Christmas is in the Air

Mom loves to bake, cook, clean and love Emily all day long. We are getting more and more excited about Christmas coming soon and love the holiday season! Emily is all smiles and cries most days now and Kate and I are getting the hang of it (I think). Wrapping presents and baking goodies, changing diapers and washing bottles. It's really turning out to be the best Christmas ever! Emily is pretty much the sweetest, most wonderful girl in the world and thats it. Joy to the World!

It's a Boy!

Eli's sister Teresa and husband Kyle have announced that they are expecting a boy to arrive in late May! And to top it off, Eli tells me that they are considering moving to Dallas! We are so thrilled for them and can't wait to meet our new nephew.
Yesterday Emily had an x-ray of her mouth while she was eating. You could actually see the milk going into her mouth and then flowing into her esophagus. She did a great job and didn't aspirate the milk, and barely spit up! Today at the pediatrician's we found out that Emily weighs 7 lbs. 8oz and is 21" long...she's growing perfectly. We're worried about her hemangioma on her arm because it is becoming ulcerated and could be infected. It seems to be bothering her more than usual, so we have an appointment with the plastic surgeon on Monday. Please pray that it won't burst (especially during the middle of the night when she may not feel it!) Emily is too sweet to go through anything else!

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

We have had quite a busy few days lately. On Friday the Early Childhood Intervention team came over to assess Emily's development and make sure she's on par with her gestational age. She was very cooperative and even did some tricks like copying mom sticking out her tongue. Emily can do all sorts of things now--she lifts up her head and turns it side to side while lying on her tummy, she responds to mom's voice when she's crying, and she loves to look at black and white patterns. And most of all, she's sleeping for one 3-hour block each night!!! This is so important because that means that her GERD (reflux) is getting under control! She is still having a hard time getting on a regular schedule. Right now she eats every hour for 10 minutes from 5am to about 11am, then tries to sleep and eat every 2 hours until about 7pm when she starts eating on and off until about 11pm. A LITTLE CRAZY!!! My favorite time with Emily is in the morning because she is so smiley...too bad I'm always delirious. haha
Saturday was a fun day with the family in downtown Dallas. Anne's parents were in town to visit so we had coffee with them while they played with Emily. Then we walked in a park where a Rugby game was going on (Eli was very sad he wasn't playing). Emily even got to join mom in her girls night over at Melanie's house. The sun was shining and the weather was perfect--unlike today's cold and windy weather. Perfect for staying inside and watching the cowboys play.

Loving the Playdates

Emily and I have been very busy this week! She had pediatrician appointments yesterday and today to have her monthly Synagis shot to protect her from RSV. Dr. Trinh said that Emily looks great--she's gaining weight slowly but surely, and now weighs 7lbs! Hooray Emily! We had a play date with Meaghan and baby Matthew Kane this morning. Unfortunately Emily slept pretty much the whole time, but I had a blast watching Matthew. He was born the week after Emily and is very active! He loves to kick his chunky little legs and looks around constantly. Emily is working on trying to roll over and lift her head up...she's getting so strong! She just makes the sweetest little sounds when she sleeps. I absolutely love being a stay-at-home mom. I wouldn't miss this time with sweet Emily for the world!

First Sunday of Advent

We had a wonderful first weekend of advent! The temperatures warmed up and we were able to take our first family walk around the neighborhood. It's such a beautiful time of year with the trees changing to the fall colors. Emily slept the entire hour, despite the treacherous winds and bumpy cobblestone. Eli can't wait for her to be a little older so she can recognize the ducks and cute little turtles.
I think one of my favorite times of the Christmas season is decorating the tree. All of the ornaments have such great memories behind them--I especially love the ones I made all throughout elementary school! They're hilarious!

Go Cowboys!

Last night we watched the Cowboys game over at Pawel's house. I was a little nervous about bringing Emily over to lots of loud cheering because lately she hasn't been getting much sleep. Her acid reflux is getting worse--half the food she eats doesn't stay down, which makes her very fussy and hungry again in 30 minutes (which means no good sleeping pattern). We're also worried about her gaining less than a pound in nearly a month, even though we love love love her being so tiny!

So our pediatrician suggested that we get a second opinion from a different Gastro-Intestinal doctor at Children's Medical Center of Dallas. We're so excited because Emily will be tested with a Baruim Swallow X-ray which shows where the milk goes once its swallowed. The poor little baby had a tendency to aspirate the milk into her lungs and obviously stop breathing...causing her heart to slow...not good. So this test will hopefully help us to see if her medicines are working and help us to make our sweet Emily a little more comfortable!

So it turns out that Emily slept like a log at the Michniewski's house and we all had a great time! Go Cowboys!

We're looking forward to a great weekend of the first Sunday of Advent together as a family:)

The Unhappy Baby

Today our sweet little Emily had a tough day at the doctors office. In order for her to be taken off of her formula fortifier, her blood needed to be drawn. She was so brave even though the nurse had to poke both arms...let's just say her lungs got a great workout!

Eli received his grades from his last full time semester in grad school and he did fantastic! From now on he's only going to take one class a semester so that he can spend more time with his little angel. It's so adorable to see the two of them together...Emily is so happy when her Daddy sings to her. Tonight is bath night (Emily's favorite activity) in the big girl baby tub. She has outgrown her shoebox size tub and loves to soak in the suds!

Welcome to the Danze Family Blog!

We are so excited to start our new blog! After 82 days in the NICU, Emily is finally at home with us and our family is complete. Kate is excited because Emily finally wants to eat every 1 or 2 hours, and they are getting the hang of nursing after many long nights and days. Emily is just the cutest baby ever! We went to have her weight checked yesterday and she weighs a whopping 6 lbs. and 9 oz. Good job Emily!

Eli is enjoying spending more time with the family now as his fall semester has come to an end. Thank God! We spent a wonderful Thanksgiving with the Danze family at the Raff's house in Dallas. We miss the Harkins family for Thanksgiving this year as they travelled to New York to visit Paul. We'll post some pictures soon.