Due Date

Today would have been my due date with Cora. January 28th is a date that was ingrained in my head with both pregnancies, but one that was never reached!

My dad came to visit last week and we had a great time. Aubrey was SO excited to spend time with "papa." She is still asking for papa to play catch with her.

We have been very blessed with lots of help/visitors. My mom left today, but Steven's parents are coming to visit Wednesday night. I will take all the help I can get! Especially because.... we are moving in less than a month.

Yikes! Moving with a 2-year-old and newborn will be interesting, but so worth it. We managed to find an updated duplex with both an attached garage and a yard. I'm so excited to not have to drag Aubrey up two flights of stairs anymore. And a yard! This summer is going to be awesome.

Living in Silicon Valley is definitely crazy for renting though. I searched Craigslist multiple times a day for weeks. When I found this duplex, I responded instantly. We showed up at the open house (along with 50 other people) right when it started with our money and application already filled out. There were so many applications, that we ended up signing a lease for actually MORE than their original rental asking price because so many people wanted to rent it. But... we got it! We must look really nice or something :)

Cora and Aubrey are such cute little sisters. Aubrey is very sweet to her and we haven't really had too much jealousy yet. But, before I make it sound perfect, Aubrey is definitely testing my patience in lots of other ways...

I'm living proof, since I am the second sibling... but sometimes I wonder how younger siblings survive all the "love" they get:

Cora is still such a calm baby. It amazes me! Most people have trouble getting their babies to do tummy time because they scream and hate it. I have a hard time because she is just so calm and completely content to just lay there:

Cora is such a blessing to our family. And.. I won't speak too soon because we have a long way to go, but I seem to have lucked out in the sleep department again. I'm only allowed to let Cora go one 5 hour stretch at night and I seriously have to wake her up every single night. Definitely not complaining about that!

Newborn Photos

We had a few newborn photos taken of Cora the other day. She is almost 4 weeks old, but still a couple weeks from her due date. I can't believe I could (and really should) still be pregnant.

However, we are so happy that we have gotten to spend extra time with this sweet girl. Hanging out with her is way more fun than being pregnant...even though I really wish I could keep my babies cooking longer.

It is always hard to just pick a couple of pictures to show, but here are a few I loved:

Cora is an easy model. She loves her sleep. She is starting to be more awake the past couple of days, but definitely still spends almost all her time sleeping.

I love this little face! Every mom is biased, but I think she is a pretty darn cute baby.

Sometimes I think Aubrey and Cora look alike, but other times I'm not sure. Here are a few of Aubrey's newborn photos taken almost exactly 2 years ago. I think they at least look like sisters! 

Pictures

We took some pictures! Mostly just because Steven's mom needed an updated family photo of us and I wanted one where Cora was not attached to tubes and wires. There is no way to make a newborn not look awkward in a family photo type shot. It is a good thing she is so darn cute:

I bought these matching dresses for the girls. Sadly, Cora will probably have grown out of it before she gets a chance to wear it to church. Such is life when you have a preemie during flu/RSV season, so I am glad we at least got some pictures.

We even managed to get a shot with my mom and the girls. Have a mentioned how lucky I am that my mom is here to help? I'm definitely worried about managing everything by myself once she leaves. I don't know how people have 4, 5, 6 kids. I will never claim to be supermom. 2 kids scares me!

It wasn't long before picture taking turned into this...

 and this....

But, I'll take what I can get. Aubrey is definitely a 2-year-old! 

I love having this little girl finally home with us. She is such a sweet baby.

Home at Last

We brought our sweet Cora home today after 19 days in the NICU. What a great day! I am exhausted, and completely happy. Here is Cora during her final minutes in the NICU:

And... I thought it was ridiculous, but hospital policy is that the mom has to be escorted out of the hospital with the baby in a wheelchair. So, even though I gave birth over 2 weeks ago and I recover really fast, I still got the wheelchair ride :)

The backseat of our car is really full now! As soon as we strapped Aubrey into the car, she turned to Cora and said, "baby, I love you." Melted my heart. 

Then as soon as we got home, Aubrey had her first chance to hold her little sister. When she saw that Cora was wearing a bow, she insisted on wearing one herself. I'm afraid we have a new hairstyle in the making.

Cora is such a sweet baby. She just slept all day long. Preemies are quite sleepy, so I pretty much just have to wake her up to eat every 3 hours around the clock. When she is awake, she is very quiet and alert and happy. I know that the super sleepy newborn phase doesn't last forever, so I am going to enjoy it while it lasts. 

We love her so much, and love finally being together as a family. I'm so grateful and blessed that she is healthy and thriving. 

The Waiting Game

We are reaching the point in the NICU experience that is really hard for me. I call it the waiting game.

Aubrey had issues with extended jaundice, she went on low-flow oxygen, spit-up and didn't really tolerate her feeds, and had a really hard time gaining weight. She came home from the NICU at 37 weeks 3 days on January 12, 2010. Aubrey is doing amazing now, so it is hard to remember what a rough start she had in life.

Cora, however is a strong little girl. Her lungs have been great since birth, she has never de-stated once (meaning her oxygen levels, heart rate, and respiratory rate have stayed within normal ranges), her jaundice was treated with only a couple days on the lights, she has tolerated all her feeds through the NG tube, and is gaining weight really well. However, she will still probably come home around the time and gestation that Aubrey did.

The brain connections that allow a baby to know that they are hungry, and that give them the strength to eat connect around 37 weeks gestation (which is one of the main reasons this is considered full-term). So, even though Cora is strong, we are just waiting for that "light bulb" to go off where she knows she is hungry and has the strength to eat.

She is nursing pretty well, but still has a ways to go. So, we are trying to patiently wait, but it is hard because I just want her home so bad. Being a preemie mom is very frustrating, exhausting, and emotional, but I am definitely learning patience.

We were able to take our first photo as a family of 4 today:

Aubrey is so funny when she is able to visit Cora. She still has no idea that Cora is her sister and will be coming home one day but she does get very excited to see her.

She came running out the NICU today after the picture yelling, "Nama, nama (my mom)- I touch it! I touch it!" Yes... "it" is Cora, so we will work on that, but I love that she is excited.

Steven goes back to work tomorrow. I never thought his entire Christmas break would be spent in the NICU, but I am grateful he had this time off. It has definitely felt way longer than a week and half since Cora was born. Time can be a funny thing.