Summer is here...finally

Hi everyone,

We've finally gotten some decent weather up here-I think it may have hit 80 today....or at least the high 70s. Willow and I have been on walks every day, though I haven't been outside as much as I'd like since it seems like my life revolves around feeding Willow and pumping, and I do both of those things indoors. I've been doing ridiculous amounts of laundry too, but I've been hanging it outside, so that helps. Overall, life is pretty good. It's strange; the NICU seems so long ago. It's almost like I can barely remember it. Maybe I'm blocking out the whole experience as a coping mechanism?

Willow had another doctor's appointment yesterday (She's going weekly for awhile). She's still doing good. Her doctor invested in an infant blood pressure cuff so we were able to get an accurate BP on Willow. It's good: nice and low. She's gained 2 ounces since last Monday. That's not quite as much as we'd like though, so her doctor suggested that we start feeding her every 2 and a half hours instead of every 3. So far it's been going fine - the schedule is working for Willow and she's still taking the same amounts each feeding as she did on the 3-hour schedule. The only bad thing is it means less sleep for us and a little less flexibility during the day. That's OK.

Willow got some new hats in the mail from great-auntie Jill. We decided to do a photo shoot in our yard. Yes, we dressed up our child for kicks like she's a doll. Hey, at least we don't do it to our dog, like some people!





For comparison's sake, I also took a photo of her wearing one of her old hats, that Jill sent to her when she was still in the isolette:



Here's a shot of her wearing her monitor belt.


I've always wanted to cloth diaper, and am trying to figure it out now. It's complicated! I ordered a trial package from www.jilliansdrawers.com. You pay a deposit, and they send you several types and brands of diapers to try. You have 21 days to test them out and then you can send them back and you get all but $10 of your money back. Then they hope you buy your diapers from them, I guess. It's been a learning experience. I've done a lot of research. The package they sent was the newborn package, but most of the diapers are still too big for Willow. Here's her modeling the BumGenius:


And, some babywearing pics. Willow loves being worn.