All Checked Out

Everything checked out perfectly with both Aerin's health and development. I'll post more details later.

Nine Months Adjusted

Aerin was 9 months adjusted yesterday and to celebrate, her Aunt Julien gave her a new playmate. Sean Lee Kern was born yesterday, in the wee hours of the morning. She is huge - 7 pounds, 2 ounces! Julien and I have been friends since we both dated boys on the 4th floor of Carmen Hall, our freshman year of college. And now we both have little girls! Julien is going to be a fantastic mom - we can't wait to see pictures. Julien came to visit back when she was 5 months pregnant with Baby Sean and Aerin took to her instantly - she's got the touch.

Aerin has her developmental follow-up clinic appointment tomorrow. A specialist is going to assess her mental and physical development. Needless to say, we're keen to know the results. Aerin has her one-year-old checkup on Thursday, as well.

Aerin is growing like a weed. A pudgy, beautiful weed. Since we've been giving her table food, she's been chewing her baby food, too. It's hilarious to watch her chew on applesauce or green beans. She "talks" more and more each day, but she still won't say "Momma." I say "won't" because I'm sure she can, but she loves to torture me.

Aerin's First Birthday

As of 10:48 a.m., my baby girl was one year old. I feel happy and tired, like I've just finished a long hike uphill. I have such a sense of accomplishment and of pride in my daughter, who was quite literally at death's door just one year ago today.

Andrew and I had a quiet and joyful day with Aerin. We just spent time together and marvelled at the difference a year makes. We did go out for lunch and we ran into one of my nurses (I spent the month before Aerin was born in the perinatal special care unit)! Nurse Mary remembered us and was thrilled to see Aerin and hear that it was her birthday. She told her friends that Aerin is a true miracle birthday and just gushed over what a gorgeous and healthy baby she is today. We had cake with supper and I gave Aerin some frosting, which she quite enjoyed. I of course bought her a birthday tiara, but she refused to wear it. Although she'll wear headbands and hoods, Aerin refuses to wear hats (and tiaras) for some reason. Maybe next year.

It's been an emotional day for me. Even though Aerin and I almost didn't survive her birth, it was the happiest day of my life. I was fighting sleep during my C-Section - I had lost a lot of blood that week and my body was worn out from 7 days on The Mag, so the epidural really made me drowsy. The doctors had warned me that her odds of survival weren't good, so I was determined not to miss her birth if that was the only time I was going to get with her. My wonderful OB, Dr. Davis, had her out in record time and handed her over to the neonatologist, Dr. Sequira. She was kicking and punching for all she was worth and she even cried a little before they bagged her. It was the last time I would hear her voice for weeks. Dr. Davis was still closing me up when they had to take Aerin to the NICU and they stopped briefly so that I could see her. Even then, she was exquisite. As I laid eyes on her for the first time, I had a beautiful moment of clear and perfect faith - I knew that G-d was watching over her and that she would be okay. This was accompanied by an overwhelming rush of pure love and elation.

We would not have gotten through this year without our family and friends who supported us and the doctors and nurses who took such exceptional care of Aerin. Our little family is truly blessed.

Aerin's Birthday Eve

Well, the big day is almost here.

I keep forgetting to mention that I was asked the stupidest question ever when I was out with Aerin a few weeks ago. We were waiting on line in a store and a teenage girl was ahead of us. She was cooing over Aerin, which happens so much that I hardly pay attention anymore. Then the girl looked at me and asked, "Is that her real eye color?" I was so aghast that I just said yes.

Mmmmm, Aerin's First Cookie

Update

I have been trying to write about our experiences right before Aerin's birth, but it is proving to be more difficult than I thought. I am still working on it, but it might take a while.

In the meantime, Aerin is super. She is growing like a weed - her legs stick out over the seat of her high chair now. When we first got it, they didn't even come to the edge. She is extremely agile and graceful for such a little baby. She can get herself into a standing position, even if she has nothing to help her. She can somehow stand up in her Pack n' Play now. Her arms stretch over her head hanging onto the top of the "wall," but she doesn't seem to mind. She can stand for split seconds and she can walk the length of her crib while holding onto the rail.

She's making a lot of momma-like sounds, but nothing that I would assert is an actual word. I am pretty sure she said "elbow" the other day, but Andrew doesn't think so. She understands a great deal. She knows "Uppy?," "Do you want to go to Momma/Daddy?" and "Where's the doggy?" She also knows "ba-ba," "vitamins," "meds," and "dolly." Aerin loves books, which makes me so happy. She can turn pages (the right way and without ripping them), which amazes me. She does have a distressing love of ripping and crumpling paper - the other day she tore a page out of one of Andrew's work books.

Aerin has already gotten many wonderful birthday presents, especially from her grandparents. You can see in the picture that her Grandnana and Great-Gramma have gotten her just about every book on her Wish List. Her Aunties have sent her presents, which they really shouldn't have. We're going to let it slide this year, since she is a miracle baby after all, but we're going to have to talk to a lot of people about spoiling this child. Of course, Andrew and I have gotten her lots of presents ourselves, but that's different ;).