The Christmas Holly Hobbie

Many people thought Lilly looked like a baby doll today. (Or as Lilly's sister said - she looked like "Holly Hobbie.") The camera/lighting does not do justice to how cute this red checked Christmas dress looks on her.

One of my new friends - A., that I met through this blog, loaned Lilly two of her daughter's Christmas dresses. This is one. It's a preemie size and thankfully it is really about too small!

I think the reason Lilly didn't gain weight this week is that she had a growth spurt. This morning I packed up all her sleepers that were "newborn" size. She's now officially in size 0-3 months. We increased the amount of milk she is getting yesterday and thankfully she's handling it well this time.

Lilly's red knitted Mary Jane's were hand knitted by my friend K. She sells them on her Etsy website: http://www.etsy.com/shop/craftingadoptions

Happy 5 month birthday, Lilly!

Lilly is 5 months old today! I feel so much joy and relief that I feel like bursting into tears.

To make today extra special for her, God sent snow! Great big wonderful snowflakes. When it started, I grabbed Lilly, wrapped her in her quilt, and put a hat on her and dashed out the door. I've learned that where we live it can start snowing and then stop by the time you get your jacket and gloves on. Unfortunately you can't see the snow in this picture, but it was snowing. It finally started sticking after awhile but there was no accumulation.

Lilly doesn't seem to have gained any weight this week, so this morning my husband programmed the feed rate on her pump to 19 milliliters an hour. That's only an increase of one milliliter, but even tiny amounts can really upset Lilly's tummy. Lord willing, she will be able to handle this amount now. Gotta get more weight on her!

Bundling up and banquets

Here are several pictures from yesterday.

We went for our after lunch walk and it was in the upper 40s. I have trouble figuring out how much to bundle little Lilly up when it's cold out and how many blankets to tuck around her in the stroller. So whenever we get home I like to take her inside and check how her skin feels. Too warm or too cold - then I can adjust for next time.

Lilly loves her stroller rides which is great because we all need the fresh air and I need the exercise. We live in a great neighborhood for walking, which is a blessing. I'm not the type that would regularly drive somewhere else to walk.




In the last two pictures, Lilly and big sister are dressed up for sister's annual Keepers At Home banquet. They even have on matching socks, courtesy of a co-worker of my husband. (Keepers At Home is like a club. We meet with our group of homeschooling moms and daughters once a month a learn a new skill.)



Lilly is also wearing the cutest little knitted Mary Janes. :) They were knitted by my friend K. (who made my "Lilly Bag"). K. sells black and also red knitted Mary Janes at her Etsy shop, where all profits go to help orphans. http://www.etsy.com/shop/craftingadoptions

My "Lilly Bag"

Shortly before Lilly's birth I bought a tote bag from my sweet friend K. I had actually bought one for my oldest daughter earlier as a gift. She loved the tote bag so much and we found it was very sturdy. So I decided I wanted one too. K. let me look through her stacks of material to decide what I liked best. For some reason I was pulled to a print with American flags and cowboys. I have no idea why other than I liked old stories about cowboys. But I took the bag home and decided I would pack some of my stuff for the hospital in it, in preparation for Lilly's birth.

Lilly was due June 17 but held off and made her entrance into the world on July 4. (She decided that would be her "Independence Day.") As my husband picked up my tote bag at the hospital for me, I suddenly smiled at the American flags all over the bag. It suddenly seemed so fitting when I thought of the bag with the date of Lilly's birth. I dubbed the bag my "Lilly Bag."

When Lilly spent her 23 days in the hospital in Fla., every day I went to the hospital and I had my "Lilly Bag" with me. It brought me comfort in a funny way. Each morning I packed that bag full of books and my giant 3-ring binder full of Lilly's medical notes. It held up great.

When we got home I told my friend K. that I'd like to buy some more from her. One for my son, one for Lilly, and one extra. Once again I sat down with K.'s big stack of material. So many wonderful choices! However Lilly's bag was the easiest to pick. The material has a pond scene with LILY pads, flowers, butterflies, etc. And the lining is purple with dragonflies.

Now one of the very best things about buying a tote bag from K. is that all profits go to benefit orphans and adoption. She sells the bags for a little business she has called "Crafting Adoptions." Every cent of the profits she makes goes to support several orphanages, including one for HIV+ children. Crafting Adoption's goal is to help finance as many adoptions as possible. K. has a special place in her heart for orphans as she and her husband adopted a precious special needs boy several years ago. They are planning to adopt more children in the future.

K. has an Etsy shop where she sells her tote bags. (She has a lot of material for tote bags not posted.) She also also knits and sells baby hats and shoes (watch my blog for pictures of Lilly modeling some of these items soon!) and warm and cold therapy bags. And if you live in this area, she bakes and sells the most delicious pies, cakes, and brownie and muffin mixes. Yum ... I'm thinking now of her cinnamon rolls! :P

Please check out K.'s Etsy shop at:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/craftingadoptions

It's so satisfying to buy useful items and help support orphans and adoptions too! :)

"Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, . . . ." James 1:27

Cardiologist visit

Weight check = 6 lbs. 14.6 ozs.

Lilly saw her cardiologist this afternoon. He was very pleased with her weight gain. It's slow but steady. He said the pulmonary artery band on her heart is still a good fit. (For some reason I had envisioned Lilly needing the open heart surgery around Christmas time. But it may very well be springtime at this rate.)

The scar on Lilly's chest (where she was cut open for the band) is healing nicely.

Lilly seems to have a lot of deep congestion in her head at times. The cardiologist said it could be caused by the NG tube, which can irritate the nose and throat.

Today's last picture shows Lilly with her knuckle in her mouth. She's getting pretty good at getting that knuckle into her mouth. She still doesn't open any fingers except to stick her ring fingers straight out at times. But the last three fingers are loosening up some.

Lilly has been quite chatty the past few days. What a blessing it is to hear her little voice as she coos and talks to us.

"For the LORD knows the way of the righteous," "He shall be like a tree, Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper." Psalm 1:6, 3

Stay back or else!!

Lilly grabbed a hold of her NG tube in this picture. She looks like she's threatening me: "You do what I say or else I'll pull this tube out!!"

She actually did pull her tube out again about midnight this past Saturday night. I was so sleepy it took me a few minutes to figure out why she was crying so much. Then in the dim light I noticed something was wrong with her face. No tube! She was so upset it was quite a traumatic thing to get the tube back in. We were both in tears by the end.

Then horror of horrors - the tube got a clog in it the next day. We tried flushing it with water several times but to no avail. So I had to pull it out and insert another new tube. Thankfully that one went it pretty easily.

Challenges. They grow our character. Right?

Something to smile about

Weight check = 6 lbs. 13 oz.

(Lilly obviously didn't overeat on Thanksgiving!)

I love this picture of Lilly smiling today. She's happy because her daddy is feeling so much better.