I am so overwhelmed by everyone who has been following Maria through her first three months with us! From Canada to Brazil, so many people have been following her story and praying for her. Family, friends, our co-workers, friends of friends, and friends of family have been supporting her, and for all of those kind thoughts and prayers, we are eternally grateful.
But lest my sister-in-law Christina Wittgens call me out for being a hypocrite in utilizing the internet to share my life (something to which I'm not usually drawn), I have decided that this blog has served it's purpose.
I started this blog so that family members could receive daily updates on Maria's hospital condition without Joe and I needing to make 10 repetitive phone calls a day. And so, here's one final update:
Maria is doing extraordinarily well! At her last Dr appointment a week ago, she weighed 8 lbs 12 oz. At her usual rate of growth, today she'd be just over 9 lbs! She's long out-grown her preemie clothes, and now her newborn clothes are getting tight. I cannot believe she's into 0-3 month sizes! I remember her little first diaper that she wore when she was only 2 lbs, and now she's grown into size 1. As I left the store the other day, where I went to buy size 1 diapers, I got choked up thinking about how quickly she is growing and how fast all of "this" is moving. I zoomed home and just rocked her while she was still little enough to do so. (I have no idea where the sudden burst of emotions came from, but they certainly overwhelmed me).
Maria saw Dr. Sala recently who was happy to report that her retinopothy has begun to regress!
Dr. Webster said that her reflux is still an issue, but we're having success adding cereal to her formula. The thicker formula I guess is "heavier" and weighs down in her stomach, therefore in theory, it'll stay in her belly. She still spits up, but less often than before the cereal.
Maria sleeps fairly well. On a good night, she'll give me a 3-4 hour block of sleep at night, which is nice.
She is still very sensitive to her environments and gets easily over-stimulated (which results in anywhere from 15 mins to 4 hours of crying to settle her down). So if you see us, and we're hesitant to pass her around, please don't take offence, we're just trying to avoid dealing with an inconsolable baby!
We spent Mother's Day together, just mommy and Maria. Joe was working all weekend in Meadville. Drs. Nick and Melissa had us over for dinner - lots of grilled steak and wine - yummy! We were so grateful for their invitation.
In summary, Maria is healthy, happy (especially when being held), loves to travel in her car seat (thank GOD...here we come MI and Hilton Head!), loves her daddy (and pulling on his chest hairs) and we are so grateful for the gift of her.
And so, to all of Maria's Super Fans...
Thanks for following this beautiful little life. Please continue to pray for her (and us!), and we hope that we can introduce her to everyone soon! Farewell!
PS - Maria hasn't just read "The Hobbit" and "The Fellowship of the Ring". Amy will be so happy to hear that I've begun reading to her "Confessions of a Shopaholic"!
