2 months old

3 months old

4 months old

5 months old

6 months old

7 months old

8 months old

One of the nurses from the NICU gave us this idea to document Amy’s growth with a teddy bear.

Speaking of nurses… The other day, JJ and I ran into one of the nurses (Kathy) from the NICU who took care of Amy. It took me right back to Amy being there in the hospital for those difficult 5 weeks. It also reminded me of how wonderful the nurses were that took such great care of her. It was amazing to see what they do on a daily basis. They have a special place in my heart.

This has been a great year for our whole family. In our memories 2008 will always be the year Amy was born. 2008 will be remembered as the year we witnessed a miracle. We can’t imagine our life without Amy now. And I can’t believe how fast 8 months has gone by. I feel so blessed, I can’t even begin to say how grateful I am for her and all of my girls. 

There is no hope for this poor child. Still, we think she’s kinda cute.

She’ll be 3 months old on the 28th. It’s amazing to think she’s been with us that long.

Last night we got word from the hospital that baby Amy was scheduled to go home.

We showed up at the hospital at 10:00 this morning with our car seat in hand. We met with the doctor, talked with a few specialists and nurses, and waited in the parent lounge. Aleena fed the baby at the hospital for (hopefully) the last time. At 12:45 we walked to the car with our third daughter in tow.

It was a quiet ride home, aside from Natalie and Erika playing slug-bug. I just can’t get over the fact that this day has finally come. It is exactly 5 weeks since Amy was born. She was born weighing 4lbs 1oz and left weighing 5lbs 3oz. I can gain that in one sitting. We are all just pinching ourselves (I am pinching more than an inch) that she is actually here. She’s asleep in her bassinet as I type this treatise. I will hopefully wake up and have this baby waiting to eat or crying. We haven’t had a newborn around for 6 years.

The older sisters are just sooo excited. Both Natalie and Erika want to hold the baby and take care of her. We gave Amy a bath tonight and there was plenty of assistance to go around. We can only hope that this attitude carries on for a few more years and numerous diaper changes.

Thanks to everybody for all the love, prayers and support. It has truly paid off. Our precious baby has finally come home to her family.

Hope you all like bulleted lists:

• No longer has any i.v.’s stuck in her.
• Drinking from a bottle
• Breastfeeding from Mom (when she feels up to it (baby that is…))
• Gaining weight. 4lbs 13oz as of Tuesday
• Out of the incubator
• No blood in her stools (yuck!)
• Just plain overall cuteness

Rumor going around the hospital is that we could have baby home in less than two weeks. We’ll keep our fingers crossed on that one.

Now, more pictures…

Proud Daddy

Amy: the patron saint of newborn babies

I am telling jokes to my kid and getting the usual response

Little baby, big hand

GOAL!

Let sleeping babies lie

She really likes her hands up/WHEEE!

Sponge bath time

More bathing

More bathing

Done with bath time

The Campbell women posse represent

Happy sisters

A goodbye smooch for this post.

A big thanks to everybody for reading this and seeing how we are doing. We appreciate all your love, prayers and support!

It was a pleasant surprise to walk into the nursery and see our baby freed from the little plexiglass pod that she has lounged in for the past two weeks. She looked so big and ready to pack her bags and come home. Pretty awesome stuff.

On Sunday, Amy was able to down a few bottles of milk and has been on the stuff for the last three days. We are watching her feed with a little fear and trepidation as tests are showing that there are still traces of blood in her stools. Nobody can see it, but there is the slight possibility that she may have to pull back from milk again for a while. We are keeping our fingers crossed that she continues to improve.

Life has a way of throwing a few curve balls here and there. As of Sunday night, Amy is back in her incubator as she was getting cold and could definitely use some help in the heat department. She is happy and comfy inside, but it’s kind of a bummer to think that she has to be trapped in that box a while longer than we had hoped for.

Saturday morning I had a conversation with the doctor on duty about the baby. She had been eating rather well and they had been able to increase the amount of milk she was getting. Overnight, she had started to bleed somewhere in her digestive tract. The nurse recognized the condition quickly and no long-term damage was done. However, baby will not be having any milk or food taken orally for the next 10 days.

Amy also needed a blood transfusion and they have been giving her antibiotics to heal any internal wounds. We were a little concerned about the transfusion to say the least. However, the doctors have had the blood on hand since Amy’s birth due to the fact that both Mom and Baby were very low on blood from complications that led to Amy coming so early. The transfusion was all but inevitable.

Saturday evening was spent watching and monitoring baby as she went through numerous tests and injections. After all was said and done, she actually looks great. Her color is much better and she is resting and taking it easy (as all babies do when kicking back at the ICN).

Sunday, we all went and spent time with baby Amy as a family. Sisters and Mom were able to oogle over the little bundle of love and she is recovering rather nicely. Right now we are taking our “2 steps forward”.

Anyways, it’s such a joy to tell people that my kid sucks!

Sorry for the inconvenience.