Daryn turns 1 month!

Today marks one month since this angel joined our family, and two weeks since we brought her home. The past two weeks have been so tiring but so incredible. I can't believe this sweet little darling is ours. I am in awe of her every day. Nighttime is another story...Just kidding. Mostly.

Some pictures from the past couple days.

She is still growing well. This evening she weighed 5 1/2 lbs- up 8 oz since Monday! Someday soon she'll be a little chunker, I'm sure. Until then, I'm trying to get in as many itty-bitty snuggles as I can.

Reagan is 2!

Reagan turned 2 years old on Friday! She's been looking forward to her birthday all week and kept asking about it. Finally, the big day was here!

 

 And what a day it was. With Grandma's help, we had a day chock full of celebrations!

 First things first. Reagan came downstairs to find a surprise from Mommy and Daddy...

 Her first bike! A Strider balance bike.

 It was a huge hit and she asks to ride it all the time- though she's still learning.

 Then it was time for a few other presents that had been sent early and were waiting.

 Other than the bike, the hit of the morning was definitely the Minnie Mouse-mobile from Uncle Stuart (who had dropped by the day before) and family!

 Yummy french toast breakfast courtesy of Grandma!

 Daryn even got all dolled up for the occasion.

 After a morning at home playing with her new toys, and a nap, we headed over to the park- Daryn's first outing other than the doctors! And I use the word "outing" loosely, because she stayed in her carseat the whole time.

After park we grabbed some pizza for dinner and hurried home to get ready for Reagan's party! Lance came home with flowers and balloons for Reagan, and then the fun really got started. We wanted to throw a party for Reagan with some of her closest friends, mostly because I worry that she will get jealous of all the attention that Daryn gets. I didn't want Reagan to feel left out, so we made a big deal of her special day with a Minnie Mouse themed party.

 Unfortunately, since Daryn can't be around a lot of people or any kids, we had to keep the party outside. Luckily our friends were kind enough to go with it.

 Singing happy birthday and blowing out the candles.

 Yum!

After cake and ice cream it was time for presents, and boy, did she get spoiled. 

  

After the sugar rush wore off and she finally crashed, we were worn out! It was an exhausting, busy, wonderful day celebrating the sweetest, happiest, silliest little girl we know. 

Fathers Day

First of all, I should have enjoyed my precious little snugglebug more when I could. Thursday night she looked like this, in her patriotic little preemie pjs:

 But Friday morning, after her orthopedic appointment, she looked like this:

 She has to wear this full body harness that keeps her legs at 90 degree angles for 23 hours a day to correct her hip dysplasia (a byproduct of the cloacal exstrophy). Basically we take it off to change her clothes and bathe her. I hate it :( It looks so uncomfortable, but she doesn't seem to mind too much. Hopefully she will only have to wear it for a few months. Meanwhile, no pants or footie pajamas around here. Lucky we have so many nightgowns and onesies.

Anyway, despite being thrown for a curve by the harness, we celebrated Fathers Day in style- with lots of yummy food! Saturday we hung out around the house, played in Reagan's pool, grilled bacon cheeseburgers, and enjoyed this beauty:

Homemade strawberry rhubarb pie. YUM. Lance's first time eating a rhubarb pie and definitely not the last.

Sunday morning Reagan and I (and my mom) got up bright and early-ish to make breakfast for Lance. Reagan got to stir, so she was happy.

 After breakfast and presents (a card, framed photo, and a raincheck to go see the new Superman movie), these little girls got dressed up all pretty! Even though Daryn had to stay home form church with Grandma (it will be a while...), she still wanted to get in the festive spirit.

 And of course Reagan and Daddy were best buds at church, like always.

We finished off the weekend with a fantastic steak dinner and more pie. They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach! Luckily I've already got his heart, but hopefully it showed a little bit of the love and appreciation I have for this incredible husband of mine. He is the very best father I know, and my heart smiles every time I see him teach Reagan something new or rock Daryn to sleep and then some because he hasn't seen her all day, or get up in the middle of the night to feed the little one or take the big one to the potty. He is so selfless, and I'm so grateful to have him by my side at the head of our growing family. :)

Speaking of growing, Daryn weighed in at a whopping 5 lbs even this morning at her doctor's appointment! How exciting! I can't believe how fast she is growing and even though I want her to, part of me is sad she wont always be my teeny tiny baby that curled up on my chest. Soon she wont fit in her preemie clothes, and I bet I'll cry when I put them away. But life goes on, and life is so good :)

Bringing Daryn Home

Ever since we found out about Daryn's condition back in February, we had been told by multiple doctors to expect a several month hospital stay. Two days after Daryn was born, we were told that we were lucky, and it was a possibility she would be able to come home within the month. Last Monday morning, when Daryn was just 1.5 weeks old, I was running some errands before heading to the hospital and the nurse practitioner told me to expect her home that weekend. I was so shocked. And thrilled. And panicked, because I was nowhere close to being prepared, due to her being so early. That week was the busiest of my life I think, but thanks to my incredible mother-in-law, we got everything done, including cleaning and decorating the nursery, and buy all the preemie clothes I could find at 3 different stores (which totaled about 7 outfits). Friday rolled around, and Daryn still wasn't doing quite as well as they wanted in the weight gain area, so they told us it would be another couple days, depending on her weight gain. I held my breath when they weighed her Saturday day night, but she gained 20 grams, and it was official! She was coming home Sunday afternoon. I still couldn't/cant believe it. Essentially, the reason she was able to come home so early was because she didn't experience any of the set-backs that they expected her to. Among other things, she healed quickly from surgery, her body was able to process food sooner than expected, she learned to both nurse and eat from a bottle quickly, and she was just very healthy all-around. It was such a miracle, and, I have no doubt, a direct result from the many, many people praying for her and our family. On Sunday we went to church, dropped Reagan off at home for a nap, and headed straight to the hospital to get our angel. I dressed her in the very tiniest outfit I could find, and it was still too big.

 Very happy parents.

Honestly I still can't believe how tiny she is. We got lucky because the car seat we bought for Reagan has a minimum weight of 4 lbs, and very tiny setting adjustments. Most only go down to 5. Daryn weighed about 4 lbs 4 oz on Sunday. I remember taking Reagan home in the non-lowest adjustments, which fit her, and thinking, "When would you ever use those smallest settings?". Well, now I know.

 So snug.

Reagan was so excited when we got home with Baby Daryn. This about sums it up.

 Meeting Grandma.

One happy momma.

The past few days have been interesting. Taking care of a newborn is hard! I kind of forgot. She sleeps a lot, but between nursing and a bottle and pumping, feeding her takes forever. I have gotten pretty good at taking care of her colostomy bag and changing her diaper over her still-exposed bladder. Some interesting challenges, that's for sure. Our life is going to be a lot different for the next few months, since Daryn can't go out in public places or interact with others very much. Still, we are so glad she is here and home and part of our family. She is just incredible.

Visiting the hospital

 The two and half weeks Daryn was at Primary Children's Hospital were so exhausting. I went twice a day, which added up to about 3 hours of driving, every single day. Lance went before and after work every day. I felt like I barely got to see Lance, or Reagan, or Daryn, for that matter. There was just no time for anything! But those precious moments holding my baby at the hospital made it all worth it, and I wouldn't have traded them for anything. It was so exciting to watch her progress, heal, learn to eat, and slowly lose tubes and cords. Learning to take care of her made me feel like a first-time parent all over. So different than Reagan!

 Although we were mostly there one at a time, the few times Lance and I got to be there together were wonderful.

 She is such a teeny snuggle-bug!

 First time wearing clothes.

Reagan got to visit several times and even practice being a doctor!

 She is obsessed with her baby sister.

 As am I.

 We had some very special times visiting in the hospital, but I am so glad they are over. It was difficult for our family, to say the least.