Growing fat, growing up, and growing gray

This friday will be 4 weeks since Ivy was released from the hospital, and she is doing very well. Last week the doc increased her feed amount to help her gain more weight, and it is working out, on Monday she weighed in at 8 lbs 3 oz. We have a Home Health nurse, Nancy, coming over once a week to weigh her and check in on anything we need or are concerned about. We also have a Home Health physical therapist, Libby, who comes to make sure everything is developing as it should. They both said on their first visits that she looks better in person than she does on paper, which makes me feel good about her progress. Her scars are all healing up nicely, we no longer have to change the dressing on her belly scar, since the wound is closed and healed and there isn't a dressing anymore, and her chest scar looks excellent (for a scar spanning the entire length of her chest). We are currently applying for several government assistence programs to help pay for all the medical costs, (her hospital stay alone was over $300,000 not including any doctors, surgeons or anyone else, just the stay!). Of course, we have insurance but even with that we are still responsible for a significant stack of cash!! Here are some nice pics of Ivy getting big and fat, and looking adorable as usual.

Our sweet boys are growing up! We had a haircutting party a little while ago, and they didn't even cry!! They both look so much older with less hair, especially Dex, he looks like a little boy, not a baby anymore. They are both so helpful with everything (most of the time). They still fight over things a lot, but it is getting better. Dex is saying more words everyday, his favorites include: Mine, No, Mama, and remote. He still can't say Corbin or Ivy, so he calls corbin "in" and Ivy "I", so cute. Corbin got a cute little apron from Stacy for Christmas this year and he loves to wear it while we make lunch or other things, he looks so cute in it. Funny story, Scott loves jello so he bought some the other day and told Corbin that the two of them would make it, but then he forgot. So the next day Corbin brings me the jello and says, "Lets make jello." I said, "But that is a daddy project, I'm Mommy." So he says, "No, Mom's can make jello, Dad's mom made jello in Salt Lake!!" He's so funny.

a> Corbin is definately my child, eh!
And now for growing gray, that's right, I have some gray hair coming in! Thanks Ivy! I will come right out and say, it is from stress!! With no time to myself, the constant need to feed, bath, or comfort someone, and trying to keep my breastmilk from drying up its a wonder it didn't come in white! And after all that my breastmilk dried up anyway (imagine powdy lip, and chin quiver here). It's just not the same as breastfeeding, and it makes me sick to think how much money we will have to spend on formula........but what can you do.