Cheetah Files - Preemie Life 22 Months

 I wish I could bottle Cheetah up and take a little sip of her everyday.  She is the Energizer Bunny on Methamphetamine.  Remember people I have four children so this is not my first time at the rodeo but man this girl has kick.  Trouble at her birth just a preview for her future.

She loves this window seat!  I mean just absolutely loves it.  She will climb up there and yell at her dad, the garbage truck, her siblings, the bus.  She knows words for pretty much everything and loves labeling things at the top of her lungs!

 Peach and Cheetah spend many hours together.  One of their favorite things to do is read and they especially love this popping book my mom found at Costco.  Pretty much you just keep pushing these pieces of plastic back and forth and they make a pop sound, like a never ending piece of bubble wrap.  They love it!

Cheetah also loves to raid shoes from mom and dad's closet.  This activity drives daddy bonkers because said shoes disappear and he'll be looking all over the house for his "other brown shoe!"

She climbs into the sinks all the time.  Sometimes she'll get all the way in and turn on the hot water.  It drives me bonkers, but her newest feat is even more spectacular, she'll just hang on the edge of the sink like this, turn on the cold water and get a drink.  Who the heck does this?  I mean seriously, what 22 month old climbs the sink to get drinks?  This child is a weird one :)

More recent months have also found her exploring the world as a nudist.  The likes to help get herself dressed has morphed into the can take all her clothes off and be out of her diaper in ten seconds or less.  Seriously such a pain!  Especially since this girl has since this discovery gotten poop all over my floor no less than three times.  So we've started a onsie always rule and she now sleeps always in footy pajamas.  One can only clean so much poop off the floor before one goes crazy :-/

Also we've found a new love in life...this girl LOVES ELMO!  I mean just really LOVES HIM!  The first thing she'll ask for most mornings is him, the last thing she ask for, if she sees a phone, or ipad, or tv, she always says ELMO, ELMO, ELMO!  I found this Elmo stuffed animal that has been kicking around our house for years and she is just over the moon about it.

This girl loves her veggies, takes after her sister Gigi she does.  If I leave the fridge open for a sec, I will often find her looking for delicious bits.  She cracks me up!

This year with her two older siblings in full time school, and Peach in preschool and a much desired play date, Cheetah's gotten a little more time with mom to herself .  She's enjoying it by running errands, reading books, and playing dance parties.

This girl is still a bit of a destructomatic.  I took her to this bookstore and within a second she had a whole row of books down.  This is of course while her sister was calmly looking for a My Secret Unicorn book.  Oh well.  I guess that is the difference 2 years makes :)

This girl is still such a dare devil.  This playground is for the big kids but she is all over it.  Recently she was yelling at me from the platform where the monkey bars are, they are still about three feet to high for her to reach, "Up mama, UP!"  Yeah kid, sure I'll do that and then I'll get ready to drive you to the emergency room to have your arm set.

Oh yeah, look here I am a nude again.  Good grief.  This was the same day she escaped out of the side gate and the neighbor found her roaming in the culdesac.  I hadn't even realized she was gone, I was too busy trying to help Captain E with his homework and had thought she'd gone in the house with Dr. J.  He thought she was in the back with me.  It wasn't until I heard her screaming out front that I was hit with the panic.  Worst feeling ever realizing your kid might be gone!  I was so relieved my neighbor had grabbed her and brought her back!

This girl loves her mama.  There was a couple of days after I got back from my sisters wedding when she was really angry at me and she just didn't want to be by me but a week after I got home we were best buddies again.  She loves to give hugs and kisses, high fives, and fist bumps!

And this is why you have to have eyes on this girl all the time.  22 months and going strong!  We love our little Cheetah!

Preemie Life 18 months - 15 1/2 months adjusted

My little Cheetah is 18 months today.  How did this happen?  Why can't I just freeze time for a second.  She is growing like a weed, literally.  At her appointment she measured 31 1/4 inches which for her adjusted age puts her in the 65% for height.  This is nuts to me.  She still seems so short, but apparently she isn't as short as I thought she was.  She has definitely made strides in her height.  Her weight on the other hand...not so great.  She is 19 lbs, 9 ounces which puts her in the 8th percentile for her weight.  She is dropping off her growth curve.  This isn't my first time at this rodeo.  Gigi was off her growth curve and then at four she jumped up in height again.  Captain E was a huge baby but then as he got older while he stayed on the taller side he continued to get thinner and thinner.  Such is life.  Cheetah loves to eat.  She loves apples, bananas, strawberries, cheese, chicken, noodles, chocolate chip cookies, lettuce, potatoes, popcorn, rice, oatmeal, cereal, and her absolute favorite is lasagna, or "basagna" as Peach likes to call it.  She also loves popsicles and you will often find her running around the backyard half-eaten popsicles in hand.  She loves being outside.  Thank goodness we got a fenced in yard because she loves to be in it.  Her favorite hangouts are the sand box, digging and getting dirty make her happy, swinging on the swing, and the top of the play house.  This girl is a climber.  You often find her on top of tables, dressers, sofas, and ladders that are available.  It shouldn't surprise anyone that her favorite word is "UP".  "UP," she yells, "UP, UP!"  At fifteen months I was worried because she was hardly speaking at all but recently her language has started to blossom.  She calls knows my name, her dads, Captain E's, and her sisters.  She can tells us to pick her up.  She ask for food and drink.  When you give her something she will tell you "Thank you."  When she hands you something she will say, "Here you go."  Cheetah loves to read and will bring a book to me and say, "Mom read."  She loves the dog next door which is crazy because that dog is not so nice.  I keep telling Dr J I'm worried the dog is going to bite her, and really do we need to do another emergency room visit this year?  Really.  She is a good girl.  A joy to be around.  She has a great laugh and gives great cuddles.  Her siblings and parents adore her, although captain E will often tell me, "This little girl is trouble."  And he is right.  But she is also a delight.  Cheetah we love you so much.  It is fun to watch you as you grow and gain skills each day.  You really are a great kid!

15 Months, Tiny Tornado is in the House

 My baby is a nutter!  I mean she just is.  She climbs.  She hits.  She yells.  She runs circles in my house.  She screams for fun.  She pulls everything off of shelves.  She runs to the fridge when it is open and starts pulling food from the shelves.  We have to keep all the bathroom doors closed because she plays in the toilet.  She'll pull all the paper off the rolls.  She pulls my pots and pans out daily, my popcorn maker.  She unloads the dishwasher.  She pulls garbage out of the bins.  She won't leave hair things in.  She hurls herself into the tub.  She spits milk out from her sippy.  She hangs on the handle of the oven trying to get it to open.  She is my fourth child and there is not a mellow one in the bunch but I think it is quite possible this one might take the cake.  She has an impish look and the personality to match.  If I had to do it again I'd name her Faye because she is a little Fairy, but like her Irish ancestors of old would tell you, a fairy from the old country, one that was full of mischief rather than one you'd see in a Barbie Dream Special.

She is so proud of herself for learning how to sit on chairs, especially since her legs are so small she has to climb.  Unfortunately she doesn't just sit but then climbs up on the chair and then up on the table.  

 She has to catch that one little mid afternoon snooze so she'll have the energy to scratch and kick me at three in the morning.  The child is a beast in the night when she doesn't get what she wants.

A Mother's Intuition

Three days ago the girls started running a fever. It was low grade, just over 101.  We choose not to do anything about it except keep them home, keep them hydrated, and keep them comfortable while we waited for it to run it course.  Early this morning though Petite Sweetie woke up in a horrible mood.  She was screaming.  She refused to nurse, which for her is a big deal, major comfort nursers here.  She kept banging her head on me or rubbing it on the sheets.  Later when we got up and I put her down on the ground I noticed that her balance was especially bad.  She would stand but then stumble a few steps.  It made me wonder if she had an ear infection.  We have an Otoscope but of course it was not currently charged, and the doctor in the house was on his way out the door.  So like every other person on the planet I had to wait until 8:30 office hours to call the pediatrician.  At 10:30 we were there.  I told the nurse what was going on and she said, "Hmm, sounds like she's having night terrors."  Alright nurse, thanks for you opinion.  The doctor came in, took one look, sure enough it is an ear infection.  Poor baby girl!  This is only the second my kids have ever had.  The last one happened about three years ago to Gigi.  We didn't even realize she was sick until her ear drum burst.  Way to go parents!  It makes sense now why Rosie has been so hard to comfort.  I had an ear infection once when I was flying home from college.  It hurt so bad on the plane I was crying.  I couldn't for the life of me figure out why no one else had tears in their eyes.  Go figure.  Anyway crossing our fingers this clears up soon.  I don't know what I'm going to do if I have to go through another night of baby slamming her head into my face.  Poor baby, but poor mommy as well.  In her happier moments today I caught this little video.  She loves the dishwasher.  She is also a climber.  Definitely is her father's daughter when it comes to temperament.  If you look real close you can see her shake her head no at me.  She does that all the time when she doesn't like what I'm saying :)

World Prematurity Day

A year ago my life shifted track when my water broke months early.  Two weeks later my darling daughter entered the world 10 weeks plus a few days premature.  The following months were some of the hardest of my life.  I have never been as scared as I was during that time.  I have never been as tired.  I was always on the brink of tears, more often than not I was in tears.  The silver lining was the many blessing we saw.  My husband was my rock.  My children were amazing.  My friends and family went above and beyond.  My daughter and I were both lucky enough to receive amazing medical care.  We finally were able to bring our daughter home after a two month stay in the hospital and since then she has blossomed like a rose!  Worldwide 15 million babies are born premature a year.  For those families it will be a life changing experience.  November 17th is World Prematurity Day.  The March of Dimes really focuses this time a year to make people aware of the need.  They have this amazing site on facebook where you can read the stories of families around the world.  Some had tragic outcomes but many are stories of hope, with children who are now growing up amazingly healthy and problem free.  On this day may our hearts turn to those families.  May our prayers go to them.  From my own experience may I offer a list of practical helps you can do.

-Be a shoulder to cry on.  Don't ever ask the question, "Is this hard."  Listen and give your love.  Be sensitive to the fact parents of preemies are extremely scared and vulnerable.  What would otherwise roll off backs will now be felt especially hard.  I don't mind if you cry with me.  I had many mothers who had had preemies themselves come in and shed a few tears.  It gave me hope when I thought about how amazingly well your children were doing now and to know that you'd gone through the same thing.  Listen to me if I need to rant and rave a little.  Know someday I will return to the person you remember but right now I'm definitely in the fight part of fight or flight.

-Meals are always appreciated.  For months after my daughter came home my friends would bring me a meal twice a week.  There are no words to adequately express how amazing it felt to feel completely overwhelmed and then realize someone was going to be at my door in half an hour with dinner already prepared.

-Come and sit with me.  I had many people come and see me while I was on bed rest in the hospital.  Their visits were a welcomed break from the stress and boredom that bed rest guarantees.  They would bring me puzzles, and switch out my books, they'd bring me food that wasn't from the hospital.  One friend had read on my blog that my husband kept forgetting to bring my deodorant and my tweezers.  When she came, she had those items for me.  Other friends and family who lived far away would call or e-mail, even friends I hadn't heard from in years.  Their voice and small talk were a welcomed distraction.  Later when my little Rose was in the hospital I had several friends who would come and sit with me while I visited her.  I loved being able to share some of her first days with others.  It was good company and reassuring to hear their words of encouragement when I felt overwhelmed by the machines and noise of the hospital.

-Letters, notes, e-mails, calls, and small thoughtful gifts were always welcomed.  One day I went to the mail and found a package from a friend from grad school.  She'd included $40 with her package, for parking.  She had been the mother of a preemie as well and it touched my heart to know how she was thinking of me, even in this small detail that I had to pay to park each day to see my child.  

-Tell me my child is beautiful.  When our little Rose was born she was incredibly skinny, wrinkly, and hairy.  Her skin had a weird hue due to jaundice.  She was often swollen because her kidneys were not fully functioning.  She was covered in tubes and wires and even after she came home her checks were covered in tape, gunk, and even sores caused by the tape to help keep her ng tube in.  Bless you people who told me she was precious, who snuggled her close and marveled at her beauty passed the conditions of her birth and hospital stay.

-Childcare and child entertainment are always appreciated.  I had so many people who helped me take care of my other children.  It was amazing how my family and friends took over where I wasn't able.  They watched and entertained children, they got kids ready for school, they took kids to school and activities.  Without them I wouldn't have been able to see my daughter everyday.  They made what we did possible. 

-Call me when you are at the store and ask if I need you to pick me anything up.  When I was running the hard schedule of trying to see my baby at the hospital and mother my children at home I never had any time.  Once she came home I was too worried to take her out.  I actually started ordering my groceries online those first few months to keep from having to take her out.  Sometimes I'd be short one or two things but just couldn't see how it was possible to take her out.  Those friends who would pick up a thing here or there were doing the errand of angles, well at least that is how it felt to me.  

-Pray for us.  Through God all things are possible.  Pray for our child's health.  Pray for the doctors and nurses who care for them each day.  Pray that we may have the strength to bear our burdens.  Pray that we can find happiness each day and that we will have the patience necessary to deal with coming home with empty arms each night.  I know that there were people all over the world, those we knew and those we didn't,  praying for our little family and especially for the well being of our daughter.  We felt the blessings of all that love daily.    

I know I've said it before, but I will say again, and again, and again.  Thank you to the friends, the family, Linda my mother-in-law, my mom, my brother David, the ladies from church, the ladies from MOPs, the people from Dr. J's work, everyone who helped us during our daughters extended hospital stay.  I hope that you are able to find as much joy in the face of our little angle as we do.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!

Preemie Life - Nine Months Old, Six 1/2 months adjusted

Nine Months Old!  Can you believe it.  I'm not going to say the time just flew by because wow summer really dragged on a bit there with four kids at home but it amazing how long quickly she is growing.  On her nine month birthday she weighed in at a whopping 16lbs!  She is only in the 7th percentile for weight and 10th for height but when you look at her adjusted stats Cheetah rides closer to the middle.

Cheetah is a mobile little beast.  You will find her all over the house hiding out.  She loves under the table, with three messy older siblings there are plenty of scraps to find there.  At the shower curtain, if you stand up just right while mom is taking a shower you can suck water off the curtain...yum gross!  Under the computer desk.  Yesterday I had to rearrange all the chords to get everything off the floor.  Someone managed to give them shelves a shock sucking on the end of a charger...SCARY!  She likes to go in her sisters' room to chew on my little ponies.  You'll find her in Captain E's room trying to eat book and legos.  She stands at everything.  Making dinner has the added charm of her clinging to my pant legs.  She can slowly cruise the couch or your legs if you are sitting on the floor.  On Tuesday she stood for about five second unassisted until I shouted, "Hey look you're standing, let me get the camera.  She looked at me, lost her balance and face planted in the grass.  She likes to crawl outside the door (just like her older sister peach) and in the garage where he knees and toes get covered in dust!





Her eyes are still hazel but her hair has just a hint of curl and is starting to thicken up quite nicely.  One day last week I put a little gel in it to see if the curl would stay all day.  It was an adorable little mohawk.  One day last week Peach decided to put slime in her hair.  It was not nearly so adorable and had to be washed out, but Cheetah was a good sport about it :)  Cheetah tans really nicely well.  So it looks like we've got another brown baby on our hands.


Cheetah is one for exploration.  She loves to pull all the toys or books off a shelf, open up boxes, and rip open bags.  If there is a basket in the room she wants to know what is inside.  In the kitchen she loves getting her hands on cooking implements.

She is starting to recognize words like her name and no.  She jabbers at you like she knows what she's talking about for the most part there is nothing recognizable with the exception of the word mum.  She knows who her mama is and I am her favorite.  At night when she wakes up or is having difficulty falling to sleep she'll call out "mum, mum, mum," until she finds her way into my arms.

Most of the time though she is happy to be part of the games with everyone else.  Her siblings drag her around everywhere.  She is like a living doll, a live audience, and a playmate all rolled up into one.  They fight over who gets to hold her and if they get sent to time out will try to sneak her in with them. They love to turn on music for her because she will get excited, clap her hands and start to rock.  All of them enjoy picking her outfits out and trying to find shows on PBS they think she will like :)

Her mouth is her favorite way to test all objects.  As I mentioned before she likes to chew on chords.  She also eats paper, pretty much any paper she can get her hands and mouth on.  She chews on shoes, just like a puppy and at least once a day I have to fish some type of small toy out of her mouth that she managed to get her hands on.  She loves putting hair in her mouth.  Stuff on your head, hair balls she finds on the broom, makes no difference to her.  I also caught her this week putting an ant covered coca puff in her mouth. Her favorite chew toy, my new iphone.  I spend hours a day trying to keep that away from her.

She is my best eater of baby food as well.  She eats oatmeal, rice cereal, bananas, applesauce, pureed mango.  Dr. J even feed her a chicken medley which she ate with gusto.  Her bottle feeding skills are still pretty bad but I got her a sippy cup that she at least likes to chew on and pretend that she knows what she's doing.


I included a video of her last developmental peds visit.  When Preemies are born they are given their actual birthday and then on the day of their due date they are given an adjusted birth date.  That's why Cheetah is nine months old according to her actual birthday but 6 1/2 months adjusted because for the first two and half months of her life she wasn't out hitting baby developmental milestones but instead was hitting gestational ones.  The adjusted date helps everyone keep expectations realistic on what preemies should be doing and it stays in place until they hit two years old when most preemies have caught up.  Along with that date comes visits to the developmental pediatrician.  I love Cheetah's developmental pediatrian.  She is lively and fun, full of so much love for children and for life that it literally radiates off of her.  On our visit a few weeks ago the pediatrician told me she had no need to see Cheetah anymore.  She is doing everything she should be and is even on the front end of what she should be doing for her real age.  She called her the clinic superstar!  She told me she wanted to bring her student in to stump him for a little bit of fun, poor guy!  I know we have been super blessed and am so grateful for how well our little Cheetah is doing and how much happiness she brings to our family!

Cheetah the clinic superstar stumping the med student.



Just a sample of her rocking to music.