Presley is HOME!!!

OUR SWEET TINY BEAUTIFUL PRESLEY REAGAN IS HOME!!!!

She was able to finally come home on the 17th of July, exactly 6wks after she was born. It seemed like FOREVER to Aaron & I that she was in there, but, I have to say logically she was so blessed because 6wks in NICU time isn't that much, as compared to my friend whose baby is 6 months old and STILL in the NICU. Sweet little Kinsler, please pray for him, he deserves to finally go home, it's been long awaited & I can't imagine having to raise your first born in a hospital for 6 months, his Mother, Valerie is such an amazing & strong Mama! So Presley's 6 wks compared to 6 months is pretty dang minimal & we are just SOO proud of Presley for sailing right through her NICU course! She did amazing, and she just cruised her way through, with very minimal speed bumps. HUGE THANK YOU to EVERYONE that kept Presley in your thoughts & prayers, I just know every single one counted and made a difference!

She now as of her last weigh in which was a few days ago, was 4lbs 8oz! She is eating 60 mLs a feed & feeding 8 times a day. We still pretty much have her on "NICU time" which is the schedule of feeds at 2,5,8, & 11. It works out pretty well with us, and my type A personality LOVES the schedule. It's very cut & dry, and makes for the crazy hecticness of having 2 under 2 a LOT easier. Libby always seems to thrive more when she is on a schedule too. As of right now I am only allowed to breastfeed her 2 times a day, and then the other 6 feeds have to be pumped milk with added calories to make a 22cal. She needs the extra calories since she is still SO tiny, and as much as I'd like to breastfeed her all the time, it's nice that Aaron can feed her whenever too. Overall though, her feeding is AMAZING compared to Libby. Libby NEVER cried when she was hungry, which is very different from Presley. Presley is much more demanding, and we are just happy she actually eats! I hope & pray that she continues this trade, because having one child with major feeding issues is enough! The two issues we still have to worry about though, is that her eyes still aren't mature all the way yet. At her eye appt on the 26th, her very peripheal vision is still immature. She has had three eye appts, and this is the part they are worried about, but she still has until she is 40wks gestationally before they really start to worry. It's nothing too serious though, and if it continues to be a problem, it's just her side view, and at least it's not frontal view. The second issue is that they still want her to get an MRI and a neurology appt. when we get back to the states, to make sure her port wine stain (the huge angel's kiss that is all over her face and head) that even though it doesn't fully encompass V1 completely and her risk is low, any involvement with V1 warrants a full complete Neuro workup just to make sure she doesn't have Sturge-Weber Syndrome. Sigh.. it's always something.

We are having tons of fun being a family of four. It's actually quite amazing, and Aaron & I are just loving every second. It's quite surreal to us coming from our past history with miscarriages & the infertility before Liberty, so we are just amazed that we have the blessing of having two beautiful little miracles that we get to raise and love. Libby loves her new little sister. She gets very upset when Presley cries and always has to be right there with us when Presley is getting fed or changed. She is learning how to be "soft & gentle". She is just so sweet with her though, and will occasionally bend her little head down and give Presley a kiss on her head. It melts my heart. Libby doesn't quite understand why Presley won't just jump up & play with her, or that she has to be soft and gentle with her, but she is learning and gets more gentle with her everyday. She loves to see her first thing in the morning and will just squeal with delight when she sees Presley. That was one of the major things I was worried about was how Libby would react, and I was worried she would think we replaced her, but that has so not been the case. She has gotten jealous a few times, but nothing that wasn't expected, and she is doing amazing with her little sister. I can't wait to see them grow up together, and I just know they will be the best of friends.

As of now we still don't know anything about where we will be moving to, when we will be moving, when Aaron will be going back to Guam to pack out our house and sign out of Andersen AFB, if us girls will be staying here in Okinawa or going back to the states while he is gone in Guam... it's all up in the air right now, and Aaron and I are just trying to be patient while we wait for the news and orders. We are still holding out for hopefully getting AZ, WA, or FL, but we know we could go somewhere that we didn't have on our list & we are okay with that too. Some friends of ours just EFMP'd to Nellis with a 28wker from here back in May, so Vegas wouldn't be that bad either. For Aaron's job though, he doesn't want Nellis, since he would be VERY busy with work. However, on base housing there is brand new and is NICE! I can find phlebotomy work anywhere, so I really don't mind wherever we go. I have had zero control over anything for so long, that I've accepted I don't have any with moving either. I think my stress levels will go down a lot once we find out where we are going, so then we can start planning, because as of now, our life is just in Limbo, and it's not fun sitting in limbo for months at a time. I'm excited to go back to the states though, we have missed the amenities of stateside living, and I'm looking forward to being able to go visit family for cheap plane tickets, and um TARGET lol. Black Friday will be lots of fun this year!! Most of all though, I'm just looking forward to finally settle down in a home for at least 3 years and it will be nice to have some stability and not have to move again for a while. I'm not a fan of moving twice in 6 months!

I've been asked if having two under two is hard, and if the adjustment was hard? Um I won't lie, it's been quite the adjustment, but it has also been a lot easier than I thought it would be. I'm pretty tired and my nerves start to get a little frazzled when they both start crying at the same time, but it doesn't happen that often. I'm sure Aaron & I have quite the work set out for us, but as of right now, we are just loving the cRaZiNess of it all, because it's a welcomed good crazy if that makes sense. I LOVE that they are so close together, because I know they will grow up to be the best of friends. I just LOVE having TWO little girls. I am SOOO happy to know that the NICU saga is over, and I can completely close that chapter in my life and never have to go back to another NICU. A nightmare I never have to relive, and that makes me so so happy. I'm LOVING that I haven't been sick with hyperemesis and never have to again. No more Pre-E, no more HELLP, no more Abruptions, and no more csections!! I'm pretty darn happy to put all that craziness and worry behind me!! Life is GOOD and we are just SOOOOOOO unbelievably happy to have our sweet Presley home from the NICU and that our family is complete!!