Boo!

Halloween was an action packed day for the V family this year. We started off at the hospital, where Leigh got decked out as a little leopard to join big brother lion in the Halloween parade.

It was her first time in the stroller. In fact, it was her first time leaving her room except to go to the OR, which doesn't really count.

DHV practiced his lion "roar" while waiting for the festivities to get started.
After the parade we came home and carved some jack-o-lanterns. The lion supervised while the adults got to work.


Finally, we took DHV trick or treating for the very first time. He got into the swing of things pretty quickly, running from house to house to collect candy, shoving as much of it into his mouth as he could along the way.


Once the sugar wore off he needed a little lift for the long the walk home.

It's a Date!

Little Leigh continues to have lots of visitors at her suite at Yale-New Haven. First Aunt Molly came for some cuddle time.

Then Grandma and Grandpa Vining drove up from H-field to say hello.


After spending some time with Leigh, Grandma got busy playing "build and destroy" with DHV, much to his delight.

The big news is that hopefully these hospital visits are coming to an end as Leigh has a tentative discharge date of Tuesday, November 11th. That's less than 2 weeks away! We're busy getting the house ready and getting more excited by the day. Just look at DHV grin!

The Social Butterfly

Leigh has become very interested in faces lately. She stares intently with wide eyes and then, if the owner of the face in question is lucky, she cracks a big old smile. Given this new interest, we are trying harder than ever to supply her with interesting new people to look at. Sunday was an especially social day for the little one. First Grandma Stef and Grandpa Lee stopped by and finally got to hold her, after many months of patiently waiting.



Then Kasey paid an evening visit and even tried her hand at bottle feeding (with a little assistance from DKV at times).

When she's not entertaining Leigh concentrates on growing. She hit 9 lbs today! Hopefully she'll get on that home vent by the end of the week and we'll be one step closer to discharge.

SHV turns the big 3-0!

Yesterday was my 30th birthday. I was expecting a nice dinner out with DKV but he got sneaky on me and organized a top secret birthday dinner in the city with our nearest and dearest friends. Here we are post-surprise with Kasey and Ben and Stacey and Matt.

DKV even got some of my Brooklyn ladies out for the occasion. Here I am with Tarsha and Justine, getting ready to dig into a fabulous sushi and sashimi spread.

Throw some diamond earrings and a surprise ice cream cake the next night into the mix and I'd say that my husband really outdid himself this time. Thanks honey!

LRV Update

Back by popular demand, the LRV update:

• Leigh is now weighing in at a hefty 8 lbs, 6 oz. She's out of preemie clothes and looking good!
• Unfortunately, some of that weight gain must be attributed to the re-introduction of the NG feeding tube. Little Miss wasn't meeting her oral feeding requirements so she's now taking bottles during the day and being tube fed while getting her beauty sleep at night. At least it's working.
• The home vent has officially been ordered and Leigh should be on it by the end of this week. That puts us right on track for a pre-Thanksgiving discharge. We're excited!

And now for some visual documentation:

Lounging in her boppy in some German baby gear and taking meds through a nipple

Trying to pretend she doesn't know she's being photographed

Meeting Janine up close for the first time

"Sure, I take food from strangers, why not?"

DHV and DKV kicking back with some Elmo's World while Leigh eats

Lindy Comes to Town

With Janine on vacation on the other coast and DKV in Chicago to take his boards, SHV called on Lindy to lend a helping hand this weekend. She came laden with yummy treats and new books for DHV and jumped right in, cooking and playing.

She also got to visit Little Miss Leigh in her hospital digs and finally held her for the very first time!

Cousins!

The Vining/Bradford clan swooped into town for a visit on Thursday. After a quick diaper change at the house, everyone drove over to the hospital to meet Baby Leigh. Aunt Maggie got a chance to hold a 7 pounder (an opportunity she missed out on with Theo).


Meanwhile, SHV's arms got a workout from the big girl in town.

After leaving Leigh to have her lunch and take her nap we all returned to Forest Road for a little lunch of our own. Of course DHV and Cousin Elsie had to try out the jungle gym first.


And after lunch they did their best to ignore one another while engaging in some parallel play.