May 11, 2013:

Happy Mother's Day weekend to all the mother's out there reading my blog!! I can't believe that I've joined the rankings. Since I was  a little girl I dreamed of having my own baby and now I do. He's so precious. I love it when he just looks up at me with those gray/blue eyes and stares. I love stealing dozens and dozens of kisses from him throughout the day. One of my most favorite things is when we are stuggling and he keeps scooting up my chest to get his lil head right under my chin. That's they way I used to snuggle him in the NICU when his head was smaller and fit a little better under my chin. :) We have a special lil bond for sure.

The weather this week has been fantastic and we were able to take stroller/walks 4 days this wk!! He does great and sleeps most of the way. He knows mommy needs to get back in shape again. :) I had to juggle the timing of the rain each day, but made it without getting wet and even got a lil sun tan. :)

This week we were talking to another NICU mom about schedules and feedings. I've been doing the q3hr feeding schedule since coming home from the NICU, since that is what schedule they had him on there. So Wednesday night I decided to stretch it out to 4 hrs and see if he would feed better. It didn't quite work right. We were all off schedule on Thursday and it was confusing for me. He didn't seem to like it as much either. I was slowly able to get us back on the same time schedule throughout yesterday and last night. Unfortunately I think it messed with his sleep schedule, b/c last night I felt like I was awake the whole time!! He was wanting to feed before 3 hrs and then wasn't going to sleep. I had to hold him at times and it was just a mess. I'm hoping over the next few days he will get back to the q3hr schedule and we can both sleep better.

Friday was the only day we had doctors visits. They ended up rescheduling our Pedicatric clinic appt, so we had that right after the Peds Surgery appt. So, turns out our lil man, who is little in all respects, also has a lil rectum. :( That's why he's been constipated and not pooping unless given a glycerin suppository. There just isn't enough room to get the junk out!! So, the doctor stuck his finger up RJ's rectum and instantly poop came out. He then showed me 2 different applicators that have to be inserted into RJ's rectum twice a day to help dilate the opening and allow him to poop on his own. I'm hoping that within the 3 wk time period before we have our f/u appt, RJ will be pooping like a champ. Our Peds clinic appt went well. We met w/ the Nurse Practitioner b/c our doctor was still out recovering from foot surgery. The NP was awesome and gave RJ a glowing report. He is gaining about 15 grams a day which is on the low range, but still acceptable. We 've been giving him Nystatin for the roof of his mouth where he has a lil Thrush. She recommened using a q-tip instead of my finger to paint the area. That has worked much better. We will f//u the end of the month for his 4 month shots. :(

So, last night we were gonna give RJ a bath. I did the rectal dilation for the first time at home and then promply put him in the bath. The warm water just helped to get things moving and he started pooping in the water. Poop and water make for an extra stinky mess. It was totally grossing Robert out. He kept having to leave the bathroom. Good thing he decided to become a doctor and not a nurse. He wouldn't have survived. :) So, we had to rewash RJ in a yellow basin after all that mess. We got him all dried off and lotioned up and snuggled into bed. He was being quiet and I thought this was the perfect opportunity to quickly take my shower. Well, when I came out to check on him, turns out he had spit up. Not sure if the pooping episode was that traumitizing or what. So, I had to change his bedding and clothes and wipe him down w/ wipes for a second bath in less than 2hrs. Thankfully we had no more spits ups last night, just not good sleeping.

I'm hoping that the vomiting episodes this week, which has required laundry almost every day, will subside now that we are helping him to poop better. I'm hoping that he's not developing reflux, which would then require a small dose of Zantac. Oh bother, it's always something.

Today we are having a relaxing Sabbath. We even watched a sermon online and then promply fell asleep snuggling. It's still so mind boggling to me that we have a son. What a special gift from God. We are truly blessed.

Thanks again for all your prayers, love, and support. We couldn't do it without them!! Happy Sabbath to all!!