crib.  The transition from the isolette to the open crib felt so significant - she no longer seemed to be the smallest, most vulnerable baby in the NICU.   

- Holding Veronica for the first time.  She was nearly 5-weeks-old and just over 2 lbs.  I don't even think I can put into words how amazing this moment was.  I will never forget it.    

- When Josephine met Veronica for the first time and we all got to be together as a family.  This was otherwise a very difficult day for us because we thought Veronica would be coming home that day but we learned early that she wouldn't be.  One of our favorite nurses allowed us to break NICU rules and convinced the doctors to allow us all to visit together in the breastfeeding room.  It was a brief visit but it was fabulous!  

- August 15, 2011 - the day Veronica came home!  For me, this was truly one of the best days of my life.  It is right up there with our wedding day and the births of our other five children. 

I can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for Veronica and the rest of our family! 

Thank you for following Veronica's Journey.  Happy New Year!!

After about 30 tries, this was the best we could get.  It's not easy trying to get 6 kids to smile at the same time!

At the Garden of Lights in Wheaton, Maryland.

Veronica enjoyed the Christmas lights but not enough to stay awake!

Merry Christmas!

"And the angel said unto them, be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And this is the sign unto you: Ye shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger.  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."    Luke 2: 10-14

From our home to yours, wishing you all the joys of Christmas!  

Sisters

See any similarities?

Liesl and Veronica 2011



Liesl and Josephine 2009