June 23, 2013:

It seems that time has run away from me again. It's already been about 1.5 wks since I wrote last. RJ has been doing fantastic. He has had a few visitors over the past 1.5 wks and has done well w/ his tummy time. He's getting those arms and neck strengthened. We've of course been enjoying every time he coos and smiles. Robert thought he heard a lil laugh. I'm thinking it was just coincidence. It's hard to believe that our lil miracle boy is already 5 months old!!! He seems to have developed a hole in his stomach b/c he wants to eat all the time! He's about 8 lbs now, so I went up on his feeding amt and he seems to guzzle at least one full bottle a day. I've started trying to wean him off the nipple shield again. The past couple days he gives valiant efforts and then gets lazy and wants the nipple shield again. Silly boy...

A big event happened this past Thursday. RJ experienced his first road trip!! He did surprisingly well. I was super nervous of course. We stopped 2 times to feed and it ended up not adding much to our trip. We tried to coordinate gas/bathroom breaks as well. RJ even attempted to drive. :) I need to get the pic from Robert to show RJ at the steering wheel looking out. :) It was precious. It just so happened that Robert's brothers and parents were all able to get off work and all be able to meet up in Roanoke! The brothers have been having a blast and RJ got to meet his uncle Chad for the first time. Friday was Robert's and my 4 year wedding anniversary and we ended up going down to his parents boat dock to spend the day on the lake where he proposed. It was also RJ's first time to the lake, so it was definitely a momentous day.

I was unsure how RJ would do being out of his normal environment w/ sleeping and all. He has done great in that department. We have had to give him the paci a whole lot more when other people want to hold him. I guess it's soothing to him when he's held by unfamiliar people. I was worried when we were at the lake yesterday and there were quite a few people and he was being passed around. I'm so used to being there for my baby and knowing what he needs and then to not be holding him, I feel like something is missing. I'm glad he's been able to meet more family and be exposed to different environments. We have to slowly introduce him to more noise. He's not the most excited about lots of noise around him, especially when he's trying to fall asleep. :) He's developing some funny quirks. He doesn't like it when the person holding him is talking while he's sleeping, in particular falling asleep. He does not like his back rubbed, only patted. I'm not sure if I mentioned this one before, but he likes not only his milk warm, but the nipple (if it's been refrigerated). He's also very impatient when it comes to his hunger. He can go from being content looking around to his angry cry demanding food now.

The other night I miscalculated when his next nighttime feeding was. I had set my alarm for 1am and I was abruptly awaken around 12:15am by RJ screaming his cute cry. He would not stop until I temporarily stuck a paci in his mouth till the milk was warm. It woke Robert up as well, so he was changing RJ's diaper while I got the milk warm. Then he fed RJ while I pumped milk. It make the process go much quicker.

I guess it's a good thing RJ gets some bottles, b/c it gives the family a chance to feed him as well. :) I'm just trying vigorously to keep up w/ my pumping to fill his bottles. It's tricky when I'm breastfeeding him as well. I have to time it all just right. I did try to thaw some milk the other day and he was not excited about the bottles. I was told in the NICU that sometimes babies don't like the frozen milk b/c it's taste has been changed. I need to find out if there's a way to make the frozen milk appetizing b/c I have over 70 partial bottles in our deep freeze!!

Welp, the lil man has awake and his auntie Liz is holding him. I must get the next bottle ready and pump some more milk. Thanks again for all your prayers, support, and love. Keep it coming!!!

June 13, 2013:

So this morning I really wanted to take a walk w/ RJ. It was so incredibly hot yesterday that we didn't get a chance to walk. It was already 80 degrees by 8am!! Yuck!! So, RJ and I were out of bed by 7am like daddy and decided to start our day. After his 9am feeding I was getting super sleepy, so decided to take a nap w/ him. When I woke up it looked cloudy, but still manageable for a walk. I looked on the weather channel app and it said the rain wasn't supposed to come till around 2pm this afternoon. How wrong that prediction was!!!

I got RJ set up in his carseat/stroller and got my walking shoes on. The wind was strong, but nothing I couldn't handle. I could see some dark clouds in the distance and even heard some thunder, but thought we could totally beat the rain. We got halfway around our first circle before it started raining. It wasn't too bad. Then I rounded a corner and the wind and rain started pelting down on me!! I covered RJ up even more so he'd stay dry, while I on the other hand was about soaked to the bone. I was not smart in my clothing choice of the day and had a white tank top on. I'm sure I must have looked completely ridiculous soaked to the bone, pushing a stroller, and my nursing pads showing through my top. Oh bother.... Turns out those things really hold liquid well. :)

Anyways, we made it home and RJ's feet were only a little damp. I on the other hand had to rethink my outfit for the day and get all dried off. :) I wasn't planning on taking a shower till evening, but one was definitely warranted. :)

As I'm writing this blog, I see blue skies and fluffy white clouds. There's no rain in sight. Oh bother. It was a fun walk for sure, would have been a little more bearable if the wind wasn't so strong and the rain pelting on me. I would have finished the last circle of our walk. :) Oh well, there's always tomorrow.

RJ has started cooing this week. It's only happened a couple times. It's so precious. We've been able to get him smiling more each day. Since he's around 7.5 lbs, we've had to increase the amount of milk in his bottles. He's up to 70mls per bottle. He's been guzzling them down. He's one hungry lil monkey who I'm totally in love w/!!!

We are still having trouble on the pooping front. We've increased the size of the dilators, but I've had to give him suppositories the past couple times. He's going 4-5 days without a poop and that's just not right on my watch. Anyways, he doesn't seem to mind. :)

RJ's been free of all monitor, tubes, and cords officially for a whole week!!! He's loving it and so are we. It's about time for the next feeding, so I better go and get ready.

Thanks again for all your prayers, love, and support!!!

June 10, 2013:

I guess it's about time I write another post. RJ is officially off oxygen and then apnea monitor!!! No more tubes or cords!! It's such a wonderful feeling being able to transport him anywhere in the house and be free of anything trailing me like a dog. :) It's easier to get him dressed and undressed and we even use his room more.

We saw the eye doctor on Tuesday the 4th and had great reports on that front. His vessels are growing in the right direction and are out to zone 3. The higher the zone the better, I had to clarify. We are hoping that maybe just 1 or 2 more visits in that department and then we will be done!!

RJ is free of appointments for the rest of the month!! Quite an amazing accomplishment. We would have had a couple the last week, but we are going on his first road trip to see a few grandparents. :) I'm nervous for sure. I'm not sure about the driving, stopping to change diapers/feeding, sequence or how well he will last in the carseat. He does great on our short drives and on our walks. We shall see. :)

On my health front I had my f/u CTA and a duplex ultrasound of of my head/neck this past Thursday the 6th. I was supposed to see the doc on Friday afternoon for the results, but turns out he had an emergency stroke patient case. The receptionist asked if we wanted to rescheduled, but we requested a phone call if possible. Later that afternoon Dr. Alhajeri called and said my pseudoaneurysm has shrunk!!! It went from about 5mm to 2mm!!! Yippee!!! No treatment other than the 325mg aspirin at this time. They will be scheduling a f/u CTA in 3 months. We are continuing to pray that it will shrink and eventually disappear. Whew.... it's nice to know my body is healing.

Last week we were excited to have my sister Karla for the whole week!!! It was wonderful having an extra pair of hands to help out. I was able to get my hair cut and even put on some eye liner. :) We had a blast and she helped me paint the letter for RJ's room. It's the last wall decoration I wanted to put up. Now we just have to figure out how best to hang the letters and have them match the layout my sis and I made. That's going to be a tricky project. :/

Last week Karla was really getting RJ to smile. She had her phone camera ready at all times and got some great shots. She also got us into Viddy (short 20-30sec videos). The family has been really enjoying that. All you have to do is download the app and look for either Karla or myself and you can see the videos. :) RJ is becoming a lot more interactive. We are still trying to get him to enjoy his tummy time on his activity mat. He lasts maybe 15 sec before he starts whimpering. His head is getting stronger though. :)

Well, I'm not sure what to say about his sleep patterns. They range from 1-4hr stretches. It's very unpredictable. I haven't been able to pin point what combo works best for the longest stretch of sleep. He is eating a lot more and is for sure growing. He is up to around 7.5 lbs!!! I think he fills out the newborn clothes better every day. :) It sure is tricky to find newborn socks that will stay on his lil feet. :/

Anyways, I guess that's about it for now. A lot of positives happening in the past week. He's getting stronger and bigger every day. It's so much fun to see him changing. Thanks again for all the prayers, love, and support. Keep em' coming!!!

June 2, 2013 Take 2:

RJ loves his bath time 

Hey mom, where's my food??

Chillin on mom's lap

Not so sure about this tummy time

Looking all big and content :)

June 2, 2013:

Mercy!! It's already another month!! Time is flying by for sure. It's amazing how RJ is rapidly changing now. His facial features are developing more and he's looking older and bigger on a daily basis. I was just staring at him this morning as he was lying in his lil co-sleeper looking up at the ceiling fan. He was waving his arms and kicking his feet and grunting here and there. He's really growing into his features now. Usually after the 5-6am feeding I'm able to get him to fall back asleep w/ me for a hr or 2 more, but not this morning. Thankfully I have my amazing sister Karla here to help out. We brought the lil guy down and gave him some tummy time on his activity mat. He's getting better raising up his lil head. He's getting stronger. I'm waiting for him to do his lil push-ups again. He did them a couple weeks ago at his grad clinic appt and of course saw him doing it in the NICU. Since he's been lying on his back for sleeping, I think his arms have gotten a lil weaker. Anyways, we will get him strengthened back up again.

Well, yesterday at the noon feeding RJ went to down and breastfed for about 50 min!!! What a lil oinker. We've also been trying to feed without the nipple shield. It's hit or miss if he will follow through. If he's sleepy he won't even attempt eating without the nipple shield. I'm slowly trying to break him of it during the day. 

Oh I can't remember if I mentioned or not that we saw RJ's first tear. Robert was holding him on the couch while I was getting RJ's food ready. He was getting impatient as usual and actually shed a tear. It was an exciting moment for us since it was something new, but we also felt bad for the lil guy. 

His 4 month visit at the Peds clinic on Thursday went great. Dr. Ringley is happy w/ his progress. He's hit the 7 lb mark!!! His head circumference is in the 50th %tile, but his weight and length is more like the 5th %tile. At least his brain is growing appropriately!! He has outgrown the preemie clothes and moved into the newborn sizes, even though they all are quite loose on him. He's got a descent size torso, so the onsies fit better than the pants. He's got a tiny waist, so the pants barely stay up. :) Now that he has less tubes and such, it's easier to dress him in clothes other than his zip up nighties. :) He also tolerated his 4 month shots fine. He screamed when they were given, but no reaction after thankfully.

Friday we had his Peds surgery f/u appt. They are happy w/ his pooping every 3-4 days. They said that might just be his routine. Since he's getting the breast milk, he's using most of the nutrients up for body growth and development, so not much is left for waste. That is why he's not pooping as frequently, plus he's a preemie and they have slower working guts. Dr. Draus is certain RJ will grow out of this. We did go up one size on the applicators for dilation. Auntie Karla got to help change a stinky poopy diaper last night. :) 

Friday afternoon our rep from Able Care came by to get a download reading of the apnea monitor. They said the NICU grad clinic called them asking for a download. I thought we were going to get info from Weds to Weds, so we only got about 1/2 that. Maybe Dr. Desai wanted a readout right at the end of the month. I'm hoping we get a call this week saying we can come off the apnea monitor as well!!! It will be a happy/scary day all at once. We will definitely be more concerned whether RJ is breathing or not without the monitor. It's been a nice safety net, but it will be so wonderful to move him from place to place without anything connected to him. Keep your fingers crossed!!

I have some pictures to share to show his growth and tube free face!! Hope you all enjoy!!

Thanks again for all the prayers, support, and love. Keep it coming!!!