June 25, 2010 by Jason.

Juliana got her glasses today. I think she likes them. (Click for big)

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June 20, 2010 by Jen.

Happy Father’s Day to Juliana’s favorite and most wonderful Daddy! Jason: you are a wonderful father in every way. Juliana is blessed to have you! (click for photos)

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A quick update for the readers: it appears that Juliana is going to have to start wearing glasses. Her check up with the pediatric ophthamologist indicated that she is extremely nearsighted. Unfortunately this will not improve as she ages, but will possibly worsen (as do most people’s eyes as they get older). Fortunately, she will be able to see clearly with her glasses, and when she gets older will be able to wear contacts. Her little (the smallest size) pink frames with prescription lenses will be arriving by FedEx sometime this week. We will post pictures when we are able.

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June 3, 2010 by Jen.

Hello Everyone! I’m sorry that we are updating more infrequently now. We still appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers as Juliana continues to grow. Here is an update on what she has been doing in the last several weeks.

All doctor visits have been great. Juliana is a very healthy and happy little baby. She is 7 months old, and nearly 4 months old developmentally (adjusted age). She is still not on the growth chart, but her growth is tracking according to the curve, so although she continues to be small, she is growing appropriately. She currently weighs about 11 1/2 lbs, and she grew a remarkable 2 inches in length in about 2 1/2 weeks! She is 23 1/2 inches long. She is eating well and sleeping well. Her nighttime schedule is rather interesting: she usually sleeps from about midnight to 6 am, eats, then sleeps again until 10 am. This works fine for my current summer schedule, but we will need to adjust before I start back to HVA (teaching part time) in August. Throughout the day she giggles and coos, plays with her toys, and really enjoys reading books and watching her mobile.

The physical therapists are still coming regularly, and they say that she is progressing very well. Each time they give us a skill or two as her goals, and she meets them within a day or two of their visit. Yesterday she surprised us by rolling over! (There was a small cheat involved, as the surface was not entirely flat, but she has definitely learned the skill!) She has started to drool all over everything, which indicates that her saliva glands are kicking in to gear to start some solid foods in a couple of weeks. We don’t think that she’s quite ready to teethe, but we are watching for that as well.

We are currently monitoring the asymmetry of her head, due to the enforced positioning on her left side while her right leg was broken in the NICU. It isn’t severe, and we are hoping that it will resolve itself, but there is a possibility that she may have to wear a helmet for a few months, later in the summer.

We went to Tennessee in May to celebrate my brother Caleb’s academy graduation. It was Juliana’s first road trip. She did pretty well with the experience, although I think it would be a fair assessment of her feelings to say that she thinks 10 hours in a car seat should be considered child abuse. The family enjoyed getting to spend more time with our chubby little bundle of joy.

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