is AMAZING!!!!  I'm surprised at how natural some of it is! 

Just a quick update for now.  I have a fussy baby laying on me for the moment.  Daddy tried to get her to sleep and she wanted nothing of it!  So, after he fought with her for an hour, I picked her up and brought her into the office with me so I could pay some bills and whatnots!  She's a pretty good sleeper at night, but she seems to eat at 10pm and then sleep very little until she eats again at 1-2am.  We're only supposed to let her eat every 3-4 hours and around 1-2 ounces with a total of 10-12 ounces of formula a day.  We have to make sure she eats at least every 4 hours, even if it's just a 1/2 an ounce to be sure she keeps gaining and growing.  She's still so little that she can't go that long without food.  So, we still set an alarm to wake us up to wake her up every 4.  She's pretty good anymore about waking us, but her 2pm feed and her 5-6am feed are where she likes to sleep.  I'm thinking about given her an extra 1/2 ounce or so at 10pm to see if she sleeps through to 1-2am.  She seems so restless around midnight.  Not sure she just wants to be awake and we're ready for bed or if she's really hungry.  Ahh... I love all of this!   It's like a little game and you have to figure out how to solve the problem... with remarkable rewards!

So, this is a picture-free post!  All of that stuff is downstairs.  I have a few new pictures and will post them later.

Addy has been a little fussy as she got her 2 month shots Tuesday.  Yes, she is 8 weeks TODAY (as it's Thursday at 12:15 as I'm typing this!!!!)  She'll be officially 2 months on Tuesday, October 2nd.  Everyone thought that was kind of weird and Dr. K (her doctor) also had us check with the NICU before we did it.  Problem is if you let those go to long, her shot schedules get messed up, but yet she is small.  Charley & I both agreed she needed them, especially with all the illnesses about to start up.  She hated being held down more then anything and the pour nurse hated sticking her, especially since there is barely any fat on her tiny little legs to give her her shots!  Pour girl.  She screamed bloody murder when I eased her bandaids off last night too.  But, since then, she's been a bit fussy. 

She really is a good baby though.  We put her in both her bouncers, her bassinet (thanks to Aunt Tera and Cousins Trenton & Clayton who never slept in it! She loaned it to us and Addy loves it!), her pack n play, her boppy..anything and everything and she sleeps well.  The Neos (NICU docs) told us to avoid her swing until her due date so that she is gestationally capable of handing it.  They told us her car seat, bouncer, and laying flat are fine.  And, they encouraged us to hold her often so she can stay calm with our heartbeats.  She knows mommy, daddy, and Grandma (Ma) quite well.. so when she's restless, one of us holds her and she does fine.  Aunt Tera does great with her too, she's a natural momma though!   Anyway, with her restlessness, I did phone and talk to a NICU nurse today.  I just can't get enough of them!  They told me her environment change AND her shots are probably just still to much.. she's 37 weeks and 2 days gestation, so she should still be in my belly - If she were born today, she'd still be almost 3 weeks early!  Anyway, they recommended I just talk to her Dr (Dr. K) and see if maybe we shouldn't give her more tylenol from her shots.  I thought maybe it was her formula causing more gas then usual since at home we are using powder and not her ready to feed concentrate jars they have in the NICU (those are outrageously expensive and they don't even sell them in store).  The NICU nurse told me to just give her a little time to adjust.  So, we are.  And, I think sometimes she just wants to be held for comfort because she is in new surroundings.  In time, she'll be fine with it all!

We have made a few adventures out and about for errands.  We're so cautious and 2 ladies about reached in to touch her the other day and you would of all laughed at how quickly I pushed her stroller away and hid her!  It's serious business though.  Charley's mom wants to take us out for breakfast for his birthday Sunday and we're trying to figure out if there is a non-busy time to go.  Worst case scenario is that Charley will go by himself while I stay home, but it'd be nice for all of us.  When we were picking up a few things in the store the other day, I bet I applied hand sanitizer at least 10 times (in about an hour) and I was sure to do it before I even thought about touching her.  We even picked up more hand sanitizer AND portable sanitizer wipes to wipe down her stroller and our desks and such at work.  It's absolutely nuts, but we have to do all of this!  My pour hands and arms are so severely cracked.  I'm going to have to find a lotion that doesn't affect her skin before my hands dry out.  I may just use her baby lotion.  Winter is coming and the dry skin is only going to get worse.  I'd say if we're not washing our hands at least 10-15 times a day aside from when we go to the bathroom ourselves or change her diaper..we're not washing them enough...

And, just for the record on how serious all this disease stuff is.. somehow I got sick!  I was running a fever today, so I've been trying to wash my hands even more and not breathe on her.  Charley took care of her tonight by himself while I slept for a few hours to rest.  Just even 3 hours of sleep was wonderful to me!  But, I'm on tylenol every 4 hours and Mucinex D hoping to kick this in the butt.  I have a Remicade treatment in just 1 week, so I'm hoping all these meds don't make me sick too.  I have to be SO careful of medicine.  I cannot take antibiotics either.. so aggravating, but having to make sure she is okay.  Addy is fine for now, but we have to be extra extra cautious to keep her healthy.  And, I'm SOOOOO thankful MANY of you have seen us or talked to us or emailed us and said.. "It's okay! We understand!"  You have no idea how relieved that makes us feel.  You have all been so good to us and we don't want to hurt any feelings.  Addy hasn't even been held by the majority of her own family or even seen by some of her aunts and uncles.  We've had to even ban other children from our home (as they are the carrier of most diseases) and we're probably going to put a sign on our door that says something to the respect "if you are sick, have been sick in the past week, smoked a cigarette today, or are under the age of 16, do not enter."  It sounds so harsh, but we're serious... But, again, I'm very impressed out how so many have been cautious themselves and how so many have said "No problem."  This will make it easier on us to do the normal day to day errands that we need to do.  Addy will be with me when I need to do things, but I am very very very cautious of even the germs transffered to the handle bars of her stroller and anywhere on her infant carrier.  Everything will be wiped down periodically...and if you see us out and about..you're likely to see me go nuts with all the antibacterial stuff!  Don't laugh.. you'd do it too!

Some have asked if this blog will end... ABSOLUTELY NOT!  You all witnessed via the internet Addy & Reagan grow in my belly and also witnessed Addy grow in the NICU as well how all our beautiful photos of Reagan...  Now, you can watch Addy grow up.  I still hope to post just about as regularly as I did.  I'm sure that will be challenging at times, but I feel I owe it to all of you!  You have sent so many prayers and thoughts our way and we still receive random cards and gifts from everyone.  We cannot thank anyone enough for all that you have done.  This blog is a few things.. a healing source for us, a way to capture Addy's every precious milestone, a way to remember Reagan, a key to letting others know how little Addy and us are doing, and a thank you.. a big big big thank you to all our friends and family.. close AND far away!  So, keep reading..we are here and we will pour our hearts into this for you!  I do hope to update the actual website part before long.  That is one thing I've been meaning to do!

Okay..so that wasn't a "short update."  That was more of a preaching session and a long exaggerated post with no pictures due to a lack of sleep!  Off to enjoy a bit more of mommyhood..it's about time for her to eat and maybe she'll settle down.  She's all stretched out on top of me while I finish typing this.  One arm tucked behind her head and the other stretched out in front of her face.  She's cozy though!