Morgan Kate

Happy 1st Birthday, Morgan Kate!

"The Lord is faithful to all His promises and loving toward all He has made."

Psalm 145:13

I am still pinching myself. It just seems so hard to believe that my baby girl is a year old. A year old. It is so hard to even fathom. This has been one of the longest years of my life, yet the shortest at the very same time.

Today was an amazing day. The three of us spent the day hanging out, loving on Morgan Kate and making visits. We started with Morgan Kate's one year well visit. The visit went very well and Dr. G was very pleased. For the first time since birth Morgan Kate is on the chart for height, weight, and head circumference for a one year old. She's barely on it, but on it nevertheless.

Weight: 16 pounds, 6 ounces (3rd percentile)

Height: 26.5 inches (5th percentile)

Head Circumference: 16.5 inches (5th percentile)

Morgan Kate is a very proportional baby girl. She has doubled her length since birth and is almost sixteen times the weight she was. We can now start with some whole milk, eggs and cheese. Basically we can feed her anything she wants except for peanuts and peanut butter. I don't think she will have any allergies to peanuts or peanut butter because Travis and I don't, but you never know and I'm not really interested in taking that route quite yet.

After our well visit we grabbed a bite of lunch and then headed to the NICU. We have been once or twice since our discharge, but we wanted to be sure to take Morgan Kate on this particular day. We were able to see so many wonderful people that made such an impact in our lives and in Morgan Kate's life. We had a terrific trip and one of the highlights for me was getting to meet one very special NICU mom and her precious baby boy.

Yes, the NICU was a roller coaster. Yes, there were especially difficult days. Yes, it was an extremely hard time in our lives. Yes, we were so ready to take our baby home. But the NICU staff was amazing. Truly. They took such good care of our tiny one and they also took care of us. They were supportive and encouraging and honest. They loved Morgan Kate as if she were their own. And we spent 107 days there. I don't think you can spend that amount of time in one place and not leave a little bit of yourself there or take a little bit of that place with you. So while we are thrilled to be home and thrilled to be taking care of our baby girl, there is still a piece of our hearts in the NICU and there is still a piece that we brought home. We will always remember the NICU and all of the exceptional people there. *And "Nightshift", I promise we will come by to see all of you very soon! Promise.

After our NICU visit we headed home to cook dinner and have some birthday cake. Uncle O stopped by and was able to dine with us. It was a low key evening, but one filled with lots of laughs, good times, reflections, memories, and of course even some tears. But this time they were tears of pure happiness.

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