Caroline is 8 weeks old....WOW!

Today Caroline is 8 weeks old! It is so hard to believe, yet it also seems like she has been with us forever. I've been wanting to update for a while but the days pass so fast... I don't even remember what I did before having a baby! Caroline is doing great. She is growing and changing at such a rapid rate sometimes seemingly overnight! Her most recent weight at the doctor's office yesterday is 8 pounds, 9 1/2 ounces! She's getting to be a very big girl! She is the sweetest baby, and charms Zack and I everyday with her precious smiles. She definitely knows Mommy and daddy and loves to be cuddled and held. She now loves her bath and this seems to be one of her favorite things during the day. She has started to "play" with her toys and is beginning to bat at and even grab some of them, and we are starting to hear the beginnings of some giggles and laughter. Her newest love is her swing (thanks Margie!) which has been a lifesaver because it always seems to end up putting her to sleep (smile). Speaking of sleep, our precious baby is nearly sleeping through the night! She usually sleeps for a 7-8 hour stretch at night waking up at 4am to eat and then going right back to sleep (with a little persuasion sometimes) until about 7am-8am. Such a good baby! As most everyone knows or can see in her pictures, Caroline has a rather large birthmark under her right eye on her cheekbone. It's called a hemangioma, and we have known about it since she was about one week old. We first thought it was rather benign and would disappear on it's own, but it seems it has become a little more complex than we first thought. Caroline's type of birthmark tends to grow rapidly until 6 months to 1 year of age, creating a mass underneath the skin before tapering off and then slowly going away by early childhood. Hers is unfortunately growing very quickly, and we are seeing a difference every week, sometimes every few days. It is beginning to effect her field of vision slightly (by 15%) and is starting to effect the right side of her nose. Because we don't know how quickly or how large it will grow, and the possible impact on her right eye, we have decided to seek treatment for it now. We have appointments tomorrow at Duke medical center with a pediatric dermatologist and at UNC hospital with a pediatric plastic surgeon to discuss what our options are. Laser surgery is one possibility. Please pray for the doctors that we will be seeing as well as Zack and I as we may be faced with some decisions about what is best for Caroline as far as treatment. We certainly want to do whatever is necessary to protect her development, both physical and emotional / psycho-social as both of these will play into treatment decisions that we make. Zack and I are definitely struggling with the fact that our little girl has to be faced with all of this, BUT we are also trying to keep things in perspective and be thankful that she is healthy and happy. We are keenly aware that we could be dealing with much, much, worse and are so thankful that is not the case. We will certainly update again once we have more information about what our next steps will be. In the meantime here are some new pictures to enjoy: Check out my wild hair! This is called my "worried look" Silly Girl All dressed up for church With mommy at my GiGi's house. My paci doesn't match my dress but what a fashion statement! My Aunt Tracy loves me!