Campbell . . . as cute as she can be!

Call me biased . . . but isn't she just the cutest. (sorry Campbell's bffs . . .) We took her to Picture People and we highly suggest them (thanks Susan for the suggestion). Their prices are reasonable and look at what they can do!!! To check out the other pictures, click here.

Campbell Update, Busy Weekend, and GO COCKS!!!

Where do I begin . . . We'll start on Friday . . . Campbell had two doctor appointments. The first one was the one month follow up with the gastroenterologist. Campbell left there with another clean bill of health. The doctor thinks she'd doing great and he wants to see her again in two to three months. Later that day she had her pediatrician appointment. This was the two-week follow-up. At her last appointment she weighted 7lbs 3oz . . . she now weighs 8lbs 1oz!!!! Her doctor things she's doing great . . . so good that he mentioned to Martha about "turning in" the apnea monitor (which Martha asked if we could keep it for another month), and her next appointment with the pediatrician is one month out at her "four month" (not really the four month) appointment. Basically, it's for the four month shots . . . what fun! Anyway, it's nice to receive two clean bills of health in one day.

On Saturday Campbell had some visitors. Her grandmother (Robbie's mom) and great grandmother, who she's never met, came to Rock Hill to see her. In preparation for her grandmother's visit, Campbell got dressed up in her most favorite outfit . . . GO COCKS!!!! Since Robbie's mother is such the Gamecock fan, Campbell was hoping to impress her! Grandma . . . were you impressed? We met them for lunch and were able to spend some time with them along with my aunt Audrey, my cousins Allison and Brooks and two of their friends. . . it was very nice to see all of them and Campbell enjoyed it too!

After lunch, we came home and Martha found out on one of her message boards that our stroller system (which Campbell's grandmother gave her) was going to be recalled. So we ran to Babies-R-Us to make a quick exchange. We now have a Graco, but we're planning to go back to the Chicco once they get the recalled problems figured out.

Finally, I did catch Campbell in a good mood today in her crib so I took a quick video . . . isn't she so cute?!

Well tomorrow we're planning an easy morning and afternoon, however, at 4, we're heading to Charlotte to get some pictures at Picture People. Our friend Susan goes there to get pictures of her kids and she was telling me about this on Friday. When I got home on Friday, there was a coupon from Picture People for a free picture . . . it's a sign . . . so tomorrow at 5pm, we're going to try them out. I'll let you know how it goes . . . .

Well, it's late and Campbell is FINALLY sleeping (thanks to Martha's hard work and perseverance), so we're off to bed to get some sleep.

"I wouldn't recognize this child"

On Wednesday, Martha and Campbell had lunch with Nurse Christine (one of Campbell's primary nurses). The first words out of her mouth was "I wouldn't recognize this child." In a weird way, that kind of excited us. We're interpreting this as, "she looks so much better than she did at the hospital" and "she's grown so much and has filled out" . . . thus she looks so different. She also kept talking about her chubby cheeks and how big she's getting (in a good way)!

We're glad that we're out of the hospital, however, we sure miss Nurse Christine and all the nurses at the NICU.

On a side note . . . Campbell had lunch with Nurse Anna last week, but we left the camera home . . . sorry Anna ,we'll take pictures next time!

Campbell and Santa

Campbell and her cheerful self with Santa on Saturday at the Izzy's Legacy walk.

One Busy Memorial Day Weekend!

So Campbell had a pretty busy weekend. On Saturday, she and her cousins (Ethan and Macy), Martha and I participated in a fundraising event. We walked 2 miles for Izzy then Ethan and Macy ran in a 70 yard dash and Ethan came in 2nd for his age group (6) and Macy (3) came in 3rd for her group (well actually Martha came in 3rd and being dragged behind Martha was Macy who technically came in 4th). Congratulations Martha for coming in 3rd for a 3/4 year old race! Well after the events, we went inside the Winthrop Coliseum for the awards ceremony and they announced Ethan and Macy's Name over the loud speaker. While at the events you will never believe who Campbell ran into . . . I'll give you some hints . . . he has a very white beard . . . . wears a big red coat . . . . and all the good boys and girls gets a visit from him in December. Give up . . . .well stay tuned for a picture of him.

On Sunday we met our friends Rob and Adrienne and their daughter Emily for lunch. Martha is good at finding all the restaurants in Rock Hill, Fort Mill, and Charlotte that has outdoor seating. (see the tables/umbrellas in the background) Anyway, Emily is about a year and a half and Campbell thinks she looks like a movie star. By the way, check out Campbell in her skirt . . . . HOW CUTE!!!

Finally, the rest of the weekend was attempting to get some sleep, which Campbell wanted no part of!!! From 4pm until 9pm it was nothing but scream, scream, scream, cry, cry cry. Lucky us! Check her out this morning though (last picture) . . . finally sound asleep!!!

PS - Campbell's Aunt (Robbie's sister) wanted Campbell to announce that SHE DOES NOT HAVE A BRAIN TUMOR!!!

My First Bunko Night!

That's right girlfriends, it's BUNKO night! I had my first bunko night tonight and I loved it. Guess what, I'm really good at rolling the dice (if you look closely, I'm holding a die getting ready to throw) but as for understanding the rules . . . I'll be honest, I ain't got a clue! I can count up to 21 though. I'm not sure when to start counting, but after a few rolls of the dice people start yelling 1, 2, 3, then sometimes people yell 5, 21, and sometimes people even yell bunko!!!
Ok, ok, you caught me in a lie . . . I didn't, sort of, technically play bunko. What happened was it is mommy's monthly bunko night. She plays with the same group of friends each month. Well she left at 7, and around 8, I think she started missing me so she called daddy and asked him to bring me to her. She also wanted me to meet her bunko friends. Well, daddy and I went and guess what, there was a 11 bunko players and it normally takes 12 to play so my daddy got to play a round of bunko as the "dummy" player. Notice I said that daddy was the dummy player, not me. Sure he let me roll the dice a time or two . . . but I wasn't the dummy player . . . just him.

Well, for my first game of bunko, I didn't do too bad. I got one, two, and three . . . but I'm not sure what that means . . . . let's just say it was fun. Oh before I forget, I'd like to give a shout out to my bunko peeps . . . Chrissy, Karen, Debbie, Michelle, Nichole, Jane, Tracie, Courtney, Sharon, Marie, and mommy . . . girls, I'll see you next month at Nichole's house.

MY schedule (edited)

So Peeps,
One of my bffs, Anna, picture above (check her out pinching me while pretending it isn't her) . . . anyway, her mom was just bragging about her day . . . sleep, eat, sleep, eat, and sleep some more. (check out her post) I think how boring is that! If you want to check out a real day, then check out a typical day in the life of a pint sized princess

1:30am - wake up screaming for a bottle (my parents are hard sleepers so I have to scream real loud)
2:30am - finish the bottle
3:30am - fall sleep
4:45am - wake up screaming for a bottle
5:30am - finish the bottle then fall asleep while my dad is holding me on the couch . . . why sleep in the newborn lounger when I can have my dad holding me
6:30am - mom has to hold me while I sleep
7:45am - have anther bottle
8:30am - finish bottle and fall asleep with my mom holding me
8:45am - cry when mommy tries to put me down
8:46am - sleep while mom holds me
9:00am - cry when mom puts me down
9:01am - sleep while mom holds me
10:30am - wake up for some tummy time
10:45am - coo one time, then begin screaming for a bottle
11:45am - sleep while mom holds me
12:00pm - cry when she puts me down
12:01pm - sleep while mom holds me
12:30pm - cry when she puts me down
12:31pm - sleep while mom holds me
1:30pm - bottle time
2:30pm - mom holds me while I sleep . . . by now she's learned her lesson this time . . . she no longer tries to put me down
4:30pm - dad comes home and holds me and I might take a nap with him on the couch
5:00pm - dad feeds me a bottle
6:00pm - take a short nap in a swing
6:45pm - start crying so I can be held . . . a girl has to get her attention
7:30pm - bottle time
8:30pm - mom plays with me
9:00pm - bath time . . . my most favorite time of the day
9:30pm - pout pout, no more bath time
9:45pm - sleep in my bassinet
9:46pm - dad comes hold me because I'm crying
10:00pm - fall asleep in the bassinet
11:00pm - mommy . . . I want my bottle!!!!!! (AKA scream for a bottle)
11:45pm - fall back asleep in the bassinet

Now that's what I call a day!

Well, it's almost bath time . . . so let me get ready for that.

Edit- 1:00 am Wednesday
There was some mention from Aunt Ju-ju about an addition to the schedule about diaper changes. (By the way- great to see you this afternoon! Sorry I was a little fussy, you'll see from my above schedule that it was almost bottle time). Well, there are two big reasons that I didn't mention that.
1. Ummm...totally not ladylike to talk about such delicate matters
2. It's against my potty policy to have a schedule in that area...got to keep Mommy and Daddy on their toes!

a prayer request

Family and Friends,
I would like ask that you keep the Hopper's (Martha's side of the family) in your thoughts and prayers. Martha's grandfather passed away yesterday evening in Columbia. Bud will be missed by all of his family and friends. It is especially sad for us because we were just discussing that Campbell was strong enough to go meet her Great "Granddaddy".

A great appointment

Hi All!
I wanted to give a quick update on Campbell's pediatrician appointment Friday. It went really well! She is up to 7 pounds and 3 ounces and he is very happy with her weight gain. Since she hasn't had any apnea or bradys in weeks she doesn't have to wear her monitor during the day! Yay! This is great news for me and Robbie because it is a pain to carry around the monitor with Campbell everywhere. Also, we don't have to go back to see him for 2 weeks! This is the longest period of time she's gone without seeing a doctor in her whole life. He didn't take any blood to test for the anemia because she is gaining weight so well and her color is good (the less blood they take out of her to test, the better!). We may test again in two weeks.

Here is a picture of Campbell and her Great Grandma. She met my Grandma for the first time this week. It was very special for me because Grandma had a stroke right before Campbell came home from Presbyterian and hasn't been able to meet her. Please keep my Grandma in your prayers as she recovers.

Love to you all!
Martha

A new BFF

Like OMG . . . I met one of my BFF's today. Like, her name is Anna and she is soooooooo cool! s We had the bestest time. We played on my activity mat together, babbled and cooed about boys, went for a walk, and I even tried to braid her hair (see the first picture). Her mommy and daddy use to live near my mommy and daddy in Columbia. Did you know that Anna is only 11 days older than me? You can't tell that by our side-by-side video, but she is. She has the coolest hair too! She has so much hair, she can wear hair bows. One day I'll have a lot of hair too.
I go to the doctor tomorrow to get my new weight . . . I'm thinking 7lbs 1oz. Well, it's time for a nap so ta-ta for now.
Love
PSP

Officially Retiring!

Campbell would like to announce that she's officially retiring! That's right . . . you heard it, she's officially retiring . . . . all of her preemie clothes that is. This is Campbell yesterday in a newborn outfit and it seems to fit her pretty nicely. We realized that when she would stretch her leg and you could see her foot trying to press through the footsie part of the outfit it was time to say goodbye to the preemie clothes. Martha has been spending the last few days washing all her newborn clothes for Campbell to wear.

Team Campbell will hit the road again!

After our wonderful success walking in the March for Babies, we have decided to walk again for another great cause. On May 24th, Robbie, Martha, Campbell, and our nephew Ethan will be walking in Izzy's Legacy 5K run/walk. Isabel Jurado is a little girl that Martha knows who has Sanfilippo syndrome. Sanfilippo is a terminal illness with no cure. The Isabel Jurado foundation raises money to support research and provide financial assistance to families. We encourage all of you to visit their website www.isabelfoundation.org to learn more about Sanfilippo.

We are happy to support Izzy and the other families who suffer from this tragic disease by raising money and awareness. You can help us in our efforts to support them. You can either go to their website www.isabelfoundation.org to find out how to donate or you can email us at robbieandmartha@gmail.com to find out how to support us in our walk or even join us in the walk.

Thanks for your continued support of Team Campbell and your new support for our friend, Izzy.

Happy Mother's Day

For my wonderful mommy . . .

Mom, you're a wonderful mother,
So gentle, yet so strong.
The many ways you show you care
Always make me feel I belong.

I love you more than I can express;
You have my total respect.
If I had my choice of mothers,
You'd be the one I'd select!

I'd like to wish all the wonderful mommy's out there a wonderful mother's day.
Love, Campbell

I can sleep in my room, suck my thumb, and I have my parents wrapped around my little finger!

Hey Peeps . . . I'm back,

I know it's been a few days since my parent's have posted and a week since I've posted . . . but we're still here! I need to catch you up on a few things . . . . first, I went to the doctor today. I'm now 6lbs and 10 oz! That means I gained more than an ounce a day this past week. It's been a great week for eating . . . instead of feeding every two to three hours, I now like to take half feeds every hour to two hours. My blood work is getting better. My numbers are slowly coming up (by two tenths), but the good word is up. My pediatrician, he's no McDreamy, doesn't seem to be worried . . . so I'm not worried.

I have a new past time that I'd like to share with you . . . I call it pretend to cry to get held then I smile. That's right. When I need attention, which is quite often recently, I start to cry and like perfectly trained parents, my parents come running over to hold me. Once they hold me, I begin smiling for a minute or so, then I fall fast asleep . . . I love it. I so have my parents wrapped around my pint sized finger!

So my parents have tried something new . . . they have given me my own room. They tried to put me in a crib for a few days, but I still prefer the bassinet . . . but in my room. Check out the picture and video above. Even though the picture looks like it is taken mid-day, it was actually taken around midnight . . . thanks dad for using the flash while I sleep. The reason he's up tonight taking pictures is it's he and I tonight. He felt that mommy needed a night off from feeding me every two hours so he's on daddy duty while mom is sound asleep. I hope she gets some good sleep tonight. Also, check out that ugly mobile . . . yep, it's pretty ugly but guess what, I sure like it!

Today was a good day, I went out to lunch with my mom, dad, Nana, Aunt Ju-Ju and cousins Jacob and Zachary. We ate outdoors at McAllisters and guess what . . . no middle-aged women came and bothered me. I enjoyed my privacy. It was my first time eating at a restaurant.

Before eating, I met someone new . . . her name is Crystal. She's going to come to my house and work with me each week. She's what you call an early interventionist. For my great grandma . . . I have an early interventionist because I'm so advanced. We're going to work on things like my speech and grabbing abilities.

Finally, my Aunt Ju-Ju let me borrow a really cool bouncy seat thing . . . I does all sorts of things like play music, bounce, vibrate, and has things spin around it. Anyway, here I am enjoying my thumb in my bouncy thingy.

Well, I'm going to put this computer down and start crying . . . I think I want my dad to hold now . . . so round 9 of pretend to cry to get held then I smile.

Ta-Ta for now!

PS - congrats to Anna's mom for her new job . . . I'm excited for you and I can't wait for you and Anna to come to my house to see me (hint-hint)

Why did Campbell cross the road?

Campbell had her first encounter with a wild animal today...if you look closely you may be able to find it. It was a close call but Campbell showed no fear!

Doctor's Orders

So here we are at 3 months and a few days old and Campbell has also passed the 6lb mark. Also, check out how much she's grown . . . do you remember when the doll was half her size?

Anyway, I've received a little flak about my previous post . . . so let me explain.

1) No, not all middle-aged women are to blame for being intrusive on Campbell's space. It just happened to be all middle-aged women at Target that day who decided to stalk us up and down each aisle.

2) I know some of you (my mother) thinks that I'm (we're) just over-protective . . . I hope people realize that we've been told by numerous doctors that we need to be extra careful with people wo get around Campbell. Her little body right now cannot afford to get around any germs or infections. Don't you remember when I was Banned from the NICU for getting an ingrown-finger nail . . . or when I was banned for having a sinus infection? The doctors take that kind of stuff seriouslly. As a matter of fact, Martha and I checked into getting Campbell baptised at our church, but their next baptism is in October . . . guess what . . . we're going to have to miss that one. RSV season runs from Oct 1 - March 31 which means she'll be pretty much confined to our house during that time. I know several kids who were born preemie that are over a year old who have a bout with RSV past age one and ended up on a ventilator (one at age 2 on a vent for over 5 weeks). . . past age 2! So protective father . . . maybe . . . . can my overprotectiveness (and doctor's orders) keep Campbell from getting sick . . . maybe. I do know though . . . it's not a risk thats worth taking.

To our family, friends, and all the middle-aged women who shop at Target and decide that they are going to stick their head inside Campbell's carseat . . . thank for understanding. Martha, Campbell and I thank you!

Back off Buster!!!

First let me give you the Campbell update . . . as you can see from the picture she's now 6lbs!!!! Our first doctor was the gastroenterologist and in his office Campbell weighted 4lbs 8oz. We quickly told the doctor that his scale must be wrong since she was 5lbs 7oz just last Friday. Anyway, she did great. He took her off her jaundice medicine . . . yeah, one less. Then we went for her weekly follow up from her pediatrician (the one we like at Palmetto Peds). Anyway, it was a good visit. Her blood levels have remained the same, however, her color looks much better so the doctor doesn't seemed to be too worried. We'll go for another blood test next Wednesday and we'll get the results Friday. She did get three shots though . . . poor Campbell.

Okay, I need the moment to vent (it's robbie). So I had this perfect post planned because Campbell had some things that she'd like to say . . . but I need to do this one. So let me tell you about the post-doctor outing today. I finally convinced Martha to let us take Campbell somewhere. We needed to pick up a prescription and some baby tylenol (because of her shots) so our family went to Target together. No one knows us at Target and there weren't many cars in the parking lot so we weren't worried about anyone messing with her or us. Our first minute in Target was okay . . . until we passed this middle-aged lady in the pharmacy section. I swear . . . no exaggeration, this lady spotted Campbell, and she did a u-turn and began following us. I kept slowly walking away . . . and she got closer and closer and began calling her "sweat-pea." Martha and I did a pretty decent job of politely ignoring, but she was persistent. Two aisles over, she finally caught up with us since we had to stop to pick up the Tylenol. As we stopped she leaned into the cart (where we had her carrier) and got about 8 inches away from her face and was still calling her "sweet pea". . . I HAD ENOUGH of this lady and pulled the cart (including Campbell) away from her leaving her behind with Martha. WHAT A NUTTY OLD LADY!!!!
So at this point I've decided that Martha was right and I was wrong . . . people will just randomly come up to your baby and start poking around. We had to wait a few minutes for them to finish filling our prescriptions so we headed to the baby section and guess who we ran into there? You're right . . .ANOTHER nutty middle aged lady who followed us from the main aisle to a side aisle, just to realize that we were not stopping . . . she did a u-turn and returned back to the main aisle. Just like the other one, she tried to talk to Campbell as she tried to follow behind us . . . "what a cutie . . . ahh, how cute and little."
I don't get it . . . why? Why do people do this? I would never "chase after" someone and their child. People. . . give new parents and young babies a break!!!! We don't want you gawking over our baby!
Finally . . . to those two people . . . thanks!!!! Thanks for making our first experience out as a family a not-so-positive one . . . . because of you, Campbell's going to be 3 and a half years old before we take her out in the public somewhere other than the doctor.

Prayer Request

Before y'all panic...Campbell is fine. There are just a few things that she needs to have lifted up in prayer and you guys have a great track record of success so we thought we'd recruit your prayers again!

As you may remember, while in the NICU Campbell required several blood transfusions (once when she was sick and twice when her amount of red blood cells fell and she became anemic). This was very common and each time it made a great difference in how she felt and acted. We knew when she came home that she would probably become anemic again but hoped it wouldn't get too bad. Well, we've been monitoring it and her numbers are getting pretty low. We can tell she is anemic because she is quite pale, she is sleeping a lot, and her heart rate is elevated. Her pediatrician would rather not give her another blood transfusion if possible. The reasons for this are that there are potential complications and also her body has to learn to make the blood cells rather than depending on us giving them to her. We have an appointment with her pediatrician on Friday to discuss our options. She currently is on vitamins with iron and we supplement her food (breast milk) with a special formula that has extra calories, vitamins, and iron. Our hope is that these supplements will be enough to help her make her own red blood cells. We know her numbers have gone down so please pray that we would have the wisdom to make the best decision for her, whether that decision is to wait another week and test then or try something else.

Also on Friday she has an appointment with the pediatric gastroenterologist. At this appointment we will find out the results of some lab work related to her liver function. Another common complication for preemies is a form of jaundice caused by the IV fluids that she was on for so long. We have been giving her medication since she came home and we're hoping her numbers have fallen to the point where she no longer needs the medicine. We're also hoping that he can give us some insight into her reflux, including tips for us to manage her feedings and maybe adjusting her medications.

Thank you and we'll keep you all posted on her appointments on Friday! Love you all!

March for Babies

Team Campbell hit the road on Saturday morning to raise money and awareness for the March of Dimes. We "marched" for 5 miles from Cherry Park to Winthrop and back. We had a great time and we raised over $2000!!! Way to go Team Campbell. We really appreciate everyone who donated and supported us. Robbie and I want to say thanks to our walkers: Jessica Blakely, Deanna & Kevin Carithers, Michael & Chrissy Catoe, Michelle Goelzer, Veronica Grubb, Vicky McDonough, Mary Modla, Ann Mustian, and Christina Pitts.

Although we didn't win any awards (they aren't doing family team awards until next year), we know that Team Campbell was a success! We are definitely planning on participating again next year and hope to have even more walkers and raise even more money! We are excited also because we have been asked to be the 2009 Ambassador family for the Rock Hill March for Babies. We can't wait to take Campbell and tell everyone about the miracle that she is!

Happy should-have-been-my-Birthday To Me!