Sleepy Time

It is 11:30am and Gabriella is asleep of course.. She sure sleeps so nice during the day lol. Last night was a rough night :( Gabby kept having some pretty nasty reflux which usually causes her to choke a little bit on it. At first it was pretty scary but no so much any more, I just keep my eyes and ears open much more than before. This post is not going to be all that long I just had to post because I am truly overjoyed and absolutely SO grateful for the beauty in my life that is my miracle baby girl Gabriella! I intend to show her this blog someday so if nothing else it is surely a great keepsake!

Late Nights

Late nights have become a common occurrence since bringing Gabby home, tonight being one of them to add to the list of many. I don't mind, she has no idea mommy is tired all she knows is she's not and she wants to play. As I write this she is making all sorts of noises in her bassinet as she drifts in and out of sleep. What is it babies dream about? I wonder. My pretty girl seems to be quitting down hmm maybe all she needed was the light from this iPad, have I found a secret weapon? Lol. Good night for now; hello sleep.

No love greater than Gabriella

I've never in my life known a love so great

You are my world with each breath that I take

Every single day I awake to your beautiful face

Smiling at me everything stops, theres no time no space

I will protect you with all that I am all I can be

You are my heart, my sunshine that God gave to me

Mommy loves you Gabriella

Follow up with Gabriella's neurosurgeon

Monday was the follow-up appointment to check her brain again by ultrasound. Gabriella's ventricles are still stable if not a little smaller and still she is showing no signs of pressure on her brain!!! And again we received the news of NO SHUNT NEEDED! The neurosurgeon said he still does not think she will ever need a shunt!! :) We will go back for another follow up in 3 months but until then the neurosurgeon said "I'm diggin' it" lol. I LOVE our neurosurgeon! So life goes on as usual, Gabriella is going back and forth with sleeping at night and then wanting to play at 2am. It's cute sometimes and then sometimes I am super exhausted but either way I prepare to have a few toys ready for her just in case she does wake up wanting to play. She's sleeping much more sound now too now that she is off of the caffeine medication. I sure hated that medicine but it did do wonders for her.

Our Newest Member of Our Family

February 29th we welcomed Miss Gabriella Lena Grace into the world at 9:01am. She was 8lbs 1oz and was 21 inches long! I have not wrote anything in a long time because life since her birth has been ccrraazzy with just getting used to being a mommy. Crazy but a blast all the same :) Today is April 25, 2012 and Gabriella now weighs 12 pounds even and today she is 8 weeks old! WOW has time flown by! Since her birth we have found some incredible news! On the day of her birth an ultrasound was done on her brain to check her ventricles, an MRI was done the following morning. The neurosurgeon came back with the results: NO HYDROCEPHALUS!! Yes her ventricles were still enlarged but with there being no signs of pressure on her brain hydrocephalus would not be his diagnosis and even better news: all of this news meant NO SHUNT!!! THANK GOD!! We did spend 13 days in the NICU as Gabriella started to have some apnea spells and bradycardia events in which her heart rate would drop (only for a few seconds) too low. We were sent home on caffeine (medication to help jump start her central nervous system to stop the apnea) and an apnea monitor. I am happy to report that we are no longer on caffeine and the monitor has been showing no "spells". With the fluid Gabby had in her brain (caused by a bleed in utero) she developed two porencephalic cysts on her left frontal lobe. (13mm and 5mm). The potential complications from these cysts could be right sided weakness (some form of cerebal palsy), but with our early intervention physical therapist and other appointments, so far they see no issues :) We will just have to continue to watch and stay on top of any little thing we may see. This little munchkin is the most amazing addition to my life and I cannot imagine my life without her!

 This was taken the day of our discharge from the NICU ^

8 weeks old!!!