Since this is a super-late catch-up photoblast and I’ve kinda been working on it for a while, I’m going to do it a little bit differently – I’ll tell a few stories along with the pictures instead of posting everything before the pictures and then just putting short captions. This brings us up through the day before Leah’s birthday. I’ll do a special post about Leah’s birthday.

I don’t think I shared this before – I actually have a folder in my phone for “Babymoticons” so that I can respond appropriately to text messages from my mom and sister. Some messages just deserve these faces.

Dilation day, April 17. We love our wires way too much.

Leah’s favorite NP gave her an AMT Mini Bear!!! He has a little AMT Mini One, just like LeahBug! Most people have the Mic-Key button, but we are AMT fans.

Goofiest baby ever. The shirt says, “I can’t talk, but I’m on Facebook!” Her silly uncle got it for her in Las Vegas.

See?

We received this beautiful care package from The Butterfly Fund. We have been so touched by their continued generosity.

Do I have the world’s cutest grandparents or what?

Go Bruins!

Leah is discovering animals.

And sweet potatoes.

We love Mommy.

Two great mysteries: 1) Where do all the socks go??? and 2) How does a 9 lb cat take up half a king-size bed?

Leah went through a few days during which she was super fussy and super tired, but was resisting naps. Grandpa was keeping LeahBug company during my OT appointment. Apparently Leah would not sit in any position except ON Grandpa’s lap, looking up at him. Eventually she gave in to the nap.

Like MamaBug, like BabyBug.

Again, because I LOVE.

Snuggling with Uncle Ralph

Gran and Bug!

PICKLE! Mama and Gran were getting lunch in between two of Leah’s therapy sessions and I joked that we should let Leah try a pickle. I was JOKING, because I can’t stand pickles and wouldn’t want to subject my child to that sort of nonsense. Later on, Mandy and our roommate were eating pickles and I told Mandy about how I had joked about giving Leah a pickle. So she did it. And Leah liked it. Go figure.

We did not feel well on this day. Not at ALL. She was supposed to have speech therapy that afternoon, but she spent much of the morning and afternoon losing her breakfast, so after her tympanogram we took her to the peds clinic instead. She had a little bit of a fever as well (mostly low-grade, though at one point it went up to 101.9). The docs suggested that she might actually have a regular ol’ stomach bug (imagine that!!) and put her on Pedialyte instead of milk for 24 hours to see how she would do. Her feeds were resumed after the next visit, but continuously and at a reduced volume. The vomiting had been going on intermittently for the week prior; we’re guessing she probably picked up a bug in the hospital during her last dilation as this started the next day. Poor sweet bug.

This day wore us out!

Enjoying some well-deserved MommyShoulder time after a very tough day!

GO BRUINS, Take 2. Also, frozen teethers are the BEST in warm weather. And, you know, for teething. Whatever else was going on with Leah’s fevers and throwing up, I think it’s pretty clear that she is also teething. Then again, she’s been gnawing on things since October, so…

Twinsies!

Overalls for lunch!

This is how silly families keep themselves entertained while waiting for x-ray results.

Even when we don’t feel well we are darling.

Our roommate had her birthday party in our back yard and Leah got all dolled up for the occasion. She just needed a little baseball cap to go with the outfit.

Remember how I said Leah is taking an interest in the animals? Our outside cat, S’mores, let Leah pet her little head. She even purred for a little bit. Then she got annoyed at the constant fur-grasping and marched away. She was so good, though – didn’t lash out or bite or anything.

Gran and BabyBug monkeying around

SMOOOOOOOOOCH. This is probably my fault – I make smoochie faces at her all the time. She won’t mimic them in the moment, but I guess they have scarred her because every so often she randomly busts out in smoochie-face.

Grandpa Bill, Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma, and their friend V came over for a visit last week. I’ll post a couple more pictures later once I get permission from everybody, but this picture cracks me up – Leah’s very best Valley Girl face.

YAY MOMMYSHOULDER

Now there’s a cat who’s living on the edge… that’s brave, little Lobo. Very brave.

Aaaaand there she goes. We tried to get him to move, but even when she started rolling over onto him he just settled in and laid his head down. Finally had to chase him away as he’s more likely than the other cats to suddenly lash out if Leah touches him the wrong way. I don’t have a photo of Leah with Jeepers because I was holding her so carefully and closely, but yesterday she reached out and Jeepers started to sniff at her fingers – and then licked them and gave her a little love bite. He has a tendency to try to eat fingers once he gets a taste. Don’t worry – I didn’t let him really bite. Leah STARES at Jeepers now, though, whenever he’s in the room.

Raspberry in progress here!

That’s a zucchini. And that’s my baby. Tiny baby or massive zucchini? You decide.

It’s a Mean Green Mother From Outer Space!

We like carrots too!

The morning of our April 30 dilation. Nobody is happy to be there at 5:30AM.

Post-dilation.

Look how cute!!! A lamby sticker over the gauze!

Aaaaaand we’re back at the hospital. I think I already posted about this, but Leah was running a fever and so they wound up “recalling the baby” – we were already at home when I called the advice nurse to tell them about the fever, and the doctor decided she should return to the hospital for overnight observation – which turned into a Thursday-to-Sunday hospital stay.

We love our cords and wires. Oh yes.

I love how you can see her little gummies through the pacifier.

Both hands!

“BABY JAIL, AGAIN??? Why, Mamas? WHY?”

Once they brought her this toy on loan from the Child Life Specialist’s library, all was good. Leah LOVES this thing. It turns out she has an almost-identical one at home, which we didn’t realize at first because it was put away after the baby shower. So she is pleased and plays with it often now, and it is GREAT for helping Leah to support herself when she is sitting up.

She sat. Unassisted. For 10 minutes. Look how surprised she looks! This was a first – her prior record was one minute!

She works hard, she plays hard, and then she sleeps hard!

And then she wakes up with this face (sometimes, not all the time)

“So many toys to choose from… I think I’ll just nap.”

When Leah was in PICU, before her surgery, we had asked the doctors there if we could take Leah into the garden on the maternity floor so she could experience fresh air and as close to “nature” as you can get in a hospital. They refused because of the risks involved. Well, during Leah’s last stay, we finally got to take her on that walk in the garden, and she loved it! We also brought her down to the NICU to visit some of her old nurses and had a nice little visit. She even got to see her old NICU doctor.

Feet are always delicious.

Look at that little Stinkerbell! Love that face.

Love. Just… LOVE.

We are some silly people.

Aaaaand we’re back in baby jail. But don’t worry – she wasn’t too bummed about it.

Surprised Baby is surprised.

Outta baby jail and on our way home! See how comfy she’s making herself. Just puttin’ her feet up on Mama’s arm…

Snuggling with Gran

One of my very favorite photos. Look how happy she is to be home!

I love carseat smiles!

Sweet birthday gifts from The Butterfly Fund!

Physical therapy. Time to roll down!

That catches us up through the day before Leah’s birthday! I will post one especially for her birthday.