Avery 6 weeks old

I cant believe it, but last night was worse than the one before. I got a whopping 2 hours of sleep last night. Avery had her pediatrician appt today - she is doing great! She is definatly mixed up about days and nights - uggg. She is now 20.5 inches long - so she has grown quite a bit! She is still way low on the growth charts for percentages - but we expected that since she was premature. She is not even techincally due until this friday - so at 7 pounds 4 ounces, and 20.5 inches - she is a nice size newborn. We have stopped her one bottle a day that was fortified to increase the calories - since she is gaining so well. She did have to get her Hep B vaccine today, and she goes back in 2 weeks for her 2 month shots. And she got approved for Synagis! Thats a vaccine for RSV (a dangerous respiratory infection for babies) - so she will get that vaccine soon too - poor thing.

Avery 5++ weeks

7 pounds 4 ounces

Not a lot of sleep happening in the Hopf house. Avery got an invitation to the all night disco jam and she couldnt wait to go! She fell asleep at 10pm - up at 12 - fussed and slept on and off until 3:45 then she partied hard until 7:10 - thats right folks - NO sleep for mommy. We did get a nap this morning - Phew! Hopefully there is no parties on the agenda for tonight.

A great way to officially celebrate Avery's birth!

Today I received an official proclamation declaring October 2008 as Tay-Sachs awareness month in Maryland! This is truly incredible since Maryland is the very first state to have done this twice. The first ever official state Tay-Sachs awareness month was here - if you remember. September 2006 was Conner's Way Tay-Sachs awareness month in Maryland - again thanks to the amazing support we received from Governor Ehrlich. Since our initial proclamation - several states have dedicated months to Tay-Sachs awareness - and September 2008 is National Tay-Sachs awareness month! How incredible :) Picture soon to come ...

Avery 5+ weeks

6 pounds 13 ounces

So if there was any doubt that yesterday's smile was real - there isnt today - She showed off her new skill 2 more times today!!! It's so amazing to begin to see responsive smiles - we get a ton of previews when she's asleep - but truly incredible when she looks right at my face and smiles!! You can see from the picture that she is filling out and chunking up - even the beginning of a double chin. Lovin the baby fat - looks so cute.

Avery 5 1/2 weeks old

Somehow I have lost track of the day #, so I will go by weeks now. We had a busy morning and day today. Our day started by Brenden crying hysterically - I called for him and he proceeds to tell me that he has been "all over the house" looking for me. So where was I??? In bed covered up in blankets - finally snoozing. What time was it - holy crap - 8:34am - Yes, Brenden totally missed the bus - mommy slept through the alarm clock. With a littel bit of speed - I did manage to get thim there on time - thank goodness we live so close to the school. Yikes. Avery and I headed off to Babies R Us to pick up some stuff - and came home to a stinky house -and I mean stinky!!! Tucker (one of the puppies) had apparently eaten some weed fabric he found under the deck - lets just say it dosent digest so well. A real HUGE mess. Now on to my little rockstar. Avery has been starting to look at things and focus more - she is tracking objects (some of the time) and today........... SHE SMILED at me for the very first time! Her first real smile. She had her infant and toddler appointment today (since she is a preemie) and she is doing great. the majority of babies at this point arent tracking yet - and she showed off her skills to the nurse today! Yeah Avery!!!

Avery 5 weeks old

6 pounds 9 ounces

I havent had a chance to do a formal photoshoot with Avery in the past couple weeks - maybe tomorrow - at least thats my plan since the weather is supposed to get nasty Thursday and I love my natural light. Avery has been spending a ton of time awake over the past couple days - great right... YES - except when it's in the middle of the night - uggg. The past 2-3 days she has been spending about 3 hours awake starting at about 2 or 3 am. Avery is also a huge fan of being held - and not at all a fan of laying by herself. Today - desperate for a shower (mommy), she got her first ride in the swing - and it worked - notice the sleeping baby in the picture. She is so tiny still in the swing - wasnt my first choice to put her in - but it did the trick in a pinch. She is really doing amazing!!! I can tell she is starting to really look at things - like mobiles, etc. Also big brother Brenden has a big couple days - monday the doctor for his 5 year check up, and today the dentist. He did great for both - only a couple tears with his shots :(

Ahhhhh - FINALLY !!!!!

Just got the news that most definatly - 100% sure that Avery does not have Tay-Sachs disease. She infact, in NOT even a carrier. Even though we had the initial studies done - this is the concrete proof that we have been waiting for. I have a huge smile on my face! Here's to Avery!!

Oh, And last night weight 6 pounds 5.5 ounces - Hooray for Avery! And this morning I thought I may have seen an actual awake smile - how cute!

Avery 1 month old - gestational age 38 weeks

Hard to believe Avery has been here one month already - and technically she should still be in my belly. She's doing great - eating a ton - infact none of us (except Brenden) got any decent sleep last night - she wanted to stay up and party all night. At least her and I got a good nap this morning. We havent heard anything from NYU yet - which has my nerves on fire. I have left a ton of messages at the lab - but since it's 3 pm already - Im guessing we wont have the results until next week - Eeeek.

Avery 29 days old

6 pounds 0 ounces!!!

Avery 28 days old - 4 whole weeks!

Quick update tonight - Im beat! Avery is doing AWSOME - she is 1/2 an ounce shy of 6 pounds!!! Im pretty sure she is hitting a growth spurt - which has mommy super tired! She is eating well and oviously packing it away in some adorable baby fat! Hopefully more tomorrow and some new pictures if I get a chance :)

Avery 27 days old

Last nights weight 5 lbs 11 oz!!!! This morning was really emotional! We headed off for Avery's eye apt and one the way it was like a tidal wave of emotions. A ride down memory lane to the worst day of my entire life - the day I learned that Conner was going to die. Everything was so familiar - the office waiting room, the chair i sat it when she gave me the news. It was 3 years (- 5 days) ago exactly - September 20th when my life was changed forever. Carl drives me crazy - but I have to say a huge thank you for being with me at these past couple of appointments - today especially - so I didnt have to go it alone. So - as we are starting our journey with our beautiful new baby girl - there is not one single moment that passes that Conner is not with us. I miss him so enormously. Avery did amazing at her appointment - in fact she slept through it. Just yesterday I noticed that she has a blocked tear duct - YUK! Just in time for her eye appointment. The doctor put some pressure on the duct - hopefully she broke through it - but we will have to wait and see. There was no sign of ROP (retinopothy of prematurity) and even more importantly NO cherry red spots (the hallmark sign of Tay-Sachs). So she gets an A+ for the eye doctor!

Avery 24 days old

Hard to believe Avery is almost a month old. I take her Monday for an eye exam - just precautionary because she was premature and needed a ventilator. Now, normally I wouldnt worry (ok, who am I trying to kid) but the doctor I am taking her to is the same doctor who diagnosed Conner 3 September's ago. I havent been in that office since I was there with Conner - so I am truly dreading Monday!!! We also have Brenden's first parent teacher conference on Monday - so it should be some hum dinger! I got my mothers necklace today - Im totally in love with it! I will weigh Avery tonight - so her weight.... to be continued

Avery 23 days old

My little heavyweight is up to 5 pounds 5 ounces as of last night. She has been wearing me out the last two days - lets just say not a lot of sleep happening in the Hopf house. Between my starving munchkin and Brenden's allergies - It has been musical beds the past two nights. Luckily when Brenden gets off to school - Avery and I go back to bed! So at least I can get a 2-3 hour chunk of sleep during the day. We are expecting Avery's DNA results by the end of next week. We already had the enzyme panel done which showed that she does not have Tay-Sachs - but this will tell us her carrier status. I shouldnt really be nervous - but I am? Ahhh, the endless worries of a mother! I got the first pictures of Avery printed - and they came today! So exciting to see all my hours of editing done!

Avery 21 days old - 3 whole weeks!

I cant believe it's been 3 weeks - yikes! Avery is doing great - and Im trying my darndest to fatten her up a bit. She is now 5lbs 3oz - every oz or 1/2oz counts. Today we had a sleepy rain day which was just what we needed. And the boys have bowling tonight - so it's just us girls for this evening - maybe a nap :)

Avery 20 days old

Little Miss Avery is definatly giving me more gray hairs!! She is such a good baby - but last night - yikes - not a great sleeping night. Then this morning was her follow up hearing test. I am totally traumatized by recieveing Conner's diagnosis - so i asked Carl to go with me. The idea of getting bad news all by myself - is literally more than I can take. So this morning Carl met me at the audiologist appt. We go in and Avery was still asleep in her car seat. We go into this tiny little room with one of those sound proof booths. Avery got to stay in her seat the whole test. Carl and I sat outside the booth and I just kept peeking through the window at the computer screen - not knowing what in the world I was looking at. All these waves - and it was taking forever - so I was getting really nervous - even with tears in my eyes a couple times. We have heard so many stories of babies who fail the initail screen and do fine with the re-screen. This is of course what we hoped for - but with our luck - we are always sceptical to get our hopes up. Today though - we were pleasently suprised! Thats right she passed beautifully. The audiologist tested her several times and she passed everytime!!!! When it was all over I said to the audiologist - "I could hug you" - and I did - Im sure she thought I was crazy! And I am crazy relieved!!!!!!!

Avery 19 days old

Avery 18 days old

5 pounds 2 ounces! WTG Avery :)

Avery 17 days old - gestational age 36 weeks 0 days

Avery is doing well - she is nursing well, and yesterday was up to 4lbs, 14 oz. This was my goal - to get to 36 weeks - well... I never made it. It still feels a little sureal that she is here already. I had the wonderful experience of taking Brenden to target last night to get diapers and wipes - Ahh, how good it felt to return to the "mothership" as Carl affectionatly calls it. Now that she is almost 5 pounds - we are not buying any more preemie diapers - what a defeat! She is graduating to newborn diapers. We have been trying to catch up on some z's during the day while Brenden is at school - so thats been good!

Avery 15 days old - part 2

She did it! back to her birth weight! 4 pounds, 13.5 ounces. And we have her follow up hearing screen scheduled - I am a nervous wreck about that!!! I have such horrid memories of getting bad news like when Conner was diagnosed. Im just going to try and not worry too much about it until the day of the appointment. the pediatrician was really surprised to see that she got back to her birth weight - especially since she didnt even eat for the first 6 days afetr she was born - so way to go Avery!!!! Oh, and her umbilical cord finally came off today! She can get a real bath tonight - yeah!

Avery 15 days old

Today we are off to the pediatrician for the official weigh in

Home day 5 - Avery is 2 weeks old!

Today is the official 2 week old mark - I cant even believe it! She is doing well, but has been up every 2 hours at night - so that makes for a sleepy mommy! The fantastic news is she is just 1/2 an ounce away from her birth weight! She is 4 pounds 13 ounces today! Here are some bath tub pictures - she is such a good baby so far and loves her bath!

Home day 4 - Avery 13 days old

Sar far so good today - here's a preview of todays pictures with her big bro!