18 months

Virginia is 18 months old today!  

Ill get her height and weight on Friday at her appointment but I think she is about 30" long and weighs around 20.5 pounds. 

She is still reluctantly taking steps.  True walking is still a little ways off.  

Despite her reluctance to be on 2 feet, she is a total daredevil when it comes to climbing.  

She is still a great eater and will usually eat anything we put in front of her.  This weekend that included sirachi rice one day and an everything bagel another day.  crazy girl!

She has a few words including: dog, dada, hello, up, and uh-oh and knows a few signs as well.

She is super lovable.  I live for our morning snuggles and her sweet kisses.  

She is testing us all the time and is definitely a rule-breaker.  Virginia has always been this way and we know this is partly what kept her alive.  We are embracing it and know that she will do great things with that fire inside of her.  

The further we get in this journey the more I am learning about healing, parenting and living.  

I am learning that the whole "catch up by 2" thing is so bogus.  This deserves a whole separate post which I know many other bloggers have covered as well.  I think it is sorta like writing your birth story, as coming to terms with there being absolutely nothing magical about age 2 is part of the healing process

I am learning that there is not an expiration date on anxiety.  I thought nothing of going for my post-op appointment at my OB's office this morning until I got there and just felt a wave of uneasiness.  After I left I realized I hadn't been to that particular office since 2 weeks after Virginia's birth.

I am learning that all the challenges of parenting a preemie become more and more unique as time goes on.  There are certainly threads that bind us all as parents of preemies, but these journeys are all so different.  

I am learning with each day there is greater joy, more love, bigger challenges, louder whining and of course many more laughs! 

Virginia Lately

Virginia has been a very busy girl lately.  Nothing is safe from her quick grasp and speedy little crawl.  She isn't standing on her own or walking yet but that doesn't seem to stop her from getting into everything and climbing on everything.  

We recently had her yearly Early Intervention assessment.  Since last march she has been getting weekly therapies to help with her gross and fine motor skills as well as various other development.  She has really thrived under her care plan and has met all of her goals, but it is pretty clear that she won't be "caught up" by age 2 (that is a post for another day).  Her fine motor and feeding skills are great right now and just about on track for a 16 month old.  Her communication skills, social skills, language, and cognitive skills are still more on par with her adjusted age of 12-13 months.  Lastly, her gross motor skills are still the furthest behind.   

We have decided to change therapy providers as we make the turn into the 2nd year of therapies.  This decision was driven by my work schedule, but I am excited to bring a fresh set of eyes and some new ideas into Virginia's world.   I am admittedly picky because my Mom is a Pediatric Physical Therapist and I regularly wonder if we are missing something when it comes Virginia's IFSP.  Im not one to sit around waiting for "the other shoe to drop," but at the same time I am trying to be realistic that we are not out of the woods with complications related to her prematurity.   I really think the change will be good for us all as we help Virginia thrive as a toddler.

BobBob came for a visit last weekend.  Virginia loved playing with him and Heath and I loved the opportunity to go out for drinks with some friends :)  

15 months old

Virginia is 15 months old today.   I have no idea when toddlerhood starts for preemies or full term babies for that matter, but she seems to be on the cusp.  

She is growing physically, intellectually and emotionally and is full of sass.  

She is a creature of routine and a lover of making a mess for the sake of making a mess.  

She has tantrums and giggle spells within minutes of each other.  

She crawls everywhere, climbs on everything, and cruises along furniture but seems no where near ready to be standing independently or walking.  She has proven me wrong time and time again though :)

She weighs around 19.5 pounds and has grown out of every pair of 6-12 month pants.  

From the Archives...

I was cleaning out my spam folder and found an old email from my dad (sorry dad, your emails aren't spam).  In it was a photo of Virginia from November 14, 2011 that I have never seen before today.  I believe this was just a week or so after she opened her eyes for the first time and probably the first time my Dad saw her beautiful eyes.  I still can't believe she was ever this small.

She also looks crazy red nice and pink (probably from a recent blood/platelet transfusion) and it looks like she had recently had her tapes replaced since that darn ET tube clip is so far in her mouth :(   Virginia was coming out of a pretty rough few weeks and looks pretty darn amazing though!

our little virginia - year one

I have finally finished and received the finished book!  Virginia's blog started as a way of keeping our friends and family informed in those chaotic and scary first days and weeks and then emerged into a baby book of sorts, a place for us to heal, and a place for us to share our journey and connect with others families.  This book is 137 pages of laughs, tears, anger, thankfulness, and beauty that I will always treasure and I hope Virginia will too.

For any fellow bloggers, I used blurb to create this book and am so pleased with the outcome.  You can auto export from any of the "big" blogging platforms and simply edit your book from there.

phone photo dump - christmas edition

I will do a full update when we get back home, but in the meantime here are some photos from Christmas Eve and Christmas day.  Virginia had a wonderful Christmas.  It goes without saying that Heath and I had our best Christmas yet, there is no better gift or blessing than our happy and healthy girl.

Advent

Virginia has been mastering the art of opening gifts throughout the advent season with her extra special advent calendar.  Nino and Papa made all of the grandkids an advent calendar of christmas books!   Each night Virginia opens a new book and we (usually) read it right before bedtime.  She has gotten good at unwrapping and chewing on the books.  Most of the time she also enjoys reading them with us too.  For those of you that havent been following along on instagram, below are some photos of her advent calendar so far.  

Hurricane Sandy

We were so very lucky to be spared during Hurricane Sandy.  We live about a mile from the Long Island sound and only a few hundred feet from a major waterway that leads to the sound.  We were not in the evacuation zone but were in the stranded zone and were told to expect to potentially not leave the area for several days and be without power for as long as 7-10 days.  We did lose power but otherwise had no damage.  After 4 days without power and heat the house started to get too cold for Virginia.  We decided to go to Nino and Papa's house for heat, lights, and love.  We are finally able to watch the TV coverage and realize the vast devastation in the tri-state area and realize just how lucky we are.

In photos here is how we spent the week:

V played with new toys on Sunday as we waited for the storm to come.

We ate dinner by candlelight on Monday night.

Ginny learned all about shadow puppets on Tuesday night.

We went to a halloween party on Wednesday at a friend's house where there was power.

We bundled up on Thursday as the house started to get cold.

11 Months Old!

Virginia is 11 Months old today!

At 11 months:

She weighs 17lbs!

She is sitting up very well

She rolls around to get to what she wants

She loves feeding herself toast, cheese, pieces of fruit and anything else that we are eating.

She babbles and "talks" to us :)

She loves playing with our Nanny's daughter Lilah

To celebrate 11 months we went apple picking this morning.  Despite the lack of a morning nap, Virginia loved riding the tractor, watching as we picked apples, and sucking on the apples fresh from the tree.  

On Friday Virginia had a follow up appointment cardiology appointment at YNHH.  It was a long afternoon that included a echocardiogram, an EKG, and a visit with the Cardiologist.  We are so relieved and happy to report that her coronary fistula and pulmonary hypertension have both resolved on their own.  We couldn't have asked for better news.  We know that we are so blessed and we thank each of you that continue to pray and think good thoughts for Virginia.  We also got to visit with a few of our favorite NICU nurses and doctors after the appointments. We are grateful everyday for their skill and care.

Heath and I spent alot of time eating breakfast, lunch or dinner around this fountain at the atrium of YNHH.  I thought for sure that Virginia would be fascinated to sit by it but she was clearly more interested in her toes.  

After her appointment we celebrated by meeting some friends at a local winery for happy hour. Ginny had a great time playing with her friend Sadie.  She also was watching intently as Sadie crawled around.  She must have been taking notes!

look alikes

In case you had any doubt about who Virginia looks like ... 

 I present evidence number 1 

and evidence number 2

Sure she has my coloring and maybe mouth, but this girl can't deny the Kent/Fairley genes!