Three Appointments

Dearest Blessings~

Grace .... happy one week birthday for you!  I honestly can't believe it's already been a week since I left for the hospital to have you!  It seems like yesterday.  ;-)  Time is flying by me .... promise me, you and Joshua, that no matter how old you get, you won't get tired of me or leave me.  :-)  I love you two dearly .... children are such special gifts.  I know you all won't understand this until you're older and have children of your own.  Parenthood isn't for everyone, but your daddy and I are enjoying every second of it and wouldn't trade it for the world!  :-)  

What a busy day!  We all had appointments today, but in the long run it was better to have them all together in one day.  The rest of the week is appointment free so we can be together as a family and not have to worry about packing you all up and getting you off schedule for feedings and such.

Technically, I'm not suppose to drive still.  So, Mimi came over to help with the appointments.  First, we had Grace's weight check at the pediatrician.  You maintained your 7 pound weight from when we left the hospital (wednesday) to your new born check up on friday.  The good news is that you didn't lose weight after leaving the hospital.  Now, we need to be sure you're gaining weight!  Dr. Medero wanted you to gain at least an ounce a day through the weekend.  When I took you back to weigh you, I got nervous because if you didn't gain weight I might have to supplement you with formula.  But, your weight was 7 pounds 7 ounces!  You were back to your birth weight!  Woo hoo!  

Dr. Medero came into the room to look at you real fast.  Everything looked good.  She said you 'exceeded her expectations!' and asked if you were exclusively on breast milk.  I said yes and that you and I have been working hard at nursing.  She said we were doing a great job and your next appointment is on the 18th for your 2 week check up.  :-)  Also, you didn't poop all over the exam table like you did on friday .... you did, however, poop all over the changing table once we got home.  :-P

Oh, and Joshua, don't think you got out of a pediatrician visit .... while there I made your 18 month appointment for April.  ;-)  You and Mimi stayed in the waiting room and you apparently had a great time walking around and trying to talk to the other children. 

Joshua, you also rocked your physical therapy appointment!  You walked several times 16-17 steps  at a time independently!  And, you even stood by yourself for minutes (while occupied with a toy)!  Eliza was so impressed!  The next step is getting you to go from hands and knee crawling to standing on your own (without having you pull up on furniture).  She showed me the exercise to help you do that.  Once you're able to do that, you'll pretty much be done with physical therapy!  Not much longer!  You've had it for about a year now, and it's amazing to see how you've grown in these areas.  I'm so incredibly proud of you, little man!  

I had Grace in a papasan chair as you had your appointment.  You didn't even know she was sitting there until the end of the appointment!  Then, you pointed and tried to touch her.  Eliza said you two look like brother and sister.  ;-)  So, we'll continue to work on sitting to crawling to standing, continue our neck rotations, and keep practicing your walking.  You have another appointment in two weeks.

After your appointment, we went upstairs.  I nursed Grace as Mimi rocked Joshua and soon everyone was sleeping but me! 

You all didn't have a lot of time to nap though.  I had my appointment at 3:45pm to get these staples out.  :-)  Yippie!  My appointment didn't take long, and Dr. McKenzie came out to the waiting room to see Grace and Joshua.  I put a UNC hat on Grace's head since I knew he was a fan .... he was in Chapel Hill for the DOOK game this past weekend!  I have a follow up appointment in two weeks.  Oh, and my swelling is almost gone.  Whew!  It was just retained fluid, but I was still nervous since I didn't have swelling after Joshua .... just before!  :-P  Oh, they weighed me today and I'm now 'down' to 141.6 lbs.  Ha!  Can't wait to lose the rest of this fluid!  ;-)

Aunt Katie came by before daddy got home.  She took lots of pictures of you two and ate dinner with us.  Mimi left after dinner, and then Uncle Brennan came over.  Daddy and Uncle Brennan had a soccer game tonight.  I stayed here with you two.  Grace, you slept in your swing as I played with Joshua.  Joshua, you eventually curled up on me and fell asleep on my lap as I sat in the play area with you.  You both were still sleeping when daddy got home close to 10pm.  :-)  

Since my staples are out, and I'm better able to sleep on the bed .... Grace and I are moving back into the bedroom .... no more 'boys club' going on!  We'll see how this turns out.  :-)

Sleep tight!

I love you both dearly!

~Mommy