Friday, April 22, 2011

Welcome Home Hailey!

Oh my! I am not finding any time to blog! (And, I cannot get the spacing to work - so it ends up being one long paragraph - if anyone knows how to fix it, I'd love to know!!!) Anyway, we were really excited last Saturday when the NICU told us that Hailey would be going home on Sunday. She needed to pass a car seat test (being strapped in her carseat for an hour with no problems), but we were to come and get her Sunday morning. One of the nurses told us that in working there 10 years, Hailey was only the 2nd baby to go home under 4 lbs. She came home at 3 lbs. 15.8 oz.


She has been an absolute joy to have in our home! She is so calm and mellow and easygoing! She hardly ever cries and sleeps a ton. She has been a great nurser. I nurse her 2-3 times a day and then pump for the other feedings. We had a calorie booster to the bottles and I have to wake her up every 3 hours to eat.

We took her to the pediatrician on Tuesday and she weighed 4 lbs. 2 oz. and then again today and she was 4 lbs. 5 oz. Yay! I'll take her again on Monday as well. Once she reaches 5 lbs. then we won't have to do quite so many weight checks.

Here are a few pictures of this little angel....



We were SOOOOO grateful for Jon's mom coming for a week! She was so wonderful to be at home with the kids, help Hannah with millions of puzzles, and coming with me to the NICU to visit Hailey.


And, we are SOOOOO grateful for my mom coming all the way from Russia! She was able to get special permission to come and it's been great to have her here too. She's driven me nearly everywhere over the past week and has been a huge help too!

We have the best moms!



I caught this little smile while Hailey was still in the NICU.



All dressed and ready to go home!



Jon looks awake here, but really, he slept almost the entire time they were getting us discharged. He had worked an overnight, but came with me to get her.




Going home - so tiny in that carseat!



Home at last!




We got home while the kids were at Church and they were soooo excited to FINALLY see Hailey in person for the first time. They were all so patient in waiting to meet her and it was wonderful to finally be able to let them hold her.



















No, there are no pictures of Jack holding her. He's a bit overwhelmed at the thought of 5 sisters and I'm sure one of these days will hold Hailey for the first time.



7 comments:

Emily Rasmussen said...

she is so tiny and beautiful! I am so glad she is able to be home with you guys!

Rachel said...

What a beautiful miracle she is! Before you know it, she'll be filling up that car seat!

Ryan Cowley said...

That is so neat that your mom was able to come see her and help you out! I was actually wondering why there were no pictures of Jack. Too funny!

emilyf said...

Jeannette, those pictures are seriously small frames of heaven! I LOVE the one of Hailey still in the NICU smiling. Goodness, she's so precious! And those pics with hannah, too. CUTE KIDS, I love 'em

Becky Sorenson said...

The pictures of the kids holding her are adorable, especially when Hannah is holding her.

I love how Hailey's "long sleeve" outfits fit more as a short sleeve on her....ha ha!!

I love that girl so much!

The Lilly's said...

I'm so excited for you that your mom was able to come home! How wonderful that she's done so well and is already at home with you!

Noakes said...

Jeannette, you look amazing!!!! Hailey is so super cute. I think she looks a lot like Kate in that picture of Kate holding her. Congrats to you guys - poor Jack - we have the opposite thing here. Linz is surrounded by boys